PHYSICAL A^'D CLIMATIC SETTING 19 



the best kind of foundation for the ranks of tall 

 buildings that distinguish Xew York City from Lon- 

 lon with soft marsh foundation. The channels that 

 have been carved in the surface of this rock make the 

 incomparable harbor that is also a large factor in the 

 upbuilding of the city. These facts should not be 

 forgotton in a sketch of the agricultural development 

 and status of the State since the existence of such a 

 city and port with the market and transportation 

 facilities it represents is a determinant factor in the 

 agricultural development of the adjacent territory. 

 Touching again the Adirondack region, this broad 

 dome is the center from which the succession of sedi- 

 mentary rocks slope away in nearly ever direction. 

 The up-turned or cut-ofE edges of those formations 

 are arranged successively about the base of the plu- 

 tonic core and form the floor of the country. The old- 

 est rocks come first and disappear under the younger 

 rocks as one passes out from the central mountain 

 region. They dip to the south and west at a medium 

 to slight angle. The older ones have been most 

 eroded. The north-facing exposure of most of these 

 rock outcrops has been an important fact in the 

 succeeding development of the State because of its 

 relation to the entrance of the Continental glacier 

 and the subsequent history of the soil materials. 

 There is on the north side a band of the Potsdam 

 sandstone, a rather pure quartz rock, hard and lean 

 in the elements of plant nutriment. Next, en- 

 circling the area is an irregular band of thick-bedded, 



