CHAPTER IV. 



ECONOMIC RESOURCES OF THE BASIN. 



The economic resources of the basin include the soils, the pottery 

 clays, a limited range of building- stones, certain iron ores, and the coal 

 beds of the Carboniferous series. 



SOILS. 



The soils of this region, being in the main of glacial origin, have the 

 economic stamp of deposits which are more or less directly related to the 

 ice work. When, as is the case in the greater part of the district which lies 

 at more than 50 feet above the sea, as well as in much of the lower ground, 

 the soil rests upon bowlder clay, its fertility depends to a great extent on 

 the nature of the subjacent rock. If this be conglomerate, as is the case 

 over a large part of the central portion of the basin, the soil, because of the 

 generally insoluble nature of the detritus from these beds, is character- 

 istically lean. When it rests upon sandstones it is of moderate fertility. 

 Where, as in the region about Newport, and generally on Aquidneck 

 Island, the underlying rock is of shale, the soil is of more than usual value. 

 The considerable organic matter of these beds apparently serves to make a 

 richer field for the plants. 



As compared with other portions of New England, this basin abounds 

 in glacial sand plains. These occupy the larger part of the surface below 

 the level of 50 feet above the sea, and a considerable area of higher-lying 

 ground. The relatively great extent of these plains seems to be due to the 

 fact that the existence of the extensive depression of the Narragansett Bay 

 made it the point of discharge of streams collected beneath the glacier, 

 which bore great quantities of debris beyond the retreating ice front and 

 deposited the sandy portion of this detritus in the shallow water of the sea, 

 which then covered the area. These sand plains are composed mainly of 

 siliceous materials, and afford infertile soils. They are, however, of a quick 



