2 Geological Reports on the State of New- York. 



cinity, are beautiful octahedral and cubic crystals. There are 

 other deposits of iron within a mile, as at Forshee's mine and the 

 Rich iron mine. Near Forshee's mine, there are plates of mica 

 from nearly two to three feet in diameter. 



The attention of Dr. Beck has been mainly directed to the min- 

 eral springs. 



1. Brine Springs, or Salines. 



The brine springs are chiefly in the middle and northern parts 

 of the State. They occur with little interruption from the county 

 of Otsego to Orleans and Genesee — ^nearly one hundred and sev- 

 enty miles east and west, and from Broome county in the south, 

 to near Lake Ontario, being about eighty mites. Still, among all 

 these, only the springs near the Onondaga lake (a fine bed of wa- 

 ter six miles by one) are wrought with much advantage. 



This region is nearly in the centre of the length of the State, 

 and is intersected by the great Erie Canal, at the distance of thirty 

 to forty miles south of Lake Ontario. 



These springs all contain the muriate of lime and magnesia, 

 besides carbonate and sulphate of lime, and a little carbonate of 

 iron. Bromine has been detected in the Salina spring. The 

 spring contains fourteen to fifteen per cent, of saline matter, and 

 of sea water three to four. 



Prof Beck inclines to the opinion that these springs are impreg- 

 nated by solution of solid salt below ; but we have no room to 

 state the grounds of this opinion, except that the absence of known 

 beds of fossil salt in our territory is not decisive against this origin, 

 since, in France, where there are numerous brine springs, there 

 is only one known locality of fossil salt, namely at La Meurthe, 

 around which, brine springs had been wrought from the time of 

 the Christian era. It is thought that the strength of the brine is 

 influenced by the height of the Onondaga lake, the brine being 

 strongest when the water of the lake is the highest. Dr. Wright, 

 superintendent, states, that in the spring of 1836, when the wa- 

 ter of the lake was unusually high, the brine had a density of 79*^ 

 by an instrument on which the point of saturation was 100° ; 

 whereas ordinarily it does not exceed 63° or 64°. The higher 

 column of water in the lake is supposed to raise by its superior 

 pressure a stronger brine from below ; thus bringing it within the 



