240 Mr. Pierce on the Alluvial District of New- Jersey. 



This marl is adapted for both sandy and clay earths. It 

 was remarked to me by farmers of Monmouth county, that 

 lands manured with marl are less affected by dry weather 

 than other grounds. This doubtless arises from its render- 

 ing the soil a better medium lo retain moisture. When 

 there is too much clay, the numerous shells and fragments 

 in the marl keep the soil loose and suffer water to penetrate 

 — and if too sandy, the calcareous ingredients attract and 

 retain moisture, while the clay of the marl improves the 

 texture of the soil. 



The rich marls found in Monmouth county adjacent to 

 navigable rivers, might be advantageously transported to 

 fertilize the sandy lands of the southern part of Long and 

 Staten Islands. 



Though marl is now employed in a comparatively small 

 district of New-Jersey, it is probable from the character of 

 the region, that it may be found throughout our alluvial sea- 

 board, and would be very valuable where gypsum is power- 

 less. Strata of marl have been passed through in sinking 

 wells many miles south of Long-Branch, and also near the 

 Delaware. 



Shells and the bones offish are often disclosed by exca- 

 vations, made far from the ocean. Banks of oyster-shells 

 covering extensive tracts and of unknown depth, have been 

 observed in the interior of the southern States. It is from 

 such calcareous ingredients that marl principally derives its 

 virtue. 



Organic remains of the land and sea have been found as- 

 sociated in the marl beds of New-Jersey, at a considerable 

 elevation above the Atlantic. Among these are bones of 

 the rhinoceros and other animals of the. eastern continent, 

 some of them of extinct species, elephants' teeth, deers' 

 horns, bones of the whale, sharks' teeth and entire skeletons 

 of fish, together with gryphites, belemnites, cardites and 

 various shell-fish. 



The origin of these banks of shells and bones may, I 

 think, with propriety be ascribed to the deluge recorded in 

 sacred history. The events which have since occurred 

 within the observation of man can account for the various 

 phenomena remarked in this alluvial district. 



The interior of the peninsula is covered by extensive for- 

 ests of pitch pine and shrub oak. Settlements are here and 



