CHAP. XXXIX.] SPRING FLOWERS. 353 



the slate and limestone eastward of Albany. Here, 

 from the summit of Greenbush Hill, we enjoyed a 

 magnificent view of the Catskill Mountains, and the 

 Helderberg range in the distance. In the foreground 

 was the river, and Albany itself, now containing a 

 population of 40,000 inhabitants, with its domes and 

 spires clustered together, in the higher parts of the 

 city, and lighted up by a bright sunshine. 



The day following, Dr. Emmons and Mr. James 

 Hall went with me to explore the chain of the Bald 

 Mountains, north of Galeville. We passed through 

 the gay town of Saratoga Springs, where the mineral 

 waters burst out from &quot; the Lower Silurian,&quot; or most 

 ancient fossiliferous rocks. We saw many picturesque 

 spots, especially the waterfall called Baaten Kill, near 

 Galeville, but no grand or striking scenery. Among 

 the plants in blossom, we gathered Anemone nemorosa, 

 Trientalis Americana (less beautiful than our British 

 Trientalis Europ&a), Cypripedium pubescens, Gera 

 nium sylvaticum, three species of violet (all without 

 scent), Houstonia c&rulea, Gnaphalium perenne, and 

 in several copses, the beautiful Polygala pauciflora,, 

 which might be truly said 



&quot; To purple all the ground with vernal flowers.&quot; 



Whether, in this part of the United States, there are 

 any fossiliferous rocks older than the Lower Silurian, 

 was the geological point at issue ; and the question 

 resembled one on which an animated controversy had 

 lately been carried on in Great Britain, in regard to 



