GEOLOGICAL POSITION AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 227 



" field stone ; " and they were used In the earlier construc- 

 tions for walls, foundations and buildings, in localities 

 where no quarries had been opened, and even before resort 

 was had to quarry stone. 



Some of the oldest houses on the western end of Loner 

 Island, and In the Hudson river counties are built of such 

 field stone. At Yonkers the excavations for foundations 

 and in street grading afford an abundant supply of stone for 

 common wall work. In parts of Brooklyn the drift fur- 

 nishes a great deal of stone in the shape of huge boulders. 



The stone of the drift is generally hard and durable, 

 having been subjected to the wear of rough transportation, 

 and exposed to the weather for ages. The economic use 

 of the surface stone of the drift in constructive work, where 

 they can be laid up in walls, is a desirable utilization of 

 what is still In many parts of the state worse than waste — a 

 nuisance in the tilling of the soil. This formation cannot 

 however be considered as one of the important sources of 

 stone in the quarry industry, although capable of yielding a 

 great deal of rough stone. It will no doubt do so in the 

 further clearing and improvement of the country. 



