﻿130 
  TWENTY-FIRST 
  REPORT 
  ON 
  THE 
  STATE 
  CABINET. 
  

  

  of 
  these 
  the 
  number 
  is 
  in 
  several 
  ways 
  increased 
  by 
  human 
  agency. 
  

   Besides 
  the 
  effect 
  of 
  the 
  cultivation 
  of 
  land 
  in 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  

   Mohawk, 
  the 
  volume 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  is 
  seriously 
  diminished, 
  in 
  the 
  

   part 
  examined, 
  by 
  the 
  dam 
  and 
  races 
  of 
  the 
  Cohoes 
  Company. 
  

   Moreover, 
  a 
  dam 
  of 
  this 
  company 
  was 
  carried 
  away 
  in 
  1846, 
  and 
  

   an 
  immense 
  amount 
  of 
  gravel 
  used 
  in 
  its 
  construction 
  was 
  strewn 
  

   over 
  the 
  river 
  bed. 
  

  

  Of 
  350 
  pot-holes 
  examined 
  above 
  the 
  fall, 
  

  

  1 
  is 
  7 
  times 
  as 
  deep 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  broad 
  at 
  top. 
  

  

  3 
  are 
  8 
  times 
  as 
  deep 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  broad 
  at 
  top. 
  

  

  9 
  are 
  6 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  7 
  are 
  5 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  14 
  are 
  4 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  33 
  are 
  3 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  56 
  are 
  2 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  do 
  

  

  The 
  deepest 
  of 
  this 
  system, 
  No. 
  180, 
  measures 
  23 
  feet, 
  and 
  has 
  

   a 
  diameter 
  of 
  three 
  feet 
  ; 
  eight 
  others 
  show 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  over 
  ten 
  

   feet. 
  If 
  the 
  gravel 
  with 
  which, 
  from 
  causes 
  above 
  referred 
  to, 
  

   many 
  have 
  been 
  filled, 
  were 
  removed, 
  the 
  above 
  figures 
  would 
  

   need 
  amendment. 
  The 
  pot-holes 
  upon 
  the 
  crest 
  of 
  the 
  fall 
  and 
  

   partly 
  down 
  the 
  declivity 
  appear 
  to 
  be, 
  and, 
  I 
  think, 
  are 
  deeper 
  

   than 
  those 
  farther 
  up 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  latter 
  are 
  so 
  generally 
  cumbered 
  

   by 
  gravel 
  that 
  their 
  full 
  depths 
  cannot 
  be 
  measured. 
  The 
  situa- 
  

   tions 
  first 
  freed 
  from 
  superfluous 
  gravel 
  are 
  probably 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  

   deepest 
  holes. 
  

  

  The 
  basin 
  under 
  the 
  fall 
  contains 
  a 
  few 
  large 
  pot-holes, 
  but 
  is 
  

   in 
  large 
  part 
  conformable 
  in 
  its 
  outlines 
  to 
  the 
  strike 
  of 
  the 
  strata. 
  

   Its 
  deepest 
  pot-hole 
  measures 
  49 
  feet 
  below 
  the 
  plateau 
  and 
  25 
  

   feet 
  below 
  the 
  adjoining 
  channel. 
  In 
  another 
  place 
  a 
  sounding 
  of 
  

   25 
  feet 
  is 
  surrounded 
  by 
  soundings 
  of 
  15 
  fee*". 
  The 
  summer 
  chan- 
  

   nel 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  for 
  a 
  half 
  mile 
  below 
  the 
  fall 
  is 
  through 
  a 
  

   series 
  of 
  large, 
  connected 
  pot-holes. 
  Soundings 
  show 
  a 
  very 
  

   uneven 
  bottom, 
  and 
  many 
  scollops 
  of 
  the 
  margin 
  are 
  unmistakably 
  

   brims 
  of 
  pot-holes. 
  Below 
  the 
  fall 
  nearly 
  all 
  pot-holes 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  

   immediate 
  neighborhood 
  of 
  the 
  channel, 
  and 
  there 
  are 
  few 
  small 
  

   ones.* 
  The 
  only 
  exception 
  observed 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  a 
  group 
  at 
  

   the 
  mouth 
  of 
  a 
  rivulet 
  entering 
  just 
  below 
  the 
  Cataract 
  House. 
  

   In 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1867 
  I 
  noticed 
  there 
  a 
  broad 
  concavity 
  in 
  the 
  

   plateau, 
  but 
  could 
  not 
  ascertain 
  its 
  depth 
  or 
  character. 
  The 
  

  

  *This 
  remark 
  applies 
  to 
  the 
  region 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  map; 
  a 
  little 
  further 
  down, 
  the 
  chan- 
  

   nel 
  ramifies, 
  and 
  pot-holes 
  can 
  be 
  found 
  nearly 
  across 
  the 
  bed. 
  

  

  