﻿GEOLOGIC 
  FORMATIONS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  159 
  

  

  Oriskany 
  sandstone 
  

  

  This 
  rock 
  whicli 
  overlies 
  the 
  Lower 
  Helderberg 
  group, 
  is, 
  at 
  

   Oriskany 
  Falls, 
  whence 
  it 
  derives 
  its 
  name, 
  a 
  coarse 
  light 
  colored 
  

   sandstone 
  about 
  20 
  feet 
  thick. 
  In 
  localities 
  further 
  west 
  it 
  is 
  

   sometimes, 
  as 
  at 
  the 
  falls 
  of 
  the 
  Chittenango 
  creek 
  and 
  at 
  Split 
  

   Rock 
  near 
  Syracuse, 
  either 
  wanting 
  or 
  represented 
  only 
  by 
  a 
  few 
  

   inches 
  of 
  dark 
  sandy 
  rock; 
  sometimes, 
  as 
  between 
  Elbridge 
  and 
  

   Skaneateles, 
  30 
  feet 
  thick; 
  and 
  in 
  other 
  localities, 
  of 
  various 
  

   intermediate 
  thicknesses. 
  Near 
  Schoharie, 
  it 
  contains 
  some 
  lime 
  

   with 
  its 
  sand, 
  and 
  is 
  light 
  colored; 
  in 
  some 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  Helder- 
  

   berg 
  region, 
  as 
  near 
  Clarksville, 
  and 
  Knox, 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  a 
  foot 
  or 
  two 
  

   thick, 
  a 
  hard, 
  dark 
  colored 
  stratum 
  full 
  of 
  fossils 
  and 
  having" 
  

   on 
  its 
  upper 
  surface 
  myriads 
  of 
  impressions 
  of 
  the 
  Spirophyton 
  

   Cauda 
  galli. 
  In 
  Pennsylvania, 
  it 
  is 
  from 
  150 
  feet 
  to 
  300 
  feet 
  in 
  

   thickness, 
  and 
  contains 
  the 
  same 
  organic 
  remains 
  which 
  are 
  

   found 
  in 
  it 
  in 
  New 
  York. 
  

  

  Cauda 
  Galli 
  Grit 
  

   Above 
  the 
  Oriskany 
  sandstone, 
  in 
  the 
  Helderberg 
  region, 
  is 
  

   a 
  mass 
  of 
  sandy 
  slate 
  or 
  shale, 
  often 
  more 
  than 
  fifty 
  feet 
  thick; 
  

   but 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  known 
  west 
  of 
  Herkimer 
  county. 
  In 
  Pennsylvania, 
  

   it 
  is 
  seen 
  from 
  the 
  state 
  line 
  to 
  the 
  Water 
  Gap. 
  It 
  is 
  valuable 
  

   as 
  a 
  road 
  metal 
  though 
  not 
  very 
  durable 
  and 
  forms, 
  by 
  decom- 
  

   posing, 
  a 
  poor 
  soil. 
  It 
  is 
  equally 
  barren 
  in 
  fossils, 
  the 
  only 
  form 
  

   known 
  being 
  what 
  is 
  called 
  the 
  Cocktail 
  fucoid, 
  Spirophyton 
  

   Cauda 
  galli, 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  remains 
  of 
  a 
  marine 
  plant, 
  the 
  

   form 
  of 
  which 
  resembles 
  the 
  peculiar 
  plumage 
  from 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  

   named. 
  The 
  abundance 
  of 
  this 
  fossil 
  has 
  given 
  the 
  rock 
  in 
  which 
  

   it 
  lies 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  ^ 
  Cauda 
  galli 
  grit.^ 
  

  

  Schoharie 
  Grit 
  

   Upon 
  it 
  lies 
  the 
  Schoharie 
  grit, 
  a 
  thin 
  mass, 
  usually 
  only 
  four 
  

   or 
  five 
  feet 
  of 
  hard 
  calcareous 
  sandstone, 
  which, 
  when 
  freshly 
  

   quarried, 
  looks 
  like 
  a 
  gray 
  limestone, 
  but 
  when 
  long 
  weathered, 
  

  

  a 
  This 
  important 
  fact 
  is 
  not 
  noted 
  by 
  either 
  Mather 
  or 
  Lincklaen 
  though 
  it 
  must 
  

   have 
  been 
  observed 
  by 
  them. 
  P. 
  J. 
  H. 
  M. 
  

  

  b 
  As 
  I 
  have 
  noted 
  under 
  Oriskany, 
  this 
  fossil 
  is 
  not 
  confined 
  to 
  the 
  Cauda 
  galli 
  and 
  uccnra 
  on 
  

   the 
  Oriskany 
  sandstone. 
  F. 
  J. 
  H. 
  M. 
  

  

  