﻿CLAYS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  629 
  

  

  currents 
  which 
  laid 
  down 
  the 
  materials, 
  sand 
  being 
  deposited 
  when 
  

   the 
  velocity 
  of 
  the 
  current 
  was 
  swift 
  and 
  clay 
  when 
  the 
  water 
  was 
  

   quiet. 
  

  

  All 
  of 
  the 
  !N'ew 
  York 
  clays 
  are 
  of 
  sedimentary 
  origin 
  except 
  

   those 
  occurring 
  along 
  the 
  !N'ew 
  York-Connecticut 
  border 
  line 
  near 
  

   Amenia 
  and 
  Sharon. 
  

  

  Prospecting 
  and 
  exploring 
  

  

  In 
  prospecting 
  for 
  clay 
  the 
  topography 
  is 
  often 
  of 
  much 
  help. 
  

   In 
  the 
  northern 
  and 
  western 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  state 
  the 
  clay 
  is 
  gen- 
  

   erally 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  bottoms 
  of 
  broad 
  valleys. 
  An 
  example 
  of 
  this 
  

   is 
  the 
  Genesee 
  valley. 
  Again 
  at 
  other 
  localities 
  the 
  clay 
  is 
  found 
  

   underlying 
  terraces 
  along 
  the 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  valleys, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  Hud- 
  

   son 
  valley 
  and 
  along 
  Lake 
  Champlain. 
  Deposits 
  of 
  a 
  similar 
  char- 
  

   acter 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  along 
  the 
  Delaware 
  and 
  Susquehanna 
  rivers. 
  

   A 
  terrace 
  however 
  does 
  not 
  necessarily 
  indicate 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  

   clay, 
  for 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  Hudson 
  valley 
  terraces 
  are 
  underlain 
  by 
  till. 
  

  

  On 
  Long 
  Island 
  for 
  example 
  the 
  clay 
  is 
  found 
  almost 
  entirely 
  

   along 
  the 
  north 
  shore; 
  it 
  no 
  doubt 
  underlies 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  island, 
  

   but 
  on 
  the 
  southern 
  side 
  there 
  is 
  in 
  most 
  instances 
  such 
  a 
  cover- 
  

   ing 
  of 
  sand 
  as 
  to 
  make 
  it 
  useless. 
  The 
  presence 
  of 
  clay 
  can 
  often 
  

   be 
  detected 
  in 
  railroad 
  cuttings, 
  in 
  the 
  sides 
  of 
  gullies 
  or 
  ravines. 
  

   In 
  many 
  instances 
  however 
  the 
  occurrence 
  of 
  clay 
  is 
  only 
  sus- 
  

   pected; 
  then 
  borings 
  must 
  be 
  made 
  with 
  an 
  auger 
  to 
  determine 
  its 
  

   presence. 
  As 
  a 
  deposit 
  of 
  clay 
  is 
  seldom 
  of 
  uniform 
  thickness 
  

   throughout 
  its 
  extent, 
  a 
  sufficient 
  number 
  of 
  borings 
  should 
  be 
  

   made 
  in 
  order 
  fully 
  to 
  determine 
  this 
  point; 
  a 
  bed 
  of 
  clay 
  may 
  be 
  

   40 
  feet 
  deep 
  at 
  one 
  point 
  and 
  thin 
  out 
  to 
  5 
  or 
  6 
  feet 
  within 
  a 
  dis- 
  

   tance 
  of 
  15 
  feet. 
  The 
  writer 
  has 
  seen 
  several 
  instances 
  in 
  which 
  

   expensive 
  plants 
  have 
  been 
  erected 
  and 
  come 
  to 
  a 
  speedy 
  end, 
  sim- 
  

   ply 
  because 
  the 
  clay 
  gave 
  out, 
  whereas 
  the 
  disaster 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  

   avoided 
  by 
  previous 
  exploration. 
  Another 
  important 
  point 
  to 
  de- 
  

   termine 
  is 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  sand 
  for 
  molding 
  and 
  tempering. 
  Many 
  

   of 
  the 
  clays 
  in 
  this 
  state 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  made 
  into 
  brick 
  without 
  the 
  

  

  