324 Forty- fifth Report on the State Museum. 



of shale rock, and about the same thickness of lime rock, consisting of 

 a stratum of Corniferous and also of Helderberg. Both the shale and 

 the lime rock will contain many interesting and perhaps valuable 

 specimens which your department may desire to obtain. If so, we will 

 be glad to aid you in securing them, and to render you facilities for 

 examinations of the rock formations if you wish to make them. 



Respectfully yours. 

 (Signed.) M. L. TOWNSEND, 



Vice-president. 



To this letter I replied, thanking Mr. Townsend in behalf of 

 the State for his interest in the subject and the consideration he 

 had shown, and expressing myself very desirous of taking advan- 

 tage of his kind offers. In reply to my letter I received the 

 following; 



Livonia Salt and Mining Company, \ 



Livonia, N. Y., November 10, 1890. \ 



Hon. James Hall, State Geologist : 



Dear Sir. — Answering your inquiries of the sixth instant, I beg to- 

 state that our shaft is now down about seventy feet, and we have just 

 entered the shale rock. We will be somewhat delayed for a few days 

 in the erection of machinery, but in about two weeks we intend to be 

 blastiDg in the rock, and to continue the work day and night. It will 

 take about two years to complete the shaft. 



Respectfully yours. 

 (Signed.) M. L. TOWNSEND. 



I brought this subject before the secretary of the Regents, 

 with my own advocacy of the work, but as there appeared to be 

 no money available for such purposes nothing was done. The 

 subject was again brought before the Regents at their annual 

 meeting in December and the following resolution was offered 

 by Regent Harris at the meeting of the committee on the State 

 Museum, the same being afterwards voted unanimously by the 

 Regents. 



"That the Legislature be asked to appropriate $1,000 a year 

 for two years to meet the expense of securing specimens and 

 making records of the geological formation in the shaft to be 

 sunk 2,000 feet at Livonia." 



