9 



like gneiss, granite, syenyte, and the like,— the larger boulders will be 

 found to vary in character as we pass from north to south. About 

 one-fourth of a mile south of Fayetteville arc found boulders of hard 

 gypsiferous shales; from Manlius to Oran and beyond are boulders of 

 various forms of limestone either hydraulic in character or containing 

 such fossils as Favosites; from Cazenovia to" Earlville the limestone 

 boulders are present but smaller and less frequent, while boulders of 

 Hamilton shale take their place. Large boulders of crystalline rock 

 are occasionally found at various points, some even weighing several 

 tons. In some places the drift is cut through to the depth of from 40 to 

 (30 feet without reaching rock beds, as at the " Scott cut " south of Caze- 

 novia and the "Day cut" near Lebanon. In other parts the surface 

 formations do not exceed a foot in depth above the rock as may be seen 

 in some of the cuts through the limestone from Fayetteville to Manlius. 

 The following table will indicate the depth of the superficial deposits at 

 the various cuts: 



LOCALITY. DEPTH OF GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. 



DRIFT. 



South of Manlius Centre, 3-5 feet Salina. 



3-5 



One-fourth mile S. of Fayettevile 1 " Helderberg. 



One mile S. of Fayetteville (lime kiln) 3-4 " •' 



One, one-fourth m. S. of Fayetteville .2-4 " " 



One-fourth in. N. of Manlius..- 3-5 " " 



Just north of Manlius 4 " Onondaga Limestone. 



One-fourth m. S. of Manlius. .3-5 " . . . . 



u a (< u a << O. q « « it 



Two m. S. of Oran... ..1-4 " Marcellus Shale. 



West entrance of Tunnel. 4-13" " " 



East " " " 6-12" Hamilton. 



South of Georgetown 3-8 " Genesee. 



One and one-half m. N. of Earlville- .2-9 " 



In some places as at Manlius (opposite St. John's School) and on the 

 shores of Cazenovia Lake are found smooth, polished surfaces of rock, 

 and fine parallel striie and grooves indicative of glacial action. In the 

 cut just north of Fayetteville and near the junction with the U. I. and 

 E. R. R., may be seen boulders of black limestone which/also present pol- 

 ished and striated surfaces. 



2. It is evident that tyie drift deposits, at least the boulders, have 

 been derived from the north. No prominent beds of crystalline rocks 

 are found south of the middle line of New York State, consequently 

 the scattered boulders of gneiss and syenyte are derived from beds of 

 like formation in the northern part of the state. On the line of the 

 road in question it will be noticed that the boulders of gypsiferous shale 

 are found south of Fayetteville, wiiile like beds in position are found 

 north of that place; that limestone boulders are common south of Man- 

 lius and Oran and become less frequent south of Cazenovia, while the 

 limestone rocks in place (Helderberg and Onondaga) are near Manlius 

 or farther north ; and that boulders like the Hamilton shales in appear- 

 ance, structure, and fossil remains, are found abundantly south of the 

 first Hamilton beds between Oran and Cazenovia but never north of 

 them. What is true of this line of railroad respecting the drift, is true 

 of all parts of the counties through which it passes and for the state. 

 Even the soil is often determined from the character of the northern 

 rocks. The vast surface formation of red clay, crossing Madison 

 County from Chittenango to Oneida is derived from the beds of red 

 argillaceous iron ore of the Clinton group, south of which and partly 

 above which the clay formation rests. It is generally held that the origin 

 of the drift is due to deposits from vast glaciers which formerly covered 



