1872.] 51 [Perry. 
endeavor to put them to the test of a rigid examination. But before 
proceeding to an orderly exhibition and discussion of these facts we 
ought to glance for a moment at a few points relating to the earlier 
history of the region; in other words, we need cursorily to notice 
II. THE PRE-GLACIAL TIMES. 
These, as preparing the way for what was effected during the last 
days, receive, as they properly should, a few passing remarks from 
the author. The lowest rocks in the valley of the Connecticut be- 
lone to the two grand divisions known as the Massie and the Foli- 
ated, the former consisting for the most part of igneous masses, the 
latter of oneiss and the associated beds of crystalline schists. Above 
these are a few sedimentary layers, which are perhaps Devonian. 
They occur in the northern limits of the Massachusetts portion of 
the valley. A short way south of these beds may be seen the cele- 
brated deposit known as the Connecticut River Sandstone, which 
extends thence southward to Long Island Sound. 
“One of the last events of the Paleozoic ages,” according to 
Professor Dana, “was the formation of the Connecticut River Val- 
ley, by the bending of the earth’s crust.’1 That there was a very 
marked action at about the time specified, there seems to be abund- 
ant proof. It is perhaps equally plain, though the evidence be of a 
kind with which the author does not evince the same familiarity, that 
many preliminary steps had been taken in this direction long before 
the close of the Permian period. ‘That each such step tended to 
“the bending of the earth’s crust,” and that in places it was actually 
bent, is no doubt true; but there appears to be equally good evi- 
dence that there was not merely a bending, or a series of plications, 
but that there were also a great many breaks — far more than some 
seem disposed to recognize or admit. Not a few valleys and chasms, 
which were once cited as decisive proof of the effect of simple 
aqueous agency, are now known to have had their inception in frac- 
tures and faults; these, of course, prepared the way for the subse- 
quent action of water and ice, which with other associated instru- 
mentalities performed their legitimate work of erosion. So it is not 
perfectly apparent that this valley was formed merely by bendings 
of the earth’s crust. A close inspection of the position of the exist- 
ing rocks, especially in east and west sections, clearly shows that 
1Geology of the New Haven region, p. 46. 
