128 Coal Foliations in the State of JVew-YorJc. 



subject demands a more detailed description. The lime rock which 

 extends along the foot of the Catskill mountains is the lower car- 

 boniferous lime rock of European geologists. It underlays the slate 

 rock which embraees the Pennsylvania coal beds last mentioned. 

 It supports the same slate rock from the south part of Pennsylva- 

 nia to Sackett's Harbour on Lake Ontario. It forms a kind of 

 gothic arch around the southern extremities of two primitive spurs 

 from M'Combs mountains ; one called Root's Nose and the oth- 

 er Little Falls Hill. With these two exceptions it forms a pretty 

 uniform curve from near Harrisburgh in Pennsylvania to Sackett's 

 Harbor on Lake Ontario. Throughout its whole extent the same 

 continuous slate rock which embraces the Pennsylvania coal beds 

 reposes immediately on its upper surface. This is the slate rock 

 which Farey calls limestone shale, because it is always slaty, 

 and always" reposes on limestone. This is the slate rock which- 

 embraces all the great coal measures of Europe. I have denom- 

 inated this rock second graywacke slate. 



This slate rock may be seen passing laterally under a conglom- 

 erate rock, called millstone grit or rubble stone, from near Little 

 Falls to Lake Ontario ; a distance of eighty miles. The con- 

 glomerate rock underlays the saliferous rock which forms the 

 floor of all the salt springs of the state. That this slate is co- 

 extensive with the saliferous rock cannot be doubted; for to 

 doubt would be to overturn every principle of the science found- 

 ed on analogy. 



It now remains to present a summary view of the evidences for 

 and against the prospect of finding coal in large beds beneath the 

 saliferous rock. 



First— The same variety of coal which is found at Carbondale, 

 and other coal beds in that range, is found in the same continuous 

 rock along the foot of the Catskill mountains, and in numerous 

 other localities ; but the beds are subject to the same diminution 

 in thickness as mentioned in tracing the bituminous coal formation 

 along the banks of the western lakes : so far this formation pre- 

 sents the same forbidding features. But it must be observed that 

 the saliferous rock does not assume its peculiar characters, such 

 as its marly slate alternations, blue and grey spots, and other va- 

 riegated lines, &c. further east than the town of Vernon, about 

 twenty miles west of Utica. Here too the salt springs commence, 

 and continue in uninterrupted series to the Niagara river. This 

 same saliferous rock forms the roof of most of the great coal raea- 



