120 
[Assembly 
sand islands it beconfies narrow, and finally disappears and gives 
place to the primitive rocks. The soil from Champlain to Mooers 
is tolerably good; from Moores to Chateaugay it is thin and cold, 
and not productive, except for grass, oats and similar crops. — 
From Chateaugay, the land improves in quality to the St. Law- 
rence. Generally the soil of the transition limestone is good, and 
equals any in fertility, either for the production of grass or grains. 
It abounds in some places with valuable ores, but in this district it 
is not known to be metalliferous. As this rock is beneath the great 
coal deposites, there is little or no prospect of ever obtaining from 
it this valuable substance. It is however an important rock; it 
frequently furnishes the best of lime by burning, — may be employ- 
ed as a building stone — and its deeper strata are sufficiently com- 
pact and sound to admit of sawing and polishing. 
Tertiary, — "We have already spoken of a deposite belonging to 
the tertiary. It appears at different intervals along the road from 
Champlain to St. Regis. At the former place, on a hill N. E. of 
the village and 150 feet above the lake, its beds may be examined 
to advantage. They consist of grey sand and a marly clay of un- 
known thickness; the beds of sand, which are uppermost, contain 
two species of shells, the sanguinolaria, very nearly allied to the 
recent one, and a saxicava. In Constable and Westville, similar 
shells are found, and also another species of sanguinolaria. This 
shell prevails here, while at Champlain the saxicava is the most 
common. This formation is 10 or 12 feet below the surface and 
50 or 60 above the St. Lawrence. It is not, of course, an exten- 
sive formation in the north district; it probably comes up from 
Lower Canada, over which country it may be found spreading out 
to a considerable extent. In a geological point of view, this is the 
most interesting of the formations in the northern counties, and 
we hope hereafter to give a more detailed account of its position, 
extent, depth, &c. 
In concluding our remarks on the more general formations, we 
give the following summary account of their extent and relations: 
\. The primitive extend north to Malone, where they come up 
in the form of the letter V, with its apex to the north. On either 
side repose the transition rocks. A line drawn from Malone 
through Parishville, Canton, Rossie to Alexandria bay, would pass 
along the line of junction of the sandstone and primitive rocks. 
Again, a line drawn from Malone through the upper branches of 
