No. 161.] ♦ 1&7 
North of the Erie canal, a line drawn nearly north and south 
through Lewis and Oneida counties, separate the limestones and 
slates of the east from the gray and variegated sandstones and 
brine springs of the west. The canal follows the boundary line 
west of Utica, between two dissimilar formations; that on the 
north consisting chiefly of sandstones, and that on the south being 
a series of limestones of various qualities, which form a sloping 
escarpment or step, falling gradually to the comparatively low 
level of the country occupied by muriatiferous marls and variega- 
ted sandstones, the last of which extend from the Oswego to Ni- 
agara river. 
The first of these natural divisions, or the lowest in the series of 
rocks above the primary, compose parts of Montgomery and Her- 
kimer counties, and is the least fertile of the three sections, in con- 
sequence of the hilly country which has resulted from a disturbed 
stratification, and the proximity of a primary axis. These rocks 
are considerably inclined, and dip to the southwest, resembling 
the ocean waves in their disturbances and continuous undulations. 
They rise into rugged hills on the north, and repose unconforma- 
bly on a ridge of gneiss, where they are most elevated, near their 
western boundary, and on the highly inclined edges of sandstones 
and slates on the east, which are characterised by the same organic 
remains with the unconformable overlying strata. 
The sandstone series, on the contrary, or the second division, is 
undisturbed and horizontal, with a more level surface and a better 
soil. The rjocks are generally concealed beneath the limestones 
on the south of the Erie canal, but frequently on the north they 
come to the surface, and have modified the soil which borders 
Lake Ontario, for at least one hundred and fifty miles in length 
and from eight to twenty in breadth. 
The third division is celebrated for its fertility and beauty, with 
long and gentle slopes, extensive valleys and magnificent lakes, 
and contains all the gypsum beds, ornamental marble of the varie- 
gated kinds, and the most extensive and valuable water lime strata 
in the State. 
The fourth division, termed pyritiferous rocks," by Mr. Ea- 
ton, occupies the southwestern portion of the district, and consists 
chiefly of shales more or less indurated, containing but a small pro^ 
portion of carbonate of lime. They support a less fertile soil than 
the strata of the third division, which seems due to ihe scanty sup- 
