No. 275.] 
203 
inasmuch as they may lead to the establishment of general laws. For 
instance, I established the fact clearly in my first annual report, that 
the boulders of hypersthene rock which are scattered over the surface of 
the soil in Orange, Schoharie and Montgomery counties, could be 
traced to their parent rock in Essex county, from which I drew the 
inference that the current which transported those boulders flowed fronfi 
north to south. The practical application of the inference is, that 
when searching for mines of iron, lead^ coal, &c» by fragments of the 
veins or beds which have been more or less broken up by violence, we are 
always to proceed from south to north under the guidance of those 
fragments. The value of this inference is supported and confirmed in 
numberless instances. 
Considering agriculture of the first importance to a State and com- 
munity, we are gratified with every discovery which favors its prosecu- 
tion and increases its products and profits* 
Next in importance are those which increase the quantity of the raw 
materials for the use of the arts, the manufacturing of which employs 
directly or indirectly a large portion of the human family. Upon the 
abundant and cheap supply of those materials^ much depends for the 
prosecution of the great system of internal improvements^ the profits 
and success of which are, in a great degree, dependent on the Geolo- 
gical Surveys now in progress. 
Last, though not the least in importance, are those discoveries of a 
scientific nature, which form the data on which natural phenomena are 
explained, and which constitute the basis on which may be founded the 
early history of the earth. 
The latter, too, afford the most rational means for gratifying the cu- 
riosity of inquiring minds on subjects which relate to events of the 
greatest magnitude and importance, and which at present are regarded 
by the good and great, as entitled to occupy a high place in the instruc- 
tion of youth, and as well calculated to preserve and improve the mo- 
rals of community. 
With these preliminary observations, I shall proceed to the discussion 
of the principal subjects of this report. 
Pmxdain Clay and Feldspar. 
Among the natural productions of the Second Geological District, 
are porcelain day and feldspar » Both substances are valuable, as they 
