330 TJic American Geologist. May, i90o 
liable of the state of New Jersey, although the area is much 
less than that of the pine groves of the south. 
Prof. John C Smock, state geologist of New Jersey, fol- 
lowed with an account of the efforts expended "On the pro- 
tection of the Palisades" from devastation from quarrymen. 
Legislative prohibitions of such destruction is retarded by 
(l) lack of interest in the matter on the part of residents of 
southern New Jersey, (2) prospects of the future commercial 
value of the riparian lands at the base of the cliffs for pur- 
poses of shipping and manufacturing, which the removal of 
a portion of the cliffs would render available, (3) the pres- 
ent value to the State of its quarrying interests along the 
waterfront, (4) the income derived from riparian grants of 
these lands from the State to the quarrymen, which is de- 
voted to the maintenance of the public schools, the approx- 
imate value to the State for this purpose of fhe lands from 
Fort Lee to the state border being about one million dollars. 
This clash between the interests of the schools and the pre- 
servation of beautiful scenery is the most serious obstacle 
with which legislation against defacing the palisades has to 
contend. 
In the face of these obstacles it is evident that the whole- 
sale absorption of this territory for a purely sentimental ob- 
ject is impossible. The opposition to such a scheme 
could only be broken by years of fighting, and in the mean- 
while the destruction of the cliffs and wooded slopes will 
continue with ever-increasing extent. 
As a compromise Prof. Smock proposed that an inter- 
state commission of New Jersey and New York lay out a 
driveway along the base of the palisades, quarrying, manu- 
facturing, and shipping interests to be confined to the water 
side of the driveway, and the cliff side to be permanently 
preserved intact after the drive is completed. Edinburgh, 
Quebec, and Sterling were cited as exhibiting rocky hights 
whose grandeur was enhanced by the fringe of manufactor- 
ies at their base, such building lending a basis of measure- 
ment to the eye by which to measure the proportion of the 
cliffs. Cliff defacement is also in progress upon the New 
York palisades, where are the grandest wooded slopes and 
highest peaks. There is no need of encroachment on the 
cliffs in either state, for there are many other places where 
as good material exists in equally great quantities and can 
be mined at practicall}' the same expense. 
