166 
GEOLOGY OF THE SECOND DISTRICT. 
upon their barren district, they infer, that inasmuch as Nature has stinted, or has been sparing 
in the bounties which accompany a fer;ile scil, they must of necessity abound in something 
else that is valuable; as if she was bound, or rather as if that was a part of her system, 
either to make a district fertile, or else to abound in products of merchandise. It is scarcely 
necessary to attempt to dispel such an illusion; for illusion it must be, inasmuch as these 
notions cannot have been derived from observation, or from a knowledge of the economy of 
nature in any of her dominions. It is true, however, that in one sense every region and dis¬ 
trict is fertile, or contributes to fertility ; almost every one yields the necessaries of life to the 
industrious and temperate, they are rich in beautiful scenery, the heavens above are not 
brass, nor the earth beneath an iron-bound sod. The scenery which is spread out upon all 
sides is magnificent to behold; the mountains, which rise in sharp ridges and peaks, yield, 
it is true, no harvest of corn, but they may be considered an essential feature in the physical 
arrangement of the earth; the majestic mountains, and the broad expanse of ocean, are ne¬ 
cessary accompaniments of the fertile plains : the husbandman, it is true, does not go upon 
either for tillage, yet without them all would be a barren waste. What may be wanting in 
one district, can be supplied by an exchange of commodities; industry will create mines, 
make a barren spot fertile, and bring to every man’s home and family the products of every 
clime and season. 
In the previous part of this volume, I proposed a classification of the rocks of my district; 
and at the same time applied the principles on which my views were founded, to the several 
districts of the State. Farther reflection upon the subject, and the favorable opinions of 
friends, have confirmed the views which I then gave. By reference to p. 101, it will be seen 
that this classification is geographical, but still the divisions are not strictly arbitrary; for it 
is conceived that the groups, though they may be susceptible of farther division, are by no 
means unnatural, and neither of them includes rocks which can with any propriety be placed 
in either of the others. Those groups then may contain too much, according to the views 
of some geologists ; that is, embrace a small series which might be subdivided or thrown into 
two or more smaller groups. Of the propriety or advantage of splitting up the system into 
numerous subdivisions, there still exist many doubts. While this question may remain un¬ 
decided, there can be but one opinion in regard to the advantage of retaining the geographical 
features of the classification; for our conceptions of the New-York rocks are greatly aided 
by associating the two great aspects under which rocks may be viewed, viz. as existing in 
time, or in space; * or in other words, superposition and geographical range ; so that where 
one is the subject of reflection, it necessarily brings to our minds the other. By no better 
method can these advantages be secured, than by the one proposed, viz. the division of the 
New-York rocks into four great groups — the Champlain, Ontario, Helderbergh, and Erie. 
Each group having, it is believed, a tolerable distinct boundary on either side, both above and 
below, so geographically they are equally well defined by lines easily followed, and which 
Hugh Miller on the Old Red Sandstone, p, 256. 
