44 
DRIFTED SOILS. 
Little need be said of the northern highlands in regard to structure. The country being 
either mountainous or hilly, almost the whole surface is properly drained, or else is easily 
drained where, from local causes, water may be retained in the subsoil. The valleys are 
narrow, the hills abrupt, and there is no necessity of searching the peculiar sti ucture of 
the rock to open a passage for stagnant water. The spontaneous growth of grass is the 
most interesting fact; the country being best adapted to pasturage, or the keeping of stock 
for wool, butter and cheese. 
This district is, however, broken by the steepest and highest precipices in New-York, 
or indeed in all the Atlantic or Middle States. The Adirondack pass is a giant precipice. 
It is feebly represented at the head of this chapter, for it is only a feeble representation 
which the pencil can give. To be conceived, it must be seen. Many minor precipices 
break up the country at the sources of the Hudson, and thus diminish its value as an 
agricultural district. 
