THE CULTIVATOR. 
29 
Pulaski and the vicinity. The fossils Pferinea carinata, 
CyrtoUtes ormtus, and Pentacrinites hamptonii, as well as 
some others, are characteristic of the Hudson River 
group. 
Grey Sandstone of Oswego _This sandstone is the 
next mass to the sandstone shale of Pulaski, but it '^ants 
the fossils of the latter. It is of considerable thiclmess, 
forming the Falls of Salmon and Mad rivers, and it ap¬ 
pears in the Mohawk vaUey, at Woodruff’s quarry, near 
Rome. This rock is almost destitute of fossils. It forms 
the bed of the river, and the shores of the lake at Oswego. 
Medina Sandstone. (Red sandstone, Niagara sand¬ 
stone of the Reports.) —No well defined line separates this 
sandstone from the one below, or the grey sandstone, the 
color of the red sandstones frequently penetrating some 
of the layers below. This rock has the singular fossil 
called the Fueoides Harlani, and in no other part of the 
New-York System has it been seen. This fossil marks 
this rock in Pennsylvania and Virginia, and shows the 
value of fossils in determining the character of rocks. 
This rock is generally of a brownish red, and is found in 
Oneida, Oswego, and Cayuga counties. This rock forms 
the banks and the falls of the Oswego river, at Fulton. 
It forms the shore of the lake east and west of Sodus Bay, 
and underlies a large part of Oswego eo. 
Oneida Congdomerate. (Millstone grit of Eaton; 
Grey Band of Rochester.) —This is the oldest distinct con¬ 
glomerate rock or mass of the 3d district. It is the same 
as the Shawangunk conglomerate, and is composed of 
quartz pebbles and quartz sand, firmly cemented. Its 
position is better defined in Oneida, than elsewhere, 
hence its name. Some of the layers are five or six feet 
thick. It has few fossils, though stems of fucoids tra¬ 
verse some of the layers. In some places, this shows a 
wearing from water, and some obscure scratches. 
Clinton Group. (Ferriferous sandrock of Eaton .)— 
The Clinton group forms the lower part of the Protean 
group of the Reports, the upper part forming the Niaga¬ 
ra group of this volume. It is well marked by its beds 
of iron ore and its marine plants; extends east and west 
through the district; in Herkimer and Oneida, being 
south of the canal, but in Madison, Onondaga, and Cayu¬ 
ga, to the north of it. This group runs out to the east 
before reaching Scoharie co. as there the Onondaga salt 
group and the Frankfort slate, are so near each other as 
to preclude any other formation. Near Utica, this rock 
is extensively quarried for building, and the iron ore 
strata are between the upper and lower layers of sand¬ 
stone. It is interesting, as furnishing in its prolonga¬ 
tion to the west, the ore for the Taberg, Constantia, Len¬ 
nox, and Wolcott furnaces. In the rocks of this group, 
the Atrypa affinis is found, the lowest point at which any of 
the species of this peculiar division of the Atrypa appear. 
Niagara Group. (Lockport group; Geodiferous Lime- 
rock of Eaton.) —This rock is very thick in the western 
part of the state, forming the lime rocks of Niagara, 
Lockport, Rochester, but thins out to the east of Onon¬ 
daga county, and leaves not a trace as far east as the vil¬ 
lage of Mohawk in Herkimer co. This rock extends to 
the Mississippi, and is the same stone in which the mines 
of Dubuque and Galena are found. There is a limestone 
slate of considerable thickness, underlying this rock at 
Niagara, Rochester, &c. but which is seen but a short 
distance in the 3d district. This group of rock furnishes 
abundance of the best building stone, and is extensively 
burned for lime. The upper surface of this rock has ex¬ 
cited great attention from its polished and grooved sur¬ 
face, it being the first of the series in which this remark¬ 
able phenomena has been observed to any extent. That 
it is different from a mere water-worn surface, it is be¬ 
lieved none will deny, who have seen this rock in place, 
and carefully noted its appearance. 
Onondaga Salt Group. (Second Greywacke of Ea¬ 
ton.) —This is one of the most important groups of rock 
in the state, furnishing as il does the brines of Onondaga 
and Cayuga, and embracing all the gypsum masses of 
Western New-York. This group is composed, 1st, of 
the red shale with green spots resting on the Niagara 
limestone; 2, alternate ranges of green and red shales; 
3, two ranges of plaster beds with the hopper shaped 
rocks, and the vermicular or lime rock; and 4, the up¬ 
per mass with cavities formed by sulphate of magnesia. 
These several masses are well represented by a wood- 
cut in the Report. This group commences near the 
Hudson river, appears in the north part of Otsego co. 
makes its appearance by the side of the E'rie canal at the 
east end of Madison co. The whole of the deposits 
named above, are best seen between Oneida creek and the 
Cayuga lake. Their greatest thickness is in Onondaga 
county. No gypsum in quantity is found east of Vernon; 
and very little as far as this point, while to the west it 
extends to the west line of the state, and across Canada 
into Michigan. Among the various products of this 
group of rocks which appear in the vicinity of Syracuse, 
is a well characterized serpentine, or metamorphic rock 
of the Report. It is on the street north of the canal, 
a little east of the village on the side hill, and 
shows itself for a number of rods. Such rocks have 
usually been attributed to volcanic agency, but there is 
no evidence of such a state of things having ever existed 
here. “ All that is required,” saj'-s Prof. Vanuxem, “ is 
the presence of the elements of the products observed at 
Syracuse, and in a state admitting of solution and moist¬ 
ure, to which every degree of heat added would greatly 
aid their mutual action upon each other; and from solu¬ 
tion, crystalization would take place, and thus metamor¬ 
phic products or rocks would be formed, no igneous 
action commonly so called being requisite, but a thermal 
one only.” 
But by far the most important product of this group is 
the salt springs of Salina and Montezuma, which are 
capable of furnishing any desired quantity of salt annual¬ 
ly, and from which three millions of bushels per year, 
are now made. One of the most important questions 
connected with the economical use of these springs is 
the existence or non-existence of rock salt in the vicini¬ 
ty in an accessible form. That rock salt has existed in 
tliis formation does not admit of a doubt; the hopper 
shaped crystalizations prove this. All the borings that 
have hitherto been made, hkve been conducted on the 
supposition that the beds of fossil salt underlie the plain 
of Salina, or the lake itself. One of these continued to 
the depth of 600 feet, passed through part of the second 
deposit and the whole of the first, ending in the lime¬ 
stone of the Niagara group. The various explanations 
that have been made, prove that a deep excavation has 
been made in the first and second deposits in the eleva¬ 
tion of the Onondaga valley, which has been wholly 
filled up, with the exception of the shallow basin now 
occupied by the Onondaga lake. The deepest boring made 
in the mass of rolled stones and sand is about 270 feet, 
during the whole of which the water continued to increase 
in strength; and the repeated borings that have been 
made from that, the springs of Syracuse, Salina, Geddes, 
and Liverpool, have the same origin in this excavation, 
which must operate both as a drain and reservoir. If 
water at, or near the point of saturation could be reach¬ 
ed, it would be more valuable than ordinary rock salt, as 
this usually requires solution to free it from its impuri¬ 
ties. The real character and extent of this excavation, 
is one of the most important geological problems }'^et to 
be solved in the state, and the most interesting, so far as 
the great product of salt is concerned. A knowledge of 
the structure of the district, the dip of the rocks, and the 
greater development of the series at this point seems to 
render it certain that the real source of the brine springs 
is farther up the valley, and that borings for rock salt, to 
be successful must be made at points farther to the south, 
and higher in the series of rock than has yet been at¬ 
tempted. The deep excavations made in the Marcellus 
and Hamilton shales, and now occupied by the remarka- 
able chain of lakes in the 3d and 4th districts, are similar, 
with the exception of the filling up, to the one now oc¬ 
cupied by t' » brines in the red shale of the salt group. 
[To be continued.] 
CULTURE OF THE PEA. 
This valuable crop has been unusually productive the 
past year, and will to a considerable extent supply the 
place of the corn crop, which in many parts of the coun¬ 
try has proved a partial failure. This illustrates the 
old remark that corn and peas rarely succeed well in the 
same season. The author of the “ British Husbandry,” 
remarks that “ few things can be more uncertain than 
the produce of the grain, which seertis entirely depend¬ 
ent upon circumstances regarding the state of the atmos¬ 
phere at the time of blossoming, and with the precise 
nature of which we are unacquainted. In dripping or 
wet seasons, which are favorable to their growth, so 
much as 84 bushels of Marlborough grey peas have been 
got from a single acre, though on good soils and favora¬ 
ble season, 30 bushels is considered a fair crop.” 
To the great moisture, and consequent coolness of the 
past season, we may doubtless attribute the excellence of 
the pea crop, which in several instances has far exceed¬ 
ed all that we have ever before known in this country. 
A young farming friend of ours had a crop that good 
judges estimated at 60 bushels per acre, but which unfor¬ 
tunately, in spite of every exertion to save it, was so da¬ 
maged and wasted by the storms and long continued wet 
weather of September, all accuracy as regards the quan¬ 
tity was out of the question. The ground was in corn 
the year before, and heavily manured. It was plowed in 
the fall, once in the spring, sowed to peas of the Marrow¬ 
fat kind, and well rolled. 
But the greatest crop we believe on record, is the one 
grown by Mr. Wasson, of Leicester, Livingston co., as 
given in the N. G. Farmer of November. They were 
of the kind called the short pod English pea, sowed on 
ground used for corn two years previous, soil black and 
mucky, three bushels of seed to the acre, and the quantity 
grown on one acre, measured at the time of threshing, 
was 88 bushels and 8 quarts. 
The pea, like corn, delights in a rich deep soil, as in 
these it suffers less from drouth than on any other; and 
on such it is valuable as preparatory for wheat, a good 
crop smothering all weeds, and leaving the soil clean and 
in good condition. There is little use in attempting to 
grow the pea on poor or unraanured soils,and those who, 
on such soils as these, follow the pea with wheat, are apt 
to have their labor for their pains. Peas, with corn or 
roots, form a good part in any rotation; manure operat¬ 
ing favorably upon them, and they leaving the soil for a 
grain crop unexhausted. 
RICE—ITS CULTURE, &c. 
We are gratified to learn that the attempts which have 
been made to introduce the rice culture into Louisiana, 
have been eminently successful, and that the rice crop of 
that state, will the present year, be by no means incon¬ 
siderable. There are large quantities of low lands in 
that state, that have been hitherto deemed of no value, 
as their half submerged state prohibited other crops, 
which will now be devoted to rice, and thus add to the 
means of export and subsistence in the states. In a late 
number of the London Farmers’ Magazine, is a reply to 
some inquiries as to the value of rice for feeding pigs, in 
which the writer says—“ I and my friend, purchased 
from the Government stores, several tons of damaged 
rice, at a cheap rate, and with this we fattened a lot of 
pigs; and such pork I never saw, cither before or since. 
The fat, instead of being loose and porous,as it frequently 
is, was as firm and as solid as the lean, and the flavor of 
the meat was altogether superior. The way in which 
the rice was prepared was this. My copper held 40 gal¬ 
lons. In the afternoon this was filled, or nearly so, with 
water; as soon as the water boiled, the fire was raked 
out, and two pails full of rice shot in; the whole was 
then closely covered down, and left till the morning. 
On the following day the copper was emptied of its con¬ 
tents, which consisted of a thick jelly, which could only 
be taken out with a shovel. With this the pigs were 
fed, and the effect was what I have stated above.” 
It is not an uncommon thing that rice becomes da¬ 
maged and unfit for human food, and considerable quan¬ 
tities have been thrown away, that it is probable might 
have been advantageously used in feeding pigs. 
IMPROVEMENT IN WHEAT. 
The name of Gen. Harmon, of Wheatland, Mon¬ 
roe CO. promises to become as honorably connected with 
the improvement of the great staple article of food in 
this country, wheat, as has that of Le Couteur with the 
progress of wheat culture in England. The business 
could not have fallen into better hands. Possessed of 
ample means, his soils admirably adapted to wheat, and 
in the very center of the best wheat district of the states, 
with a fund of information on the subject, gained from 
experience and from books, and with a patience and per¬ 
severance which enables him to pursue any course of in¬ 
quiry to its final result. General Harmon is the man to 
enter upon and carry out such improvements in the cul¬ 
ture of wheat, as circumstances may suggest. 
General Harmon’s principal crop is of the variety he 
calls the Improved Flint, which had its origin in the 
common white flint wheat, introduced into Western New- 
York not far from 1820. This wheat is so well known 
as to need no description. It is hardy, not very liable to 
rust, never shells in gathering, and weighs well. The 
most serious objection formerly made to this wheat was 
the difficulty of threshing it by hand, a difficulty done 
away by the introduction of the threshing machine. On 
favorable soils its yield is from 20 to 25 bushels per acre. 
By careful cultivation and selection, and not allowing 
any other kinds to come in contact with this wheat, 
either in the field or the granary. General Harmon has 
brought the Improved Flint to a purity and uniformity of 
quality, we have never seen equaled. This wheat is 
much sought after for seed, and much the greater por¬ 
tion of his crop is always used for this purpose. The 
advance he makes on the price, over ordinary wheats, is 
a reasonable, not extravagant one, and his sales are con¬ 
sequently extensive. We had the pleasure of seeing at 
the house of a farming friend of ours in Onondaga eo. 
last fall, 20 barrels of this wheat he had just procured 
for seed, and a beautiful sample it was, as all who have 
examined the specimens produced by General Harmon 
at the State Agricultural Fairs will readily believe. 
Gen. Harmon is experimenting -v^lth a variety of other 
wheats, some of which have been lately introduced into 
this country from abroad, and others are kinds which 
have long been known to our wheat growers. Among 
these are the Kentucky white bearded, more commonly 
known as the Canada Flint, a valuable wheat, the berry 
plump, white and heavy; the old Genesee Red Chaff, 
grown since the first settlement of the country, and were 
it no^for its liability to rust and blight, would be one of 
the best wheats in the state. Some of the heaviest crops 
of wheat ever grown in the United States, were of this 
variety; 40 acres of it have been known to average more 
than 60 bushels to the acre. The Wheatland Red wheat 
is a variety originated by Gen. Harmon, and promises to 
be a valuable sort, ripening early, and producing a fine 
berry. He also cultivates the Virginia May, long a great 
favorite in the south; the Talavera Wheat from England; 
the English Flint, much resembling the old Genesee Red 
Wheat; with other varieties not necessary to enume¬ 
rate. 
In sowing wheat, Gen. Harmon pursues the course long 
since recommended in the Genesee Farmer and in the 
Cultivator, of thoroughly washing in brine, and drying 
with a quart of quick lime to a bushel of the seed. We 
have never Icnown a crop of wheat damaged by smut 
where this method was faithfully practiced, and very 
few escape without some smut, where it is not. We 
can recommend from our own experience, the benefits of 
a change of seed, and with us that change has been most 
beneficial when the seed has been brought from oak 
lands, and which contain less vegetable matter than is 
usually found on those of beech or maple. Gen. Har¬ 
mon prefers cutting wheat as soon as it is well out of the 
milk, or when the berry will yield to the pressure of the 
thumb and finger easily. His experience in this respect, 
agrees with that of our English correspondent, Mr. 
Hannam. The almost perfect exemption of Gen. Har¬ 
mon’s crops from cockle, chess, &c. is doubtless one great 
reason why his wheats are so much prized for seed. By, 
perseverance he has eradicated all such matters from his^ 
soils, and as in his hands wheat never turns to chess, &c. 
his^ crops are consequently clean. In this respect, as well 
as in the care and success with which he produces wheat, 
he has set an excellent example to American farmers, 
and for his labors he deserves and will doubtless receive 
an ample reward. 
