46 
THE CULTIVATOR 
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NEW-YORK_ Part III. 
[Conclusion of Notice of Prof. Vanuxem’s Report.] 
The readers of the Cultivator may remember, that in 
September, 1841, we called attention to the fact of the 
discovery of Rock salt in Virginia, and from the charac¬ 
ter of the rocks in the vicinity of the deposit, as compared 
with those at the Onondaga Salines, suggested the proba¬ 
bility of their being the same, and that consequently the 
presence of rock salt at the latter place might be fairly 
inferred. The geologist of Virginia, Prof. W. B. Rogers, 
however, informs Prof. Vanuxem, that the Virginia de¬ 
posit belongs to an age different from either the New- 
York or the Cheshire (England,) deposits, being above 
the former, and below the coal, consequently, in what is 
termed in the N. Y. System of rocks, the Old Red Sand¬ 
stone, or Catskill group. This is an interesting fact, as 
adding another to the group of rocks in which fossil salt 
has been found. We may remark, however, that what¬ 
ever may be the age or position of the salt deposits, the 
general character of the rocks enclosing them are every 
Where much the same, and agreeing so exactly with those 
at Ononilaga, as to ahbrd little or no room for doubt, that 
the N. Y. Salines have their source in beds of fossil salt. 
The dip of the rocks of the salt and other groups in Onon¬ 
daga, one of the most important elements to be taken in¬ 
to account in all borings for salt, seems to have been too 
much overlooked in all the experiments heretofore made. 
The agricultural character of the soils on the Onondaga 
Salt group, and in the counties of Onondaga and Cayuga 
they are of considerable extent, is in general of an ex¬ 
cellent quality, particularly on their southern margin, 
some of the finest farms in the state being found in this 
group. 
Water Lime Group. (Hydraulic limeroek of Eaton.) 
— This group of rocks takes its name from the impure 
drab colored limestone from which all the water lime in 
the district south of the Erie canal, with a single excep¬ 
tion, is prepared. The rock is well defined both in this 
state and Pennsylvania, by its mineral character, and by 
its fossils. The thickness of the group is from 30 feet to 
100. Of this thickness, but a small part is occupied by 
the water lime propel-, the rest being a dark blue lime¬ 
stone. It is easily traced across the state from east to 
west, by its peculiar qualities, and peculiar fossils. Its 
influence on the agricultural character of the district is 
not great, as the thickness or spread o^ its outcrop is li¬ 
mited. 
Pentamerus Limestoxe —This rock takes its name 
from the Pentamerus gateatus, a shell well figured in the 
Report, and which i.n the 3d district, is confined exclu¬ 
sively to this rock. There are some others which may 
also be considered as characteristic of this mass. This 
rock enters the district from the first with a ccS^iderable 
thickness, but gradually thins out, and has not been traced 
to the west of Oneida creek. Its thickness in Otsego co. 
is about 80 feet. 
Catskill Shaly Limestone. (Delthyris or Scutella 
limestone of the Reports.)—In the first district this mass is 
a thick rock, and is named from the Catskill creek, where 
it is well ileveloped. In the third district the mass is not 
so thick, the shale diminishes in amount, and disappears 
in Herkimer county; but the limestone partcontinues in¬ 
to Madison co.,west of which it has no existence. This 
rock is remarkably prolific in fossils, species, genera, in¬ 
dividuals, &c. many of which are characteristic of it. 
A large number of these are well figured in the Report. 
Oriskany Sandstone.— This rock forms a part of the 
Helderberg division, and can be distinctly traced from 
this mountain into and across the 3d district. In the first 
district its associates are different from those at the west; 
there it resting on the Catskill shaly limestone, and be¬ 
ing covered by the canda-galla grit, while at the west it 
rests on the water lime group, and is covered by the On¬ 
ondaga limestone. Some of the most striking fopils in 
the whole series are found in this rock, some eight or 
ten of which are figured in the Report. The fossils in 
this rock are usually of a large size, and frequently 
crowded in the lower part of the rock. This mass is 
well characterized, and as the quartz materials of which 
it is composed are of an indestructible kind, it exercises 
considerable influence on the agricultural character of 
the soils near its outcrop. This rock, in Pennsylvania, 
has a maximum thickness of 700 feet, while in this state, 
it ranges from a few inches to about thirty feet. 
Canda-Gall.a Grit_ This is a peculiar rock, receiv¬ 
ing its name from the fossil appearances resembling cock 
tail feathers, abounding in it. It is found in a thick mass 
at the east part of the district, but thins out and disap¬ 
pears towards the east line of Oneida. The origin of 
these impressions does not appear to have been satisfac¬ 
torily ascertained. Some have supposed them to be in¬ 
organic, or a kind of crystalization; but we have no 
doubt they are organic, and belong to those fucoidal re¬ 
mains of which so many, under other forms, are found 
in rocks higher in the series. 
ScHOH.ARiE Grit_ This rock is a fine grained sand¬ 
stone, and only exists in the eastern part of the 3d dis¬ 
trict; while it is found in its place in Indiana, readily de¬ 
tected by its characteristic fossils. 
Onondaga Limestone. (Sparry limeroek of Eaton.) 
—This rock, though not of great thickness, is a well cha¬ 
racterized and important one, extending from the Helder- 
bergs to Lake Erie. It abounds in smooth encrinal stems, 
some of them an inch in diameter, and giving a beauti¬ 
ful afipearance to the rock when polished. This rock 
has sei^eral fossils characteristic of it, among which the 
Pentamerus oblongata, is one of the most common. The 
greatest exposition of this mass is at Split Rock, S. W. 
of Syracuse, where it is uncovered and quarried for near¬ 
ly a mile in extent. It is one of the best building stones 
in the state, a large portion of the new structures on the 
enlarged Erie canal, being made of it. Blocks of it, of 
almost any desirable size, can be obtained. 
Carniferous Limestone. —This rock, including the 
Seneca limestone of the Reports, is the upper member of 
the Helderberg division, and retains the name given it 
by Prof. Eaton. There are many fossils peculiar to this 
rock, but the most characteristic is the Odontocephalus se- 
lenurus, figured in the Report as No. 1. The next most 
marked is the Cyrtoceras trivolvis of Mr. Conrad. It is 
seen in its greatest thickness of about 80 feet, near Cher¬ 
ry Valley, and in the eastern counties is extensively quar¬ 
ried. It is well exposed on Onondaga West Hill; at 
Marcellus, and at Auburn. In Onondaga, no quarries are 
opened in it, the other limestones being preferred. Fish 
bones, (Ichthy odoralites,) have been found in it, one of 
which is in the cabinet of David Thomas of Scipio. The 
Seneca limestones are quarried a few rods to the S. E, 
of Marcellus village, furnishing an excellent dark color¬ 
ed building stone. 
Marcellus Shales. Pyritiferous or 2d Greywacke of 
Eaton. —These shales extend east and west through the 
district, commencing near the Hudson, and ending bn 
Lake Erie. The lower parts of these shales are very 
dark, or nearly black, and in several places have been 
bored for coal. In the lower part of the mass fossils are 
not abundant, but become numerous higher in the rock. 
In its mineral character it much resembles the Utica 
slate, but the fossils are very different. Of the fossils pe¬ 
culiar to this rock, we have figures of the Expanded, and 
the Marcellus goniatite. Coal, in small quantities, is 
found in many places in the lower part of these shales. 
Their structure is well exhibited near Marcellus, where 
their greatest thickness is observed. They very essen¬ 
tially modify the character of the soils produced, although 
the vast masses of transported material cast upon them 
from the north prevent their full effect. 
Hamilton Group, (Moscow shales, Lnjbdlowville shales, 
4'C. of the Reports.) —The Hamilton group includes all 
the masses between the upper shales of Marcellus, and 
the Tully limestone. It is of great thickness, probably 
never less than 300 feet, and swelling to 700 feet. It a- 
bounds in fossils, and is admirably characterized by them; 
many species, and even genera, commencing with this 
group and ending with it. Its shells, corals, orthoceras, 
trilobites, fucoids, are innumerable. This group is well 
developed, covering no inconsiderable part of Otsego, 
Madison, Onondaga, Cayuga, Herkimer, Oneida, Cort¬ 
land, Chenango, and Tompkins, the least part, however, 
in the five last counties. A large portion of the beauti¬ 
ful vallies, and the beds of the lakes, that form so re¬ 
markable a feature of the 3d and 4th districts of New- 
York, are formed in this rock, and in the Marcellus shales 
below. The depth of water in the lakes is from 100 feet 
to 5CO feet, and the height of the ranges between them 
from 300 feet to 800 feet. The distance between these 
nearly parallel vallies, varies from 3 miles to 10 miles. 
In the Hamilton group, near South Onondaga, are exten¬ 
sive masses of Cyathophyllnm, and the spreading forms of 
the canda-galla fossils, re-appear in multitudes in this 
rock. We have seen on the highlands to the east of the 
Otisco lake considerable spaces of this rock polished and 
grooved, thus proving that the polishing and grooving 
agent, whatever it was, acted over a very extensive re¬ 
gion of country, and in the 3d district at very different 
elevations. 
Tully Limestone. —This limestone mass is of impor¬ 
tance, being the most southern or highest mass of lime¬ 
stone in the state; is an impure stone, fine grained,brown 
or blackish blue, breaking into irregular fragments. The 
thickness of the mass is from 16 to 20 feet, and extends 
east and west from Madison co. into Seneca co. There 
are some beautiful fossils peculiar to this rock, a few of 
which are well figured in the Report. One of these is 
the Cuboidal atrypa, and the other the Ttdly orthis. It re¬ 
ceives its name from the village of Tully, in Onondaga 
co., where it is quarried to a considerable extent for 
lime, &c. It makes a good, but not a white lime. The 
most northern point where this limestone has been ob 
served, is on the high grounds called Ross’ Hill, in Otis¬ 
co, where a large surface is exposed. Its vertical joints 
cause it to retain no water, and the soils upon it, as on 
other limestone rocks of the district, where no beds of 
clay intervene, are warm and productive. The Tully 
limestone shows itself in many places along its northern 
outcrop, between its eastern and western extremities, ex¬ 
hibiting in all, its well marked mineral and fossil cha¬ 
racters. Large masses of this limestone have been trans- 
pSrted far to the south of their original position, particu¬ 
larly near the head of the Cayuga lake. 
Genesee Slate. (Upper Black Slate of the Reports.) 
—This mass lies upon the Tully limestone, is argillace¬ 
ous, black or dark colored, uniform in its structure, and 
with very few fossils. Near the Cayuga lake; it attains 
a thickness of 100 feet. The greatest exposition of this 
slate is near Ludlowville, on the Cayuga lake, but it is 
extensively shown in the southern towns of Onondaga, 
and (he northern ones of Cortland. When exposed to 
the air it usually decomposes rapidly, 
The Ithaca and Chemung Groups.— The Genesee 
slate which has all the appearances of a mere mud depo 
sit, is the last of the Helderberg division, and introduces 
the upper part or Erie division of the N. Y. System. This 
is divided into the Ithaca and Chemung groups, which 
extend from the Genesee slate to the coal. These groups 
are a series of layers of sandstone and shale, usually coarse; 
tute. They are nearly destitute of lime, and we are in¬ 
clined to think this fact has no little influence on the ag 
ricultural character of the soil, and the nature of its pro¬ 
ducts. Certain it is, we find on the soil of these groups, 
trees and plants, unknown to the rock groups lower in 
the series, or north of these Ithaca and Chemung groups 
The Catskill Group, is the Old Red Sandstone of 
English Geologists; its character being determined by its 
fossils, which are well marked, and the peculiar charac¬ 
ter of some of its rocks. This rock is found only near 
the south line of the state, and capping the principal ex¬ 
isting elevations. The figured fossils of this group show 
that we are approaching the region of coal, some of them 
being fragments of those abounding in the coal, and in¬ 
dicative of the same era. 
We find in the Repoi't, chapters on the uplifts in the 
valley of the Mohawk; on the alluvial deposits of clay, 
sand, boulders, boulders of primary rock, of the transi¬ 
tion class, of lake marl, tufa, soil, &c.; on the excava¬ 
tions, or denudations of the district, lakes, mounds, &c. 
&c., and on various other topics connected with the Ge¬ 
ological structure and formations of the state. Of the 
general correctness of Mr. Vanuxem’s positions and re¬ 
marks, we are happy to add our full conviction, having 
had an opportunity for an examination more or less per¬ 
fect, of most of the groups described by him. With (his 
volume, and its characteristic engraved fossils before 
him, the geological student will find much of the obscu¬ 
rity that has hitherto rested on this portion of the New- 
York rocks, dispelled, and his way to their investigation 
comparatively easy. 
But though happy in being able thus to award our tri¬ 
bute of praise to the able manner in which Dr. Beck, 
and Prof. Vanuxem, have performed their duties, as pub¬ 
lished in the volumes before us, we must say that as far¬ 
mers, we feel that some things, of what we deem of 
practical importance, have been overlooked by them; 
things too which it is believed the agriculturists of the 
state generally, and certainly those who were the most 
efficient and active friends of the survey, understood at 
the time should not be neglected. We allude here, more 
particularly to the analysis of the various soils of the state, 
which it has been deemed desirable should be fully^ and 
satisfactorily performed, and for which service it is well 
known the gentlemen selected for the survey, were am¬ 
ply competent. On this subject. Prof. V., in the Report 
before us, speaking of soils, page 231, remarks; “In 
this part of the survey, if any thing was expected beyond 
the collecting of soils for analysis, there must be disap¬ 
pointment.”******* “ The letter of the survey could rea¬ 
dily have been complied with, and the soils collected and 
analyzed; but judging from the attempts elsewhere made, 
it is not probable that any very satisfactory results would 
have been obtained.” The closing paragraph of Dr. 
Beck, on soils, page 93, is as follows: “It is hardly ne¬ 
cessary to remark, that soils are seldom characterized in 
so marked a manner as the above classification [that of 
Prof. Low, in his Practical Agriculture,] would seem to 
imply. They are mixed in various proportions, and in 
some cases it is not easy to determine to which of the 
classes they belong. Moreover, the nature of these soils 
is constantly undergoing changes, in consequence of the 
various modes of culture to which they are subjected. 
This renders it exceedingly difficult to present analyses 
of soils which shall be of practical utility.” 
We regret very’’ much to find this matter of analysis so 
passed over. Men of science abroad, and practical farm¬ 
ers everywhere, have considered a thorough knowledge 
of the constituents of the soils they cultivate, of the first 
importance, and to be better obtained by analysis than in 
any other way. Is there a farmer in the vicinity of Al¬ 
bany, who would not be pleased and instructed in learn¬ 
ing the difference between the rich soil of Judge Buel’s 
farm now, and as it was when he took possession? Is 
there one who would not be gratified in learning the ef¬ 
fect of the clays he applied in changing the character of 
his sands, and whether they are still present to modify 
and render effective the manures applied? And this is 
only one instance of thousands w'hich might be named. 
It is true, culture changes the character of soils, and it is 
these very changes, and the manner of effecting them, 
which analysis points out. No man can traverse the state 
without being struck with the marked difference of soils 
within short distance.s, or the effect these differences have 
on the cultivated crops. Skilfully conducted and nume¬ 
rous analyses, would show the cause of these discrepan¬ 
cies, and point out the mode of remedying the evils. 
We do not pretend to attach blame to any one; or state 
upon whom this duty of analysis should devolve. Its 
omission we much regret; and the disappointment we 
feel, we think will be common. And one reason of our 
mentioning it here, is in the hope that it is not yet too 
late to have a full and extensive analysis of soils from 
every part of the state, and strata or group of rocks, per¬ 
formed, and the results incorporated in the further pro¬ 
gress of this great state work. 
some of these layers are of great thickness, and some 
of them abound in fossils, while others are nearly desti- 
Emigration to Virginia. —^It is stated in^the pap^s, 
that the Hon. A. L. Foster, M. C., froin Madison, in this 
state, has purchased 1000 acres of land ^ 
$3..50 per acre, and that Mr. Townsend of Buffalo, now 
Sergeant-at-arms, at Washington, has also purchased a 
farm in Virginia, and that both intend to settle there. 
Large Yield of Cotton.—T he Mecklenburg (N. C.) 
Jeffersonian says;—Col. John M. Potts, residing in the 
Steele Creek settlement of this county, raised the past 
season, 2,263 pounds of Cotton, from one acre and four 
rods of ground.” 
