excavated Lake Ontario, also ground off the mass of rock over this whole territory and reduced its elevation by at least some 500 feet upon its hills to perhaps 1,000 or 1,200 feet in its deepest valleys, and left a succession of hills and valleys over nearly all of this territory.

Whatever may have been the agency that tore up the solid strata of rock and carried its comminuted particles and spread them out over the vast fields of the Western States, creating a soil of unparalleled fertility, is not within the province of this report to discuss. That it may have been due to glaciers, which modern science renders not improbable, or to vast oceanic currents, or to both, which is probable, their course was in the direction of the St. Lawrence valley from northeast to southwest; and their power is visible in shaping the valleys and hills of this group, as well as the condition of its soil.

The valleys are all the result of the force of water upon the adjacent rock, and therefore bear a direction corresponding in a general outline to that of the great oceanic current, being west-southwest and south-southwest.

The northern line of most of the counties, except Oneida county, which contains the divide between the waters of Lake Ontario from those of the Mohawk, and the counties of Jefferson and Oswego, forms the southern rim of the narrow basin of Lake Ontario, and for a portion of Chautauqua county, of Lake Erie.

This condition of its topography, together with the impervious nature of the rock, and the shallowness of the drift whereby it is covered, and its general elevation, affects its agriculture in an important degree.

Taken in its aggregate it may be considered by far the largest continu ous surface of argillaceous and silicious lands in the State, and a marked similarity within its soil, topography and consequent agricultural product is observed in the whole group.

A brief description of a large portion of this group, as affected by its geology, may not be without interest, as it serves to make its topography more intelligible, and to explain many phenomena in regard to the varieties of its soil.

Prof. Hall, after describing the appearance of the country that constitutes the next or sixth group, which he represents as a succession of terraces formed by the outcrop of the two great limestone formations, the last or southern one extending through the State, from the Hudson to the Niagara river, and first seen in this group in the southern bounds of Oneida county. From this last terrace, going south, the country is generally level, for several miles, when we commence a gradual ascent to higher ground. "Here, however, there is no definite line bounding the northern extension, as in the case of the two terraces, but the outline is irregular, projecting in one part and receding in another. We find ourselves upon the margin of a country composed of hills and valleys, having no general direction other than that given by the water courses, although the country to the south of this is hilly, and in some parts rising to an elevation of twenty

Natural History of New York.

five hundred feet above the ocean; yet it must be remembered there are no ranges of mountains; the whole surface is equally and alike covered with elevated plateaux, without the possibility of limiting them as to course or direction. The deepest valleys being north and south, gives this apparent bearing in some places to the neighboring hills.

"Having no disturbance or upliftings, we are therefore to look to another cause for the production of these hills. We must fancy this whole southern border of the State as having once been a high and broad plateau, with the underlying rocks extending much further to the north, uniform in outline and even in surface, as the limestone terraces just described; and that from denudation, the breaking up of the strata in some places, together with the action of waves and currents, has resulted this irregular and uneven surface. As proof of this, if we examine the strata on two sides of a ravine, we shall find that if continued they will meet in the same plane; and pursuing the same course in regard to near or distant hills or across broad valleys, we find invariably the same rule to hold good. These features are produced only by the removal of the mass which once filled the space, precisely in the same manner as those made by excavation of roads through ridges of sand and gravel; the power in this case being that of nature over a great extent of surface, and in the other that of man over a small one. All these hills are termed, in geology, outliers, or continuations of the same strata, where some intervening portions have been removed.

"The larger streams flow in the deepest valleys, while the intermediate portion of country is less excavated and presents eminences less abrupt. Much of the higher ground exhibits a surface with gentle eminences and broad valleys, bounded by low hills, equally extensive. This character is more extreme toward the southern limit of the State, and on going northward gradually diminishes; the undulations becoming more gentle, until finally we come upon an almost unbroken level.

"Further examination will show that each change in the topographical features is due to a change in the underlying rocks, and that the same rock does not give rise to any two of the main features described.

"On investigating the lithological character of the strata in this district, we shall find that their varied composition and texture have given rise to the great features of its surface, and that hence are due not only these pleasing and beneficial inequalities, but also the origin of the streams and waterfalls which beautify and enliven the scenery, while they offer encouragement to enterprise and industry, which in a country less diversified would never be called into action.

"The form of the country determining the direction of the present water courses, is a matter of great importance. The highest portion of this district is occupied by the counties of Chemung, Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua, the mean elevation of which is about two thousand feet above tide water." To this should be added Tompkins county. "The northern portion of this range forms the dividing ridge of the principal streams flowing in opposite directions, which mingle their waters with the ocean at distant points. Those on the north find their way into the Atlantic by Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence river; while on the south,

some flow into the ocean by the Susquehanna, and others, passing into the Allegany, find their way to the Gulf of Mexico, by the Ohio and Mississippi. The Genesee is an exception to the general rule, a river which takes its rise beyond the borders of the State, and flows northerly through all these counties, and discharges its water into Lake Ontario.

"Valleyş similar to that of the Genesee cross the district in a north and south direction. The principal of these are occupied in part by lakes, as Cayuga, Seneca and Canandaigua, the valleys in all cases continuing to the north and south extremities of these lakes, but the direction of the water courses being opposite from the highest part of the valley, which is south of the lakes.

"To the same cause to which we owe these prominent features, and the hills of the southern counties, is also due the deep fertile soil prevailing throughout the greater part of the district. The materials excavated from these valleys in the form of fragments and masses, have been transported and reduced to the condition of sand, clay and pebbles, which are distributed over the surface. By the same operation, also, the materials of the northern calcareous strata are mingled with the comminuted rocks of the south, and form a soil of unsurpassed fertility.

"The high hills and deep valleys indicate the absence of an immense. quantity of matter."

The existence of these north and south valleys across the State, as in the case of Cayuga and Seneca lakes, have a great effect upon the industrial resources of the State, by enabling the citizens to avail themselves of the inexhaustible coal fields of Pennsylvania at moderate cost for transporta

But for these lakes and valleys, the expense of transportation would be so enhanced as to nearly or quite preclude its economic use in the various arts of life. It is to present and prospective cheapness of fuel that this and the adjoining groups will owe the rapid increase of their population and wealth.

The divide which separates the waters of the Mohawk from those of Lake Ontario runs across Oneida county from north to south, near the village of Rome. It continues north of Rome across the county, passes along the western boundary of Lewis county, and across Jefferson county, near the great bend of Black river, and striking the St. Lawrence westward of Alexandria bay. All that part of Lewis, Oneida and Jefferson counties. lying beyond or east of Black river, and east of this divide, properly belongs to the fourth group, and partakes of its peculiarities in soil and eli

mate.

To the south, the Stanwix divide strikes the great western summit or divide near Sangerfield, in Oneida county, which runs westerly through the county of Madison, and lies partly in the border counties of both the fifth and sixth groups, until it reaches the State line near Lake Erie.

The whole territory may be very properly called an aggregate of divides, water-sheds, or hills and valleys.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES, WITH REFERENCE TO THEIR PRESENT AND FUTURE

VALUATION.

ALLEGANY COUNTY.

Allegany county is bounded on the east by the county of Steuben, south by the Pennsylvania line, west by Cattaraugus, and north by Wyoming and a part of Livingston. It forms one of the frontier counties of the southern tier of counties.

Its surface is mountainous towards the State line, but towards the middle and north part it is hilly and broken. The soil of that portion which is drained by the Genesee river is much superior to that drained by either the Susquehanna on the east, or the Allegany on the West. It is yet a comparative new county, and there is much of its surface in forest or only recently cleared. In its soil and general agricultural capacity, it is only a third class county, being better adapted to the dairy than any other branch of farming. It may be considered, however, as one of the best of its class. The elevation of the land modifies its agriculture, and neutralizes much of the productive power of the soil.

The railroad and canal through its territory furnish ample facilities for the rapid and cheap transit of its products to market, and all that are required to fully develop its resources. It has many villages, which are flourishing, a considerable hydraulic power, but not at present any manufacturing centre of importance. Its population will increase slowly, and the valuation will require revision only biennially.

BROOME COUNTY.

Broome county is bounded on the south by the State line of Pennsylvania, east by the county of Delaware, north by Chenango and part of Cortland, and west by Tioga. It is a frontier county, with an elevated, hilly and broken surface, and in its general characteristics belongs to the third class, or dairying counties. That portion which has intervales along the rivers is valuable land; but the river bottoms form only a small part of its area. The railroads and the canal, which traverse the county in various directions, furnish ample facilities for the full development of all its resources, by giving a ready and cheap transit for its products to market. It has much valuable hydraulic power, which is as yet used but to a moderate extent, and there is no manufacturing centre of importance. It is yet a comparative new county, as large tracts of its surface are covered with a dense forest. But it is gradually increasing in its inhabitants and wealth, and its assessments will require a revision as often as once in two or three years.

CATTARAUGUS COUNTY.

Cattaraugus county is bounded on the east by Allegany, south by the Pennsylvania line, west by Chautauqua, and north by the county of Erie and a part of Wyoming. The surface is generally hilly and broken, and largely covered with forests. The south part is of such a nature, by reason of its precipitous hills and thin soil, that it will never be of much value for agricultural purposes. The valleys are narrow, and the general elevation of