Chapter V: Front Matter (5)

"If an open navigation should be discovered across the polar basin, the passage over the pole or close to it, will be one of the most interesting events to science that has ever occurred. It will be the first time that the problem was practically solved with which the learners of geography are sometimes puzzled--that of going the shortest way between two places lying east and west, by taking a direction of north and south. The passage of the pole will require the undivided attention of the navigator. On approaching this point, from which the northern coasts of Europe, Asia, and America, and every part of them, will bear _south_ of him, nothing can possibly assist him in determining his course, and keeping on the right meridian of his destined place, but a correct knowledge of the _time_: and yet no means of ascertaining that time will be afforded him. The only _time_ he can have, with any degree of certainty, as long as he remains on or near the pole, must be that of Greenwich, and this he can know only from good chronometers; for, from the general hazy state of the atmosphere, and particularly about the horizon, and the sameness in the altitude of the sun at every hour in the four-and-twenty, he must not expect to obtain an approximation even of the apparent time, by observation, and he will have no stars to assist him. All his ideas respecting the heavens and the reckonings of his time will be reversed, and the change not gradual, as in proceeding from the east to the west, or the contrary, but instantaneous. The magnetic needle will point to its unknown magnetic pole, or fly around from the point of the bowl in which it is suspended, and that which indicated north will now be south; the east will become the west, and the hour of noon will be that of midnight.

"These curious circumstances will probably be considered to mark the passage by the pole, as the most interesting of the two, while it will perhaps be found equally easy. We have, indeed, very little doubt, that if the polar basin should prove to be free from land about the pole, it will also be free of ice. A sea of more than two thousand miles in diameter, of unfathomable depth, (which is the case between Greenland and Spitzbergen,) and in constant motion, is not likely to be frozen over at any time. But if all endeavours to discover a passage to the Pacific by either route should prove unavailing, it will still be satisfactory to have removed every doubt on this subject by ascertaining the fact. In making the attempt, many objects interesting and important to science will present themselves to the observation of those who are engaged in the two expeditions. That which proceeds up Davis's Straits, will have an opportunity of adjusting the geography of the northeast coast of America, and the west coast of Greenland; and of ascertaining whether the latter be not an island or an archipelago of islands; and much curious information may be expected from both.

"They will ascertain, what is as yet but very imperfectly known, the depth, the temperature, the saltness, and the specific gravity of the sea-water in those high latitudes--the velocity of the currents, the state of atmospherical electricity in the arctic regions, and its connexion, at which we have glanced, with the inclination, declination, and intensity of force of the magnetic needle; on which subject alone, a collection of facts towards the upper part of Davis's Straits would be worth a voyage of discovery. It has, indeed, been long suspected that one of the magnetic poles will be found in this neighbourhood, as in no part of the world have such extraordinary phenomena been observed, or such irregularities in the vibration and the variation of the needle.

"A comparison of the magnetic influence near the pole, with what it has been observed to be on the equator, might lead to important results; and the swinging of a pendulum as near the pole as can be approached, to compare with the oscillations observed in the Shetland Islands, and in the southern hemisphere, would be a great point gained for science."

We have no room in this Number to consider the probability of success in this attempt, nor the question, whether the breaking up of the Greenland ice, and its passage to, and dissolution in, the south, have been attended with a chilling influence on the continents. That such a chilling effect might be extensively exerted, is certainly credible. Approaching some of the icebergs, in April 1805, on the shoals of Newfoundland, we were rendered very sensible of the vicinity of such dangerous neighbours, by the great chill in the air, long before they were visible; and when we had passed them, the weather again grew milder.

Perhaps it militates against the probability of finding the northern polar basin free of ice, that Captain Cook, in his approximation to the southern pole, in January, 1773, when in latitude 67° 15′ south, "could proceed no farther; the ice being entirely closed to the south, in the whole extent from east to west-southwest, without the least appearance of any opening." The advanced season of the year did not, however, permit Captain Cook to ascertain whether he could coast around this ice--whether it was ultimately attached to land, or was a part of a vast field extending to the south pole. This last is however highly improbable, because being found about 23° from the pole, it is hardly credible that it would occupy so extensive a region as to embrace the pole, and, perhaps extend as much farther beyond; especially as in similar latitudes in the opposite hemisphere, navigation is comparatively free, and has been pushed even to more than 80° of north latitude.

The scientific, as well as the commercial world, will wait with no small impatience for the termination of the two grand arctic expeditions, which are among the most original and daring, and may be among the most interesting and momentous hitherto undertaken by man.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] I trust the public will pardon me for stating, that various scientific friends, despairing of the revival of the Journal of Dr. Bruce, had, for some time, pressed me to undertake the editing of a Journal of Science. Considerations of personal friendship prevented me from listening to such proposals till the decline of Dr. Bruce's health, attended by the most alarming symptoms, rendered it very obvious that his Journal would not be revived. Towards the close of last November, in a personal interview, I communicated to him the design of the present work, at the same time offering to waive it, provided he considered it as probable that his own Journal would be resumed. Of this, however, he gave no encouragement; but, on the contrary, expressed his warm approbation of my undertaking, authorized me to consider him as a contributor, and to make public use of his name as a patron. It was not till after this that the annunciation of this work took place; and it is certain that had not all hope of the resumption of Dr. Bruce's Journal been completely cut off, _this_ would not have appeared.

[2] The efforts of Stephen Elliott, Esq. of South Carolina, in regard to the botany of the Southern States, are particularly worthy of imitation and praise.

[3] From the MS. papers of the Connecticut Academy, now published by permission.

[4] See Kollmann's Harmony, p. 13, &c.

[5] Tilloch's Phil. Mag. Vol. XXVIII. p. 140.

[6] The propriety of making 25 : 36 the true ratio of the 5th will be manifest, when it is considered that this is the value of that interval as sounded by voices and perfect instruments; when the 3ds which compose it are made perfect. This interval, as found in the scale which has the fewest tempered concords possible referred to at the beginning of this essay, ought to be regarded as the true 5th, flattened by a comma, in the same manner as one of its component 3ds will be allowed by all to be flattened.

[7] The propriety of this limitation will be manifest, when we consider that in organ music, the chords are generally played more full, and are more protracted, than in music for other keyed instruments. It is harmony which constitutes its character, in a higher degree than in music for other instruments. Hence the harmony of the organ ought not to be impaired by including in our computations any music not adapted to it. If a similar examination of music for the piano-forte would afford a set of results essentially different from those of this proposition, this is no proof that it ought to have any concern in a system of temperament designed primarily for the organ, but merely that the same temperament cannot be equally adapted to different instruments. If, as is probable, such an examination would give essentially the same results, to introduce them would be superfluous.

[8] The smaller works of Phillips and Aikin were not then published; had they been, they could not have superseded Cleaveland; the same may be said of the respectable work of Professor Kidd, of Oxford University.

[9] A vast region in the interior of New-York and Pennsylvania is now fertilized by inexhaustible beds of sulphat of lime, (plaster of Paris,) which, till a very few years since, were not even known to exist.

Near New-Haven immense beds of green marble were discovered in 1811, during a mineralogical excursion: this beautiful material, closely resembling the _verd antique_, is now, on the spot, wrought into tables, fireplaces, and many other ornamental forms; and although the farmers had made fences of it for 150 years, no one suspected what it was till the study of mineralogy, in Yale College, brought it to light.

[10] See Tilloch's Phil. Mag. Vol. XLII. p. 182.

[11] In the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia this plant is called limosella tenuifolia.

[12] No return of this tree was made from Brunswick. The date of the cherry-tree is therefore substituted, which is usually in blossom at the same time.

[13] Mr. Correa de Serra, Minister of the King of Portugal.

[14] Communicated by a friend at Paris.

[15] See Transactions of the Connecticut Academy, and Bruce's Journal, Vol. I. p. 199.

CONTENTS.

Page
MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.

Art. I. Remarks on the Geology and Mineralogy of a
section of Massachusetts, on Connecticut
river, with a part of New-Hampshire and
Vermont, by Edward Hitchcock, A.M. Principal
of Deerfield Academy 106

Art. II. On the Prairies and Barrens of the West, by
Caleb Atwater, Esq. 116

Art. III. Account of the Coal Mines in the vicinity of
Richmond, Virginia, by Mr. John Grammer, Jun. 125

Art IV. Sketch of the Geology and Mineralogy of a
part of the State of Indiana, by Mr. W. B. Stilson 131

Art. V. New localities of Agate, Chalcedony, Chabasie,
Stilbite, Analcime, Titanium, Prehnite, &c. 134

Art. VI. Account of the Strata perforated by, and of
the Minerals found in, the great adit to the
Southampton Lead Mine, by Mr. Amos Eaton,
Lecturer on Geology, Botany, &c. 136

Art. VII. On the Peat of Dutchess County, by the Rev.
F. C. Schaeffer 139

Art. VIII. Notices of Geology in the West-Indies, by
Dr. Nugent 140

Art. IX. Discovery of Native Crystallized Carbonate of
Magnesia on Staten-Island, with a Notice of
its Geology, by James Pierce, Esq. 142

Art. X. On a curious substance found with the native
Nitre of Kentucky and of Africa, by Samuel
Brown, M.D. 146

BOTANY.

Art. XI. Description of species of Sponges observed on
the shores of Long-Island, by C. S. Rafinesque,
Esq. 149

Art. XII. Memoir on the Xanthium maculatum, by the
same 151

ZOOLOGY.

Art. XIII. Description of the Phalæna Devastator--the
Insect that produces the Cut-worm, by Mr.
John P. Brace 154

Art. XIV. Description of the Exoglossum, a new genus of
Fresh-water Fish, by C. S. Rafinesque, Esq. 155

PHYSICS, MECHANICS, AND CHEMISTRY.

Art. XV. On the Revolving Steam-Engine of Mr. Samuel
Morey, communicated by John L. Sullivan, Esq. 157

Art. XVI. Cautions regarding Fulminating Powders 168

USEFUL ARTS.

Art. XVII.[16] Account of a Parisian method of obtaining
Gelatine from bones, by Mr. Isaac Doolittle 170

Art. XVIII. On the use of Distilled Seawater for domestic
purposes--from the Annales de Chimie, &c. 172

FINE ARTS.

Art. XIX. Essay on Musical Temperament, by Professor
Fisher 176

Art. XX. Notice of Col. Trumbull's Picture of the
Declaration of Independence 200

INTELLIGENCE.

Art. XXI. An Address to the People of the Western Country 203

Art. XXII. Extract of a letter from Col. Gibbs, on the
effect of light on the Magnetical power 207

Art. XXIII. On a new Lamp, without flame--from the
Annals of Philosophy _ibid._

FOOTNOTES:

[16] _ERRATUM._

In the text this Article was, by inadvertence, numbered XIX, and all the succeeding Articles of this Number are marked _two_ higher than they ought to be.

THE

_AMERICAN_

JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, &c.

MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.

ART. I. _Remarks on the Geology and Mineralogy of a Section of Massachusetts on Connecticut River, with a Part of New-Hampshire and Vermont; by_ EDWARD HITCHCOCK, A. M. _Principal of Deerfield Academy_.

The geology of this tract, from a few miles south of Northampton in Massachusetts, to the north boundary of Brattleborough in Vermont, and of Chesterfield in New-Hampshire, is shown on the subjoined map. The primitive formation, except the argillite, is coloured vermilion; the secondary, blue; and the alluvial, gamboge yellow, according to Cleaveland. The alluvial part is elevated above the bed of Connecticut river from 10 to 100 feet, and, in most places, reposes on red sandstone. The soil in the northern part is generally argillaceous; but in the southern more siliceous. The secondary formation consists chiefly of detached eminences that rise abruptly from the plain, and are composed of red sandstone and puddingstone alternating, except the elevations A and B, (Holyoke and Tom) and a part of the range CD, passing through Deerfield and Greenfield, which are greenstone. The part coloured rose-red consists of argillite, sometimes alternating with mica slate, siliceous slate, or chlorite slate. It is thus coloured to show the extent of the argillite, and not from a belief that this rock is of the transition class; for in this region the argillite is undoubtedly primitive. Some quarries of this rock have been opened in Massachusetts; and in Vermont are extensively wrought. I have not learnt how far the argillite extends northward in Vermont and New-Hampshire. Its strata are almost perpendicular, inclining a few degrees to the west.

The primitive region on the west side of Connecticut river, included by the map, is made up of mica slate, as a prevailing rock, particularly in the northern part. Hornblende slate sometimes alternates with this, and sienite appears in various places, though its strata are generally thin. Limestone also occurs in Deerfield, Conway, Colrain, &c. of a dull brown colour. It contains so large a proportion of silex that it is often but little removed from granular quartz. Lime for building has sometimes been obtained from it. A range of granite, containing veins of lead ore, appears at Southampton, and proceeds to Hatfield. North of this, the other rocks cover it, and it does not again rise within the limits of the map.

Sienite is the prevailing rock on the east side of Connecticut river in the primitive region, more particularly in the southern part. In some places a narrow stratum of mica slate lies next to the conglomerate of the secondary formation, and a low range of graphic and common granite has been observed in Amherst and Leverett, lying next to the mica slate. Other veins of granite also traverse the sienite; and gneiss occurs in many places. The proportion of hornblende in the sienite is generally small, and mica is often present in considerable proportion. Porphyritic sienite is common in this quarter, and steatite occurs in its eastern part.

Most of the primitive region on the map is broken and mountainous, being made up of parallel ridges and detached eminences. The strata run nearly north and south, and dip to the east at angles between 20° and 60°. It would be easy to extend the map on the west to the top of Hoosack mountain, since the country is all primitive; and on the east the primitive continues, with a few exceptions, to the ocean. The map might also be extended to the boundary of Connecticut, by prolonging the primitive ranges with some divergency, and colouring the intermediate space secondary, except a narrow tract on the east side of Connecticut river, which is alluvial. These extensions were not thought necessary.

In the town of Gill, at E, there is a cataract in Connecticut river, from 30 to 40 feet in height; and it is believed that the alluvial region, and part of the secondary shown on the map from this fall to the place where the river passes between mount Holyoke and Tom, was formerly the bed of a lake: for the logs are still found undecayed in many places, from 10 to 20 feet below the surface; the river has evidently worn a passage between Holyoke and Tom: many of the hills on the northern part, and the sandstone on the plain, bear the marks of having been washed by water, and the channels of two rivers are still visible in Deerfield, the one 30, and the other 100 feet above the present bed of Connecticut river. Between mount Tom and the mountains west, there is a secondary plain of sufficient height to throw back the water over the supposed bed of the lake, before a passage was worn between Holyoke and Tom. South of these hills commences another alluvial and secondary tract, extending on both sides of the river to Haddam, in Connecticut, where the river passes between mountains, and perhaps this region also was the bed of a lake.

The plain on which the village of Deerfield stands, with the adjoining meadows, is sunk 50 or 60 feet below the general alluvial tract, and was undoubtedly the bed of a pond, or small lake, that remained after the larger one of which we have spoken had subsided. When this larger lake decreased, Deerfield river was cut off from a communication with the Connecticut by the mountain CD, and the plain extending westward from this mountain. There is a tradition, derived from the aboriginals of Deerfield, that the passage in which Deerfield river now runs through the mountain CD, was begun by a squaw with a clam-shell.

On the margin of these meadows, at considerable elevation, numerous small conical excavations appear. On digging below the surface, stones are found calcined by fire. These are probably the spots where Indian wigwams formerly stood. Many vestiges of the aboriginals are frequently found in Deerfield, such as beads, stone pots, mortars, pipes, axes, and the barbs of arrows and pikes. Near the village they had a burial-ground, where many skeletons have been uncovered. A roll of human hair was lately found here, by Mr. J. C. Hoyt of Deerfield, three-fourths of an inch in diameter, and three inches long, closely tied by a string made of the hide of some animal, which string was encircled by brass or copper clasps greatly oxidized; but the hair and string were in a good state of preservation, though they must have lain there more than a century. In the meadows, logs, leaves, butternuts, and walnuts are found undecayed, 15 feet below the surface; and stumps of trees have been observed at that depth standing yet firmly where they once grew. In the same meadows, a few years since, several toads were dug up from 15 feet below the surface, and three feet in gravel. They soon recovered from a torpid state, and hopped away.

The small range of hills beginning at the south line of Deerfield, and terminating in Gill, deserves description. At its commencement on the south, a conical hill, called Sugar Loaf, of red conglomerate, rises abruptly from the plain 500 feet. The appearance of this hill, as you come from the south, is picturesque, and it is an interesting feature of the country. The range becomes higher for three miles, where, at its greatest elevation, it is 730 feet above the bed of Deerfield river. The west side of the mountain is precipitous, and in some places naked. The ascent on the other side is gentle.

Both sides of this hill are sandstone and puddingstone, frequently alternating: though these are most extensive on the west side, and as we rise the puddingstone predominates. The strata dip to the east about 10 degrees. Near the centre of this range is a ridge of greenstone, with a mural face on the west, and amorphous masses lying at the base, half way up to its summit. This ridge does not rise so high as the puddingstone on the west of it, as may be seen in the view of strata with the map. It commences on the west bank of Connecticut river, about a mile north of the hill C, and increases in elevation nearly to the spot where it disappears at the fall of the river in Gill. This rock does not appear to rest on sandstone, but to descend through it, where there is an opportunity for observation. Deerfield river has worn a passage through the sandstone and greenstone 150 feet deep, and the greenstone passes under its bed, and the sandstone, at a few rods distant lies on each side of the greenstone. A similar fact has been noticed at the fall in Connecticut river, in Gill. Yet I have coloured this greenstone secondary on the map; for it is certain that Mount Tom rests on sandstone, and it is stated by Professor Silliman, that the same rock does in Connecticut. Could we penetrate deeper below the surface, it is probable the same would be found to be the case with this greenstone.

As stated above, this rock disappears near the cataract in Gill, and it is succeeded by puddingstone. But four miles farther north, it again emerges in Bernardstone, though it rises but little above the surface. Here its character is changed. The hornblende is more crystalline, and the rock becomes decidedly primitive, as you approach a mountain of argillite and mica slate, into which it passes, and no greenstone has been observed north of this. It terminates not far from the line of Vermont. The red sandstone and conglomerate also terminate on the opposite side of the river in Northfield.

The greenstone in the above described range, is of a finer texture than the same rock in Connecticut; and the feldspar, in some specimens, is scarcely discernible with a microscope. Indeed, in many instances, the eye would decide the rock to be basalt. Much of it is fissile, the laminæ varying from half an inch to a foot in thickness. This is most perceptible among the loose masses; but it exists also in that in place. Whether this circumstance be accidental, I will not attempt to decide.

A large proportion of the greenstone of our vicinity constitutes the base of amygdaloid. The imbedded substances are calcareous spar, quartz, chalcedony, analcime, prehnite, &c. as will be more particularly mentioned hereafter. Globular concretions of greenstone are common in this amygdaloid, several inches in diameter, and of greater specific gravity than the other parts of the rock. A great number of columns occur in the same range, having from three to six sides. Some of them are quite regular, and are well articulated, exhibiting at their joints considerable concavities and convexities. They are from one to thirty feet long, and, in their natural position, incline a few degrees to the east, as may be seen in the view of strata with the map; A few have been noticed that make lateral curves. One of these hexagonal columns measures at one end as follows:--Diagonals, 27, 29, and 29½ inches; sides, 16½, 13¼, 11½, 17, 11½, and 16½ inches. The convexity of this column is a little more than an inch. The best instances of these prisms occur one mile east from the village of Deerfield.

Masses of greenstone are found at considerable distance from the range, among the puddingstone. One has been noticed weighing many tons, a hundred rods from the range of greenstone, and on much higher ground. Some of these scattered fragments contain chalcedony. A specimen of petrosiliceous porphyry has been found among the same puddingstone, and also a mass of singular, though not well defined, amygdaloid, whose base is similar to wacke, and imbedded substances are calcareous spar, chlorite, and green earth.

The elevation in the north part of Sunderland, called Toby, from 800 to 900 feet high, is chiefly conglomerate, red, brown, or greenish, which, in some parts, alternates with chlorite slate, secondary argillite, and a sandstone that seems to be passing into gray wacke slate. Some of the imbedded masses in this puddingstone are quite large, its cement is frequently calcareous, its aspect is singular, and it is very different from the puddingstone before described, On the opposite side of the river. At the foot of this mountain, in the bottom of Connecticut river, distinct impressions of fish are found on a schistose rock, like the one above mentioned as passing into gray wacke slate. This same species of slate occurs in several other places at the bottom of Connecticut river, as at the fall in Gill. In this last place bituminous shale has been noticed.

In Mount Toby, in Sunderland, is a cave nearly 150 feet above the bed of Connecticut river. It opens to the north and west, forming a quarter of a circle, is 130 feet in extent, 60 feet deep, and from 3 to 20 wide. A little to the south of it, is a fissure in the puddingstone, formed by a separation of the rock, ten feet wide, and as deep as the cave. So perfect is this division, that it appears as if cloven down by the sword of some Titan. Perhaps this cave and fissure were formed by the washing of the waters of the lake we have mentioned on the sandstone and conglomerate beneath; thus causing the superincumbent rock to fall and separate. There is no appearance of any other convulsion. Imperfect, calcareous stalactites are found in this cave.

The falls in Connecticut river, at E, are not unworthy of notice. The river here is about 40 rods wide, and the height of the main cataract, raised considerably by an artificial dam, is 30 feet. The fall continues two miles. On the north bank you view the cataract from elevated ground, and can see the river nearly a mile above and below--above, perfectly smooth and calm, below, forming a quarter of a circle, and tumbling among the broken rocks. On the opposite side of the river are a few buildings, the commencement of a canal, and, behind these, moderately elevated hills, covered with woods. Two rocky islands near the middle of the descending sheet, and another thirty rods below, add much to the beauty of the view. Looking from the southeast shore, you have a partial prospect of the falls, and a view of an amphitheatre of greenstone hills, through which a small river empties. The pleasure derived from the view proceeds more from its wildness than its sublimity.

The position of the hills, boundaries, and rivers, on the accompanying map, may not, in all cases, be precisely correct. The general outlines were enlarged by a pentegraph from Carleton's map of Massachusetts, and the intermediate objects were placed chiefly by the eye; their relative situations being determined by travelling over the ground, and viewing them from different elevations. The boundaries of the several formations have not been so carefully noticed near the angles of the map as in the central parts. Of their correctness generally, however, I am confident. The latitude and longitude of Deerfield, from which those on the map were marked, were obtained by taking a mean of the observations given by Gen. E. Hoyt, in the Transactions of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of twelve lunar observations since made. The result is, Lat. 42° 32' 32". Long. 72° 39' from Greenwich.

With the map is given a view of the strata of rocks from Hoosack mountain to eleven miles east of Connecticut river, on a line nearly east and west, passing through Deerfield. The horizontal distances are laid down from a scale: the elevations are assumed. The principal rocks only are coloured; for it is very difficult to determine the breadth of many, since they frequently alternate with one another. I have not examined the country on the east side of Connecticut river with sufficient care to be able to extend the section on that side more than a few miles.

It may not be amiss to mention, that Mount Holyoke, so much celebrated for the delightful view from its top, has been found, with a sextant, to be 830 feet above Connecticut river. Its height has been frequently overrated.

The mineralogy of this section of the country has been but imperfectly explored. I shall mention those minerals only of which I have obtained specimens, and whose localities have not been noticed by mineralogists.

_Quartz_--several varieties.

1. _Rock Crystal_--abundant. Some good specimens are found
in Conway, on feldspar, with the usual hexagonal, prismatic
crystals, and these crystals cross each other in all directions.

2. _Irised Quartz_--found in Leyden.

3. _Granular Quartz_--in Deerfield.

4. _Radiated Quartz_--in Whately and Shelburne.

5. _Blue Quartz_--in rolled masses on the banks of Deerfield
river.

6. _Greasy Quartz_--in same place.

7. _Pseudomorphous Quartz_--in greenstone, Deerfield.

8. _Lamellar Quartz_--in same place. The laminæ sometimes
penetrate crystals of common quartz.

9. _Tubular_, or _Pectinated Quartz_--in same place.

10. _Quartz Geodes_--in same place.

_Prase_--in the north part of Sunderland. (Not good specimens.)

_Amethyst_--in Greenstone, Deerfield: the colour is not deep, but delicate.

_Chalcedony_--in same place--considerably abundant, but generally in small masses.

_Carnelian_--in same place, not plenty. The chalcedony, in some specimens, seems to be passing into cacholong, and the carnelian into sardonyx.

_Agate_--in same place. It is made up of chalcedony, carnelian, and quartz. They are generally small, but some are elegant.

_Jasper_, red, and yellow--found in rolled masses on the banks of Deerfield river and in Leyden. Some have been found imperfectly striped. It occurs frequently as it was formed by the aboriginals into barbs for pikes and arrows.

_Petrosilex_--on the banks of Deerfield river--not good specimens.

_Feldspar_--the red variety occurs in puddingstone, Deerfield. It is not necessary to mention any other locality of a mineral so common.

_Hornblende_--very abundant--mostly black in this vicinity.

_Mica_--this is very abundant on the east side of Connecticut river. Some crystals of it have been found in Amherst.

_Talc_--in Shutesbury.

_Steatite._ The localities of this are seen on the section. The aboriginals formed many articles from this mineral, as pots, pipes, &c.

_Chlorite_--in Shutesbury: also in amygdaloid, Deerfield. In Deerfield academy there are some Indian pipes of this mineral, well wrought.

_Green Earth_--in small quantities, in amygdaloid, Deerfield.

_Schorl_--the black variety occurs in Pelham, Shutesbury, and Orange, Mass., and in Brattleborough, Vermont.

_Epidote_--in Deerfield, Shutesbury, Leyden, and Pelham, and in Athol, Worcester county. The specimens poor.

_Tremolite_--in the west part of Leyden, near Green river. The rock in this region is chiefly mica slate, and the quantity of tremolite is very great. Tons of it might be easily collected.

_Cyanite_, or _Sappare_--in Deerfield, in mica slate; discovered by Dr. S. W. Williams.

_Actynolite_--rare, found in Shutesbury.

_Serpentine_--found in Leyden in rolled masses. Some of the specimens admit a fine polish, and the ground is handsomely variegated. It has not been noticed _in situ_.

_Asbestus_--compact, in Pelham.

_Garnets_--very plenty in Conway, Deerfield, Shelburne, &c. Good specimens of the melanite occur in Conway.

_Native Alum_--in Leyden, in small quantities, efflorescing on argillaceous slate.

_Sulphur_--in Conway, Shelburne, and Warwick, efflorescing on mica slate.

_Prehnite_--in greenstone, Deerfield, encrusting the columns and in radiated masses, but rarely crystallized. The veins of it, when in place, are nearly perpendicular.

_Zeolite_--in same place, not abundant. Some good specimens of the radiated variety are found.

_Chabasie_--in same place, considerably abundant. No crystals have yet been found whose sides exceed a quarter of an inch. It occurs in the veins of the greenstone, in geodes, on balls of zeolite, on chalcedony, on lamellar quartz, &c.

_Stilbite_--in same place, not abundant. It is commonly associated with chabasie, and the crystals, though small, are well defined.

_Analcime_--in same place, very abundant, and is associated with quartz and amethyst, which are sometimes enclosed by analcime. It generally occurs in cylindrical, reniform, and radiated masses. A few perfect crystals only have been observed.

_Laminated Calcareous Spar_--in the same place, not uncommon.

Chalcedony, carnelian, agate, amethyst, prehnite, zeolite, chabasie, stilbite, and analcime, have been found nearly in the same place; and it may not be amiss to observe, that this spot is distant from Deerfield Academy about one mile, and bears from the same, by a true meridian, E. 2°, 15′ S.

_Iron Sand_--found in considerable quantity near the falls in Connecticut river, on the Montague shore.

_Sulphate of Iron_--in Conway, in small quantities, efflorescing on mica slate.

_Sulphuret of Iron_--in Halifax, Vermont, in abundance; also in Charlemont, Mass., Deerfield, &c.

_Magnetic Oxide of Iron_--very common in the region west of Connecticut river. I have observed it in Athol, Worcester county.

_Specular Oxide of Iron_--some veins of this ore occur in Hawley, Bernardstown, and Warwick, and have been wrought to a small extent.

_Micaceous Oxide of Iron_--in the iron mine in Hawley.

_Green Carbonate of Copper_--in greenstone, in Greenfield. This ore constitutes a vein on the bank of Connecticut river, passing into the hill on one side, and under the river on the other. It has never been wrought, nor, indeed, is its locality publicly known.

_Copper Pyrites_--in the same vein, not abundant, at the surface.

_Sulphate of Barytes_--in the same place, constituting the immediate walls of the vein. Its breadth on the wall varies from an inch to a foot, and the breadth of the vein is 6 or 8 feet.

_Galena_--in Whately. This is probably from a continuation of the vein of this ore that appears at Montgomery, Southampton, and Hatfield. A single crystal has been found in the same range, in Greenfield, twelve miles north of Whately; but it was not in place.

_Red Oxyde of Titanium_--in Leyden, crystallized on quartz and tremolite, chiefly on the latter; colour brownish red--specific gravity 4.232; scratches glass, handsomely geniculated, and sometimes several geniculations in the same specimen; in one as many as six could be perceived.

_Eagle Stone_, or _Nodular argillaceous Oxide of Iron_--one specimen on the banks of Deerfield river.

_Rose-red Quartz_--a loose mass in alluvial soil, Deerfield.

_Red Oxide of Titanium_--in Shelburne.

I would acknowledge my peculiar obligations to Professor Silliman, of New-Haven, and to Dr. David Hunt, of Northampton, Mass. for the very generous assistance they have given me in a commencement of the study of mineralogy, and for their liberal aid in this particular communication. Their kindness, it is believed, will not soon be forgotten. To several others, also, I am indebted for communicating facts of importance.

_Deerfield, October, 1817._

ART. II. _On the Prairies and Barrens of the West, by_ CALEB ATWATER, ESQ. _in Letters to the Editor_.

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio, May 28, 1818.

_Dear Sir_,

I send you for publication in the Journal of Science, an Essay on the Prairies and Barrens found in this country.

_Description of the Prairies._

_Prairie_ is a French word, signifying a meadow, but is here applied only to natural meadows. They are found in all the states and territories west of the Allegany mountains, more or less numerous, of greater or less extent. They are covered with a coarse kind of grass, which, before the country is settled in their vicinity, grows to the height of six or seven feet. After these natural meadows are fed upon by domestic animals, the grass does not grow to a greater height than it does in common pastures. Sometimes this grass is intermixed with weeds and plum-bushes. Some of those prairies are dry, while others are moist. Pickaway Plains, in Pickaway county, in the State of Ohio, lying a small distance south of this place, are nearly seven miles in length, and about three miles in width, on ground considerably elevated above the Scioto river, almost perfectly level, and, in their native state, were covered with a great quantity of grass, some weeds and plum-bushes; and in the most elevated places, there were a few trees. This was one great prairie.

Sandusky Plains, lying on the high ground between the head waters of the Whetstone branch of the Scioto river, and the waters of streams running into Lake Erie, are still more extensive than those of Pickaway, covered with a coarse, tall grass, intermixed with weeds, with here and there a tree, presenting to the eye a landscape of great extent.

The moist prairies generally lie along some stream, or at the head of one, on level land, or on that which gently descends. The moist prairies are too wet for trees to grow on them; and whether moist or dry, the soil, for a greater or less depth, is always alluvial, resting on pebbles and sand, such as are found at the bottom of rivers, ponds, and lakes. In some instances, the writer is credibly informed, that the shells of muscles are found imbedded in the pebbles and sand. That these shells, such as abound in our rivers, ponds, and lakes, should be found in low prairies along the banks of waters which frequently overflow them, excites no wonder, nor even surprise; but that these shells should be found thus imbedded in pebbles and sand underneath several feet of alluvial soil, in situations more than one hundred feet above the waters of any stream now in existence, is calculated to perplex the mind of the superficial observer. These prairies are found in the western half of the State of Ohio, and north of the hills adjacent to the river of that name. They are also found in every state and territory west of the Alleganies, from the great northern lakes on the north, to the Mexican Gulf on the south; from the western foot of the Allegany mountains, to the eastern one of the Rocky mountains, up the Missouri. In summer, the grass which spontaneously covers them, feeds immense herds of cattle; in winter, the hay that is cut on them, with a little Indian corn or maize, feeds and fattens the same herds. Some of these prairies extend as far as the eye can reach; others contain only a few perches of ground.

_Description of the Barrens._

But besides these prairies, there are also extensive tracts of country in this part of the Union which deserve and shall receive our notice; they are called "_Barrens_." From their appellation, "barrens," the person unacquainted with them is not to suppose them thus called from their sterility, because most of them are quite the reverse. These barrens are found in a level country, with here and there a gentle rise, only a few feet higher than the land around it. On these little rises, for they are not hills, trees grow, and grass also; but grass and weeds are the only occupants of the soil where there is no rise of ground. The soil is alluvial to greater or less depth in these barrens, though on some of the highest rises there is little or none; the lower the ground the deeper the alluvion. On these gentle rises, where there is no alluvion, we find stiff, blue clay, and no pebbles. Under the alluvial black soil, in the lower grounds, we find pebbles similar to those in the prairies, owing to similar causes. On the little ridges, wherever the land is not too moist, the oak or the hickory has taken possession, and there grows to a moderate height, in clusters. It would seem, that whenever the land had become sufficiently dry for an acorn or a hickory-nut to sprout, take root, and grow, it did so; and from one or more of these trees, in time, others have grown around them in such clusters as we now behold. Where the land is lower, the soil deeper, more moist and more fertile, the grass was too thick, and the soil too wet, for such kind of trees to grow in as were found in the immediate vicinity. Imagine, then, natural meadows, of various dimensions, and of every figure which the imagination can conceive, with here and there a gentle rise of ground, decked with a few scattering trees or a thick cluster of them, and bearing a tall, coarse grass, which is thin on the rises, but on the lower grounds thick and luxuriant; imagine, also, a rill of a reddish colour scarcely meandering through ground a little lower than the surrounding plain, and you will have a very correct idea of the appearance of these barrens. They are _generally_ (not always) found on what, in our western dialect, is called _second bottom_, and not on a level with any streams of magnitude, but rather at their sources. To mention all the counties of this State where these prairies and barrens are found, would be too tedious, and illy comport with the object which we have in view. We shall therefore content ourselves with describing those found in the north half of Fayette county, and the adjoining county of Madison, which may be said to be almost entirely one great barren of more than forty miles extent from north to south, and generally half as much in breadth from east to west. The great barren in Fayette, Madison, and, we may add, in the counties still north of them, is on land elevated from fifty to one hundred feet above the level of the Scioto river, into which the streams that have their sources in this tract of country generally run. This land lies so level that the waters stand on it too long for grain to thrive equally with grass, unless, indeed, the farmer should dig a long drain, which is easily effected by the plough, with a little assistance from the hoe and the spade. But as nature seems to have intended this tract of country for the raising of cattle instead of grain, the husbandman has listened to the suggestion, and in this great barren are found some thousands of the finest cattle which the State affords. Here the horse, the ox, and the swine feed, thrive, and fatten with little expense to their owner; but sheep do not, and never will, thrive on prairie grass, or wet grounds. Fruit-trees, the peach, the apple, the plum, &c. do very well when planted on the gently rising grounds, where the hickory or the oak had once stood. Fruit-trees, such as have been named, thrive very well also on the dry prairies. On the eastern side of the Allegany mountains there neither is, nor was there ever, any thing like these prairies and barrens, if we except those found in the western part of New-York, in the Genesee country, and in the vicinity of the lakes in that quarter. These, the writer of this saw nearly thirty years since, and before that country was much settled. Those prairies were similar in appearance to ours in the west, and were, beyond doubt, formed by similar means.

_Speculations on the Origin of the Prairies and Barrens._

What were the causes which contribute to form these natural meadows? That water was the principal agent in their formation, we very little doubt; but this is not the common opinion. According to that opinion, our prairies and barrens, and especially the latter, were occasioned entirely by the burning of the woods by the Indians, in order to take the wild game. Let us try this opinion by the indubitable appearances exhibited by these prairies and barrens.

They are invariably found in a level country, or in one which is nearly so; and the soil is generally, if not always, more moist than that which is uneven and hilly. Would not the leaves, where the land is dry, burn over with as great facility, or even with greater facility, than the grass would where the land is wet? Would there not be more wild game where they could find their food in plenty, such as acorns and hickory nuts, on which they feed in winter, than on land where no food, except dry grass and weeds, were to be found? It is well known that these prairies and barrens could not be burnt over when the vegetable productions which cover them were growing. At the only season when it is possible to burn them, that is in winter, to what kind of regions do the wild animals resort? Is it not to the thick woods? Every hunter will answer in the affirmative. For the space of twenty-five years, the writer of this lived in the vicinity of Indians, and from information on which he relies, as well as from his own actual observation, he confidently avers that the Indians neither are, nor ever were, in the habit of firing the woods in order to take game. Erroneous information first propagated such an opinion, and blind credulity has extended it down to us. Another opinion, equally groundless, prevails to a considerable extent; and that is, that these prairies have all been heretofore cultivated by the aborigines, and that the grass having overspread these plains, prevented the growth of trees on them. The Indians, it is to be presumed, never cultivated any other grain than maize, or Indian corn, and yet we see few or no corn-hills in any part of this country. In the western part of New-York, before it was settled by its present inhabitants, thousands and thousands of acres were to be seen, where the trees were as large as any in the forest, and yet the rows of corn-hills were plainly discernible. I refer in a particular manner to what is now called Cayuga county. There the growth of grass had not prevented the growth of trees, nor did it here. We know that some of these prairies were cultivated by the Indians, but never to any very considerable extent. This country never was thickly settled by Indians, like the shores of the Atlantic and the banks of the rivers running into it. No, it was the ancestors of the Peruvians and the Mexicans who lived here in great numbers, before they migrated to South America.

The question then recurs, by what powerful means were these prairies and barrens formed?

That water was the principal agent, we infer from the fact, that the soil is always alluvial to greater or less depth; the former we call prairie, the latter barren. But how could the country from the southern shore of Lake Erie to Chillicothe, a distance of more than one hundred and fifty miles from north to south, ever be covered with water long enough to form alluvial soil, in many places from four to six feet in depth? I answer, that the Niagara river, the present outlet of Lake Erie, has worn away several hundred feet, and in that way the lake is lowered in the same proportion. The high land, composed entirely of sand, originally extending from the Ohio northerly upwards of forty miles, to Chillicothe, has been worn through by the Scioto river; and the waters which once for ages covered the whole country north of the hills along the Ohio river have been drained off, and the dry land appears where once stood the waters of lakes Erie and Michigan, then forming but one great lake. I am fully impressed with the belief, that were the bottom of Niagara river as high as it once was, the upper lakes would now, as formerly, empty themselves into the Ohio by the Scioto and Miami rivers, and into the Mississippi by the Illinois. I might proceed to examine every part of the country where prairies and barrens are found; but they have all been formed by the same agent, and that is water. An objection to this opinion may be raised by some, that these prairies and barrens are frequently found in the counties of Delaware, Champaign, Madison, Fayette, &c. on ground considerably elevated. Are they higher than the hills near Chillicothe? From a careful inspection, but without any instruments, I am convinced that they are none of them as high.

There is no perpendicular fall of water, but merely a gradual descent, from Columbus to the Ohio; nay, there is no fall from the very source of the Scioto to its mouth. Every one acquainted with hydrostatics, knows that water will run briskly where the descent is only a few inches in a mile. The writer believes that the Scioto, from its source to the Ohio river, does not descend more than one hundred feet, and that the present surface of Lake Erie is about on a level with the Ohio in a freshet; that before the channel of Niagara river was deepened, as it evidently has been, by the attrition of that mighty stream; and before the hills adjacent to the Ohio were worn down by the waters of the Scioto, the whole country north of Chillicothe, where these hills commence, to Lake Erie inclusive, was covered with water, except the very highest hills in the counties of Greene, &c. which were then islands. What tends to corroborate this opinion is, that on these high grounds we find limestone and other rocks, and indications of gypsum; but no alluvion, and none of those fragments and ruins which are produced by water acting mechanically upon a country for a long space of time. We might mention other parts of country where prairies and barrens abound, and which have been formed by water. Those along Greene river, in Kentucky, have evidently been covered by the waters of that river. The bed of that stream has been deepened by the constant flowing of the water along its channel; the water is drained off, and the prairies and barrens now occupy the soil which the water had made and formerly covered. The prairies above the falls of Hockhocking, along that river, have evidently been formed in the same way, and owe their origin and appearances to similar causes. There is near Lancaster, on the last-mentioned river in the State of Ohio, and near the great road, a gentle rise of ground in the prairie, which has every appearance of having been an island, and is so called by the people of the vicinity.

In fine, wherever prairies and barrens are found, there, for a long space of time, water once stood, but was gradually drained off. Else why alluvial soil to such a depth, in low situations, and growing thinner as we ascend on ground more elevated? Else why do we find rocks in more elevated tracts of country, and not in prairies or barrens? Else why do we find no alluvion, no grass, but a thick growth of ancient forest-trees on the higher lands? Else why do we find beneath the alluvion of the prairies, pebbles and shells similar to those at the bottom of lakes and ponds? Else why do the higher grounds to this moment present the appearances of so many islands? And all these indications where no stream now in existence could by possibility have reached them?

That the waters which once covered so great a part of this State (Ohio) were drawn off gradually, we infer from the fact, that there is not a single indication of the effects of an earthquake or volcano, from the foot of the Allegany to the banks of the Mississippi: in this region not a stone nor a layer of earth has been misplaced, nor its position changed.

But an interesting inquiry here presents itself. Were the hills along the Ohio, before they were worn away by the streams which now empty themselves into that river, ever high enough to raise the water to the north of them to such a degree that it would overspread the country where the prairies and barrens are now found? Although the height of these hills has not been ascertained by the proper instruments, yet from appearances, not to be mistaken by any person who examines them and the country towards Lake Erie, these hills are much higher than any land between them and that lake. And from certain indications, (as already remarked,) had not the bed of the Niagara been deepened by the running of that mighty river, Lake Erie, as formerly, would empty itself into the Ohio by the Scioto and Miami; and the great northern lakes would once more discharge themselves into the Mississippi by the Illinois. Lake Ontario, from some cause, (possibly an earthquake, or the wearing away of its outlet, or both,) is considerably lower than it was formerly: in that way the land along its banks, once covered by its waters, is drained, presenting appearances exactly similar to those seen in many of our prairies.

_Miscellaneous Remarks on the Prairies and Barrens relative to their Picturesque Features, and to Agriculture and Health, as affected by the peculiarities of these Tracts._