New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-02-26

o., ,,.,.r;,) fr the coal. She sppbe, iAs pr,Gcises
A hvtspy to the sae, Of Zpbsogy and oonplrAov'
sn.sosy TO the o,her and poses tscr resemhl-p>e 4
10 or erdcresces hom their snsogaes % oIr Own day
Shs spphes the pro esses ei chemistry, the hSs"
psberas gy 10 the nstersls Of thu rocks tsem'e"S'
sAd lsa,ns Their origin from their t-I'ure snd eO"Pe
sAssn- Sue me suIee the dip Of the FIston' e'c "'p
e tne hill, the di,Ocaaoo Of the ceH OF iauA' A'u
- mn .f N. reriod and direction Of the force who's
..,,.a IN. chain or Of the wearHg agency
-h<h .,c.v.ted the valley. She follows out the
..,.o,. Of tb. old sea-bottous, ~ith their lnclodvi
49, .nc fsms spreading from dist nc. to dlstd Il
-. STAT. 70 State through and below aud beyond all
.serp features Of hill, lake and nvsr sue compares
si.eav aliens made in remote regions With those made
Aere AID tells Of the general similarly derenc, Of
several continents. She even caus Autonomy TO her
cd and through the telescope deecta in The scared
snA wnDkled surface Of the moon, evidence of his
s4y analogous 10 that Of the earth and Of similarity in
he physical constitutions of eur paoe God " satellite
Yhe lans of such science, Therefore, are tar soJvs
ne Ialk due TO rs merely practical or economical re-
ssN; and ito illustration in the museum OF an enhs1t-
eaea State should be a. vide and liberal " ite own
e.H of observation, not hDited too strictly By the
views Of the mere u itariap, or cIcumcnbed oy the
ss,veutiossl and artificial boundaries traced by tae
Surveyors compass.
The Geolog> Of Nes-York has often been said to be
Ae kew 70 that of the Union but probably fe1 under
stand distinctly how Ii is 20. We may attempt brief
explanation
IL the northern par. Of tie State rises huge mas
d QIapc and other crystalline rocks forming toe Ad
Ispdack region. Such rocks the present base Of
sesloejcsl iDvestgstion-baieved by many to have
been formed from melted matter, before the tne when
water existed on the earth 10 a condemned or liquid
tsm, aid, Of course before any sratffed rocks de-
pos,ted Gom The seq, were formed Others doubt this,
and maintain that these rocks merely old linen
tary strata, altered by heat and pressure. But be
Ais as II may the series Of formst IN with which fhs
Ssrc Geology concerns heuef commence with or
uren taese crystalline masses.
Directly this primary mass lie the SENT strait
ED gDess rocks, and them the oldest sandstOnes
the remains Of shells nclosed in the latter proving
That animal life houlished the earta when they
were deposited. Above theee sandstones, aud cover
ing their southern edges, lie huge tiers Of cac IeOus
noeks known as the Chazy, Budseye, and Trenton
RDestones, filed with the abundant relics of once
nvpg forms. Their sufaces overiapped, in stll
upward and outward succession, By the and
set newer ttsts of the Hudson River States the Me-
ana sandstone, the Niagara shale sod Limestone, the
tAek shaes aud tstes of the Onondaga sstrocks the
huge piles Of saty and sandy rocks which form the
hills Of the southern countless while over these
the red sandstone, Of the Catrk group succeed, and,
near the Pennsylvania line the osl.besing car.
hepifeIous corglOmerstes and slates cover all.
We do not epamerste many subdivisions which are
recognized, but sioply the chief formations Of the
series, to show how perfect and unbroken the who's
saeet sson IT, in State from the fundamental gran
Re TO the coal-plan and uEmi4skabe 10 is order Of
succession, and Ms strata filled with numbeIless mil
bons of fos, relics belonging 10 thousand, Of distinct
species, by which the separate formations may DE
traced far hey ond our borders, and destifed With
others Of equiv aent age and position in remote lands
Nowhere Use is 90 complete aud simple q series
answn. 10 the Eastera States, and southwark along
he Allegheny ranges, the rocks have been 80 broken
Up and changed IL their position and appearance, that
Aeir order is Obscure and their fossils often OBJ
he ated. 10 other poHns Of the ,unt'y, only parts
Of the series seenthe Oldest and 10 vest masses
.o>a ~ the naEy Jeing oonceucd aud soie OF the
higher strata wanting In the level Western States,
slss the cepth VI soil and of rapid streams with
their cliffs aud falls prev, Mt the s.ra:s from being well
exposed While in this State the opportunities for OBJ
servation ae numbeIess-- almost every layer beng
svsseable at various points, in hundreds of ravnes,
hSg and quar- =
The order Of the series being 30 clearly traceabe,
sn6 the fossils so abundant in New-Yok the key or
siue to the whole geology Of the Nxtn and West is
readily obtained. From observations here msde, We
ere able readily 10 recognize similar strata wherever
hWd, to refer them to their true place in the scale,
and from them, in tum, to 60 on and trace out the
Rssks which succeed them, until the strata Of great
part Of the continent known in their relations to
each other. Thus it has been sscertzsed that the
bad bearing limestone Of Gaena is continuation OF
the rocks of Trenton and WATERFOWL; the blue io,c-
etsle Of Kentucky on the one hand and the rocks Of
AA,ieosti ON the other, are the western and north
eastern extensions Of our Hudson River group tnat
tAe sandstone of Lake Superior 10 the Rorth wc<tern
portion of the forman IN here kno the Pots
dam sandstone and that the crumpled and fractured
STRATA of the Allegheny ridges are, 10 great part den
teal with those well known portions Of the New
Yoik sy stem.
The geology Of the Northern and Northwestern
Satee, and Of the Csnsdas thus grouping itself around
he centrsl point Of New York, our straits become a
standard typical seres for reference in e.. American
geeoey and, in fact, the arrangement and nomencla
sure adopted by the New-York geologsts is now
adopted and recOs nzed very generally over all this
vaa territory, and is well understood in Europe also.
The value Of our Sta surveys and the Importance
Of a good museum exhibiting their results, lie thus
clearly seen. May we not reasonably hope that, as
Ne rev Observatory s.to make Albany well.tuown
and standard point for the observation and study Of
Che Heavens SO our State Geological Museum may be.
come standard and widely known collection Of the
most authentic materials for the study of the struc
tsre and history of the Ea,thf Two such steps
gained, it does not seem unreasonable expectation
mat the elements Of a true University may yet con-
n