destitute of the necessary hardness, and liable to crumble into small pieces.

The height of the surface of the earth, in Ohio, above the surface of the ocean, varies, from seven hundred, to fifteen hundred feet. As a whole, it may be fairly estimated, at eight hundred feet. Its surface is infinitely varied, in its hilly region; sometimes it rises into abrupt precipices, in the sandstone regions, and then again, falling off, into long plates. It was generally covered with a thick growth, of forest trees, while in its natural state. We have neither the highest hills nor the deepest vales, but, generally, a surface undulating enough, for every useful purpose. The dividing line, between the sandstone and limestone formations, both of the same age, begins on Lake Erie in the mouth of Huron river, the sandstone lying on the east, and the lime stone on the west of it. Running nearly south, it is about nine miles east of Columbus, bearing rather westwardly it is four or five miles east of the Scioto river, quite across Pickaway county, when, it abruptly crosses the Scioto westwardly, almost as soon as it gets fairly below Pickaway county, south line. Extending westwardly, near to, but west of Bainbridge, on Paint creek, it bears off, southwardly and westwardly until it strikes the Ohio river at or near Aberdeen, opposite Maysville, Kentucky. Thence turning southeastwardly it strikes the highlands west of the Big Sandy river, some eighty miles above its mouth. This line, as we have stated, which separates the sandstone from the limestone region begins on lake Erie, at the mouth of Huron river, and, passing through the town of Huron, in Huron county, and extending to the Ohio river, at Aberdeen, thence to the Alleghany mountains, by the route which we have indicated.

SANDSTONE.

We proceed to remark upon, the minerals East of the above mentioned line and we begin with the sandstone, which often lies nearest the surface of the earth. In many parts of the

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region, in question, numerous interesting, and impressive views present themselves. Sometimes the strata of sandstone seem to have been broken down, into large tabular masses, which are promiscuously scattered about, or they are piled on each other, in wild disorder. In some places, this rock rises into conical hills, as in Licking county, near, and also north, and northeastwardly of the town of Granville. Here, these mounds, of a very friable sandstone, resemble, in appearance, at a distance, the limestone knobs, in the barrens of Kentucky. Sometimes these rocks rise into pillars, as in Fairfield county, whose summits are high and their angles acute, and, standing in piles not very distant from each other. The summits of these hills and pillars are often, nearly on the same level, and the seams which separate their strata, correspond through the whole series.

Hence, it is inferred, that these hills and pillars, once constituted a continuous mass, traversed by perpendicular fissures, and that the elements have operated the changes in them which we now see. Along the Ohio river, in the counties of Scioto, Lawrence, Gallia and Meigs, and in corresponding parts of Kentucky and Virginia, the hills assume a lofty aspect, of five and sometimes, seven hundred feet, in height, rising with acute angular sides. In front of the town of Portsmouth, the sandstone hill, on the Kentucky shore, rises, five hundred feet above the bed of the river. This rock constitutes the broken, and often abrupt surfaces of the hilly portions of Scioto, Lawrence, Pike, Jackson and Hocking counties. It lies in beds, between three and four miles east of the Scioto river, across Pickaway county, diverging from it, as we travel north, until at Columbus, in Franklin county, these beds are nine miles east of the Scioto river. From these beds stone is procured for buildings of various sorts, and the great aqueduct, across the Scioto river at Circleville, where the canal crosses the river, rests on pillars of this sandstone.

It is easily quarried, and answers many useful purposes. It underpins houses and barns;—and it is made into spring-houses, in the sandstone region. Of it, fronts of houses are built, in

Cincinnati, which look very well, though, it is not as durable a rock, as granite, or very hard limestone.

This stone is frequently used for grind stones, whetstones, &c. and large quantities of these articles, are used in Ohio, and begin to be carried beyond the limits of the State, for sale to our neighbors.

In some places, it is finer, and others are coarse. They are very fine grained, near Waverly, but they are a pudding stone in Jackson county. Where this rock is hard, and where it once stood in a perpendicular mass, with a rivulet running off it, caverns have been formed, in which the aborigines once lived, and, before them, wild animals there, found a home, especially in winter. Such caves exist in Jackson, Lawrence, and Gallia counties. Many such caverns were often used, as cemeteries, in times long past. The small eagle, finds a place of security, for itself and young ones, in the cavities, existing in the perpendicular walls of this rock, fronting the Ohio river and along it; and hence, the name of the river, among the Indians-Kiskepeela Seepee-Little-Eagle river. In some places, the mass of sand, originally deposited, in this region, by the ocean, for want of any cement in the mass, never became a rock, but is sand still, in which, trees are imbedded, but not petrified. Such a tree, was found on the high land, near Marietta, in digging a well, (many years since) forty fect below the surface.

We suspect that it will eventually be ascertained, that the whole sandstone formation northwest of the Ohio river, from the Portage summit, south of it, dips towards the southeast, about thirty feet to the mile: that inclination ends on that sum- . mit, which is the cause of that summit's location where it is, nearer the lake than it is to the Ohio River. Should that be ascertained to be the fact, it answers to a general law, noticed in every thing, east of the Mississippi, which lies parallel with the shore of the Atlantic ocean, and is inclined towards it. Even the Alleghanies as a whole, obey the same law, and the Atlantic rivers, originate in the most westwardly ridge of that chain of mountains. The western edges of the Allega

nies, are more acute than the eastern ones, just as our lake rivers have more descent in them, in a given distance, than those have falling into the Ohio river. We say it is so, without knowing or caring, why it is so.

MILLSTONE.

The burghstone, of which millstones are made, in considerable numbers, in the counties of Muskingum, Hocking, Jackson and Gallia, occurs in amorphous masses, partly compact, but this rock always contains in it, more or less irregular cavities. These holes are occasioned sometimes, by the seashells which originally filled them having fallen out of their places in the rock. The aspect of this millstone is somewhat peculiar, resembling paste, which had been in a state of fermentation, when moist, and warm; but when the the heat had ceased to act, the mass became dry, hard and compact, with all the marks of fermentation remaining in it. The cavities are sometimes, filled with crystals of quartz. The fracture of this burghstone is commonly dull, and its colour is whitish or redish brown. Its hardness and cavities, when not too numerous, render it very useful for making mill stones, many of which are manufactured, and sent all over this state, and to the western ones generally.

FLINT FAMILY.

We have, perhaps, every species of the flint family, in our sandstone region. In the counties of Licking, Muskingum, Perry, Hocking and Athens, the several species of this family exist in considerable quantities. The nodules of flint, occur in thin layers, between compact limestone, and sandstone. They are so connected with the rocks above and below them, that the flint partakes of the color of the nearest rocks with which it comes in contact. These flint rocks, are some times made up of Zoophitae, or, of the most ancient sea shells which have now become silicious. They generally lie in hori zontal lines, though sometimes, gently declining, towards the southeast. They are of every colour from a deep red or black

to a pure white. Some of them are beautifully striped with reddish and whitish streaks.

MARBLE,

Resembling that found near New Haven, Connecticut, exists on Monday creek in Hocking county, in amorphous masses. The texture of this beautiful marble, is fine, but granular. Its colors are grey, or blue, richly variegated with clouds of white, black and green. Green pervades the whole mass, it takes a fine polish and endures the action of heat very well. It contains chromate of iron, magnetic oxide of iron, and serpentine. It is a most beautiful marble, and will, one day, become as celebrated as that of Milford hills, Connecticut, which had been used one hundred years, at least, for common stone fences, before its value was discovered and made known by Professor Silliman, many years since.

LIAS.

There is a deposite of this rock near Kingston, in Ross county, near the line, which separates the sandstone from the limestone formation, and east of that line, it underlies the surface of about fifty acres of land, belonging to a Mr. Richie. On being exposed to the atmosphere, it shows reddish stripes. When burned in a hot fire, until it assumes a whitish appearance, and then the heat ought to be taken from it. Pound it until it is as fine as common slacked lime, it soon afterwards assumes a dark appearance, and becomes, finally, a deep brown. By mixing it with common slacked lime, in the proportions of twenty eight parts of lime, to one hundred parts of the lias, it hardens in water, almost instantly, and continues to harden, until it is as hard as any limestone in this region. In the burnt and granulated state, as before mentioned, by mixing a certain proportion of salt brine with it, it colors every object. with which it comes in contact, a deep brown. Hence it is