Topographical Description And Historical Sketch Of Plainfield In Hampshire County Massachusetts May 1834

Author : Jacob Porter
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781331858362
Total Pages : 50 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (583 download)

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Download or read book Topographical Description and Historical Sketch of Plainfield written by Jacob Porter and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-20 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Topographical Description and Historical Sketch of Plainfield: In Hampshire County, Massachusetts, May, 1834 Two distinct and well characterized strata of rocks traverse this town in a north and south direction. Mica slate extends from Ashfield about two thirds of the distance to Savoy; talcose slate then commences and occupies the remainder of the township. These rocks are beautifully stratified; but the strata, instead of lying in their natural position, are turned up, so that their inclination is perpendicular. Large blocks of granite, more particularly in the western part of the town, are seen in many places, resting on these strata, often near the summits of the hills. To the geologist these are interesting, as they lead back his mind at once to that mighty rush of waters, probably the general deluge, when they were driven to their present station, and enable him to account for the diluvial scratches observed on the ledges in this and the neighboring towns. "Talcose slate," says professor Hitchcock in his excellent Report on the Geology of Massachusetts, "is, in general, a mere variety of mica slate, talc taking the place of mica, or being super-added to it. Where the talcose slate, however, is most pure, so as in fact to be little else but slaty talc, with more or less quartz, the soil, which its decomposition produces, is decidedly inferior to that resulting from mica slate; and probably this is owing to the large quantity of magnesia, which talc contains. "Mica slate produces a soil of a medium quality. Some varieties of it underlie tracts of superior quality. But the most extensive tract of mica slate in Massachusetts consists of the high and mountainous region west of Connecticut river; so that it is difficult to compare the soil lying over it with that of formations at a lower level. The deep ravines, so common in the mica slate, furnish many fertile, though limited patches of ground; while the mountain sides are very superior for grazing." In the east part of Plainfield, as the same writer elsewhere observes, "the geest is so abundant as to occupy most of the surface, the subjacent rock ecarcely appearing." About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.