section; then come the alluvious marls and light sandy soils of
the more elevated portions of the same section; then the clayey,
sandy and gravelly soils of the Piedmont and Mountain section,
the result of the decomposition of every variety of rock.

2. From its western boundary to the last falls of its rivers, the
rocks generally belong to that formation known as "primitive".
Primitive rocks are easily distinguished; they are crystalline in
structure, and have no animal or vegetable remains (called
fossils) imbedded or preserved in them. The soils of this
formation are not very fertile, nor yet are they sterile; they
are of medium quality, and susceptible, under skilful culture, of
the highest improvement. The primitive rocks are chiefly
represented by granite and gneiss.

3. The rocks of the secondary formation appear in certain
counties of the Piedmont section, and here the coal-fields occur,
embracing many hundred square miles. This formation consists of
the primitive rocks, broken down by natural agents, and
subsequently deposited in beds of a thickness from a few feet to
many hundred, and abounds in organic remains. The soils of this
formation vary more than the former, as the one or the other of
the materials of which they are made up happens to predominate.

4. The eastern section belongs to that which is known as the
"quaternary" formation. Here no rocks like those mentioned above
are found; indeed, rocks, in the ordinary sense of that term, are
unknown. This formation will be best understood by regarding it
as an ocean bed laid bare by upheaval through some convulsion of
nature, and thus made dry land. Sandy soils predominate somewhat