Geography of the state of New York. Embracing its physical features, climate, geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, history, pursuits of the people, government, education, internal improvements &c. With statistical tables, and a separate description and map of each county, Part 5

Author: Mather, Joseph H; Brockett, L. P. (Linus Pierpont), 1820-1893
Publication date: 1847
Publisher: Hartford, J. H. Mather & co.; New York, M.H. Newman & co.; [etc., etc.,]
Number of Pages: 445


USA > New York > Geography of the state of New York. Embracing its physical features, climate, geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, history, pursuits of the people, government, education, internal improvements &c. With statistical tables, and a separate description and map of each county > Part 5


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41


Order I. ACCIPITRES. [Birds of prey,]


Family 4. Aleedintda.


King Asher tribe.


Spotted


Blue grey


Blackburnfan


Bay breasted


Family 1. Vulturide. Vulture tribe.


Red throated humming bird Black poll


Prairie


=


Blue, yellow backed


White breasted nuthatch,


Red bellied


Summer yellow bird,


Brown or bald eagle,


Brown creeper,


Black throated groon


-


American fish hawk, Rough logged buazard, Red tatted


House Wren,


Wood


Red shoulderod


Broad winged


Swallow tailed hawk, Duck


Pigeon


American sparrow


Blate colored


Cooper's


American goshawk,


Marsh harrier, Family 3. Strigide. Owl tribe.


Great borned owl,


Snowy


Hawk


Little screech


Great grey,


Long carod


Yellow throated greenlet, AoHtary


White eyed


Warbitng


Red eyed


Yellow breasted chat. Family 11. Lantide.


Wilson's Family 10. Motacillide. Titlark tribe.


Shrikes. Northern butcherbird. Family 16. Corvide. Crow tribe.


Blue jay,


Canada


Magpie, Common crow, Raven, Fish crow,


Family is. Quiscalida.


Oriole tribe.


Common crow blackbird,


Rusty Meadow lark


Golden oriole,


Orchard


Myrtle bird,


S


Rod winged " Cow bunting,


Digitized by


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Order II. PASSERES. [Birds of passage.]


American titlark, New York water thrush,


S Oven bird, or ¿ Golden crowned wagtal. Family ti. Bylvicolida. Warblers.


Yellow throat, Mourning


Warbler,


Chimney swallow, Purple martin, White bellied swallow, Bank


Barn


Family s. Ampelide. Fruit eaters. "wok throated war wine. order bird.


Nashville Orange crowned,


Red poll


Spotted Canada Warbler,


Belted king fisher. Family 6. Trochilide. Humming bird tribe.


Turkey buzzard. Family & Falconide. Falcon tribe. Golden eagle.


Family 6. Certhides. Wren tribe.


Varied creeping Warbler, . Pine


Chestnut sided


Hemlock


Mocking


Cape May


Marsh =


Kentucky,


Winter


Hooded


Green, black capped


Blue grey gnat-catcher, Family 18. Muscicapide. Fly catchers.


Crested tit Black cap Carotina


American redstart, Small green crested catcher,


Yellow bellied fly catcher,


Wood pewee, Phobe bird,


Olive sided kingbird,


Great crested Family 18. Fireonida.


Greeniet tribe.


Short eared


Barred


44


Acadian


American barn "


Short billed " Family 7. Paride. Tomtit tribe.


Family 8. Sylviade.


Blue bird tribe.


Golden crested kinglet, Ruby crowned Blue bird.


Family 9. Merulide. Thrush tribe. Common mocking bird,


Brown thrush, Cat bird, American Robin,


Wood thrush, Hermit


Olive backed "


Family 1. Caprimulgida. Whippoorwill tribe. Whippoorwill, Night hawk. Family : Hirundine. Swallow tribe.


Worm eating Whistling Blue winged, Golden Tennessee


Black throated, blue,


ZOOLOGY.


Boblink, or Ricebird. Family 17. Fringillide. Finches. Blue Grosbeak, Rose breasted grosbeak, Snowbird, Fox colored sparrow, Bong


S Bay winged, " ¿or grassbird, White throated " White crowned "


Black throated bunting, Yellow winged Varied Fjeld


Chippingbird, Tree bunting,


Savannah


Blue striped "


Seaside finch, Quail head,


Swamp Finch,


§ Yellowbird or { American gold finch, Pine finch, Lesser redpole, Mealy


Crested purple finch, Cardinal Grosbeak, S Chewink or Ground robin, Indigo bird, --- Red Black winged red bird, Lapland snow


White Borned lark,


Pine bull finch,


American crossbill, White winged " Family 18. Picide. ( Borers.] Woodpecker tribe.


Crested woodpecker


Red headed Hairy


Downy


Yellow billed Red 44


Arctic Banded


§ Golden winged "


¿ or High hole. Family 19. Cuculide. Cuckoo tribe. Yellow billed cuckoo, Black 66


Family 30. Columnsbides. Pigeon tribe.


Wild Pigeon, Carolina turtle dove.


Order III. GALLINE.


Family 1. Phastanide. Pheasant tribe. Wild Turkey. Introduced and domestt- cated.


Peacock, Guinea fowl, Common cock. Family &. Tetraonide. Grouse tribe, American quail, Common partridge, Ruffed grouso,


Pinnated grouse,


Family 7. Phalarepodida. ?or Heath hen, prairie hon. Red Phalarope,


Spruce grouse.


Order IV. GRALLE. [Waders.]


Family 1. Charadride. Plovers.


American ring plover, Piping


Wilson's


Kill deer


Golden


Whistling


Turnstone


.4


American oy ster catcher. Family 2. Gruide.


Crane tribe. American crane,


Great blue heron,


Great white


( White crested "


for White poke, Blue heron,


Lousiana "


. Green


Small bittern,


American


Black crowned night heron, Yellow


Family 3. Tantalide. Stork tribe.


White ibis, Glossy


Family 4. Scolopacide, Curlew tribe.


Long billed . curlew, Jack


Small Esquimaux " Long legged sandpiper, Semi- palmated


Purple


Buff breasted Curlew


Cormorant, Double crested cormorant,


Black breasted "


Schinz's


Pectoral


Red breasted


Black Skimmer,


Sanderling,


Common tern,


Cayenne, Black Marsh


Arctic


Sandwich


Roseate


Silvery


Winter gull, Great black backed gon,


Common American Laughing Bonaparte's Fork talled


or


S Three toed ¿Killtwake, Arctic hawk gull, Pomarine Family 6. Anattde. Goose and Duck tribes.


Buff breasted shelldrake, Red Hooded


Family &. Recurvirostride. Canvass back duck, Avoset tribe. Red head


Broad bill


Creek Bastard


Digitized by


Google


( Hyperborean lobefoot, or Sea goose. Wilson's Holopode.


Order V. LOMPEDEs.' [Lobe footed birds.]


Family 1. Podicipide. Coot or Dipper tribe. American coot,


Horned grebe or dipper, Crested grebe, Red necked "


Dipper or pied dobchick.


Order VI. NATATORES. [Swimmers.]


Family 1 , Alcide. Pumin tribo.


Black Guillemot,


Foolish E or Murre, Bea Dove,


Arctic Fuman,


Razor bill,


Family & Cotymbida.


Loon tribo.


Great loon or diver, Red throated loon · Family 3. Procellaride.


Petrels. S Large shearwater, or Putin, Little


S Wilson's Petrel, or { Mother Carey's chicken, Fork tailed Petrel. . . Family 4. Pelicanida. Pelican tribo.


Brown Pelican, American Gannet. Family &. Laride. Gull tribe.


Wilson's


Spotted sand lark, Grey


Yellow leg, $ Solitary Tatler


or Jack snipe, Varied Tatler,


Willet or stone curlew, Marlin, Ring tafled marlin,


S Dowitchee or ¿ Red breasted snipe,


Common American snipe, American wood cock. Family 5. Rallide. Rail tribe. Salt water meadow hen, Fresh


Mud hen, New York rail, . Sora


Florida Gallinule,


Lawyer, American Avoset.


2


STATE OF NEW YORK.


Pied


duck,


S Broad billed ceot, or Butter bill,


S American widgeon, or


Bald pate,


Wood duck,


European widgeon, Wild goose,


White fronted goose, Brant,


King Surf duck or coot,


Grey duck, or Gadwall,


Black duck,


Ruddy Old wife


White winged coot,


Bumde headed Whistler, Harlequin Dider


Blue winged toal, Green Pintailed duck,


Shoveller, or spoonbill,


American swan.


Class III. Reptiles.


There are but three orders of reptiles found in the state, viz.


1st, Chelonia. The turtle tribe. Among the animals belonging to this order are the green turtle, which, though a native of warm climates, occasionally makes its appearance in the waters of New York bay, and Long Island sound ; the leather turtle, a gigantic spe- cies; the soft shell turtle found in the Mohawk, and in the lakes; the snapping. turtle; the salt water terrapin, or mud turtle ; the smooth terrapin, which resembles the preceding in its appearance and habits; the painted tortoise ; the spotted tortoise or speckled tur- tle ; the wood or fresh water terrapin ; the red bellied terrapin ; Muhlenburg's tortoise ; the geographic, and the pseudo-geographic tortoise, both distinguished by the geometric lines upon their shells; the mud tortoise, found only in the southern counties; the musk tor- toise, also called mud turtle, and mud terrapin; the common box, or checkered, tortoise, also called box turtle ; and Blanding's box tor- . toise.


2d, Sauria. The lizard tribe. There are but two species of this tribe, known to exist in this state, viz. the blue tailed skink or liz- ard, called also the striped lizard, found in the southern counties; and the brown swift, frequenting the woods, in every part of the state. 3d, Ophidia. The serpent tribe. Most of these are harmless, only two species being venomous.


Of the harmless species, we have the common black snake, from three to six feet long ; the pilot black snake, or racer, found in the Highlands and Fishkill mountains; the chain snake, also called racer ; the milk or chicken snake, also called house snake, checkered adder, &c. ; the striped snake ; the ring snake, black and red, small ; the grass or green snake ; the brown water snake, or water adder-this snake has its tail tipped with horn, and is frequently regarded with dread, but without cause ; the striped water, green water, or water garter snake ; the yellow bellied snake ; the small brown snake : the ribbon snake; the red snake, very small, and found under stones and logs; the hog nosed snake, called also deaf adder, spreading adder, &c


The two venomous species are, the copper head, called also red ad- der, dumb rattlesnake, red viper, &c. ; and the northern rattlesnake. The popular belief that the latter add a new rattle every year is erro- neous. Instances have been known where there were forty-four of these fibula or rattles on the tail of a single snake, and that not of a very large size. They are found abundantly, in the rocky and unset- tled portions of the state. The deer and the hog destroy them rap- idly-the latter eating them.


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ZOOLOGY.


Class IV. Amphibia.


Animals living both on the land, and in the water. There are but four families of amphibia, in the state.


1st, Ranida. The frog tribe. The following are all the species of this family in the state: The common bull frog; the large northern bull frog, found in lakes George and Champlain, and their tributaries ; the spring frog, the kind most usually eaten ; the marsh or pickerel frog, used for bait, and called also, from its spots, tiger, and leopard frog ; the shad frog, which makes its appearance in the early spring; the wood frog, a very nimble animal; the hermit spadefoct, a singular animal, between a frog and a toad ; the common American toad, a harmless and useful animal ; Pickering's hylodes, a very small toad; the peeper or cricket frog, called in Savannah, the Savannah cricket; the northern, or common tree toad ; and the squirrel tree toad.


2d, Salamandride. The salamander tribe. These are usually, though incorrectly, called lizards. Among them are the yellow bel- lied salamander ; the violet colored, the red backed, the painted, the salmon colored, the blotched, the long tailed, the granulated, the striped baek, the red, the scarlet, and the blue spotted salamander.


3d, Sirenide. The triton tribe. Of these we have the tiger tri- ton, with a tongue like a fish ; the common spotted; the dusky, and the grey triton.


4th, Amphiumida. The proteus tribe. The banded proteus, or great water lizard, a very singular animal, having the body of a liz- ard, and the gills of a fish ; and the Alleghany hell-bender, another curious amphibious animal, very voracious, and from 12 to 24 inches in length, are the only species of this family in New York.


Class V. Fishes.


The fishes, belonging to the state, are very numerous.


Fishes are divided into two sub-classes, BONY and CARTILAGIN- OUS. The first sub-class has six orders, viz.


1st, Pectinibranchi, having gills arranged regularly, like the teeth of a comb. This order embraces many of our common fish, both in fresh and salt water. Those best known are the perch, bass, bullhead, sheepshead, porgee, pilot fish, mullet, black fish or tau- tang, cunner, sucker, mackerel, &c. &c. In all the fishes belonging to this order the rays of the fin are bony. The same arrangement of the gills occurs in the three succeeding orders.


2d, Abdominal, those having belly fins and ventrals. This order includes the shad, herring, salmon, trout, catfish, pipe fish, dace, shiner, carp, pike, pickerel, minnow, &c.


This, and the four succeeding orders, have soft rayed fins.


3d, Jugular, having shoulder fins, and ventrals attached to the bones of the shoulder. It includes the cod, haddock, hake, halibut, flatfish, flounder, turbot, sole, lumpfish, &c.


4th, Apodal, without fina. This order includes the eel and conger.


5th, Lophobranchi, those having tufted gills. This order is small, comprising two species of pipe fish and the Hudson river sea horse.


6th, Plectognathi, those having the gills concealed under the


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44


STATE OF NEW YORK.


skin. The balloon fish, puffer, and globe fish are examples of this order.


Sub-class II. CARTILAGINOUS FISHES. These are divided into three orders, viz.


1st. Eleutheropomi, those having free gills. This order is rep- resented in the state only by the sturgeon.


2d, Plagiostoma, those having the gills attached. This includes the shark and ray tribes.


3d, Cyclostomi, those having circular openings on each side of the neck for respiration. This includes the lamprey, frequently called lamper eel.


FOSSIL FISHES. Twenty-five species of these have been enume- rated by the Messrs. Redfield. A number of them are extinct species.


The following catalogue contains the names of all the fishes as yet discovered in the waters of this state:


Sub-class I. Bony Fishes.


Order I. PECTINIBRANCHE Four spined stickleback,


Spotted caranx,


Many spined


Hair finned blepharis, or


[Spine rayed.) Family 1. Porcide. Perch family. American yellow perch,


Family 3. Scienide. Sheepshead family.


Hair flened dory, Rostrate argyrelose or


Lafayette,


Dory,


Weakfish,


Hair finned 4


Rough


Lake sheepshead,


S Blunt nosed shiner, or


Rough headed "


Silvery Corvina,


¿ Bristly dory,


Sharp nosed


Branded ..


Banded seriole,


Blender


Sharpfinned "


Blue fish,


Striped sea bass, Ruddy


King fish,


Spotted lampugus,


Little white


Big drum,


Long finned harvest fish,


8mall black


Banded "


Short finned


White lake


Speckled redmouth,


Burgeon.


Family 8. Atherinide.


Yellow pike perch, Grey


Banded pristipoma,


Tesselate ! darter,


Black triple tail.


Groper,


Family 4. Sparide. Porgee family.


Black sea bass, Growler,


Sheepshead,


White


Black do. 3


Rhomboldal


Rock Spotted


Common pond fish,


¿ Scup.


Family 5. Chetodonsida.


Spineless perch,


S Banded Ephippus, or


Bix banded chasmodes,


American butter fish,


Thick lipped eel pout,


Razor fish. Family 6. Scombride. Mackerel tribe.


Bordered Bea wolf,


Spring Mackerel, Fall


Variegated goby. Family 11. Lophide. Toad fish family.


Banded


Spanish =


American angler,


Spinous


Common tunny, Striped bonito,


Gibbous mouse fish,


Common bullhead,


Spotted cybium,


Smooth


Brazen


S Silvery bar tail, or ₹ Ribbon fish.


Dotted


Greenland


Common sword fish, New York pilot fish, Northern crab-eater, Carolina lichia,


Common toad fish, Two spined toad fish. Family 12. Labrida.


S Common bergall, or


{ Cunner, Spotted do.


Spinous dory, Black pHot,


Southern caranx,


Yellow


New York tautaug, or ¿ Black fish.


Digitized by


Google


Dotted silverside, Blender Family 9. Muyilide. Mullet family.


Striped mullet,


Fresh water bass,


Sand porgee


Obscure do.


Aculeated gilthead,


S Big porgee, or


Family 10. Gobide. Goby family,


Black eared " Coachman,


Sea weed blenny, Radiated shanny,


Unarmed Uranoscope, Northern Barracuta, Cirrous Lepisoma. Family 2. Triglide. Gurnard family. Web fingered gurnard, Red


Bea swallow,


Short nosed malthea,


Smooth browed "


Bat


American sea raven,


Small sea scorpion, Spotted "


Silvery trachinote, § Spinous or


Northern sebastes, Little star gazer, American Aspidopboro, Spotted wrymouth, Two spined stickleback, New York


Black sheepshead,


Bottle headed dolphin,


Banded Corvina, Family 7. Touthide.


Black Huron or black bass, Champlain pickering,


Yellow finned 44


Squirrel fish,


Three tailed porges, Moon fish,


ZOOLOGY.


Order IT. ABDOMINAL. Oposted pipe Ash,


[Soft rayed fishes. ]


Family 1. Sutride. Catfish family.


Oceanic catfish, Milbert's arius, Great lake catfish, S Common or Horn pout-minister, Brown catdsh, Black


Family 2. Cyprinide. Carp family.


Common carp; Gold Varie gated Bream, New York chubsucker,


Brilliant


Long finned


4


Little


Batin striped "


Blue


Dea


Bullhead


American conget,


New York ophidtun,


American sand launce, Banded


-


Order V. LOPHOBRANCHi.


- Family 1. Syngnathidd. Banded pipe anh, Green Hudson river sea horse.


Order VI. PLECTOBRATEL.


Order III. JUGULAR.


Family 1. Gadide. Cod family.


American cod,


Power


Tom


Haddock,


American hake,


Plain . burbot,


Spotted


Compressed"


Short head fish, Family &. Baksida, File fish family.


Orange


file fish,


Long finned


Massachusetts ..


Thread Long tailed unicorn fish, Dusky balistes. Family 3. Ostraccontdas Dromedary, Yale's trunk dsb.


Sub-class II. Cartilaginous Fishes.


Order I. ELEUTHEROPONA.Mackerel porbeagle,


Family Burionide. Lake sturgeon, Bbort nosed " Sharp ..


Order. IL PLAGIOSTOMA.


Family Squalide Shark Family.


Threshing shark, gmail bles


Dusky Ground a


Long tailed


American boundfish, Basking shark, Spinous dog Ash, Nurse, Hammer head shark, ( American angel fish, of Sea devil, Common saw fish. Family 2. Raiadas. Ray family.


Clear nosed ray, Sported sting " Prickly


Rusty ft Ash,


Toothed, Oblong Flounder, Long toothed Spotted Turbot, New York sold. Family s. Cyclopteridd.


Lump ush. Family 4. Echind White talled remora, Indian Common


Order IV. APODALI


family 1. Angulusse. Eel family,


Common eel,


New York


Gibbous Round backed


44


Common Obetda


sacker,


Horned


Pale


Mullet Black "


Large scaled New York abtner, Black nosed dace, Spawn eater; Redfin, Roach dace,


Shining Black beaded "


Silvery


Banded


Pigmy


Bay shiner, Corporaalen, theepichead tobias, Striped killifish, Barred Big


Transparent minnow, Barred Champlain Family s. Esodide. Pickerel family.


Muskellungo, Common pickerel, Farted


Federation pike, Banded Garfish, Bill Ash, New York Dying fish, pingle bearded; Double A . Family 4. Mistularide. Pipe fish family. American pipe diah.


Halibut,


New York flat fish, Pigmy


Family 1. Gymnodentiden Balloon ush family.


Spot-striped balloon Ach,


Unspotted


Warty Hairy


"


Common puffer,


Curved


Lineated


Small globe fish,


New York Pollack, Green Coal fish, Cusk,


American Codling, Spotted Family 2. Planide. Flatfish family.


Broad sting ray, Cow nose


Hedge hog " " Whip


Smooth skate, Sea devil.


-


Order III. Crctorroni,


Family Patronysida. American sea lamprey, Bluish


Small lamprey, Colored mud lamprey, Plain


Digitized by Google


Family &. Babnonide. Salmon Family,


Brook trout, Red bellled' Latte Mackinaw Salmon, Common sea " American smelt, Spotted Troutlet, Argentine, Lako white dsb, Common shad salmon, Otsego Family 6. Clupide Herring family.


Common herring,


Brit,


American shad, American Alewife,


Mosabonker,


Autumnal Herring,


Blender


Spotted ahadine, Spotted thread herring,


River moon-eye,. Lake


Baury, Western Mudfish. Family 7. Sauride. Bony Pikes. Buffalo bony pike, Flat nosed "


Striped


Green


Beaked


STATE OF NEW YORK.


Class VII. Crustacea.


The class Crustacea embraces those animals having a covering of a dense calcareous substance, adapted to their fort, which they usu- ally shed every year, and which is replaced by an exudation from the surface of the animal's body. . Ten orders of this class of animals are supposed to exist in the state, though the existence of two of the ten is not determined with certainty.


Order 1st, Decapoda, those having ten feet, is the most numerous and best known. It embraces the various species of crab, lobster, fresh-water lobster, and most of the prawns or shrimps. There are in all twenty-seven species of this order.


Order 2d, Stomapoda, those having the feet converging towards the jaws, is less numerous, containing but three species. It embra> ces the opossum shrimp and the squill.


Order 3d, Amphipoda, those having feet connected with both divi- sions of the body, comprising the sand flea, beach flea, and fresh-wa- ter shrimp. It has but four species.


Order 4th, Lomipoda, has but two species, the whale louse and the sea measuring worm.


Order 5th, Isopoda, is considerably numerous, containing four- teen species. Seven of these are parasitic animals which obtain a subsistence by attachment to other animals. Among them are the salt and fresh-water barnacle ; two species of sow bug ; the pill bug ; and a genus resembling the trilobite.


Order 6th, Pecilopoda, contains five species, and embraces the horsefoot, or king crab, so abundant on the sea coast ; and parasites peculiar to the shark, the rock bass, and the alewife.


Orders 7th and 8th, Phyllopoda and Lophyropa, are not certainly known to exist in the state.


Orders 9th and 10th, Branchiopoda and Ostrapoda, have but one species each, and those not known, except to the zoologist.


Class VIII. Mollusca.


Mollusca is the name given to the class of animals whose bodies are encased in shells. Many of these are known by the name of shell fish.


There are six orders, embracing a large number of genera and spe- cies, in the state.


The 1st order is Cephalopoda, those having the head surrounded by feet. The cuttle fish, or squid, and the syphon formed spirula, be- long to this order.


The 2d order is Pteropoda, having fins on each side of the mouth, and without feet. To this order belongs the clio, the food of the whale.


The 3d order is Gasteropoda, having the feet under the body. The mollusca, belonging to this order, are very numerous in the state, and are arranged into eight sections or subdivisions, according to the structure of their gills or breathing apparatus.


It comprises, in addition to many species known only to the natu- ralist, the family of slugs or snails, the animals inhabiting the turbi- nated shells, and those which yield the famous Tyrian purple dye.


The 4th order, Acephala, those having no distinct head, is divided


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47


ZOOLOGY.


into three sections, and comprises by far the greater number of shell fish with which we are familiar.


In the 2d section, Lamellibranchia, those having leaf-like gills, of a semicircular form, we find the oyster, scallop, bloody clam, mussel, and the fresh-water clam and mussel.


In the third section, Conchifera, those having single and distinct shells, we find the quahog, or common round clam, and the long clam.


The 5th and 6th orders, Cirrhopoda, those having filamentous or thread-like feet, and Tunicata, those covered with a leathery or membranous tunic instead of a shell, contain no species of general interest.


The researches of the state geologists have brought to light numer- ous genera and species of fossil mollusca, imbedded in the lime and sand stones of the state. The most remarkable and common of these are the various species of trilobite, the encrinite, the pentamerus, &c.


Class IX. Insects.


No full account of the insects of this state has yet appeared. The naturalists of the adjacent states, of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, have described most of those, which are inhabitants of the state-and relying upon their descriptions, we shall mention some of those best known.


The order Coleoptera, beetles, is very numerous. In Pennsylva- nia more than 1500 species have been discovered. The boring bee- tle, hammering beetle, tumble bug, ground beetle, horn bug, goldsmith beetle, and some others of brilliant colors, are the most common.


The order Orthoptera, includes the cockroaches, crickets and grass- hoppers, of which there are many species. The katydid, so well known by the peculiar sound produced by its wing cevers, belongs to the latter family.


The order Homoptera comprises the locusts; one species of these is remarkable for remaining seventeen years in the grub state.


The order Hemiptera, bugs, comprises many of those insects inju- rious to vegetation, particularly the May bug, the lady bug, the apple tree blight, &c.


The order Lepidoptera, butterflies, are very numerous, probably numbering not less than 1000 species. Among those that fly dur- ing the day, those best known are, the small yellow winged butterfly, and the large yellow and black butter-fly. The variety, and beauty of their colors, attract universal attention. Some of the nocturnal spe- cies are very large.


The order Arachnida, spiders, though now usually considered as a separate class, may come in here with propriety. There are proba- bly between one and two hundred species of these in the state. Some of them are very large, and possessed of great beauty. The long legs, the clawed spider, the tick, mite, louse, &c, also belong to this order.


The worms of the state, and its animalcules, have not yet been made subjects of general investigation.


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CIVIL HISTORY OF NEW YORK.


DUTCH COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION.


DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT.


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THE bay of New York was first discovered in 1524, by Jean de Verrazano, a Florentine in the service of France. It does not appear, however, that Francis I. the monarch under whom this discovery was made, ever took advantage of it, or laid claim to the territory adjacent, in consequence of Verrazano's explor- ation.


On the 4th of Sept. 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman, in the service of the States General of Holland, again discovered it, and ascended the river, which now bears his name, to a point a little below the present city of Albany. His ship, or yacht, was of about eighty tons burthen, and was called the Half Moon.


Landing in England on his return, he despatched an account of his adventures to the Dutch East India Company, with the request, that they would furnish him with the means of making another voyage. The English Government, however, deter- mining to secure his services, forbade his sailing again in the service of Holland.


Shortly after, he received the command of a ship, with direc- tions to explore the Northern coast of America, in the hope of finding a North West passage. Having discovered and entered the bay which now bears his name, his crew mutinied, and put- ting him with some of his men into a small boat, abandoned them to their fate. Whether they perished by the waves, by hunger, or by the inclemency of the climate, is unknown.




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