^XX^2 06126 533- 'YiaLE«¥]MH¥EI^SIIT¥« 0 iLniBi^^mr « Gift of the Estate of Lucy Schwab White 1927 'ghafcu -^Jg=f JT THE HISTOEY AND TOPOGHAPHY or THE UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA, BROUGHT DOWN FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD; COMFBISINO rOLmCAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY ; GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, ZOOLOGY, AND BOTANY ; AGRICDLTUBE, MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE; LAWS, MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND RELIGION; WITH A TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTIOM OF THE CITIES, TOWNS, SEA-PORTS, PUBLIC EDIFICES, CANALS, to. to. BY JOHN HOWARD HINTON, A. M. ASSISTED BY SEVERAL LITERARY GENTLEMEN IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA. WITH ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS, BY SAMUEIi L. KNAPP, j:SQ.j AND A CONTINUATION TO THE PRESENT TIME, BY JOHN OVERTON CHOULES, D. D. JLLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. TOL. II. BOSTON: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WALKER. 1850. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the jear 1850, by SAMUEL WALKER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. PREFACE TO VOL. II. OF THE AMERICAN EDITION. In the few prefatory remarks which accompany the first volume of this work, I have stated, thai my observations on Mr. Hinton's book were confined principally to events connected with Ameri can history, and to that portion, in particular, which includes the occurrences of the American Revolution. That they are of some extent, if not of some value, the student of American annals will be able to determine. In the second volume, I have carefully surveyed the mass of information which the London editor has brought together on a great variety of important topics. His information will be admit ted to possess much accuracy, and to be of a recent date. Nevertheless, it was deemed but justice to that public who have so largely countenanced this undertaking, that many particulars which the author did not possess, or had entirely overlooked, should be added to this reprint; and when it is observed, that the additions to this part of the work now given by the American editor are nearly equal in extent to the entire quantity in the original volume, I am persuaded that I shall receive at least the approbation of the reader for good intentions, if not for the exercise of a wholesome dis cretion, and a desire to make this book on American matters a repository of facts of peculiar impor tance to every inquirer on the topics to which it relates. In order the better to dispose of my materials, I have looked with a becoming regard to the statistics, and other information, which the author has given of the several states, and under differ ent heads. But few portions of his account of the country have been examined, without some additions or amendments ; and if a disproportion present itself, concerning the manner in which some parts have been augmented, I must plead, that sometimes my materials led me to the measure, and that I felt that special subjects required the revision and enlargement that I have thus bestow ed. Moreover, Mr. Hinton himself has not always been governed by the relative value of his sub ject, and different observers are supposed to look even on the same object with different eyes. I have also had several other difficulties to overcome. Almost every individual state of the confeder acy now lays claim to its topographer and historian. Maine, for instance, has already called forth several topographical works ; and no less than three authors, each of considerable merit, have pub lished her historical occurrences. In such a case, the few pages of Hinton on this member of the 1 n PREFACE TO VOL. n. OF THE AMERICAN EDITION. Union might have been swelled to as many hundred ; but a reference to authorities is nearly all that the prescribed limits allowed. The state of New York, in the original edition, occupies no inconsiderable space in the work. I have, however, still farther largely added to it, because the empire state demanded it. Her mighty efforts in internal improvements, her commercial importance, her location, and other reasons, had their weight in my determination. The reader, therefore, will not be dissatisfied by finding in this edition the elaborate memoir of the late Cadwallader D. Colden on the canal history of this great state ; it is too precious a document not to be preserved in a way that it can readily be had access to. I have, with a similar view to future benefit, enriched my pages with a minute and circumstan tial account of the city of New York, fiirnished me by my friend. Dr. J. W. Francis, who has also afforded me other communications of value, and occasionally directed my attention to objects of special inquiry throughout the work. His ample library of American materials has also yielded to me many facilities. To him, and to my other friends, who have felt solicitous that Hinton's United States should be rendered the more valuable by the labours of the American editor, and to all who have contributed to this object, I beg to return my thanks. The paper from the pen of Dr. Metcalfe, which was not ready for its proper place in the vol ume, the editor is obliged to bring in at the close of his labours. He does not feel himself suffi ciently qualified in this department of philosophy to express a decided opinion in the matter ; but he has no hesitation in saying, that the reader will find in this article many interesting facts, with novel and ingenious observations, worthy the profound attention of the man of science, and the curious observer of the laws of nature in every walk of life. Whatever the fastidious critic may observe, I cannot but remark, that the volumes now sent forth will be found to embrace a stock of information which eminently places the work among the most available as a book of reference, as well as for popular reading. S. L. K CONTENTS OF VOL. IL BOOK I. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL OUTLINE MOUNTAINS RIVERS, &C. Various accessions of territory. — ^Boundaries. — General physical divisions. — ^Atlantic Slope. — Divisions of the Atlantic Slope. — South. westem Bay. — Middle Bay. — North-east Bay. — Gulf of Mexico.— Appalachian Mountains. — Rivers flowing into the Atlantic. — Re gion bordering on the Pacific Ocean. — Valley of the Mississippi. — Basin of the St. Lawrence. — ^Lake Superior ; Lake Michigan ; Lake Huron ; Lake Erie ; Lake Ontario. — Quantity of water in the Lakes. — River St. Lawrence. — Lakes George and Charaplain. — Capacity of the St. Lawrence basin. — ^Valley of the Mississippi. — Divisions of the Mississippi valley. — ^Valley of the Ohio. — Source of the Mississippi. — Aspect of the Mississippi valley. — Source of the Missouri. — River Platte. — Valley of the Missouri. — Valley of the lower Mississippi. — Arkansas River, and Red River. — Mouth of the Mississippi. — Comparison of the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence. — Inundations of the Misisissippi. — Navigation of the Mississippi, Missouri,' and Ohio. — Bed of the Mississippi. — Mountains in the Mississippi valley — Ozark Mountains, and Black Mountains p. 1 to 18. Additions to the English Edition. Physical geography. — Description of the valley of the Mississippi. — Reference to Flint's works. — Observations on the Phenomena of the Great Lakes, by De Witt Clinton ; tides on these masses of waters, as shown from the worlis of La Hontan, Pownall, Wright, Storrow, Woodward, Mitchill, Stickney, and many others. — The overflow of the waters in Lake Erie ; periodical rises ; one beginning 1811, and continuing to 1815. — Mackenzie's remarks on the decrease of water in Lake Superior. — ^Volney's opinion that Lake Ontario is the crater of a volcano. — The efiects of earthquakes on springs and lakes. — The swells of Lake Erie have been followed by shocks of earthquakes < p. 14 to 19. CHAPTER IL CLIMATE, SOIL, &C. General excellence of the climate. — ^Very cold region ; cold region ; temperate region ; warm region ; and hot region. — General view of temperature. — Value of thermometrical observations. — Course ofthe winds, and state ofthe atmosphere. — ^Prevailing winds above N. Lat 35°; and prevailing winds below N. Lat 35°. — Mildness of climate on the Pacific ; supposed mildness of the interior. — Cli mate of the Mississippi valley ; winters ; summers ; coldness compared with Europe ; influence of the Gulf Stream, and of the trade winds ; whether the climate has improved, or the winters become milder. — -Method of finding the mean temperature of any place. — Rains in the United States. — Soil of the United States : Atlantic Slope ; Mississippi valley ; timbered country ; barrens ; prairies. — Soil in the different parts of the Mississippi valley. — Soil beyond the Chippewayan Mountains. — Diversity of soils. — Salubrity of the United States. — Effect of clearing the forests.— Inferior salubrity of the bluffs p. 18 to 39. Additions to the English Edition. The opinions of Dr. Chalmers, Ellicot, and Rush, touching the climate, soil, diseases, &c. ; and those of an earlier date by Lt. Gov emor Colden, on the diseases of New York ; changes which have taken place if his facts are correct ; the same author on ihe climate. — ^Dr. Hosack's Essays upon the subject. — Dr. J, W. Francis on the cholera asphyxia, in which the same subject is discussed, and the causes of pestilence in the city of New York p. 34 to 39 BOOK II. NATURAL HISTORY. CHAPTER I. GEOLOGY. Progress of geological research. — Geological structure connected with physical aspect — Chippewayan Mountains : primitive and tran sition rocks ; secondary rocks ; sandstone ; trap rocks ; greenstone ; amygdaloid. — Chippewayan desert. — Appalachian Mountains : primitive rocks ; transition rocks. — ^Valley of the Ohio and Upper Mississippi : secondary rocks. — Central district of the Mississippi valley : Ozark Mountains ; granite districts. — Upper Mississippi. — ^Black Mountains. — Upper Missouri. — Atlantic Slope : secondary strata; ferruginous sand formation; tertiary formations. — Oregon. — Character of the Appalachian Mountains. — Arrangement of V CONTENTS. American strata. — Formation of tlie Missassipfa valley. — Evidences of diluvial action. — State of Lake Huron. — Alluvial formations — Fossil remains. — Cave fossils. — Living fossils p. 40 to 69 Mditiims io the English Edition. Remarks on Professor Eaton's geology. — Hayden's geological researches. — Dr. Van Rensselaer's list of fossils found in the United States. — Dr. Dekay upon the same subject — Dr. Bigsby's enumeration of fossils in his geological papers on the country around Lakes Huron and Erie p. 68 to 70. CHAPTER IL MINERALOGY. Mineral contents of the primitive rocks ; ofthe transition rocks; of the formations east of the Appalaclnan Mountains. — Specific mine rals: gold; silver; mercury; copper; iron; lead; and other nwtals. — Coal. — Graphite and petroleum. — Salt. — Mineral waters. — ¦ Gaseous substances. — Conclusion p. 69 to 84. Additions to ihe English Edition. Professor Hosack's remarks on the qualities of the Ballston waters ; notes of several analyses of these waters ; fixed air to be found in them in greater abundance than in any other waters ; Dr. Thacher's opinion of these waters ; Dr. Steel on the use of them. - ¦ Spring in Cliff" street, and the anal3rsis of the waters. — The Bedford springs. — The Berkeley springs. — ^Mitchill's experiments on the Saratoga waters. — Macneven's analysis of the waters around New York. — Dr. Drake's opinion of the mineral springs in Kentucky. —Dr. Francis's account of the sulphur springs of Avon ; the Indian history of these springs ; Red Jacket's opinion of them ; their uses of these waters ; the analysis of these waters ; considered by Dr. Francis as second to no medicinal waters in the United States p. 76 to 83 . CHAPTER HI. BOTANY. General character of the vegetation. — Forest trees : oak ; walnut ; maple ; birch ; ash ; elm ; chestnut ; beech ; pine ; white pine ; spruce ; cypress ; acacia ; poplar. — Ornamental trees : magnolia ; catalpa ; bow-wood ; China tree ; dog-wood ; red-bud ; rhododen dron ; kalmia ; snowberry ; coral tree ; palmetto. — Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs: papaw; cherry; persimon; plum; apple; mul berry ; vine ; gooseberry. — Cane. — Flax. — Creeping plants. — Grasses. — Rush. — Pea vine. — Wild rice. — Palmetto. — May apple. — ¦ Weeds. — ^Various plants. — Aquatic plants. — Parasitic plants p. 84 to 99. Additions to the English Edition. Letter of Govemor Clinton to Sir James Ed'ward Smith on the wild wheat supposed by Governor Clinton to be an indigenous plant., p. 98 99 CHAPTER IV. ZOOLOGY. Mammiferous animals : bat ; cougar ; lynx ; black bear ; grizzly bear ; wolf ; fox ; otter ; skunk ; raccoon ; badger ; glutton ; ermine ; shrew ; mole ; opossum ; beaver ; musk-rat ; rat and mouse ; marmot ; squirrel ; porcupine ; hare ; sloth and elephant ; deer ; ante lope ; buffalo. — Quadrupeds common to both continents. — Cetaceous animals. — Ornithology : vulture ; eagle ; fish-hawk ; falcon ; owl; burrowing owl ; parrot; cuckoo; wood-pecker; red-headed wood-pecker ; Idng-fisher; oriole; starling; cow-bunting; raven; magpie and blue jay ; night-hawk, &-c. ; swallow ; flycatcher ; mocking-bird ; cat-bird ; robin ; blue-bird ; wren ; creepers ; hum ming-bird ; pigeon ; partridge ; wading-birds ; crane ; purre ; goose ; wild duck ; canvass-back duck ; widgeon ; goosander ; snake- bird ; swan. — ^Birds of the Atlantic and the Mississippi compared. — Reptiles : snakes ; harmless serpents ; lizard ; alligator ; tortoise, and other reptiles. — ^Frogs. — Fish. — Oceanic vampire. — Insects p. lOO to 138. Additions to the English Edition. Notice of Dr. Mitchill's elaborate memoir of the fishes of New York waters. — The American Cuvier makes 147 species, 19 varieties, total 166. — Govemor Clinton's paper on the fishes of the western waters, proving that our waters are teeming with fishes that are nutritious and palatable ; the salmon, the trout, the bass, the pike, and all that the epicure seeks p. 100 to 138. BOOK III. STATISTICS. CHAPTER I. AGRICULTURE. Division into northern and southem ; neglected as a science ; progressive improvement. — Disappomtment of English agriculturists. — First erections on new lots. — Clearing the land and first crops. — Manures. — Draining and fencing. — Maize, or Indian corn ; ivlieat ; rye and barley ; turnips, &c. ; hemp ; flax. — Animals. — Implements. — Southern states : tobacco ; cotton ; rice ; sugar-cane ; iiidiirf) ; mulberry -tree and silk-worm ; vine and olive. — ^Horticulture p. 139 to l.'jS CONTENTS. *3 Additions to the English Edition. The English editor's mistake m thinking that norticulture wm but little attended to in the United States. — The Berkshire Horticultural Society. — Similar societies in Pennsylvania, New York, &c. — Dr. Francis's Address to the New York Horticultural Society, showing- the number of eminent men who have devoted theuuelves to this oursuit in the United States ; he adduces proofs that Flora has not been neglected ; he gives the names of tne first men .w *ae coun&y a.ct of low country, consisting of forest, of prairie, and of marsh land. By its immense deposits of earthy matter, it has formed in the course of ages an extensive delta, distinguished from those of all other rivers by the protrusion of a cape, or head-land, into the sea. This peculiarity arises from its having but one principal course through the delta itself, so that the debris continually brought down is always driven forward in one direction. The cape projects at pre sent thirty miles into the Mexican Gulf, and has ex tended itself twelve or thirteen miles since the colo nization of the country. The river has three main outlets, all of them shallow ; the two deepest of them have only twelve feet water on the bar at ordinary- tides. The shallow water, however, is only on the bar. At New Orleans the depth of the Mississippi is one hundred and sixty-eight feet. Having taken this general view of the Mississippi, we may for a moment compare it with the other great river with which it is so nearly connected. Rising from the same vast table land, and having such an extended line of interlocking sources, it is worthy of remark, that no two rivers on earth so essentially differ in their general features, as do the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence. The former is turbid in many places, even to muddiness ; the waters of the latter, and of its lakes, are highly limpid. The channel of one river is checkered with innumerable lakes, some of which are of immense extent, whilst in the other no lakes of any note occur. Annually the Mississippi swells and overleaps its bed, inundating the adjacent shores ; a casual rise of three feet once or twice in any given fifty years is considered a great elevation of the waters of the St. Lawrence. The Mississippi, flowing from north to south, passes through a great variety of climes, whilst its rival, winding from its source in a south-east direction to nearly N. Lat. 41 turns gradually to the north-east, and again flows into its original climate of ice and snow. The Mis sissippi, before its final discharge into the Gulf of Mexico, divides itself into a number of channels having their separate egress ; the St. Lawrence im perceptibly expands to a wide bay, which ultimately opens into the gulf of the same name. The banks ofthe Mississippi, particularly near the mouth, present a level scarcely rising above the highest spring floods of that stream ; those of the St. Lawrence generally slope from the river margin by an elegant acclivity and when cleared from timber, have the aspect of a meet delightful basin. Much of the surface within the Mississippi valley is occupied by open grassy plains, where few shrubs or trees break the monotony ofthe landscape ; nearly the whole of the St. Lawrence basin, in a state of nature, is covered with a contin uous and almost impervious forest. Such are the TOPOGS,APHf OF THE UNITED STATES. 13 leading and contrasted features of these two great North American rivers. The spring floods to which the Mississippi is subject are remarkable for their long and steady con tinuance ; a circumstance highly favourable to inland navigation. Considering the immense extent and the incalculable number of the rivers implicated, this fact has been considered anomalous ; but without just cause. It is obvious, on a glance at the diflferent regions from whence the waters are drawn, that the rivers must be high at different periods of the year. It is evident also, that, in the breaking up of winter, the water of the same valley is drawn from its recesses gradually ; more particularly when, as in the case of the Mississippi, the river flows from the poles towards the equator. It is a general fact that such rivers are never so destructive in their inundations as those whose courses are in a dififerent direction. Red River, the most southern, is also the first of the great branches of the Mississippi which discharges Its waters on the delta, and it is followed by the Ar kansas. It is remarkable that the Ohio and the Arkansas, remote as they are from each other, are the two streams of the whole basin which most uniformly emit their flood at the same time ; and they are the streams, which, with some addition from Mississippi proper, give the highest and most durable flood to the delta. The Mississippi proper fiowing so nearly north and south, spring thaws in it commence near the mouth, and retrograde slowly towards the source, and consequently the discharge is gradual ; similar remarks apply to the Ohio and the Arkansas ; so that the duration of the flood season is thus lengthened, while the quantity of water in a given time is mo derated. In common years. Red River flows out in February or early in March, but occasionally it con tinues high from December until late in the ensuing spring ; the great flood from the Arkansas, the Ohio, and the Mississippi proper, commences generally early in March, and attains its full height about the middle of June ; abating from the latter period, it has greatly subsided by the end of July or the beginning of August, when the retarded overflow of the Missouri arrives to complete the annual inundation. The importance of this inundation may be esti mated from the following view of the navigable character of the principal rivers in their ordinary state. The navigation of the Mississippi has fewer obstructions between Natchez and its mouth than above this part of the river, having so great a depth of water that snags, bars, &c. are sunk below the reach of any kind of water-craft employed upon it. From Natchez upward to its confluence with the Vol .11— Nos. 37 «fc 38. B Missouri, the river presents impediments that becoma more and more numerous and difficult to pass ; although still the main channel, though intricate in many places, affords a sufficient depth of water in all stages for boats of five or six feet draft to ascend to the mouth of the Ohio. From this point to the Missouri, a distance of more than two hundred and twenty miles, the navigation is partially obstructed, during a very low state of the water, by shoals, so that it is navigable only for boats of moderate bur^ den, requiring but about three feet of water. At the distance of about thirty miles above the niouth of the Ohio there are two rocky bars extending across the Mississippi, called the Big and Little Chains, which, in the deepest channel across them, afibrd no more than five or six feet of water when the river is low, and occasion a great rapidity of cur' rent. The obstructions to the navigation of the Missouri, although they are of the same character with those of the Mississippi, are far more numerous and formidable than those of the latter ; the channel is rendered exceedingly intricate by means of sand bars and islands, and the navigation in many places is very hazardous on account of the multiplicity of rafts, snags, sand-bars, &c. with which the channel is beset. No part of the river is exempt from these obstructions for any considerable distance, particu larly when the water is low. During the flood there is a sufficient depth to admit boats of almost any burthen ; but during the residue of the year it can hardly be called navigable, except for boats drawing no more than twenty-five or thirty inches. The obstructions to the navigation of the Ohio are sand-bars, some tew rafts and snags, and rapids, to w^hich the intricacy of its channel in several places may be added. During a middle and high state of water the obstructions entirely disappear, and an ac celerated current is the only difficulty to be encoun tered ; but during the rest of the year, when there is no freshet, boats of inconsiderable burthen meet with numerous obstructions in their progress from the lowness of the water, and in many places no channel can be found of sufficient depth to admit their passage. At the distance of about seventeen miles from its mouth is the first serious obstruction to its navigation, consisting of a lime-stone bar ex tending across the river, denominated the Big Chain, and three miles aboye is another of a similar de scription. The range of rocks, of which these ap pear to be a portion, seems to extend across the point of land situated between the Ohio and the Mississippi, presenting itself again on the latter, at the Big and Little Chains before mentioned, 'tha 14 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. falls of the Ohio at Louisville are impassable for boats of burden, except in the higher states of the water. Le Turt's Falls, and numerous other rapids, denominated ripples, are also impassable for boats of heavy burden, when the river is at its lowest stages. In this state the river is fordable in num berless places.' Connected with the general inundation is the very unfounded, but general opinion, that the Mississippi river can, and does occasionally, change its bed, and that it flows on a comparative ridge. On the con trary, the bed of the Mississippi, like that of all other rivers, is the lowest depression of the country through which it flows. As high as the efflux of La Fourche the stream is one hundred and thirty feet deep at low water, and, in a similar state, it is seventy-five or eighty at Natchez. At New Orleans the depth exceeds 160 feet. From the immediate margin of this great mass of water, indeed, the coun try falls by a very slow depression ; but the bottom of the deepest lakes, Pontchartrain, Maurepas, Q,ua- eha, Chetimaches, and others, varies only from four or five to eighteen or twenty feet below the general level of the delta, leaving the bottom of the Missis sippi upwards of 100 feet below that of any lake of Louisiana, except those formed by the river itself, in the following manner : The sweeping bends of the Mississippi cause the volume of its water to recurve upon itself, till by the double abrasion on its opposite side, a neck or isthmus is cut through, and thus far a new channel is formed, the ancient bend assuming the aspect of a lake, though still attesting its origin by its great depth, as well as its proximity and per fect resemblance to the bends of the parent stream. Of the latter species of lakes, Fausse Riviere, Homo chitta, and Yazoo, were produced within the range of history ; those of Concordia, St. John's, St. Jo seph's, Providence, and Grand Lake, were found in their existing state when Louisiana was colonized by the French. With the exceptions stated, the Mis sissippi can no more recede from its channel than eould the Hudson, the Delaware, or the Susquehan- tiah ; the barriers which confine the latter to their channels are more prominent, but not less irremova ble or impenetrable, than is the extended alluvion which spreads from the former. Though we have described the whole of the Mis sissippi basin as a valley, with reference to the two mountain chains by which it is enclosed, there are comprehended in it not only undulations of hilly coun try, but two distinct, though subordinate, mountain ¦» Report of Major Long, in James's Account of the Expedition to the Rocky Mountains,, vol, iij. ranges. The most considerable of these is caUed the Maserne, or Ozark mountains. These mountains extend from the sources of the Rio Colorado of Tex as on the south-west, to the confluence of the Mis- sissippi and the Missouri on the north-east, and are continued in a low range from this point towards Lake Superior. They are widest in the south-west, and in that quarter they mingle with some low tracts, extending from near the Gulf of Mexico to the base of the eastern extremity of the Rocky Mountains. This range consists of low ridges, ir regular in direction, rarely rising to an elevation of more than 1500 or 2000 feet. The mountainous country commences immediately west of the Missis sippi bottoms, and extends westwardly about 400 miles. This section, with the exception of the river bottoms, and tracts of valley land scattered in vari ous directions throughout the whole, is extremely hilly, broken, and mountainous, the hills and moun tains rising from five to 1500 feet above the water- level of the country in which they are situated. They are exceedingly numerous, and are divided into a multiplicity of knobs and peaks, having rounded summits, and presenting perpendicular clifl^s and abrupt precipices of sandstone. Their surfaces generally are covered with rocks of this description, or fiinty fragments strewed in profusion upon them. The growth upon them is, almost exclusively, pitch pine, cedar, scrubby oaks, hickory, haw, and bram ble ; the poverty of the soil in some instances, and the scarcity of it in others, excluding the more luxuriant vegetable productions common to the more level country in their vicinity. These mountains are penetrated by White and Red Rivers and the Arkansas. The other range is called the Black Mountains, or rather hills, and is so placed as to oc cupy the northern bend of the Missouri, between that river and the Yellow Stone. These are of still lower elevation than the Ozarks, and of a different structure, though likewise perfectly distinct from the general character of the valley. They appear to extend from the bend of the Missouri to the river Platte, upwards of 400 miles, by about seventy or eighty in breadth. This hilly region is traversed by the Little Missouri river, running north-east into the Missouri at its northern bend, while it furnishes all the western confluents to that vast recipient, af ter its turn to the southward, so low as the River Platte. The brief notice which our author has given of the physical aspect of this important country, demands an augmentation. Much might be added from the observations of several distinguished travellers of &, TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 15 recent date, particularly Mr. Flint, who has given us a number of facts touching the valley of the Mississip pi, in his works, to which the reader is referred. In a paper, little known, entitled, Observations on certain Phenomena of the Great Lakes of America, drawn up by the late governor of New York, Dewitt Clinton, and published in the Transactions of the New York Literary and Philosophical Society, vol. ii. part 1, some curious speculations may be found, and as they come recommended both by their novelty, and by the distinguished character of the author, they are deem ed worthy of insertion, as a suitable termination of this chapter. Phenomena similar to those mentioned by Governor Clinton have been noticed as occurring in the waters of other inland seas. " It has been until within a few years generally understood that there are no tides in the great lakes of America ; and that the Mediterranean, Black, Caspian, and Baltic seas, and other great waters of the old world, are also exempt from their influence. More accurate observation has however indicated that this opinion is in some respects erroneous, and it is now considered doubtful whether it is not altogether so. It is confidently said that there are tides in the Mediterranean. At Toulon, three hours and fifteen minutes after the moon has passed its meridian, the tide rises one foot ; and in the highest spring tides, augmented by the concurrence of other causes, it swells as high as two feet.* The Lake of Geneva and the Lake of Constance are subject to an occasional rising and falling of their waters three or four feet, se veral times in succession, by a sort of oscillating mo tion, which phenomenon is denominated seiches. t There are certain appearances connected with our lakes that resemble the operation of tides, and there are others of a character entirely dissimilar. As the western lakes contain the greatest collections of fresh water in the world, all the phenomena connected with them are deeply interesting in relation to geography, agriculture, trade, and natural science : I shall there fore devote this memoir to this subject. " 1. In our lakes there is, apparent to every obser ver, a sort of flux and reflux, which we would natu rally attribute to the wind, and might therefore pass it over without particular attention. But a more dis criminating view has resulted in a conviction with many accurate and distinguishing observers, that the peculiar motion of the waters is entirely independent of the winds ; that it occurs within stated periods ; that it is not subject to the irregularities of occasional * Forster's History of the Vbycges in the North. t De Saussure's Voyages daus les Alpes. Kinlock's Letters from Geneva and France. Coxe's Switzerland. Simond's Swit zerland. or accidental causes, but that it depends for its exist ence upon a power operating with unceasing vigour, and with unintermitted regularity, at the same place, although varying as to the quantum of its influence at other places. On the other hand, it is supposed by some that these appearances are occasional and irregu lar, and do not result from uniform causes. I shall now refer to some prominent authorities on this subject. " La Hontan is the first writer who touches on this phenomenon.!: 'On the 29th of May, 1689, we came,' said he, ' to a little deep sort of a river, which disembogues at a place where the water of the lake (Michigan) swells three feet high in twelve hours, and decreases as much in the same compass of time. Our tarrying there three or four days, gave me an opportunity of making the remark.' An appearance of this nature could not escape the observing eye of Charlevoix, the most sagacious, able, and learned of the French writers on America. Speaking of Lake Ontario, § ' I observed,' said he, ' that in this lake, and I am told that the same thing happens in all the rest, there is a sort of flux and reflux almost instantaneous, the rocks near the banks being covered with water and uncovered again several times in the space of a quarter of an hour, even if the surface of the lake was very calm, with scarce a breath of wind. After reflecting for some time on this appearance, I ima gined it was owing to the springs at the bottom of the lakes, and to the shock of their currents, with those of the rivers which fall into them from all sides, and thus produce those intermitting motions.' " Pownallll says, ' Lake Ontario, like the Mediterra nean, the Caspian, and other large invasated waters, has a small rising and falling of the water, like tides, some twelve or eighteen inches perpendicular.' " These are the only authorities of an old dale to which I have had access. Those which I now re fer to are of recent observation, and some are de rived from oral communication. Mr. Benjamin Wright, a very judicious and intelligent gentleman, and one of the principal engineers on the Western Canal, informs me, that at a place called Mexico, about twenty miles from Oswego, Lake Ontario ebbs and flows every hour and a half about six inches, and that the flood is highest when the wind is from the shore. " A gentleman of veracity and intelligence, who re sides at the mouth of Genesee River, says that, this lake rises and falls four times each in every hour, whether there be a wind or not ; that the smallest t La Hontan's North America, vol. ii. § Journal Historique, d'un voyage, de L'amerique, Letter xiii, II Topographical description of part of North America. 16 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. tide is four, and the highest twenty-eight inches, and that this occurs during a perfect calm. " A similar appearance occurs on Lake Champlaln. Captain Winans, one of the proprietors of the steam boats, who resides at Burlington, in Vermont, assures me, that in summer, when there has been a perfect calm for several days, he has observed at that place a flux and reflux of the lake four times every hour, with great regularity, and at every access rising four inches, as was obvious from a mark made on a log. " Captain Storrow, a gentleman of talents, says, in a printed letter to General Brown, ' while at Green Bay, I made observations on the ebb and flow of a lake tide. At eleven o'clock A. M. I placed a stick perpendicularly in the water — at half past nine P. M. the water had risen five inches — at eight next morn ing it had fallen seven inches — at eight same evening it had risen eight inches. During this period the wind was in the same direction, blowing generally against the flow of the tide.' " Judge Woodward, of Michigan, in a letter to Doctor Mitchill, states, that Mr. Benjamin F. Stick ney, who resides on the Miami River of Lake Erie, some miles below the rapids, and a few miles from the mouth of the river, made observations on this subject for more than a fortnight, in June, 1820, the result of which is a conviction in his mind that there is a regular tide in Lake Erie — that it flows and ebbs twice in twenty-five hours, at intervals of about six hours and eleven minutes, and that it is greatest at the new and full moons, and least at the quarters. The minimum of rise within the period during which the observations were made, was as much as eight inches. The maximum of rise within the same pe riod, vvas as much as forty inches. Mr. Lecuyer, a gentleman equally intelligent, expressed the same opinion as to a tide at Green Bay. " If these exhibitions of a flux and reflux of the lakes were only occasional and incidental, not uni form, and periodical, there would be perhaps no great difficulty in assigning satisfactory causes. The seiches of the Lake of Geneva have been ascribed by Mr. Bertrand to the influence of electrical clouds which attract and raise the waters of the lalce, and he supposes that this water afterwards falling pro duces those undulations of which the eflfect, hke that of the tides, is most sensibly felt where the shores are most approximated. " A more probable cause may be the unequal pres sure of the atmosphere on the waters, which will of course rise higher as the weight of the incumbent air is less, and fall as it becomes greater ; and these changes being almost always in operation, may ac count for the almost continual ebb and flow of the lakes. " The cause assigned by Charlevoix is entirely unsatisfactory ; and it is premature to form a theory on the subject. Facts and experiments ought to precede speculations ; and we must leave it to future inquirers to ascertain the facts in extenso — to inves tigate the causes, and to determine whether this phe nomenon be owing to the pressure of the atmosphere — the influence of the moon — the attraction of the clouds — the convexity or motion of the globe, or any other assignable agency. " 2. There is an annual rise and fall of Lake Erie. The rise generally commences in March, and termi nates about the middle of July ; and this is the case sooner or later with the other lakes. It is owing to the great accession of water produced by the melting of snow and ice, and by the vernal rains ; and the fall is occasioned by the failure of most of these sources of supply in summer. " 3. There is, besides the annual rise of the lakes, a more extended periodical one, at least every three years, and then a correspondent declension. Some extend the time to five, and others to seven years. Some say that the highest rise is seven feet, and others differ as to the exact altitude ; but there can be no doubt ofthe general certainty ofthe fact. Lake Erie began to rise in 1811, and continued to increase- until 1815, when it was two feet higher than was ever known. The overflowing ofthe waters destroy ed trees on the low lands more than two hundred years old, and the inhabitants of Detroit, which is an ancient settlement, had never seen or heard of such a rise before. It fell a little in 1816, rose again in 1817, and decreased until 1822. It was in June last on the rise, and one and a half feet higher than usuaL In 1810 I Avalked on Bird Island ; an island situate at the outlet of Lake Erie. In 1816 it was almost covered with water, and was scarcely visible. I am informed by an intelligent ship-master on the lakes, 'that when he visited Detroit in 1797, the waters were at their height. He went to the south the fol lowing year, and did not return to that place until 1802, when he found the waters considerably lower. Having understood that there was a rise and fall every seven years, he determined to ascertain how great it was ; for which purpose he caused marks to be made on a solid wharf that had been built more than twenty years before,, and was perfectly firm and immoveable ; and he found that the water declined on an average about an inch a year for nine years. What the fall was for five years during his absence- he did not know, but it may be fairly stated at three TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 17 times as much yearly ; that is, fifteen inches, if com pared with subsequent occurrences of a similar cha racter. The lake began to rist again in 1811, in the spring- of which it rose six inches, but during the summer it fell two inches. In 1812 it rose fourteen inches, and subsided three inches, leaving a nett gain of fifteen inches in two years. The surrender of Detroit to the British, in October, 1812, compelled him to leave the country ; but in October, 1813, he returned with the fleet, and the water was then at its greatest altitude, having in that year gained twelve inches — in all twenty-seven inches. In 1814 and 1815 it was stationary. In 1816 and 1817 it fell at least eighteen inches. And he further supposes, from appearances at Michilimackinack, that the whole town of that island was- formerly under water, and that one of the ancient outlets of the lakes was by Chicago, which he states at only thirteen feet above the present level of the lake ; and he says that every spring you may pass up the Chicago River and car ry in the shoalest place five feet water into the Illi nois, and from thence into the Mississippi.' " Mackenzie, in his account of his voyages through the continent, to the Frozen and Pacific oceans, in 1789 and 1793, says, that ' along the surrounding branches of Lake Superior, there are evident marks of the decrease of its waters by the lines observable along them. The, space, however, between the high est and the lowest is not so great as in the smaller lakes; as it does not amount to more than six feet ; the former, or highest lines, are very faint.' " 4. The lakes are subject to extraordinary swells and risings. On the 18th of October, 1764, Colonel Bradstreet, who had been on an expedition against the Western Indians, broke up his camp at Sandusky to proceed on his return to Albany by Lake Erie. In the evening, as he was going to land the troops, a sudden swell of the lake, without any visible cause, destroyed several of his boats, but no lives were lost. This extraordinary event was, however, looked upon as the precursor of a storm, and accordingly one soon occurred which lasted several days. Mackenzie, be fore quoted, states that ' a very curious phenomenon was observed some years ago at the Grand Portage in Lake Superior, for which no obvious cause could be assigned. The water withdrew with great pre cipitation, leaving the ground dry that had never be fore been visible ; the fall being equal to four per pendicular feet, and rushing back with great velocity above the common mark. It continued thus falling and rising for several hours, gradually decreasing until it stopped at its usual height.' '' The fallowing occurrence, equally extraordinaryj took place on the British side of Lake Erie, on or about the 30th May, 1823, which is thus described. ' A little after sunset Lake Erie was observed to take a sudden and extraordinary rise, the weather being fine and clear, and the lake calm and smooth. It was principally noticed at the mouths of Otter and Kettle Creeks, which are twenty miles apart. At Otter Creek, it came in, without the least previous intimation, in a swell of nine feet perpendicular height, as was afterwards ascertained, rushed vio lently up the channel, drove a schooner of 35 tons; burden from her moorings, threw her upon high ground, and rolled over the ordinary beach into the woods, completely inundating all the adjacent flats^ This was followed by two others of equal height, which caused the creek to retrograde a mile and a half, and to overflow its banks, where water was never before seen, by seven Or eight feet. The noise occasioned by its rushing with such rapidity along the winding channel, was truly astonishing. It was; witnessed by a number of persons. " ' At Kettle Creek several men were drawing a fish net in the lake, when suddenly they saw the water coming upon them in the manner above men tioned ; and, letting go their net, they ran for their lives. The swell overtook them before they could reach the high bank, and swept them forward with great force ; but, being expert swimmers, they es caped unhurt. The man who was in the skiff pull ing in the sea line, was drove with it a considerable distance over the flat, and grounded upon a small eminence until the water subsided. There were three successive swells, as at Otter Creek, and tha effects up the creek were the same, with this differ ence, the water only rose seven feet. In both cases., the lake, after the three swells had spent their force, gradually subsided, and in about twenty minutes was at its usual height and tranquillity. It was observed at other places along the shore, but the high steep banks did not admit of the same observation. In all, however, there was a general correspondence as to the height of the rise. " ' Conjecture will doubtless be awake as to the cause of this most remarkable phenomenon ; but it must only be conjectured, for it was unattended with any circumstance that could remotely hint at a pro bable cause. But such was the fact, and it must furnish its own comment.' '¦'Some have supposed that the occasional rise ol Lake Erie is owing to the strong south winds in Lake Michigan ; but this hypothesis cannot account satis- faotorilv im this appearance. Volney supposes that Lake Ontario is the crater of a volcano. Mackenzie 18 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. says, that many of the islands of Lake Superior, dis play a conformation of lava, intermixed with round stones of the size of a pigeon's egg. The western country abounds with what are called burning springs, consisting of volumes of hydrogen gas, issuing from spiracula in the earth, and it is underlaid with sul phur, coal, bitumen, and other inflammable substances. In boring for salt at Rocky Hill, in Ohio, about a mile and a half from Lake Erie, after proceeding to the depth of one hundred ninety -seven feet, the auger fell, and salt water spouted out for several hours. After the exhaustion of this water, great volumes of inflammable air issued through the aperture for a long time, and formed a cloud ; and by ignition by the fire in the shops of the workmen, consumed and destroyed every thing in the vicinity. " Whether the country round the Great Lakes is volcanic or not, is not material to the present inquiry. We know that the bowels of the earth are stored with inflammable materials, and that there exist strong indications of subterranean communications at enor mous distances. Indeed, every thing in earthquakes seems to indicate the action of elastic fluids seeking an outlet to spread themselves in the atmosphere. At the period of the last, and the preceding destruction of Lisbon, according to Humboldt,* the sea was vio lently agitated as far as America. For instance, at the Island of Barbadoes, more than twelve hundred leagues from Portugal, and on Lake Ontario, strong agitations of the water were observed in October, 1755. The first destruction of Lisbon took place on the first day of November, 1755, and the last on the thirty-first day of March, 1764, the very year in which the sudden swelling of Lake Erie overwhelmed some of Colonel Bradstreet's vessels. " Bakewell, in his Geology, states, that ' during the earthquake at Lisbon, in 1775, almost all the springs and lakes in Great Britain, and in every part of Eu rope, were violently agitated, many of them throwing up mud and sand, and emitting a fetid odour. The morning of the earthquake, the hot springs at Top- litz, in Bohemia, suddenly ceased to fiow for a mi nute, and then burst forth with prodigious violence, throwing up turbid water, the temperature of which was higher than before. The hot wells at Bristol were coloured red, and rendered unfit for use for some months afterwards. Even the distant waters of Lake Ontario, in North America, were violently agitated at the tjnne. The connexion which earthquakes conti nues Bakewell) have with distant volcanoes, and their • Humboldt's Persona' Narrative. frequency at particular periods, are truly remarkable. The tremendous earthquakes in 1812, in the Carrac- cas, were followed by an eruption in the Island of St. Vincents, from a volcano that had not been burn ing since 1718, and violent oscillations of the ground were felt, both in the islands and on the coast of America.' " The late swell of Lake Erie has been followed by shocks of earthquakes, as well at a distance, as in the vicinity. Have we not therefore reason to be lieve, that the extraordinary agitations which some times occur in the lakes, are connected with earth quakes, and produced by the same causes ?" CHAPTER II. CLIMATE, SOIL, &C. The United States are most desirably situated. They are placed in the northern temperate zone, and occupy just that portion of it which is most likely to yield a salubrious climate with a fertile soil. Hap pily removed alike from the consuming heats of the torrid zone, and the perpetual frosts of the polar re gions, the republic is nevertheless of such an extent as almost to touch upon them both. The climate of a country stretching through nearly five and twenty degrees of latitude cannot but be of great diversity. In this respect, it has been divided into five regions, which may be denominated the very cold, the cold, the temperate, the warm, and the Aott 1. The very cold, in the north-east, may be defined by running a line from St. Regis, on the St. Lawrence, along the high lands in the state of New York to Tioga Point, in Pennsylvania ; thence to Stony Point, on Hudson River, and thence to Cape Cod, in Mas sachusetts. In this region the winters commence in November and end in April, and the summers com mence in June and end in August. Both heat and cold go to great extremes, but the country is general ly healthy. To the westward, north of a line drawn from the southern extremity of Lake Huron to the Rocky Mountains, the climate is also very cold, and the northern extremity is in winter excessively so. In this region the heat and cold go to still greater extremes than to the eastward. The highest, lowest, and mean heat for each month, at dififerent situations, will be shown by the following table : t Melish's Description of the United States. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE. 19 Portsmouth, N. H. 43 5N. Boston, Mass. 43 33 N. Lat. Mackinaw. 45 55 N. Lat. St. Peter's. 45 0 N. Lat. - Lat. 6 16 E. Lon.* 5 48 E. Lon. 17 30 W. Lon. 15 30 W. Lon. 1820. High. Low. Mean. High. Low. Mean. H gh. Low. Mean. High. Low. Mean. January .... 35 9 21 35 5 23 29 -30t 0 February 48 3 30 50 1 29 46 -14 21 March . 62 12 34 74 4 34 68 10 46 f/"^ • 64 24 42 75 27 48 85 10 39 May . . 73 45 55 78 51 56 83 36 61 June . . 94 52 67 98 50 67 83 52 71 July . . 89 63 67 87 57 67 93 54 69 August . 92 55 • 73 73 53 62 92 53 68 September 88 40 60 75 43 58 89 30 63 October . 65 * 32 49 58 33 48 70 28 45 November 49 18 37 54 15 39 50 10 32 56 -7 31 December 38 13 25 42 8 27 34 4 21 32 -20 11 Mean of the year 45° 8' 47° 3' incomplete 43° 9' 1 The range of the thermometer in this region is not less than 128°, viz. from 30° below zero to 98° above it, including great extremes both of heat and cold. The most intense cold and the lowest, ave rage temperature are at St. Peter's, the point most remote from the ocean and from the principal lakes. 2. The cold region comprehends a great and very unequal range of country. In the eastern division it extends from the foregoing line to Lakes Ontario and Erie westward ; and south on the Atlantic coast, to about Cape Henlopen on the Delaware. Thence a line may be protracted to Washington, along by the foot of the first mountains in Virginia to about Mor gantown, North Carolina ; thence through the moun tains to Ken away River, and north-east on the west side of the mountains to the upper part of Chestnut Ridge, in Pennsylvania. In the westward, the southern boundary of the very cold region before mentioned may be assumed as the northern boundary of the cold ; and the southern boundary of the cold may be protracted westward from the head of Chest nut Ridge to the high lands dividing the waters. falling into the Ohio from those falling into the St. Lawrence, and along in a northern and Avestern di rection, crossing the Mississippi about thirty miles below Prairie des Chiens, thence south and west crossing the Missouri about thirty miles below the Platte River ; thence southward to the west of the Great Osage village, and then eastward to the Arkansas River, above the Hot Springs. In this division the winters commence in December and end in March, and the heat of summer commences in May and enda in September. The heat and cold here also go to great extremes ; but the weather is very changeable particularly in winter, so that neither severe heat nor severe cold lasts long at a time. The country in this division is also generally healthy. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE. New York. 40 43 N. Lat. 3 10 E. Lon. Philadelphia. 39 57 N. Lat. 1 52 E. Lon. Washington. 38 52 N. Lat. Sackett's Har. 43 55 N. Lat. 1 0 E. Lon. Detroit. 42 30 N. Lat. 5 48 W. Lon. 1818. Prairie des Chiens. 42 36 N. Lat.l438W.L. Council Bluffs. 41 31 N. Lat. 19 45 W. Lon. 1820. January February March 43 68 Low. 90 16 Mt*nn 38 3438 High. 48 64 70898295 989694 7660 45 Low. 66 23 20 45 56 7064 44 3632 27 Mran 26 3741 536076 78787152 40 33 High. 42 6668888492 888785 72 6458 Low. 1416 26 295156 70 715148 34 32 Mpan 3248 4457 6374 8178 71565043 57 6474708487 8587 7660 58 Low. 12 09 222250 5854 443020 9 Mean 23 3233 48 5365 737166 52 4126 42616381869294 92 74 60 48 Low. 420 18 3451 1820 6562473024 6 Mean 24 17 32 41 53 706975 71 514027 High. 889099 909490 70 6033 Low. i2 395054 543220-« -14 Mean 576175 74 72 64 44 33 16 High. 40 71,70 94909997 105 92805950 Low. -32 -8 0 34 50 5558594222 -4 -5 Mean 9 3034 58 6974 757568 47 34 18 May July August September •• •• October .....; November December Mean of the year incomplete 53° 7/ 58^ 1' 4S°6' 47° 4' incomplete 49° 2' jl ? The longitude in these tables is reckoned from the meridian of Washington. t - sigaifi.es below zgra. 20 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. In this region it may be observed that the most in tense cold occurs at the most inland stations, Prairie des Chiens and Council Bluffs ; but that the lowest average temperature is on the borders of the lakes. 3. The temperate region is situated between the cold and a line drawn from Morgantown, North Carolina, south-westward, along the foot of the moun tains to their termination in Georgia, thence in a north-west direction by Florence, in Alabama, and crossing the Mississippi River about the upper part of the Chickasaw Bluflfs, thence north-west to the Dela ware towns, on White River, and thence south-west to the Arkansas, above the Hot Spring^. The region described within these limits lies in the very heart of the country, the whole being on a conriderable eleva tion. It comprehends Kentucky and Missouri, with nearly the whole of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ten nessee, the south part of Pennsylvania, the western part of Virginia, and small portions of North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. This climate is distinguish ed from the foregoing principally by having an earlier spring, and the weather is generally more settled and serene, although both heat and cold occasionally go to as great extremes. \= METEOROLOGICAL TABLE. Pittsburg. Zanesville. Marietta. Chillicothe. Cincinnati. Jetfersonville. Gallatin. Huntsville. 18-20. 1819. 1819. 1819. 1819. 1819. 1819. 1819. Mo. 40 32 N. Lat. 39 59 N. Lat. 39 30 N. Lat. 39 20 N. Lat. 39 6 N. Lat. 38 12 N. Lat. 36 23 N. Lat. 34 36 N. Lat. 3 46 W. Lon. 4 58 W. Lon. 4 28 W. Lon. 5 45 W. Lon. 7 31 W. Lon. 8 34 W. Lon. 9 38 W. Lon. 9 55 W. Lon. High. Low. Moan High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean Jan. 43 10 39 68 10 40 67 16 42 64 18 40 70 30 37 66 20 47 74 20 47 70 27 51 Feb. 62 10 42 64 18 39 62 13 39 66 15 40 64 16 42 64 18 44 72 20 48 70 28 53 Mar. 54 21 43 63 10 39 67 15 40 68 14 41 63 10 40 68 19 44 80 12 46 76 26 50 Apr. 81 30 60 83 24 56 89 28 54 78 30 57 79 30 57 78 28 58 82 28 60 81 32 63 May 82 40 58 88 42 65 80 34 64 86 44 69 86 42 66 88 ,50 69 90 38 67 87 42 69 June 90 54 71 90 .50 74 86 56 73 98 60 77 94 51 74 97 60 80 92 .54 75 92 62 81 July 92 64 76 93 51 75 88 63 72 74 63 77 91 .58 74 94 60 79 90 53 76 90 66 81 Aug. 89 60 73 96 50 78 93 56 78 72 60 SO 93 .52 77 99 56 82 90 .58 75 87 69 79 Sep. 89 41 64 92 41 69 88 48 69 89 .52 70 90 45 69 94 50 70 94 42 71 86 60 76 Oct. 76 40 54 76 25 55 81 30 53 86 .S2 56 83 29 55 72 34 60 83 .38 62 Nov. b'2 sa 46 71 20 49 72 22 48 73 .S3 59 76 -28 51 68 30 .53 SO 23 54 79 36 58 Dec. 48 28 37 59 6 30 57 13 35 60 16 39 63 13 38 58 4 37 -• 64 18 42 Mean 54° 2/ 55° 7/ 55° 6' 58° 8' 56° 8' 60° 3' incomplete 63° T 1 4. The possessing a warm, climate lies between the temperate and a line drawn from Cape Henry in a circular direction below Annapolis, and passing above Tarboro, and through Fayetteville, Columbia, Augusta, Milledgeville, and Fort Jackson, in Alabama, and thence a little south of west across the Mississippi, and on to the Sabine River, in the latitude of Nacogdoches, in Texas. In this region the winters commence about the 1st of January, and end about the 1st of March ; and the summers com mence about the 1st of May, and end about the mid dle of October. The weather is pretty settled and steady, and except in swampy or marshy situations, the country is generally healthy. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE. Norfolk. Augusta. Milledgeville. Monroe. 1820. 1818. 1819. 1819. 36 53 N. Lat 33 15 N. Lat 33 55 N. Lat. 32 23 N. Lai 00 47 E. Lon. 5 00 W. Lon. 6 10 W. Lon. 9 38 W. Lon. High. Low. Mean. High. Low. Mean. High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean. January . , , , 71 19 51 70 17 48 72 38 63 February , , 74 20 48 68 31 45 78 29 57 March . ,. .. 79 34 54 70 33 57 85 30 63 m"""' • .. .. 83 22 61 84 42 65 87 48 72 May . . June . , .. .. ., .. ., 92 51 73 , , 93 61 83 94 57 76 July . . 89 70 80 100 72 85 95 78 87 92 63 79 August . 89 74 79 .. .. 92 78 86 94 65 80 September 83 71 78 ., 92 62 79 October . November 8079 5041 6756 -• •• •- 90 35 62 December 65 40 50 .. .. 76 21 39 Mean of the year incomplete. incomplete incomplete incomplete. { TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 21 5. The hot region extends from the southern ex tremity of the warm to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. In this climate the summers commence in April and end in November, and the heat is often very oppressive ; the winters are often very variable, but generally pleasant and healthy. The whol'^ of this district being on the alluvial formation, there are many Swamps and marshes interspersed through it, and near these the summers are very unhealthy, but in high and dry situations the climate is favotira- ble. The diseases particularly incident to this dis trict are bilious fever, and fever and ague ; but, on the other hand, pulmonary complaints, and many others which prevail in cold countries, are hardly known. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE. Fort Johnson. Savannah. FeTnandina,Fl. Fort Scott. New Orleans. Baton Rouge. Camp Ripley. 1820. 1819. 1830. 1820. 1820. 1820. 1820. 33 51 N. Lat. 33 8 N. Lat. 30 37 N. Lat. 30 43 N. Lat. 30 00 N. Lat. 30 36 W. Lon. 31 18 N. Lat. 1 10 W. Lon. 4 15 W. Lon. 4 45 W. Lon. 7 23 W. Lon. 13 10 W. Lon. 15 14 N. Lat. 16 50 W. Lon. High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean High. Low. Mean January 63 33 47 75 38 53 79 35 55 74 32 55 February 79 40 55 79 32 57 78 50 65 72 31 61 78 51 64 March . 63 34 60 87 30 60 70 .50 64 78 38 66 ¦ 78 32 61 iU)ril . . May . . 83 33 67 89 34 64 85 45 72 89 44 68 78 58 73 86 43 70 87 55 76 82 60 69 93 56 74 86 61 74 88 56 74 87 72 79 90 .58 75 88 .54 76 Jtme . . 84 64 75 97 64 78 87 67 78 9) 50 78 91 72 86 94 60 81 92 57 78 July . . 89 75 81 94 68 78 87 71 80 91 60 79 90 80 82 90 70 79 93 73 81 August . 90 73 83 91 68 78 88 70 79 92 68 80 92 78 85 92 74 83 94 65 82 ' September 86 67 78 93 60 76 87 73 80 80 65 75 88 71 81 88 64 77 92 56 77 October . 84 .50 67 87 41 66 85 50 69 89 60 70 84 45 6' 88 40 67 85 48 66 November 79 40 61 . . 76 43 64 78 40 60 75 39 57 84 36 61 84 32 60 December 70 51 57 75 50 61 84 32 59 77 39 60 76 40 60 79 28 53 66° 7/ incomplete. 70° 1' 68° 7/ 1 incomplete. incomplete. incomplete. | It is worthy of remark, that the heat, though it is of longer duration in the warm and hot regions, is not of greater intensity than in the cold and very cold. In the latter the thermometer reaches 98°, or even 99° ; while in the former the summer heat is generally be low that line, and only once appears in the tables above it, namely, at 100°. We add a table, giving a more general view of the subject under consideration. General Abstract from all the Observations made at the Military Posts of the United States for 1820 ; Thirty-seven posts, extending from 30° to 45° 55/ North Lat. and 6° 46' East to 19° 45' fVest Longitude. Months. Average at General Average. Highest, and place of observation. Lowest, and place of observation. Range. 7 A.M. 2 p.m. 9 P.M. January 25 33 29 29 79 Fernandina t-30 St. Peters 109 February 38 46 32 42 79 Fort Johnson -17 Plattsburgh 96 March ........ 41 49 44 45 78 Belle Fontaine -10 St. Peters 68 April May 56 66 60 61 94 Council Bluffs 10 Ditto 84 61 71 65 66 90 Montpellier 22 Ditto 68 June 70 84 74 76 99 Prairie des Chiens 50 Ditto 49 July 74 82 75 77 98 Fort Mifflin, Phila. 54 Ditto 44 August 73 81 75 76 *105 Council Bluffs 53 Boston 52 September 67 76 70 71 99 Ditto 30 St. Peters 69 October 52 60 56 56 88 Baton Rottge 20 Prairie des Chiens 68 November 42 50 46 46 84 Camp Ripley -7 St. Peters 91 December 34 41 37 37 84 Fort Scott -30 Ditto 114 General Mean 52 63 56 57 *105 Sunday, 13th Aug. t-30 Sunday, 30th Jan. 135 Mr. Melish informs us, that the observations from which his tables were compiled were taken, as we believe similar observations have generally been, at the hours of seven A. M. and two and nine P. M. ; but we agree in the opinion that this method gives a mean temperature much too high. It is obvious that the coldest portion of the twenty-four hours, that between nine in the evening and seven in the morning, is wholly excluded from the calculation. Vol. II.— Nos. 37 & 38. C It appears also, as might have been expected, that, by taking the morning observations very early, Messrs. Brantz and Haines have produced tables with a mean temperature lower, and doubtless more cor rect, than others. As a specimen of the deductions to be made on this ground from Mr. Melish's tables, which we have given above, our readers may refer to the city of Washington, in the second region, the mean temperature of which is stated to be 58°, while Mr 22 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. Brantz reduces it to 52° and i, Mr. Haines to 49°, and Mr. Darby finally adjudges it to 53° and i. Cli mate, however, is not to be determined by the mere use of the thermometer. Great as the importance of this instrument is, when accurately constructed and properly employed, it is liable to so much error and unskilful use, and has yielded, in point of fact, so many irreconcilable and obviously mistaken results, that little dependance can be placed on it alone. Hence arises the necessity of taking into the account prevailing winds, the freezing of rivers, vegetable in - dications, and whatever else may be auxiliary to a correct judgment. The following table, exhibiting the course of the winds and the state of the atmos phere at various places in the United States, is given by Mr. Melish, as compiled from official information : Places. Wmds. Atmosphere. N. N. W. N. E. E. S.E. S. S.W. W. Clear Cloudv Rain Snow Portsmouth 16 147 40 33 22 35 28 41 208 116 33 18" Boston 30 64 43 33 16 37 88 49 224 84 35 22 • very cold Mackinaw, Oct. Nov. Dec. 7 16 13 7 17 6 9 17 12 24 33 23 St. Peters, eleven months . . 19 74 21 13 71 34 70 53 223 33 57 31 J New York, Jan. Feb. March . 7 37 8 0 3 0 28 6 54 15 14 11- Philadelphia 19 76 65 39 31 28 65 43 216 85 55 9 Washington 56 87 35 16 24 40 55 56 222 58 72 13 Sackett's Harbour 48 58 47 14 43 25 88 38 186 93 54 37 I Cold Prairie des Chiens, nine months 11 80 9 2 26 8 81 27 138 51 46 9 Council Bluffs 41 62 34 23 113 46 27 16 236 73 48 11 Detroit, six months .... 21 10 9 13 18 76 17 20 84 86 13 2. Pittsburgh 36 54 36 25 58 28 71 42 310 55 45 20 Temperate Norfolk, six months .... 6 33 55 11 21 2 51 5 133 39 21 3 Warm Port Johnson 44 37 45 30 35 108 40 25 316 78 64 0^ Fernandina 15 32 82 25 145 6 41 20 257 68 40 0 Fort Scott 39 7 11 59 16 71 15 146 209 88 68 0 S-Hot Baton Rouge, eleven months . 15 69 35 23 65 17 103 8 162 76 97 0 Camp Ripley, nine months . . 17 27 31 13 46 20 74 28 129 66 71 oJ In this table the state of the atmosphere deserves no tice, for the very large proportion of dry and clear wea ther. This is a highly characteristic and important feature of the North American continent, as contrasted, at least, with our own country, and contributes much to diminish the rigour and increase the salubrity of the climate. For the further illustration ofthe prevail ing winds, we insert two tables given by Mr. Darby : Abstract of the prevailing Winds at various points of the United States, above North Latitude 35°, proportions of 1000. The whole rmmhers reduced to Places of Observation. N. E. N. N. W. W. S.W. S. S.E. E. Polar Sea 122 100 394 79i 132 33 112 28 Fort Brady 33 58 159 274 79 86 241 73 Basin of Columbia 130 20 118 44 401 33 200 53 Valley of Missouri 117 58 294 73 244 21 141 48 Council Bluffs 71 196 151 53 101 246 134 61 Fort Howard 384 23 23 26 535 13 3 6 Fort Crawford 33 186 250 53 101 190 137 10 New Harmony 101 131 124 165 221 155 65 33 Cincinnati 164 22 211 77 343 22 135 26 Washington City 165 65 257 72 238 96 90 14 Baltimore 194 303 208 295 Philadelphia 196 49 227 120 255 58 69 32 Germantown . 97 48 194.3 301 167 49 64 78.5 New York 116 34 301 69 310 130 134 29 Newport, Rhode Island 113 101 218 61 335 66 89 33 Eastport, Maine 68 109 229.7 3454 159 133 234 26 69 3102 1190 1638 3693 1231 1929 593.5 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 23 Abstract of the prevailing 'Winds at various points of the United States, below North Latitude 35°. The whole red/uttd fo proportions of 1000. Places of Observation. N.E. N. N. W. W. S.W, S. S. E. E. Baton Rouge ' . Pensacola Cantonment Jessup Tampa Bay St. Augustine , Charleston, Sonth Carolina Smithville, North Carolina ...... 236 417 146 416228 42 5 3679 3659 293 133 97 99 9738 109 83 47 65 4757 141 208 83 151 83 127 52 9425 109 25 169 299 153 250 235 250 186 21 1095 100 58 127 58 126 53 Amount 1485 508 573 440 704 . 721 523 The general result deducible from these tables, which are in harmony with many other observations, is, that westerly winds prevail above N. Lat. 35°, and easterly winds below it. In the former table, out of 15,830 decimal numbers, 8785 are from the N. W., W. and S. W. ; in the latter, out of 5048 decimal num- Ders, 3102 are from the N. E., E. and S. E. This course of the winds is conceived by Mr. Darby to be owing to no circumstances peculiarly affecting the North American continent, but rather to some more general, though little understood, causes which give a similar determination to the air in similar latitudes over the whole earth. He connects the ascertained facts with the ingenious theory, that the winds unin fluenced by local interruptions, follow a parabolic curve from the polar to the tropical regions of the earth, with the sweep of the curve eastward. Comparing with each other the several parts of the United States in the same latitudes, two diversi ties of climate may be noticed. The maritime dis trict on the Pacific Ocean is much warmer than corresponding latitudes on the Atlantic. At the mouth of the river Columbia, in N. Lat. 46°, the thermometer is seldom below the freezing point ; while on the eastern part of the continent the winters in this parallel are excessively cold. This seems to arise from the prevalence of westerly winds in the latitudes in question, a cause which makes all western coasts in similar parallels of milder climate than the eastern. In addition to this, it has been supposed, also, that the country in the valley of the Mississippi has milder winters than the Atlantic shores. Many persons seem to have been influenced to go into the interior by this idea, which was strongly maintained by the French traveller, Volney ; but which, after exciting much diversity of opinion, is now shown to be as contrary to fact as it was in the first instance to probability. Mr. Darby thus sets the question at rest. Referring to the growth of vegetables, he says,* ? View ofthe United States, p. 421. " I surveyed southern Louisiana from the Sabine east ward, and found the live oak, quercus sempervirens, flourishing along the rivers in the delta and its vi cinity ; but when the great body of woods which bounds the delta above the marshes and prairies is passed, and the north-west winds from Texas have full sweep along the Calcasiu and the Sabine, the live oak ceases. In the delta this production is found as high as N. Lat. 30° 22, rising to the majesty of a forest tree ; yet in their utmost range in the basin of Mississippi this and the chaemerops, or dwarf palm, cease far south of their limit on the Atlantic coast. The large palm (cabbage tree) is not found in Louisiana. The live oak rises to considerable height and column as high as the mouth of Cape Fear River, N. Lat. 34°, full 3|° beyond its greatest northern residence in the central basin. In Louisi ana the orange tree cannot be cultivated to much ad vantage above N. Lat. 30°, and it ceases altogether about a degree farther north ; the sugar cane, with a slightly higher locality, does not flourish beneficially much above the orange ; but both these vegetables are profitably cultivated along the Atlantic coast as high as N. Lat. 33° 30'. We thus find tender vege tables either indigenous, or cultivated as objects of emolument, on latitudes along the Atlantic coast where no art could produce a similar effect directly west on the Mississippi. Natchez stands on a hill, or series of hills, about one hundred feet above the or dinary level of the Mississippi at N. Lat. 30° 33', almost directly west from Sapelo island ; but at Natchez, and even on the low banks of the Mississip pi opposite that city, neither the orange nor cane could be cultivated. The thermometer, whilst I myself resided in the vicinity, fell to 12° above zero near that city, in December, 1799. No winter passes at Natchez without severe frost, and snows are there annual and not seldom deep, and resting on the ground from five to ten or twelve days. I once, in January, 1812, witnessed at Opelousas snow eleven inches deep, which did not entirely disappear in less thajt 24 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES seven or eight days. The Ohio and all its branches, as well as other rivers more westward, are more deeply, more frequently, and longer frozen, than those on the Atlantic Slope by a difference of three or four degrees of latitude." It is obvious, therefore, that the supposed mildness of the Ohio Valley, so much insisted on by Volney and others, has really no exist ence ; but that, on the very contrary, the cold of winter is several degrees more severe in the interior than on the Atlantic border of the United States upon any given latitude. In addition to the general division of the climate of the United States which we have already given, we may add the following view ofthat ofthe Mississippi Valley, for which we are indebted to the industrious observa tion of Mr. Flint.* We may conceive four distinct climates between the sources and the outlet of the Mis sissippi. The first, commencing at its sources and terminating at Prairie du Chien, corresponds pretty accurately to the climate between Montreal and Boston, with this difference, that the amount of snow falling in the former is much less than in the latter region. The growing of gourd seed corn, which demands a higher temperature to bring it to maturity, is not pursued in this region. The Irish potato is raised in this cli mate in the utmost perfection. Wheat and cultivated grasses succeed well. The apple and pear tree re quire fostering and southern exposure to bring fruit to perfection. The peach tree has still more the habits and the delicacy of a southern stranger, and requires a sheltered declivity with a southern expo sure to succeed at all. Five months in the year may be said to be under the dominion of winter. For that length of time the cattle require shelter in the severe weather, and the still waters remain frozen. — The second climate prevails over the opposite states of Missouri and Illinois in their whole extent, or the country between 41° and 37°. Cattle, though much benefited by sheltering, and often needing it, here seldom receive it. It is not so favourable for culti vated grasses as the preceding region. Gourd seed corn is the only kind extensively planted. The winter commences with January, and ends with the second week in February ; the ice in the still waters after that time thaws. Wheat, the inhabitant of a variety of climates, is at home, as a native, in this. The persimon and the pawpaw are found in its whole extent. It is the favoured region of the apple, the pear, and the peach. Snows neither fall deep, nor lie long. The Irish potato succeeds to a certain extent, but not as well as in the former climate ; but • Geography and Hi&tory of the Western States. this disadvantage is supplied by the sweet potato, which, though not at home in this climate, with a little care in the cultivation, flourishes. The grandeur of the vegetation, and the temperature of March and April, indicate an approach towards the southern regions. — The third climate extends from 37° to 31°. Below 35°, in the rich alluvial soils, the- apple tree begins to fail in bringing its fruit to perfection ; apples worth eating are seldom raised much below New Madrid. Cotton, between this point and 33°, is raised, in favourable positions, for home consumption, but is seldom to be depended upon for a crop. Below 33° commences the proper climate for cotton, and here it is the staple article of cultivation. Festoons of long moss hang from the trees, and darken the forest, and the palmetto gives to the low alluvial grounds a grand and striking verdure. The muscadine grape, strongly designating climate, is flrst found here. Laurel trees become common in the forest, retaining their foliage and their verdure through the winter ; wheat is no longer seen as an article of cultivation, but the fig tree brings its fruit to full maturity. — Below this limit to the gulf, is the fourth climate, the region of the sugar cane and the sweet orange tree. It would be, if it were cultivated, the region of the olive. Snow is no longer seen to fall, except a few flakes in the coldest storms ; the streams are never 'frozen ; winter is only marked by nights of white frosts, and days of north-west winds, which seldom last longer than three days in succes sion, and are followed by south winds and warm days. The trees are generally in leaf by the middle of February, and always by the first of March. Bats are hovering in the air during the night, and fire-flies are seen by the middle of February. Early in March the forests are in blossom ; the delightful white flowers of the cornus florida, and the brilliant red tufts of the redbud, or cereis canadensis, are un folded ; the margins of the creeks and streams are perfumed with the meadow pink, or honeysuckle, yellow jessamine, and other fragrant flowers. During almost every night a thunder storm occurs. Cotton and corn are planted from March to July. In these regions the summers are uniformly hot, although there are days when the mercury rises as high in New England as in Louisiana ; the heat, however, is more uniform and sustained, commences much earlier, and continues much later. From February to September thunder storms are common, often ac companied with severe thunder, and sometimes with gales, or tornadoes, in which the trees of the forest are prostrated in every direction, and the tract ol country which is covered with the fallen trees i TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 25 called a ' hurricane.' The depressing influence of the summer heat results from its long continuance, and its equable and unremitting tenor, rather than from the intensity of its ardour at any given time ; it must, however, be admitted, that at all times the un clouded radiance of the vertical sun of this climate is extremely oppressive. The winters, through the whole extent of the country, are variable, passing rapidly from warm to cold, and the reverse. Near the Mississippi, and where there is little to vary the general direction of the winds, they ordinarily blow three or four days from the north. In the northern and middle regions, the consequence is cold weather, frost more or less severe, and perhaps storm, with snow and sleet ; during these days the rivers are covered with ice. When the opposite breeze alternates, there is imme diately a bland and relaxing feeling in the atmosphere ; it becomes warm, and the red-birds sing on these days in January and February, as far north as Prairie du Chien. These abrupt and frequent transitions can hardly fail to have an unfavourable influence upon Health. From 40° to 36° N. Lat. the rivers almost invariably freeze, for a longer or shorter period, Ihrough the winter. At St. Louis on the Mississippi, and at jCincinnati on the Ohio, in nearly the same parallels, between 38° and 39°, the two rivers are sometimes capable of being crossed on the ice for eight weeks together. Although the sumr»ers over all this valley must be admitted to be hot, yet the exemption of the country from mountains and other impediments to the free course of the winds, and the circumstance that the greater proportion of the country has a surface bare of forests, together probably with other unexplained atmospheric agents, concur to create, during the sul try months, almost a constant breeze ; it thence happens that the air on these wide prairies is rendered fresh, and the heats are tempered in the same manner as is felt on the ocean. The same degree of heat in the spring does not advance vegetation as rapidly in the south as in the north. " We have seen a brilliant sun, and felt the lassitude of warm spring days con tinued in succession," says Mr. Flint, " and yet have remarked the buds to remain almost stationary, and the development of vegetation to be almost impercep tible ; while the same amount of heat at Q,uebec would have completely unfolded the foliage, and clothed the earth with verdure." It is a very prominent feature of the climate of North America, that it is much colder than similar latitudes in Europe ; fJ3 appears strikingly from the fact that th*" New England states, which fall within the very cold or coldest section of the repubac, are in the same latitude as Italy. The principal cause of this difl'erence is to be found, doubtless, in the vast extent of land which, with little intermission, stretches into the north-polar regions, and forms an immense deposit of ice and snow for the refrigeration of the southern lands. The changes of the seasons are for the most part abrupt ; and on the Atlantic coast it appears that very sudden and extensive changes of the weather are of frequent occurrence. One of the causes operating on the climate of the United States, in a direction contrary to that which we have just noticed, is the oceanic current, commonly known as the Gulf Stream. It is now well ascertained that a current exists in the ocean, by which the whole body of water, for as much as 28° on each side of the equator, flows towards the west. This current setting in from the coast of Senegal, in Africa, is borne against that of central America, where a very large division of it forces its way into the Gulf of Mexico, whence it issues through the Bahama Channel, along the shore of the United States to Cape Hatteras, and towards Cape Cod. Mr. Darby shows, by tables constructed with great care, that the surface of this current is considerably warmer than that ot any other part of the ocean. In 3° N. Lat. it was found by Humboldt at a temperature of 83°, gradually, and almost uniformly, cooling at greater distances from the equator, and at 40° N. or S. standing at 55* and 57°, a difference of 28° From a variety of ob servations, it appears also that the temperature of the water of the Gulf Stream exceeds that of the air above it, generally by several degrees, and sometimes by nearly 20°. It is obvious, therefore, that this im mense current, running always with considerable rapidity, and in the Bahama Channel with the force of a torrent, reaching sometimes the rate of flve miles an hour, must have a great effect in diifusing caloric through the atmosphere, and especially upon the eastern and south-eastern shores of the United States. Allied to this oceanic current is the aerial one, the trade wind, which is known to flow in the same di rection, and probably originates in the same cause, namely, the diurnal revolution of the earth. This current moves through the West Indies and the adja cent seas. until it meets the American continent, which, in consequence of being slanted off from S. E. to N. W., impels the current of air in a similar course, and the current which passes towards the North American continent diverges over it in different directions. One branch takes a N. W. direction, and passing over New Mexico, and thence between the Stony Moun tains and the Pacific Ocean, spends its force probably 26 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. about N. Lat. 50°. Another branch takes a N. E. di rection, and blows partly over the mountains, but principally between the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean ; it seems to spend its force about the Poto mac, althouffh it sometimes reaches as far as Phila- delphia and New York. A third branch passes up the valleys of the Mississippi and Ohio, having often all the characteristics of the original trade wind, and is so strong that it frequently passes over the large lakes, and sometimes reaches Montreal, and even duebec. With respect to the climate of the United States, two ideas have been entertained, which still demand briefly to be noticed. It has been conceived by some persons to have undergone a considerable change for the better since its colonization by Europeans. This idea may >ive originated perhaps in the same causes as a simila* one respecting the climate of Europe ; and it appears to be equally without foundation. On the contrary, there seems sufficient reason to conclude that, with whatever local and temporary variations, the climate is substantially unchanged. The winter, cold over the United States, as every where else on earth, is in direct intensity with height, latitude, and exposure ; the interior states being more exposed to the influence of a central, elevated, and frozen table land, have winters much more severe than are expe rienced on similar latitudes on the Atlantic Slope ; and the interior summers are equally in excess. But if the general climate has not altered, it has been confidently believed, that as the country was cleared and the timber removed, the winters have become milder. That the clearing and improvement of a region may contribute to its salubrity, we entertain no question, the ways being obvious by which such a result must be produced; but we agree with Mr. Darby in thinking that it leads to no elevation of temperature. " Employed," says this gentleman, '• ten or twelve years in exploring the prairies of Louisiana, I had ample means to test the seasons of a country naturally devoid of forest trees ; and in the frequent, and sometimes not slight, snows of Opelousas, N. Lat. 30", I, as early as 1805, became convinced that re moving timber must produce the very reverse of melioration, and then suspected, what is now proved, that in very oper countries the range of the thermo meter must be augmented." To this testimony may be added that of Mr. Dunbar, of Natchez, a close and very competent observer, respecting land which had been partially cleared. " It is with us a general re mark, that of late years the summers have become hotter, and the winters colder, than formerly. Orange trees, and other tender exotics, have suffered more in the neighbourhood of New Orleans within these four or five years than before that period ; the sugar cane also has been so much injured by the severity of the first" of the two last winters as greatly to dis courage the planters, whose crops, in many instances, have fallen to one third, or less, of their expectations. In former years I have observed the mercury of the thermometer not to fall lower than 26° or 27° ; but for a few years past it has generally, once or twice in the winter, fallen as low as from 17° to 20°, and on the 12th December, 1800, it was found sunk to 12°, which has hitherto had no parallel in this climate, and indicates a degree of cold which in any country would be reckoned considerable, and which probably may never again be produced by natural means in Lat. 31° 30'. As this apparent alteration of climate has been remarked only for a few years, and cannot be traced up to any visible, natural, or artificial change of sufficient magnitude, it would be in vain to search for its physical cause. Dr. Williamson and others have endeavoured to show that clearing, draining, and cultivation, extended over the face of a continent, must produce the double effect of the relaxation of the rigours of winter, and an abatement of the heats of summer. The former is probably more evident than the latter ; but, admitting ,the de monstration to be conclusive, I would inquire whether a partial clearing, extending thirty or forty miles square, or to 300,000, or 3,000,000, may not be ex pected to produce a contrary e^ct, by admitting with full liberty the sunbeams on the uncovered surface of the earth in summer, and promoting during winter a free circulation of cold northern air."* To us it appears that Mr. Dunbar might have spoken with much greater confidence, and that the partial clearing of the country is a sufficient physical cause for the diminution of the temperature. Many distinguished philosophers have maintained, that a great amelioration of the climates, both of Eu rope and Asia, has taken place within the period since correct observations have been made on the subject. This opinion has been supported by Buffon, Hume, Gibbon, the Abbe Du Bos, and others ; and as it regards America, a similar opinion has been sup ported by Jefferson, Williams, and Holyoke. Within the last century, the temperature of our winters, says these American authorities, has been greatly miti gated, and Dr. WiUiamson himself, as cited already, has given us proofs of the beneficial results of clearing and cultivation in relaxing the rigours of winter, and diminishing the ardent heats of summer. A closer * Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. vi p. 40. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 27 investigation of facts, however, we are inclined to believe, will demonstrate, that the improvements in our climate have not corresponded with the progress of cultivation and settlement ; and the elaborate in vestigations of Noah Webster, render it more thaii questionable that such a view is unphilosophical. See his remarks on the supposed change in the tem perature of winter, in vol. i. of the Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. From this interesting paper, the following extracts are made. " John Megapolensis, a Dutch clergyman, who re sided at Albany, and wrote an account of the Mo hawks, in 1644, a translation of which is in Hazard's Collection, vol. i. p. 517, says, ofthe climate, ' the sum mers are pretty hot, and the winters very cold. The summer continues till All Saints' Day, (Nov. 1,) but then the winter sets in, in the same manner as it commonly does in December, and freezes so much in one night that the ice will bear a man. The freezing commonly continues three m,onths — sometimes there comes a warm and pleasant day, yet the thaw does not continue ; but it freezes again till March, and then commonly the river begins to open, seldom in February." According to this account, the winters have not moderated ; for the Hudson, at Albany, usually freezes early in December, and continues closed till March. A common winter is of three months duration. Professor Kalm, who came to America in 1748, was very particular in his inquiries on this subject ; and to the best information he could obtain, he added his own observations. He relates, vol. i. p. 21. Lond. 1772, that at Newcastle, the Delaware seldom froze in winter so as to obstruct navigation ; but at Phila delphia, that river was, almost every winter, covered with ice, so as to interrupt navigation for some weeks together. In page 36, he says, the climate of Phila delphia was then temperate ; the winter was not over severe, and its duration short — September and Octo ber were like August in Sweden, and the first days in February frequently as pleasant as the end of April and beginning of May in the middle of Swe den. " In page 38 he says, the only disadvantage which the trade of Philadelphia suflTers, is, the freezing of the river almost every winter for a month or more. In page 83 he states, that the winters he spent in the country were none of the coldest, but common ones, and that during his stay, the Delaware was not covered with ice strong enough to bear a carriage. In the next page, he adds, that the winters, though severe, did not continue above two months, and at II Philadelphia, sometimes less. Cherries were ripe about the 25th of May — (probably old style.) " In page 197, the author, speaking of New York, states that the harbour is good, and never froze ex cept in extraordinary cold weather ; but he says, page 208, the winters at New York are much more severe than in Pennsylvania. He says afterwards, that the ice stands on the Hudson several m,onths, by which he must mean the ice on that river in the interior country. January 21, 1749, people walked over the Delaware at Philadelphia on the ice ; but no one ventured to ride over on horseback. But in page 362, the author informs us, that the river was covered with ice soon after new year, and the ice became so strong that people rode over on horseback — the ice continued to the 8th of February, when the river was cleared. " The old men, of whom Kalm made inquiries re specting a change in the seasons, all agreed in the fact, that when the country was first settled, the weather was.more uniform than it was in their time. Most of them we're of opinion, that more snow fell when they were young ; that the winters began. earlier ; and that the springs were also earlier. It was a saying among the old Swedes, that they had always grass at Easter, whether early or late. "Mr. Norris, one of the first settlers of Philadel phia, and a merchant, related, that in his younger years, the Delaware was usually covered with ice by the middle of November, old style. One old Swede. who remembered the very severe winter of 1697-8, was of opinion, there had been little change in thti winters — that there were as great storms and as cold winters in his old age as in his childhood. " Kalm, however, in his second volume, page 43, institutes a comparison between Old and New Swe den, as he terms the two countries, in which he mentions, among the disadvantages of New Sweden, or Delaware and Pennsylvania, that the nights are darker than in Old Sweden, where they are in part illuminated by snow and the lumen boreale. In this paragraph he says expressly, that the winters bring no permanent snow in Pennsylvania, to make the nights clear and travelling safe. The cold, he says, is often intense as in Old Sweden ; but the snow which falls lies only a few days, and always goes off with a great deal of wet. " From a careful comparison of these facts, it ap pears that the weather, in modern winters, is more inconstant, than when the earth was covered with wood, at the first settlement of Europeans in the country ; that the warm weather of autumn extcEda further into the winter months, and tbe cold weathei 28 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. of winter and spring encroaches upon the summer ; that the wind being more variable, snow is less per manent, and perhaps the same remark may be appli cable to the ice ofthe rivers. These effects seem to result necessarily from the greater quantity of heat accumulated in the earth in summer, since the ground has been cleared of wood, and exposed to the rays of the sun ; and to the greater depth of frost in the earth in winter, by the exposure of its uncovered surface to the cold atmosphere." "But we can hardly infer, from the facts that have yet been collected, that there is, in modern times, an actual diminution of the aggregate amount of cold in winter, on either continent. In addition to these remarks, the observations of Dr. Williamson on the Climate of North Carolina might be inserted. Dr. Williamson observes, " There are not many countries, in which the state of health differs so much as it does at present in the different parts of North Carolina. At the distance of sixty or seventy miles from the coast, the land begins to rise into small hills, stones appear on the surface, and the streams ripple in their course. As we advance a little further to the westward, we find all the variety of hills and dales that may consist with a fertile country, fit for cultivation. In that happy climate, where the soil is good, and the water pure ; where the inhabitants enjoy the desirable effects of winter, without suffering by the rigorous severity of cold ; there are few of the diseases which are most painful and destructive in cold climates ; neither are the inhabitants wasted by the more fatal diseases of warm climates. There are not many parts in the United States, perhaps there is not any part of the world, in which families increase faster than in the western part of Carolina. When we consider, that the in habitants are seldom affected by coughs, consump tions, or inflammatory complaints, for the winters are temperate ; that intermitting, bilious, or putrid fevers, are seldom found among them ; we naturally infer, that the climate must be healthy. It is not denied, that people, in many other climates or countries, are equally healthy with those in the western part of Carolina; but the winters in other regions, that are deemed healthy, are more severe, or the land is less fertile, or it is not so cheap, or the means of support ing a family, from one cause and another, are more difficult than in Carolina ; whence it follows, that early marriages are not so frequent, and the increase of families is not so great. We have not the means of comparing the increase of people in Carolina with that in foreign countries, but it has been compared with the increase in other states. It appears by the census taken in the year 1791, that the number of inhabitants above sixteen years old, exceeded the number under sixteen in all the northern and middle states, including Maryland. In the southern states there was a difference in favour of those under six teen, and this difference was greater in North Caro lina than in any other state, except Kentucky. This difference might be explained by supposing that the duration of human life is shorter in the southern states, and that sixteen years is nearer the middle ot the general extent ; but this solution cannot be ad mitted, because in the most healthy parts of the south ern states, the difference was greatest in favour of the class under sixteen. The greater proportion of peo ple below sixteen must be the combined effect of early marriage and a good climate. Families are easily supported where the lands are good, and the winters mild. In this case people marry young, and have many children ; but early marriage alone will not produce a great proportion of children when compared to that of grown persons, because sickly climates are not less fatal to infants than to those who are more advanced in years. This distinction is fully support ed by the census in North Carolina. The num ber of males in the whole state, below sixteen, was to that above sixteen, nearly as eleven to ten ; but this difference cannot be the effect of early marriage alone, or the facility of maintaining a family ; it depends very much on the salubrity of the climate. People live in the district of Edenton with more ease than in the district of Salisbury ; for their cattle require less feeding in winter, and they have a plentiful sup ply of fish ; but the proportion of persons under six teen, was to that above sixteen, in Salisbury district, compared to that in Edenton district, nearly as three to one. In Salisbury distriot there were fifteen thou sand eight hundred and twenty-six males under six teen, and thirteen thousand nine hundred and eight above sixteen. The difference is nearly equal to a seventh part of the whole number of the older class. In Edenton district, the number of males under six teen, was eight thousand six hundred and. ninety- six, and the number above sixteen, was eight thou sand three hundred and ninety-four. The difference being less than a twenty -seventh part of the number ofthe older class. This remarkable excess, in favour of Salisbury district, can only be explained by the greater salubrity of the climate. There are some very old people in the wsstern parts of Carolina, but they were not born in that country ; they are older than the settlement. After the country shall have been planted two or three centuries, and the natives shall have attained the length of years that corres TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 29 ponds with the climate, a greater proportion of the inhabitants above sixteen years will doubtless be found." To find the probable mean temperature of any place by comparing it with another of which the tempera ture is known, Mr. Darby suggests that one degree of Fahrenheit may be allowed for one degree of lati tude, and the converse ; and that 400 feet of elevation may be assumed to lower the thermometer one degree : he adds, however, very justly, that so many circum stances contribute, slightly, to influence the thermome ter, that only general results can be expected from such comparisons, and that when the difference of latitude becomes considerable, they would be altogether de lusive. The rains of the United States are represented as occurring very irregularly, not only in the couise of a single year, but through a succession of years. No sufficient data have yet been provided for the formation of philosophical views on this subject ; but Mr. Darby has furnished us with tables of the month-- ly quantity of rain in several successive years at Baltimore, German tOAvn, and New Harmony, of which we avail ourselves. The Baltimore table we shall insert entire, adding to it the monthly mean quanti ties of the other two places. Table of the monthly depth in inches of rain at Baltimore, from Mr. Bra^itx's Tables. Mean at Mean at Months. 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1823 1823 1824 Mean. German- town. New Har mony. January 3.35 .9 .7 2.8 3.3 1.8 5.6 2.3 2.85 2.18 4.31 February 2.8 2.0 1.9 2.2 5.4 4.8 .7 5.9 3.225 3.58 4.04 March 4.5 3.0 4.55 3.3 1.7 1.3 7.1 4.3 3.71 3.07 3.38 April 1.5 2.1 2.7 1.1 2.1 3.1 1.8 4.7 2.20 2.62 4.52 May 2.6 6.45 4.1 4.4 5.1 1.5 2.1 2.95 3.65 2.87 2.61 June 9.1 1.15 1.3 4.6 1.8 1.5 1.6 5.03 3.66 3.22 4.41 July - 3.5 4.1 2.2 2.2 7.5 4.35 3.6 3.37 3.85 4.25 3.54 August 10.4 2.0 4.3 8.0 0.3 .8 4.1 4.5 4.3 3.48 4.84 September 3.3 3.2 3.0 1.5 10.7 3.35 5.8 2.94 4.45 3.27 2.80 October 1.8 3.1 .7 7.8 3.4 3.5 3.8 1.77 2.975 3.50 2.84 November ...... 3.7 2.0 1.1 2.7 5.6 5.1 3.1 2.27 3.2 3.01 1.62 December 3.6 2.6 2.2 1.9 3.3 1.2 6.35 2.25 42.28 2.9 3.05 3.94 Amount .... 48.55 32.6 28.75 40.5 50.2 29.2 44.55 39.97 38.10 42.85 The Soil of the United States is naturally enough represented as comprehending every kind, from the very best to the very worst. Of course it is not to be supposed that it divides itself into such spaces as to render possible an accurate general estimate of it ; we may nevertheless throw out a few hints of some what general application, leaving the minuter details for the account which we shall subsequently give of individual states. We may first notice that portion of the republic v/ith which our readers are by this time familiar, under the name of the Atlantic Slope ; we mean the country east of the Apalachian Moun tains, from Cape Cod to Louisiana. Next to the ocean are salt meadows, or marshes, nearly level, sloping a very little towards the water, above which their surfa ces have but little elevation wherever they are found. They are covered with a peculiar kind of grass, which is from six to twelve inches high, of a reddish colour, and grows very thick, the roots of which form a very compact turf or sward, and which requires a sharp instrument and considerable force to cut it. They are overflowed by the salt water a few inches deep several times in a year by the spring tides, and this appears to be necessary to the retention of their peculiar character ; for if the water is kept from them Vol. IL— Nos. 39 & 40. D by dykes, the upland grasses take root, the turf moulders away or loses its tenacity, and in a few years their appearance is completely changed. As the surface of these meadows lies a little above common high-water mark, there is generally a slope of about six feet in two or three rods, to low-water mark ; and this slope is covered with a coarse tall grass called sedge, which requires a partial inundation every tide, or twice in twenty-four hours, to bring it to maturity. Adjoining the salt meadows, on the same level, and at the farthest extent to which the salt water flows at spring tides, fresh meadows commence by an almost imperceptible line of distinction, and they generally extend to the upland ; but sometimes there is wet ground covered with bushes or a swamp between them and the upland. They are wet and soft, and few will bear a wagon. Similar meadows are sometimes found several miles from any salt meadows or salt water, and generally at the heads of rivers, where the face of the country is level. The general appearance of all these meadows is the same ; being covered with wild grass of dififerent kinds from twelve to thirty-six inches high, according to the quantity of water in the soil, and the more water there is, the coarser and taller the grass will be, until flags and 30 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. rushes take its place. The meadows are much lower than the upland, and were evidently formed by the agency of water, which has deposited an alluvial soil, composed of the finer particles from the higher grounds, and of decayed vegetable substances. If they are drained by a large ditch round them at the foot of the upland, and one through the lowest part ¦ of them, so that the water from it may soon run off, they become hard, will produce cultivated grass and even trees, and will in a few years lose all their former features, except their low situation and level aspect. The soil of this section is to a great extent sandy ; very light, therefore, and sometimes barren, more es pecially near the coast, where also is much marsh land, with extensive swamps. These swamps are in many places to an immense extent covered with an impenetrable growth of timber, especially of the cy press and some species of pine, the maturity of which is favoured by the deep clayey soil, augmented by a fresh deposit every year ; Louisiana, towards the sea, exhibits a great breadth of this character through its whole reach. Along the rivers there is found a con- siderable quantity of rich clay ; many fertile spots likewise are interspersed among the sands, and the land generally improves as it approaches the moun tains. The central portion of the slope between the mountains and the sea possesses the best soil, the change of which is particularly discernible along the course of the rocky ridge which has already been described in our account of this region. In the al luvial district of Louisiana, the soil is for the most part deep and rich ; it is also strong and vigorous on the Red River. Along the range of the Apalachian Mountains a thin and poor soil prevails, mingled, however, with many rich and productive valleys. In the northern portion of it are a large number of boulders, which give to the country a very stony and barren appearance, even where the soil is fertile. When we cross the mountains, and come to the great plain descending from them to the Mississippi, we survey an immense extent of almost universally fertile country. The general surface of the Missis sippi Valley may be classed under three distinct aspects, — the thickly timbered, the barrens, and the prairie country. In the first division, every traveller has remarked, as soon as he descends to this valley, a grandeur in the form and size of the trees, a depth of verdure in the foliage, a magnificent prodigality of growth of every sort, that distinguishes this country from other regions. The trees are large, tall, and rise aloft, like columns, free from branches. In the fjch lands they are generally wreathed with a drapery of ivy, bignonia, grape vines, or other creepers. In termingled with the foliage of the trees are the broad leaves of the grape vines, with trunks occasionally as large as the human body. Sometimes the forests are as free from undergrowth as an orchard ; at others, the only shrub that is seen among the trees is the pawpaw, with its splendid foliage and graceful stems ; but often, especially in the richer alluvions of the south, beneath the trees there are impenetrable cane brakes, and a tangle of brambles, brier vines, and every sort of weed ; which constitute the safe retreats of bears and panthers. This undergrowth univer sally indicates a rich soil. The country denominated barrens has a very distinct and peculiar configuration. It is generally a country with a surface undulating with gentle hills, characterized by long and uniform ridges. The soil is for the most part of a clayey texture, of a reddish or grayish colovir, and is covered with a tall and coarse grass. In addition to a peculiarity of aspect more easily felt than described, the trees are generally thinly scattered, seldom large or very small. They are chiefly of the different kinds of oaks, and the trees of the barrens have an appearance and configuration appropriate to the soil they inhabit. The land never exceeds second rate in quality, and is more generally third rate. It is favourable, in the proper latitudes, to the growth of wheat and orchards. The barrens are found in a level country, with here and there a gentle rise, only a few feet higher than the land around it. On these little elevations, for they are not hills, trees grow, and grass also ; but grass and weeds are the only occupants of the soil where there is no rise of ground. The soil is alluvial to a greater or less depth in the barrens, though on some of the highest points there is little or none ; the lower the ground the deeper the alluvion. On these elevations, where there is no alluvion, is stiff blue clay, without pebbles. Under the alluvial soil in the lower grounds are pebbles. On the little ridges, wherever the land is not too moist, the oak or the hickory (walnut) has taken possession, and there grows to a moderate height in clusters. It would seem, that whenever the land had become sufficiently dry for an acorn or a hickory nut to sprout, take root, and grow, it did so ; and from one or more of these trees, in time, others have grown around them in such clusters as we now behold ; where the land is lower, and the soil deeper, more moist and more fertile, the grass was too thick, and the soil too wet, for such kind of trees to grow as were found in the immediate vicinity. Imagine, then, natural meadows of various dimen sions, and of every figure which the imagination can TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 31 conceive, with here and there a gentle rise of ground, decked with a few scattered trees or a thick cluster of them, and bearing a tall coarse grass, which is thin on the elevated parts, but on the lower grounds thick and luxuriant ; imagine, also, a rill of a reddish colour, scarcely meandering through ground a little lower than the surrounding plain — and you will have a very correct idea of the appearance of these barrens. On the whole, the barrens have an aspect so peculiar and appropriate, that no person at all used to this country is in doubt for a moment when he enters on the region occupied by them. There are large dis tricts of this kind in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ala bama ; it is common in Illinois and Missouri, and is seen with more or less frequency over all the valley of the Mississippi. In this region, and in the hazel or bushy prairies, are most frequently seen those singular cavities called sink-holes. They are gener ally in the shape of funnels, or inverted cones, from ten to seventy feet in depth, and on the surface from sixty to three hundred feet in circumference. There are generally willows and other aquatic vegetables at their sides and bottoms ; there is little doubt that they are caused by running waters, which find their way through the limestone cavities beneath the upper stratum of soil. The remaining, and by far the most extensive surface, is that of the prairies. Although they have no inconsiderable diversity of aspect, these may be classed under three general divisions ; the healthy, or bushy ; the alluvial, or wet ; and the dry, or rolling prairies. The healthy prairies seem to be of an intermediate character between the alluvial prairies and the barrens. They have springs. They are covered with hazel and furze bushes, small sassafras shrubs, with frequent grape vines, and in the summer with an infinite profusion of flowers ; the bushes are often overtopped with the common hop vine. Prairies of this description are very common in Indiana, Illi nois, and Missouri, and they occur among the other prairies for a considerable distance towards the Chip pewayan Mountains. The dry or undulating prairies are for the most part destitute of springs, and of all vegetation, but weeds, flowering plants, and grass. To the sight they are so nearly level, and the round- ings of their undulations so gentle, that the eye, taking in a great surface at a single view, deems them a dead level ; but the ravines made by the water courses through them, sufficiently indicate that their swells and declinations communicate a quick motion to the waters that fall on them. This is by far the most extensive class of prairies. These are the plains over which the bufl'aloes range ; and it is these plains. without wood or water, in which the traveller may wander for days, and see the horizon on every side sinking to contact with the grass. The alluvial or wet prairies form the last and smallest division. They generally occur on the margins of the great water-courses, although they are sometimes found, with all their distinctive features, far from the points where waters now run. They are commonly basins, as regards the adjacent regions, and their outlines are marked by regular benches. They are for the most part of a black, deep, and very friable soil, and of exhaustless fertility. In the proper latitudes they are the best soils for wheat and maize, but are ordi narily too tender and loamy for the cultivated grasses, though they rear their own native grasses of aston ishing height and luxuriance. An exact account of the size and rankness of the weeds, flowering plants, and grass, on the richer alluvial prairies of Illinois and Missouri, would seem to those who have not seen them an idle exaggeration. Still more than the roll ing prairies, they impress the eye as a dead level ; but they still have their slight inclinations and de pressions, where their waters are arrested and carried off: yet, from their immense amount of vegetation, and from the equality of their surface wherever they are considerably extensive, they have small ponds, and bayous, which fill from the rivers and from rains, and are only exhausted during tlie intense heats of summer, by evaporation. These ponds, in the alluvial prairies that are connected with the rivers, when they over flow by bayous, are filled in the season of high waters with fish of the various kinds ; as the waters subside, and their connecting courses with the river become dry, the fish are taken by cart-loads among the tall grass, where the water is three or four feet deep. When the waters evaporate, during the heats of sum mer, the fish die, and although thousands of buzzards prey upon them, they become ar source of pollution to the atmosphere ; hence these prairies, beautiful as they seem to the eye, and extraordinary as is their fertility, are very unfavourable positions, in point ot salubrity. Flocks of deer are seen scouring across these rich plains, or feeding peaceably with the do mestic cattle. In the spring and autumn innumera ble flocks of water-fowls are seen wheeling their flight about the lakes and ponds of these prairies, and they flnd copious pasture in the oily seeds of the plants and grasses that have seeded during the sumr mer. During the months of vegetation no adequate idea could be conveyed by description of the number, forms, varieties, scents, and hues of the flowering plants, or of the various flowers of the richer prai. ries. In the barrens we fovir or five vaTieties of !«» 32 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. dies' slippers, of different and the most splendid colours, but the violets, and the humbler and more modest kinds of garden flowers, are not capable of competing with the rank growth of grass and weeds that choke them ; some of the taller and hardier kinds of the liliaceous plants struggle for display, and rear them selves high enough to be seen. Most of the prairie flowers have tall and arrowy stems, and spiked or tassellated heads, and the flowers have great size, gaudiness, and splendour, without much fragrance or delicacy. The most striking of these flowers we may notice further in another place ; only remark ing here, that during the summer the prairies present distinct successions of dominant hues as the season advances. The prevalent colour of the prairie flow ers in spring is bluish purple ; in midsummer, red, with a considerable proportion of yellow ; in autumn the flowers are very large, many of them of the he- lianthus form, and the prairie receives from them such a splendid colouring of yellow, as almost to pre sent to the imagination an immense surface of gild ing. The northern shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie, the western shore of Lake Huron, (the eastern shore of Lake Michigan is sandy and barren,) and the gene ral surface ofthe valleys of the Ohio, the Illinois, and the Mississippi, afford a highly productive soil. The extended valley of the Tennessee, also, more to the southward, is one of the most fertile portions of the republic. The same character of fertility extends it self beyond the Mississippi, below the Missouri, until it is checked by the Ozark Mountains, the productive portion of which is confined to the valleys. On the banks of the Missouri, likewise, and for some dis tance up its tributary streams, rich soil is found. The same may be said of the Mississippi above its junction with the Missouri ; but towards the sour ces of these rivers the ground is extremely barren. The southern coast of Lake Superior is either sandy or rocky, and generally steril. To the west of the Ozark Mountains and of the Missouri the soil be comes less and less fertile, till at length we reach an immense tract of sand and barrenness, extending the whole way to the Chippewayan Mountains. This portion of the United States is rendered more deso late by the large quantity of salt and magnesia con tained both in the soil and the rivers ; it has been, not unjustly, called the Great Desert of North Ame rica, and bears no inconsiderable resemblance to the tract of the same denomination in Africa. It never can be permanently inhabited. Eastward of the Mississippi there is a copious natural growth of tim ber ;. but the region westward of that river is marked by the gradual diminution and final disappearance of this important production, a circumstance by which the country is rendered unfit for settlers, independently of the quality of the soil. Lumber is almost totally absent from the banks ofthe Missou ri above the River Platte, although the soil still con tinues rich. With the Chippewayan mountains commences a change. The summits of these mountains, of course, are steril, being rugged rocks, and covered with snow the greater part of the year ; but among them are sheltered and fertile valleys. The timber in the mountains is pine, spruce, fir, and the other terebinthines. The terrace plains below generally have a fine soil, but are very deficient in timber. The prairies, like those in the Mississippi valley, are covered with grass, and a profusion of most beautiful flowers. Among the prairie plants are two or three kinds of edible roots, which furnish vegetable food to the savages, as an accompaniment to the great proportion of salmon which they devour. Wild sage is also an abundant herb ; it grows of a size and height like a small tree, and on these extensive plains is one of the principal articles of fuel. The sea shore, for a considerable distance to the interior, is skirted with deep and thick forests of evergreens, such as pine and hemlock. On the whole, it is be lieved that few countries on the earth have a more fertile soil and agreeable climate than the valleys of the region west of the Rocky Mountains. When a farmer clears the land of the United States, under the trees he flnds a stratum of black vegetable mould, more or less thick in proportion to the original properties of the soil, the time that the trees have been dropping their manure upon it, and the declivity which obstructs or facilitates its wash ing away; for this mould is lighter than water, and runs off rapidly from the sides of the hills, and sel dom or never lays long on the steep descents of mountains. While this bed of vegetable mould remains, the labour of the farmer is rewarded by rich and abundant crops, for when he sows and reaps from such a soil, four or five years before he ex hausts it, he not only expends as many years' natu ral production, but he consumes many hundred or perhaps thousand years' accumulation of natural ma nure, which it would require a very long time for the common operations of production and decomposition to replace. While this vegetable mould is in suffi cient quantities on the surface, the land is more or less fertile, independently of tbe nature of the earth on which it lies ; it is when this coat of manure is gone, and the land worn out by constant cropping, that TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 33 the soil shows its fertility, as depending on the nature of the rock of the country, and the species of earth or loam resulting from their decomposition. It is at that time that the difl"erence between a granite and limestone soil appears, and any one can see the effects, though few ever think of inquiring into the cause ; yet it is evident that the washing and decom position of a granite soil, can only afford sand mixed with a small proportion of clay, from the mode in which the rocks divide in their process of decomposi tion ; and even this small quantity is liable to filter through the interstices left in the aggregates of gra vel, by the form of their crystalline particles. The limestone, on the contrary, by its easy solution and facility of decomposition, furnishes to the exhausted soil, with every rain, a quantity of food, fitted by solution for vegetable absorption, as well as a great quantity of mould divided and triturated into impal pable powder, which forms an excellent pabulum, through which the vegetable can receive the other fluids necessary for its growth. Meantime this mould forms a retentive base or soil, which prevents the filtration of the smaller particles, and even re tains the water in its pores, so as to give it out by regular evaporation to the surface, when necessary for the increase and support of the plants that may be sown on the land. In such a variety of climate and exposure, in a country alternately covered in one point with the thickest forests, and in another spreading out into grassy plains, in one section having a very dry, and in another a very humid atmosphere, and having every shade of temperature, from that of the Arctic regions to that of the West Indies, there must neces sarily be generated all the forms and varieties of dis ease that spring simply from climate. Emigrants will always find it unsafe to select their residence near stagnant waters and creeping "bayous, on the rich and heavy timbered alluvions ; yet these, from their fertility, and the ease with which they are brought into cultivation, are the points most fre quently selected. The rich plains of the Scioto were the graves of the first settlers ; but they have long since been brought into cultivation, and have lost their character for insalubrity. A thousand places in the west, which were selected as residen ces by the first emigrants on account of their fertility, and which were at first regarded as haunts of dis ease and mortality, have now a character for salu brity. On the lower courses of the Ohio, the AVa- bash, the Tennessee, the Mississippi and its southern tributaries, — in short, wherever the bottoms are wide, the forests deep, the surface level and sloping back from the river, and the vegetation rank ; wherever the rivers overflow, and leave stagnant waters that are only carried off" by evaporation ; wherever there are in the bottoms ponds and lagoons, to catch and retain the rains and the overflow, it may be assumed as a general maxim, that such positions will be un healthy, and more or less so as more or fewer of these circumstances concur. Wherever these causes of disease exist, there is no part of the country which has not a summer of sufficient heat and duration to quicken them into fatal action. The very rich and extensive alluvial prairies of the upper Missis sippi and of the Illinois, which are covered with a prodigious growth of grass and weeds, generally con tain marshy basins, small lakes, and ponds, where the water from the bluffs and the high lands ia caught and retained. They will ordinarily prove unhealthy, some think more so than the timbered country, until these reservoirs of stagnant waters are all drained, and the surplus vegetation is burned off", or otJierwise removed by the progress of cultiva tion. These places strike the eye with delight. Their openness and exposure to be swept by the winds seem to preclude them from the chance of sickliness ; their extraordinary fertility, and their being at once ready for the plough, held out allure ments to emigrants ; but there seems to be in the great plan of providence a scale in which the advan tages and disadvantages of human condition are balanced. Where the lands are extremely fertile it seems to be appended to them, as a drawback to that advantage, that they are generally sickly. Emi grants have scarcely ever paused long enough, or taken sufficient elements into the calculation, in se lecting their residence, with a view to its salubrity. When the choice is to be made, they are often en cumbered with families, generally feel stinted both for time and money, and are in a hurry to com mence operations for the supply of their wants ; they are thus apt to give too little weight to the most im portant motive of all which ought to determine their election. A deep bottom, a fertile soil, a position on the margin of a navigable stream ; these are apt to be the determining elements of their choice. The heavy forest is levelled ; a thousand trees mouldei and putrify about the cabin ; the stagnant waters which, while shielded from the action of the sun by the forest, had remained comparatively innoxious^ exposed now to the burning rays of the sun, and rendered more deleterious by being filled with trunks and branches of decaying trees and all kinds of putrid vegetation, become laboratories of miasma, and generate on every side the seeds of disease. hi TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES, When it is known that sucn have been precisely the circumstances in which a great portion of the emi grants to the western country have fixed themselves, in open cabins that drink in the humid atmosphere of the night through a hundred crevices, in a new and untried climate, under a higher temperature, un der the operation of a new diet and regimen, and, perhaps, under the depressing influence of severe labour and exposure, need we wonder that the country has acquired a general character of un healthiness ? With every allowance, however, there can be no doubt, that in the southern and middle re gions of this valley, the wide, level, and heavy tim bered alluvions are intrinsically more or less unheal thy ; neither can it be disguised, that in these situa tions the new resident is subject to bilious com plaints, to remitting fevers, and, more than all, to intermitting fever, or fever and ague. This com plaint is the general scourge of the valley. It is an undoubted fact, explained in different ways and by different theories by the people, that even in the most unfavourable positions, on the low er waters of the Ohio, or even the bayous of the Ar kansas or Red River, the emigrant is not so much exposed to disease while his cabin is still under the shade of the unbroken forest. The most dangerous period is, after the trees have been levelled a year or two, and while they are still decaying about the dwelling. This well-known fact would seem to give plausibility to the doctrine, that these deep and grand forests feed their foliage with an atmosphere that is adverse to the life of man ; and that when the tim ber is cleared away, the miasma, the noxious air, that used to be absorbed and devoured by the redundant vegetation and foliage of the forest, and incorpora ted with its growth, thus detached and disengaged, and inhaled by the new residents, becomes a source of disease. Another fact, in relation to the choice of a residence, with a view to its salubrity, has been abundantly and unanswerably proved by experience. It is, that bluffs on the margins of wide bottoms and alluvial prairies are more unhealthy than situations in the bottom, or prairie, which they overlook. This fact has been amply demonstrated on the Ohio bottoms and bluffs, on the margins of the alluvial prairies of the upper Mississippi, and, in short, wherever a high bluff overlooks a wide bottom. The inhabitants on the airy and beautiful bluffs that bound the noble prairies of the upper Mis sissippi, in an atmosphere apparently so pure as to preclude all causes of disease, are far more subject to fever and ague than the people that live below them on the level of the prairies j the same has been re marked of the Chickasaw bluffs. Fort Pickering, or Memphis, Fort Adams, Natchez, Baton Rouge, and the bluffs generally along the great water-courses Yet, though such is the uniform lesson of experience, so deceptive is the salubrious aspect of these airy hills, which swell above the dun and murky air that seems to lie like a mist over the wide bottoms below them, that most people, in choosing their residence, will be guided by their senses in opposition to expe rience. We know not whether the theory by which this fact is explained is a sound one or not. It is said that the miasma or noxious air from putrid ve getation and stagnant water in the swamps and bot toms, is specifically lighter than atmospheric air; that, of course, it rises from the plains, and hovers over the summits of the bluffs, here finding its level of specific gravity ; and that, Avere it coloured, it would be seen overlaying the purer strata of air be neath it. — The slopes of the Alleghanies, the inte rior of Ohio and Kentucky, of Tennessee and Indi ana, where the forest is cleared away, and the land has been for a sufficient time under cultivation, and where it is sufficiently remote from stagnant waters — the high prairies of Illinois and Missouri, the dry pine woods of the lower and southern country, parts of the plains of Opelousas and Attakapas, considera ble portions of Alabama and Mississippi, and general ly the open country towards the Chippewayan Mountains, may be considered as healthy as any other country. It is a very trite, but a true and im portant remark, that in proportion as the country becomes opened, cultivated, and peopled, in propor tion as the redundance and rankness of natural vege tation is replaced by that of cultivation, the country becomes more healthy.* This section of the work of Mr. Hinton deserves to be enriched with further observations on the climate and diseases of the United States. Several American writers have favoured the public with their observa tions on this subject. Among the earliest of those who have largely contributed to the store of informa tion on this important matter, might be cited Dr. Lionel Chalmers, whose work appeared in 1776. In the Journal of Andrew Ellicot, the reader will find much information on the same head. Dr. Rush's Medical Inquiries and Observations, also contain a large amount of valuable facts, touching the diseases of the American states, for a very considerable period. The remarks of Volney, on the same subject, though evincing much of the philosophical spirit of that eminent author, are wanting in accuracy, and seem • Flint's Western Stales. TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, 35 to have been dictated by preconceived theory. A document of very considerable value, by the late Lieutenant Governor Colden, printed in Hosack and Francis' American Medical and Philosophical Regis ter, vol. i. deserves also a careful perusal, both for the interesting character of the facts which it con tains, and the distinguished reputation of the writer. This article furnishes an account of the climate and diseases of the city of New York, as they prevailed there nearly a century ago : and as very few obser vations, relative to this country, of a similar kind, and written at so early a period, are known to exist, they are inserted here. It will be noticed, that Dr. Colden affirms, that the air of the country being al ways clear, and its spring strong, we have few con sumptions or disorders of the lungs. If so, how shall we account for the extraordinary mortality oc casioned by this disease at the present dajf^? If our climate, as the editors of the Register remark, was at that early period so conducive to health, and particu larly Avell calculated for the relief of pulmonic affec tions ; and if, as many suppose, the changes which have been effected in it be for the better, we must attribute it principally to the increase of luxury, dis sipation, and the great imprudence in dress ; and not to what many have asserted, the very nature and vi cissitudes of our seasons. But not to dwell upon a vexed question, we here insert the excellent paper of Dr. Colden : " The city of New York (says Dr. Colden) lies near ly in 40 deg. and 40 min. of north latitude, and about five hours west from London. The climate partakes of the extreme climates ; sometimes the summer is as hot as iu the torrid zone, and the winter often is not less cold than in the northern parts of Europe. The heat and cold depend very much upon the winds, and, for that reason, in the same season of the year, are very various. In the summer, when the wind blows from the north-west, (which frequently happens,) the air is agreeably cool, but in the winter it is pier cing cold. A southerly and south-westerly wind, if it continue any time, in summer, becomes very hot, and if we want winds, which sometimes happens in July and August, the air becomes sultry. Southerly winds in winter make the cold very moderate. We have much less rain or snow than in England, and the heaven is seldom overcast with clouds. The north-west wind being so extremely cold, even so far south as North-Carolina, I believe is owing to the high ridge of mountains which lies to the westward of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and this pro vince, though it be generally attributed to the great lakes which lie to the north-westward of this province : for it is observed in all other countries, that the winds which come from any great quantity of water, are not so cold as those that come from mountains, and are always accompanied with rain or moisture, whereas the north-west winds here are very dry; besides, the winds from the lakes must be stopped in their course by these high mountains which lie be twixt us and the lakes. This is confirmed by what I am told by those who have continued some time in the Sennekas country near lagara, on the west side of these mountains, that the north-west winds there are always accompanied with rain as the easterly winds are here. " Though there be so great a variety of weather in this country, the height of the mercury in the barometer does not suffer so great changes as in England. I have had a barometer by me about six years, and never observed the mercury lower than 29 inches and 7 or 8 tenths of an inch, and it is gene rally betwixt 30 and 30 and an half inches high, though I have sometimes observed it 31 inches high, which is as high as it is ever observed in England or I think any where else ; but it is so high only in the time of very hard frost. " The spring is much later than in England : we perceive but very little of it before the latter end of April : March is generally cold and windy, though for the most part the latter end of February be mild and warm. The winds in March are generally northerly, and they as well as the cold are owing to the melting of the snow to the northward of us, for these winds are always preceded by some warm weather either in the latter end of February or be ginning of March. The lateness of the spring is owing to the whole country being covered with wood, so that the sun cannot easily dissolve the snow which lies under the trees, or warms the earth. The late ness of the spring makes it short, the hot weather succeeding the cold very quickly. In the spring the people are subject to pleurisies and inflammatory fevers, as in all other countries, upon the breaking up of hard winters ; but not so much as in Pennsylvania and in the countries to the southward. The coun try people, and such as are most exposed to the cold, are most liable to these distempers. Perhaps the reason of the southern countries being more subject to pleurisies is, that in those countries the poorer sort are not so well clothed and have not such warm houses as in this. " The summer begins in the end of May, and continues hot to the beginning of September. July and August are the most sultry months, and very often rainy. The air in these two months is always 36 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. full of moisture, so much that the doors and windows are observed then to be more swelled than at any other time of the year, and iron rusts so much that it is difficult to keep any instrument clean which is made of that metal, though the weather be extremely hot at the same time. A far greater quantity of dew likewise falls in these months than at any other time, and begins to fall a considerable while before sun-set. The mornings are frequently foggy, especially near the river and marshes, after sun-rising. This pro ceeds from the quantity of vapour which falls in the night, and is easily raised, but it is generally dissipa ted before ten in the morning. The heat in these months is a great deal more uneasy than in June, though a greater quantity of the sun's rays falls upon the earth in that month than in these. This is owing to the quantity of vapour in the air, which retains the heat and becomes in a manner scalding. For it is always observed, that the heat is a great deal more uneasy before rain (though the sun does not shine clear) than it is after a shower, when it shines with its greatest brightness ; and a burning-glass before rain does not burn so vehemently as it does after rain. If the air continues sultry after rain, we expect more rain speedily, or a great quantity of dew that night. The air is frequently fanned in the hot months with audden gusts of north-west winds. They commonly arise in the afternoon, and blow violently for half an hour or a little more, with heavy showers of rain and thunder-claps, and leave the air agreeably cool and •serene. When the country was first settled, these gusts were very frequent, hardly a day in the hot seasons passing without them: but now, since the country begins to be cleared, the summer is not so sultry, and these gusts are not near so frequent. They are likewise much more frequent in the pro vinces to the southward of us than in this. " The thermometer (mine is of Mr. Patrick's make) in the summer, within doors, where the sun cannot reach, is generally about 20, though at sometimes it is above 15, and at other times below 30. In June, I tried the difference betwixt what it was in the house and the open air, where it was exposed to the sun's rays betwixt 2 and 3 in the afternoon, which is generally the hottest time of the day, and found the spirit rise 36 degrees, or parts, marked on the ther mometer, above what it was in the house. The thermometer in the house stood at 26, and exposed to the sun rose 5 degrees above the place marked 0. " The months of July, August, and beginning of September, are the most sickly months in the year ; more people being sick and more children dying than in all the rest of the year. The epidemical diseases are intermitting fever, cholera morbus, and fluxes. The intermitting fevers are not near so frequent in this province as in those more to the southward, but I think fluxes are more frequent in this town than in Philadelphia. Two reasons may be assigned for this : first, the poor people at this time eat abundance of water-melons and other such kinds of fruit more than they do in Philadelphia : the other is, that the water in the town is not near so good as there, being brackish and so hard (as it is commonly termed) that it will not dissolve soap. " The fall in this country (and all over the main of America) is most agreeable from the beginning of September to the middle of November ; the weather being mild and dry, the sky always serene, and the people healthy. " We reckon the winter from the middle of Novem ber to March, though the violent frosts do not usually begin till about Christmas, and then to the middle of February it is extremely cold ; the great river, during that time, being frozen so hard, that horses and sleds pass daily upon it. However it does not every year freeze within several miles of the city, but in that time there is often so much ice floating that it is not safe for vessels to go to sea or to come in. The winter is above six weeks longer at Albany than at New -York, that place being 160 miles further up Hudson's river. It is likewise longer at Philadelphia than here, though that town be above a degree and a half more to the southward. This is owing to that place being situated upon a fresh-water river, which more easily freezes, and to its distance from the sea. " The thermometer in the month of January is generally about 80. I observed it twice at 100, and once at 103 ; then the frost and cold were excessive : all liquors, except spirits, froze. I found Madeira wine (which is a very strong wine) frozen in the morning in a room where there had been a good fire all day till eleven at night. Hudson's river was then frozen over at the town, where it is about two miles broad, and the water very salt, so that people passed over upon the ice in crowds ; but the ice did not continue fast at this place above three days. In the beginning of winter people are in danger of rheumatic pains, and in February of bastard pleurisies. " The air of the country being almost aways clear, and its spring strong, we have few consumptions, or diseases of the lungs. I never heard of a broken- winded horse in this country. People inclined to be consumptive in England, are often perfectly cured by our fine air, but if there be ulcers formed they die in a little time. TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES " The climate grows every day better as the coun try is cleared of the woods, and more healthy, as all the people that have lived long here testify. This has even been sensible to me, though I have been but about twelve years in the country ; I therefore doubt not but it will in time become one of the most agreea ble and healthy climates on the face of the earth. As it is at present, I prefer it to the climate of England, and I believe most people that have lived any consi derable time here, and are returned to England, will confirm this." We would further refer the reader, solicitous of information on this interesting topic, to several pa pers printed in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, to the New York Medical Repository, the medical works of Dr. Edward Mil ler, Currie on the Diseases of the United States, and to Hosack's Essays, chiefly on Medical and Phi losophical subjects. This last named writer has furnished us with an important series of clinical ob servations on the diseases of New York for a series of years, and by his long and ample experience sa tisfactorily demonstrated the specific character of many of the epidemics with which the United States, at difl'erent periods, have been visited, and proved, to the conviction of the unprejudiced, that the American climate is not the latitude of pestilence.. . In anothel- portion of this work we have embodied the observa tions of an American writer on the causes and con sequences of the cholera. Whether the United States will again be visited by this dreadful scourge remains yet to be seen. The affirmative inference might be drawn from the notices which have been taken of it by several medical observers. See the Cholera Ga zette, published by Carey «fc Lee, Philadelphia ; Dr. Paine's Letters on the Cholera of New York ; and Professor J. W. Francis' Letter on the Cholera As phyxia. From this last named author we make the following extract : " I purpose saying a few words, says Dr. Francis, on the peculiar character of this pestilence. It is conceded by all, that the origin of epidemic diseases is still enveloped in great obscurity ; and- the theories on this subject, whether referring to a distempered state of the atmosphere, to exhalations from putrid animal or vegetable matter, or to specific contagion, have been alike conjectural and unsatisfactory. The cholera, like all preceding epidemics, has exercised, but without any very useful results, the ingenuity of the speculative and philosophical observer. Whether the materies morbi of cholera claims a siderial or a telluric origin, the atmosphere is the medium through which it operates. It prevails in all climates and at Vol. II.— Nos. 39 & 40. E all seasons ; it exists in every variety of soils ; on mountains and in valleys, in marshes and on rocks, in dryness and in humidity. Unlike influenza and some other specific diseases, its ravages are independ ent of winds and currents ; neither the analysis of the gases of the atmosphere, nor barometrical or ther mometrical investigations, solve the difficulty of its birth, and we are baffled in reviewing its progress to ascertain the peculiar influence of localities in pro ducing it. The inhabitants of the dense city and the barren plain are subjected to its devastating pow er. Such, it must be admitted, is the fact, as relates to cholera asphyxia : yet so many anomalies appear in the career of this disease, that future observation and research are demanded, the better to discover its concealed cause, and the principles of its inter-com munication. We must admit a distempered atmos phere, from whatever modifying agencies, and where men most do congregate, and local impurities most abound, there we infer an atmospheric condition from which cholera derives aid, to give strength to its ve nom, and wings to its extension. Deviations or ex traordinary vicissitudes in the state of the seasons, and unfavourable localities, are perhaps conspicuously to be classed among the pestilential and co-operative causes. It follows in the track of human intercourse. Predisposition to the disease is acquired, and the ex citing causes which call it forth embrace the innu merable circumstances connected with the economy of man in every state and condition : errors in diet and regimen ; poverty, and its concomitants ; wealth, with its indulgences ; ill ventilated situations or apartments ; the influence of fear, and whatever un dermines the physical energies. The cholera courts the inebriate and the imprudent ; the sober and the temperate are not exempt from its grasp ; it attacks infantile existence, manhood, and old age ; the vo luptuary and the ascetic ; both sexes, and all colours the unacclimated stranger, and the native citizen. To record its numerous occasional and exciting causes would require pages. Our prophylactics, therefore, must be summarily stated : the earliest attention is to be given to the premonitory diarrhosa ; and among the essential requisites are pure air, per sonal cleanliness, food for the hungry, raiment for the naked, the avoidance of extremes of temperature, rigid dietetics, great moderation in the use of ardent drinks, or rather their total prohibition ; the mind sustained by conscientious resolution, and a fixed confidence in a protecting Providence. " That localities influence the character and eictent of the pestilence, and aggravate its type in particular places in New York, we have multiplied proofs ; but S8 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. there is something in the march of this disease which eludes our powers of detection. As if to add to its mysterious career, it has recently made its appearance in the village of Harlem, situate about seven miles from this city, where its malignancy and fatality have, within the period of a few days, far surpassed the worst results we have encountered among the most wretched and depraved of our population. I am credibly informed, that of sixty cases there was not a recovery. Three of the doctors, all I believe the place could boast of, fell beneath its stroke. Our latest account of its progress shows that it has propa gated itself through our beautiful western country, from Albany on the Hudson to Buffalo on Lake Erie. Its extensive ravages give but a too well-grounded apprehension that it is destined to pervade our land. " I have expressed tho opinion, that the physiogno my of cholera asphyxia renders it, when once practi cally known, indelible on the memory ; and I would, with all due deference, guard you against adopting the belief that the epidemic disease now prevailing, is only a modiflcation of the usual cholera morbus of the United States. In whatever attire it approaches, you will find it a stranger. Equally earnest would I be to caution you in too hastily supposing that the malignant cholera is the same, or a disease similar to the spotted fever, or malignant pleurisy, or sinking typhus, as certain disorders have been termed. No sology cannot classify a more distinctive disease than the prevailing cholera ; and the confounding the spotted fever, the malignant pleurisy, and the sinking typhus of some of our northern and eastern states, with this strikingly characteristic disease, is discard ing the leading principles which govern in the clas sification of morbid phenomena. You may deem these rehaarks superfluous ; but, inasmuch as some have pronounced an identity in these diseases, and extolled, as the best method for the treatment of cholera, the almost unmeasured internal use of the diffusible stimuli, such as brandy, ether, and the iike, and the excessive employment of opium, and other narcotics, I have no hesitation to add, that a like fatality would follow such practice in cholera as was witnessed from this empirical method many years ago, when spotted fever prevailed extensively among us. See the report of the Massachusetts Medical 'Society on the treatment of the spotted fever by this unwarrantable practice. '' Medical records abound in the declaration, that upon the invasion of pestilential diseases, the first ¦cases are generally of most malignancy and fatality ; faad facts of this sort are sometimes explained on the principle that those unfortunate individuals were most susceptible of the action of the noxious cause. In the progress thus far of the epidemic cholera among us, we still meet with examples marked by as formi dable symptoms, and of as rapid termination, as at the commencement of the disease ; and hence it is to be regretted, that some of our authorities have pro mulgated the opinion that the complaint is already of a mitigated type. Whatever our hopes, we have as yet no such grounds of congratulation. Look, too, at the history of the Montreal pestilence. " There is another error, fraught with much ha zard, which has lately received the sanction of autho rity. The medical council of our board of health have invited our absent citizens to an early return, and assert that those who have fairly passed through one attack of the disease, in the form of diarrhcEa or of malignant cholera, may expect exemption from another. Be assured, this declaration is wholly un tenable. There is no such immunity from a second attack of cholera, and our proofs establish a contrary doctrine. Cases are within the experience of several of our practitioners, of persons who had fairly gone through a first attack, and have fallen victims to a second. Very lately an individual had a protracted recovery from a third attack. " On no former occasion has New York, frequent ly visited by the direful ravages of the yellow fever, exhibited a more melancholy spectacle. Of a resi dent population of two hundred and twenty thousand, and of transitory inhabitants more than twenty-five thousand at the time of the first occurrence of this pestilence, at least one third are now dispersed in every direction. It is impossible to give you at pre sent any just view of the number of cases and deaths -, the former are but too imperfectly reported to our board, and hence the number of interments seems extraordinary when compared with the reported cholera cases. About the middle of July the disease was most rife, and on one day of that month we had three hundred and eleven cases in public and private practice — interments one hundred and fifty-six. When we advert to the situation of the larger portion of those dependent on their daily labour for their daily food, it requires no effort of the imagination to picture the consequent distress. To the medical faculty, let me observe by the way, the inhabitants of this city are most deeply indebted at this moment. A small part, indeed, have fled, recreant to their honour and their duty ; but the great body of them have, thus far, evinced to my own personal knowledge, a degree of courage and industry, which no hazard or difficulty has overcome. To no class of our citizens are pesti- TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 39 leiitial diseases more injurious in their prudential consequences : exposure to disease and death, with no other remuneration tha,n the consciousness of duty, is the necessary attendant on every epidemic pestilence. When this formidable disease shall have disappeared from among us, and its history be re corded by the faithful historian, the skill and humane exertions of the medical profession, the munificence of the affluent, and the disinterested benevolence of all classes, will not be forgotten." BOOK II. NATURAL HISTORY. INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. The. discovery of the continent of America was, emphatically, the discovery of a new world. Al though possessing, of course, many things in com mon with the other parts of this globe, and exhibit ing proofs not only of a community, but of an identity of origin, and similarity of general chai-acter, it present ed striking and interesting novelties in every depart ment of nature's works. Many of its productions in i;he animal and vegetable worlds are not only pecu- liai, but both beautiful and useful in no ordinary de gree, and have done much to enlarge the menagerie, to adorn the shrubbery, and to augment the resour ces of trade ; while, though in some instances latest in attracting regard, the bosom of the earth contains not only ample treasures of metallic wealth, but Bpleudid, if not unique specimens for the cabinet of the mineralogist, and new facts of no little curiosity for the geological inquirer. This extended and en gaging field of scientific research has attracted, in part, the observation of which it is worthy ; but up to the present period the examination of it is far from being complete in any direction. That portion of this immense continent to which our attention is di rected, namely, the territory of the United States, pos sesses in its full proportion the interest which at taches to the whole ; and we shall endeavour to col lect, from all the authentic sources to which Ave have Rccess, the matters., of principal importance, so that our pages shall contain a summary view of the exist ing state of natural science as it respects this portion of the globe. We shall treat of the mineral, the ve getable, and the animal kingdoms, under the titles Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, and Zoology. CHAPTER I. geology. Considering the comparatively recent date of geology as a European science, it is not surprising that earlier attention Avas not paid to in America. The first considerable attempt towards a scientific view of the character and relations of the strata in the United States Avas made by Mr. Maclure, a short time previous to the year 1812. His work, though small, and necessarily general in its statements, Avas a very valuable commencement, and has served both as a guide for subsequent inquirers, and a kind of carte blanche, on which their corrections or their discoveries may be inscribed. The field of geologi cal research having been so well opened, the number of these subsequent labourers has been by no means small, and their investigations have been conducted Avith much skill and success. It has been our en deavour, in the necessarily condensed account we have prepared of the geology of the United States, to avail ourselves of the most recent information, and to illustrate this interesting subject by a map as ac curate and complete as the fragments of knowledge in this department Avould enable us to compile. We have added such other draAvings as appeared most material. In order to obtain a vicAV of the general geologi cal formation of the territory of the United States, it will be advantageous to recall the features of its phy sical geography — the Appalachian Mountains on the east, with the slope from them to the Atlantic Ocean ; the Chippewayan mountains to the Avest, Avith the valleys intervening betAveen them and the Pacific Ocean ;* and the extended valley betAveen these ele vated ranges, Avith the Ozark Mountains dividing it in the centre, and the Black Mountains occupying its north-Avestern angle. The geological structure of the country is intimately connected with J,hese natu ral features. To begin Avith the ChippeAvayan, as by far the most elevated range.! The summits of this chain of mountains are formed entirely of primitive rocks, and almost exclusively, not merely of the granitic ? Observations on the Geology of the United States, by "W. Ma clure. t See James's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, vol. iu. TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 41 family, but of granite itself. The primitive clay-slate and limestone appear to be entirely wanting, together with mica-slate, while gneiss occurs in small quantity, and the granite passes into. it by imperceptible gra dations. As many members of the primitive class are here absent, the transition rocks of the Wernerians are altogether so. Immediately upon the granite rests a red and saline sandstone ; and this through the Avhole length of the mountain chain, so far as it has been examined, without the intervention in any case of any other rock. We discover here, therefore, comparatively fcAV traces of that magnificent profusion of animal and vegetable life, which in other parts of the globe has reared mountains of limestone, clay-slate, and those other aggregates, which if not entirely, are often in a great measure made up of the exuvise of living beings. The western boundary of this formation of sand stone corresponds to the side of the easternmost grani tic ranges. From the Platte towards the south, the sandstone increases in width, and on the Canadian it extends more than half the distance from the sour ces ofthat river to its confluence with the Arkansas. It consists of two members. 1. Red sandstone. — This rock, which is the lowest of the horizontal or flo3tz rocks met with in this part of the country, is very abundant in all the region immediately subja cent to the mountains. It occurs at intervals along their base, reposing against the primitive rocks in an erect or highly-inclined position. It varies in colour from bright brick-red to dark brown, and is some times found exhibiting various shades of yellow and gray ; it is, however, almost invariably ferruginous ; and the predominance of red in the colouring cer tainly entitles it to the distinctive appellation of red sandstone. The lowest part of the stratum has fre quently least colour, and is also the most compact and hard. This is not, however, invariably the case ; for in the neighbourhood of the Platte, that part of it which lies immediately upon the granite is white, and contains beds of coarse conglomerate or puddingstone. At the lowest points which could be examined, are found embodied large oval or irregu lar masses of hornstone, usually of a yellowish white or bluish colour ; and near the surface of these mass es, are found the few well-marked organic relics the stratum can be said to contain. Higher up the rock becomes much softer, and usually of a browner co lour. It is disposed in immense horizontal laminae or strata, which, when broken transversely, exhibit some tendency to separate into fragments of a rhom bic form. The character which most particularly distinguishes this rock from the old red sandstone of Werner, pointed out by Maclure in New York and NeAv Jersey, appears to be the constant accompani- -ment of gypsum and muriate of soda. 2. Argillace ous 01 gray sandstone. — Immediately above the red sandstone where any rock rests upon it, a gray or yellowish-white sandstone, is found, which is the se cond variety. It most frequently contains a large proportion of argillaceous earth in the cement, and has a more or less slaty structure. The line of se paration betwixt the tAvo is often manifest and well defined, and in other instances they pass by imper ceptible gradations into each other. The upper or gray sandstone is usually more compact and homo geneous than the red ; it breaks, like the former, though more rarely, into large cubic or rhombic masses, which, on account of the more compact tex ture of the stone, retain their form longer than those of the other variety. The precipices formed by both are often lofty and perpendicular ; but the projections and angles of the red are more worn and rounded than those of the gray. The narrow defiles and ravines which the streams of water have exca vated, are less tortuous when they are made entirely in the gray sandstone than in other instances ; and the springs of water flowing from it are more free of mineral impregnations than such as are found in the other variety. The sandstone formation just described, though it must be supposed to have been at one time horizon tal and uniform, is now found in a state of entire disruption and disorder. This may be best described, perhaps, by supposing oneself to be approaching the mountains from the valley of the Mississippi. The surface of the sandy plain rises perceptibly towards the base of the mountains ; and becoming constantly more and more undulating, is at length broken, dis^ closing some cliffs and ledges of micaceous sandstone. This sandstone occurs in horizontal strata, some times divided by the beds of the streams, and forming loAV ridges parallel to the mountains. They are separated from the first range of primitive by more elevated cliffs of a similar sandstone, having its strata in a highly inclined position. Behind these, occur lofty but uninterrupted ranges of naked rocks, desti tute of any covering of earthy or vegetable matter, and standing nearly perpendicular. At a distant view, they present to the eye the forms' of walls, towers, pyramids, and columns, seeming rather the effect of the most laborious efforts of art, than the productions of nature. When surveyed from the more elevated summits of the first granitic range, these immense strata of sandstone standing on edge, and sometimes inclining at various angles towards 42 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. the primitive, resemble the plates of ice often seen thrown into a vertical position in the eddies and along the banks of rivers. The position of the strata of sandstone varies in the distance of a few miles from nearly horizontal to an inclination of more than sixty degrees, and that Avithout any very mani fest change of character, or the interposition of any other stratum. The laminae most distant from the primitive, occupying the eastern sides of the flrst ridges, though lowest in actual elevation, may with propriety be considered the uppermost, as resting on those beyond. At the level of the surface of the great plain, they sink beneath the soil, and in the neigh bourhood of the river Platte they are no more seen. This tract of sandstone, Avhich skirts the eastern boundary of the Chippewayan Mountains, and appears to belong to that immense secondary formation which occupies the valley of the Mississippi, abounds in scenery of a grand and interesting character. The angle of inclination of the strata often approaches 90°, and is very rarely less than 45". That side of the ridges next the primitive appears to have been broken off from a part of the stratum beyond, and is usually an abrupt and perpendicular precipice, sometimes even overhanging and sheltering a considerable extent of surface ; the face of the stratum is usually smooth and hard, and both sides are alike destitute of soil and verdure. Elevations of this description are met Avith, varying from twenty to several thousand feet in thickness. Neither are they by any means uniform in height ; some of them rise, probably, three or four hundred feet ; and considering their singular charac ter, Avould appear high, were they not subjected to an immediate and disadvantageous comparison with the stupendous Andes at AVhose feet they are placed. Their summits in some instances are regular and horizontal, and are crowned with a scanty growth of cedar and pine. Where the cement and most of the materials of the sandstone are silicious, the rock evinces a tendency to break into fragments of a rhombic form ; and in this case the elevated edge presents an irre gularly notched or serrated surface, Sandstones consisting of silex Avith the least intermixture of fo reign ingredients, are the most durable ; but in the region of which Ave speak, the variations in the com position, cement, and characters of the sandstone, are innumerable ; clay and oxide of iron enter into its composition in considerable proportions, and render it unfit to withstand the attacks of the various agents Av-hose effect is to hasten dissolution and decay. Highly elevated rocks of this description may Avell be supposed in a state of rapid and perceptible change. The sih?«"p Wgles and asperities of surfftQe which they may have originally presented, are soon worn away ; the matter constantly removed by the agency of water from their sides and summits is deposited at their feet ; their elevation gradually diminishes, and even the inclination of their strata becomes at length obscure or wholly undiscoverable. This appears to have been a part of the process by which numerous conical hills and mounds have been interspersed among the highly inclined naked rocks above men tioned ; they are often clothed with considerable verdure to their summits, and add greatly to the beauty of the surrounding scenery. The contrast of colours in this rude but majestic region often pro duces the most brilliant and grateful effects. The deep green of the small and almost procumbent cedars and junipers, with the less intense colours of various species of deciduous foliage, acquires nevir beauty from being placed as 9, margin to the glowing red and yelloAV seen on the surfaces of many of the rocks. The sandstone along the base of the mountains, though apparently not very recent, contains the re mains of marine animals and plants, and embraces some extensive beds of puddingstone. Overlying the red sandstone, southward of the Arkansas, are rocks of basaltic origin. They present a striking contrast, by their dark colour, by the vast ness and irregularity of their masses, to the smooth, light, and fissile sandstone on Avhich they rest. Sometimes they are compact and apparently homoge neous in their composition, and in many particulars of structure, form, hardness, &c. more analogous to the primitive rocks than to those recent secondary aggregates Avith Avhich they are associated. In other instances, black and shapeless masses of porous and amygdaloidal substances are seen scattered about the plains or heaped in conical masses, but having no immediate connexion Avith the strata on which they rest, Most of the rocks belonging to this class were obserA'ed in the neighbourhood of the sources of the Canadian ; and may be distinguished into two kinds, referable to the two divisions called greenstone and amygdaloid. 1. Greenstone. It appears in this district under almost every variety of form and character noticed by mineralogists. Sometimes it is nearly or quite free from any intermixture of hornblende, is of a fine dark green colour, and closely resembles some varieties of serpentine ; sometimes its colour is a dull gray, gra duating into brown and black of various shades and intensities. It forms numerous conical hills, of con siderable elevation, scattered without order, or group ed in various directions. These hills are usually of a regular and beautiful form. The great plain on TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 43 which they repose is elevated, and destitute of tim ber or Avater, but ornamented with a carpet of thick and verdant grasses ; and the hills, though steep and high, are sometimes smooth and green to the sum mit, the surface on all sides being unbroken b^' trees or rocks, and covered with thick turf The Avhole forms a scene of singular beauty. " During our journey across the district noAV under consideration," says Dr. James, " we had constantly occasion to ad mire the freshness and abundance of the grasses and other herbaceous plants. The plains of the Platte and Arkansas we had seen brown and desolate, as if recently ravaged by fire ; but here we passed elevated tracts, where for many miles, we could find no water for our own necessities, yet the vegetation possessed the freshness of spring in the most fertile regions." But the conic hills just mentioned are not the only form under which the greenstone appears. It some times rises in Ioav irregular ridges, extending a con siderable distance, and sloping on both sides into the level of the plain. In the narroAv channels which the streams of Avater have sunk in it, may be seen perpendicular precipices of great elevation, but the valley between them is usually almost filled with large broken masses of the rock, which frequently exhibit a prismatic form. It falls readily into large masses, but seems strongly to resist that progress of disintegration which it must undergo before it can be removed by the water. The face of the perpendicu lar precipices is almost invariably marked by distinct and large seams running nearly parallel to each other, and at right angles with the horizon. Following the water-courses, which are sunk a considerable dis tance below the surface, the line of separation from the sandstone on which the greenstone rests at length becomes Adsible. 2. Amygdaloid, a porous or vesicular rock, of a very dark gray, greenish, or black colour, usually found near the greenstone, but sometimes in connex ion with the sandstone. In its ultimate composition it resembles greenstone, but there were never seen in it such large fragments of feldspar and scal-es of mica as were observed in that rock. The amygdaloidal •cavities which every where penetrate this rock are of various sizes, some of them appearing like bubbles which have been formed in a semifiuid mass, and •afterwards lengthened and variously distorted by .the motion of the contiguous matter. Near the surface they contain a soft Avhite or yellowish-white substance, very different from the rock itself, usually a soft •chalk-like carbonate of lime. This gives the recent surface a mottled appearance ; but on surfaces which iiave been for some time exposed to the air, this aolt substance has been removed, and the pores and vesi cles are found empty. Amygdaloid does not appeal to occupy any very great extent of the country near the mountains. It was not met with imbedded in, or surmounted by, any other rock. Like the greenstone, it forms conical hills, Avhich sometimes occur in deep water-worn valleys, bounded on both sides by perpen--i dicular Avails of sandstone ; it is likewise seen in the high plains, sometimes in the form of narrow and crooked ridges, apparently folloAving what Avere an ciently the beds of small brooks. When either of the two rocks last mentioned occur, it is not uncom mon to find detached masses of a stone somewhat resembling the pumice-stone of commerce. It is usually of a faint red or yelloAvish-white colour, but sometimes it is brown, or nearly black. It feels less harsh than the pumice-stone Avhich is used in the arts, and seems to consist in a great degree of clay. It appears to be entirely similar to the substance brought down the Missouri by the annual floods, and by many considered as a product of pseudo-volcanic fires, said to exist on that river. With regard to the soils resting upon the rocks of this trap formation, it may be worthy of remark, that gravel and water-worn pebbles rarely occur, except in situations where it is easy to see that they may have been derived from the substratum of sandstone. Pieces of charred wood were found in the sandstone underlying the trap rocks ; but the travellers of Major Long's party did not observe any thing analogous to the whin-dykes of Europe, nor do they notice an altered character in the trap and sandstone at their junction. Before we advert to any other object in the field Ave are now viewing, the valtey immediately to the eastAvard ¦of the Chippewayan range claims our atten tion, on account of its close geological connexion Avith those mountains. We have seen already that the sandstones of this region, diminishing in their elevation as they recede from the granite, dip at a moderate angle under the bed of the valley. After they are lost sight of the valley itself consists of an immense accumulation of sand, the apparent debris of the mountains. The soil to an unknown depth is constituted of gravel made up of rounded granitic fragments, varying in dimensions from the size of a six-pound shot to finish sand. This great mass of granitic fragments, evidently brought down by the agency of water from the sides and summitsipf the mountains, slopes grad^lally from their base, and ap pears, as far as examinations have extended, to cor respond, in some measure, to the elevation and ex tent of that part of the mountains opposite which it is placed. The minute particles derived from the 44 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. quartzose portions of the primitive aggregates, being least liable to decomposition, have been carried to the greatest distance, and now form the almost unmixed soil of the eastern margin of the great sandy desert : the central portions are of a coarser sand, with which some particles of feldspar and mica are inter mixed ; nearer the mountains, pebbles and boulders become frequent, and at length almost cover the sur face of the country. It is probable that many parts of this extensive desert may differ from that traversed by the Platte, in having the surface more or less covered with horizontal strata of sandstone and con glomerate, instead of loose sand and pebbles ; indeed, there are many appearances indicating that a forma tion of this kind formerly extended down the Platte much farther than at present. Towards the north the sands continue to the margin of the Black Moun tains ; and below these still further to the east, until met by some more recent deposits intervening be tween them and the Ozark range. From the strong saline impregnation and the brick-red colour of the streams, especially below the Arkansas, there is rea son to suppose that the red or saline sandstone is continued at no great depth under the sand to near the mouth of the Canadian river. Let us noAV look at the next most considerable mountain range, the Apalachian ; in geological struc ture, as well as in other respects, differing widely from that we have just been contemplating. A large portion of these mountains, the Avhole of their eastern front, is composed of primitive rocks, comprehend ing both the granitic family and its associated strata of clay-slate and limestone. In Ncav England the rocks of this class constitute the sea-coast, and, Avith some exceptions, extend inwards to the St. Law rence, so as to form the general aspect, as well as the most elevated parts of the country. SouthAvard of the Hudson the edge of the primitive follows the general contour of the mountains, at a considerable but variable distance from the sea, to their termi nation, and until it meets more recent deposits at the extremity of the mountain range. The breadth of this primitive belt is very unequal. It occupies but a small part of the country, where it passes through the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland, in which the highest part of the range of mountains to the Avest consists of transition, with some intervening val leys of secondary strata. In Virginia, the primitive increases in breadth, and proportionally in height, constituting the greatest mass, as well as the most elevated points of the mountains in the states of North Carolina and Georgia. Besides this range, there is a great mass of primitive on the Avest side of Lake Champlaln, having that lake and Lake George for a boundary on the east, joining the primi tive in Canada to the north and north-west, and folloAV- ing a line from the Thousand Islands in the St. Law- rence, running nearly parallel to the Mohawk river, until it meets Lake George as a south-west limit. This mass of primitive rocks runs across the Mo hawk at the Little Falls, and near to Johnstown, Avhere it is covered by limestone ; it occupies all the mountanous country between "Lake Champlaln, the St. Lawrence, and Lake Ontario. In general, the primitive rocks run from a north and south to a north-east and south-west direction, and dip generally to the south-east at an angle of more than forty-five degrees with the horizon ; their highest elevation is tOAvards their north-western limit, whence they gradually descend to the south-east, there being covered by more recent strata ; and the great est mass, as Avell as the highest mountains, consist ing of primitive rock, is found towards the northern and southern extremities ofthe range. The moun tains of this formation generally consist of detached masses, Avith rounded flat tops and a circular waving outline, as the White Hills to the north ¦; or coni- cally waving Avith small pyramidical tops, as the peaks of Otter, and the ranges of hills to the south. Granite in large masses forms but a small part of this formation, and is found indifferently on the tops of mountains and in the plains ; it is both large and small grained, is mixed occasionally with hornblende and talc, and contains, as in Europe, rounded masses of a rock consisting of hornblende and feldspar, in small grains, disseminated through it ; it generally divides vertically into rhomboids, and, except in some very small grained varieties, there is no appearance of stratification. When found in low situations, as in the interior of South Carolina and Georgia, it is frequently so far decomposed as to have lost the adhesion of its particles, to the depth of thirty or forty feet below the surface ; each crystal is in its place, and the Avhole looks like solid granite, Avhile you may take it up in handfuls like sand and gravel. Gneiss extends perhaps over a half of this formation, (though some writers have taken a loAver estimate,'' and includes in a great many places beds from three to 300 feet thick of a very large grained granite, which run in the same direction, and dip as the gneiss does ; it is in those beds generally that the emerald, phosphat of lime, tourmaline, garnet, cymo- phane, octahedral iron ore, graphic granite, «kc. hollow fire is required. It has been common to consider this anasphaltic coal as a true anthracite, and the strata in which it is found as properly belonging to the transition class ; but it would be difficult to admit this in conjunction Avith such a profusion of vegetable remains as occur in connexion with it. In visiting several of the mines of the Susquehanna, and Lackawanna, the naturalist is gratified by seeing the vast deposits of vegetable impressions and remains which accompany the coal, usually in the slate that forms the roof, and occa sionally in that of the floor ; they exist also, although in a smaller degree, in the sandstone, and sometimes, but much more rarely, even in the coal itself. There are instances where they fill the slate for a space of ten feet in thickness, and, making due allowance for the compression which they have undergone, the original deposits must have occupied a vastly greater thickness than their relics do now. The impres sions are very perfect, indicating repose and calm at the time of their deposition, and excluding the possi bility of transport from distant countries. There are many species of ferns, none of them, as it is said, modern, and most or all of them tropical ; there are impressions, sometimes several feet long and broad, of the bark of gigantic vegetables, some botanists say they are palms ; occasionally there are entire limbs, carbonized ; frequently, broad leaves are found of six or seven inches or more in diameter ; culmiferous plants are numerous, and so are the aquatic algas, and rushes. The leaves of the plants are usually in full expansion, the most delicate parts of their struc ture being exactly preserved or copied ; and accord ing to Mr. Cist, flowers of a stellated form are oc casionally found. Professor Hitchcock believed that he had found a flower with unfolded petals. If all these remains are found in transition rocks, it is certainly a new feature in geological science ; if, on the contrary, according to Professor Eaton, the strata TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 73 in which the anasphaltic coal lies are of the elder secondary, then this class of rocks must be of more extensive occurrence on the eastern side of the Apa lachian Mountains than has been hitherto supposed. We cannot withhold from our readers the follow ing speculations of a scientific observer on the proba ble formation of these interesting beds : — " Is the an thracite coal," says Dr. Silliman, "of vegetable origin? Does the fibrous charcoal, frequently found between its layers, owe its origin to the vegetable skeleton? There seems no more reason to doubt the latter fact, than that the vegetable impressions found in and upon the coal and its rocks have the same origin. But did the mass of coal arise from vegetables ? This has been admitted by many persons with re spect to bituminous coal, but, I have heretofore been inclined to attribute anthracite coal to a direct min eral creation ; the opinion of its vegetable origin appears however to me less improbable, since I have seen with my own eyes the incontrovertible and abundant proofs of vegetable life in these mines. We are obliged, from the facts here seen, to go a great extent in admitting vegetation in connexion with this coal. But if we seek to trace the entire masses to vegetable matter, how shall we admit the existence and accumulation of the enormous quantities that must have grown or been collected on the spot, to form such stupendous beds, ten, twenty, and thirty feet in thickness, and repeated, again and again, with all their attendant rocks and impressions ? But, the plants, from ferns and liliputian vegetables to those of great size, did grow, and were deposited, in connexion with these coal strata, for there we fiod their unques tionable and exuberant remains ; and they were pro duced again and again, for we find them in the dif ferent deposits, as the coal strata succeed each other at different depths. As the vegetables, whose organized forms or impressions we actually find, did exist in these places, could there, by any possibility, have been enough accumulated to form the coal beds? If it is difficult to answer in the affirmative, perhaps it is not quite certain that we must reply in the negative ; at least it is not, I must confess, quite so certain as I once thought it to be. " But, supposing the vegetable matter to have ex isted in sufficient quantity to have formed the coal ; why, if so formed, is there in general no appearance of ligneous structure, of vegetable organization in the coal itself? On this point it may be suggested, that the vegetable matter may have been so decom posed, as to lose in a great degree its organization ; it may have been suspended or deposited in water along with the same earthy matter which formed the accompanpng rocks, and particularly the coal slate, and this earthy matter may have been deposit ed along with and among the particles as well as the masses of coal, now in minute proportion, as we ac tually find it in burning even the purest anthracite, the form and structure of whose layers is delicately exhibited by the earthy skeleton, commonly called ashes, which remains : now the earthy matter may have prevailed to a greater degree, and then the coal is more impure, less combustible, and affords a more abundant residuum ; again, the earthy matter may have prevailed still more, and then the deposit is a carbonaceous slate ; and lastly, the carbon may have been supplanted by the earthy matter, and then seams of slate would be formed, as we actually find them in the coal beds. Without some such process, it seems difficult to account for the varying propor tions of earth and carbon which we find blended in the anthracites ; the extremes being the purest coal on the one hand, and slate on the other, and be tween these there appear to be innumerable mixtures or combinations of earth and coal in different pro ¦ portions. " Perhaps the reason why the vegetables found in the slate retEiin their organized form, is found in the fact, that the fine sedimentary earths, the silicious and argillaceous, of which the slate is composed, may have enveloped the plants too suddenly to per mit them to undergo decomposition, and thus to ex hibit an impalpable carbon ; while their forms would, of course, be distinctly impressed upon the yielding plastic matter of the slate, rendered soft perhaps by diffusion in water. Pressure is also to be taken into account in reasoning upon the probable obliteration of the organic structure; this force would operate in proportion to the progress of the accumulation, whether of coal strata, or of those of superincum bent rock."* The appearance of the Tioga, or bituminous coal, differs so little from the well known character of the best Liverpool or Newcastle coal, that it scarcely re quires a description. Its colour is velvet black, with a slight resinous lustre, its structure is slaty or foli ated, and its layers, as in the best English coal, divi ded into prismatic solids, with bases slightly rhom- boidal ; it is easily frangible and slightly soils the fingers. The specific gravity is 1,287. It burns with a bright flame and considerable smoke, with a slight bituminous smell, a sort of ebullition taking place, and, as the heat increases, an appearance ot semifusion, leaving a slight residue or scoria. ? Silliman's Journal, vol. xviii. '/4 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. In 100 parts of coal are. Carbon 66 7 Bitumen 30 43 ^ Earth 3 50 100 00 It thus appears that the Tioga" coal is of an excel lent quality, fully equal to the best Liverpool coal, and fit for all the purposes of manufactures, but requir ing to be converted into coke before it can be made use of in the smelting of iron ore, or in many other processes in metallurgy and the arts. This should be always kept in view, and is the principal distinction between it and the anthracite or non-bituminous coal of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Each of them has its distinctive and valuable qualities. While the anthra cites consist nearly of from ninety to ninety-seven per cent, of pure carbon, the Tioga coal contains on ly 66,7, the residue being chiefly bitumen, a substance which renders it extremely valuable in domestic use, and in the reverberatory furnaces, but inapplicable to many other purposes which the experienced artist can easily comprehend. The bituminous coal oc curs in a series of beds of sandstone, accompanied by shale or argillaceous slate, ab(5unding with vegetable impressions and resting on secondary limestone con taining fossil remains. In the neighbourhood of the coal mine is found abundance of iron ore, of that species which is called ironstone or argillaceous iron ore, precisely of the same character as that which accompanies the beds of coal in England. Graphite, or plumbago, commonly but improperly called black lead, occurs extensively in primitive and transition rocks ; from that which is obtained in New York, excellent pencils have been made. There are also numerous localities of petroleum, or mineral oil. It usually floats on the surface of springs, which in many cases are kno-wn to be in the vicinity of coal. It is sometimes called Seneca or Genesee oil. In Kentucky, it occurs on a spring of water in a state sufficiently liquid to burn in a lamp; it is collected in considerable quantities, and sold at twenty-five cents, or about one shilling, ster ling a gallon. Salt appears to be very abundant in the United States. We have already noticed the indications of a gypsum and rock salt formation along the east and south-east boundaries of the Mississippi Valley bor dering on the transition rocks of the mountain chains, and in strata identical with the saliferous sandstone of Europe ; and through the whole extent of this line, from the state of New York across the Missis sippi, into the Arkansas country, salt-works have been more or less successfully undertaken. The salt, however, has never been found in the mass ; it is obtained from springs, or niore frequently front wells or borings made for the purpose. The brin© varies considerably in its strength. Professor Eaton has suggested doubts whether, masses of salt really exist. He conceives that an apparatus for the spon taneous manufacture of salt may be found within the bosom of the earth, in those rocks which contain the necessary elements ; and his opinion has the support of an experiment which we shall give in his own words. " I took a specimen of the rock called water limestone from a hill adjoining Nine-mile Creek, a few miles west of the Onondaga salt-springs. If this specimen be pulverized and examined ever so minutely, it presents nothing to the senses resem bling common salt, (muriate of soda.) I do not mean that the elementary constituents can not be found in it, but I do not propose here to have any reference to a chemical analysis of the rock. On exposing a fresh fracture of a specimen from this rock for two or three weeks in a damp cellar, it shoots out crys tals of common salt, sufficient to cover its whole sur face. This proves conclusively, that one rock at least, reposing over the floor of the salt springs, con tains in itself the materials for the spontaneous manufacture of salt. And there may be many kinds of rock besides the water limestone, which contain the elementary constituents of common salt." Sub sequently, however, Mr. Eaton has found reason to think that salt has existed in a solid state in cubical crystals, the hollow forms of which he discovered abundantly in the lias and saline rock of the west, and it seems still to be highly probable that masses of salt exist in the neighbourhood of the salt-springs. The brine contains, besides the muriate of soda, a considerable proportion of muriate of lime and mag nesia. Recently also bromine has been detected in the brine of Salina by Dr. Silliman. In addition to those which are strictly saline, mi neral waters of various properties are of frequent occurrence in the United States. Our notices of them in this department of our work must be chiefly confined to their mineralogical character. The mi neral waters of Saratoga, which have become so cele brated for their medicinal qualities, are situated in alow marshy valley, along the termination of a ridge of se condary limestone ; they discover themselves in abed of blue marl, which covers the valley throughout its whole extent, and to an unknown depth. On digging into this marl, to any considerable distance, in almost any direction, a mineral water is sure to be found ; in some places, at the depth of six or eight feet, it is discovered issuing from a fissure or seam in the un derlying limestone, while at other places, it seems to jincra-ved. byTUlmaa ;iPIIi>-.E.?2Ai ®ff (S®Ki(I3-ISl.IESS ]BIi\v:!Lj_Uj SiJiJS,£A'ir®u&iiA. SiFnaiiH(E-§ \ol .II page . /.'I TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 75 proceed from a thin stratum of quicksand, which is found to alternate with the marl at distances of from ten to forty feet ; at this depth the marl is interrupted by a layer of boulders of a considerable size, beyond which no researches, have yet been made. All the mineral fountains that have yet been examined in this valley, and there a,re more than twenty, are found to possess uniformly the same qualities, differing only in what is usually termed their strength, or, in other words, in the quantities of the articles which the water of each is found to hold in solution. They belong to a class which may with propriety be styled the aci dulous saline chalybeate. The best analyses agree in demonstrating that they contain the following in gredients, viz. — carbonic acid, muriate of soda, car bonate of soda, carbonate of lime, carbonate of mag nesia, and carbonate of iron, together with a very minute quantity of silica and alumina. To these ingredients recent investigations have added iodine, hydrobromic acid, and potash. The surface of Hamil ton spring, at Saratoga, is constantly agitated by the escape of large quantities of gas ; and as the water passes off, it leaves on the surface of the earth an abundant deposit of a brownish colour, evidently ferruginous and calcareous. The water, when first dipped from the fountain, is remarkably clear and sparkling, but on standing exposed to the atmosphere, soon becomes turbid. It is saline and acidulous to the taste, and when taken to the quantity of five or six half pints, is usually powerfully cathartic and diuretic. The temperature at the bottom of the well is uniformly at fifty degrees. One gallon, or 231 cubic inches, of this water, when first taken from the well, contains Muriate of soda • grains 297.3 Hydriodate of soda 3. Carbonate of soda 19.21 Carbonate of lime 92.4 Carbonate of magnesia 23.1 Oxide of iron 5.39 grains 440.4 together ¦with a minute quantity of silica and alumina, probably 0.6 of a grain, making the solid contents of a gallon amount to 441 grains. Carbonic acid gas 316 cubic inches. Atmospheric air 4 Gtaseous contents in a gallon 320 cubic inches At Albany, in the summer of 1826, in boring for pure water for a brewery, a mineral spring was acci dentally opened. The sensible qualities of this wa ter have a great resemblance to those of the Congress spring at Saratoga. Its temperature is uniformly from .51° to 52° of Fahrenheit, at all seasons of the year ; its specific gravity, when taken with great care, and after repeated trials, was found to be as 1010 to 1000. The taste of the water is purely sa line, somewhat pungent, and not at all disagreeable ; but those who are best acquainted with it think it by no means so stimulating and pungent as the waters of the Congress spring ; it has no sensible chalybeate taste, and no perceptible smell which could lead ta the suspicion of its holding sulphuretted hydrogen gas in solution. As to the gas which ascends through the tube, and has been described as inflammable, it appears to be either hydrogen or carburetted hydro gen, similar to the gas which is so frequently obser ved to accompany the saline springs in the state of New York, but which pass.es through the water with out giving it any sensible properties. When this water, which is at first so clear and pellucid, is al lowed to remain for a few hours in a glass, the gas which is extricated from it adheres, in the form of innumerable air bubbles, to the inside surface of the glass ; in a short time after, the water loses its trans parency, a thin pellicle appears on its surface, which has a slightly irridescent appearance ; by degrees the water becomes perfectly opaque, the pellicle falls to the bottom, which, as well as the sides of the glass, is covered with a light brown powder, which adheres firmly to it. The water, after this, recovers its former transparency, but loses its agreeable, pungent, and. acidulous taste, becoming perfectly vapid, and having no other taste but that of a solution of marine salt in water. Dr. Mead gives the following comparative analysis of the mineral contents in one pint of water of Congress spring at Saratoga, the public well at Ballston and the new spring at Albany : Congress Spring. Grs. Muriate of soda 61 1-2 Carbonate of lime 13 3-4 Carbonate of magnesia 8 1-2 Muriate of lime 1 3-4 Muriate of magnesia 2 1-2 Oxide of iron 1-4 Total 78 1-4 Carbonic Acid Gas, Cubic inches Public WeU, Ballston. Muriate of soda . ' 21 Carbonate of lime _ . . 4 Carbonate of magnesia 5 Muriate of lime 1 Muriate of magnesia Oxide of iron 33 Grs. 6-8 5-83-4 3-4 1-2 Total 34 1-2 Carbonic Acid Gas. Cubic inches 30 1-2 re TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. Albany 'Water. Grs. Muriate of soda 59 Carbonate of soda 5 Carbonate of lime 4 Carbonate of magnesia 1 Carbonate of iron 1 Muriate of lime 1-2 1-2 Total 71 Carbonic Acid Gas. Cubic inches 26 Professor Hosack, of New York, thus writes on the medicinal qualities of the Ballston waters : " No mineral waters in the United States enjoy an equal celebrity with those of Ballston and Saratoga, and as none are more generally resorted to by in valids, perhaps none are more indiscriminately used. Correctly to ascertain their properties becomes, there fore, an object of importance to every physician, " Several analyses of the Ballston waters have been communicated to the public ; according to the analy sis made by Mons, Caizalet, a teacher of chemistry at Bordeaiix, a bottle of the Ballston water contain ing 25 ounces afforded, Carbonic acid, three times its volume. Muriate of Soda, 31 grains. Super saturated carbonate of lime, . 22 grains. Muriate of magnesia, 12 1-2 grains. Muriate of lime 5 grains. 4 grains. " This subject has also recently received the atten tion of Dr. William Meade, of Philadelphia, a gentle man well skilled in practical chemistry, and who has made frequent visits to the springs both of Ballston and Saratoga, for the express purpose of making an accurate analysis of those celebrated waters. " The reader, desirous of further information on this subject, is referred to the work published by Dr. Meade, entitled, ' An Experimental Inquiry into the chemical properties and medicinal qualities of the principal mineral waters of Ballston and Saratoga.' " The Ballston waters have been long known to yield a great quantity of fixed air, and to hold in solution a large portion of iron. By the analysis now given, it appears that they yield a much larger proportion of fixed air, and that they contain a greater quantity of iron than any other mineral water that has hitherto been discovered, not excepting that of Vichy, in France, one of the strongest chalybeate waters in Europe. But it appears, that they also con tain another substance, viz. the muriate of lime, which, with the other ingredients with Avhich it is associa ted, promises to be of great and extensive utility. " We are accordingly, from the above analysis, in duced to ascribe more virtues to the Ballston waters than physicians have generally believed them to pos sess. Although much is due to exercise, change of air, and an agreeable occupation of the mind, which the amusements of watering places usually afford, I have no doubt, from the sensible effects produced upon the system by the waters themselves, that they are also productive of great good in a variety of diseases, some of which I shall now briefly enu merate. " 1st. From the effects of the Ballston waters, as a strong chalybeate, they may be employed with ad vantage in most diseases of debility, whether directly or indirectly such. But in those complaints which are attended with an increased excitement of the whole system, or with local inflammation, they are manifestly prejudicial. These principles are dedu cible from the qualities of the waters alone ; but they are also confirmed by the experience and observation of physicians who have attended to their operation, " Accordingly, in intermittent fever, dropsy, dys pepsia, hypochondriasis, and hysteria, connected with, or proceeding from, debility of the digestive organs ; in paralysis, chronic rheumatism, gout, in its chronic state, chlorosis, fluor albus ; in suppression of the menses when arising from weakness, in worms, and in other diseases of debility, whether of the intestinal canal, or of the whole system, the Ballston waters have been long and justly celebrated. On the other hand, in a plethoric state of the system, as in preg nancy, in consumption of the lungs, inflammation of the liver, acute rheumatism, dysentery, and other diseases of an inflammatory nature, in which they are oftentimes resorted to, they invariably do injury. We may, perhaps, except from this remark a species of consumption which arises in females about the time of puberty, in which, from want of energy in the system, menstruation does not take place at the period in which it usually appears ; dyspepsia en sues, followed with general irritation of the nervous system, pain in the breast, cough, sometimes he morrhage from the lungs, and ultimately terminating in confirmed consumption. These consequences have frequently been prevented by a course of iron, and vegetable tonics, aided by generous diet, and ex ercise, especially riding on horseback. Under simi lar circumstances, I have no doubt that the Ballston waters may be serviceable in this species of phthisis in its incipient state ; but they should never be em ployed in diseases of this nature without the advice of a physician. " 2. From the saline impregnation of these waters, TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, 77 and their operation upon the urinary organs, as well as by perspiration, they are indicated in diseases of • the kidneys and bladder, in gout, chronic rheumatism, and eruptions upon the skin, all which diseases are most frequently produced by, or connected with, a morbid condition of the fluids, and an impaired state of the secretions. In these complaints, I have re peatedly prescribed these waters with the best effects, " Dr. Thacher, the author of ' The American Modern Practice,' a work containing much original and valuable information, concurs in the opinion of the general efficacy of the Ballston waters in diseases of debility, and that they are peculiarly beneficial in calculus and gravel, some cases of which have come -within his own particular knowledge — and upon the information of Dr, Powell, whose residence at the springs gave him a free opportunity of ascertaining the fact, he adds, that rarely a case of gravel occur red in which relief was not obtained, " But according to the foregoing analysis, the Ball- Eton waters contain an ingredient of great value, be sides those already enumerated ; I mean the muriate of lime. It appears upon the authority of Dr. Bed- does, Dr. R. Pearson, Dr. Wood, and Dr. Schraud, of Vienna, that this substance has lately been discover ed to be a remedy for scrofula, which hitherto has been the opprobrium of our profession. It is true, cases have been recorded by Russel and others of the cure of this disorder by the use of sea water. But as it has been ascertained by chemists, that the mu riate of lime enters into the composition of sea water, it is very possible that the efficacy of the latter, in that disease, may in part be derived from the muriate of lime which it has been found to contain. " But as scrofula is usually attended with a gene ral debility of the system, as well as a morbid condi tion of the fluids, the Ballston waters will probably be found peculiarly serviceable, inasmuch as they pos sess the means of invigorating the system, at the same time that they contain the antidote to the peculiar virus of that disease. " But to obtain the benefits of the Ballston waters In any of the diseases which have been noticed, it is necessary that in the use of them, as it regards the time of taking them, the quantity taken, the stage of the disease, and other circumstances which must go vern their exhibition, the directions of the physician be particularly attended to. As well might the pa tient make use of any other article of the materia medica without medical advice, as drink these waters in the manner in which they are usually taken. It is but a short time since that a very valuable life was destroyed by the imprudent use of them during a Vol. II.— Nos. 43 &, 44. K state of pregnancy, I was lately consulted by two gentlemen who had left the springs much worse than they had gone to them. The one laboured under dyspepsia, attended with habitual costiveness. Neg lecting to relieve his bowels, he commenced the use of the waters ; the consequences were, an aggrava tion of his disease, followed with fever, acute pain in the head, and other symptoms of general excitement. The other person referred to, had come from Vir ginia, on account of an obstinate chronic diarrhcea, attended with great debility, and general emaciation. Without advice, he immediately began to drink the waters, to the quantity of several quarts daily. The consequences may readily be imagined ; an increase of his disease, and a degree of debility from which he with difficulty recovered. " ' This water,' says Dr. Steel, ' if drank in large quantities, or when taken by persons whose stomachs are extremely irritable, operates as a cathartic : it is likewise, in most instances, a powerful diuretic ; and like the other strong chalybeates in the vicinity, is of eminent service to an impaired or capricious appetite, and weakness of the assimilating organs in irregular digestion, flatulent distention of the abdomen, anxie ty about the prsecordia, difficult respiration from sym pathy with the stomach, occasional vcmiting of viscid mucus,' (fee. " The administration of these remedies, therefore, requires some attention. Upon this subject, the fol lowing judicious remarks by Dr. Dyckman, contain ed in his excellent American edition of Dr. Duncan's New Dispensatory, merit the observance of those who visit Ballston and Saratoga, to obtain the benefits of those waters. " ' The doses must be regulated by the constitution of the patient, the state of the stomach, the nature and stage of the disease, and the effects produced. In large quantities, as from a pint to a quart, they usually operate gently as a cathartic ; but in small doses their action is determined more particularly to the kidneys and skin. In general, they should be drank till they produce a slight evacuation from the bowels. Care, however, should be taken never to distend the stomach so as to occasion inconvenience. If from one to two or three pints daily produce no sensible effect, the quantity of fluid will be apt to prove more injurious as a load, than useful as a me dicine. In most instances, perhaps, it will be advisa ble to begin with small quantities, and repeat them often. When taken to an improper extent, particu larly if they do not produce some effect as a purga tive or diuretic, they not unfrequently occasion much distress and disturbance of the whole system, being s TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. followed by anxiety, headache, or vertigo, perturba tion, pains in the stomach and bowels, or spasms. They should not be employed when the stomach and bowels are overloaded, or just before or after meals. When intended to act as an aperient, the proper time for administering them is in the morning, before breakfast. Their operation will be facilitated by the exercise of walking or riding. Taken after a meal, they are less apt to affect the bowels than they are the kidneys and skin.' " A mineral spring exists in Cliff-street, in the city of New York, of which we find the following analy sis : — Carbonate of ammonia 5.00 Carbonate of lime 29.50 Carbonate of magnesia, (F,) 33.7-1-1 gr. (E,) .... 34.70 Carbonate of potassa ¦ 3.00 Chloride of magnesium . , 1.92 Chloride of sodium, (C b,) 4.98 grs.-f 52.6 grs. (G, J,) , , 57.58 Sulphate of magnesia 6.00 Sulphate of soda 5.46 Sulphate of lime 0.25 Silica 0.20 Oxide of iron, (D^) (P,) 1.55 Extractive m.atter 5. 150.16 (3ASE0US MATTER. Cub. In. Carbonic acid 68.57 Atmospheric air 4.57 73.14 The American editor may remark, that this Clift- stxeet mineral spring no longer exists : the whole account seems to have been engendered in error. At Bedford, in Pennsylvania, there is a very copi ous supply of mineral water, issuing from the foot of a cliff by no less than seven highly medicinal springs, all within the radius of a stone's throw, and some of them containing iron and sulphur. The Berkely springs, at Bath, in Virginia, are chiefly magnesian. In order to render the notice by the English editor of the mineral waters of the United States the more satisfactory, the American editor has availed himself of an article recently published by Professor J. W. Francis, of New York, which, while it cursorily no tices several of the more conspicuous mineral waters of the United States, includes a particular account of those valuable springs, of a sulphureous character, lately discovered at Avon, in Livingston county, New York. If report be true, few springs of equal im portance are known to exist any where. Their cu rative properties will unquestionably give them a preference over many of those waters which have too long absorbed public attention, but which,, from accidental circumstances, have obtained a popularity which never otherwise could have been claimed for them. Professor Francis assures the editor that he has spoken in terms of moderation of their sanative qualities, " The experiments and observations which have been made at different periods by various writers on the mineral waters of the United States, if properly grouped together, would constitute a work of great practical utility. This service has indeed been per formed, to a considerable extent, by Dr, Bell, of Philadelphia, and a large amount of information on this interesting subject, which was scattered through numerous volumes, may be found in his work on Baths and Mineral Waters. " Among the earliest papers which have appeared, of this nature, may be mentioned, an analysis of the chalybeate water of Bristol, Pennsylvania, by the late Dr. John De Normandie, of that place, and printed in the first volume of the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. The investiga tions of this learned physician, though wanting in the philosophy of modern chemistry, were such as to awaken much public attention to the Bristol water ; and some sixty years ago they were deemed to pos sess properties analogous to those of Bath and Spa : they were at that time largely employed for their curative powers, but have latterly fallen into disuse. So early as about 1789, Dr. Mitchill instituted his first series of experiments on the waters of Saratoga Springs, and subsequently added many pertinent ob servations on their medicinal qualities. These waters, with those adjacent, at Ballston, are now so univer sally known to both hemispheres, and so extensively had recourse to, that little more need be said in this place, than to recommend the reader, for the fullest details of chemical analysis and of a practical nature, to the recent work of Dr. Steele. These waters are designated acidulous saline chalybeates. " The Schugl's Hills, or Schooley^s Mountain w&ter, deserves also to be here noticed. The water of this mineral spring is said to have been known to the aborigines, and to have been employed by them as a remarkable remedy, which they concealed from the whites. Be this as it may : the Schooley's Mountain water is situated in Washington township, nineteen miles north-west of Morristown, and fifty miles from the city of New York. The chemical analysis of it made by Professor Macneven, my late colleague in Rutgers Medical College, furnishes an admirable specimen of this species of philosophical investigation; and were the products of other salubrious medicinal springs, within the United States, examined with a TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 79 like minuteness and accuracy, we should have little cause to lament our present imperfect knowledge of this class of products with which our country is so largely enriched. I may be pardoned for dwelling a moment longer on this water. Schooley's Mountain, by geometrical measurement, has been ascertained to be more than fifty-four hundred feet in height, above its immediate base. Dr. Mitchill calculates, by ap proximation on the falls of water at different mill- dams along the hurrying channel of the Musconet- chunck to its junction with the Delaware, and on the descent thence to Trenton, that the base itself is five hundred feet more above tide water.* " This mineral spring issues from the perpendicu lar side of a steep rock, about forty or fifty feet above the level of a brook that gurgles over a rocky bottom, within a few paces -of it. The spring dis charges a gallon in about two minutes and a half, and the quantity is not obser-ved to vary under any change of season or weather. Its temperature, at its issue from the rock, was found to be fifty-two degrees of Fahrenheit. The bare taste and appearance show that it is a chalybeate ; and it is strongly characteri zed by the pecuhar astringency and savour of ferru ginous impregnations. The iron is easily separated from the mineral water : its carbonic acid is altogether in a state of combination, and hence it never occa sions flatulence, while it proves a corroborant to feeble digestive powers. Hence it is recommended in many chronic diseases and general debility, and especially in calculus and affections of the kidney and bladder. In an instructive case Avhich Dr. Macneven has re corded, the patient took from fifteen to twenty half ' pint tumblers a day, with most decided benefit ; and he informs me, that other examples of its salutary action in other disorders have come within his know ledge and observation. " The following are the results of Dr. Macneven's analysis. " Vegetable extract, 92 ; muriate of soda, 43 ; muri ate of lime, 2.40 ; muriate of magnesia, 50 ; carbo nate of lime, 7.99 ; sulphate of lime, 65 ; carbonate of magnesia, 40 ; silex, 80 ; carbonated oxyde of iron, 2; loss, 41,= 16.50. " The white sulphur springs of Virginia have long enjoyed a distinguished reputation, and are resorted to at the present day, as formerly, by numerous in valids, suffering from disorders of the digestive or gans, chronic affections of the liver, the sequelae of protracted intermittent and remittent fevers, the de J angements induced by the preposterous use of mer * Bruce's Mineralogical Journal. ¦f- See Notes on Virginia, curials, cutaneous diseases, certain female complaints, (fee. (fee. Where the various disorders are uncon nected with inflammatory symptoms, they are pro nounced to be of the greatest efficacy. So far as my acquaintance with these waters extends, it coincides with that ofthe most favourable opinion given in their behalf. Their action on the skin is of singular effica cy and importance. They are somewhat more ex citing than ordinary saline sulphureous water. The reproach long ago made, still holds just, that they have not receive(i the attention they merit, as objects of rigid chemical investigation, Dr, Bell's work, already referred to, contains the best exposition I have seen of their composition and remedial qualities. A Virginian is to be excused in lauding, in no com mon accents, the white sulphur springs : the facts in the case warrant it ; and moreover in so doing he only follows his political apostle, Mr, Jefferson.t " Kentucky boasts of numerous mineral springs of a sulphureous class. Dr. Drake, of Cincinnati, consi ders those of the Big Bone Spring, or Salines, and the Olympian Springs, as the most noted. The wa> ter of the Big Bone Spring, he affirms, contains sul phuretted hydrogen, in large quantities, and hold in solution the muriates of soda and lime, and the sul phates of soda or of magnesia. The disorders to which Dr. Drake thinks it more peculiarly adapted, are the torpor, obstruction, or chronic inflammation, produced by acute diseases of the lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, in short any of the viscera, and which have continued so long that the constitution is exhausted. In these cases, experience has shown them to possess all the efficacy that could be expected in any mineral waters. From a pint to a gallon may be taken, ac cording to the strength of the patient, and its sensi ble effects on the system. The quantity drank at first should be small, especially by those of reduced habits. These waters do not increase the pulse, but their sensible effects on the alimentary system, kid neys, and skin, are great. The action of the former is very much increased, and the latter is frequently affected in a few days with a violent itching, and an eruption of pimples or pustules, which are now and then connected with large biles. + " With these cursory remarks on some of the mine ral waters of the United States, we may be the better enabled to estimate the composition and peculiar properties of the sulphur springs of Avon. Had the work of Dr. Bell included any jtccount of these waters, I would have forborne to offer the present imperfect observations on the subject ; the more so, t See Bell on Baths and Mineral -Waters, p. 436- 80 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. as I am still engaged in a series of chemical inqtii- ries, to determine their respective ingredients, assisted by my friend, Dr, EUet, the late professor of chemis try in Columbia College. " The Avon springs are situated in Livingston county, state of New York, within a mile of the vil- lasre of Avon. The village is on the bank of the Genesee river, and is passed through by the great western road from Albany to Buffalo. The soil in its -vicinity is of the richest and most productive quality, yielding the cultivator a full reward for his labour i that of the flats, as they are popularly called, consists entirely of alluvial deposit, while the table land presents all the varieties of calcareous and ar gillaceous mould. The sensibilities of the valetudi- narian may here cherish to satiety the beauties of Avon scenery, and the botanist find the richest mate rials for enlarging his herbarium. " The Avon springs seem to have been partially known to the Seneca tribe of Indians, who, until within a few years, inhabited a villag-e on the oppo site bank of the river, which they called Canawagus. The far famed chief, Red Jacket, enumerated them among his remedial measures for the cure of disor ders of the skin ; and wasting disorders, as they were termed, were supposed capable of being re moved by their use, even applied externally.* They may now justly be deemed conspicuous among the mineral waters of the state of New York. They at present comprise two springs within about forty-two rods of each other ; and are somewhat less than one third of a mile from the Genesee river : they issue from the foot or base of the highlands that border its low grounds. They are denominated the lower and the upper springs ; while the former has been for several years kno-wn, the latter is but recently, and is preferred by some. I first became personally ac quainted with them in the summer of 1827, when they were frequented by a number of infirm visiters. Professor Hadley has lately published an analysis of the upper spring, which seems to have been made with a good deal of accuracy. According to his analysis, one gallon of the water contains, carbonic acid, 5.6 cubic inches ; sulphuretted hydrogen gas. * Doubtless this term, -wasting disorders, included many physical infirmities, whose pathognomonic features greatly differed, and many other different sorts of pulmonary disorganization. Dr. Rush declares that pulmonary consumption is wholly unknown to the North American Indians. It is generally admitted, that in countries where fever and agues prevail, consumption is of rare occurrence. Dr. Dwight also makes this observation ia particular "•eference to the great western country ; and it is sufficiently proved that intermittent fever constitutes a great outlet to the lives of our aborigines. But the declaration of Dr. Rush is not tenable. Hunter, who may be deemed good authority on the subject, re- 12 cubic inches ; carbonate of lime, 8 grains ; sui phate of lime, 84 grains ; sulphate of magnesia, 10 grains ; muriate of soda, 18.4 grains ; sulphate of soda, 16 grains ; and a small quantity of other mat ter. According to Dr. Salisbury, a resident at Avon. the weight of the constituents of the water of the lower spring, are as follows : arranged so as to form compounds existing in the water, and calculated for 10,000 parts by weight ; are Carbonate of liiae &.02 United to carbonic acid 1.70* 6.72 Chloride of calcium 1 .44 Sulphate of lime 9.83 Sulphate of magnesia 8.49 Sulphate of soda 2.35 28.83 By volume of 10,000 are, Hydro-sulphuric acid 4.34 Nitrogen 2.35 Oxygen , 25 6.94 "Dr. Salisbury adds, the chlorine assigned to ca. cium as the chloride of calcium is often found in those waters which contain but little saline mattCF There remains 00.6 of sulphuric acid, apparently in excess, which is accounted for by the difficulty of separating, accurately, magnesia from the other salts. The quantity of oarbonate of lime exceeds the equi valent quantity of carbonic acid necessary to render it soluble in pure water, and this fact affords a pro bable explanation of the character this water exhibits when tested by coloured paper. " The volume of water discharged from this spring, , Dr. Salisbury further remarks, is the same at all sea sons of the year, and does not appear to depend in the least upon atmospheric influence ; as nearly as can be ascertained, under existing circumstances, it is fifty-four gallons in a minute. The temperature of the water is invariably forty-five degrees Fahren heit. The specific gravity 10.018. As it issues from the spring it is very limpid and somewhat spark ling. " The analysis of these Avaters, which I caused to be made about two years ago, did not afford satisfac- marks, that pulmonary consumption among the North American Indiaiis is established by too many familiar facts. The celebrated chief. Red Jacket, in an interview I had with him at his reser vation, near BuflTalo, in September, 1823, gave me the particulars of the cases of no less than seventeen of his relatives, (including, I think, ten or eleven of his own children,) who had died of pul monary consumption. He was quite descriptive in his statement, and seemed sufficiently qualified to make a number of very fair distinctions in relation to the matter. This digression from our more immediate subject ml) probably be excused, on account ot the curious character of the facts which it records. TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 81 (ory evidence of either containing iodine. Never theless, a strong probability is, that both iodine and bromine enter into their constitution. Dr, Usher, of New York, and Dr, Steele, of Saratoga, have lately found iodine in the congress water at Saratoga ; Dr, Steele has discovered a trace of bromine, the hydro- bromite of potash, in the water of Hamilton spring. It is well known that iodine exists but in the smallest quantity in the waters in which it has, as yet, been discovered ; and that in waters which have been re peatedly and carefully analyzed, it has escaped de tection. This occurrence took place with the saline springs of Sales, in Piedmont, from which, so recently as in 1820, M, Angelina procured iodine. There are good reasons to suppose that waters so amply im pregnated with sulphurous matter, as those of Avon springs, may contain both iodine and bromine.* " The value of these waters has," says Dr, F,, " within the past three or four years, been justly and highly appreciated, and induced numerous valetudina rians to partake of them. They may be ranked among the most powerful and remedial waters yet made known ; but, like other active medicinal agents of a si milar character, they are liable to great abuse, and in certain states of the system, may prove seriously detri mental. Possessing active emetic and cathartic proper ties, particularly the waters ofthe spring last discovered, it is requisite that caution be exercised not to indulge in them too freely at first ; and as they are more or less exciting, they also demand that previous to com mencing their use, the system should, in many cases at least, be first relieved by the employment of some efficient cathartic. This precaution is of saving im portance, and I have known a disregard to it, to lead to almost entire disappointment in anticipated benefit, for many weeks ; while, on the contrary, the general powers of the system being relieved bj'- antiphlogistic and aperient means, the waters have often accom plished all that could be desired, in a comparatively short period. As in the administration of all sulphu reous waters, so also those of Avon should be closely watched, and their use for a while suspended, when febrile irritation or undue local determinations occur. This is most apt to take place in habits preternatu- rally full, or when local inflammation exists : where a conjested condition of the viscera happens, their best adjuvants are mild mercurials or saline ca thartics. " In disorders of the digestive organs, arising from torpor of the primae vise, hepatic obstructions, and ? See Gairdner on Mineral and Thermal Springs. Very gene rally associated with iodine, says Dr. Gairdner, is the congenerate substance, bromine. Balard first discovered it in sea water, and affections of the glandular system; in rheumatism and gout, and in many of the most formidable of cutaneous affections, these waters have secured the confidence of those who had previously suffered to the severest degree from these maladies. In many forms of ill-conditioned ulcers, their utility as a wash is abundantly manifest : while the invalid uses them internally, he may at the same time have re course to them for some twenty or thirty minutes, on alternate days, in the form of a warm bath, the temperature of which may vary from 96° to 98° Fah^ renheit. " In pulmonary disorders their salutary agency is not yet confirmed, and further experience must de termine their merits : if employed, their use is to be regulated by the nicest precepts of the healing art, in as much as these waters are eminently calculated to produce powerful changes on the system by their active operation. In the incipient and active stage of pulmonary irritation, it becomes our duty to pre cede their emploj'^ment by venesection, and the other customary means of depletion, analogous to the prac tice we have recourse to with the Ballston or Con gress waters. The same observation applies to hemoptysis, to acute disorders of the digestive organs, liver, and other viscera. The direful consequences which inevitably occur in such cases, from the Sara toga waters, when these cautions are not heeded, are too painfully known to be dwelt upon in this place, " In several forms of female disease, the Avon wa ters can be safely and efficaciously recommended. In many cases of difficult and painful menstruation, in chlorosis, and in certain complaints mainly depend ing on weakness, after a judicious course of prepa ratives, such as a careful clinical observer would en force, these waters present themselves vested with sanative powers. Aware of the Protean character of constitutional disease depending upon uterine irri tation, and chronic affections of that organ, I have no doubt, that future investigation will demonstrate that the Avon water, possess many advantages over other chalybeates in cases of this nature, I would extend the same remark to the complex affections connected with ovarian disease, " I have for several years past recommended the Avon waters; to those of the lower spring I give the preference : they have proved available in the severest cases of rheumatism and gout, and in some affections of the urinary organs. After the prelimi- subsequently it has been detected in several saline springs ; it ex-. ists almost always as a hydro-bromate of ma^esia. 82 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, nary management of the case by depletory means, and appropriate alvine aperients, the use of the wa ter for a few days, or perhaps weeks, has wrought an alteration the most gratifying, evinced by improv ed appetite, increase of flesh, and invigorated health ; and while the body receives the impress and partakes of all the advantages of increased physical energy, a corresponding improvement marks the capacity of the intellectual powers. When taken internally, the Avon waters prove cathartic, diuretic, diaphoretic, and tonic. They thus constitute an effective altera tive ; and in as much as their tonic properties are the results of their general influence on all the emunctories of the body, particularly those of the cutaneous and urinary functions, they claim to them selves qualities which are denied to the entire class of tonics and stimulants strictly so called, and the mischief invariably induced by these last named arti cles, wherever local congestion exists, are entirely guarded against by the waters of Avon. Their manifestations on the surface are conspicuous. " I am not able to say from experience that in this respect they surpass, or even equal, the white sulphur waters of Virginia ; but am scarcely ready to believe that these last fairly boast of a superiority in their ac tion on the skin. Their extraordinary alterative ef fects must unquestionably be greatly owing to the changes they induce 'on the cutaneous surface. " In speaking of the constitutional influence of the Avon water, Dr. Salisbury, who has had much expe rience with them during a residence at the springs for four summers, has the following remarks : ' The operation of Avon water upon the human constitu tion is modified by the quantity drank in a given time, and by the constitution, habit, and disease of the individual. Generally speaking, four or six half pint tumblers of the water, drank during the day, produce a mild cathartic effect, and under its long continued exhibition to this extent, no debility en sues, but, on the contrary, the appetite and strength are very much increased. In very large doses, as from ten to fifteen tumblers a day, it operates power fully upon the bowels, kidneys, and skin. A moder ate use of this water, persevered in for a considerable length of time, will insure to it a powerfully altera tive effect in cases where there is no acute inflamma tion.' "A judicious mode of commencing the use of the Avon water, is to take six or seven half pint tumblers during the twenty-four hours : a couple of tumblers may be advantageously drunk before breakfast, and some two or tljree hours after that meal, the same quantity may again be taken, and an additional tumbler full or two in the afternoon. To the sense of smell, they present the usual properties of sulphu retted hydrogen gas, but in a very small degree ; they are nowise oppressive to the digestive organs. Some, however, take them in larger quantity, and oftener repeat the draught. Others, again, never use them until after the first meal. Like the Ballston and Saratoga waters, they are sometimes drunk to a most pernicious extent. It is expedient, therefore, in all cases, to regulate their administration by their immediate effects, and every regard must be paid to age, sex, disease, constitution, and individual pecu liarity. To guard against undue local determina tion, either cerebral, thoracic, or visceral, will always become a matter of professional duty, " All observations of a dietetical character are here designedly forborne : and I need scarcely add," con cludes Dr. Francis, " that as these waters are armed with such potent qualities, their influence on the sys tem must be either prejudicial or beneficial, aud that they demand, in all cases, the advice ofthe physician." To this account of the principal mineral waters, must be added a notice of the various gaseous matters which are likewise met with in the United States. In the state of New York, nitrogen gas is found issu ing from the earth. The gas appears to issue from every part of a low hill comprising four or five acres of ground ; for wherever there is water, it becomes manifest by bubbling through it. It issues abund antly through three springs, from the clean gravelly bottom of each ; but it does not combine with the water in either of them. The gas probably accom panies the water from a considerable depth, since the water of the springs is not increased by the greatest spring and fall freshets. Sulphuretted hydrogen gas escapes, in large quantity from varieties of argillite and graywacke, containing soft and fine-grained iron pyrites, by the decomposition of which it is produced. It burns along the surface of the water from which it issues with a bright red flame by day-light. The most interesting water of this kind is Lake Sodom, in a place nicknamed Satan's Kingdom. The bot tom is grass-green ferriferous slate ; the sides are white shell marl, and the brim is black vegetable mould. The water is perfectly limpid. The whole appears to the eye like a rich porcelain bowl filled with limpid nectar ; but to the taste it is the true Harrowgate water, and readily convinces the visiter of the fitness of the name. Carburetted hydrogen gas issues from a stream in the neighbourhood of the Erie canal, at the rate of a gallon per minute, through the gravelly soil at the bottom. The carbonic acid gas, which is so abundant in the Saratoga springs, h TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 83 produced from an argillite, which contains large quantities of fine granulated pyrites and finely dis seminated calcareous spar. It is a well-known fact, that this variety of pyrites produces sulphuric acici by the aid of water. The acid being in immediate contact with the spar, gypsum is produced, and car- jDonic acid is disengaged at considerable depths in the earth, and under great mechanical condensation, which causes its combination with water in such large proportions. When the water issues from the earth, the pressure which forces it up to the surface being taken off, it parts with that portion of the car bonic acid which is combined with it by the effect of pressure ; while the solution of the carbonate of lime, which is caused by the carbonic acid, can no longer be continued, so that it is deposited in the form of tufa. Such is the origin of what is called the High Rock at Saratoga. Sulphuric acid, in large quanti ties, is produced in a diluted and in a concentrated state in the town of Byron, Genessee county, thirty miles west of Genesee river, and ten miles south of the Erie canal. Here is a hillock 230 feet long and 100 feet broad, elevated about five feet above the sur rounding plain. It consists of a kind of ash-colour ed soil, containing immense quantities of exceedingly minute grains of iron pyrites. It is mostly covered with a coat of charred vegetable matter, four or five inches thick, and as black as common charcoal. The s§.me charred matter extends some distance from the base of the hillock on all sides. It appears as if it had been recently burned over, though it is in a meadow where no other traces of fire exist. Its charred state is caused wholly by the action of the sulphuric acid. Several holes have been dug in the hill, which now contain turbid diluted sulphuric acid, as do the depressions in the meadow ground sur rounding it. Should curiosity or interest induce the proprietor to dig a trench about it, or to make an ar tificial pond on one side, which might be occasion ally drained and cleaned, a bath of (iiluted sulphuric acid might be constructed. The strength of the acid increases in a drought. It appears to be perfectly concentrated, and nearly dry, in its combination with the charred vegetable coat. In this state it is dif fused throughout the whole piece of ground, which presents a charred appearance to the depth of twelve or fifteen inches, and in some places three or four fpet. It is everywhere the strongest at the surface. The strength of the acid combined with the vegeta ble matter, and several other circumstances enumera ted, make this locality very interesting. But there is another, about 100 rods west of Byron hotel, being two miles east of this, which, in one point of view. is still more remarkable ; it is a spring, which issues from the earth in quantities sufficient for turning a light grist mill. Such an immense sulphuric acid laboratory is here conducted by nature, that all the water which supplies this perennial stream is suffi ciently acid to give the common test with violets, and to coagulate milk. The continual formation of the sulphates of lime, iron, and magnesia, is also traced to a considerable extent. It is impossible for us, consistently with the cha racter of the present work, to enter more minutely into the peculiarities of American mineralogy. We can only say, thai it affords much both to adorn the cabinet of the curious, and to enrich the collection of the scientific, as well as to furnish materials for com merce, manufactures, and the arts. There are found crystals of great beauty, we might almost say mag nificence ; for their dimensions, in many cases, are certainly extraordinary, and seem to correspond with the gigantic scale on which so many of the works of nature there have been produced. We have beeni struck with the testimony of Mr. Schoolcraft to the recent formation of quartz crystals.* They have been found, it appears, upon the handle of a spade, and the edge of some old shoes, which had been left for some years in an abandoned lead mine of the Shawnee Mountains. Many minerals which are rare in Europe, are found abundantly, and often in finer forms, in the United States ; some, which have sub sequently been detected elsewhere, were first disco vered there, and not a few may still be claimed by that country as its peculiar treasure. We shall now close this chapter with the observation of Dr. Mead, that in general a great resemblance can be traced between the minerals of North America and those which have been found in the north of Europe, par ticularly in Norway and Sweden. This resemblance is stated to exist, not merely in the properties of the minerals themselves, but in their geological character and geognostic situation throughout the whole series. It is observed more particularly in those specimens which are found to accompany the primitive forma tion at Arendal, in Norway ; it is not confined, how ever, to the primitive range of mountains alone, as: the same resemblance can be frequently traced, on comparing American minerals with those of Pied mont, and even of the Hartz Mountains. Among the principal minerals of the north of Europe, there are none which are of more importance than the ores of iron, for which Norway and Sweden are so re markable ; and every variety of this mineral which * Travels in Missouri. 64 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. has been met with there, has been found in the same class of rocks in America, in the greatest abundance, and of equally good quality. Titanium is one of those metals which have been found more particularly in the north of Europe. It is said to occur frequently in those primitive aggregates which contain beds of magnetic iron ore, associated with augite, scapolite, epidote, and hornblende, precisely the same rocks in which we find it in this country. There is scarcely any part of Europe where a greater variety of augites are found, than in Norway and Sweden ; nor can there be any class of minerals in which the similitude between the specimens from those countries and America is more striking. CHAPTER IIL BOTANY. The vegetation of the United States is as various as the climate and the soil. In the Floridas grows a majestic species of palm, {chammrops palmetto ;) and the orange, the cotton, the indigo, and even the sugar cane, may be cultivated there to great perfec tion and advantage. In the Carolinas and the Flo ridas the eye of the traveller is charmed with the beauty and grandeur of the forest trees, the various species of evergreen oak, the numerous kinds of pine, walnut, and plane, the majestic tulip tree, {lirioden- dron tulipifera,) the curious deciduous cypress, and the superb magnolias. A different vegetation occurs in the more northerly of the states ; and what renders the botany of this district peculiarly interesting to the British naturalist is, that a very large proportion of its vegetable productions may be assimilated to our own climate. The oaks and firs of this region now decorate many of our plantations and pleasure grounds ; and as the quality of their timber comes to be better known and appreciated, may well occupy a conspicuous place in our woods and forests. Our shrubberies owe their greatest beauty to the various species of kalmia, azalea, rhododendron, robinia, cor nus, sambucus, ceanothus, and lonicera, to the syrin- ga, the flowering raspberry, and a hundred others, which flourish as if they were the aboriginal natives of our soil ; whilst the gardens of the curious are indebted for many of their choicest productions to the herbaceous plants of North America, the greater num ber being remarkable for the briUiancy of their blos soms, and not a few, such as the dionsea and sarra- cenia, being ranked as amongst the most singular of all vegetable productions in their structure. In the rapid survey we shall have to take of this wide and interesting field, our attention is naturally turned, in the first instance, to the forest or timber trees. We have already seen how large a portion of territory is covered with native forests, among which, varieties of the. oak, the walnut, the maple, the birch, the ash, the elm, the chestnut, the beech, the pine, and the cypress, are the most prominent. It is a general observation, that the trees ofthe United States are larger, taller, and more of them useful for timber, than those of Europe. As to height, it is observed by Michaux, that, while in France only thirty-seven species of trees arrive at thirty feet, in the transatlantic republic, one hundred and thirty exceed that eleva tion. A general idea of the American forest has already been given ; we shall now select the princi pal trees for more particular notice. In the greater part of North America, as well as in Europe, there is no tree so generally useful as the oak. It seems also to have been multiplied in pro portion to its utility, since it is indigenous to many climates, and diversified into many species. In America are found forty-four species, which are all comprised between the 20th and 48th degrees of north latitude ; in the old continent are enumerated only thirty, which are scattered on both sides of the ecjuator, beginning at the 60th degree north. Some of the species in the United States are small, scarcely larger than shrubs ; but others are of great size and beauty, reaching an elevation of from sixty to eighty feet. The white oak is pre-eminent among these. It is a larger and handsomer tree in the Mississippi val ley, than in the Atlantic country ; but is less firm, hard, and durable. The same may be said of the swamp wliite oak, [quercus aquatica,) which grows of a prodigious height, size, and beauty. The black oak, with large and small leaves ; the yellow oak, and the post oak, grow on cold, level, wet, and clayey lands. The last receives its name from the durability of posts made of it in the ground. It is said to be the most durable timber of the oak kind in the upper country for boat and ship building. South of thirty- one degrees, in the lower country along the coast of Florida, extending into the interior from sixty to a hundred miles, and along the shore of Louisiana for half that depth, is the region of the live oak, [quercus sempervirens.) It is not found west of the Sabine. It is not a tall, but a spreading tree, with long lateral branches, looking at a distance like an immense spread umbrella. It is extremely hard, compact, and diffi cult to cut ; and when green, is so heavy as to sink in the water. It is almost incorruptible. The isl ands on the shore of the gulf furnish this tree in TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. S» •abundance. It is so difficult to cut down, to burn, or otherwise to clear from the soil, that in these isl ands, which have recently begun to be in request as sugar lands, this tree, elsewhere considered so valua ble for ship timber, is regarded as an incumbrance though still valuable for its acorns, affording the finest range for swine. The value of this timber in ship building is well known. Its trunk is sometimes un divided for eighteen or twenty feet, but often ramifies at half that height ; and at a distance, it has the ap pearance of an old apple-tree or pear-tree. The live oak does not afford large timber ; but its wide and spreading branching summit makes amends for this disadvantage, by furnishing a great number of knees, of which there is never a sufficient quantity in the dock-yards. The consumption has become threefold within twenty years, in consequence of the growing development of American commerce : hence the price has doubled, and the species is rapidly diminishing. The clearing of the islands for the culture of cotton, which they yield of a superior quality, has contribu ted greatly to its destruction. It is already difficult to procure sticks of considerable size in the southern states. As the live oak, from the peculiarities of its constitution, is multiplied with difficulty, Michaux considers its disappearance throughout the United States, within fifty years, as nearly certain. It will then be found only in the form of a shrub, like the quercus ilex, which formerly skirted the southern coast of France and Italy. In the variety of trees which compose the forests of North America east of the Mississippi, the walnut ranks after the oak among the genera whose species are most multiplied. In this particular, the soil of the United States is more favoured than that of Eu rope, to no part of which is any species of this tree indigenous. There are distinguished in the United States ten species of walnut, and others are expected to be discovered in Louisiana. There is room to hope, also, that species may be discovered susceptible, like the pacanenut, of speedy melioration, by the aid of grafting and of attentive cultivation ; to which consideration some weight is given by the fact, that the fruit of the common European walnut, in its natural state, is harder than that of the American species just mentioned, and inferior to it in size aud quality. Throughout the United States, the common name of hickory is given to some species of walnut. This common appellation is due to certain properties of their wood, which, however modified, are possessed by them all, in a greater degree than by any other tree of Europe or America. The grain of the wood is coarse and open. Its chief properties are great weight, Vol. IL— Nos. 43 (fe 44 L strength, and tenacity, a speedy decay when exposed to heat and moisture, and peculiar liability to injury from worms. According to these prominent excel lencies or defects, the uses of their wood are deter mined. Hickory timber is employed in no part of the United States in the building of houses, because it is too heavy^ and soon becomes worm-eaten. But if its defects forbid its employment in architecture, its good qualities, on the other hand, render it proper for many secondary uses, which could not as well be subserved by any other wood. Of the numerous trees of North America east of the Apalachian Moun tains, none except the hickory is perfectly adapted to the making of hoops for casks and boxes. For this purpose, vast quantities of it are consumed at home, and exported to the West India islands ; and when it is considered how large a portion of the produce of the United States is packed in barrels, an estimate may be formed of the necessary consumption ot hoops. All the hickories are very heavy, and in a given volume, contain a great quantity of combustible matter ; they produce an ardent heat, and leave a heavy, compact, and livid coal. In this respect, no wood of the same latitude in Europe or America can be compared to them. The use of the young hicko ries for hoops, and of the old for fuel, threatens the speedy extermination of them, without much care : the more so, as they are of slow growth, and neve' sprout twice from the same root. Pignut hickory is loaded with a nut whose shell is softer than an acorn, and the meat to the pressure of the fingers yields a copious oil, of use in the finer kinds of painting. It is acrid and bitter to the taste. The large walnut is a fruit of the size of an apple, and is common in the middle regions of the central valley. The pec- can, or pacanenut, is found far up the Mississippi and Illinois, and thence to the gulf of Mexico. It is a tree of beautiful form and appearance, and the most useful of the whole class, except the black walnut, for building and for rails. Its nut is long, cylindrical, and olive-shaped, with a shell comparatively soft. The meat lies in two oblong lobes, is easily taken out entire, and excels all other nuts in delicacy of flavour. Unfortunately it soon becomes rancid, and is seldom found in the Atlantic country in its original perfection. The black walnut is a splendid tree, and often grows to a great size. Its nuts much resemble those of the white walnut, or what is called butter nut in the northern states. It is much used in the middle regions of the country for ornamental finishing of houses, and cabinet furniture ; and when rubbed with a weak solution of nitric acid, can be distin guished from mahogany only by an experienced eye. TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. The maples in general are lofty and beautiful trees, capable of enduring an intense degree of cold. They form in the north of the old and of the .new continent extensive forests, which, with those of the beech, appear to succeed the spruce, the larch, and the pine, and to precede the chestnut and the oak. The North American species are more numerous than those of Europe. The wood speedily ferments and decays when exposed to the weather ; it is liable to be injured by worms, and hence it is unfit for building : it possesses properties, however, which compensate in part for these defects, and which render it useful in the arts and in domestic economy. Perhaps the most interesting tree of this genus is the sugar maple, which covers a greater extent of the American soil than any other species of this genus. It flourishes most in mountainous places, where the soil, though fertile, is cold and humid. Besides the parts where the face of the country is generally of this nature, it is found along the whole chain of the Alleganies to their termination in Georgia, and on the steep and shady banks of the rivers which rise in these moimtains. The sugar maple reaches the height of seventy or eighty feet, with a proportionate diameter ; but it does not commonly exceed fifty or sixty feet, with a diameter of twelve or eighteen inches. Well-grown thriving trees are beautiful in their appearance, and easily distinguishable by the whiteness of their bark. When cut at the proper season, it forms excellent fuel, and its ashes are very rich in the alkaline principle. The work of making sugar from the juice of the maple is commonly com menced in the month of February or the beginning of March, while the cold continues intense, and the ground is still covered with snow. The sap begins to be in motion at this season, two months before the general revival of vegetation. In a central situation, lying convenient to the trees from which the sap is drawn, a shed is constructed, called a sugar camp, which is destined to shelter the boiler, and the per sons who tend them, from the weather. An auger three quartejs of an inch in diameter ; small troughs to receive the sap ; tubes of elder or sumee eight or ten inches long, corresponding in size to the auger, and laid open for a part of their length ; buckets for emptying the troughs and conveying the sap to the camp ; boilers of fifteen or eighteen gallons capacity ; moulds to receive the syrup when reduced to a pro per consistency for being formed into cakes ; and, lastly, hatchets to cut and split the fuel, are the prin cipal utensils employed in the operation. The trees are perforated in an obliquely ascending direction, eighteen or twenty inches from the ground, with two holes four or five inches apart. Care is taken thart the augers do not enter more than half an inch with in the wood, as experience has shown the most abun dant flow of sap to take place at this depth. It is also usual to insert the tubes on the south side of the tree. A trough is placed on the ground at the foot of each tree, and the sap is every day collected, and temporarily poured into casks, from which it is drawn out to fill the boilers. The evaporation is kept up by a brisk fire, and the scum is carefully taken off during this part of the process. Fresh sap is added from time to time, and the heat is retained till the liquid is reduced to a syrup ; after which it is left to cool, and then strained through a blanket, or other woollen stuff, to separate the remaining impurities. Three persons are found sufficient to tend 250 trees, which give a thousand pounds of sugar, or four pounds from each tree. The sugar thus manufac tured is superior to the brown sugar of the colonies, at least to such as is generally used in the United States ; its taste is as pleasant, and it is as good for culinary purposes, and when refined, it equals in beauty the finest sugar consumed iu Europe ; it is made use of, however, only in the districts where it is made, and there only in the country. The cheap ness of cane sugar, the abundance and excellence of its growth in the lower country, and the diminished expense of transporting it to the upper states in con sequence of the multiplication of steam boats, have diminished the demand for what is called country sugar, and the manufacture of it has considerably decreased. The sycamore, a species of maple, is described as the king of the western forests. It is the largest tree in the woods, and rises in the most graceful forms, with vast spreading lateral branches, covered with bark of a brilliant white. These hundred white arms of the sycamore, interlacing with the branches of the other forest trees in the rich alluvions, where it de- hghts to grow, add one of the distinguishing traits of grandeur and beauty to the forest. A tree of this kind near Marietta measured fifteen feet and a half in diameter. Judge Tucker, of Missouri, cut off a section of the hollow trunk of a sycamore, and ap plied a roof to it, and furnished it for a study. It was perfectly circular ; and when fitted up with a stove and other arrangements, made an ample and convenient apartment. This gigantic section of a tree was conveyed on sleds prepared on purpose, and drawn by a sufficient number of oxen to its rest ing-place. It is very common to see this beautiful tree, on the margin of rivers, from ten to fifteen feet in circumference. TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 8? Seven species of the birch have been discovered in North America, five of which may be ranked among tall trees. The northern extremity of the new con tinent, like that of the old, appears to be the native climate of this tree, which is less frequent towards tJie south ; and it thus becomes of great interest and importance to man, in regions destitute of many of the larger vegetables. One of the most useful species is the canoe birch, which is abundant in the forests of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, a tract very much resembling Sweden and the eastern part of Prussia. The largest size of the canoe birch is se venty feet in height and three feet in diameter ; and the wood is quite equal, if not superior, to the white birch of Sweden and Norway. On trees not exceed ing eight inches in diameter, the bark is of a brilliant white, like that of the white birch of Sweden, and, like that too, it is almost indestructible. Trees long since prostrated by time, are often met with in the forests, whose trunk appears sound, while the bark contains only a friable substance, like vegetable mould. This bark, like that of the European species, is ap plied to many uses : in Canada and the district of Maine, the country people place large pieces of it 'mmediately below the shingles of the roof, to form a more impenetrable covering for their houses ; baskets, boxes, and port folios, are made of it, which are some times embroidered with silk of different colours ; di vided into very thin sheets, it forms a substitute for paper ; and, placed between the soles of the shoes and in the crown of the hat, it is a defence against humidity. But the most important purpose to which it is put, and one for which it is equalled by the bark of no other tree, is the construction of canoes. To procure proper pieces, the largest and smoothest trunks are selected : in the spring two circular inci sions are made, several feet apart, and two longitu dinal ones on opposite sides of the tree ; after which, by introducing a wooden wedge, the bark is easily detached. These plates are usually ten or twelve feet long, and two feet nine inches broad. To form the canoe, they are stitched together with fibrous roots of the white spruce, about the size of a quill, which are deprived of the bark, split and suppled in water. The seams are coated with resin of the balm of Gilead. Great use is made of these canoes by the savages and by the Canadians, in their long journeys into the interior of the country : they are very light, and are easily transported on the shoulders from one lake or river to another, which is called the portage. A canoe calculated for four persons with their bag gage, weighs from forty to fifty pounds ; some of them are made to carry fifteen passengers. The black birch, called also sweet birch, cherry birch, and mountain mahogany, abounds in the middle states, particularly in New York, Pennsylvania, and Mary land ; farther south it is confined to the summit ol the Alleganies, on which it is found to their termi nation in Georgia, and to the steep and shady banks of the rivers which issue from these mountains. Except the oak, no tree of Europe, or of North America, is so generally useful as the ash. The distinguishing properties of its wood are strength and elasticity ; and it unites them in so high a degree, that, for many valuable purposes, it could not be re placed by any other tree. This remark is particu larly applicable to the white ash of the United States, which is the largest species, the most multiplied, and the most useful in the arts. It is also the most re markable for the rapidity of its growth, and the beauty of its foliage. - It is most abun(iant north of the Hud son, and a cold climate seems most congenial to it. It sometimes attains a height of thirty feet, with a di ameter of three feet, and is one of the largest trees of the United States. The elms of the United States, though some of them are of magnificent growth, are not of equal value with the common elm of Europe. The principal species is the white elm, which has been observed from No-vU Scotia to the extremity of Georgia, and abounds in all the western states ; but it grows most freely in the north-eastern section of the republic. In clearing the primitive forests, a few stocks are some times left standing. Insulated in this manner, it ap pears in all its majesty, towering to the height of eighty or one hundred feet, with a trunk four or five feet in diameter, regularly shaped, naked, and insen sibly diminishing to the height of sixty or seventy feet, where- it divides itself into two or three primary limbs. The limbs, not widely divergent near the base, approach and cross each other eight or ten feet higher, and diffuse on all sides long, flexible, pendu lous branches, bending into regular arches, and float ing lightly in the air. A singularity is observed in this tree, which has been witnessed in no other : two small limbs, four or five feet long, grow in a reversed position near the first ramification, and descend along the trunk. The uses of the elm are few and unim portant, and it deserves attention only as the most magnificent vegetable of the temperate zone. The chestnut does not venture beyond the forty- fourth degree of latitude. It is found in New Hamp shire, between the forty-third and forty-fourth de grees, but such is the severity of the winter, that it is less common than in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. It is most multiplied in the moun- 88 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, tainous districts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, and abounds on the Cumberland Mountains, and in East Tennessee, The coolness of the summer, and the mildness of the winter, in these regions, are favoura ble to the chestnut ; the face of the country also is perfectly adapted to a tree which prefers the sides of mountains, or their immediate vicinity, where the soil in general is gravelly, though deep enough to pro duce its development. The chestnut is little esteem ed for fuel, and is not used in the cities of the United States : like the kindred species in Europe, it is filled with air, and snaps as it burns. The coal is excel lent ; and on some of the mountains of Pennsylva nia, where the chestnut abounds, the woods in the neighbourhood of the forges have been transformed into copses, which are cut every sixteen years for the furnaces. This period is sufficient to renew them, as the summer is warmer in America than in Europe, the atmosphere more moist, and consequently vege tation more rapid. In North America, as in Europe, the beech is among the tallest and most majestic trees of the forest. Two species, the white and the red, so call ed from the colour of their wood, are found in the United States. A deep, moist soil, and a cool at mosphere, are necessary to the utmost expansion of the white beech ; and it is accordingly most multi plied in the middle and western states. Though it is common in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and throughout the country east of the mountains, it is insulated in the forests, instead of composing large masses, as in Genesee, Kentucky, and Tennessee. " I have found the finest beeches," says Michaux, " on the banks of the Ohio, between Gallipolis and Marietta, and have measured several stocks, growing near each other, which were eight, nine, and eleven feet in circumference, and more than one hundred feet high." In these forests, where the beeches vege tate in a deep and fertile soil, their roots sometimes extend to a great distance, even with the surface ; and being entangled so as to cover the ground, they embarrass the steps of the traveller, and render the land peculiarly difficult to clear. The red beech is almost exclusively confined to the north-eastern parts of the United States. In the district of Maine, and in the states of New Hampshire and Vermont, it is so abundant as often to constitute extensive forests, the finest of which grow on fertile, level, or sloping lands, which are proper for the culture of corn. It bears a very close resemblance to the beech of Europe, The pines and the spruces constitute a large and interesting class of American forest trees. The most valuable species is that which is known in England and the West Indies as the Georgia pitch pine ; and which, in the United States, is variously called yel low pine, pitch pine, broom pine, southern pine, red pine, and long-leaved pine, a name which, after Mi chaux, we adopt. Towards the north, the long- leaved pine makes its appearance near Norfolk, in Virginia, where the pine-barrens begin. It seems to be especially assigned to dry sandy soils ; and it is found, almost without interruption, in the lower part of the Carolinas, Georgia, and the Floridas, over a tract more than six hundred miles long, from north east to southwest, and more than a hundred miles broad from the sea towards the mountains of the Carolinas and Georgia. Immediately beyond Ra leigh, it holds almost exclusive possession of the soil, and is seen in company with other pines only on the edges of the swamps, enclosed in the barrens ; even there not more than one stock in a hundred is of another species, and with this exception, the long- leaved pine forms the unbroken mass of woods which covers this extensive country. The mean stature of the long-leaved pine is sixty or seventy feet, with a uniform diameter of fifteen or sixteen inches for two thirds of this height. Some stocks, favoured by lo cal circumstances, attain much larger dimensions, particularly in East Florida. The timber is very valuable, being stronger, more compact, and more durable, than that of all the other species of pine ; it is besides fine grained, and susceptible of a high polish. Its uses are diversified, and its consumption great. But the value of the long-leaved pine does not reside exclusively in its wood : it supplies nearly all the resinous matter used in the United States in shipbuilding, with a large residue for exportation to the West Indies and Great Britain ; and in this view its place can be supplied by no other species, those which afford the same product being dispersed through the woods, or collected in inaccessible places. In the northern states, the lands, which, at the com mencement of their settlement, were covered with the pitch pine, were exhausted in twenty-five or thirty years, and for more than half a century have ceased to furnish tar. The pine-barrens are of vast extent, and are covered with trees of the finest gi-owth, but they can not all be rendered profitable, from the dif ficulty of communicating with the sea. Formerly tar was made in all the lower parts of the Carolinas and Georgia ; and throughout the Floridas vestiges are everywhere seen of kilns that have served in the combustion of resinous wood ; but, at present, this branch of industry is confined to the lower districts of North Carolina, which furnish almost all the tai and turpentine exported from Wilmington and othei TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 89 ports. All the tar of the southern states is made from dead wood of the long-leaved pine, consisting of trees prostrated by time or by the fire kindled an nually in the forests, of the summits of those which are felled for timber, and of limbs broken off by the ice which sometimes overloads the leaves. It is worthy of remark, that the branches of resinous trees consist almost wholly of wood of which the organi zation is even more perfect than in the body of the tree ; the reverse is observed in trees with deciduous leaves. As soon as vegetation ceases in any part of the tree, its consistence speedily changes, the sap de cays, and the heart, already impregnated with resin ous juice, becomes surcharged to such a degree as to double its weight in a year ; the accumulation is said to be much greater in four or five years. To procure the tar, a kiln is formed in a part of the forest abounding in dead wood ; this is first collect ed, stripped of the sap, and cut into billets two or three feet long, and about three inches thick. The next step is to prepare a place for piling it : for this purpose a circular mound is raised, slightly declining from the circumference to the centre, and surround ed with a shallow ditch. The diameter of the pile is proportioned to the quantity of wood which it is to receive : to obtain 200 barrels of tar, it should be eighteen or twenty feet wide. In the middle is a hole with a conduit leading to the ditch, in which is formed a receptacle for the resin as it flows out. Upon the surface' of the mound, beaten hard and coated with clay, the wood is laid in radiations from the centre ; and the pile, when finished, may be com pared to a cone truncated at two thirds of its height, and reversed, being twenty feet in diameter below, twenty-five or thirty feet above, and ten or twelve feet high. It is then strewed over with pine leaves, covered with earth, and sustained at the sides with a slight cincture of wood. This covering is neces sary in order that the fire kindled at the top may penetrate to the bottom with a slow and gradual com bustion, because, if the whole mass was rapidly in flamed, the operation would fail, and the labour in part be lost : in a word, nearly the same precautions are required in this process as are observed in Europe in making charcoal, A kiln which is to afford 100 or 130 barrels of tar, is eight or nine days in burning. The tar flows off into the ditch. The white pine is another valuable species. This tree is diffused, though not uniformly, over a vast extent of country. It is incapable of supporting in tense cold, and still less extreme heat. It appears to be most abundant between the forty-third and forty- seventh degrees of latitude ; further south it is found in the valleys and on tlie declivities of the Alleganies to their termination, but at a distance from the mountains on either side its growth is for bidden by the warmth of the climate. It is said with great probability to be numerous near the source of the Mississippi, which is in the same lati tude with the district of Maine, the upper part of New Hampshire, the state of Vermont, and the com mencement of the St, Lawrence, where it attains its greatest dimensions, " I measured two trunks," say Michaux, " felled for canoes, of which one was 154 feet long and 54 inches in diameter, and the other 142 feet long and 44 inches in diameter, at three feet from the ground. Mention is made in Belknap's History of New Hampshire, of a white pine felled near the river Merrimack, seven feet eight inches in diameter, and near Hollowell I saw a stump exceeding six feet : these enormous stocks had probably reached the greatest height attained by the species, which is about 180 feet, and I have been assured by persons worthy of belief, that in a few instances they had felled individual trees of nearly this stature." It is probable that the authors who have stated its height at 260 feet, have been misled by incorrect reports ; but this ancient and majestic inhabitant of the North American forests is still the loftiest and most valuable of their produc tions, and its summit is seen at an immense distance aspiring towards heaven, far above the heads of the surrounding trees. The trunk is simple for two thirds or three fourths of its height, and the limbs are short and verticillate, or disposed in stages one above another to the top of the tree, which is formed by three or four upright branches, seemingly detach ed and unsupported. In forests composed of the sugar maple, the beeches, or the oaks, where the soil is strong and proper for the culture of corn, as for example on the shores of Lake Champlaln, the white pine is arrested at a lower height and diffused into a spacious summit ; but it is still taller and more vi gorous than the neighbouring trees. The wood of this species is employed in greater quantities and for far more diversified uses than that of any other American pine; yet it is not without essential defects : it has little strength, gives a feeble hold to nails, and sometimes swells by the humidity of the atmosphere. These properties are compensated, how ever, by others which give it a decided superiority : it is soft, light, free from knots, and easily wrought it is more durable, and less liable to split when ex posed to the sun ; it furnishes boards of a great width, and timber of large dimensions ; in fine, it is still abundant and cheap, A very large proportion of th*? 90 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. houses in the United States are built of it. The vast consumption of this tree for domestic use, and for exportation to the West Indies and to Europe, renders it necessary every year to penetrate further into the country ; and inroads are already made, in quest of this species only, upon forests which pro bably will not be cleared for cultivation in twenty- five or thirty years. Of the several species of spruce, the two most considerable are the black spruce and the hemlock. They both appertain to the coldest regions of the new world. The regions in which the black spruce is the most abundant are often diversified with hills, and the finest forests are found in valleys where the soil is black, humid, deep, and covered with a thick bed of moss. Though crowded so as to leave an interval of only three, four, or five feet, these stocks attain their fullest development, which is seventy or eighty feet in height and from fifteen to twenty inches in diameter. The summit is a regular pyramid, and has a beautiful appearance on insulated trees ; this agreeable form is owing to the spreading of the branches in a horizontal instead of a declining direc tion, like those of the true Norway pine, which is a more gloomy tree. The timber of the black spruce is distinguished by strength, lightness, and elasticity. Josselyn, in his History of New England, published in London, in 1672, informs us, that it was considered at that period as furnishing the best yards and top masts in the world. From the young branches of the tree, by boiling, is made the salutary liquor called spruce beer. The hemlock spruce abounds in the district of Maine, the state of Vermont, and the up per part of New Hampshire, where it forms three quarters of the evergreen woods, of which the re mainder consists of the black spruce. Further south it is less common, and in the middle and southern states is seen only on the Alleganies, where it is often confined to the sides of torrents, and to the most humid and gloomy situations. In the country east and north of Massachusetts, which, without embra cing Canada, is more than 750 miles long and 250 miles broad, the resinous trees are constantly found at the foot of the hills, and constitute nearly half of the unbroken forests which cover these regions. The hemlock spruce is always larger and taller than the black spruce. It attains the height of seventy or eighty feet, with a circumference of from six to nine feet, which is uniform for two thirds of its length ; but if the number and distance of the con centric circles afford a certain criterion of the longe vity of trees and the rapidity of their vegetation, it must be nearly two centuries in acquiring these di mensions. In a favourable soil this tree has an- elegant appearance Avhile less than thirty feet high, owing to the symmetrical arrangement of its branches, and to its tufted foliage ; and at this age it is em ployed in landscape gardening. When arrived at its full growth, the large limbs are usually broken off four or five feet from the trunk, and the dried ex tremities are seen staring out through the little twigs which spring around them ; in this mutilated state, by which it is easily recognised, it has a disagreeable aspect, and presents, while in full vigour, an image of decrepitude. This accident, which is attributed to the snow lodging upon the close, horizontal, tufted branches, never happens to the young trees, whose fibres are more flexible. The woods are also filled with dead stocks ; but it is uncertain whether their destruction is occasioned by an insect which attaches itself of preference to the pines, or to some other cause. The dead moss-grown trees, which stand mouldering for twenty or thirty years, deform the forests of this part of the United States, and give them a gloomy and desolate appearance. Unhappily the properties of its wood are such as to give this species only a secondary importance, notwithstanding its abundant diffusion : it is the least valuable in this respect of all the large resinous trees of North America ; but the regret which we should experience to see it occupying so extensively the place of more useful species, is forbidden by a property of its bark, inestimable to the country where it grows, that of being applicable in tanning. Two species of cypress are indigenous to the United States. The banks of Indian river, a small stream that waters a part of Delaware, in latitude 38° 50', may be assumed as its northern boundary. Hence, in proceeding southward, it becomes constant ly more abundant in the swamps ; but in Maryland and Virginia it is confined to the vicinity of the sea, where the winter is milder and the summer more intense. Beyond Norfolk its limits coincide exactly with those of the pine-barrens, and in the Carolinas and Georgia it occupies a great part of the swamps which border the rivers, after they have found their way out from among the mountains, and have en tered the low lands. In the Mississippi valley it be gins to be seen on the swampy and overflowed lands, near the mouth of the Ohio. It is, along with the swamp gum, the most common tree in the deep swamps from that point to the gulf of Mexico. It is in every respect a striking and singular tree. Under its deep shade arise a hundred curiously shaped knobs, called " cypress knees." They are regular, cone- shaped protuberances, of different heights and cir- TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 91 cumferences, not unlike tall and taper circular bee hives. " We have often remarked," says Mr, Flint, " a very small cypress sprig, that had started from the apex of one of these cypress knees ; and we believe, that it will ultimately be found that each one of these knees is the natural matrix of the tree," These noble trees rear their straight columns from a large, cone-shaped buttress, whose circumference at the ground is, perhaps, three times that of the regular shaft of the tree. This cone rises from six to ten feet, with a regular and sharp taper, and from the apex of the cone towers the perpendicular column, with little taper after it has left the cone, from 60 to 80 feet clear shaft. The largest stocks are 120 feet in height, and from 25 to 40 feet in circumfer ence above the conical base. Very near its top it begins to throw out multitudes of horizontal branches, which interlace with those of the adjoining trees, and, when bare of leaves, have an air of desolation and death more easily felt than described. In the season of vegetation, the leaves are short, fine, and of a ver dure so deep as almost to seem brown, giving an in describable air of funereal solemnity to this singular tree. A cypress forest, when viewed from the adja cent hills, with its numberless interlaced arms covered with this dark brown foliage, has the aspect of a scaf folding of verdure in the air. It grows in deep and sickly swamps, the haunts of fever, musquitoes, moc casin snakes, alligators, and all loathsome and fero cious animals, that congregate far from the abodes of man, and seem to make common cause with nature against him. The cypress loves the deepest, most gloomy, inaccessible, and inundated swamps ; and, south of 33 degrees, is generally found covered with the sable festoons of the long moss, hanging, like a shroud of mourning wreaths, almost to the ground. It seems to flourish best where water covers its roots for half the year. When it rises from eight or ten feet water of the overflow of rivers, the apex of its buttress is just on a level with the surface of the water, and it is then, in many places, that they cut it. The negroes surround the tree in boats, and thus get at the trunk above the huge and hard buttress, and fell it with comparative ease. They cut off the straight shaft, as it suits their purpose, and float it to a raft, or the nearest high grounds. Unpromising as are the places and the circumstances of its growth, no tree of the country where it is found is so exten sively useful. It is free from knots, is easily wrought, and makes excellent planks, shingles, and timber of all sorts. It is very durable, and incomparably the most valuable tree in the southern country. It is a fortunate circumstance, that it inhabits the most gloomy and inaccessible regions, which will not come into cultivation for ages, so that it will of course, have a better chance of escaping the fate of the most useful timber on the valuable uplands. The impro vident axe soon renders timber difficult to be pro cured, even in a country in the centre of forests. All the cypress forests that are easily accessible, on the lower Mississippi and its tributaries, have already been stripped of their timber by the lumberers, who have floated to New Orleans millions of feet of this timber from the lands of the United States, and who have already created a scarcity of this species on the margin of the river ; there are, however, in the vast swamps of the Mississippi, Arkansas, Red river, and Florida, inexhaustible supplies of cypress still re maining. In addition to these we may notice the acacia and the poplar. Several varieties of the acacia, or locust tree, are found in the United States, from whence this valuable tree was early imported into Europe. It is most multiplied in the south-west, and abounds in all the valleys between the chains of the Allegany mountains, particularly in Limestone valley. It is also common in all the western states, and in the territory comprised between the Ohio, the Illinois, the lakes, and the Mississippi. It is not found in the states east of the river Delaware, nor does it grow spontaneously in the maritime parts of the middle and southern states, to the distance of from fifty to one hundred miles from the sea ; all the stocks that are seen in these parts having been planted at differ ent periods. Though the locust is multiplied east of the mountains in the upper part of Virginia and of the two Carolinas, it forms a much smaller proportion of the forests than the oaks and walnuts ; and it is nowhere found occupying exclusively tracts even of a few acres. For this reason it is the only tree, be sides the black walnut, that is left standing in the clearing of new lands ; hence these two species, which are not sufficiently multiplied to supply the demand for their wood, are frequently seen growing in the midst of cultivated fields. The greatest consumption of locust wood is for posts, which are employed by preference for the enclo-sing of court-yards, gardens, and farms, in the districts where the tree abounds, and in the circumjacent country. In naval archi tecture, the shipwrights use as much of it as they can procure. It combines great durability with strength and lightness. The sweet locust belongs peculiarly to the country west of the Allegany mountains, and it is found scarcely in any part of the Atlantic states, except in Limestone valley, and its branches, which lie between the first and second ranges of the Alleganies, 52 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. Of the poplar, several species exist in the United States. Of this family is the tulip tree, or yellow poplar, a splendid, lofty, and useful tree. The cotton wood belongs to the same genus. It is probably more abundant on the lower courses of the Ohio, on the whole course of the Mississippi, Missouri, St. Francis, White river, Arkansas, and Red river, than any other tree. It is a noble and lofty forest tree, and sometimes vies with the sycamore itself for pre dominance in size and grandeur. It is of singular beauty when its foliage is but partly unfolded in the spring. These trees, especially in the valley of Red river, have been seen twelve feet in diameter ; and there are single trees, that will make a thousand rails. When they are cut in the winter, the moment the axe penetrates the centre of the tree, there gushes out a stream of water or sap, and a single tree will dis charge gallons. On the sand bars and islands of the rivers, wherever the alluvial earth begins to be deposited, there springs up a growth of cotton wood, the young trees standing so thick as to render it dif ficult for a bird to fly among them, and having, to a person passing at a little distance on the river, a sin gular appearance of regularity, as though they had been put out to ornament a pleasure-ground. The popular name " cotton wood" is derived from the circumstance, that soon after its foliage is unfolded, it flowers, and when the flowers fall, it scatters on the ground a downy matter, in feeling and appearance exactly resembling short ginned cotton. Among the oriiamental trees of the American forest we have been led to assign the magnolias a conspi cuous place. It is undoubtedly a beautiful tree ; but seems to have been so extravagantly described by American writers, as to occasion disappointment when first beheld by a stranger in its native locali ties. There are six or seven varieties among the laurels of the magnolia tribe, some of which have smaller flowers than those of the grandiflora, but much more delicate, and more agreeably fragrant. A beautiful evergreen of this class is covered in au tumn with berries of an intense blackness, and has been remarked in great numbers about St. Francis- ville. The holly is a well-known and beautiful tree of this class; but the handsomest of the family is the laurel almond. It is not a large tree. Its leaves strongly resemble those of the peach ; it preserves a most pleasing green through the winter, and its flowers yield a delicious perfume. It grows in fami lies of ten or fifteen trees in a cluster ; and planters of taste in the valley of Red river, where it is com mon, often select the place of their dwelling in the midst of them. The catalpa, or catawba, is an ornamental tree, abounding in West Florida and the southern part of the Mississippi valley. It is beautiful from the great size, peculiar shape, and deep green of its foliage. When in blossom, its rounded top is a tuft of flowers, of great beauty and unequalled fragrance. One tree in full flower fills the atmosphere, for a considerable circumference round it, with its delicious odours. For the gracefulness of its form, for the grandeur of its foliage, and the rich and ambrosial fragrance of its flowers, as well as for the length and various forms of its knife-shaped, pendent seed capsules, two feet in length, it is considered by some writers une qualled among ornamental trees. The bow-wood is a striking and beautiful "tree, found on the upper courses of the Washita, the mid dle regions of Arkansas, and occasionally on the northern limits of Louisiana. It inhabits a very limited region, and is supposed not to be native else where. Taken altogether, it is a tree of extraordi nary beauty. It bears a large fruit of most inviting appearance, and resembling a very large orange ; but tempting as it is in aspect, it is the apple of Sodom to the taste. Many people consider it the most splendid of all forest trees. It receives its name from the circumstance, that all the south-western savages use it for bows. The china tree is much cultivated in the southern regions of the Mississippi' valley for ornamental shade. The verdure is the most brilliant and deep in nature. In the flowering season, the top is one tuft of blossoms, in colour and fragrance resembling the lilac, except that the tufts are larger, and it holds in flower for a long time. These trees, planted out in a village, in a few years completely embower it ; and, from the intenseness of their verdure, they impart a delightful freshness to the landscape in that sultry climate. After the leaves have fallen in autumn, the tree is still cover ed with a profusion of reddish berries, of the size of haws, that give it the appearance at a little distance of remaining in flower. Robins migrate to this re gion in the latter part of winter, settle on these trees in great numbers, and feed on the berries, which possess an intoxicating or narcotic quality, so that the robins, sitting on the trees in a state of stupefac tion, may be killed with a stick. The dog-wood and the red-bud are of an intermediate size, between shrubs and trees. The former has a beautiful heart- shaped and crimped leaf, and an umbrella-shaped top. It covers itself in spring with a profusion of brilliant white flowers, and in auturon with berries of a fine scarlet. The red-bud is the first shrub that is seen in blossom on the Ohio. The shrub is TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, 93 then a complete surface of blossoms resembling those of the peach tree, and a stranger would take it, at that time, to be that tree. The shrubs are dispersed everywhere in the woods ; and in descending the Ohio early in the spring, these masses of brilliant flowers contrast delightfully with the general brown of the forest : the first time that the voyager descends this river, the red-bud imparts a charm to the land scape that he will never forget. These two are at once the most common and the most beautiful shrubs in the Mississippi valley. The dog-wood, especially, is found everywhere from Pittsburgh to the gulf of Mexico ; and, seen through the forests, in blossom, is far more conspicuous for its flowers than the mag nolia. The rhododendron, or dwarf rose bay, and the kalmia, or mountain laurel, are plants with which our own shrubberies have now rendered us familiar. The west end of Long Island, and the river Hudson below the Highlands, may be considered as the limit far beyond which the rhododendron ceases to be found in the forests of the United States. It is abundant in the middle states, and in the upper parts, particularly in the mountainous tracts of the south ern section. In the low lands it is almost exclusive ly seen on the borders of creeks and rivers, and is observed to be more multiplied in approaching the Alleganies ; till, in the midst of these ranges, espe cially in Virginia, it becomes so abundant on the side of the torrents as to form impenetrable thickets, in which the bear finds a secure retreat from the pursuit of the dogs and of the hunters. The kalmia abounds in New Jersey, and covers Wheelock Hill, nearly opposite to the city of New York. It grows also near the Schuylkill, in the im mediate neighbourhood of Philadelphia. It is found along the steep banks of all the rivers which rise in the Allegany mountains ; but it is observed to be come less common in following these streams from their source, towards the Ohio and Mississippi on one side, and towards the ocean on the other. In the Southern states it disappears entirely when the rivers enter the low country, where the pine-barrens commence. In North Carolina, on the loftiest part of the Alleganies, it occupies tracts of more than 100 acres, and forms upon the summit, and for a third of the distance down the sides, thickets eighteen or twenty feet in height, which are rendered nearly /mpenetrable by the crooked and unyielding trunks, crossed and locked, with each other. As the shrubs which compose these copses are of a uniform height, and richly laden with evergreen foliage, they present, at a distance, the appearance of verdant meadows surrounded by tall trees. The snowberry Vol, IL— Nos, 43 & 44. M is an ornamental shrub, inhabiting the banks of the upper Missouri. It bears at the same time flowers and fruit, which continue successively expanding and ripening during the whole summer ; and when in the autumn the large bunches of ivory or wax like berries are matured, the appearance is stated to be extremely beautiful. Of the gaudy genus ery- thrina, or coral tree, the United States lay claim to one species. It is an herbaceous shrub from two to three feet high. It is a native of the open bushy forests of Carolina, Georgia, and Florida ; and its brilliant red blossom makes a superb appearance at the time of florescence. The southern regions of the United States, as far north as Cape Hatteras, present to us one species of palm. It is the palmetto, or cabbage tree. A trunk from forty to fifty feet in height, of a uniform diame ter, and crowned with a regular and tufted summit, gives the cabbage tree a beautiful and majestic ap pearance. The base of the undisclosed bundle of leaves is white, compact, and tender ; it is eaten with oil and vinegar, and resembles the artichoke and the cabbage in taste, whence is derived the name of cab bage tree : but to destroy a vegetable which has been a century in growing, to obtain three or four ounces of a substance neither richly nutritious nor peculiarly agreeable to the palate, seems to be nothing short of prodigality. The cabbage tree bears long clusters of small greenish flowers, which are succeeded by a black inesculent fruit, about the size of a pea. In the southern states the wood of this tree, though ex tremely porous, is preferred to every other for wharves : its superiority consists in being secure from injury by sea-worms, which, during the summer, commit great ravages in structures accessible to their attacks ; but when exposed to be alternately wet and dry by the flowing and ebbing of the tide, it decays as speedily as other wood. The use of the cabbage tree is ra pidly diminishing its numbers, and probably the period is not distant when it will cease to exist within the boundaries of the United States. In the war of in dependence, the cabbage tree was found eminently proper for constructing forts, as, on the passage of the ball, it closes without splitting. Among wild fruit-bearing shrubs, the pre-eminence seems to be due to the papaw, or Indian flg. It is not uncommon in the bottoms which stretch along the rivers of the middle states ; but it is most abun dant in the . rich valleys intersected by the western waters, where, at intervals, it forms thickets exclu sively occupying several acres. In Kentucky, and in the western part of Tennessee, it is sometimes seen also in forests where the soil is luxuriantly fer- u TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. tile, of which its presence is an infallible proof; in these forests it attains the height of thirty feet, and the diameter of six or eight inches, though it generally stops short of half this elevation. The fruit close ly resembles a cucumber, having, however, a more smooth and regular appearance ; when ripe, it is of a rich yellow, and there are generally from two to five in a cluster. The pulp resembles egg custard in consistence and appearance ; it has the same creamy feeling in the mouth, and unites the taste of eggs, cream, sugar, and spice : in short, it is a natural custard, and is too luscious for the relish of most people. The fruit is nutritious, and a great resource to the savages. So many tastes are unexpectedly and whimsically compounded in it, that, it is said, a person of the most hypochondriac temperament re laxes to a smile when he tastes papaw for the first time. Three species of cherry are found in the United States, one of which occurs both in the Atlantic and the western states, as a tall timber tree. None of them produce eatable fruit ; but the red cherry bears the greatest analogy to the cultivated cherry of Eu rope, and is the most likely to allow of grafting. The persimon varies surprisingly in size in differ ent soils and climates. In the vicinity of New York it is not more than half as large as in the more south ern states, where, in favourable situations, it is some times sixty feet in height, and eighteen or twenty inches in diameter. The ripe fruit is about as large as the thumb, of a reddish complexion, round, fleshy, and furnished with six or eight semi-oval stones ; but it is not eatable till it has felt the first frost, by which the skin is shrivelled, and the pulp, which before was hard and extremely harsh to the taste, is softened and rendered palatable. The fruit is so abundant, that in the southern states a tree often yields several bushels ; and even in New Jersey are seen the branches of stocks, not more than seven or eight feet in height,, bent to the ground by their burden. In the south the fruit adheres to the branches long after the shedding of the leaf; and when it falls, it is eagerly devoured by wild and domestic animals. In Virginia, the Carolinas, and the western states, it is sometimes gathered up, pounded with bran, and formed into cakes, which are dried in the oven, and kept in order to make beer ; for which purpose they are dissolved in warm water, with the addition of hops and leaven. It was long since found that brandy might be made from this fruit, by distilling the water, previously fermented, in which they had been bruised. This hquor is said to become good ftS it acquires age ' but it will be impossible to de rive profit from the persimon in these modes, and in the country where it is most abundant a few farmers only employ its fruit occasionally for their households. The apple and the peach tree are far more advanta geous, as their growth is more rapid and their produce more considerable. The Chickasaw plum is common from 34° north latitude to the gulf of Mexico, It is found in the greatest abundance, and ripens early in June. Prai rie plums are most abundant in Illinois and Missouri on the hazel prairies. They are of various sizes and flavours ; their general colour is reddish and their flavour tart, but some of them are large and delicious. In some places they are found in inconceivable quan tities, the surface of acres being red with them ; and two bushels have been gathered from one tree. The yellow Osage plum of this class, when the better kinds are cultivated, is delicious. In the middle re gions of the central valley, on prairies of a particular description, there are great tracts covered with an impenetrable mat of crab apple shrubs. The form colour, and fragrance of the blossoms, are precisely those of the cultivated apple tree, and when the southern breeze comes over a large tract of these shrubs in full blossom, it is charged with a concen trated fragrance almost too strong to be grateful. They are useful as stocks in which the cultivated apple and pear tree may be engrafted. Their fruit, when properly prepared, makes fine cider, and the apple is much used as a preserve. The mulberry is of rare occurrence in the Atlantic states, but is found in every part of the valley of the Mississippi, a'nd in some places constitutes no inconsiderable portion of the timber. Its wood is very valuable, and scarcely less durable than that of the locust. The American species is not the black mulberry of Europe, but the red mulberry. The white mulberry, on which the silkworm feeds, has been asserted to he indio-enous to the United States ; but the stocks of this kind which may now be seen there, are stated by Michaux tO' have been planted " a century ago, when attempts were made to introduce the raising of silkworms ;" as the soil and climate of the United States, however, are well adapted to the white mulberry, there is no- reason why that branch of industry should not be cultivated successfully, though the experiments hither to made have had no very promising result. The common grape vine is diffused through all the climates. Nothing is more common than, in the richer lands, to see vines, often of a prodigious size, perpendicularly attached at the top to branches sixty or eighty feet from the ground, and at a great lateral distance from the trunk of the tree. It is common TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 95 t-o puzzle a man first brought into these woods, by putting him to account for the manner in which a vine, perhaps nearly of the size of the human body, has been able to rear itself to such a height : there can be, however, no doubt that the vine in this case is coeval with the tree ; that the tree, as it grew, reared the vine ; and that the vine receded from the trunk with the projection of the lateral branch, until, in the lapse of time, this singular appearance is pre sented. In many places, half the trees in a bottom are covered with these vines. In the deep forests, on the hills, in the barrens, in the hazel prairies, and in the pine woods, every form and size of the grape vine presents itself. Of the plants of the winter grape, which so generally clings to the trees in the alluvial forests, probably not one in fifty bears any fruit at all. The fruit, when produced, is a small circular berry, not unlike the wild black cherry. It is austere, sour, and unpleasant, until it has been mellowed by the frosts of winter ; but it is said, when fermented by those who have experience in the practice, to make a tolerable wine. The summer grape is found on the rolling barrens and the hazel prairies. It is more than twice the size of the winter grape, is ripe in the first month in autumn, and, when matured un der the full influence of the sun, is a pleasant fruit. It grows in the greatest abundance, but is too dry a grape to be pressed for wine. The muscadine grape is seldom seen north of 34 degrees. More southerly it becomes abundant, and is found in the deep alluvial forests, clinging to the tall trees. The fruit grows in more scanty clusters than that of other grapes. Like other fruits, they fall as they ripen, and furnish a rich treat to bears and other animals that feed on them ; they are of the size of a plum, of a flne purple black, with a thick tough skin, tasting not unlike the rind of an orange ; the pulp is deli- ciously sweet, but is reputed unwholesome. The pine woods grape has a slender, bluish purple vine, that runs on the ground among the grass. It ripens in the month of June ; is large, cone-shaped, trans parent, with four seeds, reddish purple, and is a flne fruit for eating. On the sandy plains at the sources of Arkansas and Red river, the gentlemen, of Long's expedition concur with hunters and travellers in re lating, that there are found large tracts of sandy plain, from which grows a grape, probably of this species. They have stated that the clusters are large and delicious, and that the sand, drifting about them, covers up the redundant vegetation, performing the operation of pruning on the vine : the sun, too, strong ly reflected from a surface of sand, mus't have a pow erful influence to mature the fruit. It is possible. that some part of the admiration which has been felt, in seeing such steril tracts covered with these abun dant and rich clusters, and the high zest with which they were devoured, may have been owing to the surprise of finding such a phenomenon in contrast with a white and moving sand, and eating the fruit under associations created by hunger and thirst. The universal diffusion of such numbers and varieties of the vine, would seem to indicate this valley to pos sess a natural aptitude for the cultivation of the vine. The gooseberry, in all its natural varieties, is in digenous to the United States. In the middle re gions of the Mississippi valley it grows to a great height and size, and covers itself with fruit. It makes a high, compact, and impervious hedge. Im mense tracts of the prairies are covered with the ha zel, and the nuts are fine and abundant ; the bushes are often surmounted with wreaths of the common hop. The whortleberry abounds in the Atlantic states, but is less common in the interior. The red raspberry is also indigenous, and grows of a fine size and flavour from the middle to the northern regions of the great valley : one species of it, the rose-flower ing raspberry, has a large and ornamental blossom. Blackberries, high and creeping, are found in prodi gious abundance, and the prairies in many places, in the season, are red with fine strawberries. The cranberry is a native fruit of the North American continent. It grows in morasses and swamps of rich boggy bottoms, from Labrador to Carolina. When found it is in great abundance, and gives to such lo calities the name of cranberry swamps. Extensive cranberry swamps are met with in New Jersey. The cane grows on the lower courses of the Mis sissippi, Arkansas, and Red river, from fifteen to thirty feet.in height ; some, in these rich soils, would almost vie in size with the bamboo. The leaves are of a beautiful green, long, narrow, and dagger-sha ped, not unlike those of the Egyptian millet. It grows in equidistant joints, perfectly straight, and in almost a compact mass, so that the smallest sparrow would find it difficult to fly among it. Looking at its ten thousand stems almost contiguous to each other, and at the impervious roof of verdure which it forms at its top, it has the aspect of a solid layer of vegetation. A man could not advance at the rate of three miles in a day through a thick cane-brake. It is the chosen resort of bears and panthers, (cou gars,) which break it down, and make their way into it as a retreat from man. It indicates a dry soil, above the inundation, and of the richest character ; and the ground is never in better preparation for maize, than after this prodigious mass of vegetation 96 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. is first cut do-wn and burned. When the cane has been cut, and is so dried that it -will burn, it is an amusement of high holyday to the negroes to set fire to it. The rarefied air in the hollow compartments of the canes bursts them, with a report not much in ferior to a discharge of musketry ; and the burning of the whole brake makes the noise of a conflicting army, in which thousands of muskets are continual ly discharging. This beautiful vegetable is general ly asserted to have a life of five years, at the end of which period, if ft has gro-wn undisturbed, it produ ces an abundant crop of seed, with heads very like those of the broom corn ; the seeds are farinaceous, and are said to be not much inferior to wheat, for which the Indians, and occasionally the first settlers, have substituted it. No prospect so strikingly shows the exuberant prodigality of nature, as a thick cane- brake ; nothing affords such a rich and perennial range for cattle, sheep, and horses ; and the butter that is made from the cane pastures of this region is of the finest kind. The seed easily vegetates in any rich soil. It rises from the ground like the richest asparagus, with a large succulent stem, and it grows six feet high before it loses its succulency and tender ness. No vegetable furnishes a fodder so rich or abundant ; and it has been recommended to make trial of the annual cultivation of the cane in regions where it can not survive the winter. A species of flax was found by Lewis and Clark growing in the valleys of the Chippewayan Mountains, and on the banks of the Missouri. The bark possesses the same kind of tough flbres as the common flax, and the In dians are in the habit of making lint and wadding for their guns from it. Many parts of the United States are tangled with annual and perennial creepers of various kindS; fo liage, and forms. The trumpet flower [bignonia) is a creeper, beautiful for its foliage and flowers. It has a vine of a grayish white colour, and long and delicate spike-shaped leaves in alternate sets. It climbs the largest trees in preference to others, mounts to their summits, and displays a profusion of large, trumpet-shaped flowers, of a flame colour. Planted near a house, in two or three seasons a sin gle vine will cover a roof, throwing its fibrous and parasitic roots so strongly under the shingles, as to detach them from the rafters. Various species of ivy abound, especially in the rich alluvions, where thousands of the forest trees, and often huge dead trunks, are wreathed with it. The supplejack is re markable for attaching itself so strongly to the shrub it entwines, as to cause those curious spiral curves and inner flattenings which give value to its cane. The gramineous vegetation of the United States is extremely luxuriant, and species of grass are found adapted to every locality, except the sands of the Chippewayan desert. The aspect of the eastern, however, differs in this respect from that of the west ern states. The northern Atlantic country covers it self naturally with a fine sward, but the friable soil of the western lands is the region of coarse grass, and tall flowering plants with gaudy blossoms. The numbers, forms, and gigantic height of these weeds and plants, are not among the least surprising objects to an observer of nature. We have already noticed the kind of sedge which occupies the salt marshes of the Atlantic coast, and the various changes in it as the uplands are approached. In the boggy meadows of New England, and elsewhere in low, wet, and miry swamps, on parts elevated above the water, grows the swamp grass ; it is of the brightest ver dure, remaining green through the frosts of winter, and its sharp edges, when drawn rapidly through the fingers, cut them. In the middle regions of the Mississippi valley, cattle are driven to these swamps, to subsist through the winter. The universal indi genous grass of this country, in all its climates and extent, covering the million:s of acres of the prairies, is what is commonly called the prairie grass, [poa pratensis.) It grows equally in the forests and bar rens, wherever there is an interval sufficiently un shaded to admit its growth. It is tall, coarse, and full of seeds at the top ; and when ripe, is rather too wiry for fodder. It is cut for that purpose in Sep tember. If it were cut earlier, and before it had lost its succulence and tenderness, it M'-ould probably be excellent feed. The prairies yield inexhaustible quantities, and the towns and villages in the prairie regions are copiously supplied with it. When young, and before it has thrown up its stem, it resembles wheat in appearance. The speargrass of New Eng land yields a fine, soft sward. In the western coun try it is observed growing about deserted houses and Indian villages, and it is said in many places to be displacing the prairie grass, on the upper prairies of Illinois ; like the robin-redbreasl, it seems to be at tached to the abodes of civilized man. The fowl meadow grass of New England is also valuable ; but it does not abound, if it exists, in the western states, to. the wet prairies of which it would be an important acquisition. A useful herbaceous plant is the rush, [equisetum hyemale,) which grows in bottoms, on grounds of an intermediate elevation between those of the cane- brake and the deeply-flooded lands. This grass is sometimes a perfect mat, as high as the shoulders. TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 97 Nothing can exceed the brilliance of its verdure, es pecially when seen in winter in contrast with the universal brown. Where it grows high and thick, it is difficult to make way through it ; and it has a disagreeable kind of rustling, which produces the sensation that is called setting the teeth on edge. In the northern regions its tubular stem is apt to fill -with compact icicles. It is the favourite range of horses and cattle, and is devoured by them with more greediness than even cane ; but if swallowed when filled with ice, it produces a chill in the sto mach of the cattle that is apt to prove fatal. To the boats that descend the Mississippi, the rush is an in valuable resource, the cattle and horses, after being pent up in these floating barns for many days in suc cession, being turned loose, and finding holyday pasture in this rich range. The pea vine is a small fibrous vine, that covers the soil in the richer forest lands ; it receives its name from the resemblance of its leaves and flowers to those of the cultivated pea. It is a rich and almost universal forest range for cat tle, but when once eaten down, it is not apt to renew itself; of course, it disappears in the vicinity of com pact population. A plant of great importance is the wild rice, [zi- zania aquatica.) It is found in the greatest abun dance on the marshy margins of the northern lakes, and in the shallow waters on the upper courses of the Mississippi. It grows in these regions on a vast extent of country. It is here that the millions of the migrating water-fowls fatten, before they take their autunmat migration to the south ; it is here, too, that the northern savages, and the Canadian traders and hunters, find their annual supplies of grain, a re source, without which they could hardly subsist. It is a tall, tubular, reedy water-plant, and ;very much resembles the cane grass of the swamps and marshes on the gulf of Mexico. It springs up from waters of six or seven feet in depth, where the bottom is soft and muddy, and rises nearly as high above the wa ter. Its leaves and spikes, though mnch larger, re semble those of oats, from which the French give it its name. When it is intended to be preserved for grain, the spikes are bound together, to secure them from the ravages of birds and water-fowls, which prey upon them in immense numbers, and it thus has a chance to ripen ; at the season for gathering it, canoes are rowed among the grain, a blanket is spread upon them, and the grain is beaten on to the blankets. It is perhaps of all the cerealia, except maize, the most prolific. It seems also not peculiar to any cli mate, since it arrives at perfection equally at the sources and at the mouths of the Mississippi. A perennial plant of the palm kind, and called also palmetto, appears about latitude 33°. It throws up from a large root, so tough as to be cut with diffi culty by an axe, and very hard to be eradicated from the soil, large fan-shaped leaves, of the most striking and vivid verdure, and ribbed with wonderful exact ness. It indicates a deep swampy soil, and grows to six feet in height. The infallible index of swamp and of southern climate, and having no resemblance to any plaiit seen at the north, its foreign aspect, and its deep green, unchanged by winter, when first seen by the traveller from the north, is apt to produce considerable surprise, and strongly reminds him that he is a stranger, and in a new climate. It is used by the savages and the poorer Creoles as thatch for their cabins ; and from the tender shoots of the sea son, properly prepared, a very useful kind of summer hats, called palmetto hats, is manufactured. The May apple is a beautiful plant that completely covers the ground, where it grows, with the freshest and most cheering verdure of spring. It has a handsome white blossom, and bears a fruit of the appearance and taste of a lemon, and its root is a powerful ca thartic. Strammony is a poisonous weed, pernicious ly common through the western country. On the richest bottoms it grows fifteen feet in height, and of such a size and compactness, as to prevent cattle from running among it. It has splendid flowers, and a great quantity of oily seeds ; its smell is nauseous, and it is a common and annoying tenant of the vii lages on the alluvial margin of rivers : in some places, no inconsiderable part of the labour on the highways is to cut up this weed from the roads and outlets of the villages. Its popular name is jimson, probably a cor ruption of Jamestown, the place whence it was said to have been brought. It is used as medicine in spasmodic asthma. The next most common and annoying weed along the roads, especially in Louisi ana, is a very tall plant resembling cassia marilan dica ; it renders the paths, and the banks of the streams, in that region, almost impassable in autumn, until the cattle have trodden it down. Cockle hurra in the same situations are excessively annoying weeds, filling the outlets and uncultivated places to such a degree, that the burrs adhere to the clothes of passengers, and mat the wool of sheep running among it with an inextricable tangle. The common nettle is everywhere annoying to the summer travel ler in the woods. One of the most singular of the forest productions is the wax plant, every part ol which, except the root and the anthers, is snow white, and has the appearance of the most delicate wax pre paration. It grows in rich shady woods, and is 98 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. greatly prized because of its delicate appearance. The beautiful blue flower with golden anthers, the Virginian spiderwort, now common in our gardens, is a native of the sandy margins of rivers and creeks in the United States. It is disputed whether tobacco, long naturalized and now extensively cultivated in North America, is indigenous to the country or not. The common kinds of aquatic plants are found in the still and shallow waters of the swamps ; particu larly a beautiful kind of water lily, highly fragrant, but not identical with the New England pond lily. This is the nymphea odorata, closely resembling the European water lily. Another of this genus, nym phea nelumbo, is much larger, and, for size and beauty, is said to be unrivalled. Dr. Barton,* who calls it cyamus luteus, considers it to be the same as the sacred bean of India, and mentions it as abun dant near Philadelphia, but rare otherwise, and re fusing propagation. Mr. Flint found it in the sotith- ern states, and speaks of it as attaining great splen dour on the lakes and stagnant waters of the Arkan sas. It rises from a root resembling the large stump of a cabbage, and from depths in the water of from two or three to ten feet ; it has an elliptical, smooth, and verdant leaf, some of the largest of them being of the size of a parasol. The muddy creeks and stagnant waters are often so covered with these leaves, that the sandpiper walks on the surface of them without dipping her feet in the water. They have their home in still lakes, in the centre of cypress swamps ; musquitoes swarm above ; obscene fowls wheel their flight over them ; alligators swim among their roots, and moccasin snakes bask on their leaves : in such lonely and repulsive situations, under such circumstances, and for such spectators, is arrayed, what is represented as the most brilliant display of flowers in the creation. In the capsule are imbedded from four to six acorn -shaped seeds, which the In dians roast and eat when green ; or they are dried and eaten as nuts, or reduced to meal, and made into a kind of bread. A singular kind of aquatic vege tation, which has given rise to the fiction of floating islands of vegetation on the waters, is seen to cover a great extent of shallow lakes and muddy streams. It appears, indeed, to float on the water, and great masses of it, no doubt, often are detached and float ing, as though there were no roots affixed to the soil at the bottom ; but its twiny stem, of many yards in length, is ordinarily bound to the bottom by a thou sand fibrous Toots. It has a small beautiful elliptical leaf, and a diminutive but delicate white flower. ? Barton's Flora of North America. Under them flshes dart, alligators gambol, and in tho proper season, multitudes of water-fowl are seen pat tering their bills among these leaves. This plant has been designated by the name pistia stratiotes. One species of the orontium, or golden club, is indi genous to the United States. It grows on the marshy borders of rivers aud creeks, or on the margins of ditches and ponds, so far as the tide penetrates, but no further. The only other known species of this plant is a native of Japan. Besides the mistletoe, which is abundant, a singu lar parasitic plant of the southern states, is the long moss. It hangs down in festoons, like the stems of the weeping willow. It attaches itself of choice to the cypress, and gives its next preference to the aca cia. Its pendent wreaths often conceal the body of the tree to such an extent, that, when bare of foliage, litde is seen but a mass of moss. These wreaths, waving in the wind, attach themselves to the branches of other trees, and thus sometimes form curtains of moss which darken the leafless forest of winter. It ^s in colour of a darkish gray, and the wreaths are many yards in length. It has a small trumpet-shaped flower, of peach-blossom colour, and seeds still finer than those of tobacco. Associated as it naturally is with marshy and low alluvions, where it grows in the greatest profusion, and with the idea of sickness, this dark drapery of the forest has an aspect of inex pressible gloom. When fresh, it is a tolerable fodder for horses and cattle, and the deer feed upon it in winter. It soon dies on dead trees. Prepared some thing after the manner of water-rotted hemp, the bark is decomposed and the fibre remains, fine, black, strong, elastic, and apparently incorruptible ; in this state, in appearance and elasticity it resembles horse hair, and like that, is used for mattresses. Most of the people in the lower country sleep on these mat tresses, and they are becoming an article of commerce in the upper country. The Creoles make various articles of harness, as horse-collars, and saddle-stuf fing, of this material ; for which purposes also, con siderable quantities are exported to the upholsterers and carriage-makers in the Atlantic country. Of course it will be understood that iu this chapter we have noticed only the more conspicuous and con siderable of the vegetable productions of the United States. A mere catalogue of the whole would occupy all the space we can allot to the subject, and would afford our readers neither gratification nor instruction. Scientific works may be referred to for more extended information. The notice which this chapter contains of the ve getable products of the American states, is lamenta TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. m bly brief; but the editor does not feel himself justi fied in attempting to enlarge it, inasmuch as various works on the subject are abundantly scattered throughout the union. In the correspondence of Sir James Edward Smith, the president of the Lin- naean Society of London, there is a letter of some considerable importance, on a species of indigenous wild wheat, which it would appear abounds in the western country. This letter is from the late go vernor of New York, De Witt Clinton, and is ad dressed to Sir James : it bears date, Utica, July 18, 1817. The scarcity of the work in which it is to be found, and the valuable facts which, in an agricul tural point of view, it records, will justify its insertion in this place, " A few days ago," says Governor Clinton, " a farmer stopped with his wagon at a house in the vil lage of Rome, about fifteen miles from this place. A respectable gentleman, who was conversing with him on business, observing among some hay, lying in the wagon, a few stalks of a strange plant, inquired what they were ; and on being told that they were wild wheat, and were cut with common grass in a beaver meadow and on a wet soil in the town of Western in this county, he took out a few grains, and gave them to an honest and industrious farmer in his vicinity, who planted them in his garden. The second crop produced about a peck of grain, which yielded upwards of twenty bushels the third year. Wheat of the same species has also been found in a wild state in a swamp covered with trees near Rome, It is said to differ from the common wheat in a variety of respects, — in the compactness of the stalk, in the largeness of its leaves, in the peculiar position of beards at the apex of the head, which is in all other respects bald, and in its superior height, being considerably taller. Since the comparative scarcity of snow, which formerly served as a protection against the attacks of frost, our wheat has suffered severely by what the far mers denominate winter-killing. Our ground freezes during the winter about a foot and a half in depth. When the sun resumes its vernal power, a partial thaw of two inches takes place in the course of the day ; and owing to the porosity and hollowness of the common wheat, the water is absorbed in it. On the return of night, the ground is again frozen, and then the expansive power of frost produces the de struction of the plant, by eradicating it, or breaking the roots to pieces, and bursting the stalk where the water has penetrated. Rye is not affected in this way, because it is not so permeable by water, and because its roots are stronger, more elastic, and strike deeper into the earth. In like manner the wild wheat of Oneida county is said to resist the power of frost , and this is imputed to the same causes which protect the rye, " As I am persuaded that the history which I have given of this wheat is substantially correct, it pre sents a very interesting subject for investigation. Is it indigenous, or was it originally imported wheat^ and accidentally conveyed to the places where it was found ? If the former, it is the very grain which na ture created for our soil and climate. If the latter, it has been evidently improved by its wild state and spontaneous growth ; — a circumstance of an anoma lous character, and contrary to the usual course of nature, " Although I am not prepared to give a decided opinion on this subject, yet I may be permitted to observe, that there are cogent arguments against the- latter hypothesis. " The plant was found in a swamp and in a mea dow, and appears to delight in a wet soil, which is not congenial with the common wheat. It presents not only a different aspect, but seems to have peculiar and characteristic qualities. " Linnaeus, if I remember rightly, made six species of Triticum,. Sixteen species are now enumerated, besides varieties ; and these are found in the most diversified climates : the Murwaary Wheat of Bar bary ; the Spring Wheat of Siberia ; the Spelter of Germany ; the Wheat of Egypt, of Switzerland, of Poland, and of Sicily, cannot be derived from the same country. Ceres, who, according to the heathen mythology, discovered corn, was said to have had her principal seat in Sicily ; but this granary of the ancient world has no exclusive claims to the most important of the Cerealia. The Proment tremais, which arrives at maturity in these marshes, is as different from the other kinds of Triticum, as it is possible for different , species to be ; and it unques tionably couFd not have had an identity of local ori gin with them. " I have been a long time of opinion, that many of our native plants have been improperly consider ed as naturalized ; and as I am anxious to claim the most important culmiferous plant as an indigenous production, I have no hesitation in denominating this wheat, discovered near Rome, Triticum Ameri- canum. " I also transmit by this opportunity specimens of a plant called the Wild Rye, which grows sponta neously and in considerable quantities in the coun try bordering on the upper parts of the Mohawk River ; and I believe it might be cultivated to ad vantage." 100 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER IV, ZOOLOGY. The living tribes occurring in the transatlantic republic open a wide and interesting field of observa tion. The ornithological department is particularly rich and striking ; and the reptiles are numerous and powerful ; and on the whole, the zoology of the United States may be said to be still more peculiar ihan either their mineralogy or their botany. We shall notice, in as copious a manner as our limits will allow, the principal objects of interest in the respec tive animal tribes. The following general view of the mammiferous animals inhabiting the North American continent, is given by Dr. Harlan.* The number of species now ascertained is 147, in which, however, this author, like some other American and European writers, in cludes m,an ; but, as it does not correspond with the purpose of this chapter to do so, we shall reckon the species at 146. Of these 28 are cetacea, and 118 are quadrupeds. Among the quadrupeds it is also to be noticed that Dr. Harlan reckons eleven species of which no living trace whatever is found, either in North America or in any other part of the world, and which he introduces only by virtue of their fossil re mains ; but if we allow a sufficient reason to exist for placing such animals in a scientific arrangement, they cannot, at all events, be regarded as forming a part of the present zoology of the North American continent. The number of living species of quadru peds is. therefore, 107. The comparative numbers of the several orders are stated to be as follows : — Primates, (not including man) 0 Caruivora, (in which Dr. Harlan includes the bat) . 60 Glires 37 Edentata . , 6 Pachydermata 2 Ruminautia 13 Cetacea 28 It thus appears that the monkey tribe is wholly excluded from the territory under review, together with the kindred animals constituting the order pri mates. In this order, however, the bat has been com monly reckoned, and we think with more propriety than where Dr. Harlan has placed it. Several spe cies of this animal are found in the United States, but exhibiting no remarkable features. The following account of their manner of hybernation in a cave is given by Professor Green. " They did not appear to be much disturbed by the light of the torches * Fauna Americana. carried by our party, but, upon being touched with sticks, they instantly recovered animation and acti vity, and flew into the dark passages of the cavern. As the cave was for the most part not more than six or seven feet in height, they could very easily be removed from the places to which they were suspend ed ; and some of the party who were behind me dis turbed some hundreds of them at once, when they swept by me in swarms to more remote, darker, and safer places of retreat. In flying through the caves they made little or no noise ; sometimes, upon being disturbed in one place, they flew but a few yards, and then instantly settled in another, in a state of torpor apparently as profound as before. These bats, in hybernating, suspended themselves by the hinder claws, from the roof or upper part of the cave : in no instance did I observe one along the sides. They were not promiscuously scattered, but were collected into groups or clusters of some hundreds, all in close contact. On holding a candle within a few inches of one of these groups, they were not in the least trou bled by it ; their eyes continued closed, and I could perceive no signs of respiration. On opening the stomach of one of these bats, it was found entire ly empty." The strictly carnivorous animals, or beasts of prey, form, as might be expected in so extensive and diversified a tract of uncultivated country, a large class of tenants of the American wilds. Here, how ever, we find neither the lion, nor the tiger, the hyajna, nor the leopard, nor any of those creatures, with virhich, as beasts of prey, we are most familiar, and which make so conspicuous a figure in African and Asiatic regions. The largest animal of this kind in the United States is the cougar. This is com monly, but improperly, called the panther, and has occasionally received the name of the American lion, from the similarity of its proportions and colour to the lion of the old world. He is little inferior in size, and not at all in the fancied qualities of mag nanimity, clemency, and generosity, which have been so lavishly attributed to the " king of beasts." He may be stated to be about one third less than the lion ; he has no mane, nor any tuft at the extremity of the tail, which is about half the lensfth of the bo- dy and head. The cougar was at an early period distributed in considerable number over the whole of the warm and temperate regions of this continent, and it is still found, though by no means abundantly, in the southern, middle, and north-western parts of the union, becoming, however, gradually more rare as the population increases, and cultivation is ex tended. It is a savage and destructive animal, yet TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 101 timid and cautious. In ferocity it is quite equal to most of its kindred species ; it kills numbers of smalt animals for the sake of drinking their blood, and, when pressed by hunger, attacks large quadrupeds, though not always with success. When the. cougar seizes a sheep or a calf, it is by the throat ; and then, flinging the victim over its back, it dashes off with great ease and celerity, to devour it at leisure. Deer, hogs, sheep, and calves, are destroyed by the cougar whenever they, are within reach ; and occasionally these animals have committed extensive ravages among the stock of the frontier settlers. They climb, or rather spring up large trees with surprising facility, and vigour, and in that way are enabled, by dropping suddenly upon deer and other, quadrupeds, to secure prey which it would be impossible for them to over take. In the day-time the cougar is seldom seen ; but its peculiar cry frequently thrills the experienced traveller with horror, while encamping in the forest at night ; or he is startled to hear the cautious ap proaches of the animal, stealing step by step towards him over the crackling brushwood and leaves, in ex pectation of springing on an unguarded or sleeping victim, whom nothing but a rapid flight can save. The northern lynx is a fierce and subtle creature, exhibiting most of the traits of character which dis tinguish animals of the cat kind. To the smaller quadrupeds, such as rabbits, hares, lemmings, (fee, it is exceedingly destructive, never leaving the vi cinities they frequent until their numbers are alto gether destroyed, or exceedingly thinned. But the ravages of the northern lynx are not confined to such small game : it drops from the branches of trees on the necks of deer, and clinging firmly with its sharp- hooked claws, ceases not to tear at the throat and drink the blood of the animal, until it sinks exhausted, and expires. It attacks sheep and calves in the same manner, and preys upon wild turkeys and other birds, which it is capable of surprising even on the tops of the highest trees. The United States, to which Dr. Godman thinks the brown bear is not native, presents us with two principal species of this animal, of remarkably differ ent characteristics. The black bears feed principally on grapes, plums, whortleberries, persimmons, bramble and other berries ; they are also particularly fond of the acorns of the live oak, on which they grow ex cessively fat in Florida, In attempting to procure these acorns, they subject themselves to great perils ; for, after climbing these enormous oak trees, they push themselves along the limbs towards the extreme branches, and with their fore-paws bend the twigs within reach, thus exposing themselves to severe and I Vol, IL— Nos, 45 & 46 N even fatal accidents, in case of a fall. They are also very fond of the different kinds of nuts and esculent roots ; and often ramble to great distances from their dens in search of whortleberries, mulberries, and in deed all sweet-flavoured and spicy fruits. Birds, small quadrupeds, insects, and eggs, are also devour ed by them whenever they can be obtained. They are occasionally very injurious to the frontier set tlers, by their incursions in search of potatoes and young corn, both of which are favourite articles of food. Their claws enable them to do great mischief in potato grounds, as they can dig up a large num ber in a short time ; and where the bears are nume rous, their ravages are occasionally very extensive. In the vicinity, of Hudson's Bay, the black bear has been observed to feed entirely on water-insects, during the month of June, when the berries are not ripe. These insects, of different species, are found in as tonishing quantities in some of the lakes ; the bear, swimming with his mouth open, gathers those on the surface of the water. They are even believed to feed on those which die, and are washed on shore. The flesh of the animal is spoiled by J;his diet ; though individuals killed at a distance from the water are agreeably flavoured at the same time of the year. The black bear is in fact very indiscriminate in his feeding, and though suited by nature for the almost exclusive consumption of vegetable food, he refuses scarcely any thing when pressed by hunger ; he is, moreover, voracious as well as indiscriminate in sa tisfying his appetite, and frequently gorges until his stomach loathes and rejects its contents. He seeks with great assiduity for the larvae or grubs of various insects, and exerts a surprising degree of strength in turning over large trunks of fallen trees, which, whenever sufficiently decayed to admit of it, he tears to pieces in search of worms. When the bear seizes a living animal, he does not, as most other beasts do, first put it to death, but tears it to pieces and devours it, without being delayed by its screams or struggles, and may be actually said to swallow it alive. The black bear, under ordinary circumstances, is not remarkably ferocious, nor is he in the habit of attacking man without provocation ; but, when wounded, he turns on the aggressor with great fury, and defends himself desperately. They are occa sionally found throughout the territories of the United States, in the wooded and mountainous regions, and in unsettled districts, where their skins are of great value to the inhabitants, as a substitute for blankets and other manufactured woollens. They are still numerous in the wooded and thinly settled parts of Pennsylvania, as well as in most of the other states 102 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. of the Union ; and, where their favourite food is nlentiful, they grow to a great size, and afford a large quantity of oil. Bartram relates that he was present at the cutting up of one which Aveighed five or six hundred pounds, and says that his hide was appa rently as large as that of an ox of six or seven hun dred weiffht. The Indians consider this bear as one of the noblest objects of the chase, and they always manifest the highest degree of exultation when they are successful in killing one. Every part of the ani mal is valuable to them, even to its intestines and claws ; the latter are bored at the base, and strung on deer sinews, to be worn as ornaments ; the flesh is considered most delicious food, and the fore-paws as an exquisite dainty. The black bear, in common with other species ofthe genus, endeavours to suffo cate an adversary by violently hugging and compress ing its chest. A man might end such a struggle in a few instants, if one hand were sufficiently at liberty to grasp the throat of the animal with the thumb and fingers, externally, just at the root of the tongue ; as a slight degree of compression there will generally ^suffice to produce almost immediate suffocation. The grizzly bear is of a totally opposite character. This animal is justly considered as the most dreadful and dangerous of North American quadrupeds, and is the despotic and sanguinary monarch of the wilds over which he ranges. Gigantic in size, and terrific in aspect, he unites to a ferociously blood-thirsty dis position a surpassing strength of limb, which gives him undisputed supremacy over every other tenant of the wilderness, and causes man himself to tremble at his approach. To the Indians, the very name of the grizzly bear is dreadful, and the killing of one is esteemed equal to a great victory. The white hunters are almost always willing to avoid an en counter with so powerful an adversary, and seldom wantonly provoke him. This formidable animal un hesitatingly pursues and attacks men or animals, when excited by hunger or by passion, and slaugh ters indiscriminately every creature whose speed or artifice is not sufficient to place them beyond his reach. He is capable, howe-ver, like the rest of his tribe, of living on vegetable food. This bear at pre sent inhabits the country adjacent to the eastern side of the Chippewayan Mountains, where it frequents the plains, or resides in the copses of wood which skirt the margin of water-courses ; and there is some traditional reason to believe, that it once inhabited the Atlantic regions of the United States. As a spe cimen of his manners, we extract the following nar rative : — " One evening, the men in the hindmost of one of Lewis and Clark's canoes perceived one of these bears lying in the open ground, about three hundred paces from the river ; and six of them, who were all good hunters, went to attack him. Con cealing themselves by a small eminence, they were able to approach within forty paces, unperceived : four of the hunters now fired, and each lodged a ball in his body, two of which passed directly through the lungs. The bear sprang up, and ran furiously with open mouth upon them : two of the hunters, who had reserved their fire, now gave him two ad ditional wounds, and one, breaking his shoulder- blade, somewhat retarded his motions. Before they could again load their guns, he came so close on them that they were obliged to run towards the river ; and before they had gained it, the bear had almost overtaken them. Two men jumped into the canoe; the other four separated, and concealing themselves among the willows, fired as fast as they could load their pieces. Several times the bear was struck, but each shot seemed only to direct his fury towards the hunter : at last, he pursued them so closely, that they threw aside their guns and pouches, and jumped from a perpendicular bank, twenty feet high, into the river. The bear sprang after them, and was very near the hindmost man, when one of the hunters on the shore shot him through the head, and finally killed him. When they dragged him on shore, they found that eight balls had passed through his body in different directions." The common wolf of America is considered to be the same species as the wolf of Europe. When the aboriginal Americans first gave place to European adventurers, and the forests, which had flourished for ages undisturbed, began to fall before the un sparing axe, the vicinity of the settler's lonely cabin resounded with the nightly howling of wolves, at tracted by the refuse provision usually to be found there, or by a disposition to prey upon the domestic animals. During winter, when food was most diffi cult to be procured, packs of these famished and fe rocious creatures were ever at hand, to run down and destroy any domestic animal found wandering beyond the enclosures, which their individual or combined efforts could overcome; and the boldest house-dog could not venture far from the door of his master, without incurring the risk of being killed and devoured. The common wolf was then to be found in considerable numbers, throughout a great extent, if not throughout the whole, of North America ; at present, it is only known as a resident of the remote wooded and mountainous districts, where man has not fixed his abode. The prairie, or barking wolf, frequents the prairies of the west, where troops oi TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 103 packs, coiitaining a considerable number of individu als, are frequently seen following in the train of a herd of the buffalo or deer, for the purpose of prey ing on such as may die from disease, or in conse quence of wounds inflicted by the hunters ; at night they also approach the encampments of travellers, whom they sometimes follow for the sake of the car casses of animals which are relinquished, and, by their discordant bowlings close to the tents, effectu ally banish sleep from those who are unaccustomed to their noise. They are more numerous than any of the other wolves which are found in North Ame rica, In appearance, the barking wolf closely re sembles the domestic dog of the Indians, and is re markably active and intelligent. Like the common Tvolf, the individuals of this species frequently unite to run down a deer, or a buffalo calf, which has been separated from the herd ; though it requires the full est exercise of their speed, sagacity, and strength, to succeed in this chase. They are very often exposed to great distress from want of food ; and, in this state of famine, are under the necessity of filling their sto machs with wild plums, or other fruits no less indi gestible, in order to allay the sensations of hunger. Red foxes, resembling, but not identical with the common fox of Europe, are very numerous in the middle and southern" states of the union, and are everywhere notorious depredators on the poultry- yards. Their haunts are most commonly in exceed- . ingly dense thickets of young pine, where they can scarcely be followed even by dogs. The gray fox is very common throughout this country, and is found more immediately in the vicinity of human habita tions than either of the other species. It is pursued by the sportsmen with more pleasure than the red fox, because it does not immediately forsake its haunts, and run for miles in one direction, but, after various doublings, is generally killed near the place whence it first started. A small species, called the swift fox, inhabits the plains east of the Chippewayan Mountains. The most remarkable circumstance pe culiar to this fox is its extraordinary swiftness, which all who have seen it agree in declaring to surpass that of any other animal with which we are at pre sent acquainted. The fleetest antelope or deer, when running at full speed, is passed by this little fox with the greatest ease ; and such is the celerity of its motion, that it is compared to the flight of a bird along the ground, rather than the course of a quad ruped. Other observers have stated, that, when in full speed over the plain, the effect produced on the eye makes the animal resemble a line drawii rapidly along the surface ; so impossible is it to distinguish any of the parts of its body, on account of its surpri sing velocity. A species of otter, analogous to the European, is found in the United States. In the southern, middle, and eastern states ofthe union, they are comparatively scarce ; but in the western states they are in many places still found in considerable numbers, and on the tributaries of the Missouri they are very com mon. A singular sportive habit has been observed in them, viz. that of sliding ; and for this purpose, in winter, the highest ridge of snow is selected, to the top of which the otters scramble, where, lying, on the belly, with the fore feet bent backwards, they give themselves an impulse with their hind legs, and swiftly glide _head foremost down the declivity, some times for the distance of twenty yards. This sport they continue, apparently with the keenest enjoyment, until fatigue or hunger induces them to desist. In the summer this amusement is obtained by selecting a spot where the river bank is sloping, has a clayey soil, and the water at its base is of a considerable depth. The otters then remove from the surface, for the breadth of several feet, the sticks, roots, stones, and other obstructions, a-nd render it as level as pos sible. They climb up the bank at a less precipitous spot, and starting from the top, slip with velocity over the inclining ground, and plunge into the water to a depth proportioned to their weight and rapidity of motion. After a few slides and plunges, the sur face of the clay becomes very smooth and slippery, and the rapid succession of the sliders shows how much these animals are delighted by the game, as well as how capable they are of performing actions which have no other object than that of pleasure or diversion. This amusement is so congenial to the frolic spirit of boyhood, that in vicinities where otter- slides are found, youngsters, while bathing, some times take possession of one, and, sitting at the top, glide thence with great glee into the water. Pedestrians, led by business or by pleasure to ram ble through the country during the morning or evening twilight, occasionally see a small and pretty animal a short distance before them in the path, scampering forward without appearing much alarmed, and advancing in a zig-zag or somewhat serpentine direction. Experienced persons generally delay long enough to allow this unwelcome fellow-traveller to withdraw from the path ; but it often happens that a view of the animal arouses the ardour ofthe observer, who, in his fondness for sport, thinks not of any result but that of securing a prize. It would be more pru dent to rest content with pelting this quadruped from a safe distance^ or to drive it away by shouting loudly 104 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, but almost all inexperienced persons, the first time such an opportunity occurs, rush forward with intent to run the animal down. This appears to be an easy task. In a few moments it is almost overtaken ; a few more strides, and the victim may be grasped by its long and waving tail — but that tail is now sud denly curled over the back, its pace is slackened, and in one instant the condition of things is entirely re versed ; the lately triumphant pursuer is eagerly flying from his intended prize, involved in an atmo sphere of stench, gasping for breath, or blinded and smarting with pain, if his approach were sufficiently close to allow of his being struck in the eyes by the pestilent fluid of the skunk. Should the attack on this creature be led by a dog, and he be close when the disgusting discharge is made, he runs with tail between his legs howling away, and, by thrusting his nose into the soil as he retreats, tries to escape from the horrible effluvium, which renders the air in the immediate vicinity too stifling to be endured. This animal is the skunk, which inhabits the whole of North America, in the forests or their immediate vicinity. Raccoons also are found throughout the whole of North America ; and they still continue to be nume rous in many of the well-peopled parts of the United States. Occasionally their numbers are so great as to render them very troublesome to the farmers in the low and wooded parts of Maryland, bordering on the Chesapeake Bay. To the capricious mischievous- ness of the monkey the raccoon adds a blood-thirsty and vindictive spirit peculiarly his own. In the wild state, his sanguinary appetite frequently leads to his own destruction, which his nocturnal habits might otherwise avert ; but, as he slaughters the tenants of the poultry-yard with indiscriminate ferocity, the ven geance of the plundered farmer speedily retaliates on him the death so liberally dealt among the feathered victims. The fur of the raccoon forms an article of considerable value in commerce, as it is largely em ployed in the fabrication of hats. The American bad ger is a pretty little animal, and its aspect is not unlike that- of some small pug-faced dogs. It is found most frequently on the plains adjacent to the Missouri and its tributaries, as well as on those near the Columbia river, both in the open country and in the woods. The wolverene, or American glutton, is one of the most destructive animals found in the northern parts of the continent. He is slow in his motions, but strong, and full of stratagem. He causes much trouble to hunters and travellers who attempt to se cure provisions by burying them in the snow, or to orotect them by coverings of boughs and trunks of trees ; since it is almost impossible to prevent this creature from gaining access to such places of de posit, either by strength or by stratagem, and destroy ing the stock on which the voyager may have counted for his future subsistence and safety. To the hun ters the wolverene is also very injurious, by robbing their traps of the animals which are taken in them, before the arrival of the owners. Among the small quadrupeds inhabiting this continent, few are to be found equalling the ermine in beauty ; perhaps none that excel it in the qualities of courage, graceful celerity of movement, and untiring activity. Its whole aspect inspires the beholder with an idea of its character, which is well supported by its actions. It is found in the northern and middle states, and its habits are similar to those of the common weasel of Europe. The shrews belonging to this country are remark able for their diminutive size and apparent helpless ness. They are generally found in the country, whete their residence is either in burrows, or among heaps of stones, or in holes made by other animals ; near dung-heaps, or hay-ricks, or privies, they are more numerous than elsewhere. Insects are their principal subsistence, out they seem no less fond of grain, putrid flesh, and filth of various sorts ; as they have been occasionally seen rioting in ordure, in a manner similar to the hog. The shrew-mole is found abundantly in North America, from Canada to Virginia, often living at no great distance from wa ter-courses, or in dykes thrown up to protect mea dows from inundation. This creature, when at rest, bears more resemblance to a small stuffed sack than to a living animal, its head being entirely destitute of external ears, and elongated nearly to a point, and its eyes so extremely small, and completely hidden by the fur, that it would not be surprising should a casual observer conclude this creature to be blind. It is endowed, however, with considerable powers of action, and doubtless of enjoyment ; though we can not enter here into the details of its extensive and curious subterraneous operations. The usual haunts of the opossum are thick forests, and their dens are generally iii the hollows of decayed trees, where they pass the day asleep, and sally forth mostly after nightfall to seek for food. The hunting of the opossum is a favourite sport with the country people, who frequently go out with their dogs at night, after the autumnal frosts have begun, and the persimmon fruit is in its most delicious state. The opossum, as soon as he discovers the approach of his enemies, lies perfectly close to the branch, or places himself snugly in the angle where two limbs sepa- TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 105 rate from each other ; the dogs, however, soon an nounce the fact of his presence, by their baying, and the hunter, ascending the tree, discovers the branch upon which the animal is seated, and begins to shake it with great violence, to alarm and cause him to re lax his hold. This is soon effected ; and the opos sum, attempting to escape to another limb, is pursu ed immediately, and the shaking is renewed with greater violence, until at length the terrified quadru ped allows himself to drop to the ground, where hun ters or dogs are prepared to dispatch him. Should the hunter, as frequently happens, be unaccompanied by dogs, when the opossum falls to the ground, it does not immediately make its escape, but steals slowly and quietly to a little distance, and then, gathering itself into as small a compass as possible, remains as still as if dead. After remaining in this apparently lifeless condition for a considerable time, or so long as any noise indicative of danger can be heard, the creature slowly unfolds himself, and, creeping as closely as possible upon the ground, would fain sneak off unperceived ; but upon a shout or outcry in any tone from his persecutor, he immediately renews his deathlike attitude and stillness. If then approached, moved, or handled, he is still seemingly dead, and might deceive any one not accustomed to his actions. This artifice is repeated as frequently as opportunity is allowed him of attempting to escape, and is known so well to the country people as to have long since passed into a proverb,- " He is playing the opossum," is a phrase applied with great readiness by them to any one who is thought to act deceitfully, or wish to appear what he is not. The beaver has, at a former period, inhabited the territory of the United States much more extensively than at present. In various parts of the western country, where they are at present entirely unknown, except by traditioti, the dams constructed by their la bours are still standing securely, and in many in stances serve instead of bridges to the streams they obstruct. There are few states in the union in which some remembrance of this animal is not pre served by such names as Beaver-Dam, Beaver-Lake, Beaver-Falls, (fee. In situations where it is frequent ly disturbed, all its singular habits are relinquished, and its mode of living changed to suit the nature of circumstances ; instead of building dams and houses, its only residence is then in the banks of the^stream, where it is forced to make an extensive excavation, and to be content to adopt the manners of a musk- rat. More sagacity is displayed by the beaver in thus accommodating itself to circumstances, than in any other action it performs. Such is the caution which it exercises to guard against detection, that were it not for the removal of small trees, the stumps of which indicate the sort of animal by which they have been cut do-wn, the presence of the beaver would not be suspected in the vicinity. All excursions for the sake of procuring food are made late at night ; and if it pass from one hole to another during the daytime, it swims so far under water as not to excite the least suspicion of the presence of such a voyager. On many parts of the Mississippi and the Missouri, where the beaver formerly built houses according to the usual mode, no such works are at present to be found, although beavers are still to be trapped in those lo calities. These circumstances throw light on the character of the European beaver, which has been thought to belong to another species, because it does not build. The value of the fur of these animals is well known. The capture, or trapping of them, is a large part of the business both of the Indians and the whites. It is a subject of regret that an animal so valuable and so prolific should be hunted in a man ner tending to the extermination of the species, when a little care and management on the part of those in terested might prevent unnecessary destruction, and preserve the sources of their revenue. In the Hud son's Bay possessions they are becoming annually more scarce, and the race will eventually be extin guished throughout the whole continent ; though a few individuals may, for a time, elude the immediate violence of persecution. The musk-rat, which is closely allied in form and habits to the beaver, does not, like that timid animal, retire from the vicinities inhabited by man ; but, re lying on its peculiar instinct for concealment, remains secure, notwithstanding the changes induced by cul tivation, and multiplies its species in the very midst -of its enemies. Thus, while the beaver has long since entirely disappeared, and become forgotten, in the Atlantic states, the musk-rat is found within a very short distance of the largest and oldest cities, and bids fair to maintain its place in such situations during an indefinite future period. The animal owes this security to its nocturnal and aquatic mode of life, as well as to the peculiar method in which its domi cile is constructed. Along small streams, mill-races, and ponds, where the banks are of some elevation and strength, the musk-rats form large and extensive burrows. These have their entrance always in the deep water, so as to be entered or left without be traying the presence of the animal. The mouth of the burrow ascends from its commencement near the bottom, and slopes upv;ards until it is above the level of the highest water ; it then extends to great dis- 106 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. tances, according to the numbers or necessities of the occupants. Like most other animals residing in such burrows, the musk-rats frequently excavate them be neath the roots of large trees, where they are secure from being disturbed by having their home broken into from above. The injuries done by the musk-rat to the banks thrown up to exclude the tide from meadows and other grounds, are frequently very ex tensive. The tide encroaches more and more on the burrow, as the soil softens and is washed away ; the animals extend their excavations in various direc tions, in order to free themselves from the intrusion of the water ; and, at length, from the combination of both causes, the bank falls in, and the water is allowed free access, often laying waste the most valu able parts of the farm. To understand the extent to which such mischief may be carried, it is sufficient to take a walk along the banks thrown up to protect the meadows on the Delaware, on both sides of the river. Similar, though not as extensive injury, is produced along the borders of ponds, embankments, and small streams, by the falling in of the burrows formerly tenanted by the musk-rat. The meadow-mouse is found in various degrees of abundance throughout this country, and, as implied in its name, prefers the meadow and grass fields to other situations. The banks of drains, and those thrown up to keep off the tide or the overflow of streams, are the favourite places for their burrows, which are both numerous and extensive, being con tinued in various directions and to considerable depths. These burrows are frequently causes of in jury similar to that resulting from those of the musk- rat. " The wood-rat," says Bartram, " is a very curious animal : they are not half the size of the domestic rat, and of a dark brown or black colour ; their tail slender and shorter in proportion, and co vered thinly with short hair. They are singular with respect to their ingenuity and great labour in the construction of their habitations, which are coni cal pyramids, about three or four feet high, construct ed with dry branches, Avhich they collect with great labour and perseverance, and pile up without any apparent order ; yet they are so interwoven with one another, that it would take a bear or wild cat some time to pull one of these castles to pieces, and allow the animals sufficient time to secure a retreat with their young." The wood-rat has, beyond doubt, been as common throughout this country at a former pe- i-iod, as it is at present in Florida and on the Mis souri. It has very universally given place to the black-rat, and both have disappeared before the Nor- Way rat. The wood-rat soon learns to infest the houses of the settlers, and to do nearly, if not quite, as much mischief, as the common rat. In Florida, Georgia, and the plains adjacent to the Missouri, the pouched-rat is to be found in great numbers ; their burrows are exceedingly numerous in various places, and give an appearance to the plains similar to that produced by ploughing. Over their burrows hillocks of loose earth are raised, resembling in some respects those thrown up by the shrew-mole. The jumping- mouse is a little animal very remarkable for the great length of its hind legs, and for its mode of progres sion, in both of which it bears some resemblance to the kangaroo of Australia, and the jerboa of the old continent. When the jumping-mouse is pursued by one or two persons, and permitted to advance in one direction, its movements resemble those of a bird jrather than a quadruped, so high does it leap into the air, so great is the distance it measures at every bound, and so light and quick is its ascent and de scent. The jumping-mouse, however, does not ex clusively move in this manner, but is capable of running on all its feet with considerable speed ; hence it frequently excites the wonder ofthe country people, or gives them much labour in vain, when they attempt to run it down. The marmot is a common animal in all the tem perate parts of the country, and is the cause of great injury, especially to the farmers engaged in the cul tivation of clover, as their numbers become very con siderable, and the quantity of herbage they consume is very large. They are the more capable of doing mischief, from their extreme vigilance and their acute sense of hearing, as well as from the security afforded them by their extensive subterranean dwellings. One species of this animal, under the name of the prairie marmot, or prairie dog, abounds near the Chip pewayan Mountains. A traveller passing from the Mississippi towards the mountains, after traversing a vast expanse enlivened by numerous herds of browsing animals which here find a luxurious subsistence, and arriving at the higher and more barren parts of the tract, is startled by a sudden shrill whistle, which he may apprehend to be the signal of some lurking sa vage ; but, on advancing into a clearer space, the innocent cause of alarm is found to be a little quad ruped, whose dwelling is indicated by a small mound of earth, near which the animal sits erect in an atti tude of profound attention. Similar mounds are now seen to be scattered at intervals over many acres of ground ; and the whole forms one village or commu nity, containing thousands of inhabitants, whose va rious actions and gambols awaken very pleasing emotions. In some instances these villages are very TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 107 liniited, or at most occupy but a few acres ; but nearer to the Rocky Mountains, where they are en tirely undisturbed, they are found to extend even for miles. We may form some idea of the number of these animals, when we learn that each burrow con tains several occupants, and that frequently as many as seven or eight are seen reposing upon one mound. Here, in pleasant weather, they delight to sport, and enjoy the warmth of the sun. On the approach of danger, while it is yet too distant to be feared, they bark defiance, and flourish their little tails with great intrepidity ; but, as soon as it appears to be drawing nigh, the whole troop precipitately retire into their cells, where they securely remain until the peril be past ; one by one they then peep forth, and vigilantly scrutinize every sound and object, before they resume their wonted actions. While thus near to their re treats, they almost uniformly escape the hunter ; and, if killed, they mostly fall into their burrows, which are too deep to allow their bodies to be obtained. The villag-es found nearest the mountains have an appearance of greater antiquity than those observed elsewhere ; some of the mounds in such situations are several yards in diameter, though of slight ele vation, and, except about the entrance, are overgrown by a scanty herbage, which is characteristic of the vicinity of these villages. This active and industri ous community of quadrupeds, like every other so ciety, is infested by various depredators, who subsist by plunder, or are too ignorant or too indolent to labour for themselves ; and hence a strange associa tion is frequently observed in their villages ; for bur- rowing-owls, rattlesnakes, lizards, and land-tortoises, are seen to take refuge in their habitations. The young of the marmot probably become the prey of the owl. The rattlesnakes also exact their tribute with great certainty, and without exciting alarm, as they can penetrate the inmost recesses of the burrow, and a slight wound inflicted by their fangs is followed by the immediate extinction of life. The species of the squirrel inhabiting the United States are numerous and beautifnl. Like most of the animals belonging to this order, they are very prolific, and multiply until large districts of country are injuriously overrun by them ; they then invade, and literally lay waste the corn-fields, consuming vast quantities of grain, and destroy nearly as much as they eat, by breaking it down and scattering it on the ground. On such occasions, the farmers in thinly- settled districts severely suffer. The efforts of a whole family are sometimes insufficient to drive off or destroy these busy plunderers. In the state of Ohio, in the autumn of 1822, says Dr, Godman, parts of the country appeared to swarm with squirrels, which were so numerous that, in travelling along the high road, they might be seen scampering in every direction ; the woods and fields might be truly said, in the country phrase, to be " alive with them." A farmer, who had a large field of Indian corn near the road, stated, that, notwithstanding the continued ex ertions of himself and his two sons, he feared he should lose the greater part of his crop, in addition to his time, and the expense of ammunition used in killing and scaring off the little robbers. This man and his sons frequently took stations in different parts of the field, and killed squirrels until their guns be came too dirty to be used with safety ; yet they al ways found, on returning, that the squirrels had mustered as strong as before. Squirrel-shooters were frequently met with heavily laden with this game, which, in many instances, they had only desisted from slaying through want of ammunition, or through mere fatigvie. Fortunately for the farmers, these animals are not at the same time equally numerous in all parts of the country. During some seasons, they appear to move in a mass, deserting certain dis ¦ tricts entirely, and concentrating themselves in others ; in such migrations, vast numbers are drowned in crossing the rivers, and many are also destroyed by beasts and birds of prey, and various other causes. The American porcupine exhibits none of the long and large quills which are so conspicuous and formi dable in the European species ; and the short spines, or prickles, which are thickly set over all the supe rior parts of its body, are covered by a long coarse hair, which almost entirely conceals them. These spines are not more than two inches and a half in length, yet they form a very efficient protection to the animal against every other enemy but man. In the remote and unsettled parts of Pennsylvania, the porcupine is still occasionally found ; but south of this state, it is almost unknown. In the Hudson's Bay country, Canada, and New England, as well as in some parts of the western states, and throughout the country lying between the Rocky Mountains and the great western rivers, they are found in great abundance, and are highly prized by the aborigines, both for the sake of their flesh and their quills, which are very extensively and very ingeniously employed by the Indian women, as ornaments of dress. The American hare never burrows in th'^> ground, like the common European rabbit. When oonfinea in a yard, the animal has been known to attempt an escape by scratching a hole in the earth, near the fence or wall ; but there are few wild animals, what ever may be their character, that will not do the 108 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, same under similar circumstances, though in their natural condition they may never attempt to burrow. Such is the fact in relation to the American hare, which never burrows while it is a free tenant of the fields and woods. It has been said, that this animal also occasionally ascends trees ; this must be under stood solely of its going up within the trunks of hol low trees, which it effects by pressing with its back and feet against opposite sides of the hollow, ascend ing somewhat in the same manner as a sweej) climbs a chimney. The hare is not hunted in America as in Europe, but is generally roused by a dog, and shot, or is caught in various snares and traps. In its movements it closely resembles the common hare of Europe, bounding along with great celerity ; and would, no doubt, when pursued, resort to the artifices of doubling, (fee, so well known to be used by the European animal. The sloth is not found in the republic, except in a fossil state ; and these remains are of three gigantic but extinct species. Not even fossil traces have oc curred ofthe kindred animals. We have already no ticed the remains of the mastodon, which is allied to the elephant ; and may here add, that bones of an extinct species of elephant also have been found. No living animal of that entire order appears to exist on the North American continent. The ruminant animals abound. The species of deer come first to our notice. The moose was formerly found throughout the New England states, but is now confined to that of Maine, and is there becoming unfrequent. Judging by the rapid dimi nution of this species within a comparatively few years, it is to be feared that it will, at no great dis tance of time, be exterminated. The American elk is a stately and beautiful animal, which is believed at some period to have ranged over the greater part, if not the whole, of the continent. There is much confusion in the several accounts given by natural ists of the moose and the elk. Dr. E. H. Smith, of New York, pronounces them different animals, and has given a paper on the subject in the Medical Re pository.* The common deer is the smallest Ameri can species at present known, and is found through out the country between Canada in the north, and the banks ofthe Orinoco in South America. It has always been of great importance to the aborigines of America, as an abundant source of food and raiment ; nor has its value been less to the pioneers of civili zation, in their advances into the untrodden solitudes of the west. The improvements in agriculture have * Vol. ii, p. 157—163, long since rendered this supply of food of compara tively little value to the white man ; yet vast num bers of this species are annually destroyed, equally for the sake of their flesh, hides, and horns. Not withstanding this extensive consumption, however, the species does not appear to be very rapidly di minishing, if we except the immediate vicinity oi very thickly-peopled districts. Even in these, where the destruction of deer during the breeding-season is prevented by law, the increase seems quite equal to the demand ; and such humane and judicious provi sions will probably preserve this beautiful race to adorn the forests, long after the species is extermina ted in situations where it is not thus protected. The prong-horn antelope is a beautiful creature, ranging over the Chippewayan Mountains. It is of wonderful fleetness, and so shy and timorous, as but seldom to repose, except on ridges which command a view of the surrounding country. The acuteness of their sight, and the exquisite delicacy of their smell, render it exceedingly difficult to approach them ; and, when once danger is perceived, the ce lerity with which the ground is passed over appears to the spectator to resemble the flight of a bird, rather than the motion of a quadruped. " The chief game of the Shoshonees," say Lewis and Clarke, " is the antelope ; which, when pursued, retreats to the open plains, where the horses have full room for the chase. But such is its extraordinary fleetness and wind, tha. a single liorsA^ has no possible chance of outrunning it, or tiring it down ; and the hunters are, therefore, obliged to resort to stratagem. About twenty Indi ans, mounted on fine horse?, armed with bows and arrows, left tlie camp : in a short time they descried a herd of ten antelopes ; they immediately separated into squads of two or three, and formed a scattered circle round the herd for five or six miles, keeping at a wary distance, so as not to alarm them till they were perfectly enclosed, and usually selecting some commanding eminence as a stand. Having gained their positions, a small party rode towards the herd, and, with wonderful dexterity, the huntsman pre served his seat, and the horse his footing, as he ran at full speed over the hills and down the steep ra vines, and along the borders of the precipices. They were soon outstripped by the antelopes, which, on gaining the other extremity of the circle, were driven back, and pursued by the fresh hunters. They turn ed, and flew, rather than ran, in another direction ; but there, too, they found new enemies. In this way they were alternately pursued, backwards and for wards, till at length, notwithstanding the skill of the hunters, (who were merely armed with bows and ar- TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 109 rows,) they all escaped ; and the party, after running for two hours, returned without having caught any thing, and their horses foaming with sweat. This chase, the greater part of which was seen from the camp, formed a beautiful scene ; but to the hunters it is exceedingly laborious, and so unproductive, even when they are able to worry the animal down and sho6t him, that forty or fifty hunters will sometimes be engaged for more than half a day, without obtain ing more than two or three antelopes." The Chip pewayan Mountains have afforded also one species of goat, and one of sheep, of which it might be well for more to be known. Of the ox kind, the bison, or buffalo, is the only, and a very remarkable species. The buffalo was formerly found throughout the whole territory of the United States, with the exception of that part which lies east of Hudson's River and Lake Champlaln, and of narrow strips of coast on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. At present it is scarcely seen east of the Mississippi. Its great range is over the plains between this river and the Chippewayan Mountains, but it is met with also in the territory of Oregon. To the Indians and the visiters of the west ern regions, the bison is almost invaluable : they sup ply a large part of the food used by the natives, and covering to their tents and persons ; while, in many parts of the country, there is no fuel to be obtained but the dried dung of this animal. The herds of bison wander over the country in search of food, usually led by a bull most remarkable for strength and fierceness. While feeding, they are often scat tered over a great extent of country ; but when they move in a mass they form a dense and almost im penetrable column, which, once in motion, is scarcely to be impeded. Their line of march is seldom in terrupted, even by considerable rivers, across which they swim without fear or hesitation, nearly in the order in which they traverse the plains. When fly ing before their pursuers, it would be in vain for the foremost to halt, or to attempt to obstruct the pro gress of the main body ; as the throng in the rear still rush onward, the leaders must advance, although destruction aAvaits the movement. The Indians take advantage of this circumstance, to destroy great quantities of this favourite game ; and, certainly, no mode could be resorted to more effectually destruc tive, nor could a more terrible devastation be produced, than by forcing a numerous herd of these large ani mals to leap together from the brink of a dreadful precipice, upon a rocky and broken surface a hundred feet below. When the Indians determine to destroy bison in this way, one of their swiftest-footed and Vol, II,— Nos, 45 (fe 46, O most active young men is selected, who is disguised in a bison skin, having the head, ears, and horns ad justed on his own head, so as to make the deception very complete ; and, thus accoutred, he stations him self between the bison herd and some of the preci pices which often extend for several miles along the rivers. The Indians surround the herd as nearly as possible ; when, at a given signal, they show them selves, and rush forward with loud yells. The ani mals being alarmed, and seeing no way open but in the direction of the disguised Indian, run towards him, and he, taking to flight, dashes on to the preci pice, where he suddenly secures himself in some previously-ascertained crevice. The foremost of the herd arrives at the brink — there is no possibility of retreat, no chance of escape : the foremost may, for an instant, shrink with terror ; but the crowd behind, who are terrified by the approaching hunters, rush forward with increasing impetuosity, and the aggre gated force hurls them successively from the cliff, where certain death awaits them. We may here introduce, from Dr, Harlan, a state ment of North American quadrupeds which he con ceives to be common both to the new and the old world. Species. Species. Species. 1 Mole. 2 -Wolf. 1 Field-mouse. 2 Shrew. 2 Fox. 1 Campagnol, (rat.) 1 Bear. 2 Seal. 1 Squirrel. 1 Glutton. 2 Weasel. 2 Deer. 1 Otter. 1 Beaver. 1 Sheep. The whole number of common species is twenty- one ; leaving eighty-six species as peculiar to North America, though not all of them to the United States. Among cetaceous animals, the lamantin, or sea-cow, is found on the coast of Florida. When full grown, it is from fifteen to twenty feet in length, by eight in circumference, and weighs several thousand pounds. After having satisfied its hunger by feeding on the sea grass or fucus, which constitutes its principal nourish ment, it delights to sleep upon the marshy grounds in the shallows, where it lies with the snout elevated above the water. It is there easily taken by the har- pooners. " Shoals of dolphins," says Dr. Godman, " may be seen almost every day, and at any hour, feeding or sporting in the bay and rivers near the city of New York, where we have sometimes enjoyed an opportunity of observing, from the wharf, a large shoal of them moving down the Hudson with the tide ; some plunging along, as if in haste, others ap parently at play, and others very slowly rising to the surface for breath, and as gradually disappearing, al lowing their dorsal fin to remain for a considerabk 110 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. time above the surface." From the month of May until towards the end of autumn, the true dolphins frequent the bays and salt-water rivers of the United States, in great numbers. They are most numerous and are best observed during the run of the herring and shad, upon which they doubtless feast abun dantly ; they appear gradually to diminish in number as these fish retire from the rivers and coast, though a small party may be occasionally seen very late in the season. The gladiator dolphins, so celebrated for attacking and destroying the whales, are found on the New England coasts. As they commonly swim in small troops, they attack the whale in a body, and tear off great pieces of his flesh, until, becoming excited to a certain degree, he thrusts out his tongue, when they immediately fasten on this organ and de vour it, and finally gaining access to his mouth, they destroy the life of the animal. The porpoise, or sea- swine, is not ascertained to have been seen in the waters of the republic ; the animal generally called by this name is the true dolphin. The spermaceti cachalot is found in the greatest abundance in the Pacific Ocean, where large numbers of them are an nually killed by the American and other whalers, for the sake of their oil and spermaceti. The Ornithology of the United States exhibits a rich display of the most splendid colours, from the green, silky, gold-bespangled down of the minute humming-bird, scarcely three inches in extent, to the black coppery wings of the gloomy condor, of sixteen feet, an occasional visitant of the republic ; a numer ous and powerful band of songsters, which, for sweet ness, variety, and melody, are surpassed perhaps by no country on earth ; an ever-changing scene of mi gration from torrid to temperate, and from northern to southern regions, in quest of suitable seasons, food, and climate ; and an amazing diversity in habit, economy, form, disposition, and faculties. The study of this branch of the natural history of their adopted country seems to have been long neglected by its new inhabitants, the manners, language, and faces of the feathered tribes being in general either overlooked or unknown ; and the substantial enlargement of science in this department is mainly to be referred to Alexander Wilson, a Scotchman, whose name cannot be recorded without attaching to it as high an encomium as a passionate attachment to natural science, manifested in a thousand instances, of per sonal labour and hazardous adventure, can deserve. Other writers, among whom we may mention Ord. Bonaparte, and Audubon, have meritoriously followed in his train ; and from them we shall gather our brief notices of the principal birds of the United States, We begin with the birds of prey. Vultures of several species are common. One called the turkey buzzard is remarked for a habit of repelling an assail ant by vomiting matter intolerably offensive. They eat so immoderately, that frequently they are incapa ble of rising, and may be caught without much dif ficulty ; but few that are acquainted with them will have the temerity to undertake the task. A man in the state of Delaware, a few years since, observing some turkey buzzards regaling themselves upon the carcass of a horse, which was in a highly putrid state, conceived the design of making a captive of one, to take home for the amusement of his children. He cautiously approached, and, springing upon the un suspicious group, grasped a fine plump fellow in his arms, and was bearing off his prize in triumph, when, lo ! the indignant vulture disgorged such a torrent of filth in the face of our hero, that it produced all the effects of the most powerful emetic, and for ever cured him of his inclination for turkey buzzards. — The habits of the black vulture, or carrion crow, which is not found higher than North Carolina, are singular. In the towns and villages of the southern states, the carrion crows may be seen either saunter ing about the streets, or sunning themselves on the roofs of the houses, and the fences ; or, if the weather be cold, cowering round the tops of the chimneys, to enjoy the benefit of the heat, which to them is a great pleasure. They are protected either by law or by usage, and may be said to be completely domesticated, being as common as the domestic poultry, and equal ly familiar. The inhabitants generally are disgusted with their filthy, voracious habits ; but, notwith standing, being viewed as conducive to the removal of the dead animal matter, which, if permitted to pu trify during the hot season, would render the atmo sphere impure, they have a respect paid them as sca vengers, whose labours are subservient to the public good. It sometimes happens, that, after having gorged themselves, these birds vomit down the chim neys, which must be intolerably disgusting, and can; scarcely fail to provoke the ill-will of those whose hospitality is thus requited. For strength, spirit,, and activity, the ring-tailed eagle ranks among the first of its tribe. A still more interesting species is the bald eagle, which, as he is one of the most beautiful of his tribe in this part of the world, and the adopted emblem of the republic,. is entitled to particular notice. The celebrated cata ract of Niagara is a noted place of resort for the bald eagle, as well on account of the fish procured there,. as for the numerous carcasses of squirrels, deer,, bears,. and various other animals, which, in their attempts- TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. Ill to cross the river above the falls, have been drawn into the current, and precipitated down that tremen dous gulf, where, among the rocks that bound the rapids below, they furnish a rich repast for various predaceous birds. He is also found generally in the vicinity of the sea, and along the shores and cliffs of the lakes and large rivers. Formed by nature for braving the severest cold ; feeding equally on the produce of the sea, and of the land ; possessing pow ers of flight capable of outstripping even the tempests themselves ; unawed by any thing but man ; and, from the ethereal heights to which he soars, looking abroad, at one glance, on an immeasurable expanse of forests, fields, lakes, and ocean, deep below him, he appears indifferent to the little localities affected by change of seasons ; as, in a few minutes, he can pass from summer to winter, from the lower to the -higher regions of the atmosphere, the abode of eternal cold ; and from thence descend, at will, to the torrid or the arctic regions of the earth. He is, therefore, found at all seasons, in the countries he inhabits ; but he prefers such places as have been mentioned above, from the great partiality he has for fish. In procu ring these, he displays in a very singular manner the genius and energy of his character, which is fierce, contemplative, daring, and tyrannical ; attributes not exerted but on particular occasions, but, when put forth, overpowering all opposition. Elevated on the high dead limb of some gigantic tree that commands a, wide view of the neighbouring shore and ocean, he ^eems calmly to contemplate the motions of the va- .rious feathered tribes that pursue their busy avoca tions below : the snow-white gulls slowly winnowing the air ; the busy tringse coursing along the sands ; trains of ducks streaming over the surface ; silent and watchful cranes, intent and wading ; clamorous crows ; and all the winged multitudes that subsist by the bounty of this vast liquid magazine of nature. High over all these appears one, whose acti-sn in stantly arrests his whole attention. By his wide curvature of wing, and sudden suspension in air, he knows him to be the fish-hawk, settling over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye kindles at the sight, and, balancing himself, with half-opened wings, on the branch, he watches the result. Down, rapid as an arrow, descends the distant object of his atten tion, the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it dis appears in the deep, making the surges foam around. At this moment, the eager looks of the eagle are all ardour ; and, levelling his neck for flight, he sees the fish-hawk once more emerge, struggling with his prey, and mounting in the air with screams of exul tation. These are the signal for our hero, who. launching into the air, instantly gives chase, and soon gains on the fish-hawk ; each exerts his utmost strength to mount above the other, displaying in these rencontres the most elegant and sublime aerial evo lutions. The unencumbered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when, with a sudden scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his fish ; the eagle, poising himself for a moment, as if to take a more , certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bear's his ill- gotten booty silently away to the woods. These predatory attacks and defensive manoeuvres of the eagle and the fish-hawk are matters of daily observa tion along the whole of the seaboard, from Georgia to New England, and frequently excite great interest in the spectators. Sympathy, however, on this as on most other occasions, generally sides with the honest and laborious sufferer, in opposition to the attacks ot power, injustice, and rapacity, qualities for which our hero is so generally notorious, and which, in his su perior, man, are certainly detestable. As for the feelings of the poor fish, they seem, altogether out of the question. When driven, as the eagle sometimes is, by the combined courage and perseverance of the fish-hawks from their neighbourhood, and forced to hunt for himself, he retires more inland, in search of young pigs, of which he destroys great numbers. In the lower parts of Virginia and North Carolina, where the inhabitants raise vast herds of those animals, com plaints of this kind are very general against him. He also destroys young lambs, in the early part of spring ; and will sometimes attack old sickly sheep, aiming furiously at their eyes. This eagle is said to live to the great age, of sixty, eighty or even a hundred years. A still finer bird, the sea-eagle, which dives for its own prey, has also been discover ed in the United States, though it is not common. An account of it is given by Audubon, who has call ed it the bird of Washington.* The fish-hawk is migratory, arriving on the coasts of Nev/ York and New Jersey about the twenty-first of March, and retiring to the south about the twenty- second of September. This formidable, vigorous- winged, and well-known bird, subsists altogether on the finny tribes that swarm in the bays, creeks, and rivers ; procuring his prey by his own active skill and industry, and seeming no further dependent on the land than as a mere resting place, or, in the usual season, a spot of deposit for his nest, eggs, and young. On the arrival of these birds in the north- * Ornithological Biography. 112 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. ern parts of the United States, in March, they some times find the bays and ponds frozen, and experience a difficulty in procuring fish for many days ; yet there is no instance on record of their attacking birds, or inferior land animals, with intent to feed on them ; though their great strength of flight, as well as of feet and claws, would seem to render this no dif- ficiilt matter: but they no sooner arrive, than they wage war on the bald eagles, as against a horde of robbers and banditti ; sometimes succeeding, by force of numbers and perseverance, in driving them from their haunts, but seldom or never attacking them in single combat. The flight of the fish-hawk, his ma noeuvres while in search of fish, and his manner of sei zing his prey, are deserving of particular notice. In leaving the nest, he usually flies direct until he comes to the sea ; he then sails round in easy cur ving lines, turning sometimes in the air as on a pivot, apparently without the least exertion, rarely moving the wings, his legs extended in a straight line behind, and his remarkable length, and curvature or bend of wing, distinguishing him from all other hawks. The height at. which he thus elegantly glides is va rious, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty and two hundred feet, sometimes much higher, all the while calmly reconnoitring the face of the deep below. Suddenly he is seen to check his course, as if struck by a particular object, which he seems to survey for a few moments with such steadiness that he appears fixed in air, flapping his wings. This object, how ever, he abandons, or rather the fish he had in his eye has disappeared, and he is seen sailing round as before. Now his attention is again arrested, and he descends with great rapidity ; but ere he reaches the surface, shoots off on another course, as if ashamed that a second victim had escaped him. He now flies at a short height above the surface, and by a zig zag descent, and without seeming to dip his feet in the water, seizes a fish, which, after carrying a short distance, he perhaps drops, or yields up to the bald eagle, and again ascends, by easy spiral circles, to the higher regions of the air, where he glides about in all the ease and majesty of his species. At once, from this aerial height, he descends like a perpendi cular torrent, plunging into the sea with a loud rush ing sound, and with the certainty of a rifle. In a few moments he emerges, bearing in his claws his strug- iing prey, which he always carries head foremost, and, having risen a few feet above the surface, shakes himself as a water-spaniel would do, and directs his heavy and laborious course directly for the land ; and if the wind blow hard, and his nest lie in the quarter from whence it comes, it is amusing to ob serve with what judgment and exertion he beats to windward, not in a direct line, that is, in the wind's eye, but making several successive tacks to gain his purpose. His flight will appear the more striking, when we consider the size of the fish which he some times bears along. A shad was taken from a fish-hawk near Great Egg Harbour, on which he had begun to regale himself, and had already eaten a considerable portion of it; the remainder weighed six pounds. Another fish-hawk was passing Mr, Beasley's, at the same place, with a large flounder in his grasp, which struggled and shook him so, that he dropped it on the shore ; the flounder was picked up, and served the whole family for dinner. It is singular that the hawk never descends to pick up a fish which he happens to drop, either on the land or on the wa ter. In his fishing pursuits, he sometimes mistakes his mark, or overrates his strength, by striking fish too large and powerful for him to manage : in this case he is dragged under the water, and though he some times succeeds in extricating himself, after being taken three or four times down, yet oftener both parties perish. The bodies of sturgeon, and of several other large fish, with a fish-hawk fast grappled in them, have at different times been found dead on the shore, cast up by the waves. The peregrine falcon, or, according to Wilson, the great-footed hawk, is in the United States the terror of the waterfowl. When they perceive the approach of their enemy, a universal alarm pervades their ranks ; even man himself, with his engine of de struction, is not more terrible, but the effect is dif ferent. When the latter is beheld, the whole atmo sphere is enlivened with the whistling of wings ; when the former is recognised, not a duck is to be seen in the air ; they all speed to the water, and there remain till the hawk has passed them, diving the moment he comes near them. The ducks which are struck down by this bird have their backs lace rated from the rump to the neck ; a proof that he strikes with his talons, and not, as vulgarly sup posed, with his breast. The Mississippi kite is one of the numerous species peculiar to the western con tinent, feeding chiefly on insects, with an occasional repast on lizards, snakes, and small birds, Wilson gives the following account of one shot by himself: " This hawk, which proved to be a male,- though wounded, and precipitated from a vast height, ex hibited in his distress symptoms of great strength, and an almost unconquerable spirit, I no sooner approached to pick him up, than he instantly gave battle, striking rapidly with his claws; wheeling round and round as he lay partly on his rump, and TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 113 defending himself with great vigilance and dexterity, while his dark red eye sparkled with rage. Not withstanding all my caution in seizing him to carry him home, he struck his hind claw into my hand with such force as to penetrate to the bone. Anxious to preserve his life, I endeavoured gently to disengage it ; but this made him only contract it the more pow erfully, causing such pain that I had no other alter native but that of cutting the sinew of his heel with my penknife. The whole time he lived with me, he seemed to watch every movement I made, erecting the feathers behind his head, and eyeing me with savage flerceness, and considering me, no doubt, as the greater savage of the two,"* The republic is visited by the snow owl, the great winged hunter, which inhabits the coldest and most dreary regions of the northern hemisphere on both continents. The great horned owl is found in al most every quarter of the United States. His fa vourite residence, however, is in the dark solitudes of deep swamps, covered with a growth of gigantic timber ; and here, as soon as evening draws on, and mankind retire to rest, he sends forth such sounds as seem scarcely to belong to this world, startling the solitary pilgrim as he slumbers by his forest fire, and " Making night hideous." " Along the mountainous shores of the Ohio, and amidst the deep forests of Indiana, alone, and repo sing in the woods, this ghostly watchman has fre quently warned me," says Wilson, " of the approach of morning, and amuseci me with his singular excla mations, sometimes sweeping down and around my fire, uttering a loud and sudden Waugh O ! Waugh O ! sufficient to have alarmed a whole garrison. He has other noctarnal solos no less melodious, one of which very strikingly resembles the half-suppressed screams of a person suffocating, or throttled, and can not fail of being exceedingly entertaining to a lonely benighted traveller, in the midst of an Indian wilder ness. It preys on young rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, partridges, and small birds of various kinds. It has been often known to prowl about the farm-house, and carry off chickens from roost. A very large one, having been wing-broken while on a foraging excur sion of this kind, was kept about the house for seve ral days, and at length disappeared, no one knew how ; almost every day after this hens and chickens also disappeared, one by one, in an unaccountable manner, till, in eight or ten days, very few were left remaining. The fox, the minx, and the weasel, were alternately the reputed authors of this mischief, ? Wilson's American Orr ithology. until one morning the old lady rising before day trt bake, in passing towards the oven surprised her late prisoner, the owl, regaling himself on the body of a newly-killed hen. The thief instantly made for hiis hole under the house, from whence the enraged matron soon dislodged him with the brush-handle, and without mercy dispatched him. In this snu^ retreat were found the greater part of the feathers, and many large fragments of her whole family of chickens," The barn owl, though so common in Europe, is rare in the United States, and is only found there during very severe winters ; this may possibly be owing to the want of those fa-vourite re cesses in this part of the world, which it so much af fects in the eastern continent. The most singular bird of this species, and one whose habits are strikingly at variance with the ge neral characteristics of the family, is the burrowing owl. He is found in the trans-mississippian territo ries of the United States, residing exclusively in the villages of the marmot, or prairie dog, whose exca vations are so commodious as to render it unnecessa ry that our bird should dig for himself, as he is said to do in other parts of the world, where no burrow ing animals exist. In all these prairie dog villages the burrowing owl is seen moving briskly about, or else in small flocks scattered among the mounds ; and, at a distance, it may be mistaken for the mar mot itself when sitting erect. They manifest but little timidity, and allow themselves to be approach ed sufficiently close for shooting ; but, if alarmed, some or all of them soar away, and settle down again at a short distance ; if further disturbed, their flight is continued until they are no longer in view, or they descend into their dwellings, wheflce they are difficult to dislodge, Mr. Say uniformly noticed the ruinous condition of the burrows tenanted by the oivl, which had frequently fallen in, and their sides channelled by the rains ; while the neat and well ¦ preserved 'mansion actually occupied by the marmot showed the active care of a skilful and industrious owner. We have no evidence that the o-wl and marmot habitually resort to one burrow ; yet we are assured, by Pike and others, that a common danger often drives them into the same excavation, where lizards and rattlesnakes also enter for concealment and safety. Of 168 kinds of parrots ennmerated by European writers as inhabiting the various regions of the globe, the Carolina parrot is the only species found native within the territory of the United States. This bird inhabits the interior of Louisiana, and the shores ol the Mississippi and Ohio, and their tributary waters 114 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES, even beyond the Illinois river, to the neighbourhood of Lake Michigan in lat. 42 degrees north ; and, con trary to the generally received opinion, is chiefly resident in all these places. Eastward of the Apala chian, it is seldom seen further north than the state of Maryland, though straggling parties have been oc casionally observed among the valleys of the Juniata, and, according to some, even twenty-five miles to the north-west of Albany, in the state of New York. " At Big-bone Lick," says Wilson, " thirty miles from the mouth of Kentucky river, I saw them in great num bers. They came screaming through the woods in the morning, about an hour after sunrise, to drink the salt water, of which they, as well as the pigeons, are remarkably fond. When they alighted on the ground, it appeared at a distance as if covered with a carpet of the richest green, orange, and yellow ; they afterwards settled in one body on a neighbouring tree, which stood detached from any other, covering almost every twig of it ; and the sun, shining strong ly on their gay and glossy plumage, produced a very beautiful and splendid appearance. Here I had an opportunity of observing some very particular traits of their character. Having shot down a number, some of which were only wounded, the whole flock swept repeatedly around their prostrate companions, and again settled on a low tree, within twenty yards of the spot where I stood. At each successive dis charge, though showers of them fell, yet the affection of the survivors seemed rather to increase ; for, after a few circuits round the place, they again alighted near me, looking down on their slaughtered compa nions with such manifest symptoms of sympathy and concern as entirely disarmed me." We are tempted to give a further extract, though somewhat long, from Wilson's account, not merely for the sake of exhibit ing the habits of the bird, but because it shows some^ thing of the manner in which this enthusiastic natu ralist prosecuted his inquiries. " Anxious to try the effects of education on one of those which I procured at Big-bone Lick, and which was but slightly wound ed in the wing, I fixed up a place for it in the stern of my boat, and presented it with some cockle burrs, which it freely fed on in less than an hour after being on board. The intermediate time between eating and sleeping was occupied in gnawing the sticks that formed its place of confinement, in order to make a practicable breach, which it repeatedly ef fected. When I abandoned the river and travelled by land, I wrapped it up closely in a silk handker chief, tying it tightly round, and carried it in my pocket. When I stopped for refreshment I unbound my prisoner, and gave it its allowance, which it ge nerally dispatched with great dexterity, tmhusking the seeds from the burr in a twinkling ; in doing which it always employed its left foot to hold the burr, as did several others that I kept for some time. I began to think that this might be peculiar to the whole tribe, and that they all were, if I may use the expression, left-footed ; but by shooting a number afterwards while engaged in eating mulberries, I found sometimes the left, sometimes the right foot stained with the fruit, the other always clean : from which, and the constant practice of those I kept, it appears, that, like the human species in the use oi their hands, they do not prefer one or the other in discriminately, but are either left or right-footed. But to return to my prisoner ; in recommitting it to ' du rance vile' we generally had a quarrel, during which it frequently paid me in kind for the wound I had inflicted and for depriving it of liberty, by cutting and almost disabling several of my fingers with its sharp and powerful bill. The path through the wilderness between Nashville and Natchez is in some places bad beyond description. There are dangerous creeks to swim, miles of morass to struggle through, rendered almost as gloomy as night by a prodigious growth of timber, and an underwood of canes and other evergreens ; while the descent into these slug gish streams is often ten or fifteen feet perpendicular, into a bed of deep clay. In some of the worst of these places, where I had, as it were, to fight my way through, the paroquet frequently escaped from my pocket, obliging me to dismount and pursue it, through the worst of the morass, before I could re gain it. On these occasions I was several times tempted to abandon it ; but I persisted in bringing it along. When at night I encamped in the woods, I placed it on the baggage beside me, whpre it usually sat, with great composure, dozing and gazing at the fire till morning. In this manner I carried it up wards of a thousand miles in my pocket, where it was exposed all day to the jolting of the horse, but regularly liberated at meal times and in the evening, at which it always expressed great satisfaction. In passing through the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, the Indians, wherever I stopped to feed, collected around me, men, women, and children, laughing, and seeming wonderfully amused with the novelty of my companion. The Chickasaws called it in their lan guage kelinky ; but when they heard me call it Poll, they soon repeated the name ; and wherever I chanced to stop among these people, we soon became familiar with each other through the medium of Poll, On arriving at Mr. Dunbar's, below Natchez, I pro cured a cage, and placed it under the piazza ; where TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. J 15 by its call, it soon attracted the passing flocks, such is the attachment they have for each other. Nume rous parties frequently alighted on the trees immedi ately above, keeping up a constant conversation with the prisoner. One of these I wounded slightly in the wing, and the pleasure Poll expressed on meeting with this new companion was really amusing. She crept close up to it as it hung on the side of the cage, chattering to it in a low tone of voice, as if sympa thizing in its misfortune, scratched about its head and neck with her bill ; and both, at night, nestled as close as possible to each other, sometimes Poll's head being thrust among the plumage of the other. On the death of this companion, she appeared restless and inconsolable for several days. On reaching New Orleans, I placed a looking-glass beside the place where she usually sat, and the instant she perceived her image, all her former fondness seemed to return, so that she could scarcely absent herself from it a moment. It was evident that she was completely deceived. Al ways, when evening drew on, and ofiten during the day, she laid her head close to that of the image in the glass, and began to doze with great composure and satisfaction. In this short space she had learnt to know her name, to answer and come when called on, to climb up my clothes, to sit on my shoulder, and to eat from my mouth. I took her with me to sea, determined to persevere in her education ; but, destined to another fate, poor Poll, having one morning, about daybreak, wrought her way through the cage while I was asleep, in stantly flew overboard, and perished in the Gulf of Mexico." A stranger who visits the United States for the purpose of examining their natural productions, and passes through the woods in the month of May or June, will sometimes hear, as he traverses the bor ders of deep, retired, high-timbered hollows, an un couth guttural sound, or note, resembling the sylla bles kowe, kowe, kowe, kowe, kowe, beginning slowly, but ending so rapidly, that the notes seem to run in to each other, and vice versa : he will hear this fre quently, without being able to discover the bird or animal from which it proceeds, as it is both shy and solitary, seeking always the thickest foliage for concealment. This is the yellow-billed cuckoo. From the imitative sound of its note, it is known in many parts by the name of the cow-bird ; it is also called in Virginia, the rain-crow, being observed to be most clamorous immediately before rain. Unlike the European cuckoo, the bird now before us builds its own nest, hatches its own eggs, and rears its own young; and, in conjugal and parental affection. seems nowise behind any of its neighbours of the grove. The woodpeckers constitute a large and interest ing class of American birds. The ivory-billed wood pecker is a majestic and formidable species, which, in strength and magnitude, stands at the head of the whole class of woodpeckers hitherto discovered. He may be called the king or chief of his tribe ; and nature seems to have designed him a distinguished characteristic in the superb carmine crest, and bill of polished ivory, with which she has ornamented him. His eye is brilliant and daring ; and his whole frame admirably adapted for his mode of life, and method of procuring subsistence. His manners have also a dignity in them superior to the common herd of woodpeckers, to whom trees, shrubberies, orchards, rails, fence-posts, and old prostrate logs, are alike in teresting in their humble and indefatigable search for prey ; but the royal hunter now before us scorns the humility of such situations, and seeks the most towering trees of the forest, seeming particularly at tached to those prodigious cypress swamps, whose crowded giant sons stretch their bare and blasted or moss-hung arms midway to the skies. In these almost inaccessible recesses, amid ruinous piles of impending timber, his trumpet-like note and loud strokes re sound through the solitary savage wilds, of which he seems the sole lord and inhabitant. Wherever he frequents, he leaves numerous monuments of his industry behind him. We there see enormous pine- trees with cart-loads of bark lying around their roots, and chips of the trunk itself in such quantities as to suggest the idea that half a dozen axe-men had been at work there for the whole morning. The body of the tree is also disfigured with such numerous and large excavations, that one can hardly conceive it possible for the whole to be the work of a wood pecker. With such strength, and an apparatus so powerful, what havoc might he not commit, if nu merous, on the most useful of the forest trees ; and yet, with all these appearances, and much of vulgar prejudice against him, it may fairly be questioned whether he is at all injurious, or rather, Avhether his exertions do not contribute most powerfully to the protection of the timber. Examine closely the tree where he has been at work, and you will soon per ceive, that it is neither from motives of mischief nor amusement that he slices off the bark, or digs his way into the trunk. For the sound and healthy tree is the last object of his attention. The diseased, infected with insects, and hastening to putrefaction, are his favourites ; there the deadly crawling enemy have formed a lodgement between the bark and tendei 116 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES; wood, to drink up the very vital element of the tree. It is the ravages of these vermin which the intelli gent proprietor of the forest deplores, as the sole perpetrators of the destruction of his timber. Would it be believed that the larvae of an insect, or fly, no larger than a grain of rice, should silently, and in one season, destroy some thousand acres of pine trees, many of them from two to three feet in diameter, and a hundred and fifty feet high ? Yet whoever passes along the high road from Georgetown to Charleston, in South Carolina, about twenty miles from the former place, can have striking and melan choly proofs of this fact ; and in some places the whole woods, as far as you can see around you, are dead, stripped of the bark, their wintry-looking arms and bare trunks bleaching in the sun, and tumbling in ruins before every blast, presenting a frightful picture of desolation. And yet ignorance and preju dice, it seems, persist in directing their indignation against the bird now before us, the constant and mortal enemy of these very vermin ; as if the hand that probed the wound to extract its cause, should be equally detested with that which inflicted it, or as if the thief-catcher should be confounded with the thief. "Until some effectual preventive or more complete mode of destruction can be devised against these insects and their larvas," says Wilson, " I would humbly suggest the propriety of protecting, and re ceiving with proper feelings of gratitude, the servi ces of this and the whole tribe of wood peckers, let ting the odium of guilt fall to its proper owners." The same author furnishes us with the following account of an ivory-billed woodpecker which he shot : " Having wounded it slightly in the -wing, on being caught it uttered a loudly reiterated and most piteous note, exactly resembling the violent crying of a young child, which terrified my horse so as nearly to have cost me my life. It was distressing to hear it. I carried it with me in the chair, under cover, to Wilmington. In passing through the streets its affecting cries surprised every one within hearing. particularly the females, who hurried to the doors and windows with looks of alarm and anxiety. I drove on, and on arriving at the piazza of the hotel where I intended to put up, the landlord came for ward, and a number of other persons who happened to be there, all equally alarmed at what they heard ; and their concern was greatly increased by my asking whether he could furnish me with accommodations for myself and my baby. The man looked blank and foolish, while the others stared with still greater astonishment. After diverting myself for a minute or two at their expense, I drew my woodpecker from under the cover, and a general lau^h took place, I took him up stairs, and locked him up in my room, while I went to see my horse taken care of. In less than an hour I returned, and, on opening the door, he set up the same distressing shout, which now ap peared to proceed from grief that he had been disco vered in his attempts at escape. He had mounted along the side of the window, nearly as high as the ceiling, a little below which he had begun to break through. The bed was covered with large pieces of plaster, the lath was exposed for at least fifteen inches square, and a hole, large enough to admit the fist, opened to the weather-boards ; so that in less than another hour he would certainly have succeeded in making his way through. I now tied a string round his leg, and, fastening it to the table, again left him, I wished to preserve his life, and had gone off in search of suitable food for him. As I reascended the stairs, I heard him again hard at work, and, on en tering, had the mortification to perceive that he had alinost entirely ruined the mahogany table to which he was fastened, and on which he had wreaked his whole vengeance. While engaged in taking a draw ing, he cut me severely in several places, and on the whole displayed such a noble and unconquerable spirit, that I was frequently tempted to restore him to his native woods. He lived with me nearly three days, but refused all sustenance, and I witnessed his death with regret." The ivory-billed woodpecker is seldom seen above Virginia ; the pileated woodpecker, next in size, is the northern chief of his tribe. There is perhaps no bird in North America more universally known than the red-headed woodpecker. His tricoloured plumage, red, white, and black, glossed with steel blue, is so striking and characteris tic, and his predatory habits in the orchards and corn fields, added to his numbers and fondness for hover ing along the fences, so very notorious, that almost every child is acquainted with him, " In the imme diate neighbourhood of our large cities," says Wilson, " where the old timber is chiefly cut down, he is not so frequently found ; and yet, at this period, June, 1808, I know of several of their nests within the boundaries of the city of Philadelphia. Towards the mountains, particularly in the vicinity of creeks and rivers, these birds are extremely abundant, especially in the latter end of summer. Wherever you travel in the interior, at that season, you hear them scream ing from the adjoining woods, rattling on the dead limbs of trees, or on the fences, where they are per petually seen flitting from stake to stake, on the road side before you. Wherever there is a tree of the wild cherry covered with ripe fruit, there you soa TOPOGRAPHY OF T^E UNITED STATES, 117 them busy among the branches ; and in passing or chards, you may easily know where to find the ear liest, sweetest apples, by observing those trees, on or near which the red-headed woodpecker is skulking, for he is so excellent a connoisseur in fruit, that wherever an apple or pear tree is found broached by him, it is sure to be among the ripest and best fla voured : when alarmed, he seizes a capital one by striking his open bill deep into it, and bears it off to the woods." When the Indian corn is in its rich, succulent, milky state, he attacks it with great eager ness, opening a passage through the numerous folds of the husk, and feeding on it with voracity. His favourite retreats are among the girdled, or deaden ed timber, so common in corn-fields in the back set tlements, whence he sallies out to make his depreda tions. He is fond of the ripe berries of the sour gum, and pays pretty regular visits to the cherry trees when 'loaded with fruit; and towards autumn he often approaches the barn or farm-house, and raps on the shingles and weather boards. He is of a gay and frolicsome disposition ; and half a dozen of the fra ternity are frequently seen diving and vociferating around the high dead limbs of some large tree, pur suing and playing with each other, and amusing the passengers with their gambols. On account of the vicious traits in their charac ter, a war of extermination has been waged against these birds, and even the legislatures of some provin ces, in former times, offered premiums to the amount of twopence per head for their destruction ; yet Wil son, whose generous and simple-hearted advocacy for the feathered race forms one of the principal charms of his book, thus reasonably pleads their cause : " Though this bird occasionally regales him self on fruit, yet his natural and most usual food is insects, particularly those numerous and destructive species that penetrate the bark and body of the tree to deposit their eggs and larvEe, the latter of which are well known to make immense havoc. He searches for them with a dexterity and intelligence, I may safely say, more than human ; he perceives, by the exterior appearance of the bark where they lurk be low ; when he is dubious, he rattles vehemently on the outside with his bill, and his acute ear distin guishes the terrified vermin shrinking within to their inmost retreats, where his pointed and barbed tongue soon reaches them. The masses of bugs, caterpil lars, and other larvas, which I have taken from the stomachs of these birds, have often surprised me. These larvae, it should be remembered, feed not only on the buds, leaves, and blossoms, but on the very vegetable life of the tree, the alburnum, or newly-^ Vol, IL— Nos, 45 (fe 46, P forming bark and wood ; the consequence is, that whole branches and whole trees decay under the si lent ravages of these destructive vermin ; witness the late destruction of many hundred acres of pine trees, in the north-eastern parts of South Carolina, and the thousands of peach trees that yearly decay from the same cause. Will any one say, that taking half a dozen or half u hundred apples from a tree is equally ruinous with cutting it down ? Or, that the services of a useful animal should not be rewarded with a small portion of that which it has contributed to pre serve 1 We are told, in the benevolent language of the scriptures, not to muzzle the mouth ofthe ox that treadeth out the corn ; and why should not the same generous liberality be extended to this useful family of birds, which forms so powerful a phalanx against the inroads of many millions of destructive -vermin ?" The kingfisher is a general inhabitant of the banks and shores of all the fresh-water rivers, from Hudson's Bay to Mexico, and is the only species ot its tribe found within the United States. It is as universally known as its elegant little brother, the common kingfisher of Europe, is in Britain. Like the love-lorn swains of whom poets tell us, he de lights in murmuring streams, and falling waters ; not, however, merely that they may sooth his ear, Jjut for a gratification somewhat more substantial. Amidst the roar of the cataract, or over the foam of a torrent, he sits perched upon an overhanging bough, glancing his piercing eye in every direction below for his scaly prey, which, with a sudden circular plunge, he sweeps from their native element, and swallows in an instant. His voice, which is not unlike the twirling of a watch man's rattle, is naturally loud, harsh, and abrupt, but it is softened by the sound of the brawling streams and cascades among which he generally rambles. He courses along the windings ofthe brook or river at a small height above the surface, sometimes suspend ing himself by the rapid action of his wings, like certain species of hawks, ready to pounce on the fry below ; now and then settling on an old dead over hanging limb to reconnoitre. Mill-dams are particu larly visited by this feathered fisher ; and the sound of his pipe is as well known to the miller, as the rat tling of his OAvn hopper. Rapid streams with high perpendicular banks, particularly if they be of a hard clayey or sandy nature, are also favourite places of resort for this bird ; not only because in such places the small fish are more exposed to view, but because those steep and dry banks are the chosen^ situations for his nest. Among the most beautiful of the American birds is the oriole. Almost the whole genus of orioles be- 118 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. long to America. With few exceptions, they build pensile nests ; but few of them equal the Baltimore in the construction of these receptacles for their young, and in giving them convenience, warmth, and security. For these purposes he generally fixes on the high bending extremities of the branches, fastening strong strings of hemp or flax round two forked twigs, corresponding to the intended width of the nest ; with the same materials, mixed with quan tities of loose tow, he interweaves or fabricates a strong firm kind of cloth not unlike the substance of a hat in its raw state, forming it into a pouch of six or seven inches in depth, lining it substantially with various soft substances, well interwoven with the outward netting, and finishing with a layer of horse hair ; the whole being shaded from the sun and rain by a natural pent-house, or canopy of leaves. The Baltimore inhabits North America from Canada to Mexico, and is even found as far south as Brazil. Since the streets of the American cities have been planted with that beautiful and stately tree the Lom- bardy poplar, these birds are constant visiters during the early part of summer ; and, amidst the noise and tumult of coaches, drays, wheelbarrows, and the din of the multitude, they are heard chanting " their na tive wood notes wild," sometimes, too, within a few yards of an oyster-man, who stands bellowing, with the lungs of a stentor, under the shade of the same tree ; so much will habit reconcile even birds to the roar of the city, and to sounds and noises, which, in other circumstances, would put a whole grove of them to flight. The orchard oriole, though part'y a dependent on the industry of the farmer, is no sneak ing pilferer, but an open, and truly beneficent friend. ' To all those countless multitudes of destructive bugs and caterpillars that infest the fruit trees in spring and summer, preying on the leaves, blossoms, and embryo '>f the fruit, he is a deadly enemy ; devouring them -wherever he can find them, and destroying, on an "verage, some hundreds of them every day, without offering the slightest injury to the fruit, however much it may stand in his way. " I have witnessed instances," says Wilson, " where the entrance to his nest was more than half closed up by a cluster of apples, which he could have easily demolished in half a minute ; but, as if holding the property of his patron sacred, or considering it as a natural bulwark to his own, he slid out and in with the greatest gentleness and caution." Nor is the gayety of his song one of his least recommendations. Being an exceedingly active, sprightly, and restless bird, he is on the ground — on the trees — fiying and carolling in his hurried manner, in almost one and the same instant. His notes are shrill and lively, but uttered with such ra pidity and seeming confusion, that the ear is unable to follow them distinctly ; between these, he has a single note, which is agreeable and interesting. Wherever he is protected, he shows his confidence and gratitude by his numbers and familiarity. The orioles are birds of passage, spending the summer only in the northern parts of the United States, The red-winged starlings, though generally migra tory in the states north of Maryland, are found during winter in immense flocks, sometimes associated with the purple grakles, and often by themselves, through the lower parts of Virginia, both Carolinas, Georgia and Louisiana, particularly near the sea coast, and in the vicinity of large rice and corn flelds, " In the months of January and February," says the writer above quoted, "while passing through the former of these countries, I was frequently entertained with the aerial evolutions of these great bodies of starlings. Sometimes they appeared driving about like an enor mous black cloud carried before the wind, varying its shape every moment ; sometimes suddenly rising from the fields around me with a noise like thunder ; while the glittering of innumerable wings of the brightest vermilion amid the black cloud they form ed, produced on these occasions a very striking and splendid effect. Then descending like a torrent, and covering the branches of some detached grove or clump of trees, the whole congregated multitude com menced one general concert or chorus, which I have plainly distinguished at the distance of more than two miles ; and which, when listened to at the dis tance of about a quarter of a mile, with a slight breeze of wind to swell and soften the flow of its ca dences, was to me grand, and even, sublime." The whole season of winter, which, with most birds, is passed in struggling to sustain life in silent melan choly, is with the red-wings one continued carnival. The profuse gleanings of the old rice, corn, and buckwheat fields, supply them with abundant food, at once ready and nutritious ; and the intermediate time is spent either in aerial manoeuvres, or in grand vocal performances, as if solicitous to supply the ab sence of all the tuneful summer tribes, and to cheer the dejected face of nature with their whole combined powers of harmony. In summer these birds are very mischievous. Hav ing migrated to the northward in the spring, before the beginning of September the flocks have become numerous and formidable ; and the young ears of maize, or Indian corn, being then in their soft, suc culent, milky state, present a temxptation that cannot be resisted. Reinforced by numerous and daily flocks TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, 119 from all parts of the interior, they pour do-wn on the low countries in prodigious multitudes. Here they are seen, like vast cloucis, wheeling and driving over the meadows and devoted corn fields, darkening the air with their numbers. Then commences the work of destruction on the corn, the husks of which, though composed of numerous envelopments of closely wrapt leaves, are soon completely or partially torn off, while from all quarters myriads continue to pour down like a tempest, blackening half an acre at a time : if not disturbed, they repeat their depredations till little re mains but the cob and the shrivelled skins of the grain ; and what little is left of the tender ear, being exposed to the rains and weather, is generally much injured. All the attacks and havoc made at this time among them by the gun and by the hawks, several species of which are their constant attendants, have little effect on the remainder. When the hawks make a sweep among them, they suddenly open on all sides, but rarely in time to disappoint them of their victims ; and, though repeatedly fired at with mortal effect, they only remove from one field to an adjoining one, or to another quarter of the same en closure. From dawn to nearly sunset, this open and daring devastation is carried on under the eye of the proprietor ; and a farmer, who has any considerable extent of corn, would require half a dozen men at least, with guns, to guard it ; and even then, all their vigilance and activity would not prevent a good tithe of it from becoming the prey of the blackbirds. The Indians, who usually plant their corn in a common field, keep all the young boys of the village all day patrolhng round and among it ; and each being fur nished with a bow and arrows, with which they are very expert, they generally contrive to destroy great lumbers of them. For this bird, though the notori ous corn-thief of the United States, our humane author again puts in a plea, on the ground of the insects and larvae destroyed by them, which he cal culates at no less than sixteen thousand two hundred millions in the space of four months. A similar character and apology may be attached to the rice- bunting and the purple grakle. The cow-bunting, or cow-pen finch, like the cuc koo of Europe, has the habit of dropping her eggs into the nests of other birds. The following account is given by Dr. Potter, of Baltimore : — " I once had an opportunity of witnessing a scene of this sort, which I cannot forbear to relate. Seeing a female prying into a bunch of bushes in search of a nest, I determined to see the result, if practicable ; and, knowing how easily they are disconcerted by the near approach of man, I mounted my horse, and pro ceeded slowly, sometimes seeing and sometimes losing sight of her, till I had travelled nearly two miles along the margin of a creek. She entered every thick place, prying with the strictest scrutiny into places where the small birds usually build, and at last darted suddenly into a thick copse of alders and briers, where she remained five or six minutes, when she returned, soaring above the under-wood, and re turned to the company she had left feeding in the field. Upon entering the covert, I found the nest of a yellow-throat, with an egg of each. The de portment of the yellow-throat on this occasion is not to be omitted. She returned while I waited near the spot, and darted into her nest, but quitted it immedi ately, and perched upon a bough near the place, re mained a minute or two, and entered it again, re turned, and disappeared. In ten minutes she return ed with the male. They chattered with great agita tion for half an hour, seeming to participate in the affront, and then left the place. I believe all the birds thus intruded on manifest more or less concern at finding the egg of a stranger in their own nests. Among these the sparrow is particularly punctilious ; for she sometimes chirps her complaints for a day or two, and often deserts the premises altogether, even after she has deposited one or more eggs." The most remarkable circumstance connected with this habit is, that the young of the cow-bird is hatched before those of the proprietor of the nest, whose eggs, in fact, are never hatched at all, but pushed out of the nest, and in such a manner that no person can yet ascertain how it is done, or what becomes of them. The raven is a general inhabitant of the United States, but is more common in the interior. On the lakes, and particularly in the neighbourhood of the falls of the Niagara river, they are numerous ; and it is a remarkable fact, that where they abound, the common crow seldom makes its appearance. The crow is a constant attendant on agriculture, and a general inhabitant of the cultivated parts of North America. On an island in the Delaware is a very celebrated crow-roost. It is there known by the name of the Pea Patch, and is a low, flat, alluvial spot, of a few acres, elevated but a little above high- water mark, and covered with a thick growth ot reeds ; and it appears to be the grand rendezvous, or head-quarters, of the greater part of the crows within forty or fifty miles of the spot. It is entirely desti tute of trees, the crows alighting and nestling among the reeds, which by these means are broken down and matted 'together. The noise created by them, both in their evening assembly and their reascension 120 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. m the morning, and the depredations they commit in the immediate neighbourhood of this great resort, are almost incredible. The strong attachment of the crows to this spot may be illustrated by the following circumstance : — Some years ago, a sudden and vio lent north-east storm came on during the night, and the tide, rising to an uncommon height, inundated the whole island. The darkness of the night, the suddenness and violence of the storm, and the inces sant torrents of rain that fell, it is supposed, so in timidated the crows, that they did not attempt to es cape, and almost all perished. Thousands of them were next day seen floating in the river ; and the wind, shifting to the north-west, drove their dead bodies to the Jersey side, where for miles they black ened the whole shore. This disaster, however, seems long ago to have been repaired ; for they now con gregate on the Pea Patch in as immense multitudes as ever. One American species, the fish-crow, is a roving inhabitant of the sea coasts, ponds, and river- shores. The magpie is much better known in Europe than in America, where it has not been long discovered, although it is now found to inhabit a wide extent of territory, and in great numbers. The blue jay is pe culiar to North America, and is distinguished as a kind of beau among the feathered tenants of the woods, by the brilliancy of his dress ; and, like most other coxcombs, makes himself still more conspicuous by his loquacity, and the oddness of his tones and gestures. It is an almost universal inhabitant of the woods, frequenting the thickest settlements as well as the deepest recesses of the forest, where his squalling voice often alarms the deer, to the disappointment and mortification of the hunter. In the charming season of spring, when every thicket pours forth har mony, the part performed by the jay always catches the ear. He appears to be among his fellow-musi cians what the trumpeter is in a band, some of his notes having no distant resemblance to the tones of that instrument. These he has the faculty of chang ing, through a great variety of modulations, accord ing to the particular humour in which he happens to be. When disposed for ridicule, there is scarcely a bird whose peculiarities of song he can not imitate. When engaged in the blandishments of love, his aotes resemble the soft chatterings of a duck, and while he nestles among the thick branches of the cedar, are scarcely heard at a few paces distance ; but he no sooner discovers your approach, than he sets up a sudden and vehement outcry, flying off, and screaming with all his might, as if he called the whole feathered tribes of the neighbourhood to witness some outrageous usage he had received. When he hops undisturbed among the high branches of the oak and hickory, his notes become soft and musical ; but his calls of the female a stranger would readily mistake for the repeated screakings of an ungreased wheel barrow. All these he accompanies with various nods, jerks, and other gesticulations, for which the whole tribe of jays are remarkable. They are among the most useful agents in the economy of nature for disseminating forest trees, and other ruciferous and hard-seeded vegetables on which they feed. In their autumnal foraging they drop abundance of seed ; and they alone are capable, in a few years' time, of re planting all the cleared lands. The United States present to us specimens of a singular genus of birds, formed to subsist on the su perabundance of nocturn.al insects, and surprisingly fitted for their mode of life. Three species only of them are found within the United States ; the chuck- will's widow, the whippoorwill, and the nighthawk. The first of these is confined to those states lying south of Maryland ; the other two are found gene rally over the union. The chuckwill's widow and the whippoorwill, have received these singular names from the similarity of their call to these words. The nighthawk is a bird of strong and vigorous flight, and of large volume of wing. It often visits the city, darting and squeaking over the streets at a great height, diving perpendicularly with a hollow sound ; they are also seen sitting on chimney tops in some of the most busy parts of the city, occasionally uttering their common note. Their favourite time for flight is from two hours before sunset until dusk. At such times they seem all vivacity, darting about in the air in every direction, making frequent short sudden turnings, as if busily engaged in catching insects. Near the sea-shore, in the vicinity of extensive salt marshes, they are very numerous, skimming over the meadows, in the manner of swallows, until it is so dark that the eye can no longer follow them. The whippoorwill is a singular and very celebrated species, universally noted over the greater part of the Uniteti States for the loud reiterations of his favourite call in spring. The notes of this solitary bird, from the ideas which are naturally associated with them, seem like the voice of an old friend, and are listened to by almost all with great interest. At first they issue from some retired part of the woods, the glen, or mountain ; in a few evenings, perhaps, we hear them from the adjoining coppice, the garden fence, the road before the door, and even from the roof of the dwell ing-house, long after the family have retired to rest. He is now a regular acquaintance. Every morning ¥¦ 1^ i TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 121 and evening his shrill and rapid repetitions are heard from the adjoining woods, and when two or more are calling out at the same time, as is often the case in the pairing season, and at no great distance from ach other, the noise, mingling with the echoes from he mountains, is really surprising. Strangers, in parts of the country where thes6 birds are numerous, find it almost impossible for some time to sleep ; while to those long acquainted with them, the sound often serves as a lullaby. The American chimney-swallows, of a species peculiar to that continent, arrive in the spring, and disperse themselves over the whole country wherever there are vacant chinmeys in summer, sufficiently high and convenient for their accommodation. In no other situation are they observed at present to build. This circumstance naturally suggests the query. Where did these birds construct their nests before the arrival of Europeans in America, when there were no such places for their accommodation ? Probably in the same situations in which they still continue to build in the remote regions of the western forests, where European improvements of this kind are scarcely to be found, namely, in the hollow of a tree, which, in some cases, has the nearest resem blance to their present choice. One of the first set tlers in the state of Kentucky informs us, that he cut down a large hollow beech tree, which contained forty or fifty nests of the chimney-swallow, most of which, by the fall of the tree, or by the weather, were lying at the bottom of the hollow ; but sufficient frag ments remeiined adhering to the sides of the tree to enable him to number them. They appeared, he said, to be of many years' standing. The present site which they have chosen must, however, hold out many more advantages than the former, since we see that, in the whole thickly-settled parts of the United States, these birds have uniformly adopted this new convenience, not a single pair being observed to pre fer the woods. Security from birds of prey and other animals — from storms that frequently over throw the timber, and the numerous ready conve niences which these new situations afford, are doubt less some of the advantages. In towns it is matter of curiosity to observe that they frequently select the court-house chimney for their general place of rendez vous, as being usually more central, and less liable to interruption during the night. The summer resi dence of the purple martin is universally among the habitations of man ; who, having no interest in his destruction, and deriving considerable advantage, as well as amusement, from his company, is generally his friend and protector. Wherever he comes, he finds some hospitable retreat fitted up for his accom modation. Even the solitary Indian seems to have a particular respect for this bird. The Choctaws and Chickasaws cut off all the top branches from a sapling near their cabins, leaving the prongs a foot or two in length, on each of which they hang a gourd,, or calabash, properly hollowed out for their conve nience ; and on the banks of the Mississippi, the ne groes stick up long canes, with the same species of apartment fixed to their tops, in which the martins regularly breed. The barn swallow is of particu larly swift and incessant ffight, and Wilson gives us the following computation of the distance he may be supposed to traverse. " Let us suppose that this little bird flies, in his usual way, at the rate of one mile in a minute, which, from the many experiments I have made, I believe to be within the truth ; and that ha is so engaged for ten hours every day ; and further, that this active life is extended to ten years", (many of our small birds being known to live much longer, even in a state of domestication,) the amount of all these, allowing three hundred and sixty-five days to a year, would give us two million one hundred and ninety thousand miles ; upwards of eighty-seven times the circumference of the globe." Of the numerous family of flycatchers, the tyrant flycatcher, or king bird, is the principal. The name king as well as tyrant has been bestowed on this bird for its extraordinary behaviour, and the authority it assumes over all others, during the time of breeding. At that season his extreme affection for his mate, and for his nest and young, makes him suspicious of every bird that happens to pass near his residence, so that he attacks without discrimination every intruder ; all his turbulence, however, vanishes as soon as his young are able to shift for themselves ; and he is then as mild and peaceable as any other bird. But he has a worse habit than this ; one much more ob noxious to the husbandman, and often fatal to him self He loves not the honey, but the bees ; and, i»; is confessed, is frequently on the look-out for thesa little industrious insects. He plants himself on a post of the fence, or on a small tree in tbe garden, not far from the hives, and from thence sallies forth on them as they pass and repass, making great havoc among them. His shrill twitter, so near to the house, gives intimation to the farmer of what is going on, and the gun soon closes his career : yet, the death oJ every king bird is an actual loss to the farmer, by multiplying the numbers of destructive insects, and encouraging the depredations of crows, hawks, and eagles, who avoid as much as possible his immediate vicinity. The yellow-breasted chat, which belong? 122 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. to this tribe, has a singular habit of concealed vocife ration. When he has once taken up his residence in a favourite situation, which is almost always in close thickets of hazel, brambles, vines, and thick underwood, he becomes very jealous of his posses sions, and seems offended at the least intrusions ; scolding all passengers as soon as they come within view, in a great variety of odd and uncouth mono syllables, which it is difficult to describe, but which may be readily imitated, so as to deceive the bird himself, and draw him after you for half a quarter of a mile at a time. On these occasions, his responses are constant and rapid, strongly expressive of anger and anxiety ; and while the bird itself remains un seen, the voice shifts from place to place, among the bushes, as if it proceeded from a spirit. All his notes are uttered with great vehemence, in such different keys, and with such peculiar modulations of voice, as sometimes to seem at a considerable distance, and instantly as if just beside you ; now on this hand, now on that ; so that, from these manoeuvres of ven triloquism, you are utterly at a loss to ascertain from what particular spot or quarter they proceed. Among the many novelties which the discovery of this part of the western continent first brought into notice, we may reckon the mocking-bird, which is peculiar to the new world, and inhabits a very considerable extent of both North and South Ameri ca ; having been traced from the states of New Eng land to Brazil. The plumage of the mocking-bird, though none of the homeliest, has nothing gaudy or brilliant in it ; but his flgure is well proportioned, and even handsome. The ease, elegance, and rapi dity of his movements, the animation of his eye, and the intelligence he displays in listening and laying up lessons from almost every species of the feathered creation within his hearing, are pre-eminent. To these qualities may be added that of a voice full, strong, and musical, and capable of almost every modulation, from the clear mellow tones ofthe wood- thrush, to the savage scream of the bald eagle. In measure and accent, he faithfully follows his origi nals ; in force and sweetness of expression, he great ly improves upon them. In his native groves, mounted on the top of a tall bush, or half-grown tree, in the dawn of dewy morning, while the woods are already vocal with a multitude of warblers, his ad mirable song rises pre-eminent over every competi tor. The ear listens to his music alone, to which that of all the others seems a mere accompaniment. Neither is this strain altogether imitative. His own native notes, which are easily distinguishable by such as are well acquainted with those of our vari ous song-birds, are bold and full, and varied seem ingly beyond all limits. His expanded wings and tail, glistening with white, and the buoyant gayety of his action, arresting the eye, as his song most irresist ibly does the ear, he sweeps round with enthusiastic ecstasy, and mounts or descends as his song swells or dies away ; and, as Mr. Bartram has beautifully expressed it, " he bounds aloft with the celerity of an arrow, as if to recover or recall his very soul, expired in the last elevated strain." While thus exerting himself, a bystander destitute of sight would suppose that the whole feathered tribes had assem bled together, on a trial of skill, each striving to pro duce his utmost effect ; so perfect are his imitations. He many times deceives the sportsman, and sends him in search of birds that perhaps are not within miles of him, but whose notes he exactly imitates : even birds themselves are frequently imposed on by this admirable mimic, and are decoyed by the fancied calls of their mates, or dive, with precipitation, into the depth of thickets, at the scream of what they suppose to be the sparrow-hawk. The mocking bird loses little of the power and energy of his song by confinement. The only bird in the world worthy of being compared with him, is the European nightin gale. In his account of the cat-bird, a common and well known species, Wilson says, — "in passing through the woods in summer, I have sometimes amused my self with imitating the violent chirping or squeaking of young birds, in order to observe what different species were around me, — for such sounds, at such a season, in the woods, are no less alarming to the feathered tenants of the bushes, than the cry of fire or murder in the streets is to the inhabitants of a large and populous city. On such occasions of alarm and consternation, the cat-bird is the first to make his appearance, not singly, but sometimes half a dozen at a time, flying from different quarters to the spot. At this time, those who are disposed to play with his feelings may almost throw him into flts, his emotion and agitation are so great, at the distressful cries of what he supposes to be his suffering young. Other birds are variously affected ; but none show symptoms of such extreme suffering. He hurries backwards and forwards, with hanging wings and open mouth, calling out louder and faster, and actu ally screaming with distress, till he appears hoarse with his exertions. He attempts no offensive means ; but he bewails — he implores — in the most pathetic terms with which nature has supplied him, and with an agony of feeling which is truly affecting. Every feathered neighbour within hearing hastens to the TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. place, to learn the cause of the alarm, peeping about with looks of consternation and sympathy," The robins are so fond of gum-berries, that wherever there is one of these trees covered with fruit and flocks of robins in the neighbourhood, the sports man need only take his stand near it, load, take aim, and fire ; one flock succeeding another, with little interruption, almost the whole day. When berries fail, they disperse themselves over the fields, and along the fences, in search of worms and other in sects. Sometimes they disappear for a week or two, and return again in immense numbers ; the cities then pour out their sportsmen by scores, and the mark ets are plentifully supplied with them at a cheap rate. Among the numerous warblers . of the United States, we can only further mention the blue bird. - He is of pleasing manners and a sociable disposition. As one of the first messengers of spring, he bears his o-wn recommendation always along with him, and meets with a hearty welcome from every body. In his motions and general character, he has a great re semblance to the robin redbreast of Britain ; and, had he the brown olive of that bird, instead of his own blue, could scarcely be distinguished from him. Like him, he is known to almost every child ; and shows as much confidence in man by associating with him in summer, as the other by his familiarity in winter. Few farmers neglect to provide for him, in some suitable place, a snug little summer-house, ready fitted and rent free ; for which he more than repays them by the cheerfulness of his song, and the multitude of injurious insects which he daily de stroys. Several species of -wren are common. The house wren, a familiar bird, is marked by a strong antipathy to cats ; for, having frequent occasion to glean among the currant bushes, and other shrubs in the garden, those lurking enemies of the feathered race often prove fatal to him, " A box fixed up in the window of the room where I slept," says Wilson, " was taken possession of by a pair of wrens. Already the nest was built and two eggs laid, when one day, the win dow being open as well as the room-door, the female wren, venturing too far into the room to recoimoitre, was sprung upon by grimalkin, who had planted her self there for the purpose ; and, before relief could be given, she was destroyed. Curious to see how the survivor would demean himself, I watched him carefully for several days. At first he sang with great vivacity for an hour or so, but becoming un easy, went off for half an hour. On his return he chanted again as before, went to the top of the house, the stable and the weeping willow, that she might hear him ; but seeing no appearance of her, he re turned once more, visited the nest, ventured cautious ly into the window, gazed about with suspicious looks, his voice sinking to a low melancholy note as he stretched his little neck about in every direction. Returning to the box, he seemed for some minutes at a loss Avhat to do, and soon after went off, as I thought, altogether, for I saw him no more that day. To wards the afternoon of the second day he again made his appearance, accompanied with a new female, who seemed exceedingly timorous and shy, and who only after great hesitation entered the box ; at this moment the little widower or bridegroom seemed as if he would warble out his very life with ecstasy of joy. After remaining about half a minute in, they both flew off, but returned in a few minutes, and instantly began to carry out the eggs, feathers, and some of the sticks, supplying the place of the two latter with materials of the same sort ; and they ultimately suc ceeded in raising a brood of seven young, all of which escaped in safety." The brown creepers are distributed over the whole United States ; but are most numerous in the western and northern states, and particularly so in the depth of the forests, and in tracts of large-timbered woods, where they usually breed ; visiting the thicker-settled parts of the country in fall and winter. The white- breasted nuthatch is common almost everywhere in the woods of North America, and may be known at a distance by the notes quank, quank, frequently re peated as he moves upward and downward, in spiral circles, around the body and larger branches of the tree, probing behind the thin scaly bark of the white oak, and shelling off considerable pieces of it, in his search after spiders, ants, insects, and their larvae. The red-bellied black-capped nuthatch is particularly fond of the seeds of pine trees. You may traverse many thousand acres of oak, hickory, and chestnut woods, during winter, without meeting with a single individual ; but no sooner do you enter among the pines, than, if the air be still, you have only to listen for a few moments, and their note will direct you where to flnd them. The brown-headed nuthatch is chiefly an inhabitant of Virginia and the southern states, and seems particularly fond of pine trees. The humming-bird is migratory through the whole of the United States, excepting Florida. As it passes on to the northward as far as the interior of Canada, where it is seen in great numbers, wonder is excited how so feebly constructed and delicate a little cr .ma ture can make its way over such extensive regions of lakes and forests, among so many enemies, all its superiors in strength and magnitude ; but its very 124 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, minuteness, the rapidity of its flight, which almost eludes the eye, and that admirable instinct, reason, or whatever else it may be called, and daring courage, which heaven has implanted in its bosom, are its pro tectors. The humming-bird is extremely fond of tubular flowers. When arrived before a thicket of trumpet-flowers that are full-blown, he poises, or sus pends himself on wing, for the space of two or three seconds, so steadily, that his wings become invisible, or only like a mist, and you can plainly distinguish the pupil of his eye looking round with great quick ness and circumspection ; the glossy golden green of his back and the fire of his throat, glistening in the sun, forms altogether a most interesting appear ance. When he alights, which is frequently, he al ways prefers the small dead twigs of a tree or bush, where he dresses and arranges his plumage with great dexterity. His only note is a single chirp, not louder than that of a small cricket or grasshopper, generally uttered while passing from flower to flower, or when engaged in fights with his fellows : for, when two males meet at the same bush or flower, a battle in stantly takes place ; and the combatants ascend in the air, chirping, darting, and circling round each other, till the eye is no longer able to follow them. The conqueror, however, generally returns to the place, to reap the fruits of his victory. He is one of those few birds that are universally beloved ; and, amidst the sweet dewy serenity of a summer's morn ing, his appearance among the arbours of honey suckles, and beds of flowers, is truly interesting. The tanagers are gaudy birds, who annually visit the republic from the torrid regions of the south. The scarlet tanager is, perhaps, the most showy. He spreads himself over the United States, and is found even in Canada. He rarely approaches the habitations of man, unless, perhaps, in the orchard, where he sometimes builds ; or in the cherry trees, in search of fruit : the depth of the woods is his favourite abode. Among all the birds that inhabit our woods, there is none that strikes the eye of a stranger, or even a native, with so much brilliancy as this. Seen among the green leaves, with the light falling strongly on his plumage, he really ap pears beautiful. Another species, the summer red- bird, delights in a flat sandy country, covered with wood and interspersed with pine trees ; and is, con sequently, more numerous towards the shores of the Atlantic than in the interior. In both Carolinas, and in Georgia and Florida, they are in great plenty. Among the numerous birds of the finch family we briefly notice a few. The indigo-bird is another of the rich-plumaged tribes, which migrate from the south. It is numerous in all the settled parts of the middle and eastern states ; in the Carolinas and Georgia it is also abundant. Its favourite haunts are about gardens, fields of deep clover, the borders of woods, and roadsides, where it is frequently seen perched on the fences. In its manners, it is extremely active and neat, and a vigorous and pretty good song ster. In some lights, his plumage appears of a rich sky blue, and in others of a vivid verdigris green ; so that the same bird, in passing from one place to another before your eyes, seems to undergo a total change of colour. The painted bunting is one of the most numerous of the little summer birds of Lower Louisiana, where it is universally known among the French inhabitants, and called by them " le pape," and by the Americans " the nonpareil." Its gay dress and docility of manners have procured it many admirers. The low countries of the south ern states, in the vicinity of the sea, and along the borders of the large rivers, particularly among the rice plantations, are the favourite haunts of this ele gant little bird. It is very commonly domesticated in the houses of the French inhabitants of New Orleans, appearing to be the most common cage bird they have. The negroes often bring them to market for sale. The cardinal grosbeak is one of the most common cage birds, and is very generally known, not only in North America, but even in Europe, numbers of them having been carried over both to France and England, in which last country they are usually called " Virginia nightingales." To this name Dr. Latham observes they are fully entitled, from the clearness and variety of their notes, which, both in a wild and domestic state, are very various and musical ; many of them resemble the high notes of a fife, and are nearly as loud. The sprightly figure and gaudy plumage of the red-bird, his vivaci ty, strength of voice, and actual variety of note, and the little expense with which he is kept, will always make him a favourite. This species, like the mock ing-bird, is more numerous to the east of the great range of the Apalachian mountains, and is found from New England to Carthagena. Through the lower parts of the southern states, in the neighbour hood of settlements, they are numerous ; their clear and lively notes, in the months of January and Feb ruary, being almost the only music of the season. Along the roadsides and fences they are found hover ing in half dozens together, associated with snow birds, and various Idnds of sparrows. The crossbill is a regular inhabitant of almost all the pine forests situated north of 40°, from the beginning of Septem ber to the middle of April. TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, 12.- Respecting the melody of the transatlantic birds generally, Wilson makes the following observations : ' The opinion which so generally prevails in Eng land, that the music of the groves and woods of America is far inferior to that of Europe, I, who have a thousand times listened to both, can not ad mit to be correct. We can not with fairness draw a comparison between the depth of the forest in America, and the cultivated fields of England ; be cause it is a well known fact, that singing birds sel dom frequent the former in any country. But let the latter places be compared -with the like situations in the United States, and the superiority of song, I am fully persuaded, would justly belong to the west ern continent. The few of our song-birds that have visited Europe extort admiration from the best judges. ' The notes of the cardinal grosbeak,' says Latham, ' are almost equal to those of the nightingale.' Yet these notes, clear and excellent as they are, are far inferior to those of the wood thrush ; and even to those of the brown thrush, or thrasher. Our inimi table mocking-bird is also acknowledged, by them selves, to be fully equal to the song of the nightin gale in its whole compass. Yet these are not one tenth of the number of our singing birds. Could these people be transported to the borders of our woods and settlements in the month of May, about half an hour before sunrise, such a ravishing con cert would greet their ear as they have no concep tion of." The American crossbill is a regular inhabitant of almost all the pine forests situated north of 40°, from the beginning of September till the middle of April. They then appear in large flocks, feeding on the seeds of the hemlock and white pine, have a loud, sharp, and not unmusical note, chatter as they fly, alight, during the prevalence of deep snows, before the door of the hunter, and around the house, pick ing off the clay with which the logs are plastered, and searching in corners where any substance of a saline quality has been thrown. At such times they are so tame as only to settle on the roof of the cabin when disturbed, and in a moment afterwards descend to feed as before. They are then easily caught in traps, and will frequently permit a person to approach so near as to knock them down with a stick. On first glancing at the bill of this extraordinary bird, one is apt to pronounce it deformed and monstrous ; but on attentively observing the use to which it is applied by the owner, and the dexterity with which he detaches the seeds of the pine tree from the cone and from the husks that enclose them, we are obliged to confess on this, as on many other occasions where Vol. il— Nos, 47 &. 48. Q, -we have judged too hastily of the operations of na ture, that no other conformation could have been se excellently adapted to the purpose. The turtle dove is a general inhabitant, in summer, of the United States, from Canada to Florida, and from tho sea-coast to the Mississippi, and far to the westward. This is a favourite bird with ail those who love to wander among the woods in spring, and listen to their varied harmony. They there hear many a singular and sprightly performer ; but none so mournful as this. The hopeless wo of settled sor row sv/elling the heart of female innocence itself, could not assume tones more sad, or more tender and affecting. Its notes are four: the first is somewhat the highest and preparatory, seeming to be uttered with an inspiration of the breath, as if the afflicted creature was just recovering its voice from the last convulsive sobs of distress ; this is followed by three long, deep, and mournful meanings, which no person of sensibility can listen to without sympathy. There is, however, nothing of real distress in all this. The bird who utters it wantons by the side of his beloved partner, or invites her by his call to some favourite, retired, and shady retreat. It is the voice of love, of faithful connubial affection, for which the whole family of doves are so celebrated ; and, among them all, none more deservedly so than the species now before us. — The wild pigeon of the United States in habits a wide and extensive region on this side of the Chippewayan Mountains. The most remarkable characteristic of these birds is their associating to gether, both in their migrations and during the period of incubation, in such prodigious numbers as almost to surpass belief, and certainly to have no parallel among any other of the feathered tribes on the face of the earth, with which naturalists are acquainted. Their roosting-places are always in the woods, and sometimes occupy a large extent of forest. When they have frequented one of these places for some time, the ground is covered to the depth of several inches with their dung ; all the tender grass and underwood is destroyed ; the surface is strewed with large limbs of trees, broken down by the weight of the birds clustering one above another ; and the trees themselves, for thousands of acres, killed as complete ly as if girdled with an axe. The marks of this desolation remain for many years on the spot ; and numerous places could be pointed out, where, for several years afterwards, scarcely a single vegetable made its appearance. When these roosts are first discovered, the inhabitants from considerable distances visit them in the night, with guns, clubs, long poles, pots of sulphur, and various other engines of destruc- 126 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. tion ; and in a few hours they fill many sacks, and load their horses with the birds. The breeding- places are of greater extent than the woods. In the western countries they are generally in beech woods, and often extend nearly in a straight line across the country for a great way. Not far from Shelbyville, in the state of Kentucky, about five years ago, there was one of these breeding-places, which was several miles in breadth, and upwards of forty miles in length. In this tract, almost every tree was furnished with nests, wherever the branches could accommodate them. The pigeons made their first appearance there about the 10th of April, and left it altogether, with their young, before the 25th of May. As soon as the young were fully grown, and before thdy left the nests, nu merous parties of the inhabitants, from all parts of the adjacent country, came with wagons, axes, beds, cooking-utensils, many of them accompanied by the greater part of their families, and encamped for seve ral days at this immense nursery. " Several of them informed me," says Wilson, " that the noise in the woods was so great as to terrify their horses ; and. that it was difficult for one person to hear another speak, without bawling in his ear. The ground was strewed with broken limbs of trees, eggs, and young squab pigeons, which had been precipitated from above, and on which herds of hogs were fattening. Hawks, buzzards, and eagles, were sailing about in great numbers, and seizing the squabs from their nests at pleasure ; while, from twenty feet upwards to the tops of the trees, the view through the woods presented a perpetual tumult of crowding and flut tering multitudes of pigeons, their wings roaring like thunder, mingled with the frequent crash of falling timber ; for now the axe-men were at work, cutting down those trees that seemed to be most crowded with nests, and they contrived to fell them in such a man ner, that, in their descent, they might bring down se veral others ; by which means the falling of one large tree sometimes produced two hundred squabs, little inferior in size to the old ones, and almost one mass of fat. It was dangerous to walk under these flying and fluttering millions, from the frequent fall of large branches, which were broken by the weight of the multitudes above, and which in their descent often destroyed numbers of the birds themselves ; while the clothes of those engaged in traversing the woods were completely covered with the excrements of the pi geons." In his remarks on the Columba Migratoria, or pas senger pigeon, the late Governor Clinton of New York embraces some observations of singular inte rest to the inquirer in natural history. " It is a bird," says he, " peculiar to North America. It ex tends its migrations from Hudson's Bay to the Gulf of Mexico, and it occupies occasionally that \ast re gion which reaches from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Rocky Mountains. Its change of residence is not owing to the influence of heat or cold, of rain or drought, but is made with a view to the acquisition of food. The vast flocks in which this bird congre gates, are unequalled as to extent. La Hontan says that the bishop of Canada has been forced to exorcise them oftener than once, on account of the damage they do to the products of the earth. Weld, an Eng lish traveller, speaks of a flock eighty miles long fly ing over Lake Ontario ; and Wilson the great orni thologist, estimates one seen in Kentucky two hundred and forty miles long, a mile broad, and . containing two thousand two hundred and thirty millions, and two hundred and seventy-two thousand pigeons, which would consume, on a moderate allowance, se venteen millions four hundred and twenty-four thou sand bushels of mast a day. " The gregarious habits and vast flocks of this bird will of course occasion a correspondent consump tion of food ; and it is therefore compelled to be con stantly erratic, and to be among the feathered race what the nomades are among mankind. The rapidi ty of its flight is superior to that of the carrier pigeon, which has been known to pass from St. Edmundsbury to London in two hours and a half. At this rate, the passenger pigeon can travel seven hundred miles in twenty-four hours ; and at the rate of a mile a minute, the same distance in less than twelve hours ; and this velocity may account for undigested rice being found in its craw six hundred miles from the rice fields : but as this has been observed in the spring of the year, it must have been derived in that case from the gleanings of a former season, or procured at a greater distance, or confounded with the zizania aquatica of the western waters. The favourite food of this bird is the beech nut, and it prefers to establish its roosting quarters and its breeding place within the reach of this aliment. It also subsists on the acorn, chestnut, wild cherry, seeds of the red maple, and of some weeds, poke, and other kinds of berry, buck wheat, and the principal cerealia. It resorts to the sea-shore and the salines of the west for salt, and it is frequently seen at the mineral springs of Saratoga enjoying the luxury of the waters. " This bird is in much request as an article of food : and in the spring it arrives at an opportune period for our markets, during a scarcity of domestic poultry, and in the interval after the consumption of most of the old stock, and before tl» >, maturity of the TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES, 127 new brood. In the hard winter, as it is commonly called, of 1741, the weather was intensely cold from the middle of November to the latter end of March. The snow was six feet deep. The Hudson river was passed qu ice at the city of New York. The cattle perished ; and the deer were starved for want of food. The prices of food and fuel were exorbi tant, and the sufferings of the poor were severe. In this crisis, and five or six weeks earlier than the time of their usual appearance, flights of wild pigeons ap peared in greater numbers than were ever before known, and which, by the abundance of the food thus afforded, greatly relieved the prevalent distress. This at the time was attributed to a special interposition of providence, under a supposition that this bird is in capable of resisting severe cold ; and this is now the general impression, which shows that its nature is not well understood. It has been seen at Hudson's Bay in the month of December, and large flocks were observed in Albany and the north-western parts of this state in January and February, 1819. " There are other errors with respect to this bird. It is generally believed, that it will not breed in cap tivity, and that it is incapable of domestication. And our distinguished ornithologist, Wilson, has unhesi tatingly asserted, that it only has one squab or young at a time. " If this latter position were true, it would furnish an anomaly in ornithology. All birds of the Columba genus, have heretofore been supposed to produce by pairing, and to have two young at a time, generally a male and female. The male pigeon participates in the labours, of nidification and incubation, supplies the female with food when on the nest, and assists in feeding the young. But where polygamy prevails among birds, the whole labour devolves on the mother. The domestic or exotic pigeon lays two eggs at a time ; and our only indigenous birds of the Columba genus, (besides the passenger pigeon,) the turtle dove and the ground dove, do the same. Why then should the passenger pigeon be an exception ? The male assists in building the nest, and occasionally relieves the female in incubation ; and it is remarked, that in the breeding season, the two sexes are never seen to gether. This is owing to their divided labours : for the male makes up for the greater devotedness of the female to incubation, by occasionally supplying her and the young with food. We then can see no rea son for so strange a departure from the general rule, attributed by Wilson to the passenger pigeon in the extent of its production ; and when we further con sider the prodigious flocks of this bird, transcending all other collections of birds, we cannot easily acqui esce in his opinion, especially as he admits that it only produces three or four times in a year. But there is no reasoning down facts, and this is a ques tion of fact. On diligent inquiry, I am satisfied that Wilson has been misled by inaccurate information."* The quail, or partridge, is a general inhabitant of North America. Where they are not too much per secuted by the sportsmen, they become almost half domesticated ; they approach the barn, particularly in winter, and sometimes, in that severe season, mix with the poultry to glean up a subsistence. What is commonly called the pheasant in Pennsylvania and the southern districts, is the ruffed grouse. Its fa vourite places of resort are high mountains, covered with the balsam pine, hemlock, and similar evergreens. Unlike the pinnated grouse, it always prefers the woods ; is seldom or never found in open plains, but loves the pine-sheltered declivities of mountains near streams of water. The pinnated grouse avoid wet and swampy places, and are remarkably attached to dry ground ; the low and open brush is preferred to high shrubbery and thickets. Into these latter places they fly for refuge when closely pressed by the hunt ers ; and here, under a stiff and impenetrable cover, they escape the pursuit of dogs and men. During the time of mating, and while the females are occu pied in incubation, the males have a practice of as sembling by themselves. To some select and central spot, where there is very little underwood, they repair from the adjoining district ; and from the exercises performed there, this is called a scratching-place. As soon as the light appears the company assembles, sometimes to the number of forty or flfty. When the dawn is past, the ceremony begins by a low tooting from one of the cocks ; this is answered by another , and they then come forth one by one from the bushes, and strut about with all the pride and ostentation they can display. Their necks are incurvated ; the feathers on them are erected into a sort of ruff; the plumes of their tails are expanded like fans ; and they strut about in a style resembling, as nearly as small may be illustrated by great, the pomp of the turkey cock ; they seem to vie with each other in stateliness ; and, as they pass each other, frequently cast looks of insult, and utter notes of defiance. These are the signals for battles, in which they engage with won derful spirit and fierceness, and during which they leap a foot or two from the ground, and utter a cack ling, screaming, and discordant cry. After the ap pearance of the sun, they disperse. These places of exhibition have been often discovered by the hunters, - Letter to J. 'W. Francis ; New York Medical and Physical Journal, vol. ii. 1823. 128 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, who have freely availed themselves of the facilities thus afforded for the destruction of the birds ; and die grouse, after having been repeatedly disturbed, are afraid to assemble. Several new species of grouse have recently been discovered by Mr. Douglas, among the Chippewayan Mountains : the finest bird of this species, however, is described by Charles Lucien Bo naparte, under the name of the cock of the plains. It must have formed, from the earliest periods, a prin cipal ornament of the distant wilds of the west : hard ly inferior to the turkey in size, beauty, and useful ness, this bird is entitled to the first place in the series of North American grouse, with a pre-eminence like that which the cock of the woods so justly claims among those of Europe and Asia. The native country of the wild turkey extends from the north-western territory of the United States to the Isthmus of Panama, In Canada, and the now densely-peopled parts of the United States, they were formerly very abundant ; but, like the Indian and the buffalo, they have been compelled to yield to the destructive ingenuity of the white settlers, often wantonly exercised, and to seek refuge in the re motest parts of the interior. On hearing the slight est noise, they conceal themselves in the grass, or among shrubs, and thus frequently escape the hun ter, or the sharp-sighted birds of prey ; and the sportsman is unable to find them during the day, un less he has a dog trained for the purpose. When only wounded, they quickly disappear, and, accele rating their motion by a sort of half flight, run with so much speed that the swiftest hunter cannot over take them. The traveller driving rapidly down the declivity of one of the Alleganies, may sometimes see several of them before him, evincing no urgent de sire to get out of the road ; but on alighting in hopes of shooting them, he soon finds that all pursuit is vain.* The wading birds of the United States, as might be expected from the great extent of its various waters, are of great multitude and variety. The kildeer plover, so called from its note, is a restless and noisy bird, known to almost every inhabitant of the republic, being a common and pretty constant resident. During the severity of winter, when snow covers the ground, it retreats to the sea-shore, where it is found at all seasons ; but no sooner have the rivers broken up, than its shrill note is again heard, either roaming about high in air, tracing the shore of the river, or running amidst the watery flats and meadows ; as spring advances, it resorts to the newly ploughed fields, or level plains bare of grass, inter- * Bonaparte's Continuation of "Wilson's Ornithology. spersed with shallow pools ; or, in the vicinity of the sea, to dry, bare, sandy fields. The oyster-catcher frequents the sandy sea-beach of New Jersey and other parts of the Atlantic coast, in summer, in small parties of two or three pairs together. . They walk along the shore in a watchful, stately manner, at times probing it with their long wedge-like bills, in search of small shell fish. It is the only one of its genus hitherto discovered, and a fanciful observe! might imagine, that it had borrowed the eye of the pheasant, the legs and feet of the bustard, and the bill ofthe woodpecker. The whooping crane is the tallest and most stately species of all the feathered tribes of the United States ; the watchful inhabitant of extensive salt marshes, desolate swamps, and open morasses in the neigh bourhood of the sea. They wander along the marshy and muddy flats of the sea-shore in search of marine worms, sailing occasionally from place to place, with a low and heavy ffight, a little above the surface ; and they have at such times a very formidable ap pearance. At times they utter a loud, clear, and piercing cry, which may be heard at the distance of two miles ; they have also various modulations of this singular note, from the peculiarity of which they derive their name. This bird is nearly five feet in height, and four feet six inches in length. The great heron is a constant inhabitant of the Atlantic coast, from New York to Florida ; in deep snows and severe weather seeking the open springs of the cedar and cypress swamps, and the muddy inlets occasionally covered by the tides. On the higher inland parts of the country, beyond the mountains, they are less numerous ; and one which was shot in the upper parts of New Hampshire, was considered as a great curiosity. The snowy heron is seen at all times during summer among the salt marshes, watching ajid searching for food, or passing, some times in flocks, from one part of the coast to another. They often make excursions up the rivers and inlets, but return regularly in the evening to the red cedars on the beach, to roost. The American bittern is a nocturnal species, common to all the sea and river marshes, though nowhere numerous : it rests all day among the reeds and rushes, and, unless disturbed, flies and feeds only during the night. In some places it is called the Indian hen ; on the sea- coast of New Jersey, it is known by the name of dunkadoo, a word probably imitative of its common note. They are also found in the interior. It utters at times a hollow guttural note among the reeds, but has nothing of that loud booming sohnd for which the European bittern is remarkable. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 129 The United States present several species of the ibis, the curlew, and the sandpiper. One of the most common strand birds is the purre. It is extremely active and expert in running and searching among the sand on the reflux of the waves, as it nimbly darts about for food. These birds, in conjunction with several others, sometimes collect together in such flocks, as to seem, at a distance, a large cloud of thick smoke, varying in form and appearance every instant, whije it performs its evolutions in the air : as this cloud descends and courses along the shores of the ocean with great rapidity, in a kind of waving serpentine flight, alternately throwing its dark and white plumage to the eye, it forms a very grand and interesting appearance. At such times the sportsman makes prodigious slaughter among them ; while, as the showers of their companions fall, the whole body often alight, or descend to the surface with them, till he is completely satiated with destruction. The semipalmated snipe is one of the most noisy and noted birds that inhabit the salt mar shes in summer. Its common name is the willet, by which appellation it is universally known along the shores of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, in all of which places it breeds in great numbers. It is peculiar to America. It arrives from the south on the shores of the Middle States about the 20th of April, or beginning of May ; and, from that time to the last of July, its loud and shrill reiterations o£ pill-will-willet, pill-will-willet, resound almost incessantly along the marshes, and may be distinctly heard at the distance of more than half a mile. The Americ^an woodcock is universally known to the sportsman ; but from the nature of the ground where they are to be sought, viz. deep mire intersect ed with old logs, which are covered and hid from sight by high reeds, weeds, and alder bushes, both men and dogs are soon tired out. The clapper-rail is a very numerous and well- known species, inhabiting the whole Atlantic coast from New England to Florida. It is called by dif ferent names, such as the mud-hen, clapper-rail, meadow-clapper, big-rail, (fee. Its principal resi dence is in the salt marshes. None of the species afford the American sportsmen greater entertainment, or a more delicate repast, than the Carolina rail. Early in August, when the reeds along the shores of the Delaware have attained their full growth, the rail resort to them in great numbers to feed on the seeds of this plmt, of which they are immoderately fond. When the reeds are ripening, and even while they are in blossom, the rail are found to have taken pos- eession of them in great numbers. As you walk along the embankment of the river at this season, you hear them squeaking in every direction like young puppies ; if a stone be thrown among the reeds, there is a general outcry, and a reiterated kuk, kuk, kuk, something like that of a guinea-fowl. In the mean time none are to be seen, unless it be at oi near high water ; for, when the tide is low, they universally secrete themselves among the interstices of the reeds, and you may walk past, and even over them, where there are hundreds, without seeing a single individual. On their first arrival, they are generally lean, and unfit for the table ; but, as the reeds ripen, they rapidly fatten, and from the 20th of September to the middle of October they are ex cellent, and eagerly sought after. The usual method of shooting them in this quarter ofthe country is as follows: — The sportsman furnishes himself with a light boat, and a stout experienced boatman, with a pole of twelve or fifteen feet long, thickened at the lower end to prevent it from sinking too deep into the mud. About two hours or so before high water, they enter the reeds, and each takes his post, the sportsman standing in the bow ready for action, the boatman on the stern seat pushing her steadily through the reeds. The rail generally spring singly as the boat advances, and at a short distance ahead are instantly shot down, while the boatman, keeping his eye on the spot where the bird fell, directs the boat forward, and picks it up as the sportsman is loading. In this manner the boat moves steadily through and over the reeds, the birds flushing and falling, the sportsman loading and firing, while the boatman is pushing and picking up ; and the sport continues till an hour or two after high water, when the shallowness of the water, and the strength and weight of the floating reeds, as also the backwardness of the game to spring as the tide decreases, oblige them to return. — The red fla mingo is occasionally seen in Florida ; and the roseate spoonbill inhabits the coast as high as Geor gia. The latter bird has been found as far up the Mississippi as Natchez. The black-skimmer, or sheerwater, is a truly sin gular fowl, the only species of its tribe hitherto dis covered. It inhabits the whole Atlantic coast, du ring the summer, and retires early in September. Its favourite haunts are low sand bars, raised above the reach of the summer tides, and dry flat sands on the beach in front of the ocean. The sheerwater is formed for skimming while on wing the surface of the sea for its food, which consists of small flsh, shrimps, young fry, (fee. whose usual haunts are near the shore, and towards the surface. That the lower 130 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES, mandible, when dipped into and cleaving the water, might not retard the bird's way, it is thinned and sharpened like the blade of a knife ; the upper man dible being at such times elevated above the water, is curtailed in its length, as being not wanted, but it tapers gradually to a point, so* that, on shutting, it offers little opposition. To prevent inconvenience from the rushing of the water, the mouth is confined to the mere opening of the gullet, which, indeed, prevents mastication taking place there ; but the fitomach, or gizzard, to which this business is solely allotted, is of uncommon hardness, strength, and muscularity, far surpassing in these respects any other water bird yet known. To these peculiarities is added a vast expansion of wing, to enable the bird to sail with sufficient celerity while dipping in the w-ater. The general proportion of the length of the swiftest hawks and swallows to their breadth, is as one to two ; but, in the present case, as there is not only the resistance of the air, but also that of the water, to overcome, a still greater volume of wing is given, the sheerwater measuring nineteen inches in length, and upwards of forty-four in breadth. The bill of this bird and his way of life have by some authors been depreciated ; but whoever attentively examines this curious apparatus, and observes the possessor, with his ample wings, long bending neck, and lower mandible occasionally dipt into and plough ing the surface, and the facility with which he pro cures his food, cannot but consider it a mere playful amusement, when compared with the dashing im mersions of the tern, the gull, or the fish-hawk, who, to a superficial observer, appear so much better accommodated. The laughing gull, known in Ame rica by the name of the black-headed gull, is one of the most beautiful and most sociable of its genus. They make their appearance on the coast of New Jersey in the latter part of April ; and do not fail to give notice of their arrival by their familiarity and loquacity. The inhabitants treat them with the same indifference that they manifest towards all those harmless birds which do not minister either to their appetite or their avarice ; and hence the black-heads may be seen in companies around the farm-house, coursing along the river shores, gleaning up the re fuse ofthe fishermen and the animal substances left by the tide ; or scattered over the marshes and newly- ploughed fields, regaling on the worms, insects, and their larvas, which, in the vernal season, the bounty of nature provides for the sustenance of myriads of the feathered race. The Canada goose is the common wild goose ofthe United States, whose migrations are the sure signals of returning spring or winter. In their aerial voya ges to and from the north, these -winged pilgrims pass over the interior on both sides of the mountains, as far west, at least, as the Osage river. Wounded ^ geese have, in numerous instances, been completely domesticated, and they readily pair with the tame gray' geese ; the offspring are said to be larger than either, but the characteristic marks of the -wild goose still predominate. The sportsmen on the sea-shore have long been in the practice of taming the wounded of both sexes, and have sometimes succeeded in getting them to pair and produce. On the approach of every spring, however, these birds discover symptoms of great uneasiness, frequently looking up into the air, and attempting to go off; and some whose wings have been closely cut, have travelled on foot in a northern direction, and have been found at the dis tance of several miles from home. They hail every flock that passes overhead, and the salute is sure to be returned by the voyagers, who are prevented from alighting among them only by the presence and ha bitations of man. Our readers will be entertained with the following surprising but well-authenticated narrative : — " Mr. Platt, a respectable farmer on Long Island, being out shooting in one of the bays which, in that part of the country, abound with water-fowl, wounded a wild goose. Being wing-tipped, and un able to fly, he caught it, and brought it home alive. It proved to be a female ; and, turning it into his yard with a flock of tame geese, it soon became quite tame and familiar, and in a little time its wounded wing entirely healed. In the following spring, when the wild geese migrated to the northward, a flock passed over Mr. Piatt's barn-yard ; and, just at that moment, their leader happening to sound his bugle note, our goose, in whom its new habits and enjoyments had not quite extinguished the love of liberty, re membering the well-known sound, spread its wings, mounted into the air, joined the travellers, and soon disappeared. In the succeeding autumn, the wild geese, as was usual, returned from the northward in great numbers, to pass the winter in our bays and rivers. Mr. Platt happened to be standing in his yard when a flock passed directly over his barn. At- that instant, he observed three geese detach them selves from the rest, and, after wheeling round several times, alight in the middle of the yard. Imagine his surprise and pleasure, when, by certain well-remem bered signs, he recognised in one of the three his long-lost fugitive. It was she indeed ! She had travelled many hundred miles to the lakes ; had there hatched and reared her offspring ; and had now re- TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 131 turned with her little family, to share with them the sweets of civilized life."* The mallard, or the common wild duck, is found in every fresh-water lake and river of the United States in winter, but seldom frequents the sea-shores or salt marshes. This bird is numerous in the rice- fields of the southern states during winter, many of the fields heing covered with a few inches of water ; and, the scattered grains of the former harvest lying in abundance, the ducks swim about and feed at pleasure. This is the original stock of the common domesticated duck, reclaimed time immemorial from a state of nature, and now become so serviceable to man. In many individuals, the general garb of the tame drake seems to have undergone little or no al teration ; but the stamp of slavery is strongly imprinted - in his dull indifferent eye and grovelling gait, while the lofty look, long tapering neck, and sprightly action of the free bird, bespeak his native spirit and inde pendence. The canvass-back duck, a celebrated American species, altogether unknown in Europe, arrives in the United States from the north about the middle of October, A few resort to the Hudson and Delaware, but the great body of these birds descend to the nu merous rivers in the neighbourhood of the Chesa peake, particularly the Susquehannah, the Patapsco, Potomac, and James rivers, which appear to be their general winter rendezvous. They are chiefly found in that particular part of tide water where a certain grass-like plant grows, on the roots of which they feed. They swim with great speed and agility, and sometimes assemble in such multitudes as to cover several acres of the river ; when they rise suddenly, they produce a noise resembling thunder. They float about the shoals, diving and tearing up the grass by the root, which is the only part they eat. They are extremely shy, and can rarely be approached, unless by stratagem ; and when wounded in the wing, they dive to such prodigious distances, and with such rapidity, continuing it so perseveringly, and with such cunning and vigour, as almost always to render the pursuit hopeless. From the great demand for these ducks, and the high price they uniformly bring in market, various artiflces are practised to get within gunshot of them. The canvass-back, in the rich juicy tenderness of its flesh, and its delicacy of fla vour, stands unrivalled by the whole of its tribe in this, or perhaps in any other quarter of the world ; and those killed in the waters of the Chesapeake are generally esteemed superior to all others, doubtless -Wilson's Ornithology. from the great abundance of their favourite food which these rivers produce. At public dinners, ho tels, and particular entertainments, the canvass-backs are universal favourites. The widgeon is the constant attendant of the can vass-back duck, by the aid of whose labour he has ingenuity enough to make a good subsistence. This bird is extremely fond of the tender roots of that aquatic plant on which the canvass-back feeds, and for which that duck is in the constant habit of di ving. The widgeon, who never dives, watches the moment of the canvass-back's rising, and, before he has his eyes well opened, snatches the delicious morsel from his mouth, and escapes. On this account the canvass-backs and widgeons, or, as they are called round the bay, bald-pates, live in a state of perpetual contention ; the only chance the latter have is to re treat, and make their approaches at convenient op portunities. The goosander, called by some the water-pheasant, and by others the sheldrake, flsher- man, diver, (fee. is a winter inhabitant only of the sea-shores, fr^sh-water lakes, and rivers of the United States. They usually associate in small parties of six or eight, and are almost continually diving in search of food. Several species of merganser are common. The snake bird is an inhabitant of the Carolinas, Georgia, the Floridas, and Louisiana. It seems to have derived its name from the singular form of its head and neck, which at a distance might be mistaken for a serpent. Its habits too, while in the water, have not a little contributed to its name. It generally swims with its body immersed, especially when apprehensive of danger, with its long neck ex tended above the surface, and vibrating in a peculiar manner. " The first individual that I saw in Florida," says Wilson, " was sneaking away to avoid me, along the shore of a reedy marsh which was lined with alligators, and the first impression on my mind was that I beheld a snake ; but the recollection of the habits of the bird soon undeceived me. On approach ing it, it gradually sank, and my next view of it was at many fathoms' distance, its head merely out of the water." To pursue these birds at such times is useless, as they cannot be induced to rise, or even to expose their bodies. Wherever the limbs of a tree project over and dip into the water, there the snake birds are sure to be found ; these situations being convenient resting-places for the purpose ol sunning and preening themselves, and probably giving them a better opportunity than when swim ming, of observing their finny prey. They crawl from the water upon the tree, and fix themselves in an upright position, which they maintain in the ut- 132 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. most silence ; and if there be foliage or long moss, they secrete themselves in it in such a manner that they cannot be perceived, unless one be close to them. When approached, they drop into the water with such surprising skill, that one is astonished how so large a body can plunge with so little noise, the agitation of the water being apparently not greater than that occasioned by the gliding of an eel. — The noise of the countless flocks of migratory water-fowl, as they journey through the air in the spring to the sources of the great rivers and lakes, and in autumn to the gulf of Mexico, is one of the most familiar sounds to the ear of an inhabitant of the west, and is one of his strongest and pleasantest associations with spring and autumn. The noise of migrating geese and ducks, at those periods, is also familiar to the ear of an Atlantic inhabitant ; that of the swans, pelicans, and cranes, is peculiar to the central valley. The swan is well known for its stateliness and brilliant white. Its migrating phalanxes are in perfectly re gular forms, as are those of the geese ; and they sometimes join forces, and fly intermixed with each other. Their noise on the wing is like the distant sound of a trumpet. They are killed on the rice- lakes at the north in the summer, and in the gulf and its neighbouring waters in the winter ; the younger ones are as flne for the table as geese. Mr. Flint makes the following observation respect ing the birds of the Mississippi valley, as compared with those of the Atlantic regions : — " This valley, embracing all the varieties of climate of the country east of the mountains, might be supposed to have the same birds, and those birds the same habits. The former is true, and the latter is not. We have noted no birds in the Atlantic country that we have not seen here ; we have many that are not seen there ; and those that are common to both regions have not the same habits here as there. We have no doubt, that cultivation and the presence of civilized man affect the habits, and even the resi dence, of birds. There are many in the more popu lous and cultivated regions beyond the mountains, that seem to belong to orchards and gardens, and that appear to exult and be at home only in the midst of fruit arbours, and groves reared by art and lux ury. It is remarked in the more populous and cul tivated districts of the west, that, in proportion as the wilderness disappears, and is replaced by apple, pear, peach, and plum trees, and fruit gardens, the birds which cheered the infancy of the immigrants, and whose notes are associated in recollection with the charms of youthful existence, and the tender remembrances of the natal spot, and a distant and forsaken country, are found among the recent or chards. Every immigrant, especially, who was reared in New England, remembers the magpie, the bird of half-formed leaves, of planting, and the freshness of spring ; and he remembers to have heard them chattering in the woods, almost to tiresomeness. They are occasionally seen in the middle and nor thern regions of this valley ; but they a:e seldom heard to sing, and are only known by the lover of nature, who hears in the air, as they pass over his head, the single note which they utter in the east, when they are leaving that country. Some years since, in Missouri, we saw a number of the males gathered on a spray, in the midst of a low prairie, of a sunny morning, after a white frost ; they were chattering away in their accustomed style, but they did but half carry out the song that we used to hear in the meadows of New England," Reptiles, or animals of the serpent, turtle, and lizard class, are, of course, numerous in the United States. All the varieties of the rattlesnake are seen, in some places in pernicious abundance. The yellow rattlesnake is the largest of the species ; they are sometimes seen as large as a man's leg, and from six to nine feet in length. A species of small rattlesnake is sometimes seen in great numbers on the prairies ; they are said, in the regions far to the west, to con sort with prairie dogs, and to inhabit the same bur rows. There is a very troublesome species, called snappers, or ground rattlesnakes ; they travel in the night, and frequent roads and house-paths. The copper head is a terrible serpent, supposed to inflict a more dangerous bite than the rattlesnake ; they in habit the same region, but are not so common as the former. They are of a dirty brown colour ; and when they have recently shed their skin, some parts of their body resemble burnished copper, whence they derive their name. There are three or four varieties of the moccasin snake inhabiting the south ern country. The upland moccasin has many as pects in common with the rattlesnake, but is a ser pent still more repulsive in appearance. They have been seen of great size, and their fang teeth are ex tremely large and long : they are most frequently seen basking among the bastard cane. The largest variety of the water moccasin resembles the water- snake of the Atlantic country. It has a very large flat head, and it opens its upper jaw at right angles to the under one. It is a lazy, reckless animal, neither flying nor pursuing man ; it is a serpent of the largest size ; has a ground-coloured, scaly back ; and, in point of venom, is classed with the rattlesnake. TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES, 133 There is another species of the moccasin rarely seen out of the water, of a brilliant copper colour, with an- nvdar gray stripes, marking off compartments at equal distances. The brown viper, or hissing snake, is of a dirty brown colour, from six to eight inches long, with a body large in proportion, and terminating ab ruptly in a sharp tail : when angry/ their backs change eolour^and their heads flatten, and dilate to twice the common extent, and their hiss is like that of a goose. They are extremely ugly animals ; and, though- very diminutive, are supposed' to be of the most venomous class. One being confined by a stick across its back, it instantly bit itself in two or three places ; and' when set at liberty it soon became very much swollen, and died. The accounts- of the deadly venom of the horn-snafcej being without actual attes tation by fact, are considered as unfounded. Mr. Flint expresses his conviction that the Mississippi valley presents a greater number of serpents, and is more infested by them, than the country on the At lantic, excepting perhaps the southern portion of it. Wherever the population becomes dense, the swine prey upon them, and they quickly disappear. Their most permanent and dangerous resorts are near the bases of rocky and precipitous hills, about ledges and flint knobs, and in the lower and southern country, along the stagnant w-ater channels, and near those vast swamps that cannot be inhabited for ages. Peo ple are often bitten by these terrible animals ; the pain is excruciating, and the person that is badly bitten swells, and soon becomes blind. The more venomous of the serpents themselves become blind during the latter part of summer : they are then, of course, less apt to strike their aim ; but their bite, at this period, is most dangerous. The people suppose this blindness to be occasioned by the absorption of their own poison into their system. Whether it be that the numerous remedies that are prescribed are really efficacious, or whether the bite of these veno mous reptiles is not fatal unless the poison is con veyed into some leading vein, or from whatever cause it be, it so happens that few fatalities occur from this cause. Of harmless serpents this country has the usual varieties, as the green, garter, chicken, and coach- whip snakes. The glass-snake is often seen with a body of the most lustrous brilliance. A stroke across the back separates the body into a number of pieces ; each of these pieces preserves for some time the power of locomotion, and continues to exercise it ; and the inhabitants believe that these pieces soon meet, and unite, and become as before the separation. The bull, or prairie snakes, are of great size, and horrid Vol. II,— Nos, 47 &, 48, R appearance : they are common on the prairies, live in holes in the ground, and run at the passing travel ler with a loud hiss ; but if he stands, they instantly retreat to their holes. They are believed to be per fectly harmless ; though such is their size, boldness, and formidable appearance, that it is long before the resident in these regions gets over his horror of them. Ugly animals of the lizard kind are seen, in greater or less numbers, in all the climates : they are found under rotten logs, and are dug from the rich and muddy alluvions ; these last are lazy and loathsome animals, and are called "ground puppies." It does not appear that they have any disposition to bite. Common small lizards are frequent in the south ern districts, running along the logs, and making just such a sound as the rattlesnake, when he gives his warning. There are varieties of small cameleons; they are apparently harmless animals, though, when caught, they show a disposition to bite. They will change in half an hour to all the colours of the prism. Green seems to be their favourite colour, and when on a green tree, that is their general hue ; while in this colour, the under part of their neck becomes of a beautiful scarlet ; their throat swells, and they emit a sharp note, like that of one of the larger kinds of grasshoppers when singing. " We have placed them on a handkerchief," says Mr. Flint, " and they have gradually assumed all its colours. Placed on a black surface, they become brown ; but they evidently suffer while under this colour, as is manifested by uneasy movements, and by strong and quick palpitations, visible to the eye. They are very active and nimble animals, three or four inches iu length." Some lizards of a larger class and flatter heads are called scorpions ; they are animals of an ugly appearance, and are deemed very poisonous, though we have not found that any person has been known to be bitten by them. When attacked, they show the anger and the habits of serpents, vibrating a flery and forked tongue, and biting with great fury at the stick which arrests them. The alligator is the most terrible animal of this class. This large and powerful lizard is first seen in great numbers, in passing to the south, on the Ar kansas, that is to say, a little north of 33° ; and this is its general northern limit across the continent. Vast numbers are seen in the slow streams and shal low lakes of Florida and Alabama ; but they abound most on Red river, the Mississippi lakes, and the ba yous west of that river : forty at one time have been numbered on a muddy bar of Red river ; and on these sleeping waters, the cry of a sucking pig on the banks 134 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. will draw a shoal of them from their muddy retreats at the bottom. The largest alligator that Mr. Flint ever saw killed in these regions measured something more than sixteen feet from its snout to the extremity of its tail. They have at times, especially before stormy weather, a singular roar or bellow, not exactly as Bartram has described it, like distant thunder, out more like the half-suppressed roarings of a bull. When moving about on their customary avocations in the water, they seem like old logs in motion. In fine weather they dose in listlessness on the sand bars ; and such is their recklessness, that they allow the people on the passing steam-boats to come within a few paces of them. The ascent of a steamboat on an alligator stream, at the proper season for them, is a continual discharge of rifles at them ; a rifle ball, however, will glance from their bodies, unless they are hit in a particular direction. They are not, like tortoises and other amphibious animals, tenacious of life, but bleed profusely, and immediately expire when mortally wounded. They strike with their tails coil ed into the section of a circle ; this blow has great power, and the animal stricken is, by the same blow, propelled towards their mouth, to be devoured. Their strength of jaw is prodigious, and they are exceedingly voracious. They have large ivory teeth, which con tain cavities sufficiently large to hold a musket-charge of powder, for which purpose they are commonly used by sportsmen. The animal, when slain, emits an intolerable smell of musk ; and it is asserted that its head contains a quantity of that drug. They will sometimes chase children, and would overtake them, were it not for their inability to make lateral move ments. Having few joints in their body, and very short legs, they cannot readily turn from a straight forward direction ; consequently, those who under stand their movements avoid them without difficulty, by turning off at right angles, and leaving the ani mal to move forward, under its impulse in that di rection : indeed, they are by no means so dangerous as they are commonly reputed to be. It is said they will attack a negro in the water in preference to a white ; but they are chiefly formidable to pigs, calves, and domestic animals of moderate size. They are rather objects of terror from their dimensions, strength, and ugly appearance, and from their large teeth and strong jaws, than from the actual injuries which they have been known to inflict. The skin of the alligator is valuable for the tanner. The tortoise is found in considerable variety and number. The soft-shelled mud-tortoise of the lakes about New Orleans, and west of the Mississippi, is said to be not much inferior to the West India sea- turtle for the table ; and epicures who are dainty in their food consider their flesh a great delicacy. — In the pine barrens of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, is found an animal, apparently of the' tortoise class, commonly called the gouffre. It has a large and thick shell, and burrows to a great depth in the ground ; it is of prodigious power and strength, and resembles in many respects the loggerhead-turtle. — The siren [murena siren) is a very singular animal ; it somewhat resembles the lamprey, and is nearly two feet in length. It seems intermediate between the fish and the lizard class ; it has two short legs, placed near the head, is amphibious, and penetrates the mud with the facility of a crawfish. — The whole of the republic is prolific in frogs, toads, and animals of that class, but more especially so the more southerly parts of it, the land of lakes, marshes, and swamps, com bined with high temperature. The deep notes of the bull -frog are heard in perfection in the swamps at the back of New Orleans. It is reasonable to suppose that so vast an extent of maritime and inland waters should afford a great quantity and variety of the finny tribes ; it is to be regretted, however, that very small progress has yet been made in the scientific observation of this inte resting class of animals, American ichthyology is yet in its infancy. Nevertheless, several American writers have con tributed advantageously towards the elucidation ol this subject. The most conspicuous of these is the late Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill, whose elaborate memoir of the fishes of New York has commanded the appro bation even of Cuvier. In the paper of Dr. Mitchill now referred to, and printed in the first volume of the Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical So ciety of New York, there are enumerated no less than one hundred and forty-seven species of fish, inhabit ants, or visiters, of the waters of New York, besides varieties, nineteen, making a total of one hundred and sixty-six.* I can not entertain a doubt, says Dr. Mitchill, that there are various kinds which I have neither seen nor heard of. I have reason to believe that the caprinus or carp family, the esox or pike, and the salmo or trout, will be found to comprehend a considerable number of new sorts. In the Trans actions of the same society, may be found a paper on the fishes of the western waters of the state of New York, by Governor De Witt Clinton. The ichthy ology of the United States is still further illustrated by other eminent writers, (Le Sueur, (fee.) in the re cent volumes of the Transactions of the American * See Transactions of the Literaiy and Philosophical Society ot Ne-vv York, vol. i. TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 135 Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and in the Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York. The fishes which fill the coasts and bays of the United States are generally of the same species as on the opposite coasts of Europe. They are abundant, especially along the shore of the New England states, which, however, have no bank of the same extreme richness as that of Newfoundland. The shad and the salmon are fine fish, abounding in the Adantic rivers ; and beautiful trout are taken in the mountain streams of the northern states. Among the fish of the western waters, probably in a great measure com mon to them and other rivers, are noticed several va rieties of perch, one of which, the buffalo-perch, de rives its name from the singular grunting noise which it makes, a noise which is familiar to every one who has been much on the Ohio. It is a fine fish for the table, weighing from ten to thirty pounds. There are also varieties of the sun-fish, the bass, and the hog-fish. Besides the shad, false herring, and trout, we find in these waters sixteen species of minny, the largest of which are called shiners ; but the brown buffalo-fish is one of the best fishes in the western rivers, and is found in all of them, in length from two to three feet, weighing from ten to thirty pounds. The black buffalo-fish, found in the lower waters of the Ohio and in the Mississippi, sometimes weighs fifty pounds. The buffalo of the Mississippi is larger ; it is taken in immense quantities in the meadows and lakes of the Mississippi, and greatly resembles the Atlantic shad. The trout of Louisiana and Florida is not the same with the fine fish of that name that is taken in the cold mountain streams of the northern country of the Atlantic ; it is a fish of the perch class, beautifully marked with golden stripes, and taking the bait with a spring, like the trout. It weighs from one to four pounds, and is a fine-flavoured and solid fish for the table. " We have never witnessed angling," says Mr. Flint, " that could compare with that of this fish in the clear pine-wood streams of the southern divisions of this country. ' With fresh bait, a barrel may be taken in a few hours." The Salmo Otsego, or the Otsego bass, is a supe rior fish, caught in the Otsego lake, New York, and may be considered as almost a non-descript. Some account of it was published several years ago by Governor Clinton. A specimen of one in the go vernor's possession, was seventeen inches in length, five in depth, and in one thickness, and it weighed two pounds six ounces, " The pupil of the eye is black." says he ; " the iris silvery ; the opercula spot ted with yellow on a silver ground ; the mouth small, and exactly like that of a shad, except a little protuberance of the upper lip, which is also bifid. No teeth in the jaws, palate, roof of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The lateral line straight, and hardly discernible ; appearance of lateral stripes, like the Perca Mitchilli, or Ro(:h fish — colour sil very white below the linea lateralis — somewhat darkish above it ; scales small ; back highly cur ved. The first dorsal fin has nine softish rays^ three of which are imperfect : it is about midway in the back, and over the ventral fin. The second dorsal fin is small and filamentous, and directly over the anal fin. The caudal fin is forked — the belly not serrated. " This fish is of the abdominal order, and cannot be satisfactorily arranged under any genus of the Linnaean system. As it is, however, included in Bloch's description of the salmon, which he repre sents as an abdominal fish, with an adipose fin on the back, and a body covered with scales, I shall, in order to avoid the multiplication of genera, consider it as a Salmo ; and, as it is probably a non-descript, and peculiar to the Otsego lake, its specific name may, with propriety, be derived from the water which it inhabits : I shall, therefore, call it Salmo Otsego. " This fish is nearly equal to any fish that swims for exquisite and delicious food. It is among fishes, what the grouse, or canvass-back duck, is among birds. The flesh is fine, white, and delicate. " It sometimes weighs six pounds ; it is never found in the neighbouring lakes or streams, or in the Sus quehannah river. It is not anadromus, and appears to be always stationary in the lake. It appears in shoals every spring and fall, and at other times retires to the deeps of the lake, like the black bass and perch of lake George, which are only seen periodically. The latter lake has no outlet which can be ascended by fish : This proves, conclusively, that their retreat is only into its deep waters : and as these lakes are very deep, they afford ample space for seclusion. Perhaps the notion of Pennant, that the herring proceed from the Polar seas, is incorrect. I cannot believe that they extend their migrations beyond the seas in which they periodically appear. " The Otsego bass is very rarely taken by the hook. It was formerly caught in great numbers by the seine — sometimes five thousand at a draught. There is now a comparative scarcity. The diminu tion of fish, greatly in demand, may be attributed, generally, to the havoc created by the increasing population of the country, and to the destruction oi 136 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. the food of fishes produced by cultivation ; but in this case it is ascribed to peculiar causes."* The cat-fish is the most common fish in all the western waters. Twelve species have already been noted in the Ohio, and the varieties are very numer ous in the waters west of that river. They are without scales, and of all colours and sizes ; their mouths, when open, are circular ; and they are easily taken with a hook. They receive their English name from the noise which they make when at rest ; a- noise very similar to the purring of a cat, and one of the most familiar to those who are used to the west ern states. The cat-fish of the Mississippi often weighs more than a hundred pounds. — The Ohio toter is a fish of the length of from two to three inches ; it makes itself a cell by surrounding its place with pebbles ; and hence, from the Virginia word " tote," to carry, is called a toter. — There are a great many species of pike in the Ohio and the Mississippi, and their waters ; they are called pike, pickerel, and jack-fish, and perfectly resemble the fish of the same names in the Atlantic waters. They vary from half a pound to twenty pounds. —Of the gar-fish there are a great many varieties in the western country. The alligator-gar is sometimes eight feet in length, and is strong, fierce, voracious, and formidable, not only to the fish, which he devours by tribes, but even to men, who go into the. water near him. Its dart equals the flight of birds in rapidity. It has a long, round, and pointed mouth, thick set with sharp teeth ; its body is covered with scales of such a texture, as to be impenetrable by a rifle bullet, and, when dry, to make flre with steel. It is a flsh of most outland ish appearance, weighing from flfty to two hundred pounds. It is considered as a far more formidable animal than the alligator : it is, in fact, the shark of rivers. — The devil-jack-diamond-flsh is another mon ster of the rivers. It is rarely seen as high as the falls of Ohio, and probably lives in the Mississippi : its length is from four to ten feet, and one was caught which weighed four hundred pounds. It is extreme ly voracious ; and, like the preceding, its scales -will give flre with the steel. Eels are in length from two to four feet. The yellow eel is the best species for the table. Six spe cies of sturgeon occur in these rivers, some of them four feet in length, and some of them eatable. There is also a Mississippi saw-fish, in length from three to six feet ; it has twenty-six long sharp teeth on either side, in the form of a saw, and is commonly shown in museums. Likewise a spotted horn-fish, in length • New York Medical and Physical Journal, vol. i. p. 188, 189. from two to three feet ; the horn being one fourth the length of the body. The bar-fish are taken with' a hook ; they go in shoals in the southern running waters, weighing from one to three pounds, and are beautifully striped with brown and silver. The spade, or shovel-fish, a mud fish of the middle regions of the valley, is found in muddy lakes ; they weigh from ten to fifty pounds, are without scales, and have, in advance of their mouths, a smooth bony substance, much resembling an apothecary's spatula, from six inches to a foot in length, and two or three inches in width ; its use, apparently, is to turn up the mud in order to find subsistence. They are extremely fat, and are taken for their oil. " We have never re marked this fish in any museum," says Mr. Flint, " although to us the most strange and whimsical-look ing fish we have seen. We have seen," he adds, " one instance of a horjibly deformed animal, appa rently intermediate between the class testudo and fishes. We saw it in a water of the Washita, and had not a fair opportunity to examine it. It is called toad-fish ; has et^ shell like a tortoise ; but has the other aspects of a fish. It is said to be sufficiently strong to bear a man on its back ; and, from the ac count of those who have examined it, this animal must be a singular lusus naturm." — The drum, rock- fish, sheep's-head, (fee. are large and fine .fish, taken in the lakes on the gulf of Mexico that are partially njixed with salt water, and so saline as not to be po table. They correspond in size to the cod and had dock of the Atlantic country, and are among the most common fish in the market at- New Orleans. The fish of the gulf shore are of a very peculiar character, being taken in shallow lakes, pirincipally composed of fresh water, but having outlets into the gulf, through which, when the wind blows strongly from the south, the sea-water is forced to such a degree that they become salt: the fish, accordingly, possess an intermediate character, between those of fresh and saltwater. There are vast numbers of crawfish everywhere in the shallow waters and- low grounds. By penetrating the bank of the Mississippi, they have more than once made perforations which have imperceptibly enlarged to crevices, by which the inundation of the river has been let in upon the country. The fish of the western rivers are generally less esteemed than those of the Atlantic waters; and, as it would appear, with some justice ; although, in ma king the comparison, it should in faitness be remem bered that fresh^water fish in general; will not vie with those ofthe sea. The fishes of the Mississippi and its tributaries, generally, are tough, coarse, large TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 1.37 and unsavoury. The trout, so (ialled, and the bar- fish, are fiine. , The. pike, perch, \-arid other ' fish of the Illinois, are repr^ented as excellfcllt ; .arid in that river they, are .taken in- great aibundance.' Aline, here called a." tfot- line," drawii. across the inouth of the Illinois where it enters the Mississipjii, ijvith hooks appended, at xegular. distances, took five hundred poimds ill. a night. . 1" Except the trout, the 'small yellow (iat-fish, -the pike,, the-bar=-fish, and the perch;" sayi.Mii. Flint,' "we do"]jiot:mu(jh admire.the fish of the western waters." ,: ' U Dr. Mitchill gives the following account* of a gi gantic fish of the ray kind, which he calls the oceanic vampire. It had been taken in the Atlantic Ocean, near the entrance of Delaware Bay, by the crew of a smack. They had heard that creatures of extraor dinary form and size were frequent in the tract situ ated off Capes May and Henlopen, during the warm season ; and accordingly equipped themselves for the purpose of catching one or more of them. After an absence of about three weeks, the adventurers return ed with an animal of singular figure and large mag nitude, which they had killed after a long and ha zardous encounter. The weight was so considerable after it had been towed to the shore, that three pair of oxen, aided by a horse and twenty-two men, could not drag it, by their united strength, to the dry land. By estimation it was supposed to be between four and five tons. Feet. Inches. The length from the fore margin of the head to the root of the tail , , , , . 10 9 Length of the tail 4 0 Length ofthe fins projecting forward from the corners of the mouth 2 6 17 3 Making the whole length, from the tip of the head fins to the tip of the tail, seventeen feet and three inches. The breadth from the extremity of one pec toral fin or wing to the other, measuring along the line of the belly, was sixteen feet ; when measured over the convexity of the back, eighteen feet. "On each side of the mouth there was a vertical fin two feet and six inches long, twelve inches deep, and two inches and a half thick in the middle, whence it ta pered toward the edges, which were fringed before with a radiated margin. The fin or organ so con stituted could, from its flexibility, bend in all direc tions, and be made in many respects to perform the function of a hand, so as by twisting round, to seize an object and hold it fast. The wings, flaps, or pec- • Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History, New York, vol. i. t See Say on American Entomology, Svo. ; also the same au- toral fins, -were of Very curious oifganization There was' a scapula, humerus, ulna,- carpus, and an un common number of phalanges; • of a cartilaginous structure; all these joints were articulated with' each other, biit the articulati<5ns,' like tfiSfee of the human steriium,- had very little motion'. " It had' more 'analo gy fo the win^ of a bird than to any tlfing 'else-; and yet;waS so different from it,-ias to manifest a remarka ble variety of inechanism, in- organs intended' Sub stantially for the sam'e use.'' Pislifof 'the kind now under consideration may 'be' aptly -denominated sub marine birds, for they really fly through the water as birds fly through the air. Fishes of this organization perform their flights by flapping their wings after the manner of crows, hawks, and eagles, in their pro gress. The insects of the United States are of course nu merous, and many of them of great beauty. Many of the species are entirely new, and science is par ticularly indebted to Mr. Say for the addition of no inconsiderable number to American entomology.t The moths and butterflies are extremely splendid, and one of them, the atlas moth, the largest hitherto known. Among the spiders is a huge species, called the tarantula, supposed to inflict a dangerous bite. The annoyance inflicted by the mosquito flies, a species of gnat, in hot weather is well known ; by these, and other insects armed with stings, damp and low situations are rendered during the summer almost untenable. The fire flies, which glitter especially in the forests of the south, are merely entertaining. The copper-coloured centipede, a creature of a cylindrical form, and as long as a man's finger, is dreaded as noxious ; a family is said to have been poisoned by taking tea in which one of them had been inadver tently boiled. One insect, the cegeria exitiosa, has long been the cause of solicitude and regret to all lovers of fine fruit in the republic, as the insidious destroyer of the peach tree. The larva commences its destructive career about the beginning of October, by entering the tree, probably through the tender bark under the surface of the soil ; after having passed through the bark, it proceeds downwards, within the tree, into the root, and then turns its course upwards towards the surface, where it arrives about the commence ment of the succeeding July. They voraciously de vour both the alburnum and the liber, the new wood and the inner bark, leaving the cortex and epidermis as a covering and defence. The insects deposit their eggs within the bark of the tree, which they perforate thor, in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Soci» ty, &c. 138 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. by a blunt-pointed instrument, and leave from one to three hundred eggs, according to the capacity of the tree to support their progeny. The United States are not free from the scourge of the locust. The males have under each wing a ribbed membrane as thin as a gossamer's web, which, when inflated, constitutes their musical organ. The female has a tuberous sting or drill the size of a pin, and near half an inch in length, of a hard and brittle substance, which lies on the under surface ofthe body ; with this the insect drills a hole into the small limbs of trees quite to the pith : there it deposits through this hollow sting or drill some dozen or two of sinall white eggs. The time required to drill the hole and deposit the eggs is from two to five minutes. When undisturbed they make some half dozen or more in sertions of their drill in the same limb, perhaps an inch apart, and these punctures usually produce speedy death to the end of the limb. They some times swarm about the forests in countless multitudes, making " melancholy music," and not less melancholy desolation. BOOK IIL STATISTICS. CHAPTER L agriculture. It would manifestly be foreign to the nature of the present undertaking, even did we deem ourselves competent to the task, to enter into the general theory or science of agriculture. It will, however, be our endeavour to give a brief yet faithful sketch of the agriculture, in the most comprehensive sense of the term, of the United States, enlarging only either on those points which are peculiar to that country, or upon productions which differ materially from those of Great Britain, The vast extent of latitude, and the consequent variety of climEtte which the republic comprises, will give to the subject a variety, interest ing even to those who are not engaged in that most primitive of all occupations — the cultivation of the soil, — The agriculture of the United States naturally divides itself into northern and southern : the middle states, indeed, partake of some of the characteristics of both extremes, but do not, in a brief summary like the present, require to be ranked as a separate class ; while the culture of the soil in the southern states is so entirely different in its processes and its products, that it is impossible to mingle its history with that of the northern portion of the Union. It appears to be admitted by our transatlantic * It would have been, perhaps, more accordant with strict pro priety, to have commenced this section of the work with the chap ter on population; but as the publication of the census of 1831 may be shortly expected, it has been deemed advisable to defer the ac count of the population to a subsequent portion of the work. i " It is indeed a lamentable truth," says Mr. "Watson, " that, for the most part, our knowledge and practice of agriculture, at the close of the revolutionary war, was in a state of demi-barbarism, with some solitary exceptions. The labours, I may say, of only three agricultural societies in America at that epoch, conducted by ardent patriots, by philosophers, and gentlemen in this state, Phila delphia, and Boston, kept alive a spirit of inquiry, often resulting in useful and practical operations ; and yet, these measures did not reach the doors of practical farmers to any visible extent. Nor was their plan of organization calculated to infuse a spirit of emu lation, which farmer, which county, or state, should excel in the honourable strife of competition in discoveries and improvements, in drawing from the soil the greatest quantum of net profits within neighbours themselves, that while most abundant supply of all the bounties of nature has ever been their peculiar privilege, agriculture as a science has, till recently at least, been at a very low ebb.t The neglected state of this important branch of political economy may be traced to the condition of the first settlers and their descendants, rather than to any de fect in soil or climate. Their first settlements were made along the shores of the sea, or on the banks of navigable waters. The ocean and its tributary streams offered fields for cultivation easier and more lucrative, in the scattered state of their population, than any which the land could afford. The fisheries, and navigation, thus naturally arrested the attention and chiefly occupied the thoughts of early settlers ; and whatever there was of agriculture was limited to the supply of the essential necessities of the people, and to the yielding of a scanty surplus for the humble demands of colonial commerce. The circumstances of the country during the first century and a half after its settlement, — down to the time, indeed, of the revolutionary struggle, — were such as tended un avoidably to reduce agriculture below its just conse quence in the scale of useful employments ; and to elevate all the arts connected with navigation in a proportionate degree above their proper estimation. Not only was a large proportion of the little capital a given space ; at the same time keeping the land in an improving condition, in reference to its native vigour. These results, and the renovation of lands exhausted by means of a barbarous course of husbandry for nearly two centuries, are the cardinal points now in progression in our old settled countries, stimulated by the in fluence of agricultural societies. Nor did their measures produce any essential or extensive effects in the improvement of the breeds of domestic animals; much less in exciting to rival efforts the fe male portion of the community, in calling forth the active energies of our native resources in relation to household manufactures. The scene is now happily reversed iu all directions. Perhaps there is no instance iu any age or country, where a whole nation has emerged, in so short a period, from such general depression, into such a rapid change in the several branches to which I have al ready alluded ; in some instances it has been like the work ol magic." — Memoirs of ihe Board of Agriculture of the state of New York, vol. iii. p. 524. 140 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. then in the country attracted to the pursuits of com merce, and drawn away from those of agriculture, but the temptations to trade and to a seafaring life were so strong, as often to deprive the farmer of the most active and intelligent of his sons. Whep^to this is added the unceasing drain upon the agricul tural population, by the prospects which the extent ofthe interior and the cheapness of lands opened to their enterprise, and the consequent effect upon the demand for labour, there is more cause of surprise that the actual state of cultivation is so good, than of reproach that it did not receive higher improvement. Besides, in England itself the state of agriculture did not begin to attract any general and systematic attention until a little after the middle of the last century. The American farmer and capitalist would probably have joined earlier in the eager, activity which this new state of things excited, had not the revolutionary contest, and the subsequent political embarrassments, at one period, both deprived them of the means of doing so, and forced their attention upon other objects ; and had not, subsequently, the advantages resulting from neutrality during the wars of the French revolution, required at another the employment of all, and more than all, the pecuniary resources of the country. A very different arrangement in the relations of the useful arts to each other seems to have commenced in America, upon the new state of things which peace among the powers of Europe, and the increase of population and capital, (the effect of time and of suc cessful commercial industry,) have induced. The natural result of peace, and of the comparatively un restricted competition of the commercial nations of the earth, must necessarily be to limit the sphere of commercial speculation, and to diminish its profits ; and capital will therefore be thrown back from the water, to seek employment upon the land. Of the excess, beyond the wants of the merchant, one part will be applied directly to agriculture, and the other indirectly, by its being vested in manufactures ; for whatever tends to create and fix a great population in a country, must manifestly tend to increase in that country the production of food necessary for its sup port : it may therefore be safely asserted, that what ever capital commerce cannot employ, becomes event ually a bounty on agriculture, until at least the resources of a country for vegetable production are fully developed. The republic already begins to perceive the effects of the great increase of capital and population, in the attention paid to the cultiva tion of the soil, in the agricultural associations, and the legislative patronage, which are active in the principal states of the Union. A new era in the state of agriculture has unquestionably commenced ; the effect of which is to attract general consideration and concern for the art, to stimulate the ambition of the .Ifapmdr', and to multiply and concentrate the means of information in relation to all the subjects connected with its prosperity. Feelings of deep . disappointment appear to have been excited in the minds of most English agricultu rists, who either engaged in the labours of the field themselves, or visited the farms of the republic, arising,. as it appears to us, from the want of a due consider ation of the different — the opposite — circumstances, in which the two countries are placed. In perusing the volumes of Messrs. Parkinson, Faux, Fearon, and others, some hundred pages of invective occur, be cause the Americans will persist in taking up fresh land, instead of the more costly process of manuring a worn-out soil ; will raise extensive crops, instead of highly cultivating and beautifying a small space ; in fact, will employ their time in a manner calculated, in their estimation at least, to produce the greatest profit with the least exertion. In noticing the process of taking possession of and clearing for cultivation the virgin soil, some account of the simple agricultural erections which the settler requires will be both necessary and interesting. The building first erected on a new lot, or on a tract of land not yet cleared from its native growth of timber, is what is called a log-house. This is a hut or cabin made of round, straight logs, about a foot in diameter, lying on each other, and notched in at the corners. The intervals between the logs are filled with slips of wood, and the crevices generally stopped with mor tar made of clay. The fire-place commonly consists of rough stones, so placed as to form a hearth, on which wood may be burned. Sometimes these stones are made to assume the form of a chimney, and are carried up through the roof ; and sometimes a hole in the roof is the only substitute for a chimney. The roof is made of rafters, forming an acute angle at the summit of the erection, and is covered with shingles, commonly split from pine-trees, or with bark peeled from the hemlock [pinus canadensis.) When the occupant or first settler of this new land finds himself in comfortable circumstances, he builds what is styled a frame-house, composed of timber, held together by tenons, mortises and pins, and boarded, shingled, and clap-boarded on the outside, and often painted white, sometimes red. Houses of this kind generally con tain a dining-room and kitchen, and three or four bed-rooms on the same floor. They are rarely desti tute of good cellars^ which the nature of the climate TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES, 141 enders almost indispensable. The farm-buildings consist of a barn, proportioned to the size of the farm, with stalls for horses and cows on each side, and a threshing-floor in the middle ; and the more wealthy farmers add a cellar under the barn, a part of which receives the manure from the stalls, and another part serves as a store-room for roots, (fee, for feeding stock. What is called a corn-barn is likewise very common, which is built exclusively for storing the ears of In dian corn. The sleepers of this building are gene rally set up four or five feet from the ground, on smooth stone posts or pillars, which rats, mice, or other vermin, cannot ascend. In those parts of the country where wood is of but little value, the trees are felled in one of the summer months, the earlier in the season the better, as the stumps will be less apt to sprout, and the trees will have a longer time to dry. The trees lie till the fol lowing spring, when such limbs as are not very near the ground should be cut off, that they may burn the better. Fire must be put to them in the driest part of the month of May, or, if the whole of that month prove wet, it may be applied in the beginning of June. Only the bodies of the trees will remain after burning, and some of them will be burned also : those which require to be made shorter having been cut in pieces nearly of a length, they are drawn together by oxen, piled in close heaps, and burned ; such trees and logs only being reserved as may be needed for fencing the lot. The heating of the soil so destroys the green roots, and the ashes made by the burning are so be neficial as manure to the land, that it will produce a good crop of wheat or Indian corn without ploughing, hoeing, or manuring. If new land lie in such a situation that its natural growth may turn to better account, whether for timber or fire-wood, it will be unpardonable waste to burn the wood on the ground ; but if the trees be taken off, the land must be plough ed after clearing, or it will not produce a crop of any kind. The following remarks on this subject are extracted from some observations by Samuel Preston, of Stockport, Pennsylvania, a very observing culti vator, and may prove serviceable to settlers on un cleared lands. Previous to undertaking to clear land, Mr. Preston advises — " 1st. Take a view of all large trees, and see which way they may be felled for the greatest number of small trees to be felled along-side or on them. After felling the large trees, only lop down their limbs : but all such as are felled near them should be cut in suitable lengths for two men to roll and pile about the large trees, by which means they may be nearly all burned up without cutting into lengths, or the expense of a strong team, to draw them Vol, IL— Nos, 47 (fc 48. S together, , 2d. Fell all the other trees parallel, and cut them into suitable lengths, that they may be readi ly rolled together without a team, always cutting the largest trees first, that the smallest may be loose on the top, to feed the fires. 3d. On hill-sides fell the timber in a level direction, then the logs will roll to gether ; but if the trees are felled down hill, all the logs must be turned round before they can be rolled, and there will be stumps in the way. 4th. By fol lowing these directions, two men may readily heap and burn most of the timber, without requiring any team ; and perhaps the brands and the remains of the log-heaps may all be wanted to burn up the old fall en trees. After proceeding as directed, the ground will be clear for a team and sled to draw the remains of the heaps where they may be wanted round the old logs. Never attempt either to chop or draw a large log, until the size and weight are reduced by fire. The more fire-heaps there are made on the clearing, the better, particularly about the old logs where there is rotten wood. The best time of the year to fell the timber in a great measure depends on the season's being wet or dry. Most people prefer having it felled in the month of June, when the leaves are of full size. Then, by spreading the leaves and brush over the ground, (for they should not be heap ed,) if there should be a very dry time the next May, fire may be turned through it, and will burn the leaves, limbs, and top of the ground, so that a very good crop of Indian corn and pumpkins may be raised among the logs by hoeing. After these crops come off, the land may be cleared and sowed late with rye and timothy grass, or with oats and timothy in the spring. If what is called a good burn cannot be had in May, keep the fire out until some very dry time in July or August, then clear off the land, and sow wheat or rye and timothy, harrowing several times, both before and after sowing ; for, after the fire has been over the ground, the sod of timothy should be introduced as soon as the other crops will admit, to prevent briers, alders, fire-cherries, (fee. from springing up from such seeds as were not consumed by the fire. The timothy should stand four or five years, either for mowing or pasture, until the small roots of the forest-trees are rotten ; then it may be ploughed ; and the best mode which I have observed is, to plough it very shallow in the autumn ; in the spring, cross- plough it deeper, harrow it well, and it will produce a first-rate crop of Indian corn and potatoes, and, the next season, the largest and best crop of flax that I have ever seen, and be in order to cultivate with any kinds of grain or to lay down again with grass. These directions are to be understood as applying to 142 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. what are generally called beech lands, and the chop ping may be done at any time in the winter, when the snow is not too deep to cut low stumps, as the leaves are then on the ground. By leaving the brush spread abroad, I have known such v;inter choppings to burn as well in a dry time in August as that which had been cut the summer before."* The subject of improving the character of various inferior soils, or of restoring exhausted soils, by manure, is becoming of increasing importance to the American farmer, and has consequently attracted in creasing attention. It is true that in situations in which large sections of fertile soil still remain unac- cupied, the subject is at present of little or no im portance ; but to localities in the vicinity of cities or populous towns, where the land has risen to a great value, it is a question of deep interest. Drought is one of the greatest evils to which the soil of America is exposed, and gypsum is very extensively used, from the quality it possesses of attracting moisture. It does not answer near the sea or salt water, nor on wet stiff lands ; it answers best on hot, loose, or sandy soils, and if strewed over the land, five or six bushels are found sufficient for an acre. Bone-dust would probably answer where gypsum will not succeed. The method of using all manures of animal or vege table origin while fresh, before the sun, air, or rain, or other moisture, has robbed them of their most valuable properties, now generally prevails ; but it was formerly the practice to place barn-yard manure in layers or masses for the purpose of rotting, and turn it over frequently with the plough or spade, till the whole had become a mere caput mortuum, desti tute of almost all its original fertilizing substances, and deteriorated in quality almost as much as it was reduced in quantity. It would be foreign to our purpose to enter more particularly into the system of manuring practised in the United States ; the results ofthe experiments of many respectable agriculturists will be found in the publications of the New York, Pennsylvania, and other agricultural societies. The price of labour being very high, especially when compared with the value of produce, draining is but little attended to. — The fences are almost ex clusively wooden rails, thorn hedges being very rare. In the eastern states it is probable that the thorn would not succeed, owing to the severe frosts in winter ; but in the middle and western states there is no doubt that it would flourish ; and certainly it would afford a shelter for the cattle during the op pressive heat of summer. If the thorn would not Encyclopeedia Americana, vol. i. p. 1 09. answer as a fence, the prickly locust, and severa^ other small trees, indigenous to the country, would make an impenetrable barrier. Among the objects of culture, maize, or Indian corn, must take precedence, even of wheat,: it is pro lific beyond comparison, yielding from thirty to one hundred bushels per acre ; and is cultivated in the eastern, middle, and western states, though much more successfully in the latter. Maize constitutes the principal food of man in some districts ; while it supersedes the growth of the horse-bean, and other plants, which in Europe are essential to the support of animals used in husbandry, or raised for the market. It is, in fact, one great cause of the cheap ness of cattle, hogs, and poultry. Wheat, however, the grain so decidedly esteemed above all others, is considered a more valuable crop in the soils adapted to it, and where culture has made the requisite pro gress ; it is the grain generally used for bread, and the best fitted for exportation. In the New England states, the soil and climate do not appear to reward the cultivation of wheat by an abundant produce; and the southern states of the Carolinas and Missis sippi have too much moisture, and a climate too tro pical. The middle states, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, and in the west, Ohio and Kentucky, are the tracts in which this important grain is produced with that excellence which enables it to become a leading article of American export^ Rye, for mixing with maize in the common bread, oats for horses, and barley for distillation, are also raised ; though the two last not on so great a scale as in the northern countries of Europe. The cultivation of plants, for their roots, has re cently attracted much more of the attention of Ame rican agriculturists than formerly. The winters in the northern section of the union, however, are so severe, that turnips can rarely be fed on the ground, and all sorts of roots are with more difficulty pre served and dealt out to stock, in this country, than in those which possess a milder climate. Happily, hay is more easily made from grass in the United States than in Great Britain, owing to the season for hay-making being generally more dry, and the sun more powerful, which renders root husbandry less essential to the prosperity of the American farmer. The different sorts of grasses which are cultivated for hay, grazing, (fee. are lucern, sainfoin, burnet, timothy ; red, white, and yellow clover ; green-sward, blue-grass, crib-grass, (fee, according to the section of the union in which they are found respectively to be most advantageous. Hemp is produced in some parts of the United TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED S-TATES. 143 States. Considerable portions of the lands in the states of Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana, are well adapted to its profitable culture. It may also be grown to advantage in several of the counties of the state of New York, and on the borders of the Con necticut river ; or indeed in any of the middle and eastern states, where the soil is composed of a rich loam, or on alluvial bottoms. Kentucky is the only state where it is at present raised in any considera ble quantity, and the crop in that state alone has been from five hundred to a thousand tons, -v^hich is manufactured chiefly into cotton-bagging, and the coarser kind of ropes, such as bale-rope, (fee. Indeed, it is supposed that Kentucky could furnish a sufficient supply for the consumption of the United States. Hemp being an exhausting crop, it has been stated that the best land will not bear a succession of more than three crops ; but in Kentucky it has been as certained by experience, that the land, by being after wards put into grass, especially clover, will, in three years, be restored to its ability to produce a further succession of three crops of hemp. The quantity obtained from an acre, by the ordinary process of rotting and preparing the hemp, is from 500 to 800 pounds ; but when cleared in an unrotted state, it is " supposed that the yield will be from one half to two thirds more. The perfection to which machinery for cleaning hemp, both in a rotted and unrotted state, is now brought, warrants the conclusion, that in a short time it will be in general use. The ordinary mode of sowing the seed is considered defective, from the small quantity put into the ground. At present a bushel and a quarter is the usual quantity ; but it is said by judicious farmers, that upon rich soil two bushels of seed at least ought to be used to an acre. The hemp of the United States, before rotting, is fully equal to any hemp of foreign growth, the texture of the fibre generally resembling that of St. Petersburgh and Archangel ; and the finest fibres being fully equal to the best Riga. The average price for Russian hemp is from 230 to 250 dollars per ton, while Ame rican (solely from the imperfect manner of rotting it) sells for about 175 dollars per ton. The hemp of the United States is almost invariably what is termed dew-rotted, and experience has shown, that cordage made of hemp of this description is by no means so durable as that made of water-rotted hemp, and the foreign hemp above mentioned is all of this kind. ¦^ Report of the Committee of Agriculture, in relation to Ameri can canvass, cables, and cordage, presented to the house of repre sentatives, on the fifth of January, 1825. — As an instance, among a multitude of similar facts, of the interest congress takes in pro moting the agricultural, as well as commercial interests of the union, it may be observed, that bf this report, (No. 381,) which Dew-rotted hemp does not contain the tar necessary for the protection of the cordage from the effects of the wet, and without tar it is injuriously affected by the water, in a much greater degree than water-rotted hemp. " In order to make our hemp equal to any of foreign growth," say the manufacturers of New York,' " and to supply its place altogether as far as quality is concerned, nothing further is necessary than that it be water-rotted, or prepared without rotting, if, upon proper investigation, it be found that the ma chines constructed for that purpose will make the hemp suitable for all kinds of cordage. We have long and anxiously looked forward to an improve ment in the culture and preparation of the hemp of our own country, and inquiries, which we have dili gently made, have resulted in the conviction, that the expense and difficulties of water-rotting hemp have been much over-rated with us. It was tried upon a small scale in Orange county, in this state, and the experiment resulted very satisfactorily." Flax is grown extensively ; and the seed being highly esteemed for some of the European soils, it forms an export of considerable amount. It is stated that in some instances an acre of land has produced a profit of twenty, and in others of thirty dollars. The manufacture of it, however, seems in a great measure to have been superseded by the use of cot ton. Indeed, the same inferiority is found in the quality of this article as in that of hemp, and from a similar cause. " In 1822," states Mr. Travers, the manager of a large factory at Paterson, New Jerse-y, in his examination before the committee of manufae- tures,t " I made duck of American flax, but I ascer tained from actual experiment, that it would not an- swer, and that my credit as a manufacturer was likely to suffer, and I abandoned it. I am satisfied that the superior quality ofthe foreign over the American flax, is to be attributed, almost exclusively, to their pre paring it by water-rotting, while in America it is pre pared by dew-rotting. In this country too, it is suf fered to grow too long, with a view of saving the seed, whilst the foreign is pulled when the bloom falls, and before the bole is formed. I conceive the difference between American flax, pulled when the blossom falls and water-rotted, and that which is pulled after it has seeded and dew-rotted, would be fifty per cent, better to the farmer and to the manu facturer, estimated upon the present prices. The contains a mass of information on this subject, important both to the grower and the manufacturer, six thousand copies were printed by order of the house, for distribution. t Report (No. 115) presented to the house of representatives, January 31, 1828, p. 136. 144 TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. one gains that much by the quantity and quality of the article, and the latter can afford to give that much more for it that it is now worth to him. Flax ])ulled at this time will weigh thirty-three and a half per cent, more than when suffered to go to seed." The animals, either employed in agriculture, or reared for food, are very similar to those of Great Britain. In the southern, middle, and western states, much attention is paid to the breeding of horses. British race, and also Arabian horses, have been im ported, to improve the breed of this animal. Neither the intense cold of winter in some of the states, nor the excessive heat of summer in all the states, appear - much to distress the horse in America. Some of the American horses are likewise very fleet ; the races in New York, Virginia, and South Carolina, prove that the swiftness of the American horse equals that of the British. There are none of those very heavy cart-horses which we have in the British sea-ports. The cow in general use is about the size of the Devonshire one, giving five or six quarts of milk at each milking. The Holderness cow, and other large breeds, would certainly not suit the United States ; they are more adapted to a humid climate. It has been said that all animals dwindle in size in this country, a statement certainly very incorrect. If the same care be taken there in the breeding and feeding of horses and other animals as in England, there is not a doubt that the animal would attain an equal size or weight. Bullocks have been fed in America, weighing 2000 to 25001bs. ; hogs, 800 to 14001bs. Sheep do not appear to succeed so well as oxen and swine. The mutton is not so good or fine-fla voured as the English, and it is frequently sold at half the price of beef It is probable that proper at tention is not paid to this animal ; for it is healthy, not subject to the rot, or to many diseases which are prevalent in England. Mutton is not esteemed by the inhabitants for the table, and the sheep is princi pally reared for the wool, for which the demand has recently much increased. Poultry of all kinds is abundant and good, but the climate does not seem to suit the rabbit. The implements used in agriculture in most points resemble those of Great Britain. Circumstances however require variations, which the sagacity of the American cultivator will lead him to adopt, often in contradiction to the opinions of those who understand the science better than the practice of husbandry. In Europe, land is dear and labour cheap ; but in the United States the reverse is the case. The European cultivator is led, by a regard to his own interest, to endeavour to make the most of his land ; the American cultivator has the same inducement to make the most of his labour,. The principal products of the southern states are tobacco, cotton, rice, and sugar. The first of these indeed is grown largely in Virginia and other of the middle states, and, together with the cultivation a wheat, has enabled many of the proprietors to amass considerable wealth ; though, from the low price of tobacco, it is said now to be a speculation often at-' tended with loss. In common with the other plants which thrive in the warm climates of the southern states, tobacco is cultivated almost exclusively by slave-labour : it is raised in the same manner as cabbages are in England, only planted at a greater distance. A bed is made as earlj^ in the spring as possible, generally in a wood, as no kind of animal will touch or eat the plant ; they seem even to avoid - treading upon it. The preparation is by felling the timber, and burning the tops on the place intended to be sown with seed ; to raise the plants, the seed being small, the ground is hoed up, and the ashes and earth mingled together as fine as possible. New land is preferred, and treated in the same manner as that for the seed-bed : if old land, it is very highly dunged, or cow-penned, which is by folding the cat tle at night on a small piece or patch of ground, as sheep are folded in England ; and the latter mode is preferred to the former. The ground is then ploughed, and made fine by the harrows, in the same manner as for turnips in England. That being done, the plants are set ; after Avhich it is very common, if the man has sheep, to keep them in the fields to eat the weeds ; even cattle are kept in the field for that pur pose. Before the plant is set, the earth is generally drawn up into hills with the hoe, at the distance of three feet asunder, and dung put into them. It is said by the planters, that an industrious black man or woman will manage three acres. There is a caterpillar, or beautiful worm, more than an inch and a half long, of such a devouring nature, that if it be not observed every day, it soon spoils a great number of plants ; therefore the plants are searched over every day, which is one cause of the three acres being set off to every planter. The culture of tobac co exhausts the land to such a degree, that it will only sustain two, or, at most, three crops. The en tire process employs the negroes during the whole year : preparing the land in March and April, plant ing in May, hoeing and overlooking in June, July, August, and September, cutting and housing in Oc tober ; the other months, in moist weather, to be pulling the leaves off the tobacco-stalks, and preparing them for market ; in frosty weather in clearing tho TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 14S -wood off, to plant new land the next year, and cut ting the wood for rails, fire, (fee. The following de scription of the mode of preparing tobacco for ex portation is given by a recent traveller in the United States, " A party of a dozen negroes, on the floor of a tobacco-house, were placed, men, women, and children, in a circle, drawing the leaves from the stalk. In the centre stood two men, who, on re ceiving the leaves from the pickers, distributed them in heaps according to their quality. There seem to be three qualities of tobacco. The lower leaves, or those which touch the ground, are liable to get dirty and torn ; but on the higher parts of the same stalk two different sorts of leaves are found, one yellow and one brown. These being carefully separated, and made up into little bunches, somewhat thicker * than a man's thumb, are tied round with a thong formed out of the leaf itself. The bunches are then slung in pairs, across bars of wood, stretching from side to side of the roof, not unlike herrings in a dry ing-house. In the course of time, the house becomes so completely filled with these bars carrying bunches of tobacco, that there is barely left space enough for a man to creep under them to trim the fires, kept constantly burning on the mud floor to dry the leaves. The next process is to pack it into the large hogs heads which every one has seen before the door of a tobacconist's shop. This operation is performed by means of long levers worked by hand, which force it into a compact mass.'' The cultivation of cotton is conducted in a man ner very similar to that of tobacco. It is an annual plant, growing to a considerable height, and has leaves of a bright green colour, marked with brown ish veins, and each divided into five lobes. The flowers have only one petal in five segments, with a short tube, and are of a pale yellow colour, with five red spots at the bottom. The cotton-pods are of somewhat triangular shape, and have each three cells. These, when ripe, burst open, and disclose their snow- white or yellowish contents, in the midst of -which are contained the seeds, in shape somewhat resem bling those of grapes. The fibres of cotton are ex tremely fine, delicate, and flexile. When examined by the microscope, they are found to be somewhat flat, and two-edged, or triangular. Their direction is not straight, but contorted, so that the locks can be extended or drawn out without doing violence to the fibres. These threads are finely toothed, which explains the cause of their adhering together with greater facility than those of bombax and several u,pocynece, which are destitute of teeth, and which cannot be spun into thread without an admixture of cotton. In the southern states of the Union, the cotton cultivated is distinguished into three kinds — the nankeen cotton, so called from its colour ; the green-seed cotton, producing white cotton with green seeds ; and the black-seed cotton. The first two kinds grow in the middle and upper country, and are called short-staple cotton ; the last is cultivated in the lower country, near the sea, and on the isles near the shore, and produces cotton of a fine, white, silky appearance, very strong, and of a long staple. Cot ton appears to have been found indigenous in Ame rica ; but for a long ^period after it had been grown in some of the southern states, it seems to have been consumed in domestic use, and none exported ; in deed, the factories at this time were supplied with a foreign article. When, in 1784, a small quantity ol cotton was imported into Liverpool, in a vessel from the United States, it was, at first, considered as an illegal transaction, as it was not supposed possible for it to have been the growth of any of the states of the Union ; and when, about the same period, a duty was proposed in the United States Congress on the import of foreign cotton, it was declared by one of the re presentatives from South Carolina, that the cultiva tion of cotton was in contemplation by the planters of South Carolina and Georgia, " and that if good seed could be procured it might succeed." How ra pidly this produce must have risen in amount, and what wealth must have been accumulated by its cul tivators, may be supposed, when it is stated that the crop in 1824-5 was 369,259 bales ; that of 1825-6, was 720,027 bales ; of 1826-7, 957,281 ; of 1827-8, 720,593 ; of 1828-9, 870,415. This rapid increase of production has been attended by proportionate diminution of price, which averages only about one third what it did form.erly : " Low as the price has sunk, however," says Mr. Everett,* " there is good reason to think it still, with thrift and economy, a profitable branch of industry. I have been lately favoured with a minute statement of the average pro duct of five or six cotton plantations in two of the south-western states, ascertained by putting together the income of a good and a bad year. The result of this statement is, that the capital invested in these plantations yields from fifteen to twenty per cent. clear ; and that the net profit accruing to the pro prietor, for the labour of each efficient hand, is 237 dollars 50 cents per annum ; being a clear gain of 4 dollars 50 cents per week. It further appears, that on one of these plantations, (and the same, though not stated, is believed to hold of the others, in due * Address delivered before the American Institute ofthe city ol New York, at their fourth annual fair, October 14, 1831, p. 40. 146 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES, proportion) worth altogether, for land, labour, and stock, 92,000 dollars, the entire amount of articles paying duty annually consumed is 2,300 dollars. The average crop of this plantation, taking a good and bad year, is 14,500 dollars. — Suppose the duties to be thirty-three and a half per cent., and the whole amount of the duty to be actually assessed, in the shape of an enhanced price of the article, (the con trary of which is known to be true, for in several articles the entire price is little more than the duty,) it would amount to less than 730 dollars per annum, or a clear profit of 14,000 dollars. The great wealth of the south is, of course, the product of the labour there performed. The productiveness of this labour must greatly depend on the cost at which it is sus tained. This cost must consist chiefly of that of food and clothing. Food is subject to no duty, nor is there any duty, which, except in the most remote and indirect manner, can enhance its price. The annual cost of clothing in the south-western states, — probably in all the states south of 35°, — is said to be eight dollars per head. Suppose this supply to come enhanced one third, it is a very small sum when as sessed upon the annual product of the industry of the labourer. These statements are furnished to me on the very highest authority. There is no reason why the plantations, to which they refer, should be more productive than others in their neighbourhood, except as they may be conducted with greater skill and prudence. But there never existed, and never will exist, any branch of industry, which, in the long run, will be profitable in any but skilful and prudent hands." There are two machines for cleans ing cotton from the seeds ; these are the roller-gin and the saw-gin. The essential parts of the first are two small cylinders, revolving in contact, or nearly EO. The cotton is drawn between the rollers, while the size of the seeds prevents them from passing. The saw-gin, invented by Mr. Whitney, is used for the black-seed cotton, the seeds of which adhere too strongly to be separated by the other method. It is a receiver, having one side covered with strong par- rallel wires, about an eighth of an inch apart. Be tween these v/ires pass a number of circular saws, revolving on a common axis. The cotton is entan gled in the teeth of the saws, and drawn out through the grating, while the seeds are prevented, by their size, from passing. The cotton thus extracted is swept from the saws by a revolving cylindrical brush, and the seeds fall out of the bottom of the receiver. Rice is cultivated extensively in the southern states, by a method somewhat similar to that of gar den peas in this country. The grains of this plant grow on separate pedicles, or little fruit-stalks, spring ing from the main stalk. The whole head forms what a botanist would call a spiked panicle ; that is, some thing between a spike like wheat, and a panicle like oats. The grain is sown in rows, in the bottom of trenches, made by slave-labour entirely. These ridges lie about seventeen inches -apart, from centre to centre. The rice is put in by the hand, generally by women, and is never scattered, but cast so as to fall in a line. This is done about the 17th of March. By means of floodgates, the water is then permitted to flow over the fields, and to remain on the ground five days, at the depth of several inches. The ob ject of this drenching is to sprout the seeds, as it is technically called. The water is next drawn off, and the ground allowed to dry, until the rice is risen to what is termed four leaves high, or between three and four inches. This requires about a month. The fields are then again overflowed, and they re main submerged for upwards of a fortnight, to des troy the grass and weeds. These processes occupy till about the 17th of May, after which the ground is allowed to remain dry till the 15th of July, during which interval it is repeatedly hoed, to remove such weeds as have not been effectually drowned, and also to loosen the soil. The water is then, for the last time, introduced, in order that the rice may be brought to maturity ; and it actually ripens while standing in the water. The harvest commences about the end of August, and extends into October. It is all cut by the male slaves, who use a sickle, while the women make it up into bundles. As it seems that no inge nuity has yet been able to overcome the difficulty of threshing the grains out by machinery, without break ing them, the whole of this part of the process is done with hand-flails in a court-yard. The next pro cess is to detach the outer husk, which clings to the grain with great pertinacity. This is done by pass ing the rice between a pair of mill-stones, removed to a considerable distance from each other. The inner pellicle, or film, which envelopes the grain, is re moved by trituration in mortars under pestles weigh ing from 250 to 300 pounds. These pestles consist of upright bars, shod with iron, which being raised up by the machinery to the height of several feet, are allowed to fall plump down upon the rice, the particles of which are thus rubbed against one another till the film is removed. It is now thoroughly win nowed, and, being packed in casks holding about 600 pounds each, is ready for distribution over all parts of the world. The extraction of sugar from the maple has al ready been described, but that from the cane far sur TOPOGRAPHY -OP THE UNITED STATES. 147 passes it in amount, and will probably soon supersede it altogether as an article of sale. The sugar-cane is extensively cultivated in Louisiana, Georgia, and West Florida. Five kinds of sugar-cane are culti vated in Louisiana, 1st, The cane called Creole cane. It is supposed to have come originally from Africa ; its stalk rises vertically, the joints are closer than in the other kinds, and it is not so long and thick ; its leaves also are vertical, and remarkably lanceolated ; it requires as much labour as the cane of Otaheite : it is, of all the five kinds, the one that is most exhausting to the earth, so that, after a few years, the land on which it has been cultivated is so impoverished, that it becomes necessary to substitute cane of another kind. The sugar it produces has more strength or body than that from the others ; it is, consequently, preferable for exportation, and suf fers less waste by dripping, in crossing the sea. 2d. The cane from Otaheite, called Bourbon cane. The stalk is thicker than that of the other kinds, and longer than that of the Creole cane ; the joints are further apart, the leaves broader, of a lighter colour, turning over, and hanging towards the ground. The roots branch out less than those of the Creole cane, and it is more liable to be thrown down by the wind. The eye or bud of this cane is very small, and so flat as to be difficult to judge of its quality. It is the most watery of all, and consequently not suitable for new land ; it succeeds better in an old soil, provided that it be well ploughed. Cultivated in this way, the Otaheite cane is the one that produces the most su gar. It suffers less from the cold than the Creole, but it is more tardy in coming up ; yet, when it has started, its vegetation is more rapid than that of the others. The plants are not so easily preserved, and it must be replanted every year. It is admitted that the sugar it produces has less body than that from the others. 3d. The riband cane, green and red. 4th. The riband cane, green and yellow. These two species of cane grow rapidly ; their stalks are as high as those of the Otaheite cane, and a little less thick ; the joints very far apart, as in that cane ; the eyes more prominent and larger ; the leaves are more bushy on the top of the cane, which exposes it to be prostrated by the wind ; but this accident is little to be dreaded in these canes, because it does not ger minate so easily ; whilst, in the other species, the buds, in being brought in contact with the earth, vegetate speedily, which changes the sap, and injures the production of the sugar. The green and red riband cane comes up earlier than any other ; it is peculiarly adapted to newly-cleared land and low grounds ; it is the most vigorous, the easiest to pre serve as a plant, the one that bears the most cold, and the culture of which requires the least labour ; but, by reason of the thickness of its bark, it requires a stronger pressure than any other to extract the juice ; and steam power alone can produce the de gree of pressure necessary to avoid a considerable loss of the saccharine matter. The sugar that this cane produces possesses body, is easily made, and gives less molasses than that from any other. The green and yellow cane bears a considerable resem blance to the Otaheite ; it is almost as watery, and is not hard ; but it seems to be the general opinion, that the plants are more easily preserved ; its stalk is larger than that of the green and red riband ; it is late in coming up, like the Otaheite cane, withstands the cold at least as well, and appears equally suited to lands somewhat exhausted by cultivation. 5th. The violet cane of Brazil. This plant was introduced in Louisiana in or about 1806, but it was soon aban doned, the planters having found that in the climate of the United States it is much less productive than any of the others. The Creole, the Otaheite, and the riband canes, are at present the only ones cultivated in Louisiana, and are the best suited to the nature ol the soil. They are all more or less affected by the variations of the atmosphere, are very sensible to cold, and are killed in part by the frost every year. They are also exposed to other injuries, which renders the culture very expensive. Experience has shown that the cane may be cul tivated in a latitude much colder than was generally supposed ; for fine crops are now made in Louisiana, in places where, a few years ago, the cane froze be fore it was ripe enough to make sugar. In the pro cess of cultivation, the ground is ploughed as deep as possible, and harrowed : after it has been thus broken up, parallel drills or furrows are ploughed at the dis tance of two feet and a half to four feet from one an other ; in these the cane is laid lengthwise, and co vered about an inch with a hoe. Small canals to drain off the water are commonly dug. more or less distant from each other, and these are crossed by smaller drains, so as to form squares iike a chess board. These ditches are necessary to drain off the water from rains, as well as that which filters from the rivers, which would otherwise rem? in upon the plantations. The average quantity of suo-ar that may be produced upon an acre of land of proper quality, well cultivated, is from 800 to 1,000 pounds, provided that the cane has not been damaged, either by storms of wind, inundations, or frost. The strong soil is easiest of cultivation, and most produc tive in rainy seasons. The light soils require less 148 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. labour, and yield more revenue in dry seasons. To these variations others are to be added, resulting from the different exposure of the lands, the greater or less facility of draining, and also from the greater or less quantity of a weed, known by the name of coco or grass nut. Sixty working hands are necessary to cultivate 240 acres of cane, planted in well-prepared land, and to do all the work necessary until the sugar is made and delivered. The sugar, up to the mo ment it is delivered to the merchant, costs the sugar- planter about three and a half cents per pound for expenses incurred, without reckoning the interest on his capital.* It -will give our readers great satisfaction, however, to find that this article can be raised without the ab solute necessity of employing slaves, which has been . by some so strongly contended for. Mr. Coxe, in his " Statement of the Arts and Manufactures of the United States," undertaken by the direction of con gress, observes, " This new mode of managing sugar 'ands appears to be worthy of particular attention and statement. Instead of the employment of slaves re quiring a very burdensome advance of capital, and an expensive subsistence, the occasional labour of neigh bouring, transient, hired white persons, is often used to prepare the grounds with the plough and harrow, to plant the new canes, to dress the old ones, and to clear the growing plants from weeds. The same or other white labourers are afterwards employed by the planters to cut, and stack under cover, the ripened canes, so as to prepare them for the grinding-mill and boiler. The operation of planting occurs after the sickly autumnal season, and before the vernal ; and the operation of cutting also occurs in the healthy season, at the end of the following autumn. The service is therefore not unhealthy. It is considered to be expedient that the planters who own, and they who cultivate the soil, should not expend great sums in the establishment of mills and sets of works, on all the sugar estates, after the manner of the West Indian colonies of the European states. But it is found much more convenient and profitable, to leave the business of grinding and boiling to one manufac turer of muscovado sugar, for a number of planters. These persons, like the owners of grain-mills and saw-gin mills, can be employed for a toll in kind, or part of the produce, or for a compensation in money. By this method, a tract of three miles square, or three hundred and twenty perches square, which would contain twenty-five plantations of above one hundred and two acres each, may be accommodated by one cen- • Answer of the Central " Committee of the Sugar Planters of the State of Louisiana," contained in a " Letter from the Secreta- tral manufactory of muscovado sugar from the cane stalks ; for none of these plantations will be more distant from the boiler than a single mile ; a mere city porterage or cartage. Refineries for making white sugar, and distilleries, may be added, and the economy and accommodation to the planters will be more complete. The effect of this division of labour and ownership will be, rapidly to bring into the most complete and productive cultivation, all the cane- lands in the United States, and to advance the various manufactures of this valuable and wholesome agri cultural production. The easy and cheap" mainte nance of - cattle, the abundant supplies of provisions and building materials for man and beast, and the redundance of fuel and cask lumber, with the benefits to our planters from being more frequently and com fortably their own stewards and overseers, will greatly redound to their convenience and profit." Indigo was formerly an object of very extensive cultivation, but the growth of it was generally aban doned when cotton became the great staple of the south. It is still produced, however, in some ofthe southern states, but not to any very great extent, the exportation amounting only to a few thousand or sometimes only a few hundred dollars annually, while it is imported to a large amount. The cultivation of the mulberry tree, and the raising of silk-worms, have occupied a considerable and increasing portion of attention in the United States, and may be considered as a branch of agri culture the least pre-occupied, and the most open to energetic pursuit, that the country affords. Before the revolution, attempts to produce silk were made in Georgia with some success ; but circumstances were unfavourable, and ultimately they were aban doned. Sewing-silk, indeed, has been made for up wards of seventy years, and still continues to be made, in the state of Connecticut, and in some other parts of the Union ; but this silk is of so inferior a quality that it not only can not be exported abroad, but can not even find a cash price in the domestic markets. It is disposed of in barter among the farmers, and is acknowledged not to be fit to compete with the same article imported from Europe, which still continues to be imported. The reason of this is not the want of ingenuity in the females, who, it is anderstood, exclusively attend to this manufacture, but to their ignorance of the art of preparing this precious mate rial, an art which can only be acquired by experience and practice, and which must be taught by a person fully skilled in it. Such persons are not to be ob- ry of the Treasury," presented to the house of representatives, January 21, 1831. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 149 tained from foreign countries without the greatest difficulty. In several parts of the country, however, this important branch of agriculture is now more or less attended to. Societies of various kinds have been established for its promotion. With the same views, acts of incorporation have been granted by the state legislatures, and the national government them selves have not thought this object unworthy of their special patronage. The works of foreign authors on these interesting subjects issue in translations and abridgments from the press ; manuals, and even periodicals, are published by American authors, all tending to produce the same result — the introduction of silk as a profitable object of culture into that country. During the year 1829, a series of essays were written by M. D'Homergue, the son of an emi nent silk-manufacturer, at Nismes, who had arrived in Philadelphia at the instance of an association for the promotion of the culture of silk ; they have since been published in a separate form, and will well re pay the perusal of those who may feel peculiarly interested in the subject.* The report of the " Com mittee of Agriculture," who were instructed " to in quire into the expediency of adopting measures to extend the cultivation of the mulberry-tree, and to promote the cultivation of silk by introducing the necessary machinery," (fee. made to the house of representatives, March 12, 1830, states these essays, and the facets contained, to be entitled to high confi dence. " It appears from them," states the report, " that American silk is superior in quality to that produced in any other country : — in France and Italy, twelve pounds of cocoons are required to produce one pound of raw silk, whilst eight pounds of Ameri can cocoons will produce one pound of raw silk : — that cocoons cannot be exported to a foreign market from several causes, — their bulk, their liability to spoil by moulding on ship-board, and because they cannot be compressed without rendering them inca pable of being afterwards reeled. It is further de monstrated in these essays, and in a memorial lately presented by the manufacturers of silk stuffs of Lyons, in France, to the minister of commerce and manufac tures, that the art of filature can only be acquired by practical instruction, by some one intimately acquaint ed with, and accustomed to, that process ; that no human skill or ingenuity, unaided by practical in struction, is capable of acquiring that art, to any pro fitable extent. It is made manifest, that, although the culture of silk has been carried on for many years in some parts of the United States, and more particu- * Essays on American Silk, &c. by John D'Homergue aud P. S. Duponceau. Philadelphia: 1830. Vol, IL— Nos. 49 (fe 50 T larly in Connecticut, it has been conducted very un- profitably, compared with what the results might have been, if the art of filature had been understood. The sewing-silk made in Connecticut is from the best ol the silk, and is, after all, quite inferior to that oi France and Italy ; in these latter countries, sewing- silk is manufactured from imperfect cocoons, or from refuse silk. It appears also that, unless the silk is properly reeled from the cocoons, it is never after wards susceptible of use in the finer fabrics. It is a gratifying consideration that the benefits from the culture of silk, and the acquisition of the art of reel ing the same, will be common to every part of the United States. The climate of every state in the union is adapted to the culture of silk ; hatching the eggs of the silk-worms may be accelerated or retarded, to suit the putting forth the leaves of the mulberry. That tree is easily propagated from the seeds of the fruit, and is adapted to almost any soil. The com mittee regard the general culture of silk as of vast national advantage in many points of view. If zeal ously undertaken and prosecuted, it will, in a few years, furnish an article of export of great value ; and thus the millions, paid by the people of the United States for silk stuffs, will be compensated for by the sale of our raw silk. The importation of silk, during the year which ended on the 30th of September, 1828, amounted to 8,463,563 dollars, of which, 1,274,461 were exported ; but, in the same year, the exportation of broad stuffs from this country amounted only to 5,414,665 dollars, leaving a balance against us of nearly two millions. The committee anticipate that, at a period not remote, when we shall be in posses sion of the finest material produced in any country, the manufacture of silk stuffs will necessarily be in troduced into the United States. The culture of silk promises highly moral benefits, in the employment of poor women and children in a profitable business, while it will detract nothing from agricultural or manufacturing labour. The culture of sik will greatly benefit those states which have abundant slave-labour, the value of whose principal productions, particularly in the article of cotton, has been depress ed by over production." The first object to be obtained is undoubtedly the preparation of an abundant supply of food for the worms, which may be effected at a very small expense. There are two different species of mulberry, — the black, which is cultivated for its excellent fruit, of a dark purple colour, almost black ; and is a tree of slower growth than the white ; the leaves are larger, of a darker green, thicker and stronger. The silk worms will eat them for the want of better, but they TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. do not thrive upon them, and the silk is coarse and inferior. The white mulberry-tree bears a white or light pink fruit, and its leaves are the most congenial food for these precious insects ; is of a quicker growth, and does not come to so large a size as the black. The white mulberry is a very hardy tree, and bears the severest winters without any apparent injury ; will last a great many years, and if cut down close to the ground, -will send up many suckers all around, and resist destruction for several years. There are many kinds of white mulberry, the leaves of which differ in point of merit as a food for the silk-Avorm. Some are of a small size, earlier, and more tender ; and, on that account, are cultivated as the most proper for the worms when first hatched ; others are large, and of a peculiar quality, which suit the taste of the worms,, vipon which they thrive best, and make the handsomest silk. The best plants for earliness and superiority of leaves should be set out and noted, as they may hereafter furnish scions for grafting. Upon a dry soil the mulberry-trees do not grow much taller than the largest peach-trees ; but they are stouter and thicker set. Their roots, which are of a remarkably bright gold colour, (that of silk,) extend to a consider able distance ; and they ought not to be planted on that account nearer than thirty feet from tree to tree. As the gathering of leaves too soon would injure the growth and constitution of the trees,, we would re commend that no leaves should be gathered from them until after the fifth year. In the mean time, plantations may be made for immediate use, by sow ing the seed in drills, at a convenient distance, plant ing beans or potatoes betvireen, to keep the ground clear of weeds. The second year after sowing, these seedlings might be cut down with a sharp instrument, three or four inches from the ground, and would give a second crop the same season. In the silk countries, they raise seedlings in rows for the first feeding of the worms : these young plants putting out their leaves earlier than the old trees, and being more ten der, are better adapted for the worms in the first stage of their existence. They also plant the mulberry- trees, and suffer them to grow according to unre strained nature, branching out from the ground, for the convenience of gathering the leaves more easily, and making a food stronger than the- seedlings. They consider the leaves from trees, regularly train ed, with a single butt, and of several years growth, to give the most substantial food. The white mul berry thrives in all soils and situations, and will grow very rank and full of leaves upon low, moist ground ; but the food it affords in such situations is very in ferior, and apt to disorder the worms. A warm loam, even if gravelly, will give leaves of the best quality, and a sheltered warm situation will produce leaves many days sooner than one which is exposed to cold ; and is desirable on that account. The mulberry-tree may be raised from suckers : sometimes slips, planted in a moist Soil, will take root ; and if the low branches of a tree can be bent so as to be fastened and covered in the ground, they will take root. The trees may be planted near buildings for shade, or in a yard ; the fowls are very fond of the fruit Avhen it falte. A va riety of situations will increase the means of early and late feeding, which is very desirable. The most esteemed seed of that tree in Europe is that raised in Piedmont. The seed from Spain is also excellent. The seed of the best quality is large, bright, and heavy ; when bruised it will appear oily, and when thrown on ignited coals, it will crackle. It would be superfluous here to^ give detailed in structions respecting the best methods of raising the silk-worm and winding the silk. Volumes have been written by Dandolo and others on this important sub ject ; but every needful information may be obtained from the article on this subject in the New American Gardener, by T. G. Fessenden ; from the Essays already referred to : and from the Philadelphia Silk Society. Persuaded that we are concurring in pro moting both n.^tional and individual benefit, by ex tending in any degree the circulation of appeals on the importance of this subject, we shall conclude with an extract from the first of the above publications : " Fully aware of the importance of the object we have presented to the attention of the community, we can not leave it without making a concluding appeal to the intelligence and energy of our countrymen, not to suffer any delay to take place in setting their hands to a work so promising of results the most favourable' to our comforts, and for our welfare : the first step is within the farmers immediate department, to sow the mulberry- seed, and rear the young trees ; and after two years of attendance, the silk raising may com mence in good earnest, and will become a healthy and pleasant business for children and young women. This rich crop will require but two months care to secure it, and when the business shall flourish on a large scale, which Ave may anticipate as probable within a short period, the raising of the cocoons will become a distinct occupation for farmers' families ; the winding and reeling of them, most probably, will be carried on as a distinct and separate branch of in dustry ; this is actually the case in all the silk-grow ing countries, where the cocoons ase carried to the public markets,, and sold for ready cash to those who keep fifatures, where they wind and reel them- Great TOPOGRAPHY OP THE UNITED STATES. 151 advantages will accrue to the younger members of farmers' families in cultivating so pleasant and profit able an employment at home : it will offer to many young women a choice between home and the facto ries, and a resource in case the liberal encouragement given to manufactures should eventually prove the cause of business being overdone ; it will also offer valuable resources for the pauper establishments, where the old and infirm, under a discreet and judi cious government, may be made to provide themselves a. comfortable support. If we take a retrospective view of the affairs of mankind, since the times of early record, we find that the riches and the pros perity resulting from commerce and navigation, or from a system of extensive manufactures, however brilliant, are comparatively of short and uncertain duration ; the changes of views and systems of a go vernment at home, the changes of policy among foreign nations, render the whole fabric subject to many sudden and unforeseen vicissitudes, and depend ent upon the results of relations abroad, and of the compromise of jarring interests at home, setting at defiance, in the course of time, the subtle calculations of the most accomplished statesman ; but the pros perity which is founded upon a perfected agriculture, that combines with intelligence the abilities of the soil and climate, so as to naturalize, by industry, rich crops of products, unknown to its original situation, is a prosperity not liable to changes ; it becomes in herent and lasting." By the latest intelligence that has been received on this interesting subject, there appears every reason to believe that the difficulty in winding the silk will speedily be overcome. The indefatigable and patri otic advocate of this branch of national wealth, M. Du Ponceau, with the assistance of M. D'Homergue, has already made considerable progress in instruct ing young females in the art of winding, and they have, in the midst of the obstacles by which they were surrounded, succeeded in producing about fifty pounds of raw silk in marketable condition ; part of which has been manufactured into a national flag, and presented to the house of representatives.* The vine grows in most parts of the United States, and yields a plentiful return for the labour of culti vation. A few years since a number of Swiss settlers at Vevay, in Indiana, commenced the cultivation of the grape on a large scale, an example which has been followed in many parts of the west. The vi cinity of Vevay still boasts the largest vineyards in the United States. " We have witnessed nothing in * Twenty-first congress, second session, report No. 7. t Cteography and History of the -Western States, vol. ii. p. 149. our country," says Mr. Flint,^ " in the department of gardening and cultivation, which can compare with the richness of this vineyard in the autumn, when the clusters are in maturity. Words feebly paint such a spectacle. The horn of plenty seems to have been emptied in the production of this rich fruit. We principally remarked the blue or Cape grape, and the Madeira grape. The wine of the former has been preferred to the claret of Bordeaux. The fruit seems to have a tendency to become too succu lent and abundant. It is now supposed that some of our native grapes will more easily acclimate to the country and soil, and make a better wine. — These amiable, industrious, and intelligent people, are constantly profiting by the benefit of experience, and this species of agriculture already yields them a better profit than any other practised in our country, while they are every year improving on the vintage of the past." A large grant of land, in the territory of Alabama, was made by the general government to a French association under M. Villar, for the purpose of encouraging the cultivation of the vine and the olive. About 270 acres had been occupied with vines in 1827, and nearly 400 olive trees had been planted. The latter, however, do not thrive, and it is apprehended will not attain an available degree of perfection in that climate, as the tree is perished to the roots by every winter's frost, although fresh shoots appear every spring, t Horticulture has not been overlooked in the Uni ted States ; although, amidst the bustling pursuits and profitable occupations of the agriculturist, the manufacturer, and the merchant, it has not received that general attention which is evinced in our own country: those, howcA'^er, Avho, either from views of pleasure or of gain, haA^e devoted their time to the culture of the garden, have not had to complain of an unsuccessful or unprofitable pursuit. Some idea of the variety of fruits and of flowers Avhich the cli mate will admit of, may be formed from the follow ing statement of the contents of a garden in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia, which may be relied on as authentic, being extracted from the report of the committee appointed by the Pennsylvania Horti cultural Society for visiting the Nurseries and Gar dens in the vicinity of that city:§ "Here are tt> be found," say the committee, "one hundred and thirteen varieties of apples, seventy-two of pears, twenty-two of cherries, seventeen of apricots, forty-flve of plums, thirty-nine of peaches, flve of nectarines, three of al- mon-ds, six of quinces, five of mulberries, six of rasp-- t Report made to the secretary of the treasury, Dec. 24, 1837, § Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania, vol. vii. p. 106. ' 152 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES, berries, six of currants, five of filberts, eight of wal nuts, six of straAvberries, and tAvo of medlars. The stock, considered according to its growth, has in the first class of ornamental trees, esteemed for their foliage, flowers, or fruit, seventy-six sorts ; of the second class, fifty-six sorts ; of the third class, one hundred and twenty sorts ; of ornamental evergreens, fifty-tAvo sorts ; of vines and creepers, for covering walls and arbours, thirty-five sorts ; of honeysuckle, thirty sorts, and of roses, eighty varieties." There are, however, considerable difficulties to be overcome in this pursuit, arising from the sudden transitions of temperature, long periods of drought, and the tremendously heavy rains Avhich wash aAvay the soil. To avoid, as much as possible, the first of these evils, a situation sheltered from the north and northwest winds should be selected ; to meet the se cond, the vicinity of a perennial stream Avill of course, if possible, be sought ; and to prevent the third, a level plat, free from any considerable undulations, should be preferred. — Oui limits do not admit of our entering into a detail of the various species of trees and plants suitable for cultivation. The quotation we have made Avill prove that most of the fruits and flowers of Europe may be raised in the transatlantic republic. Peaches flourish in such abundance, that in many cases they furnish food for SAvine ; and ap ples are no less plentiful, the finer sorts being consi dered superior to those produced in Europe. Large quantities of cider are manufactured, and this is an article that, in a great measure, supersedes the use of malt liquor. On the other hand, some of the vege tables most esteemed in the old Avorld are difficult to raise, and inferior, in the ncAV ; as is the case Avith the potato, Avhich, in quantity and in flavour, is far inferior to the Irish. NotAvithstanding the difficul ties we have mentioned, and the inferiority of some productions, we are compelled to admit, that the ba lance is in favour of the American horticulturist, and we believe that there are feAV branches of business in which an industrious English emigrant, Avell ac quainted with the principles of gardening, Avould find more profitable employment. The English editor of this Avork, probably, had not the means of getting correct information on the sub ject of the horticulture of the United States. It has been more attended to than he imagines. It Avould be difficult for any one, at present, to go into the minutiae of this culture, as much more has been dene than has been recorded, ample and satisfactory as are the volumes of the Berkshire Horticultural So ciety, as also those of the Society of Pennsylvania, the Transactions of the Society of Arts of New York, and of the Asfricultural Board of that State, (fee. ntrary to general expectation, no. notice was taken of the sub ject in the opening message to the following congress ; but in. the aiinual report frpm the secretary of tho. 162 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. treasury, on the 10th of December, 1827, an elaborate view was taken of the manufactures of the country, and their encouragement and protection Avarmly re commended. " The time that has passed since the tariff of 1824," says the secretary, Mr. Rush, " has been sufficient to shoAA'-, that the duties fixed by it u-pon these articles* are not adequate to the measure of success in producing them at home, which their cardinal importance merits. A change, since 1824, in the laAvs of Great Britain, in regard to those first named, has also rendered almost abortive the provi sions of the tariff in their favour. It belongs to the purpose of this report, which looks to the encourage ment of the national industry in preference to any that is foreign, here to state, that, for a period of six successive years, ending with 1826, the value of woollen goods and cotton goods imported into the United States from the country just named, exceeds one hundred millions of dollars ; and the value of iron, and of articles manufactured from iron, seven teen millions. During one of these years, the woollens exported from that country to this exceeded the amount of those exported to the Avhole of Europe put together. For the means of exchange against an amount of foreign manufactures so great, the United States have had three principal staples of their soil, viz. wheat- flour, tobacco, and cotton. The first of these the same country has, by her laAvs, positively or virtually excluded, during the same period of years, from con sumption v/ithin her dominions. The second she has admitted, under a duty of more -than 600 .per cent. The third she has received with little scruple. She .has knoAvn how to convert it into a means of wealth sto her own industrious people, greater than had ever 43efore, in her whole annals, been derived from any single, commodity. This she has done, first by Avork- ing it up for her home use upon the largest scale, and, next, by making it subserve the interests of her foreign trade. The complete establishment of Ame rican manufactures in wool, cotton, iron, and hemp, is believed to be of very high moment to the nation. AU the principal raw materials for carrying them on are at hand, or could be commanded. The skill for imparting excellence to them Avould come at the pro sper time. There Avould be no want of labour, to which an abundant Avater-power, as Avell as artificial machinery, would every where be lending its assist ance. Capital Avould be found for investment in them. If their establishment, by the immediate pro tection of the laAvs, should, at first, raise the cost of the articles, and, for a succession of years, keep it up. * Manufactures from woollens, cotton, and irra. a true forecast, looking to the future, rather than adapting all its calculations to the existing hour, would not hesitate to embrace the protecting policy If it were a question of fostering manufactures for which the circumstances of the country yielded not abundant facilities, then indeed could success be ac complished only by indefinite forcing, to be followed by indefinite monopoly in price. Such is manifestly not the case. Manufactures of fine cotton, of wool lens of almost all descriptions, of iron articles, and of those from hemp, have already arrived at a point, in the United States, justifying the conclusion that some additional encouragement from congress is alone wanting to fix them upon lasting and profitable found ations. This additional encouragement is invoked as a proper offset to the high degree of success which foreign industry has attained in these branches by the effect of capital and skill, long pre-existing in older nations, and long aided by their laws. These are advantages not intrinsic, but accidental. Yet they cannot be countervailed but by efficient legislative aid to our OAvn establishments in the beginning." Early in the session, the committee on manufac tures entered on the investigation of the subject ; and to them the petitions which flowed in from all por tions of the country, both for and against an increase of duties, Avere referred. The resolutions also which were transmitted to congress from the legislatures of Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, in favour of an augmentation of duties, and those from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, in opposition to that measure, Avere referred to the same committee. On the 31st of December, the chairman of the com mittee, Mr. Mallary, by direction, submitted a reso lution, that the committee be vested with poAver to send for persons and papers ; which was, after a long debate, agreed to. The committee, thus authorized, issued subpoenas for twelve witnesses, Avho Avere examined, together Avith nine who voluntarily attend ed, and seven members of the house. The examina tion was principally directed to ascertaining the cost of manufacturing iron, steel, wool, hemp, flax, sail duck, spirits from grain and molasses, glass, cotton, and paper ; the capabilities of the country to manu facture them, at that time ; and Avhether any altera tion of the duties Avas required to protect the manu facturer against foreign competition. After four weeks spent in examining the various witnesses, the committee, on the 31st of January, made a report, accompanied by the testimony taken, and a bill, in which an increase of various duties was recommend ed, and which, after long discussion in both houses, TOPOGRAJ>HY OP THE UNITED STATES. 163 and receiving several amendments, was passed into a law.* This measure was not only violently opposed in both houses, by the representatives of the southern states, but after it had become a laAv, the vehemence of opposition was still more manifest among the in habitants, and even in the state legislatures of that section of the union. The question still continues to occupy the first place in the discussion of the periodi cal press, the language of which is still occasionally so violent as almost to indicate the probability of se paration between the southern and northern states, if the tariff is persisted in. It would be incompatible Avith the hmits, if not ir relevant to the purpose of this work, to enter into any lengthened discussion of the now virulently-contested question of free trade, as applicable to the United States. With all the light which political economists have thrown on the subject, (and for some modifica tions of non-intercourse laws the nations are certain ly indebted to their labours,) the scheme of establish ing a general system of free trade, in the present con dition of the world, seems to be utterly hopeless ; and this being the case, it appears to us, and Ave ap prehend it will to everyone who follows candidly * The bill, as originally proposed, was as follows : — (The final result will be apparent in the table of duties.) On iron in bars, not manufactured by rolling, 1 cent per, lb. — On iron in bars, manufactured- by rolling, 37 dollars per ton. — On pig iron, 62 1-2 cents per cwt. — On iron and steel wire, not exceeding No. 14,. 6 cents per lb. ; exceeding No. 14, ] 0 cents per lb. — On round iron, of three sixteenths to eight sixteenths of an inch in diameter-; on nail rods, slit or rolled ; on sheet and hoop iron ;,- on iron slit ov rolled for bands, scroll, or casement rods, .3 1-2 cents per lb. — On adzes, axes, drawing and cutting knives, sickles, sithes, spades, shovels, squares, (of iron or steel,) bridle-bits, steelyards and scale- beams, socket chisels, vices, and screws for wood, 10 per cent, ad valorem beyond the present duty. — On steel, 1 dollar 50 cents per cwt. — On raw wool, 7 cents per lb. ; and, in addition thereto, 40 per cent, ad valorem, until June 30th, 1829; from which time an additional duty of 5 .per cent, ad valorem shall be imposed annu ally, until it shall amount to 50 per cent. All wool imported in the skin to be estimated- as to iveight and value, and to pay the same rate of duty as other wool. — Ou woollen manufactures, of which the actual value shall not exceed 50 cents the square yard, 16 cents duty the square yard. — Ou all of which the value is between 50 and 100 cents the square yard, 40 cents duty the squa-re yard. — On all .between 1 dollar and 2- dollars 50 cents, a duty of 1 dollar the square yard.— On all between 2 dollars 50 cents and 4 dollars, a duty of 40 per cent, ad valorem to be levied, and the goods to be valued at 4 dollars the square yard. — On all* exceeding 4 dollars, a duty of 45 .per cent- ad valorem. — On woollen blankets, hosiery, mits, gloves, and bindings, 35 per cent, ad valorem. — On raw hemp and raw flax, 45:-dollars the ton, until June 30th, 1829, and then an additional duty of 5- .dollars annually, until the whole shall amount to 60 dollars per ton. — On sail duck, 9 cents the square yard. — On molasses, 10 ceitts per gallon, — On all imported spirits, 10 cents per gallon, in addition: to the present duty.r— On window glass, above ten inches by fifteen, 5 dollars for every 100 square feet, and charging all window glass imported in sheets, uncut, with the same rate of' duty. — On phials and bottles, not exceeding the capacity of six ounces each, 1 dollar 75 cents per gross. — All cot ton cloths (except nankeens from China) of which the cost, to gether with the custom-house additions, shall be less than 35 cents- the path of investigation through Avhich the claims of this Avork have necessarily led us, that there is no nation to which laAvs restricting the admission of foreign manufactures, if judiciously arranged, can be more beneficial than the United States. In consi dering this subject, those Avho, on either side of the Atlantic, have charged the American legislature with folly, overlook a very important circumstance, arising from the- extent of space, and the variety of climate embraced by the limits of the republic, namely, that, to a vast extent, trade, Avhich .to other nations is a foreign trade, is to the United States domestic ; for instance, as far as commerce is affected, Louisiana and Georgia are at least as foreign in relation to Ncav York or Massachusetts, as Spain or Turkey are to Great Britain :t consequently, the relative importance of foreign- commerce, the interests of Avhich are main ly impeded by restrictive laws, must ever be less than in> the case of other nations ; while, on the other hand, the existence of a manufacturing population must tend to promote domestic cultivation, trade, and commerce, to an extent proportionably greater than would be effected in other kingdoms.! With respect to the numerous other circumstances which must be the square yard, shall be deemed to .cost 35 cents, and duty charged accordingly, t It is true that, including her colonial possessions, the same re mark applies to Great Britain ; and, on this very ground mainly rests that " British system" of protective duties. t This point is well stated by Mr. Rush, secretary of the treasu ry, iu his report to congress, in 1817. " l-he United States," "sa-ys Mr. R. " are distinguished in this respect, by a lot as peculiar as it is favourable. Nothing can exceed the inducements to various and subdivided traffic, that abound within their own limits. It is here that the economist may hope to see exemplified every essential advantage of the foreign and home trade, blended in. the same system, moulded by the same policy, and freed from the jealousies that have frustrated and must ever continue to frustrate, the be nevolent, but impracticable theories of commercial intercourse, as between: distinct nations. It is not merely that the extent of. cli mate and" soil in the union arg adapted to all pursuits that can give activity and fruitfulness to industry under every form. These are but natural advantages. It is the exchange of the products of in dustry upon terms the most desirable, and the most gainful, through out so ample an extent of home dominion, that will exalt .<;uch na- tura-I advantages to the utmost. It is here that commerce may be carried on freed from every restriction, and probably for the first time, upon a political and geographical theatre so expanded.' The appropriate industry of each portion may go into unfettered action; of Louisiana and of Massachusetts, of Georgia and Rhode Island. A vast home trade, resembling foreign trade, as well by interve ning distances as the nature of its exchanges, will be prosecuted, whether along the ocean,. or the water highways of the interior, untrammelled by tolls or imposts of any kind, and without even the necessity of custom-houses; or giving to such establishments uses only formal. Such a trade can only, however, have its pro per value by, the extensi-ve. success of manufactures. Thej-e is no thing else that can impart to labour, in the United States, the ne cessary variety in its objects, and the necessary regularity and fulness in thie demand. 'There is nothing else can adequately aug ment and diversify the list of commodities foi which the necessities and enjoyments of improved life are ever making calls. There is nothing else will raise up to-Hois on the surface of our territory, at 164 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES, taken into account before it can be affirmed that any nation can conduct some of the principal branches of manufacture at all, and still more to advantage, it so happens that the United States possess, in a pre eminent degree, the great requisites of manufactures — water, coal, iron, cheap provisions, and an intelligent and active population : and that in such circum stances they should feel a desire to manufacture their own raw produce, and to be enabled to do so by pro tection from foreign competition, to say the least, aoes not appear either unnatural or unreasonable. The general principle of protecting duties being ad mitted, hoAvever, its application to any particular branch of manufacture must depend on its OAvn sepa rate merits, and upon the commercial arrangements existing with other countries. As an example of the latter case, we may cite the duty levied on Ame rican flour in British ports, a reduction of which might justify the Americans in diminishing the rate of duty on British cottons or Avoollens, as a benefit would accrue equal to, or perhaps greater than, the loss incurred. We apprehend the history of Ameri can manufactures and commerce Avill fully sustain the preceding observations. Having thus briefly noticed the circumstances Avhich have conduced to the estabhshment of manu factures in the United States, we shall lay before our readers such information respecting the present state of the principal branches of manufacture as we have been able to collect from public documents and other sources. As, however, there are no annual returns made to the government of the gross quantity manu factured of every article, but only of the exports, which comprise a very small portion of the Avhole, the information Ave can present, while important, will be inevitably but partial and incomplete. In the United States, as in Great Britain, the ma nufacture of cotton has outstripped all its competitors, and claims the first notice : on this subject Ave shall avail ourselves of information contained in a very able work now publishing at Philadelphia.* The progress of this manufacture, as might be supposed, has partaken of the characteristic energy and vigour of the country. It is only, however, since the intro duction of the power-loom, that it can be considered as having been established on a permanent and use ful basis ; the scarcity of skilful weavers, and the high prices of weaving, had been found serious ob stacles to its success, which has been, therefore, se- every commanding point, without which land can never be made to yield the full amount of which it is susceptible, or the farmer be sure of prices steady and remunerating. It hardly need be .added, how a course of policy that would infuse augmented vigour cured only by this invention. The first successful experiment Avith this instrument was made at Walt ham, Massachusetts, in 1815, on the coarser fabrics ; but so rapid has been the extension of the manufac ture, that, besides furnishing the United States with its full supply of the more staple productions, and a considerable export of coarse goods, the beautiful prints of Manchester and GlasgoAv are imitated in great perfection ; and more than half the consump-- tion of the country, in this important branch, is sup posed to be noAV furnished from native industry. The actual extent of this manufacture in the United States, at the present time, (1830,) is matter of esti mate only ; a very moderate one is believed to be the consumption of 35,000,000 pounds of cotton per annum, manufactured into 140,000,000 of yards of cloth, of Avhich about 10,000,000 are exported, and upwards of 20,000,000 printed ; the value, twelve to fourteen millions of dollars, and employing a capital of twenty-five to thirty millions. Several improve ments, originating in the country, have been intro duced into the manufacture, and the whole process is believed to be performed to as great advantage as in any part of the world. The cottons exported are mostly of a coarse fabric, Avhich are taking the place of the cottons of India, and are knoAvn abroad by the name of American domestics. They have been ex tensively imitated by the English, and a competition is going on, between the manufacturers of the two countries, for the possession of the foreign markets. It is thought that the possession of the raw material on the spot, and the use of the comparatively cheap m.oving power of Avater instead of steam, with the proximity of the great markets of South America, are advantages in favour of the United States, more than sufficient to counterbalance some disadvantage in the higher cost of machinery, and, as is commonly sup posed, in the higher Avages of labour. But the la bour in the cotton mills producing these goods being wholly performed by females, it has been ascertained not to be materially dearer than the same description of Avork in England ; and as the same labour is not easily applicable to any other branch of industry, it would seem not improbable that the United States will ultimately supply the foreign market Avith the coarser cottons. The great profits attending this manufacture, in the first instance, attracted to it, in a very short period, a large amount of capital, and pro duced a violent competition : the consequence has and briskness into a coasting trade, embracing in its range nearly one half of a continent, would tend to enlarge, in all ways, the es sential foundation of naval strength." » Encyclopedia Americana, vol. iii. p. 573. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 165 been, a sudden reaction, and great depression of prices, Droducing considerable embarrassment in those es tablishments operating with inadequate capital, and unable to meet the shock of impaired credit. But, although individuals may meet with heavy losses by imprudent speculations, there is no reason, to distrust the eventual success of the manufacture, which must soon find relief under the increasing consumption of the country. The largest establishments for the manufacture of cotton in the United States, at pre sent, (1830,) are at Dover,.New Hampshire ; Lowell, Massachusetts ; Pawtucket,. Rhode Island ; Paterson, New Jersey ; and in the neighbourhood of Philadel phia and Baltimore. The reduction of price in the raw material, which is now of only one third the value of 1815, has still more extended the manufac ture, which, in many instances, supersedes' coarse linens, and even hempen sail cloth.* Woollen factories are numerous in the eastern states ; and the manufacture of this article excites a deep and general interest in the republic, as the pro duction of the raw material is not confined to one portion of the country, but may be profitably pursued in some parts of nearly all the states. The protec tion of this manufacture was one principal object of the tariff of 1828. That without further protec tion both the manufacture and the growth of wool would have been abandoned, was made very apparent in the evidence tendered to the committee of manu factures appointed by congress early in. that year. It appeared that several of the joint-stock manufacturing * The following details respecting the operations of a cotton factory, near Springfield, Massachusetts, in the summer of this year, are not v/ithout interest. " There are about 15,000 spindles in operation, and from 10,000 to 13,500 yards of cloth manufac tured daily — 20,000 spindles are soon to be at work. About 800 hand? are employed — 700 of these are females, who earn from 12 to 21 dollars a month: they pay 8 dollars for board, washing, &c. ; but they all work bythe piece, and some clear 18 dollars monthly. The village contains 1,400 souls: it is inhabited only by persons employed in the factories, or thsir families. The agent receives 3,000 dollars a year, the .superintendent 2,000, and the concern is said to yield 10 per cent, on the capital invested." t The statement of the superintendent of the Oriskany "Woollen Manufacturing Company, before the committee of manufactures, affords some interesting information respecting the management and operations of similar institutions: although, of course, they vary from each other, both in extent and in some points of manage ment. " The oificers of the company," says Mr. Dexter, " are five directors, who receive, each, 2 dollars for every attendance at the meetings of the board. The number of these meetings averages about four annually. The board appoints,. from its own body, a president; secretary, and treasurer. The president and secretary receive nothing- as compensation. The treasurer receives 50 dol lars per annum, over and above his pay €is a director. A super intending agent, who is paid 800 dollars per annum, and is fur nished with a house and garden, rent free ; and a clerk of the store, who receives about 10 dollars per month, and is boarded; The company employs in its service one head carder, at a salary of 400 dollars per annum, who boards himself, as do all the hands employed in the factory, except three apprentices, who receive Vol.. IL— Nos, 49 (fc 50 X companiest had never paid any dividends on the cap ital subscribed, and that not from losses by bad debts or mismanagement, but from the reduction of the price of woollen cloths through importation from Eu rope. The increase of duty (for the details of which we refer to Table, No. I. at the close of this chapter,) on foreign cloths,, has led to great activity in the woollen manufacture, and at the present time it is in a very prosperous state. The demand for a^ooI is so great, that large quantities are imported from Europe, and the price of native wool has risen from 50 to 100 per cent., an advance, hoAvever, which cannot long be sustained ; but unless great caution is used, it Avill lead to a most injurious reaction and depression. To enter into details respecting particular factories Avould be unnecessary in this part of the work, as they will be noticed, in a subsequent department, in the respective localities in Avhich they occur. This observation Avill apply to the other articles of manu facture Avhich remain to be noticed. Before leaving the subject of woollens,, however, we regret to be compelled to add an observation not all to the credit of the commercial world : — there appears to be too much reason to apprehend that the duties to Avhich the several descriptions of woollens are subject ac cording to their quality,! are extensively evaded by mean of false invoices and false oaths. One great evil of high protecting duties is undoubtedly the strong temptation it affords to men, whose only deity is gold, to enter on a system of fraud, and conse quently to ruin those in the same line of business board and clothing ; one machinist, at 1 dollar 50 cents per working day; one .superintending weaver, at 1 dollar 37 1-2 cents per working day; one principal fuller; one presser, &c. ; two hands in the finishing- room, and one dyer, each at 1 dollar 25 cents per working day ; ten hands in the spinning and carding rooms ; two assistant carders, and one assistant in and about the dying house, each at 1 dollar per working day; and one watclP~- man, also at 1 dollar per day, for every day ; one fireman, at about 80 cents per day, and two or three other labourers, getting wood, &c. at about 75 cents per day, each. These include all the labour ing men I can now recollect. One girl to letter the cloth, at 4 dollars per week ; twenty-four women and girls, at 3 dollars each per week;, and eighteen or twenty women and girls, at 2 dollars 50 cents each per week. The residue of the hands are young boys and- girls, whose wages will vary from 1 dollar 25 cents to 2 dollars per week, eath. The whole number employed will range from 80 to 100. Also, an assorter of wool, at about 30 dollars per month, and an assistant assorter, at about 20 dollars per month. The working hours, summer and winter, are, I think, eleven in number. They commence work at five o'clock in the morning, in winter, and, I think, in summer also. The leisure for breakfast and dinner is thirty minutes each ; but at what hour they break ofif for breakfast I can not say ; for dinner, it i? at 12^o'clock a* noon. Each person employed is held to work eleven hours for a day's work ; if any works less time, it is deducted ; if more time, he is paid extra in proportion to the time. -When tliere is a hurry, the hands are induced to work one and two hours over the regulai- time, each day, for which they are compensated." t See Table,. No.. II., at the. close of. this chapter. 166 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. who are too honourable to descend to such practices. We hope, however, there may be some other method of accounting for facts Avhich appear at first sight to admit only of such an unpleasant and disgraceful solution.* Household manufactures of woollen, linen, and cotton, are carried on to a great extent. Many thou sands of families spin and make up their own clothing, sheets, table-linen, (fee. They purchase cotton yarn, and have it frequently mixed with their linen and woollen ; blankets, quilts, or coverlets, in short, nearly all articles of domestic use, are chiefly made in the family. It is supposed that nearly two thirds of all the clothing, linen, blankets, (fee, of those inhabitants Avho reside in the interior of the country, are of household manufacture. It is the same in the interior with both soap and candles, the inhabitants happily having no exciseman to prevent their making those articles at any time or to any ex tent in the family. Next in importance and amount to the manufac ture of wool is that of iron. The abundance in which the ore is found, and in the immediate vici nity of coal, has naturally promoted the erection of forges in various parts of the union, but particularly in the state of Pennsylvania. As in other cases during the war, many extensive establishments Avere erected, and were very successful ; but the return of * That our mercantile readers, wlio may feel peculiarly interest ed in this subject, may clearly apprehend the charge, as stated by the American manufacturer, we insert au extract from a letter, inserted in Niles' Register, of July 2, 1831 : — "A cloth of 6-4 wide (which is the ordinary width) costing 6s. 9d. sterling, or 1 dollar 50 cents per running yard, being the highest cost which can law fully ccme in under the 1 dollar minimum, can be imported at 2 dollars 53 cents, which includes cost, duties, and expenses of im porting ; add to this, 25 cents per yard for credits on sales, com mission, guarantee, &c,, making up the whole cost, and expenses of sale, to 2 dollars 78 cents per yard for dollar minimum cloths; if they will sell at 3 dollars per yard it is a clear profit on the in vestment of 15 per cent. If the cloth cost but 8s, sterling, and pays the lawful duty, which is 1 dollar per yard more than on the cloth costing 6s. 9d., it must sell for 4 dollars per yard to pay the cost and charges, and rem-it to the owner his net cost of 8s. per yard, without any profit. If a cloth cost 9s. sterling, it must at least bring 4 dollars 30 <;ents to pay cost. If it cost 10s. it must bring 4 dollars 60 cents. If it cost lis., -5 dollars to pay the cost. " Merchants will not long carry ou business that yields no profit, either ou one or the other side of the Atlantic. Ou the contrary, it appears that some classes of importers appear to have made profits beyond all belief, or have suffered heavy losses. Thousands of pieces of cloths have been sold in this market by private and public sale, at the prices of between 3 1-4 and 4 1-4 dollars per yard, mostly at 3 1-4 and 3 3-4 dollars, and the sellers were well satisfied, as I am informed, with the prices they obtained. " All cloths that cost but 6s. 9d. sterling per running yard of 6-4 wide, paying the dollar minimum duty, and which sell At 3 dollars per yard, yield a clear profit of 15 per cent. At 3 dollars 25 cents do. do. do. 31 do. At 3 dollars 50 cents do. do. do. 53 do. At 3 dollars 75 cents do. do. do. 75 do. peace, and the consequent influx of pig and bar iron from Europe, annihilated a very large proportion of them, the price of iron being reduced to fifty-five or sixty dollars per ton, which was less than the cost of manufacture in America, except under very fa vourable circumstances. The folloAving statement of facts and estimates, showing the nature, extent, and results of the iron-making business, as conduct ed in the state of New Jersey, deposed by Mr. Jackr son before the committee on manufactures in 1828, affords a very clear and interesting development of the state of the trade at the time, and, with the in formation subsequently given, will enable any indi viduals, who might be inclined to embark capital in this branch of American manufactures, to form a tolerably correct idea as to the probabilities of suc cess : — I. TVie Nature of the Business. The iron-making business in this section of ceantry is princi< pally conducted by persons who have severally commenced theii operations by the purchase of a tract of land embracing the neces sary water-power for propelling the works, and affording a suifi- cient quantity of timber to supply them with fuel for a number of years. In the improvement of such tracts, the first step is the erection of a dam ; a forge, or iron mill, which usually contains two fires ; two pair of bellows ; one hammer, anvil, and the har ness connected therewith ; two water-wheels to move the bellows and ore stampers, and one for the hammer ; a coal house ; a smith's shop ; and dwellings for the owner and workmen. The business then proceeds in the employment of the necessary work men, such as wood choppers, colliers, teamsters, aud forgemen; If they cost but 3d. sterling more than 6s. 9d. they, of course, come under the 2 dollar 50 cents minimum, and are subject to a duty of 1 dollar per yard more. Thus, if a cloth cost but 7s. sterling per running yard of 64 wide, pays the lawful duty, and sells for but 3 dollars, it produces a loss to the owner of 55 per cent. If at 3 dollars 25 cents the loss is 38 do. If at 3 dollars 50 cents the loss is 23 do. " To an intelligent public I appeal, whether either of these two cases is probable. That the market has been well stocked with cloths selling at 3 1-4, 3 1-2, to 4 dollars, is notorious ; to believe that either can be true, we must consent to the absurdity, that the owners have either realized the enormous profits of from 30 to 75 per cent., or lost from 23 to 55 per cent. There is no mistake in these figures ! " "When, therefore, to these calculations, which can not be con troverted, the fact is added, that no honest man can import from England (purchased for cash) at a cost of 6s. 9i. a cloth that -will sell, taking the average of all colours, for more than 3 dollars per yard, can a doubt remain 1 The writer has in vain tried to have cloths bought in England at 6s. 9d. that would sell for more than 3 dollars; and he asserts fearlessly, (and challenges .proof that he is in error,) that the whole average of cloths, of all colours, that have been honestly imported at 6s. 9d. for the past nine months, have not sold in this market above the average of 3 dollars per yard, — many cloths would not bring that .price ; and that nearly every yard of cloth that has been sold in this market at 3 1-2 dol lars to 4 dollars, has either been smuggled or fraudulently enter ed, or it produced a considerable loss lo the o-wner ; and from what has been previously stated, no doubt can exist, that by fraud only is this market so fully supplied with cloths of this description, thousands of pieces of which have been sold this season, both at public and private sale, and the owner no doubt laughing at our folly and credulity." TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 167 and the preparation of teams for carting the coal, ore, and iron. It is the practice of the o-wners, in the prosecution of their busi ness, to furnish to the workmen, at the works, such supplies of provisions and other necessaries as they may require. II. The Extent ofthe Business, and Facilities for enlarging it. 1st. The amount of iron actually made per annum, so far as the same can be ascertained by the returns from the difl'erent forge o-wners, is 2,750 tons. 2. The amount of capital invested embraces the following items, viz. : — Dollars. Cost of erecting 110 forge fires, now in operation, at an average expense, including machinery, dams, and coal-houses, of 1,500 dollars each 165,000 Amount invested in woodland, allowing each fire to re quire 750 acres for its support in producing its pro portion of the 2,750 tons, made in all, equal to 82,500 acres, at an average price (the water privileges in cluded) of ten dollars per acre 825,000 The expense of teams, tools, &c., for each fire, is 500 dollars 55,000 Cost of houses for the accommodation of workmen, al lowing to each fire five houses, at 200 dollars each, 1,000 dollars llOjOOO Amount of floating capital necessary to conduct the bu siness, 500 dollars for each fire 55,000 Dollars 1,210,000 3d. The number of workmen employed in the business, allowing each fije to require two forgemen, two colliers, two cartmen, one coal stocker, five wood choppers, and a carpenter and blacksmith, equal to one hand, are thirteen to each fire, numbering, in all, 1,430 workmen, who, with their families of four persons each, make the number of souls dependant upon the business, 5,720. 4th. The facilities for extending the business are ample. There are now iu operation, as appears by this statement, 110 forge fires, producing, on an average, about twenty-five tons each per annum. Were sufiicient encouragement aflbrded, it ispresumed that these fires may be made to produce thirty-five tons each per annum, in stead of the present quantity, and - that a- number more of equal ability would- soon be put in operation, all of which could be fully supported with charcoal and ore, the materials now used in the manufacture. III. T7ie Results of (he Business, and Details of the Manufacture. Dolls, cts. To make one ton of bar iron, it requires Three tons of ore, at an average cost of five dollars- per ton 15 00 Ten loads of coal, at four dollars per load . ... . . 40 00 The additional expenses are. Stocking ten loads of coal, at Is. per load - ..... 125 Small repairs of forge, per lon 150 -Wages of workmen for making,-per ton 16 50 Average expense of cartage and freight to New York, per - ton . 5 00 Dollars 79 25 The average price of American bar ironin New York, for most of the time during the last eleven years, has not been greater than it now is, viz. seventy to eighty dollars per ton. In the above estimate of cost in making the one ton of iron, it is assumed that the coal and ore are purchased by the manufac turer at the current prices. If, however, tbe coal is made upon his o-wn premises, aud the ore raised from' his own mine, the, fol lowing estimate-will show the result : — Dolls, cts. .Cost of cutting twenty cords of wood, for one ton. of iron, at 3s. per cord 7 50 CooKng ten iBads ofeoal, at 12s. per load 15,00. ! Dolls, cts. Carting ten loads of coal, at 8s. per load, ...... 10 00 Stocking ditto, at Is. per load 1 25 Raising three tons of ore, at 12s. per ton 4 50 Carting ditto, at 8s. per ton 3 00 Wages for making one ton of iron 1650 Small repairs of forge, per ton 150 Cartage and freight to New York, per ton 5 00 Dollars 64 25 Should any allowance be made in the last estimate, for the value of the standing wood used iu making the coal, and of the ore in the bed, the following sum should be added to the amount of this estimate, viz. Dolls, cts. Twenty cords of standing wood, at 4s. per cord . . . 10 00 Three tons of ore in the bed, at 12s. per ton .... 4 50 14 50 Amount of the last estimate added 64 25 Dollars 78 75 It is perceived that the foregoing estimates include no account of interest of capital invested, decay of works, expense of manage ment, taxes, &c. ; nor is any provision made for risks or losses, although the business is greatly exposed to the hazards of both. Were these items estimated, there should be an addition of ten to fifteen dollars per ton, to each of the foregoing: estima-tes. It will also be perceived, that in this statement no estimate has been sub- milted of the amount of capital invested in mines, or the cost ol opening them, from, the impossibility of arriving at any thing satis factory respecting them. It can only be stated, that there are fifty mines in this district already opened, fifteen of which are at pre sent worked, ajid that the. quantity of good ore is presumed to be inexhaustible. This statement is, moreover, strictly confined to faels and esti mates in relation to manufacturing of bar iron, without any allu sion to furnaces, of which there are several, 'or to rolling mills,, ol which there are four in the district, three situated- at Dover, and owned by Messrs. Blackwell aud M'Farlan, of the city of New York, which aun-ually convert into rolled iron 1,000 tons of the manufactures of the district ; and the other at Rockaway, omied by Colonel Joseph Jackson, capable of rolling about 400 tons more. On a cursory view of this subject, it would be matter of surprise that the manufacture of iron from native ore should have continued' to exist in the United States ; but another statement of the same Avitness throws a light not only on this particular subject, but indicates one of the peculiar advantages which tend to counterbalance some of the unfavour able circumstances with which manufactures in America have to contend. The committee very reasonably inquire, "If the business of manufactur ing bar iron is as bad as you represent it, and if others in your neighbourhood have failed in it, how have you been able to sustain yourself; and why have you continued the business ?" To which Mr. Jackson makes the following reply : " I have been able to sustain myself because T carry on a farm, and the manufacturing- establishments furnish a good market for my farming produce. I also keep a store, and pay for a share of the labour of my workmen out pf the. store, and get a profit on my goods. I.hav«, 168 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. also, a grist mill and a saw mill, which have aided me in my buildings, (fee. ; but establishments unconnected with these, or like advantages, have failed. My rolling mill, also, enables me to do more business, and upon which I get a little profit : and I have continued to hope for better times. I have, also, some govern ment contracts, which have assisted me, not so much by an advance of price, as by a sure market for a large quantity ; Avhich enabled me to proceed Avitli certainty, and without being subjected to the fluctua tions of the market for the manufacture." In consequence of this state of things, an advance of duty, averaging from five to tAventy-five per cent. on that already imposed on foreign iron, was enact ed.* The method in which this duty was arranged -appears, however, to have been much more in favour of the proprietors of the iron mines and smelters than of the manufacturers of hardware, the advance of duty being on iron rolled ; also, on slabs, blooms, and loop, or other Avire, from thirty to thirty-seven dollars per ton, or nearly twenty-five per cent. ; Avhile, on manufactured articles, as axes, knives, (fee, the advance was only ten per cent., the alteration being, manifestly, nearly fifteen per cent, in favour of the British manufacturer. The " Petition of the Iron Manufacturers of Philadelphia, presented to congress in the session of 1831," states, that under these en actments, even " horseshoes" have become an article of considerable export from Britain. If the state ments of the manufacturers of Philadelphia should not prove erroneous, Avhich, from the very extensivo -orders executed this year at Sheflield and Birming ham, Ave apprehend Avill not be the case to any mate rial extent, the history of the past Avould lead us to expect that congress Avill speedily remedy Avhat they will deem an anomaly in the " American system." — Among articles of which iron forms the material, steam-engines noAV undoubtly claim the first rank ; and the Americans are remarkable for the number of these admirable machines, both on land and water. Although the demand for them is constantly increas ing, such is the skill which competition has brought to bear on this important article, that an engine, which, a few years since, would haA^e cost 2,000 dol lars, may now be purchased for 800 dollars. Glass, both for windows and domestic purposes, is manufactured extensively in the United States, prin cipally at Pittsburgh. The price of this article has much declined, owing chiefly, if not entirely, to in ternal competition,t a healthy process indeed, Avhen * See Table, No, I. at the end of this chapter. t Some addition to the import duty was, however, made in the tarififof 1828.— See Table, No. I. not carried to excess ; but sometimes a direfiil dis ease, that may be termed the " madness of the few for the gain of the many," if, indeed, in some cases, it may not be more truly said, "for the gain of none." When it is carried to the extent of destroy ing, not only the master's profit, but the value of the labour of the mechanic, it is the madness -of the few for the destruction of thousands ; a result Avhich has accrued to a lamentable extent in Great Britain. Happily, hoAvever, the American labourer is as yet, by the quantity of unoccupied land which still re mains, protected from this deplorable result of the folly of his master, and, consequently, it is found, that, Avhile the prices of articles of glass have de clined in value at least fifty per cent, within a few years, there has been " a great uniformity of Avages" during that period. " In 1808," says Mr. BakeAvell,t " we sold common flint half-pint tumblers at two dol lars per dozen ; after the currency of the state be came settled, we sold them at one dollar per dozen ; and now we sell them at about eighty-one cents per dozen. Plain quart decanters, which, in 1808, we sold at six dollars per dozen, Ave noAV sell at two dol lars and twenty-five cents. Wine glasses, in 1808, Avere one dollar and fifty cents per dozen, and they are now seventy-five cents per dozen." Earthenware of the coarser kinds has long been manufactured in various parts of the Union ; and recently, the finest qualities of china ware have been attempted, and with considerable success. The manufactories in the eastern and northern states not only supply those states with hats, but they send large quantities to the middle, southern, and Avestern ; and have nearly excluded the British hat- manufacturer from the market. It is only a few years since, that all Avho had any pretensions to gen tility, purchased hats at eight or ten dollars each : these certainly Avere handsome, Avell-made beaver hats. Lately, hoAvever, other hats have been intro duced, which at first look equally well Avith those expensive ones, and very few now purchase the high- priced hats. The amount of hats manufactured in the United States is stated to be 13,000,000 dollars annually. Shoes and boots are made in great quantities, and may be purchased at very Ioav prices, particularly in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Boots are sold whole sale at from two to three dollars per pair ; shoes from three quarters to one dollar per pair. Many boots and shoes are made with wooden or copper pegs, with which, instead of stitching the soles, they fasten them ¦t Report of the Committee on Manufactures, 1828, p. 149. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 169 together, and the price is rather less. The eastern export many shoes to the middle and southern states ; the latter, indeed, are almost entirely supplied from thence, very few shoes being now imported from Great Bricain, while the annual value of the boots and shoes manufactured in the United States is said to be 26,000,000 dollars. All articles in wood, household-furniture, and car riages of all kinds, are executed in great variety. We have been surprised to find, however, that not withstanding the beautiful descriptions of Avood which the American forests yield, chairs, and other articles of domestic furniture, are, for the most part, painted. Articles of furniture are, in most instances,' rather cheaper than in England. Ship-building is carried on to a great extent. In some years, the amount of tonnage has equalled, if not exceeded, that launched in Great Britain ; at any rate, the United States are second only to ourselves in this noble art.* In steam-boats, or more properly, steam-ships, they far outstrip us, their mighty internal waters affording such admirable scope for those ves sels. It is said that upwards of thirty have been built, this year between Pittsburgh and Louisville alone, in addition to 250 already employed in naviga ting the Mississippi, or its tributary streams. The magnitude of these vessels bears full proportion to their number, some of them consisting of three stories, containing a variety of apartments, and making up * The Americans maybe excused for deeming the British second to themselves. t Curious as the fact may seem, there are strong grounds to suppose that stereotyping had occupied the attention of a philoso pher of New York, long before the practice of the art became popular abroad. "We allude to the singular circumstances deve loped in the correspondence between Lieutenant Governor Colden and Dr. Franklin, which we are induced to insert, from the American Medical and Philosophical Register, edited by Drs. Hosack and Francis, and published in New York, 1810. " An original paper of the late Lieut. Gov. Colden, on a new method of Prin-hng discovered by him ; together with an original letter from the late Dr. Franklin, on the same subject ; and some account of Stereotyping, as now practised in Europe, <^c., by the Editors of the Register. " As the art of printing has, without question, been of very great use in advancing learning and knowledge, the abuse of it, as of all other good things, has likewise produced many inconveniences. The number of books printed on the same subject, most of v/hich are nothing but unskilful and erroneous copies of good works, written only for ostentation of learning, or for sordid profit, ren ders the path lo knowledge very intricate and tedious. The reader, who has no guide, and the greatest number have none, is lost in the wilderness of numberless books. He is most commonly led astray by the glaring appearances of title pages, and other ar tifices of the mystery of bookselling. It is likewise a common complaint, that a poor author makes nothing near the profit that the bookseller does of his labour ; and probably, the more pains the author has taken, the more diflicult Ihe performance, and the more masterly it is done, the less profit to him ; for the good books, like jewels, never lose their intrinsic value ; yet, they have fewer purchaser.s than .Bristol stones, ajid the sale of them is slow. 200 beds. In 1830, the amount of tonnage of steam boats was 54,036 tons. Locomotive engines are now built in this country. Mr. R. L. Stevens, of Ncav York, who is extensively connected with rail-roads and steamboats, has lately constructed a locomotive of increased powers, and superior to any hitherto in use. The manufacture of paper, type, and books, is scarcely surpassed by that of any equal number of in habitants in the world. Of the first of these, there are many very extensive manufactories. The business of type founding is carried on to a great extent in the American states, and stereotyping has become a mat ter whieh involves a large capital, and engages many workmen ; among the most prominent individuals occupied in these branches of industry are the Messrs. Conner (fe Cooke, White, Hagar, (fe Co., Bruce (fe Co., Pell (fe Brother, of New York ; Lyman, of Albany ; Johnson (fe Smith, of Philadelphia : and the Boston type and stereotype foundry, in Boston. One is found in the west, Avhere, only thirty years ago, a set tlement was scarcely made. The vast number of publications which are issued from the American press at the present day, by means of stereotype print ing, is scarcely credible to one who has not closely investigated the fact ; the consequent cheapness of books is such, that literature, comparatively speaking, is scattered among the people for the smallest consi deration. t The daily and weekly periodicals con- " As the lessening or removing of some of these inconveniences may be of use to the republic of letters, I hope to be excused in making the following attempt for that purpose, by proposing a new method of printing. " Let there be made of some hard metal, such as copper or brass, a number of types, or rather matrices, on the face of each of which, one letter of the alphabet is to be imprinted en creuse, by a stamp, or such other method by which the matrices for founding of typB«^ are commonly made. They must be all of the same dimension, as lo breadth and thickness, with that of types, but half their length seems sufiicient. Their sides must be so equal and smooth as to leave no vacuity between them when joined. There must like wise be a sufficient number of each letter or charaeter to compose at least one page in octavo, of any book. " These matrices, I suppose, may be cast in a mould, or a plate of copper may be divided exactly into squares, and the letter or character be stamped into the middle of each square, and the squares afterwards cut asunder by a proper saw. The best method of making these will be easily discovered by those whose business it is to make founts for printing types. " When a sufficient number of each letter and character is ob tained, they are to be placed in the same manner that types are, when composed for printing, only that they must all stand directly as they are read, and as they will appear afterwards on the paper. " The composure of one page, after il is carefully corrected, is to be placed in a case or mould, fitted to it, of the length and breadth of the page, and of such depth as lo cast a plate a quarter of an inch thick, which will perfectly represent a page composed in the common manner for printing. " As to the art of casting the plate perfect, founders and typS makers must be consulted; for the composition of the metal, and for the flux for running it clean and clear, so thai no vacuities be left ; for which .purpose, I am told, that the fuun. 1, by which th« 170 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. sume a large quantity of paper, being estimated at nearly a thousand. The principal publications Avill claim our attention as connected Avith literature, more melted metal is poured in, being made large, and the filling it with the melted metal after the mould is full, is of use to make the letter every where full and complete. For, by the weight of the metal in the funnel, the liquid metal in the mould is pressed into every crevice. The fminels extending the whole length of one of the sides, gives, likewise, free vent to the air. " Or, after a page shall be composed, as before mentioned, and the types and matrices well secured in a, frame upon a strong plate, they may, by a screw, be pressed upon a sheet of melted lead, and thereby a plate of lead be procured, representing as the former a page composed of types for printing. Which of the methods are most practicable artists can best determine. "After the page shall be thus formed, the matrices may be loosened and dispersed into their proper boxes, and may serve for as many other pages as types in common printing do. " When a number of pages, sufficient for a sheet, are thus made, the)' may be carried to any printing press, and such a number of sheets as shall be thought proper be cast ofi-, and then be laid by till more copies be wanted. " I choose an octavo page, because, if the page title and page num ber be left out, as likewise the directions and signatures at the foot of the page, by joining two pages together, it maybe made a quarto, or by joining four, a folio. Tims several editions in octavo, quar to, and folio, may at once be made, to suit every buyer's humour. " The page titles, number, and bottom signatures, may be cast in small moulds apart, and joined, as may be proper. " The most convenient size of a page is that of small paper, so SiS to fill it up, and to leave very little margin ; then by adding the page titles, or marginal notes, or notes at the bottom, all cast in frames separately, the large paper may be sufficiently filled. " I believe that this method of printing, every thing considered, will not be more chargeable than the common method. A thou sand, or some thousands sometimes, of copies, are cast off- at once in the common method, and the paper and pressman's labour cf what is not speedily sold may or must lie dead for some years, whereas in this method, no more need be cast off at a time than may well be supposed to sell speedily. If I be not mistaken, the metal necessary for one sheet will not exceed the value of four hundred sheets of paper, and in the common method several hun dred sheets lie useless for, sometimes, many years. If the book should not answer, there is a great loss in the paper, whereas the metal used in this method retains its intrinsic value. " I shall instance some of the advantages iu this method which induce me to commimicate my thoughts to others. "1, An author by this means can secure the property of his own labour. " 2. A correct edition is at all times secured, and therefore may be useful in the classics, trigonometrical tables, &c. " 3. A weak- and ignorant attempt on the same subject will be discouraged, for as a new edition of a valuable book is continually secured, without any new expense, booksellers will not readily ha zard the publishing of books of the same nature. " 4. But what I chiefly value this method of printing for, is, from the advantages it gives an author iu making his work per fect, and in freeing it from mistakes ; for, by printing off a few copies of any sheet, and sending them among his friends, and by suffering them to fall into- the hands of a malevolent critic, he may hive an opportunity of correcting his mistakes, before- they appear to the world. By the same means he may make his work more complete than otherwise he could, by the assistance which his friends may give him in se-veral parts of it. It is for these reasons, chiefly, that I propose the plates not to exceed an octavo page, and to have no signatures; for in case of a mistake, the loss of one page may correct the error, and where improvements or additions are necessary, as many pages maybe intermixed as shall be neces- Bary, without any inconvenience, aud small explications maybe made by the marginal notes. f "¦ Lastly. The greatest advantage I conceive will be in the learn ed sciences; for they often require a long time to bring these to emphatically than Avith manufactures. A duty equal to the price of the paper is placed on foreign books, an error of policy we hope soon to see erased from perfection,, and require the assistance of others in many particu lars. Many a valuable piece has been lost to the world, by the author dying, before he could bring his work to the perfection he designed. Now, by the assistance which he may have by this method from others, this time may be much shortened, and the progress he has made may be preserved for others to continue in case of his death. An author may publish his work in parts, and shall continue, in many cases, to complete and make_ them more perfect, without any loss of what was done before. By this method likewise, a man of learning, when poor, may leave some part of his estate in his own way for a child, as mechanics often do for theirs. " Whether the method I propose will answer the end designed, or whether it be practicable, I can not with sufficient assurance say ; because we have no artists in this country who can make the experiment, neither can they have encouragement sufficient to tempt them to make the trial. However, I hope to be excused, by the use of the design , and as it may chance to give some hint to a skilful person to perform effectually what I only aim at in vain. " If the charge cf lead or metal plates be thought too great, I know not but that the impression may be made on thin planes of some kinds of wood, such as lime tree or poplar, which have a soft smooth grain when green, and are hard and smooth when dry. " Ever since I had the pleasure of a conversation with yon, though very short, by our accidental meeting on the road, I have been very desirous to engage you in a correspondence. "Sfou was pleased to take some notice of a method of printing which I men tioned to yovi at that time, and to think it practicable. I have no further concern for it than as it may be useful to the public ; my reasons for thinking so, you will find in the inclosed copy of a pa per which I last year sent to Mr. Collinson, in London. Perhaps my fondness for my own conceptions may make, me think more of it than it deserves, and may make me jealous that the common printers are willing to discourage, out of private interest, any dis covery of this sort. But as you have given me reason to think you zealous in promoting every useful attempt, you will be able absolutely to determine my opinion of it. I long very much to hear what you have done in your scheme of erecting a society at Philadelphia for promoting of useful arts and sciences in America. If you think of any thing in my power whereby I can promote so useful an undertaking, I will with much pleasure receive your in structions for that end. As my son Cadwallader bears this, I therebv think myself secured of the pleasure of a- line from you by him." " Philadelphia, November 4, 1743. ^ " Sir, — I received the favour of yours, with the proposal for a new method of printing, which I am much pleased with ; and since you express some confidence in my opinion, I shall consider it very attentively and particularly, and iu a post or two, send you some observations on every article. " My long absence from home in the summer, put my business so much behind hand, that I have been in a continual hurry ever since my return, and had no leisure to forward the scheme of the society. But that hurry being now near over, I purpose to proceed in the affair very soon, your approbation being no small encourage ment to me. " I can not but be fond of engaging in a correspondence so ad vantageous to me as yours must be. I shall always receive your favours as such, and with great pleasure. " I wish I could by any means have made your son's longer stay here as agreeable to him, as it would have been ta those who began to be acquainted with him. " I am, sir, with much respect, " Your most humble servant, "B. FRANKLIN. " Dr. COEDEN^." " Remarks. — The mode of printing above described is now knowm by the term Stereotype ,- and it is a curious feet, that the stereotype- TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 171 the statutes of the United States. A duty of one- fourth the amount [3d per pound) would be amply sufiicient to secure to American publishers the re print of all works, the demand for which Avas sufii cient to justify the expense of their being reprinted ; so that the present duty has the sole effect of raising the price, and, in many cases, denying possession of a variety of English works to the American public, without any corresponding advantage to their manu factures. There are many works on particular branches of mechanical science, for instance, of which comparatively foAV copies are printed even in Eng land, and the free circulation of which in the United States cannot be otherwise than an important advan tage, but which is prevented by the present state of the revenue laws. Even if the interests of the Ameri can printers should for a moment sustain a slight disadvantage, the writer has far too high an opinion of their patriotism to suppose they would suffer that fact, in the slightest degree, to retard the intellectual progress of their country. process, said to have been invented by M. Herhan, in Paris, and now practised by him in that city, under letters patent of Napoleon, is precisely the same as that spoken of by Dr. Colden, more than sixty years ago. " It is more than probable that when Dr. Franklin went to France, he communicated Dr. Colden's ' new method of printing' to some artists there, and that it lay dormant until about sixteen years since, when Herhan, a German, who had been an assistant to M. Didot, the printer and type founder of Paris, but then sepa rated from him, took it up iu opposition to M. Didot. We have conversed with gentlemen who have seen M. Herhan's method of stereotyping, and they describe it to be exactly what Governor Colden invented. This fact established, there can be no doubt that M. Herhan is indebted to America for the celebrity he has obtain ed in France. " Since the above paper fell into our hands, we have endeavour ed to obtain information respecting the different methods of stereo typing now tu use. The foUo-wing is the result of aur inquiries. " By a book published in Paris about ten years since, by M. Ca mus, of the French National Institute, we find that a Bible was printed in Strasburgh, by one Gillet, more than a hundred years ago, with plates similar to those now used by Didot aud Herhan, but not by any means so perfect. Gillet's moulds were made of a fine clay, and a particular kind of sand found only in the neigh bourhood of Paris. It is also stated that a number of other inge nious men had at various times produced plates tolerably perfect, by different processes, but we may safely infer, from the art having made no great progress until the time of Didot the elder, that their endeavours had not been crowned with much success. " At the beginning of the French revolution great quantities of paper money biecoming necessary to supply the deficiency of specie either concealed or sent out of the kingdom by the rich, Didot was applied to by the national assembly to invent some kind of assignat or bank-bill, which should not easily be imitated ; and at this peri od it was that M. Didot flrst directed his attention to the means of producing, in relief a set of plates, to print on a common printing- •press, which were exactly facsimiles, and could not without much difficulty be falsified. This process was termed Polytyping ; as the mould in which the plates were cast was durable, and would produce any number of copies ; the usual mode of stereotyping be ing, as the French term it, a moule perdu ; it being necessary to saake a new mould for every plate. " But as M. Didot's views were by degress extended to the cast- Distillation is extensively, we fear too extensively, carried on in the United States. Some of the dis tilleries work entirely from molasses, others from grain ; the former is distilled into rum, and the lat ter generally into gin and whisky. These articles, — whisky, gin, and rum, are sold wholesale by the distillers at from thirty -seven and a half to fifty cents per gallon, or about Is. 9d. to 2*. 3d. per galloiji sterling. When cider is made, a considerable quan tity is fermented, and distilled into what is called apple-brandy : this is sold at the same price as Ameri can gin. Peaches are also fermented, and distilled into what is termed peach-brandy ; the Avholesale price is from a half to three quarters of a dollar per gallon. More than thirty millions of gallons of ar dent spirits are annually distilled and consumed in the United States. A considerable check has been given to this manufacture, and numerous distilleries have been closed, by the exertions of temperance so ¦ cieties, whose operations will require notice in a sub sequent section of the work. ing of pages for book printing, he found it unnecessary to use du rable moulds, and therefore, after a year's experiment, invented a composition, which, like the sand used by brass-founders, might be wrought over again for different casts. The elegant editions produced by M. Didot and sons, are the best proofs of his success. " When the fame of M. Didot's invention reached England, Lord Stanhope, an ingenious and wealthy nobleman, whose time and fortune are principally devoted to the advancement of the arts, made propositions to Mr. Andrew Wilson, of Wild court, Lincoln's Inn Fields, proprietor of the Oriental press, to assist him in such experiments as might bring to perfection a new mode of stereoty ping, of which his lordship had obtained some ideas. Mr. Wilson embraced the proposal ; and after four or five years of incessant labour, they attained nearly all the advantages they had contempla ted. Mr. Wilson, iu the year 1802, built his foundry in Duke street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, and in the following year disposed of the secret for six thousand pounds sterling, and some future ad- , vantages, to Mr. Richard Watts, for the use of the university of Cambridge. In the year following he disposed of it on similar terms to the university of Oxford. " About two years ago, a brother of Mr. Watts, of Cambridge, began a course of experiments in this city for a more cheap and easy manner of stereotyping, than any hitherto discovered ; and, in spite of innumerable disadvantages, has succeeded beyond his utmost expectation. We have seen plates of his casting of the greatest perfection and beauty. The chief difficulty he has expe rienced arose from the jealousy and illiberality of the common tjrpe-founders, who refused to lend the little aid he required ot them. It is agreeable to us, however, from our o-wn observation, to be able to state, that, by uncommon perseverance through accu mulated obstacles, Mr. -Watts has invented a method of casting the common types much more perfect than those made in the usu-al way; and now will proceed with his plates without the as sistance of other artists. " The principal defects in M. Didot and Lord Stanhope's pro cess, arise from the softness of the moulds they employ, which are composed of plaster of Paris and some other ingredients. In ta king them from the page, of which they are intended to cast a per fect copy, some part of the composition will always remain in the type, and leave the mould imperfect. After the plates are cast, there is consequently much work for an engraver, to make them fit for use. Mr. Watts' mould, being of solid materials, no such inconvenience can arise." 172 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. The minerals of the United States, the procuring and smelting of which is a species of manufacture, besides iron and coal, are lead and copper.* The first is found in considerable quantities in several parts of the Union. In the Huron country, where the mines have only been worked three years, under every disadvantage, thirty millions of pounds of lead have been produced. Only about a mile square of surface has yet been opened, and from this, thirty millions of pounds more might be extracted without opening a new mine. The Avhole of the lead district occupies a surface of one hundred miles square, inclu ding, however, a district of copper ore about twenty miles long, and four or five broad. Mines of lead and copper abound also on the Missouri. The quan tity of lead produced at the United States lead mines annually, from 1823, to the 30th of September, 1829 is exhibited in the following table : — To 30th of September, 1823 Fever River. Missouri. Total. Pounds. 335,130 175,220 664,530958,842 _ 5,182,180 11,105,81013,343,150 Pounds. 386]590 1,374,962 910,380 1,205,9201,198,160 Pounds. 335,130 175,220 1,051,120 2,333,804 6,092,560 12,311,73014,541,310 To 1824 To ', „ 1825 To 1826 To " „ 1827 To 1828 To „ „ 1829 Total pounds 31,764,862 5,076,012 36,840,874 The Galenian, a news journal, furnishes a table of the quantity of lead annually made at the lead mines in the United States, from their first opening in 1821 to 1833, inclusive. The statement contains a remark that the lead is loss abundant this spring than at any preceding times, and that, comparatively speaking, little will be made this year. The whole quantity made during the twelve years mentioned, is set down at 63,845,740 lbs., of which 7,941,792 lbs. Avere made during the year 1833. The mining business during that time seems by the table to have fluctuated with out any perceptible laAv of increase. The quantity of lead raised in 1828, was more than twelve millions of pounds, and the next year more than fourteen millions and a half. It fell in 1832 to little more than four millions. This variation arises, we sup- »' ? Tho gold mines of the Carolinas and Georgia have been no ticed in Book ii. Chap, ii., where, also, will be found particulars respecting lead, copper, mercury, iron, coal,. &c. pose, from the want of a regular plan of operations, a deficiency of capital, and the uncertain tenure by Avhich the .ead mine lands are held. The quantity of the various manufactures export ed' throws considerable light on their progress and present state ; but the statements illustrative of that subject connect themselves more properly, and in deed inseparably, Avith commerce, and will form the materials of a considerable portion of the following chapter. From them it will be evident that several important articles, which, a few years since, were articles of import only, are already become exports of a very considerable amount. The first table appended to this chapter exhibits a comparative view of the several tarifi" laAvs which have been enacted in the United States ; and the second shows more precisely the size and value of Avhich the several articles of manufacture must be, to come withiu the respective gradations of duty. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNFIED STATES 173 TARIFF.— TABLE I. A COMPARATIVE VIEW OP THE TAEUPP LAWS. Peotbctinc Tabifp of 1828. Iron, in bolts or bars, not rolJed, 1 cent per lb ; , rolled also in slabs, blooms, and loop, or other- I wise, except pigg and cast iron, $37 per ton S , in pigSj 62 1-2 cts. per cwt Wire, of iron or steel, not finer than No. 14, 6 cents, &net than No. 14, > 10 cents 5 Round iron, or braziers' roda, 3-16ths to 1-2 inch, nail or spike rods, iron ) in sheets or hoops, and sUt or rolled for bands, casement rods, 3 1-2 cts. } per 'b ) Axes, adzes, drawing knives, cutting knives, sickles or reaping hooks, -) sithes, spades, shovels, squares of iron or steel, bridle-bits, steelyards, 1 Bcalebeams, socket chisels, -vices, and wood screws, 18 per cent, ad- f ditional J Steel, $1 50 cts. per cwt Lead, in pigs, bars, or sheets, 3 cents per lb shot, 4 cents per lb , red or white, dry or ground in oil, 5 cents per lb pipes, 5 cents per lb Litharge, orange mineral, and sugar of lead, B cents per lb Wool, (the same if on skins,) 4 cents per Ib. and 40 per cent, ad valorem until June 30, 1829, then 5 per cent, increase annually to 50 per cent. Woollens, (wholly orinpart,) except carpeting, blankets, worsted stulFs,- bombazines, hosiery, mits, gloves, caps, and bindings, the value of which, at the place whence exported, (except flannels and baizes,) does not exceed 33 1-3 cents per square yard, to pay 14 cents per square yard; from 33 1-3 to50cents, to be estimated at 50 cents; from 50 cents to $1, at $1 ; from $1 to $2 1-2, at $2 1-2 ; from S2 1-2 to $4, at $4, and to be charged with 45 per cent, duty ; and exceeding $4, to be charged with 50 per cent. ; and all unfinished woollens are to be estimated at the same value as if finished Woollen blankets, 35 per cent Hosiery, mits, gloves, and bindings, 35 per cent Clothing ready made, 50 per cent Brussels, Turkey, and Wilton carpets, 70 cents per square yard .... A''enetian and ingrain carpeting, 40 cents per square yard All other carpeting, of wool, hemp, or cotton, or in part of either, 32 cts. i per square yard S Patent printed or painted floorcloths, 50 cents per square yard ; other oil- i cloths 25 per cent.; furniture oilcloths, and floor matting of flags or > other materials, 15 cents per square yard ) Hemp, $45 per ton, and S5 additional annually, from June 30, 1S29, > until $60 5 Flax, $35 per ton, and $5 in addition annually, from June 30, 1829, until $60. Cotton bagging, 5 cents per square yard Sail duck, 9 cents per square yard, and 1-2 cent additional yearly, from ) 1828, until 12 1-2 cents, aadno drawback on leas than 50 bolts in one > shipment } r Distilled spirits, 15 cents per gallon additional on the duties of 1824 . . ¦ Indigo, 5 cents additional from June -30, 1829, to June 30, 1830, and 10 ; cents additional per annum, until the whole duty shall be50 cents i Molasses, 10 cents per gallon, and no drawback on the exportation ofj spirits distilled therefrom S Manufactures of silk from beyond the Cape of Good Hope, 20 per cent. ) after June 30, 1829 5 Window glass, larger than 10 by IS, and in aheets uncut, $5 per 100 feet Apothecaries' -vials, not-exceeding«oz. $1 per 75 gross Slates for building, not laa-ger-than 12 by 6 inches, $4 per ton; 12 to 14) inches long, $5; 14 to K, $6 j 16 to 18, $7 ; 18 to 20, $8; 20 to 24, $9 j } larger, $10 ) Slates for schools, 33 1-3 per cent Cotton cloths, (except nankeens direct' fi'om China.) of whatever coat,] shall, with the additioti of 20 per cent, if beyond the Cape of Good I Hope, and 10 per cent, if from other places, be deemed to have cost ( 35 cents per square yard, and be charged with 26 per cent J Peotecting Taeifp or 1824. 90centgper cwt. or 112lbs. . . . $1 50 cts. per cwt 50 centa per cwt Not finer than No. 18, B centa j ) &nei, 9 cents > 3 cents per lb Wood screws, sickles, sithea, -] apades, 30 per cent. ; all other ( manufactures of kon, 25 per ( cent J $1 per cwt 2 centa per lb 3 1-2 cents per lb 4 centa per lb 25 per cent 15 per cent Coating not more than 10 cents, ^ 15 per cent. ; higher coat, 30 > per cent ) Costing less than 33 1-3 cents"! per square yard, 25 per cent. ; I all othera 33 1-3 per cent, ad > valorem, on actual value or j cost J 25 per cent 33 1-3 per cent 30 per cent BO cents per square yard .... 25 cents per square yard .... 20 cents per square yard .... 30 per cent. $35 per ton ID percent 3 3-4 cents per square yard . . . 15 per cent | Prom grain, 1st proof 42 cents per gallon . . 45 ditto . 48 ditto . 52 ditto . 60 ditto . 75 ditto . 2d 3d „ 4th „ Sth „ higher 15 cents 5 cents per gallon ditto . ditto . ditto , , ditto ditto . 25 per cent. . . $4 per 100 feet . $1 a $1 25 cents 25 per cent. 15 percent Minimum under some conditions, 30 centa, with 25 per cent. duty Old Taeifp up to 1824. 76 centa per 112 lbs. $1 BO eta. per cwt. BO cents per cwt. Not finer than No. 18, 5 cts. ; finer, 9 cents. $2 60 cents per cwt. 20 per cent. $1 per cwt. 1 cent per pound. 2 centa per pound. 3 centa per pound. 20 per cent. IB per cent. 1« POT cent. 25 per cent. 15 per cent. 35 per cent. 30 per cent. 25 per cent. 25 per cent. 26 per cent. 30 per cent. $30 per ton. 15 per cent. 20 per cent. Ruasia, $2 pa. ; Ravens, $2 25 cts. Holland, 60 cents. Prom other materials, 38 cents. 38 „ 42 „ 48 „ 67 „ 78 „ 15 cents. 6 cents per gallon. 16 per cent. $3 2S cents. 20 per cent. 15 percent. 16 per cent. 25 per cent. ToL II. —Nos. 51 & 52 174 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. TARIFF.— TABLE H. IMPORTATION OP DRY GOODS UNDER THE NEW TARIPP T-AW; A Table showinq what Description of Goods mat be Imported under the Tariff passed bt the Conoeess op the United States, Mat, 18-38. Woollens, (except Flannels and Baizes,) 33 1-3 Cents minimum, Duty 14 Cents per Square Yard. yd. Widlh. Net Cost, 1823. Net Cost, 1327. 24 inches. Is Od. stg.- 37 1-2 cts. per yd. 36 Cts. per 27 „ 1 1-2 „ i«1 42 40 „ 30 „ 3 46 1-2. 44- 33 „ 4-1-2 „ 51 49 „ 36 „ 6 iJa 66 53 1-2- „ 45 „ 10 1-2 „ 69 1-2 67 „ 54 „ 2. 3. „ J L83 1-2 " 80 1.-2 „ Broadcloths, Keeseymehes, Pelisse Cloths, Keesets, Poeest Cloths, -Valentia. and Woollen -Vestings and Flannels, 60 cents minimum, Duty 45 per Cent, ad valorem. Width. 24 inches. 27 „ 30 „ 33 „ 36 „ 64 „ 6d. I 8 1-4. 10 1-2 0 3-4 3 4 1-2 ''¦U.\ Net Cott, 18Sa 57 cts. per. 63 1-2 „ 70 1.-2 „ 84 1-2 „ 127 „ yd. Net Cost, 1837. 53- 1-2 cts. per yd. 6067 74 80 1-2- 120 1-2 WUUi. 27 inches. £3 17 0 Flannels, Duty 45.per Cent. Net Cost, 1827.. $27 78 . 28 84 . 29 74 . 30 82 . 31 89. . 32 97 . 33 86 . 34 94- . 36 02 . 37 09 . Net Cost, IffiS. 61 S -$29 111 6 ¦d 30 23 . U, si 31 21 a 0 32 33 ^ 006 "Si 3334 35 44 5653 1 6- •=v 36 fiB s 6 3"- .^7 75 6j ^ . 38 87 J 27 inches. 2 5 0 2 8 0 2 U 0 2 14 0^ 2 17 0 3 0 0 3 3 0 3D inches. 3 6 0 3 9 0 3 12 0^ 3 15 0 3 18 0 4 1 0- 4 4a U 6 0 $20 09 20 92 21 76 22 69 23 42 24 26. 25 09 $26 78 27 60 28 44 29 28 30 10 30 94 31 78 32 33 16 12-) 17 20 18 28 19 35 j. 20 42 21 60 22 58 J $23 65 24 73 25 80 26 88 27 95 29 03 30 Ip 30 S2 J S Duty, 1828. $7 69 7 87 8 15 8 44 8 72 9 00 9 28 9 66 9 84 10. 12 S7 69 $&44 BeoadclothBi Kehsetmbees, &c. width. 24 inches. % :; 64 „ 3s. 33 4 46 Od. \v 4 1-2 8 4 9 1 gg ll-2f=si« 1° 9 JS Net Cost, 1828. $1 13 . . . 1 27 . 1 41 . 1 65 . 1 69 . 2 63 . minimum, Duty 4Sper Cent. Net Cost, 18?7. 81 07 1-2 per running yd. 1 201-2 „ 1 34 1 47 1-2 1 61 1-2 2 42 Beoadcloths, Kbbsetmeees, &c. $2 60 Cents minimum, Duty 4B per Cent, ad valorem. Width 27 inches. „ 31 1-2 „ n 36 M 54. „. 1. 63 „ jEO 8 0 9 0 11 0.1.6a 19 3 J" Must not exceed these prices per nm- 10 ning yard. sj Beoadcloths, $4 minimum ; Duty 45 per Cent. Width 64 inches. n 63 ., 72 „ £l 7 1 11 1 16 Must not exceed these prices per ran- ning yard. Woollen Blankets,, Woollen and -W-orsted Hosiery, Gloves, Bmdmgs, and Mitts, to pay a Duty of 35 per Cent, ad valorem. Brussels, Turkey, and Wilton Carpets and Carpeting, 70 Cents per Square Yard. -y-enetian and Ingrain Carpets and Carpeting, 40 Cents per Square Yard. Cotton Goods, if they do. not cost 35- Cents per Square Yard, including the addition of 10 per cent., must pay a Duty of 8 3-4 Cents per Square Yard. Worsted Stuif Goods, Bombazines, Linens, Lawns, Linen Diapers and Cloths, Cotton Braces, Cotton Hose, Silk and Leather Gloves, Sewing Cottons, Tapes, Small Wares, &o. pay the same Duty as they did previous to 1828, Net Cost to Impoet the following Goods. (Os. 9d. stg. Jo 10 24 inches.") a 11 (.1 0 {0 9 0 10 0 11 1 0 1 11-2 1 6 1 7 1 8 2 6 27 inches. •< 2 8 2 10 Net Cost, 1828. 30 1-2 cents. 32 1-2 „ 35 „ 37 31 1-2 „ 33 1-2 „ 36 38 „ 42. 68 1-2 „ 60 1-2 „ 63 1 03 „ 1 07 1 12 ,. 1 16 1^2 ¦ „ 1 21 1-2 „ 1 26 Net Cost, 1827 27 cents. 30 „ 33 „ 36 „ IPlaina or fpaddinga. 27 „ 1 30 „ 33 „ 36 „ L Plains or paddings. 40 „ J 631-2,, ¦ 56 1-2,, 69 1-2,, 89 1-2,, 951-2,, 1 011-2,, 1 071-2,, 1 13 1-2,, 1 191-2,. . Kerseys and Porest Cloths. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. ITS CHAPTER III. COMMERCE AND AGRICULTU-RE. Commerce has frequently, in the history of na tions, evinced the rapidity of its growth, as in the cases of Venice, Holland, and Great Britain ; but in no instance has its progress been more remarkable ihan in that of the United States. It -will not be necessary to insert any details respecting the state of commerce -while the Americans were under the colonial yoke, since, under the commercial laws then existing, the energies of the colonies were as much as possible repressed, except in subserviency to the interests of the mother-country. During the war of the revolution, the degr«e of traffic which had pre viously existed was, of course, suspended ; and after the peace of 1785, commerce still laboured under peculiar difBcylties. The chief of these resulted from the political constitution which the thirteen " sovereign states" ha-d thought fit to adopt. This subject has already been referred to as afi'ecting the manufacturing interest ; but the introduction of some additional particulars, illustrative of its bearing on commerce, will not be deemed unnecessary. The original constitution did not admit of the imposition of any duties by the congress, without the unani mous vote of all the states ; while the right which Was thus shackled as it respected the general govern ment, was accorded to each of the separate states. It is not, therefore, matter of surprise, that some of the states should have acted in opposition to others, as their interest might dictate. When the state of Pennsylvania laid a duty on foreign merchandise imported, the state of New Jersey, equally washed by the waters of the Delaware river, admitted the same articles free of duty ; and they could easily be smuggled into one state from the other. The seve ral states laid different rates of duty on foreign ton nage ; in some, one shilling sterling per ton was imposed on vessels, which in other states paid three shillings sterling per ton. Such was the misunder standing amongst the several states, that there were no general commercial regulations, nor could the congress enforce any, while the opposition of any one of the states could prevent the passage of any act on the subject. The evil of this condition of affairs was flagrantly manifest, when, to provide a fund to discharge the public debt, and to pay the arrears due to the soldiers who fought the battles of the jevolution, it was proposed in congress, during the operation of ~the articles of confederation, to lay a duty of 5 per cent, ad valorem, on foreign mer chandise imported into the United States, and the opposition of the state of Rhode Island was of itself sufficient ,to defeat this plan. The nations of Europe were well pleased to avail themselves of the embarrassed condition of the United States ; for even those who had assisted them in their struggle for independence, now viewed them with a jealous eye as competitors in the field of com merce ; and when, soon after the peace, the republic endeavoured to negotiate treaties of commerce with Great Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal, the offer was in each case met with a refusal. The convic tion that this portion of the federal constitution re quired amendment, was one of the principal reasons which induced the people of the United States to call a convention for its revision. Happily, the con vention, when assembled, concurred in the necessity of an alteration on this point, and the new constitu tion contained the following clauses : — " Art. I. Sect. VIII. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes. — Sect. IX. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another.- — Sect. X. No state shall, without the consent of the congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports, or exports, ex cept what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws ; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the re vision and control of the congress.!' Not long after the new constitution had been adopted, the secretary of state proposed a liberal system of policy, in rela tion to commercial -intercourse with other nations. His views were detailed in a report, made in ansAver to a resolution of the House of Representatives, of the 23d of Februaxy, 1791. Strongly advocating a /ree commerce with every nation, the secretary thus expressed himself : — " Instead of embarrassing com merce under piles of regulating laws, duties, and prohibitions, it should be relieved from all its shackles in all parts of the world. Would even a single na tion begin with the United States this system of free commerce, it would be advisable to begin it with that nation." These domestic arrangements had a very favoura ble influence on American commerce ; but a new and most extensive field for it was now opened by the circumstances which transpired in Europe. " The wars consequent on the French revolutioa 176 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. created a demand for our exports," says Dr. Seybert, " and invited our shipping for the carrying trade of a very considerable portion of Europe ; we not only carried the colonial productions to the several parent states, but we also became the purchasers of them in the French, Spanish, and Dutch colonies. A new era was established in our commercial history ; the individuals who partook of these advantages were numerous ; oui catalogue of merchants was swelled much beyond what it was entitled to be from the state of our population. Many persons who had se cured moderate capitals from mechanical pursuits, soon became adventurers ; and the most adventurous became the most wealthy, and that without the knowledge of any of the principles which govern commerce under ordinary circumstances. No one was limited to any one branch of trade ; the same individual was concerned in voyages to Asia, South America,, the West Indies, and Europe. Our ton nage increased in a ratio with the extended catalogue of the exports ; we seemed to have arrived at the maximum of human prosperity ; in proportion to our population, we ranked as the most commercial of nations ; in point of value, our trade was only se cond to that of Great Britain."* In 1790, the aggregate of exports was estimated at 19,012,041 dollars ; in 1791 their value was increased 'by 1,741,057 dollars, or about one eleventh of their amount in 1790. In 1792, the aggregate of the ex ports amounted to 26,109^572 dollars ; the addition in the course of this year was 5,356,474 dollars, or more than one fifth of their total value in the prece ding year. In 1793, the exports were estimated at 33,026,233 dollars, or they were augmented consider ably above one fourth of their amount in 1792. The value of the exports increased with the progress of the war in Europe ; this effect was common to the domestic surplus products, and to the foreign mer chandise re-exported. Prior to 1795, there was no discrimination at the treasury department of the value of the domestic and foreign merchandise exported from the United States. In 1795, the aggregate value of the merchandise exported was estimated at 67,064,097 dollars ; of this amount the domestic pro ductions were estimated at 40,764,097 dollars, and the foreign produce re-exported at 26,300,000 dol lars. In 1796, the foreign merchandise re-exported was only 2,850,208 dollars less in value than that -of the domestic exports ; in 1797, the foreign merchan dise exceeded the value of the domestic exports by 4,472,903 dollars ; during several of the succeeding • Se-ybert's Statistical Annals of the United States, p. 61. years, the value of the foreign merchandise exported greatly surpassed that of the domestic articles, and, in 1806, was estimated at 59,643,558 dollars, or it exceeded the value of the domestic exports by more than one fifth, or 22,47 per cent. In 1805, the fo reign merchandise re-exported arrived at the maxi mum, and amounted to 60,283,236 dollars, and in that. year exceeded the value of the domestic productions exported in any one preceding or succeeding year, 1816 and 1817 excepted. The periodical progress of the export trade is exhibited by the following statements, viz. : — Dollars. Total value of the exports from the United States, in 1795 67,064,097 Ditto ditto, 1790 19,012,041 Increase in five'Vears 48,052,056 Total value of the exports from the United States, in 1800 -. . 94,115,925 Increase in ten years 75,103,884 Total value of the exports from the United States, in 1805 101,536,963 Increase in fifteen years 82,524,922 Total value of the exports from the United States, in 1806, when they arrived at the maximum . . 108,343,150 Increase in sixteen years 89,331,109 This astonishing progress could not fail to attract the attention, and to excite the commercial jealousy of the principal nations of Europe ; and the war at this time raging between England and France was carried on not only by mihtary and naval armaments, but by commercial codes of restriction and prohibi tion, by which the Americans, as a neutral power, were more seriously injured than either of the bel ligerents. Indeed, between the years 1804 and 1807 inclusive, above 1000 American merchant vessels were captured, by nations professedly at peace with the United States, for alleged breaches of blockade, or of commercial decrees. Under these circumstances, the government of the United States, at the close of the year 1807, resorted to an embargo to prevent the destruction of the mercantile navy, which was con tinued till March, 1809. Thus the export trade of the United States, after having, in the course of suc- teen years, from 1790 to 1806, acquired an augmen tation of 89,331,109 dollars, was, in 1807, in an in stant, reduced to the aggregate of 22,430,960 dollars only 1,677,862 dollars more than the amount in 1791, the second year after the organization of the present government. After the embargo was taken off m TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES: 177 1809; commerce speedily revived, and during that and the following year the amount of exports, so far as related to domestic products, was greater than the average of the ten years from 1802 to 1812. Sub sequently to the declaration of war with Great Bri tain, the export trade of the United States was of course materially and progressively depressed, till, in the year 1814, it did not amount to seven millions of dollars. At the conclusion of the war the exports rose, in 1815, to fifty-two millions ; in 1816, to eighty- one ; in 1817, to eighty-seven ; in 1818, to ninety- three. From 1819 to 1824, the amount ranged be tween sixty-five and seventy-five millions, the average being above seventy ; but, in 1825, the amount of ex ports again rose to nearly one hundred millions of dol lars. From the year 1826 to 1830, ths exports have ranged from seventy to eighty millions ; the exports of foreign goods have declined materially, the amount for the year 1830 being little more than fourteen mil lions, a smaller amount than any year since 1803, ex cept that of the embargo, and those of the war, while the domestic exports are nearly sixty millions, an amount exceeding those of any preceding year, since the establishment of the republic, except the yejtrs 1816, 17, 18, and 25. The official returns presented to congress divide the exports into four classes : those of the sea, the forest, agriculture, and manufactures. The follow ing is a summary of the exports of the year 1830 ; the details will be found in Table, No. I., at the close of this chapter. The products of the sea, con sisting of the results of the whale, cod, mackerel, and herring fisheries, exported mostly from the north ern states, amount to 1,725,270 dollars,, being nearly^ a thirty -fifth • part of the whole domestic export. About one third of this value consists of codfish, and more than half of the products of the whale-fish eries. The value of skins, furs, giriseng, lumber, staves, bark, tar, pitch, rosin, and turpentine, and pot and peaxl ashes, partly from the northern, and partly from the southern states, which were formerly of much greater comparative importance in the trade of the country, now constitutes nearly one fifteenth part of the whole value of the domestic exports, and amounts to 4^192,040 dollars. A large proportion of the trade in these articles, as well as in those of codfish and breadrstuffs, is carried on with the West Indies,, Mex ico, and South America. The skins and' the furs go to Europe and Canton,, the ginseng to Canton,, but in less quantity than formerly, and the pot and pearl ashes are sent to England and France. The chief amount, hpvsrever,, of articles of export, consists, as would naturally be supposed, of the pro ducts of agriculture. The article of cotton alone furnishes nearly half the amount of the whole ex ports of the United Sta,tes, being, for the year 1830, 29,674,883 dollars. The next article in importance of export is wheat, either as grain, fiour, or biscuit, the amount being 6,320,617 dollars. The third in amount is tobacco, 5,586,365 dollars ; the fourth, rice, 1,986,824 dollars ; the fifth, the produce of swine, including pork, bacon, and live hogs, 1,315,245 dol lars. Three of the most important of these articles, (cotton, tobacco, and rice,) amounting collectively to 37,248,072 dollars, are the produce of the southern states, including Virginia and Kentucky. The other agricultural exports, namely, beef, tallow, hides and cattle, butter, cheese, horses, mules, sheep, rye-meal, oats, potatoes, and apples, flax-seed, and hops, are most Iy furnished by the middle and western states. Cat tle, and their products, including butter and cheese, amounted to 860,053 dollars. This species of ex port is of far less comparative importance than for merly, being limited to its present amount,, not by the capacity for production,, but by the extent of demand in the foreign markets ; an increase of the foreign demand' would very soon double and treble the quan tity. Some of the articles comprehended in the above list, though agricultural products, yet involve some process of manufacture ; such, for example, as butter, cheese, bacon, flour, biscuit, meal, and part of the to bacco. A great many, however, of the exports com ing under the head of manufactures include in them the value of materials supplied by agriculture,, such as the cotton fabrics, those of leather,, and spirits dis tilled from grain ; so that, on the whole, the strictly agricultural products of the country constitute a lar ger proportion of the whole exports than the tables represent ; and, if we add the value of the materials supplied by agriculture for the manufactured exports, we shall have at least six sevenths of the whole do mestic exportation consisting of the raw products oi agriculture. The total amount of manufactured articles ex ported from the United States, in the year 1830, is estimated in the official returns, at 6,258,131 dollars, being rather more than one tenth of the domestic exports of the country ; about 930,000 dollars should, however, be struck ovit of the list of domestic imports, being gold and silver coin,, consisting mostly of me tals imported from abroad,, and, after being coined at the mint, again exported. The labour put upon these- materials, in coining, is so inconsiderable a part of their value, that the amount of the coin oti cou.ntry exported, ought i)ot tobe included in the esti: '178 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. mate of the value of manufactured exports, fconsi- ' derable quantities of gold, it is true, have been pro duced in North Carolina, but by no means enough, as yet, to supply the demand for the consumption of the country, though it is to be considered, at the same time, that this article, as far as it is supplied from the domestic mines, will be chiefly exported, being drawn into this channel by the higher price of gold, as compared with silver, in England and France than in the United States. Some of it is ar rested for use in jewellery and the arts, but very lit tle in the currency, or in the vaults of the banks. As cotton fabrics also form a large item in this list of exported manufactures, and those fabrics are mostly of the coarser kind, the raw material will constitute a very considerable part of their value, and the proportional value of the direct wages of manufacturing labour incorporated in these exports will be proportionately less. If, for instance, a plough, or trunk, or quantity of combs, be sent abroad, almost the whole value of the export consists of the wages jf the manufacturers ; and a still greajer proportion *of the value of earthen and stone wares, which make «, very considerable item in this list, is of this descrip tion ; whereas an export of spirits distilled from West India molasses comprises a comparatively small proportional value of manufacturing labour. Taking the whole list of domestic manufactured articles to gether, and making allowances for the cost of the raw materials in their rudest state, after they are taken ¦from the ground or from animals, and assume the -character of merchandise, by deducting their value from the gross amount of that of the exported manu factures, the remainder, which is the result of the inanufacturing labour, interest of capital, and profits ¦incorporated into these materials, to bring them into the state in which they are exported, may be estima ted at about 4,000,000 dollars. Of the articles of ex port on which the arts of the United States are em ployed, the most considerable are cotton twist, thread, and fabrics, the exported value of which for the year 1830 was 1,318,183 dollars, being more than one •fiftieth part of the whole domestic exports, the prin cipal markets of which are South America, Mexico, and the Mediterranean. The value of leather and its various manufactures exported, is 375.250 dollars. Hats exported during the same year amount to 309,362 dollars, a very large sum, considering the short period during which this article has been sent to foreign markets. Soap and candles have long been supplied for the foreign markets, but have lately been on the decline, the amount for the year 5830 being 619,238 dollars. The various articles manufactured for the most part of wood, such as fur niture, or of wood, leather, and iron, such as coaches and carriages, besides various agricultural imple ments supplied to the West Indies and South Ameri ca, constitute an important branch of trade. The American glass begins to appear in the foreign mar kets : the value sent abroad in 1830 was 60,280 dol lars, and it bids fair to be increased. The other ex ports consist of a variety of articles in small quanti ties, among which are, wearing apparel, combs and buttons, brushes, fire engines and apparatus, printing presses and types, musical instruments, books, maps, paper and stationary, and trunks. It is apparent from the above enumeration and estimates, that the manu factured articles of which the export is most consi derable and the most fiourishing, are those of which the raw materials consist mostly of cotton, wood, and leather. The foreign articles imported and agaia exported from the country during the year 1830, amounted to 14,378,479 dollars. This transit trade thus appears to form a very important part of the American com merce. The principal foreign articles re-exported are cottons, coffee and cocoa, sugar, tea, wines, and hardware. The imports of the United States are of great im portance to the commercial interest of the world, but especially to that of Great Britain ; and the regula tions respecting their admission, as already referred to in connexion with manufactures, form the most prominent topic of discussion, as a domestic question, in the several states composing- the republic. It will therefore neither be uninteresting nor unimportant to exhibit a statement of the amounts of the principal imports, distinguishing the Countries from which the greater portion of them are severally received. In doing- so, we shall, with some slight deviations, fol low the order observed in the annual statements of the secretary of the treasury made to congress, and take as the basis of our observations the statement of the year ending the 30th of September, 1830. The principal articles are manufactures of wool, cotton, silk, flax, and hemp, iron, tea, wine, and earthen ware ; also raw hides and skins, and gold and silver: there are, however, considerable quantities of a great variety of other articles, the produce or manufacture of the different nations of the globe. The informa tion which the following statements conttiin, if atten tively considered, will afford a more correct idea of the state of the inhabitants of the republic, than the personal narration of any individual, however accom plished or intelligent, and however extensively he may have travelled. It must be borne in mind, that TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES; 17:9 the imports are consumed by a population scarcely amounting to thirteen millions, and in addition to a greater amount of domestic produce than is supplied by any corresponding amount of population. The articles first noticed are those admitted free of duty — among these are philosophical apparatus, for the use of incorporated societies for the promotion of learning and science, to the amount of 9,830 dol lars, imported in nearly equal proportions from Eng land and France ; books, maps, and charts, under the same conditions, to the amount of 19,621 dollars, more than three fourths of which were from England, and the remainder about equally divided between France and Germany, the latter through the medium of the Hanse Towns ; specimens of botany and na tural history, to the amount of 6,118 dollars, from upwards of twenty different countries ; models of in vention and machinery, 897 dollars,, almost exclu sively from England ; and anatomical preparations, 274 dollars, from France. The fact that this class of articles is duty free, evinces a laudable attention on the part of the congress of the United States to the interests of science and literature ; and we hope that no long period will elapse before every produc tion connected with their advancement, not only in the recognised institutions of the country, bnt in the pursuits of individuals or families, will be accessible on the same terms. We deem it a sound and in controvertible principle, that the improvement and expansion of the national mind ought not to be im peded or delayed, either, for the revenue of govern ment, or for the gain of individuals. To act on- a contrary principle is bartering that, which is beyond all price. The remaining articles which are admitted, with out payment of duty, ar« either articles derived from mining or from agriculture, which the United States do not produce in sufficient quantities ; or of manu factures in which they do not excel. We can only mention a few ofthe principal" of them, referring our readers for the particulars of the remainder to Table IV. Ftirs were imported; in 1830- to the amount of 305,782 dollars, of which, 205,090 dbllars were from England ; 64,584 dollars from the British American colonies ; 19,363 dollars from France ; and' the re mainder' in; small portions from nine other countries. Raw hides and skins constitute the largest- amount of articles (with the exception, of specie) imported dutyfree, being,. in 1830,.2,409,850 dollars,.of which, 1,904,251 dollars are from the states of South Ame rica ; * 85,374 dollars from Hayti ; and the remainder * In these statements it is found convenient to regard Mexico as one of. the South. Am.erican states, as it is ggnerally included in portions, varying from 100 dollars to 60,000 dol lars, from twenty other countries. Plaster of Paris is imported to the amount of 125,606 dollars, of which, 119,234 dollars were from the British Ameri can colonies, and the remainder from France. Dye wood to the amount of 279,411 dollars, of which, 161,634 dollars were from South America ; 77,078 dollars from'Hayti ; and the remainder chiefly from the West Indies. Mahogany timber to the amount ol 286,825 dollars, of which, 203,948 dollars were from Hayti ; 28,917 dollars from Cuba ; 25,018 dollars from the Central Republic of America ; and the re mainder chiefly from Mexico and the British West Indies. Of metals, tin. was imported to the amount of 101,341 dollars, of which, 62,862 dollars were from England ; 15,450 dollars from the Dutch East Indies ; 5,960 dollars from China ; 9,007 dollars from the Ne therlands ; 2,485 dollars from the British East Indies ; and the remainder from Chili and Peru : copper is imported to a large amount, — 403j203 dollars in bars, 283,785 dollars in plates for the sheathing of ships, &c. ; 14,435 dollars for the use of the mint, and 83,413 dollars of old copper to be remanufactured'; of the former- amount, 23-1', 493 dollars were fi'om Peru ; 154,965 dollars from Chih ; 14,700 from Colombia ; and the remainder chiefly from the British American colonies : the amount for sheathing ships was almost exclusively from England, as was also that for the use of the mint. The amount of gold as bullion, imported in 1830, was 115,267 dollars, of which, 39,557 dollars were from Mexico ; 33,022 dollars from Africa; 25,633 dollars from Peru; and' 12,056 dollars from Colombia : the amount of gold, as specie;, was 705,000 dollars, of which 131,852 dollars were from Colombia ; 81,343- dollars from other countries of South America;. 69,267 dollars from Cuba; 81,262 dollars from British American colonies, and the West Indies ; 81,384 dollars from the Swedish West Indies ;. 78,534 dollars from.the Danish West Indies ; 76,356 dollars from the Dutch West Indies ; 53,123 dollars from England ; and the remainder in small amounts from various countries. The amount of silver imported is much larger than that of gold ; the amount in bullion was 1,049,343 dollars ; of which, 781,201 dollars were from Mexico ; 159,735 dollars from Peru ; 75,712 from other- parts of South Ameri ca ; 18,719 dollars, from Cuba ; and the remainder from the Dutch, and. Danish West Indies, and the South Seas. The silver, in specie, importedin 1830, amounted to 6,285,475 dojlars, of whieh,. 3,860,936 dollars were from Mexico ; 988,756 dollars from in that appellation by, Americans in their commercial transac tions. 180 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. South America generally; 273,498 dollars from Cuba ; 242,468 dollars from the French West Indies ; 237,953 dollars from the British American colonies and West Indies ; 161,452 dollars from the Danish West Indies ; and the remainder from all other parts of the world. The total amount of articles admitted duty free, in 1830, was 12,746,245 dollars, of which, considera bly more than half, however, was gold and silver ; of the remainder, raw hides and skins constituted more than three sixths, or nearly one fourth of the whole amount of articles imported duty free ; copper about one sixth ; furs, dye wood, and mahogany, one sixth, the remaining sixth being divided among miscellaneous articles, the particulars of which will be found in the Table IV. It cannot fail to have struck our readers, that, when the gold and silver are deducted, the amount of articles admitted duty free bears an extremely small proportion to the whole amount of imports ; and it will appear in the sequel, that duties of a great er or less degree have been imposed, not only on all articles which could be procured in sufficient quanti ties or could be manufactured in America, but upon those, also, where there could not possibly be at pre sent any international competition. It is, therefore, probable that duties of the latter kind will be remit ted, when, the public debt being discharged, the re venue arising from them will not be required ; though but little expectation can exist that the protection af forded to American manufacturers will be dimi nished. Of the imports subject to duty, the first, as to amount, is cotton, in its various forms of manufac ture. It is hardly needful to state, that the great bulk of this article is supplied from England. The amounts from England, Scotland, and France, will be seen in the following table, which, with similar tables subsequently given of the principal articles of import, has been compiled from the last treasury statement, that of the year 1830. The tables have been so arranged as to exhibit the information con tained in that publication in a form more readily ap prehended, and also to afford the additional informa tion of the total amount of each article imported from the several countries named. They have also been condensed, by omitting the countries from which small amounts only have been imported. COTTONS. Printed or Coloured White Hosiery, Gloves, Mits- Bindings, &c . . . Twist, -yarn, and Thread Nankeens A.11 other Maaufactures Total from each country England. Dollars. 3,553,509 1,868,723 201,783 141,212 23,65896,572 5,885,457 Scotland. Dollars. 259,038 65,862 4 26,899 2,786 354,589 Prance. Dollars. 355,227 178,784 4,001 693 2,078 79,204 619,987 All other Cotmtries. Dollars. 188,901 374,535 181,666 3,981 202,497 50,813 1,002,393 Total. Dollars. 4,356,675 2,487,804 387,454 172,785 228,333329,375 7,8 The following statement of Ihe manufacture of 'cotton in the United States, which has lately been published, seems sufficiently authentic. The state of the cotton manufactures in the United States, in 1831, as collected by the Committee of the New York convention, shows, that there were in twelve states of the union, 795 cotton mills, with a capital of $40,714,984, manufacturing annually 77,751,316 lbs. of cotton, or 214,882 bales of 361,86,100 lbs. Number of spindles 1,246,903 Number of looms 33,506 Pounds of yarn sold 10,642,000 Yards of cloth made 230,461,900 Pounds of cloth 59,604,925 Males employed 18,593 Pemales employed 38,927 (Pounds of starch used 1,641,253 Barrels of flour for sizing, ......... 17,245 Cords of wood burnt 46,519 Tons of coal burnt . . . .- 24,420 Bushels of charcoal burnt 9,205 Value of other articles consumed not enumerated . 599,223 Spindles then building 172,924 Gallon."! of oil consumed 300,338 Hand weavers 4,760 Total dependents 117,626 Annual value of cotton manufactures 26,000,000 Aggregate or total annual amount of wages paid . 10,294,944 Of articles manufactured from wool, it will be per ceived that France furnishes a considerable quantity, although bearing a very small proportion to that of England. The importations from France consist chiefly of stuffs, and other light articles, in which their manufacturers excel those of England, and also some sorts of blankets. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 181 WOOLLENS. Not exceeding 50 cts. per square yard Exceeding 50 cts. and not exceeding 100 cts. per square yard . Exceeding 100 cts. and not exceeding 250 cts. per square yard Exceeding 250 cts. and not exceeding 400 cts. per square yard Exceeding 400 cts. per square yard Blankets Hosiery, Gloves, Mits, &c Bombazines "W-orsted StuffGoods All other Manufactures Not exceeding 33J cts. per square yard Total from each country England. Dollars. 418,324958,458 1,137,370 69,984 5,890 551,149 124,116 22,906 1,228,707 157,869 263,383 4,938,056 Scotland. Dollars. 3,604 453 1,736 486 10 91 838 6,1553,307 15,670 Ireland. Dollars. 8 12 6 124 3,794 40 3,984 France. Dollars. 25,098 98,69568,166 3,439 42,588 1,040 10,937 102,334 132,379 170 484,736 All other Cotmtries. Dollars. 5,709 26,197 28,793 1,797 135 173 4,413 54 65,73623,903 300 156,188 Total. Dollars. 453,743 1,083,815 1,336,060 75,706 6,015 594,044 133,453 33,887 1,397,545 319,306 266,060 5,598,634 About six tenths of the silk used in the United States is imported from France, nearly two tenths from China, rather more than one tenth from Eng land and the British East Indies, and the remainder chiefly from Italy. It will be apparent in this arti cle, as in many others, that the inhabitants of the union have an advantage over the nations of Europe, in the opportunity of importing their manufactures from those countries which severally bring them to the highest perfection.* smxs. B J 5 Piece Goods II \ Other Manufactures . . . a s, g V Piece Goods l-f-g. (. Other Manufactures . . . Total from each country . . England, &c. British East Indies. Prance. China. Italy. AU other Countries. Total. Dollars. 29,358 249,860 119,701 Dollars. 376,166 Dollars. 2,923 3,256,539 . 1,291,849 Dollars. 943,933 28,756 Dollars. 265,892 89,545 Dollars. 15,733 2,468 53,637 49,681 Dollars. 1,367,093 31,324 2,824,918 1,550,776 398,919 376,166 3,551,300 971,679 355,437 130,509 5,774,010 The importations of the manufacture of flax are from the northern nations of Europe ; more than six tenths ftom England, Scotland, and Ireland, two tenths from the Hanse Towns, one tenth from France, one twentieth from Russia, and the remainder chiefly from the Netherlands, or through the medium of Cuba. MANUFACTDHES OF FLAX. England. Scotland. Ireland. Hanse Towns. Prance. Russia. AU other Countries, Total. Dollars. 1,088,554 23,028 170,295 Dollars. 156.495 3,750 185,481 Dollars. 388,524 606 Dollars. 496,907 16,923 20,855 Dollars. 282,372 9,137 Dollars. 93,019 88,350 Dollars. 79,182 24 8,778 Dollars. 2,485,053 42,735 483,502 Checks and Stripes Other Manufactures Total from each country . . . 1,281,877 344,736 289,130 534,685 291,509 181,369 87,984 3,011,280 Of the articles made from hemp, Scotland furnishes nearly half, Russia a quarter, England an eighth, and the remaining eighth comes chiefly from the Hanse Towns. MANUFACTtniES OP HEMP. Ticklenburghs, &c Sheeting England. Scotland. Ireland. Russia. Hanse Towns. AU other Countries. Total. Dollars. 79,846 9,138 28,642 Dollars. 400,070 95,635 Dollars. 4,046 DoUars. 241,098 3,225 DoUars. 79,663 5,517 Dollars. 40 1 84 Dollars. 563,666 350.237 133,103 Total from each cotmtry 117,626 495,705 4,046 344,323 85,180 125 947,005 Carpeting was imported during the year to the amount of 200,451 dollars, exclusively from Great » It will perhaps raise the character of ihe inhabitants of the tTnited States in the opinion of some of our fashionable coteries, if they are informed that French silks and Canton crapes are pro- Vol. IL— Nos. 51 & 52 Z Britain or her colonies ; sail duck, to the amount of 317,347 dollars, of which 259,896 were from Russia, fusely worn in that coimtry, even by the moderately gay ; and that female dress is sometimes as splendid, and sometimes as ridicnlous in New York as m London. 182 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 28,485 from the Netherlands, 18,483 from England and Scotland, and 9,567 from the Hanse Towns ; cotton bagging, to the amount of 69,126 dollars, of which 52,918^ were from Scotland, 5,852 from Eng land, and 10,345 from the Hanse Towns. Travellers in the United States have expressed themselves surprised at the variety of foreign wines produced at the tables of the more wealthy inhabit-" ants : when the various kinds included under the diiferent heads of the following tabl'e are considered, the amateur in this liixury is left without a wish un- gratified, except that of actual participation. -muss. Madeira Sherry Red of Prance and Spain . OfPrance, Spain .Germany, and Mediterranean, not enumerated Of Sicily and all others not enamerated Total from each, country England. British E. Indies. Portugal. Gibraltar. Prance. Spain. Italy and Malta. AU other Countries. Total. value. Dollars. 20,63139,263 1 404 15,203 Dollars. 50,239 100 355 Dollars. 10,579 84,331 Dollars. 40 1,2761,310 27,097 3,309 DoUars. 137 245,549 202,029 187,443 Dollar,s. 38,124 20,517 166,882 5,231 Dollars. 3 1,244 5,744 44,685 Dollars. 248,797 781 4,412 22,148 97,248 Dollars. 330,433 69,547 273,033 424,304437,795 65,502 50,694 94,900 33,032 635,158 230^754 51,676 3.73,386 1,535,102 However delicious the wines, the desert would be incomplete without the fruits of various climates : but when, in addition to the melons, apples, peaches, pine-apples, oranges, and a hundred other fruits which are the domestic produce of diflerent sections of the union, are added all the varieties of foreign fruits, epicures, either of the city or west-end species, might partake of an American desert without one serious regret, except, perhaps, that its flavour was destroyed by the day-light. FRUITS. Almonds Curiants England. Gibraltar. France. ' Spain. Cuba. Italy and Malta. Adriatic Ports. Turkey, Le- vant,&Egypt. lbs. 393,839 41,238 54,981 lbs. 65,757 21 1,169 429,385 lbs. 836,526 70,1.39 313 28,838 lbs. 165,213 407 14,576 111,151 4,892,819 lbs. 27,140 2,139 39,99173,403 lbs. 64,006 23,963 7^669 lbs. 153,731 11,299 lbs. 156,590 1,423,759 741,017 Prunes and Plums Pigs Raisins Total from each country . . 489,058 496,332 935,816 5,184,166 141,673 89,637 165,030 3,331,366 By the quantity of spirits distiTled in America,, and the duty imposed on those coming from abroad, the quantity imported fs reduced" to a comparatively small amount. Of spirits manufactured from grain, the amount imported is 205,704 dollars, of which, 183,551 dollars are from, the- Netherlands : of those distilled from other materials, the total amount is 453,286 dollars, of which, 199,945 dollars are from the Danish West Indies, and 200,899 from France. The amount of molasses imported is 995,776 dollars, of which, 665,238 dollars are from Cuba ; 66,097 dollars from other Spanish West Indies ; 154,833' dollars from the French West Indies ; 72,549 dollars from the Dutch West Indies ; while from the British West Indies, in consequence of the commercial regu lations existing, the amount is only 1,239 dollars. Of beer, ale, and porter, the quantity is only 65,260, and the value 60,420 dollars : almost the whole comes * -We request the advocates of -West India slavery to reconcile this authentic statement with their assertion, that since the blacks of Hayli had enfranchised themselves, they had ceased the culti- from England and Scotland. If the price of English porter is 4s. &d. per gallon, (more than five times the price of French wines,) the diminutive amount of the quantity imported can not be matter of sur prise. The amount of tea consumed in the United States is very considerable, and, with exceptions scarcely worth mentioning, is imported direct from China. Of Bohea, 152,990 lbs. only are imported ; but of Souchong, and other black, 2,166,142 lbs. ; of Hyson and other green, 5,637,247 lbs., and 653,036 lbs. Im perial ; the whole value being 2,425,018 dollars. Considerable as is the import of tea, that of cofiee is nearly double in value, and six times the amount in weight, being 51,488,248 lbs., worth 4,227,021 dol lars. Nearly sixteen millions of pounds are import ed from Cuba, fourteen millions and a half from Bra zil, and more than eleven millions from Hayti,* while vation of this plant, or at least, did not carry it beyond their ow* immediate necessities. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 18S the amount from the British West India islands is only 57,632 lbs. The next article we have to notice is of a charac ter very different from the preceding, though not in ferior to any in utility, — it is iron. In the variety of articles manufactured from it, this material is pre eminent ; and it will be seen that, almost without exception, the manufactured articles imported, from the needle to the sledge hammer, are from Great Bri tain ; while, on the other hand, the chief importation of bar and bolt iron is from Sweden and Russia. No table more manifests the superiority of British skill, industry, and capital, over that of her competi tors, than that respecting iron ; and we apprehend this is almost the last point which will yield to foreign competition. The lighter manufactures of Great Britain may the sooner be superseded in the Ameri can market, because on these females labour, and from the decided aversion of the youth of that sex to domestic service, their labour may be brought to bear at a rate very little exceeding the pittance now paid to the English weaver ; while, notwithstanding a protecting duty varying from twenty-five to one hundred per cent, on iron, it may be found impossi ble to exclude the foreign article on account of the high price in the United States of such labour as can only be performed by men. moN. Subject to ad valorem drnties. Side-arms and Fire-arms, other than Muskets and Rifles Drawing-knives, Axes, Adzes, and Socket-chisels Bridle-bits Steelyards, Scalebeams, and -Vices Cutting Knives, Sithes, Spades, doc Screws Other Articles Subject to specific d/uties. Muskets Rifles Iron and Steel -Wire * Tacks, Brads, Nails, and Spikes Chains and Cables Mill Irons and Saws Anchors Anvils and Blacksmiths' Hammers Castings, &c Rods Sheets and Hoop In Pigs Bars and Bolts Steel Total from each country England, &c. Dollars. 98,348 28,998 62,253 30,89985,831 66,833 2,791,487 10,834 58 59,326 44,57024,181 12,252 473 34,29133,304 6,348 55,37035,643 343,803233,300 3,948,080 British Colonies. Dollars. 13 9 4 714 38 37 54 240 606300 138 53 1,144 71 2,061 1 1,767 97 7,225 Russia. Dollars. 2,482 541,445 543,927 Sweden. Dollars. 300 340 1,148,604 6,499 1,155,643 AU other Cotmtries. Dollars. 80,893 18 9,179 3 116,777 13,980 105 286 1,098 520 2 4,238 7e 19 27,000 31,093 52,161 327,342 Total. DoUars. 179,153 29,007 62,271 30,899 95,004 66,835 2,908,978 25,142 85 59,485 45,096 25,885 1,121 34,34538,686 6,729 59,82252,644 1,956,711 291,957 5,982,307 Owing to the heavy duty, the amount of paper im ported into the United States is very limited, being only 110,408 dollars; of this amount, 36,023 dollars are from France ; 36,654 dollars from Cuba ; 16,208 dollars from England ; and 10,168 dollars from Italy. It will be perceived that the articles are con fined to letter paper, or mere fancy papers, there be ing no amount worth mentioning of printing or plate paper. We do not know that this duty has any un favourable influence on the progress -of knowledge, as paper is manufactured nearly as well, and quite as cheap, in the United States as in other countries. PAPER. Folio and 4to Post Foolscap, Drawing, and -Writing . . . Printing, Copper-plate, and Stainers . . Binders and -Wrappers AU Other ¦Value in DoUars England. Ws. 6,682 6,160 1,005 20,113 16,208 Prance. m. 24,746 195,660 33 11,831 11,038 36,023 Italy. lbs. 14,669 79,757 766 10,168 Cuba. lbs. 189,136 902 2,507 36,654 184 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. It is with regret we perceive that the importation of books is so comparatively trivial — certainly the amount not at all corresponding with the mental de mands of a prosperous republic, containing thirteen millions of inhabitants. The total amount from all foreign countries is only 130,632 dollars, of which, 81,752 are from England, 34,262 from France, 7,075 from the Hanse Towns, 2,346 from the Netherlands, and 1,897 from Italy. We have already expressed our regrets and our hopes on the subject of the pro tecting duty which thus limits the importation of knowledge, and will only, therefore, repeat our firm expectation, that the impolicy of an impost so con trary to the peculiar characteristic of an age in which, by " running to and fro," " knowledge is increased," will speedily be discovered by the very class for whose sake it has been enacted, and who, were they less en lightened, might deem it a benefit to themselves, to be nothing less than a national injury. BOOKS. ( Printed previous to 1775 Volumes < In other Languages, except English, Latin, and ( Greek ..." i„ -D„„„j„ (Latin or Greek ^'^^°™'^=UU others (English) "Value in Dollars England. 785 2,1782,712 79,478 81,752 Prance. 67,433 1,636 2,191 34,262 Italy. 1,999 74 58 1,897 Hanse Towns. 9,3483,407 123 7,075 Cuba. 1,790 54 474 Nether lands. 4,198 42 3,346 Glass still continues to form an article of import, though to a very diminished amount. It is chiefly imported from Great Britain, France, and the Hanse Towns. The Scotch proverb, that " many mickles make a muckle," has no better exemplification than in the import of cigars into the United States, which amounts to 251,818 dollars, of which 243,526 are from Cuba. Thus nearly double the amount of dollars is spent in smoke by the Americans, of that bestowed on works of English and other foreign literature. Surely it would be better to protect cigars, and leave know ledge free. It only remains for us to notice a few articles of raw material, which are imported into the United States. Hemp, to the amount of 200,338 dollars, al most exclusively from Russia ; flax, 39,055, of which 29,101 are from Russia, 8,604 from Prussia, and the remainder from the Netherlands ; wool, to the amount of 96,853 dollars, of which 39,846 were from Eng land, 20,329 from Turkey, the Levant, and Egypt, 13,932 from Spain, 8,594 from Portugal, 6,252 from the Hanse Towns, and the remainder from the British colonies and South America. Only a few years since, the American wools were an article of export to Great Britain ; but a duty being placed on the importation of inferior wools, for the protection of the British farmer, (or, perhaps, more truly — and it is well to accustom ourselves to write the truth on all occa sions—for the benefit of the British landholder,) the Americans were forced to commence, though, at first, in the very rudest shape, the manufacture of woollens ; and from this commencement the manufacture of that article has advanced, till it not only consumes all the American wool, but requires a large amount of im port. The amount of this article imported for the year 1831, (of which the ofiicial accounts are not yet published,) has, we find, far exceeded that of any former year. Notwithstanding the abundance of salt and coal in America, they are both, to some extent, articles of import ; of the former, upwards of five millions of bushels (value 671,979 dollars) have been imported, chiefly from Great Britain or her colonies ; and of the latter, 1,640,295 bushels, (value 204,773 dollars,) almost entirely from Great Britain and her depend encies. The total amount of the imports for the year 1830 (70.876,920 dollars) exceeds that of the exports (63,849,508) by 7,027,412 dollars, or about ten per cent. There should, of course, be an excess of value of imports according to those returns, whether their value is estimated at the cost in foreign ports, or at the market-price in the American ports ; for these goods are the returns for the exports, the value of which is estimated at the rate of the markets in the United States ; and, unless a greater value of merchandise can be obtained in exchange in the foreign ports, the ship-owners would obtain nothing for outward freight : and still more ought the value of the imports in the American markets, after deduct ing duties, to exceed that of the exports, since this excess is the only fund for paying the two freights and interest on the capital employed. It can scarce ly be doubted, that the estimated amount of the im ports nrnst be much under the real value ; for the difiference of ten per cent, between the imports and exports . would be utterly inadequate to remunerate TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 185 the ship-owner and the merchant, especially as more than sixty-six millions of the imports are in Ameri can vessels, and less than five millions in the ships of other nations. With the world at large, therefore, there is no balance of trade against the United States, the real excess of imports being, in fact, only the profit of the parties who devote their capital, time, and skill, to commerce. With separate countries, however, the balance is, in some cases, generally against, and in others almost as uniformly in favour of the United States. With Great Britain, at the present time, the balance is considerably against the United States, and the rate of exchange is conse quently ten per cent, in favour of Great Britain, which operates, to a considerable extent, as an addi tional duty on the imports of the latter country, as for every hundred pounds the American merchant has to remit, he can only procure bills on England at a premium of ten pounds. The navigation of the United States, although so intimately connected with commerce, requires to be noticed separately. It is certainly a most important interest, not only as associated with the employment of a numerous class of individuals, and a large amount of capital, but from considerations of a na tional and political character. It is only through their naval power, as combined with their commercial importance, that the United States can cause them selves to be respected by European nations ; and it is manifest, that the adequate supply of hardy and well-disciplined mariners, in case of war, must most materially depend on the state of the commercial ma rine in times of peace. To foster and protect the naval interest was, therefore, naturally one of the earliest measures of the general government of the United States, after their independence had been es tablished. While, as a necessary addition to the revenue, a_duty of six cents per ton only was im posed on vessels of the United States, when entering any of her habours from any foreign port, on all ves sels belonging to foreign nations, there was laid a duty at the rate of fifty cents per ton, with an addi tion of ten per cent, to the several rates of duty on merchandise brought into the United States, when Hot imported in ships or vessels thereof The bene ficial operation of this system, from the confidence it inspired in the estimation in which the government held the navigation of the country, from the protec tion aflbrded by it to an interest destined to be the great source of its revenue, and from its various re lations to the industry, the commerce, the fiscal con cerns, and the external defence of the republic, was soon made manifest by the resuscitation and rapid increase of the navigation of the United States, which immediately ensued from the adoption of it, and which were, doubtless, produced in a good degree by these measures of protection, aided however by other causes, which soon after followed and co-ope rated with them. The discriminating duty was ap plauded by the merchants of the United States, and by all those classes more immediately connected with its navigation ; in addition to its effects on individual interests, and its countervailing influence on the du ties imposed on American shipping in foreign posts, it required indeed little prescience to perceive, that, with an extended sea-coast of near two thousand miles, bordering a vast and fertile country, inhabited by an intelligent, brave, and enterprising people, the ocean was destined, at no distant period, to become one of the great sources, alike of their wealth and their industry — of their prosperity and their glory. The discrimination thus instituted between foreign vessels and those of the United States, with occasional alterations, dependent on the circumstances of the times, and the varying dispositions and conduct of other nations towards the republic, with a duty on foreign vessels of fifty cents per ton, as light-montjy, in 1804, have been continued to the present time, ex cept with those powers with whom conventions or arrangements have been made for a reciprocal aboli tion, or suspension of them, in whole or in part. That the increase of "the navigation of the United States before alluded to, was as rapid and gratifying as it was unexpected and unexampled, is establishi d by the fact, that the tonnage of the United States, which, in 1789, amounted to 204,998 tons, of which 127,329 were employed in the foreign, 68,607 in the coasting trade, and 9,062 in the fisheries, had reach ed, in 1807, to 1,477,075 tons, giving, in that space ol time, a sevenfold increase, whereof 1,116,241 were employed in foreign trade, 285,090 in the domestic trade of the country, and 75,744 in the fisheries. This very important expansion of the navigation of the United States, as before observed, emanated in part from the discriminating duties ; while the un precedented political circumstances ofthe times, could not but also have a powerful influence in producing a result so desirable. The French revolution, which commenced nearly contemporaneously with the adoption of the federal constitution, deranged for a series of years the mer cantile operations of nearly all the navigating nations of Europe ; and for long periods between the epochs of 1789 and 1807, left the United States as the only important neutral power traversing the ocean. Un der these circumstances, the increase and employ 186 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES* ment of the shipping of the United States was fa voured in a manner which could not, within the same compass of time, have been effected by any other causes ; as the hazards of capture and the higher rates of insurance which attached to Europe an vessels at that period in intercourse with the Uni ted States, greatly exceeded the influence of the dis criminating duties, and served almost to extinguish, at least for a time, the freighting business of this country, and of other nations, in the vessels of the belligerents. But, in 1807, it became apparent, that, amid the collisions of a world in arms, this state of unrivalled prosperity for the commerce and naviga tion of the United States, was not to have a longer continuance ; for aggressions on their rights as a neutral nation, and depredations on the commerce of the United States by the more important of the mari time powers of Europe, multiplied so fast as to occa sion the withdrawment, for a time, of American na vigation from the ocean, and to give rise to those measures of resistance which issued in a war with Great Britain. At the conclusion of the war, it was the desire of the government of the United States to promote freedom of commerce among the nations of the earth upon a fair and equal footing, as conducive, by the friendly intercourse and inteichange of com modities to which it would give rise, to their mutual advantage ; they also felt confident that the vigour and maturity which the navigation of the republic had attained, would enable it successfully to meet a competition with that of other powers upon principles of reciprocity : the act of congress of March, 1815, repealing the discriminating duties on foreign vessels and vessels of the United States, and on goods im ported therein, was therefore passed, abolishing the distinction an.d duties which previously existed, so far as regarded the vessels of those powers which re ciprocated the same conditions to the United States. This act Wus confirmed by an act, passed January 7, 1824, extending the principle so far as to include within it those articles of produce and manufacture which could only be, or most usually are, first ship ped, from a port or place in Europe, when brought into the United States in the vessels of such nation, whether the articles be of its own produce or manu facture or not : the proffer of which conditions has been accepted by several of the powers of Europe. Both the facts and the sentiments which we have gust stated are, in substance and partly in words, those of the report of the committee made to the senate in •the year 1826.* We are aware that the position has * Nineteenth Congress, First Session, Rep. No. 16. been strenuously maintained, that American naviga tion has been materially depressed by the enactment of the tariffs of 1824 and 1828. Mr. Cambreleng, chairman of the committee of commerce appointed by the house of representatives, in 1830, in a very long and very able report, takes this view of the sub ject ;t but it appears to us, that, owing to circum stances which no longer exist, the commercial na-vy of the United States has engrossed more than its due proportion of foreign trade : of which, having so ample a field of employment both for labour and capital, they should be the less tenacious, especially as the amount of tonnage employed in the coasting trade and the whale fishery is decidedly on the in crease. It would, however, certainly be desirable, that every diminution of the expense of fitting out vessels which can accrue from the reduction of du ties on tonnage, &c. should be effected. The tonnage of the registered vessels employed in foreign trade at the close of the year 1829, was 650,142 tons ; enrolled and licensed vessels, inclu ding licensed craft under twenty tons, employed in the coasting trade, 508,858 tons ; vessels employed in the whale fishery, 101,796 tons ; making a total of 1,260,797 tons. Of the registered tonnage, 57,284 tons were employed in the whale fishery ; and of the tonnage reckoned as employed in the coasting trade, 54,036 tons were employed in steam naviga tion ; a larger amount, we apprehend, than the tou- nage of steam vessels in the aggregate of all other nations. The tables annexed to this chapter have already been frequently referred to. — Table I. contains a statement of the value of the domestic exports ofthe United States, from 1821 to 1830, inclusive ; and so far as exports may be regarded as a test, exhibits the progress of the fisheries, the agriculture, and the manufactures of the republic, during that period. Table II. is a statement of the total value of exports, domestic and foreign, from 1790 to 1831 ; and though but a brief compendium, affords important matter for the economist and the politician : the figures opposite the years 1814 and 1825 stand as memorials of the evils of war and of excessive speculation. Table III. contains a statement both of the value and the desti nation of the exports, domestic and foreign, during the last ten years. The stream of American com merce, and the relative importance of each country to her markets, are here exhibited. It is gratifying to perceive, that more than one third of the exports of the United States are consumed by Great Britain. t Nineteenth Congress, First Session, Rep. No. 165. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES'. 187 Table IV. is a statement of the kind and value of articles imported into the United States during the year 1830, and will enable manufacturers or mer chants to ascertain, with the minutest accuracy, the value of every class of articles imported into the Uni ted States. Table V. exhibits, combined in one view, the value of the imports and exports from each foreign country during the year 1830 ; and affords an opportunity of ascertaining the relative proportion of the imports and exports in each case. The large amount of commerce with the island ol Cuba -wil not fail to attract observation. This tabic also con tains the amount of the tonnage of American and foreign vessels engaged in conducting the commerce ol the United States into the several nations of the world. It will be perceived, that in their transactions with Great Britain, about three fourths of American and one fourth of British, are employed ; while, in the aggre gate, the Americans continue to engross nearly seven eighths of the tonnage employed in their commerce. 188 TOPOGRAPHY OF 'WIE UNITED STATES. COMMERCE.— TABLE I. A SUMMARY STATEMENT OF THE VALUE OF EXPORTS, OP THE GROWTH, PRODUCE, AND MANUPACTURE OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM 1821 TO 1830, ENDING THE 30th OP SEPTEMBER IN EACH YEAR. THE SEA. Dried fish, or cod fisheries . . Pickled fish Whale (common) oil and bone Spermaceti oil and candles THE FOREST. Skins and furs Ginseng Product of wood — lumber, (boards, staves, shin gles, hewn timber, &o.) . oak bark and other dye . . naval stores, (tar, pitch, rosin, & turpentine) ashes, pot and pearl . . . AGRICULTURE. Product of animals — beef, tallow, hides, hve cattle butter and cheese .... pork, (pickled,) bacon, lard, live hogs horses and mules .... sheep Vegetable food — wheat, flour, and biscuit . . Indian corn and meal . . . rye meal nee . all other, (pulse, rye, oats, potatoes, apples) .... Tobacco . Cotton All other agrictiltural products- indigo flax-seed maple, or brown sugar . . hops wax 1821. Dollars. 708,778 264,813350,480 175,117 1,499,188 766,205 171,786 1,612,808 139,534 314,660 889,348 3,794,341 698,323 190,287 1,354,116 69,830 22,176 4,476,357 606,279 1,494,307 173,643 6,648,962 20,157,484 420,202 1,975 18,498 85,654 MANUFACTURES. Soap, and tallow candles . . Leather, boots, shoes, saddlery, &c Hats . Grain, (spirit3^ beer, and starch,) Wood, including coaches and other carriages .... Cordage and canvass .... Iron Spirits, from molasses . . . Sugar, refined Chocolate Gunpowder Brass and copper Medicinal drugs Various items, (snuffi wax, lead, cotton goods, gold and sil ver coin, umbrellas, books, maps, &c.) Uncertain— manufactured . . raw produce . . Total - 35,407,992 661,409304,430 63,363 120,661 369,511 26,662 108,083 280,648 24,051 2,166 56,919 26,69444,998 173,127 492,009 215,742 2,262,622 707,751 43,671,894 1822. Dollars. 666,730 249,108311,415 167,286 1,384,639 601,302 313,943 1,307,670 145,707 447,869 1,099,063 1823. Dollars. 734,024270,776 432,115221,309 1,658,224 3,815,542 844,534 221,041 1,357,899 93,753 12,276 5,287,286 900,666 1,553, 482 233,825 6,222,838 24,035,058 392,772 805 23,025 93,129 - 41,272,379 788,946385,086 86,007 124,140 487,141 33,807 132,727 60,045 26,320 3,391 82,94736,974 43,711 191,810 637,978280,589 2,483,052 918,557 44,897,097 672,917 150,976 1,335,600 111,333 457,662 1,770,523 4,498,911 1824. Dollars. 873,686253,019 168,272 306,014 1,610,990 739,461 192,778 1,291,322 123,373 15,029 6,161,437 930,489 1,820,985 248,981 6,282,672 20,445,520 2,314 262,314 353 27,124 112,674 ¦ 37,646,726 664,807666,489 115,168 89,615 421,633 22,66997,27137,807 9,249 66,326 16,768 74,490 175,245 782,071211,949 2,357,527 994,020 47,165,408 661,465 229,080 1,734,586 95,574 665,056 1,613,796 4,889,646 707,299 204,205 1,489,051 213,396 14,938 6,977,255 736,340 1,882,982 271,907 4,855,566 21,947,401 836 504,327 434 81,810 107,451 • 38,995,198 816,095814,638 217,648 154,144 513,435 47,262 142,974 51,172 7,195 2,285 163,165 26,981 78,675 228,752 1,576,962 312,283 3,264,421 1,889,245 50,649,500 1826. DoUars. 830,356 248,417 296,425 219,887 1,695,065 624,692 144,699 1,717,571 93,809 463,897 1,994,381 4,938,949 930,466 247,787 1,832,679 283,835 20,027 4,466,679 878,073 73,245 1,926,245 183,476 6,116,623 36,846,649 7,084 324,846 2,632 13,865 85,692 ¦ 54,237,761 790,975724,281 240,074 154,223 470,006 28,114 166,173 61,605 6,9631,184 234,366 30,472 69,460 210,619 2,560,682 443,183 3,169,116 3,003,865 66,944,745 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. COMMERCE.- TABLE I.— conhnued. THE SEA. Dried fish, or cod fisheries . . Pickled fish Whale (common) oil and bone Spermaceti oil and candles THE FOREST. Skins and furs Ginseng Product of wood — lumber, (boardsj staves, shin- tles, hewn timber, masts, &c.) oak bark and other dye . . naval stores, (tar, pitch, rosin, and turpentine) .... ashes, pot and pearl . • ¦ AGRICULTURE. Product of animals- beef, tallow, hides, and hve cattle butter and cheese .... pork, (pickled,) bacon, lard, live hogs horses and mules .... sheep Vegetable food — wheat, flour, and biscuit . . Indian corn and meal . . • rye meal • rye, oats, and other small grain and pulse . . . ¦ potatoes apples nee Tobacco Cotton All other a^cultural products- indigo flax-seed hops maple, or brown sugar . . MANUFACTURES. Soap, and tallow candles . . Leather, boots, and shoes Saddlery Hats Wax ,. Spirits from grain, beer, ale, and porter Wood, including carnages, fiir- niture Slc Snuff and Tobacco .... Lead Linseed oil and spirits of turpen tine Cordage and canvass .... Iron, pigs, bar, nails, &c. . . Spirits, from molasses . . • Sugar, refined Chocolate Gunpowder Brass and copper ..... Medicinal drugs Cotton piece goods — printed and coloured . 1 white 1 nankeens ...... > twist, yarn and thread . all other manufactures of J Flax and hemp— cloth and thread ... J bags, and all manufactures > of. . J 1826. Dollars. 667,742257,180236,845 311,621 1,473,388 582,473 137,014 2,011,694 65,120 254,491900,458 3,951,250 733,439 207,765 1,892,429 247,543 17,693 4,411,870 1,007,321 49,297 72,371 41,583 27,370 1,917,445 6,347,208 25,025,214 3,922 144,908 10"0,668 4,964 1827. ¦ 41,253,001 722,417 586,676 66,994 272,431206,001 143,966 631,060 210,134 3,347 27,11631,482 248,960 70,21227,043 2,427 174,273 60,083 133,716 1,138,126 Dollars. 747,171240,276223,604 364,281 1,575,332 441,699 79,566 1,697,179 79,884 402,489 643,171 3,343,970 772.636184,049 1,655,698 173,629 13,586 4,645,784 1,022,464 47,69887,284 39,174 35,828 2,343,908 6,577,123 29,359,545 8,358 188,606 8,284 1,489 -47,066,143 901,751388,525 57,717 286,624 123,354144,832 1828. 8,381 11,084 5,364 Dollars. 819,926 246,737 181,270 446,047 1,693,980 626,233 91,164 1,821,906 101,175 487,761761,370 3,889,611 719,961176,354 1,495,830 185,542 7,499 4,464,774 822,858 59,03867,99735,37122,700 2,620,696 5,269,969 22,487,229 1,495 144,095 25,432 4,095 1829. - 38,610,924 912,322 401,259 49,768 326,294 134,886 203,780 611,196 210,747 4,184 22,119 20,030 231,234 186,096 38,207 3,344 181,384 60,452 95,083 76,012 887,628 5,149 12,570 28,873 5,3353,365 Dollars. 747,541 220,527 495,163 353,869 1,817,100 626,607 114,396 1,680,403 165,406377,613 817,434 3,681,759 1830. Dollars. 630,690 225,987 680,683 287,910 1,725,270 641,760 67,852 1,663,242 220,276321,019 1,106,127 4,019,275 674,955 176,205 717,6813 142,370 1,493,629 207,868 10,644 1,315,246 182,244 22,110 6,972,920 474,535 127,004 6,320,603 697,119 87,796 74,896 30,07915 958 2,514,370 4,982,974 26,575,311 66,24939,027 23,727 1,986,8246,686,365 29,674,883 ¦ 'm,o'w 6,917 3,289 827 180,973 30,312 2,976 692,691 366,668 35,765 270,780 132,939 619,233 338,603 36,651 309,362 163,666 215,494 226,367 691,946202,396 8,417 463,425246,747 4,831 20,442 7,984 223,705 166,740 50,739 1,759 171,924 129,647 101,524 35,039 4,135 309,473 49,793 193,084 893 128,625 36,60192,164 145,024 981,370 1,878 3,849 127,336 61,800 964,196 1,093 24,744 266,350 2,166 14,954 2,182 1,779 Woi„ II.— Nos. 51 (fe 52 2 A 190 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. COMMERCE,— TABLE I.— continued. MANUFACTURES-CONTINUED. Wearing appai:el Combs and buttons .... Brushes Billiard tables and apparatus . Umbrellas and parasols . . . Leather and morocco skins, not sold per ih Fire engines and apparatus Printing presses and type . . Musical instruments .... Books and maps Paper and other stationery Pamts and -varnish .... Vinegar Earthen and stone ware . . Manufactures of glass . . . — — tin pewter and lead . . . marble and stone . . . gold & silver, & gold leaf Gold and silver coin .... Artificial flowers and jewellery Molasses Trunks Bricks and lime Salt Uncertain^manufactured . . raw produce . . . Total 1826. Dollars. 85,86623,654 4,631 3,811 60,764 43,834 4,935 33,609 6,157 49,340 39,582 21,645 5,801 1,958 44,557 4,515 1,820 13,303 2,297 605,865 26,162 621 9,3976,075 5,852,733 248,252 277,086 525,333 . . 53,055,710 1827. DoUars. 94,76333,415 7,334 3,191 49,138 119,545 2,513 33,713 14,844 64,01237,716 29,664 8,1826,492 69,307 2,967 6,1833,5053,605 1,0-13,574 22,357 1,511 12,483 3,365 293,379257,1321 6,386,846 550,400 58,921,691 1828. Dollars. M3,253 60,957 6,372 2,240 24,703 81,221 2,384 40,199 10,011 46,93732,026 26,229 5,884 5,595 51,452 5,049 6,645 3,122 7,505 693,037 18,195 601 6,0044,573 247,990233,763 5,993,401 1829. Dollars. 91,10876,250 3,160.3,443; 22,067 80,173 2,832 12,908 8,868 29,01026,&29 21,133 5,9535,592 49i900 1,7576,185 2,647 11,260 612,886 21,627 1,992 11,248 3,717 27,648 309,106 221,544 5,716,100 55,700,193 1830. Dollars. 102,277124,589 6,116 316 25,796 70,968 13,274'10,261 32,00440,994 13,716 6,690 2,773 60,280 4,4974,172 4,6553,561 937,151 13,707 3,968 6,654 2,482 22,978 347,228 309,249 6,083,675 666,477 59,462,029 COMMERCE.— TABLE TL. A SUMMARY STATEMENT OP THE TOTAL VALUE OF EXPORTS, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN, FROM 1790 TO 1831. For IhB Domestic Foreign For the Domeatic Foreign Year ending Total. Year ending Total. Sept. ao. Produce Produce. Sepl. 30. Produce. Produce. 1790 »12,123,094 t8,082,062 20,205,156 1811 45,294,043 16,022,790 61,316,833 1791 *1 1,407,225 -(7,604,816 19,012,041 1812 30,032,109 8,496,127 38,527,236 1792 *12,451,860 -t8,301,238 20,753,098 1813 25,008,162 2,847,845 27,865,997 1793 *15,665,744 +10,443,828 26,109,572 18)4 6,782,272 145,169 6,927,441 1794 ?19,815,741 fl3,210,492 33,026,233 1815 45,974,403 6,683,360 52,657,763 1795 ?28,793,684 -119,195,788 47,989,472 1816 64,781,896 17,138,566 81,920,452 1796 40,764,097 26,300;000 67,064,097 1817 68,313,600 19,358,069 87,671,569 1797 29,850,206 27,000,000 66,860,206 1818 73,854,437 19,426,696 93,281,133 1798 28,527,097 33,000i000 61,627,097 1819 50,976,838 19,166,683 70,142,521 1799 33,142,622 45,623,000 78,666,622 1820 61,683,640. 18,008,029 69,691,66a 1800 31,840,903 39,130i877 70,971,780 1821, 43,671,894 21,302,488 64,974,382 1801 47,473,204 46,642,721 94,116,925 1822 49,874,079. 22,286,202 72,160,281 1802 36,708,189 36,774,971 72,483,160 1823 47,155,408 27,543,622 74,699,030 1803 42,205,961 13,594,072 65,800,033 1824 60,649,500. 25,337,167 75,986,657 1804 41,467,477 36,231,597 77,699,074 1825 66,944,745 32,590,643 99,535,388 1806 42,387,002 53,179,019 95,566,021 1826. 53,055,710, 24,539,612 77,595,323 ¦ 1806 41,253,727 60,283,236 101,536,96^ 1827 58,921,691 23,403,136 82,324,827 1807 48,699,592 69,643,558 108,343,150 1828 60,669,669 21,595,017 72,264,686 1808 9,433,546 12,997,414 22,430,960 1829 55,700,193 16,658,478 72,358,671 1809 31,406,702 20,797,531 52,203,233 1830 59,462,029; 14,387,479 73,849,508 ' 1810 42,366,675 24,391,295 66,757,970 1831 62,048,233 18,324,333 80,372,666 ? Estimated at three fifths of the whole. t Estimated at two fifths of the whole. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 191 COMMERCE.— TABLE III. D^ESTINATION AND VALUE OF EXPORTS, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN, FROM 1821 to 1830. ¦WHITHER EXPORTED. Russia Prussia Sweden* Swedish West Indies. . . Denmark and Norwayt . . Danish West Indies . . . Danish East Indies . . . Holland or Netherlandst . Dutch W. Indies and Ameri can Colonies Dutch East Indies . . . England, Man, and Berwick Scotland Ireland ........ Gibraltar British West Indies . . . East Indies . . . Newfoundland and British Fisheries ...... British American Colonies African Ports . . . Other British Colonies . . The Hanse Towns and Ports of Germany French European Ports on the Atlantic ...... Ditto on the Mediterranean French W. Indies and Ame rican Colonics .... French East Indies . . . Bourbon and Mauritius§ . Other French African Ports Hayti Spanish European! Ports on the Atlantic Ditto on the Mediterranean Teneriffe and the other Ca naries Floridas Manilla and Philippine Islands Honduras, Campeachy, and Musquito Shore .... Cuba Spanish West Indies . . Spanish South American Colonies South America and Mexico Portugal Madeira Payal, and the other Azores Cape de Verd Islands . . Coast of Brazil and other American Coloniesll . . Italy and Malta .... Trieste, and other Austrian Ports on the Adriatic . . Turkey, Levant, Egypt, Mo cha, and Aden .... Morocco and Barbary States Cape of Good Hope . . - China Asia— generally .... West Indies, ditto .... Europe, ditto Africa, ditto ...... South Seas N. West Coast of America . 1821. Domestic Produce. Dollars. 127,939 154,213507,077165,568 1,316,2961,954,513 533,259 133,010 16,339,109 1,405,448 889,577956,111264,632 32,089 260 2,009,336 9,953 12,113 1,535,506 5,098,843 69,855 846,597 5,784 19,600 Foreign Produce. Dollars. 500,955 1,740,383 324,706 24,2-2674,828 300,248 1,359 99,895 2,950,055 175,217 508,176 147,726193,414 26,337 22,176 335,348 410,171 31,781 30,383 388,535 32,467 513,039 133,854 86,06240,328 94,493 43,671,894 62,968 53,149 360,535485,483 1,739,692 149,784 1,581,803 2,125,594 13,683 4,069 613,635 470 1,934,190 4,478 455 5,013 2,357 597,038 349,010 10,85149,838 1,784 22,556 530,218 139,900 915 43,637 49,522 209,964 106,830 1,690,625 33,604 529,659 66 26,667 M,158 7,656 496,412 689,496 303,680406,997 3,902,025 1,130,797 47,474 10,782 41,629 31,080 282,505 1822. Domestic Produce. Dollars. 177,261 130,411 569,556 32,023 1,603,494 7,344 2,077,368 921,072 121,441 21,072,395 1,61S,565 770,176 525,708 449,601 67,979 1,314 1,881,273 4,850 1,644,2264,561,299 183,191 918,699 17,952 1,746,107 116,270 25,200 86,937 123,1-15 3,291,045 150,435 1,592,767 102,935186,952 33,169 34,941 1,217,411 560,714 33,752 6,124 Foreign Produce. Dollars. 351,820 80,21091,247 160,757 628,256 2,172 1,524,683 157,704 999,571 1,029,224 10,987 6^5,074 2,640 1,968,365 16,286 860,789 1,210,533 70,337 42,303 71,018 '373,704 67,742 1,354 29,140 11,799 127,943 1,069,673 7,606 1,828,286 18,555 4,662 10,454 35,832 246,518 889,470436,968 405,197 21,302,488 6,150 439,230 74,346 515,729 58,675 71,968 37,20954,799 5,598,138 1,087,989 24.331 6,391 69,410 11,934 110,799 49,874,9791 22,286,292 1823. Domestic Produce. Dollars. 51i535 7,268 151,037 241,701 39,783 1,231,152 2,642,939 665,763 161,129 18,968,185 1,158,495 714,937 875,694 1,617,845 19,642 3,183 1,818,113 26,232 1,532,354 4,677,914 323,861394,218 1,679,149 130,966 20,87658,902 5,449 211,383 3,271,279 266,033 1,372,526 - 48,077 117,686 27,84122,055 1,062,299 115,994 25,697 4,877 288,375 65,992 554,273 19,994 49,97121,741 47,156,498 Foreign Prodace. Dollars. 697,099 563 147,191 18,362 63,134 631,002 2,409,216 157,065 1,760,981 978,474 10,104 37,644 1,028,272 10,122 307,738 2,560 3,347 463 1,537,035 2,527,666 1,171,898 63,377 708,642 65,96619,447 21,216 4-1,275 100,052 2,134,095 25,405 3,229,347 300 3,976 15,794 11,910 279,181 951,911 919,618 559,783 4,347,686 436,759 59,417 17,95655,999 45,429 27,643,622 1824. Domestic Produce. Dollars. 92,766 5,W3 163,725204,983 35,487 1,149,641 1,597,514 589,775 61,669 18,213,841 1,196,219 913,532 934,402 1,769,793 34,364 7,243 1,773,197 29,463 859,383 7,585,815 265,315 770,516 36,692 ll9bl',9'26 148,436 9,810 42,845 8,958 167,069 3,611,693 306,896 2.827,521 77,255 315,896 17,46351,019 1,669,754 76,868 6,696 25,171 1,694 330,466 19,271 559,998 55,491 83,990 44,963 9,793 Foreign Produce. Dollars. 139,215 161,933 39,687 299,822698,392 617,831 111,984 638,616 1,268,282 14,632 8,673 934,445 29,395 927,716 2,617 ' '2,311' 1,993,890 1,995,612 750,431 41,217 6,207 "4'63',8'29 366,434 20,144 210,562 194,365 2,195,840 233,718 5,049,966 6,168 26,347 4,923 21,665 692,159 587,480.518,057314,267 3,819 4,979,705 450,358 39,886 1,698 64,696 119,367 29,675 1825. Domestic Produce. Dollars. 65,191 4,918 222,164 193,761214,517 1,231,243 2,486,468 497,194 163,922 32,996,399 1,699,5261,247.559 861,733 1,635,574 296,450 16,068 2,633,224 7,735 23,612 1,144,474 7,338,693 187,242 937,368 40,126 968 1,648,066 73,61518,81470,380 23,169 57,286 3,276,556 216,102 3,419,158 110,915 122,849 33,421 '69,'9.7a. 1 641,296 ¦66,605 8,834 34,373 3,589 160,069 37,486 646,638 16,312 59,365 29,999 11,699 50,649,600 25,337,157 66,944,745 32,590,643 Foreign Produce. Dollars. 232,219 12,669 112,373 41,247 637,146563,177 1,306,839 77,092 1,364,884 2,031,186 7,667 20,669 941,981 11,472 784,629 1,7401,977 2,025 1,976,559 2,626,968 726,499 74,588 41,202 406,560 82,722 6,336 21,271 185,554 23,643 1,844,146 22,156 7,767,325 2,8-24 55,326 4,695 18,96.7 752,468578,434 643,568364,591 3,720 6,410,456 675,567 23,039 135 35,72927.164 43,601 * After 1823, the Exports were to Sweden and Norway. S After 1824, to Mauritiiis. i After 1823, to Denmark. II After 1823, to Brazil. t After 1824, to the Netherlands. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. COMMERCE.— TABLE III.— continued. DESTINATION AND VALUE OF EXPORTS, DOMESTIC AND FCHIEIGJV, FROM 1821 to 1830. WHITHER EXPORTED. Russia Prussia - Sweden and Norway . . Swedish West Indies. . . Denmark Danish West Indies . . . Netherlands ...... Dutch West Indies . . . Dutch East Indies . . . England, Man, and Berwick Scotland Ireland Gibraltar British East Indies . . West Indies . . . Mauritius and Bourbon* . British American Colonies and Newfoundland . . Other British Colonies . . The Hanse Towns and Ports of Germany French European Ports on the Atlantic Ditto on the Mediterranean French West Indies . . . African Ports . . . Hayti Spanish European Ports on the Atlantic Ditto on the Mediterranean Teneriffe and the other Ca naries ....... Manilla and PhiUppme Islands Cuba Other Spanish West Indies Portugal Madeira Fayal, and the other Azores Cape de Verd Islands . . Italy and Malta .... Trieste, and other Ports on the Adriatic Turkey, Levant, and Egypt, Greece, and Grecian Archi pelago Morocco and Barbary States Cape of Good Hope . . . China Mexican Ports on the Atlan tic Central RepubUc of South America Honduras, Campeachy, &c. Colombian Ports on the At lantic Brazil , ¦ Buenos Ayrest Chili Peru South America — generally . Asia, ditto West Indies, ditto .... Europe, ditto Africa, ditto ...... South Seas North West Coast of Ame rica 1826. Domestic Produce. Dollars. 11,044 15,129 126,034 120,573 109,582 1,391,994 1,979,199 434,125 57,606 19,065,185 572,894 776,137692,396 24,226 2,978,871 13,893 2,564,165 34,378 979,313 9,075.254 273,675904,115 512 1,252,919 71,31380,964 42,761 14,133 3,749,658 219,858 99,945 119,958 16,976 38,693 81,622 13,387 46,897 21,154 242,451 1,024,275 79,294 946,014 1,597,344 222,832 612,650 273,724 56.725 17,565 603,807 166,875 108,226 27,46829,921 Foreign Produce. Dollars. 16-3,604 3,421 88,489 23,284 246,288676,001 1,399,857 57,426 374,957 1,669,023 2,952 6,684 1,955,526 418,942 31,931 22,990 24,030 500 1,137,384 1,316,178 483,677 52,059 969 161,584 22,227 20,046 21,742 58,207 2,382,774 12.668 638 25,549 2,4959,299 448,599 273,933 271,438 6,433 2,324,193 6,266,775 49,489 1,006,658 603,005 156,698 934,848231,175 8,993 387,499 14,96212,443 64,84962,35974,879 1327. Domestic Produce. Dollars. 46,519 8,615 291,488416,822 148,968 1,463,691 2,339,381 387,573 38,869 23,514.421 1,336,169 637,129 1,049,999 32,717 683,195 2,797,914 1,693,971 8,712,011 476,547979,697 1,162,473 74,75162,353 4,160,747 218,156 116,103 100,163 13,487 80,010 74,417 42,671 131,734 14,634 2,031 290,862886,907 147,574 13,261 611,312 1,485,433 100,789 1,049,748 292,944 71,53721,139 464,904 150,2361-26,968 24,92337,702 Foreign Produce. Dollars. 336,734 207,553 26,014 253,983 538,190888,950 44,162 127,749904,596 864,387 1,018,733 7,470 1,319,214 2,555,869 781,076 61,156 169,436 47,178 7,112 39,817 2,665,341 10,363 229 18,281 4,861 24,166 533,894234,122 479,325 2,003 3,573,543 3,286,359 77,198 1,573 333,222 377,373 50,424 661,853 70,077 21,489 640,670 11,956 779 67,872 287 40,882 1828. Domestic Produce. Dollars. 198,922 15,439 256,532 611,684 150,979 2,202,465 1,863,767 415,343 83,710 18,737,661 959,569394,459 899,411 45,199 26,149 1,618,288 1,894,3337,091,699 606,638 1,099,437 1,123,495 49,946 65,844 33,529 19,914 3,912,997 222,191 77,019 191,948 19,669 67,592 279,629 119,233 78,374 239,386522,916 196,773 5,959 560,846 1,506,770 94,372 1,619,978 159,389146,967 46,776 437,916 46,686 131,249 42,14739,020 Foreign Produce. Dollars. 341,673 216,222 23,616 386,689 608,934 366,646 41,616 313,277 2,969,261 7,927 810 606,719795,682 2,706 66,386 1,190,918 3,095,826 279,407 16,334 209,306 199,963 51,193 8,551 141,838 2,490,994 15,677 1,164 9,985 4,7199,727 641,230 206,256 124,667 1,262,417 2,364,468 62,499 2,371 323,678482,935 59,856 1,109,424 100,565 13,808 356,835 22,281 9,367 26,36149,989 66,365 63,956,719 24,539,612 58,921,691! 23,493,136 69,669,669 21,595,017 55,700,193 16,658,478 59,462,029 14,387,479 1829. DomesticProduce. DoUars. 61,684 14,411 122,663684,523 73,597 1,942,010 3,095,867 379,874 62,974 21,281,334 395,315 327,728 301,132 69,070 1,463 10,602 2,724,104 1,998,176 3,003,923 886,122 1,056,639 814,987545,753186,962 42,839 10,802 3,719,263 209,780 42,088 176,074 7,949 68,528 289,755409,288 27,600 260,769 495,626 123,631 12,693 526,783 1,510,260 444,716 890,356 91,642 147,670 40,721 359,496 102,364103,837 45,969 2,911 40,805 1,278,934 2,196,573 748,777 16,768 169,171 139,732 45,790 23,31766,439 1,869,626 38,999 628 15,989 78 13,477 611,267 289,290 47,384 1,994,193 1,836,626 116,223 8,229 241,665 419,667 181,336 639,773 119,616 6,176 232,768 19,123 269 49,51620,991 4,399 1830. Domes tic Produce. Dollars. 36,461 16,501 181,363 662,790 76,292 1,683,022 3,364,661 319,496 63,273 23,773,020 1,465,211 261,637513,248 93,731 140 3,660,031 1,549,732 9,183,894 717,252 792,241 6,931 714,791 638,966 145,566 19,040 39,129 3,439,060 245,636 43,408 155,719 6,649 50,560 326,239300,869 75,801 156,290 985,764 138,456 25,132 316,732 1,609,999 425,220 915,718 32,400 9,190 66,318 242,114 16,090 96,867 21,178 28,392 Foreign Produce. Dollars. 381,114 189,949 37,727 29,048 220,723 675,627 42,298 107,293 826,946 2,488 370, UO 563,126 1,761 136,342 726,148 661,926 430,888 13,628 679 108,387 61,327 610 54,639 1,477,675 27,523 1,803 12,358 1,624 7,778 414,121293,261 337,539 585,903 3,851,694 111,662 6,432 189,258 242,239204,667620,396 39,402 170 229,290 5,010 22,66362,236 6,764 24,698 * After 1828, the exports were to Bourbon. t After 1823, to the Argentine Republic. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 193 COMMERCE.— TABLE IV. A SUMMARY STATEMENT OF THE VALUE OF GOODS IMPORTED, pbom the 1st op oct. 1829, to the 30th sept. 1830. SPECIES QF MERCHANDISE. VALUE. AIERCHANPISE FBEE OF DUTY. Articles imported for the use of the United States . . . Articles specially imported for Philosophical Societies, &c- Philosophical apparatus, instruments, &c Books, maps, and charts ........... Paintings and drawings Medals, and collections of antiquity ........ Anatomical preparations Antimony, regulus of Lapis calaminaris, tutanag, spelter, or zinc Burrstones, unwrought Brimstone and sulphur Cork tree, bark of Clay, unwrou.eht Rags of any kind of cloth Purs of all kinds Hides and skins, raw Piaster of Paris Specimens of botany, natural history, and mineralogy . Models of invention and machinery ........ Barilla Wood, dye -, unmanufactured mahogany Animals for breed Pewter, old Tin in pigs and bars Brass in pigs and bars , old Copper m pigs and bars in plates, suited to the sheathing of ships for the use of the Mint , old, fit onjy to be re-manufactured . . . Bullion, gold mver Specie, gold silver All other articles MEECHANPISE StJBJECT TO DUTIES AJJ. VALOHEM.. Manufactures of Wool, or of which wool is a component material — Not exceeding 60 cents per square yard Exceeding 60 cents, and not exceeding lOa cents, per ditto. Ditto . . 199 .... ditto .... 269 .. . ditto . . Ditto . . 269 .... ditto .... 490: .. . ditto . . Ditto . . 400 Blankets Hosiery, gloves, mits, &,c '. Bombazines Worsted stuff gooda '. '. . All other manufactures of Cotton— Printed or colour«d . ' White . . . . Hosiery, gloves, mits, and bindinga Twist, yarn, and thread Nankeens All other manufactures of ' ! .' Vestings and plaids— Of wool, or wool and cotton, or silJt '. „.„ „ , ,. .Of cotton, or cotton, and silk . . . . Suk— Prom India, piece goods ^ . Ditto .... other manufactures ] From othpr places, piece goods Ditto other manufactures ....." Dollars. 439 9,830 19,621 322 95 274 6,745 2,669 16,317 17,249 2,638 9,048 72,661 306,782 2,499,859 126,696 6,118 ,897 66,222 279,411 286,826 23,151 ,815 191,341 29,615 3,314 493,293283,786 14,436 83,413 115,267 1,949,343 796,879 6,286,475 8,787 12.745,245 462,743 1,963,816 1,236,969 76,796 6,016 694,944133,463 33,887 1,397,645 ,319,396 4),K6,6752,437,894 387,454 172,785 228,233; 229,375 53,916, 2,292 1,357,992 31,224 2,324,918 1,950,776 SPECIES OP MERCHANDISE. MESCHANDISE SI7B}ECT TO DUTIES AD VALOSEM. Manufactures of Lace — Of thread, silk, or cotton Coach Flax— Linen, bleached and unbleached Checks and stupes Other manufactures of Hemp — Ticklenburgs, osnaburgs, and burlaps .... Sheeting, brown Ditto . . white All other manufactures of . Clothing, ready made Hats, caps, and bonnets — Leghorn, straw, chip, &c. . . Fur, wool, leather, or silk . . Iron, or Iron and Steel Wire — Side arms and fire arms, other than muskets and rifles Drawing knives, axes, adzes, and socket chisels . . . Bridle-bitsof every description Steelyards, scalebeams and vices Cutting knives, sithes, sickles, reaping hooks, spades and shovels, , Screws weighing 24 pounds or upwards Wood screws Other articles not specified Copper— Vessels of All other manufactures of Gold and silver — Lace ¦ . Watches, and parts thereof Articles composed of, &c Wares— Glass not subject to specific duties China or porcelain Earthen and stone Japanned Plated Gilt BrassTin Pewter and lead, except shot Wood, including cabinet wares Leather, including saddles, bridles, and harness Plated saddlery, coach and harness furniture Marble, and manufactures of Square wire, used for umbrella stretchers, . . Ciphering slates Prepared quills Blacklead pencils Paper hangings Brushes of allkinds Hair seating Bolting cloths Copper bottoms, cut round, raised to the edge Q.uicksilver Brass, in plates Tin, in plates . Crade saltpetre Opium Unmanufactured— Raw silk Articles not specially enumerated^ subject to a duty of li2'l-2' per cent. Ditto Ditto Ditto DittoDittoDitto Ditto . ditto . ditto . ditto . ditto . ditto . ditto, ditto Ditto ditto Ditto ..... ditto ditto . ditto . ditto . . ditto . ditto . ditto . ditto . ditto . ditto . 16 per cent 2025 30 33 1-2 35 4945 . 50- VALUE. Dollars. 824,997 3,926 2,486,963 42,725 433,692 663,666 299,162 41,036 133.103 46,789 326,793 49,004 179,153 29,007 62,271 95,094 17 66,817 2,908,978 1,236 15,193 3,191 312,924 65,026 119,926 9(V,583 1,168,477 36,233 95,22660,786 329,716, 6,248 24,409 112,047 499,923 47,872 14,417 5,550 11,526 15,881 4,850 69,624 9,362 26,33239,168 3,609 314,167 19,608 K0,900 32,214 139,696 119,074 383,685 2,558,858 105,610101,192 389.821 ,761 1,233 , 14 ,813 2,619 36,835,459 1^4 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. COMMERCE.— TABLE IY.— continued. SPECIES OP MERCHANDISE. MEHCHAHDISE PAYING SPECIFIC DUTIES. Manufactures of wool, not exceeding 33 1-2 cents per square yard Carpeting— Brussels, Turkey, and -(Viltou Venetian and ingrain All other of wool, flax, or cotton Patent printed or stained floorcloths Oilcloth, other than patent floorcloth Furniture oilcloth Floor mattings of flags or other materials Sail duck Cotton bagging Wines— Madeira Sherry Red, of France and Spain ' Of France, Spain, and Germany, not enumerated . Of Sicily and other countries, and all wines not enumerated, in casks and bottles Foreign spirits— From grain From other materials ....'.'... Molasses \ ' Beer, ale, and porter !!.'.'! Vinegar Oil— Foreig« fishing, spermaceti, whale, olive '(iii casks,) castor, hnseeu, and hempseed Teas— Bohea, souchong and other black.'hyso'n skin and ¦Other green, hyson and young hyson, imperial, gunpow der, and Gomel Cofl'ee II'.'. Cocoa '..'.'.'. Chocolate ! ! ! ! Sugar — Brown '.'.',. White, clayed, &c '.'.'.',' Candy and loaf .'!!!! Other refined Fruits— Almonds, currants, prunes and plums, figs', raisins (in jai-s and boxes,) and all other Spices— Ginger, Cayenne pepper, mace, nutmegs,' cinnamon cloves, black pepper, pimento, and cassia ... Candles— Spermaceti and wax .... Tallow '.'.'.'.' Cheese .'.'.' Soap Tallow .'!!!!' Lard !!!.'.' Beef and pork !!' Bacon ..... Butter ! ! ! ' Salt-petre iJ!!'' Camphor, crude !!!!]! Salts, Epsom '.','.'' Tobacco, manufactured, other than snuff and 'cigars '. Snuff ° Indigo Cotton .'.'.'.'.' Gunpowder Bristles .... Glue ¦ Ochre— Dry . . In oil ..." ; White and red lead . Whiting, and Paris white '. Sugar of lead Lead— Bar, sheet, and pig '. ! ' Shot .... VALUE. Dollars. 266,969 77,662 123,959 137 19,865 762 2,696 9,486 317,347 , 69,126 339,423 69,547 273,933 424,394 437,795 206.704453,286 995,776 60,420 4,241 18,074 2,425,0184,227,021 137,453 899 3,985,665 644,477 671 9 520,275 457,723 519 8,959 8,3983,310 4310 23,220 681662 80 26,374 111 224834 716,715 34,73720,48826,618 3,110 21,182 430 14,231 3,933 11,84618,757 1,638 SPECIES OF MERCHANDISE. MERCHANDISE PAYING BPEOIFIO DUTIES. Cordage— Tarred and cables Untarred and yarn Twine, packthread, and sein Corks Copper— Rods and bolts Nails and spikes Fire-arms— Muskets Rifles Iron— Iron and steel wire Tacks, brads, and sprigs Nails Spikes Cables and chains, or parts thereof . . . Mill-cranks, and milHrons of wrought iron Mill-saws Anchors Anvils Hammers and sledges for blacksmiths . . Castings, vessels and all other Braziers' rods or round iron, of 3-10 to 8-16 diameter inclusive Nail or spike rods, slit . Sheets and hoop . . SUt or rolled, &c. . . In pigs Bar and bolt, rolled „ , " hammered Steel Hemp Flax, unmanufactured . Wheat flour Wool, unmanufactured , Salt Coal , Wheat Oats Potatoes !!!!!!!]!'!! Paper— Koli9 and quarto post, foolscap] drawing, and wri ting, printing, copperplate, and stainers', sheath- T. - J t ',"S' .binders , wrapping, box boards, &c. . . . frmted books, m all languages Glassware— Cut and not specified „, All other articles of ....'.'.'.'. Glass— Apothecaries' phials, not above 8 oz. ..'.'. Bottles, not above 1 gallon Demijohns Window Pish— Foreign, dried or pickled' '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. Shoes and slippers Boots and bootees •...!!!!!!!'!! Cigars ! ! ! ! Playing cards ....'.'.'.'..[ Roofing slates '. [ Value of merchandise paying specific duties . . JUitto ... ditto .. . paying ad valorem duties Ditto . . ditto free of duty VALUE. Dollars. 71,291 8,114 76,006 30,730 262 2,141 25,142 86 59,485 2,799 40,906 1,391 25,886 200 12,262 1,121 31,249 3,096 38,686 5,945 784 69,822 81 25,644 226,336 1,730,376 291,957 200,338 39,066 599 96,853 671,979 204,773 492 378 110,408130,632 6,192 129,632 3,473 62,99115,624 25,69727,624 5,362 1,913 251,818 430 34,683 22,295,225 35,835,450 12,746,216 70,876,920 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. J95 COMMERCE.- -TABLE V. A STATISTICAL VIEW OP THE VALUE OP IMPORTS PROM, AND EXPORTS TO, EACH FOREIGN COUNTRY, AND THE TONNAGE OP AMERICAN AND FOREIGN VESSELS EMPLOYED, FOR THE YEAR ENDING SEPT. 39, i83a COUNTRIES. COMMERCE. NAVIGATION. VALUE OF EXPORTS. AMERICAN TONNAGE. FOREIGN TONNAGE. VALUE OP IMPORTS. Domestic Foreign TOTAL. Entered into Departed Entered into Departed from Produce. Produce. tlie U. S. from the U. S. the U. S. the U. S. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. TOTIS. Tons. Tons. Tons. Russia 1,621,899, 36; 461; 381,114 416,575 13,631 3,492 264 264 Prussia 16,6j06 16,501 16,601 372 232 Sweden and Norway . . lil68,H0 181,353 189,949 371,302 15,144 3,502 2,936 2,923 Swedish West Indies. . . 239,639 562,700 37,727 690,427 19,495 19,960 966 984 Denmark 5,384 76,292 29,048 105,340 877 1,923 Danish West Indies . . . 1,666,334 1,683,022 220,723 1,908,745 38,767 52,535 600 ,849 Netherlands 888,498 3,364,551 675,527 4,930,078 42,998 35,220 793 4,515 Dutch East Indies. . . . 131,848 63,273 107,293 170,666 662 1,501 229 286,599 319,496 42,298 361,793 12,047 11,043 248 124 England 22,755,949 23,773,020 326,946 24,599,966 199,972 192,714- 61,355 58,589 Scotland 1,382,841 1,466,211 2,483 1,467,699 5,,784 6^913 12,660 7,797 Ireland 381,333 261,687 261,687 5;494 4,694 -6,949 2,579 Gibraltar 99,028 613,248 370,150 883,398 3,346. 13,450 British East Indies . . . l,-373,297 93,731 653,126 646,857 4,805 4,029 168,679-. 140. 1,761 1,901 22,428 2,395- ¦ .27&- Newfoundland British American. Colonies. 462 130,527- 1,623 117,171 '4',o'02 14,267- 650,303 2,300 3,659f931. 136,342 3,786,373. Other British Colonies . . 1,263 396 Hanse Towns 1,373,253 1,549,732 726,143 2,274,380 17,259 14,728 8,488 19,262- France on the Atlahtio . . 6,831,015 9,183,894- 661,925 9,845,319 79,459 82,521 4,061 6,914 Ditto on the Mediterranean-. 891,183. 717,252 439,888 1,148,140 16,496 18,967 295 1,974 French West Indies . . . 518,687 792,241 5,931 13,528 579 895,769 6,519 25,928 47,129 6,945 4,325. Spain on the Atlantic . . 461,267 638,966 61,327 600,283 16,283 9,337 Ditto on the Mediterranean 543,271- 145,556 145,556 19,929 3i917 Teneriffe, and other Canaries 99,873 19,949 610. 19,650 1,762 796 Manilla and Philippine Islands 384,887 39,129 54,539 93,668 2,774. 453 122 Cuba 5,677,230 3,439,960 1,477,676 4,916,735 97,644 114,054 12,954 lI,-356 Other Spanish.. West Indies-. 1,307,148 . 245,636 27,623 273,159 19,931 3,734 625 489. Portugal 166,321 43,408 1,893 45,211 12,287 2,243 ....... 184. Madeira 239,662 166,719 12,363 168,077 3,212 6,08a 114 Fayal, and the other Azores- 32,912 6,649 1,624 3,173 634 244 137 137. Caps de Verd Islands . . 33,758 60,669 7,778 58,338 1,253 2,628 Italy Sicily 940,254 326,239 414,121 740,360 . 6,962 6,626 413- 3,740 1,697 135 Trieste,, and , other Adriatic ports 132,093 390,359 293,261 594,120 ¦ 4,332 4,662 282. Ragusa, and the Seven Islands 346 Turkey, &o. 417,392 75,801- 337,-639 413,349 3,668 2,887- Hayti .;.:.... 1,597,140 714,791 198,387 823,178 18,513 19,395 li633 1,748 Mexico 5,-235,-241 985,764 3,351,694 4,-837,458 22,062 27,295- 4,362 3,651 Central Republic .... 302,833 138,456. 111.662 250,118-. 4,560 . 3,044 , Colombia 1,120,095 316,732 189,258 496,990 13,514 5.956 1,976 62 Honduras 1,473 26,132 5,432 39,564 68 1,042 ... ... Brazil 2,491,460 1,600,999 242,239 1,843,238 38,005 44,450 248 691 Argentipe.Republio,. . . , 1(431,883 426,220 294,657 629,887- 6,584 ¦ 9,565 226 116 Cisplatine Republic . . . •,...... 236 1,373 Chili 132,585 915,718 629,396 1,536,114 304 12,287 Peru 972,884 32,409 39,402 71,,802 3,276 732 South America, generally . 40,269 9,199 179 9,360 394 679 155 China 3,678,141. 156,299 . 685,«93 742,193 8,598 3,501 Asia, generally West Indies, ditto ..... 98,451 .66,318 229,299 285,608 1,679 3,697 7,386, 242,114 6,010 247,124 2,288 7,417 269 East Indies, ditto . . . 424 Europe, ditto ,394; 16,090 22,653 38,743 1,904 9U- 141 Africa, ditto 172,361. 96,867 52,236 149,103 2,730- 2,660 618. 299 Capeof Good Hops, . . . 680- South Seas 20,748- 21,178 6,764 27,942 16,392. 28,222 North West Coast of Ame- nca, TOTAL.. .... 28,392 24,698 53,090 522 ' 70,876,920 , 69,462,029 14,387,479 73,849,603 967,2?7, 97l„760 , 131,999 , ,133,436 1 196 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER IV. FINANCES — REVENUE, EXPENDITURE, DEBT. The revenue of the United States is derived chiefly from the duties levied on the importation of foreign commodities, or the sale of public lands ; the former source at present* producing twenty-t-wro parts (22,681,996 dollars) out of twenty-four of the -whole amount, (24,767,122 dollars,) the remaining twelfth being raised from the latter, (1,457,004 dollars ;) to gether -with dividends or sales of bank stock, (490,000 dollars ;) the arrears of internal duties, (14,404 dol lars ;) direct taxes, (11,231 dollars ;) and miscellane ous charges, (112,425 dollars.) The post-office de partment has frequently been a source of gain to the treasury ; but in the year 1819, the -whole amount received appears to have been expended in improve ments of the post-roads, and, indeed, for the last ten years it has not, for a similar reason, been at all ma terially productive. We shall notice very briefly each of the sources from which the revenue is derived. The present rates of duty imposed on the most important articles imported from foreign countries have been given in a table at the close of the chap ter on manufactures, as indicative of the extent to which they are severally protected. The amount received from the customs annually, from 1791 to 1830, will be found in Table L, at the end of this chapter. It will be perceived that from the year 1792, when it was 3,443,070 dollars, it gradually rose to the year 1808, when it reached 16,363,550 dollars. This increase manifests very decidedly the progressive prosperity of the republic during that period, since it did not accrue from any increase of the rate of the imports, but of the quantity of the articles consumed or the amount of the tunnage em ployed. During the years 1809-10, in consequence of the embargo, the amount declined to about half the sum ; in 1811 it reached thirteen millions of dol lars ; but, in consequence of the war, it sank again, in 1812, to under nine milhons of dollars. In July of that year the rate of duties was doubled ; and in 1813, they exceeded thirteen millions of dollars : in 1814, however, in consequence of the continuance of the war, and the efi'ectual manner in which the Bri tish navy blockaded the American coast, they did not amount to six millions of dollars, and in 1815, a lit tle exceeded seven millions of dollars. After the close of the war, the double duties, which were con tinued to the 30th of June, 1816, and the immense ? These statements and calculations are founded on the ofiicial feports of the year ending 30th of September, 1 829. + Since these sheets -were prepared for the press, the Report of importation of goods which the active competition of British manufacturers and merchants poured into the United States, raised the amount of customs for the year 1816 to the surprising sum of 36,306,874 dol lars, the highest amount, by nearly one third, they have ever attained. The tariff which was established on the abandonment of the war duties, in June, 1816, was at a considerably higher rate than the old duties, and produced, in 1817, a revenue of upwards of twenty-six millions of dollars. The American mar ket, during the first two years of peace, was glutted with foreign manufactures, and consequently, a re action in the imports took place, which reduced th amount, in 1818, to little more than seventeen mil lions of dollars ; in 1819 it reached twenty millions of dollars ; from 1820 to 1825 the amount varied from thirteen to twenty millions of dollars. Since that time it has, with the exception of 1827, been about twenty-three millions of dollars. It is gener ally understood (although we have not received the official returns) that in consequence of the large im portations under the high duties imposed by the tariff of 1828, the revenue derived from the customs this year will reach twenty-eight millions of dollars, an amount greater than that of any year since the es tablishment of the republic, except the first after the war.t The sale of public lands is at present almost the only real source of revenue besides the customs ; for although an amount of 499,000 dollars from dividends on stock in the bank of the United States appears in the statement of receipts, while any public debt re mains, that sum, or nearly so, must be paid to the public creditor as interest on the debt, of which the loan to the United States bank forms a part, and upon which the interest paid by the bank cannot therefore be esteemed as clear revenue. The title of the United States to the public lands is derived from three distinct sources : first, from treaties with foreign nations, by which territory has been, acquired, or boundaries settled ; secondly, by treaties with the Indian tribes, by which, for a certain remuneration, the title of the natives to the land has been extin guished ; and thirdly, from cessions of territories made by individual states to the general government. It cannot be matter of surprise, that the title of the United States should be frequently disputed by indi viduals, on the ground of claims existing previously to the cession of the land in question to the govern ment. No less than fourteen extensive claims are the Finances of the United States has been received, in -which the receipt; for the year ending 30th September, 1831, are estimated to be 28,000,412 dollars. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 197 stated by Seybert,* some of them arising from alleged purchases from the Indians, which however were, even if substantiated, undoubtedly contrary to law, and others originating in grants from officers of the different governments to which the territory belonged before its acquisition by the United States, but of which the evidence of confirmati.on by their respec tive governments is either totally wanting or incom plete. Our limits will not permit us to state the de tails of these disputed claims : there is one, however, both from its peculiar character and its magnitude, too remarkable to be passed over. The Yazoo claims, as they were called, embraced 35,000,000 acres in the Mississippi territory, and were derived from a pre tended sale by the legislature of Georgia, but declared null, as fraudulent, by a subsequent legislature. " The evidence, as published by the state of Georgia, and by congress," says Dr. Seybert, " shows that that transaction, even if considered as a contract, is, as such, on acknowledged principles of law and equity, null, ab initio ; it being in proof that all the members of the legislature who voted in favour of the sale, that is to say, the agents who pretended to sell the property of their constituents, were, with the excep tion of a single person, interested in, and parties to the purchase." This claim, however, was arranged by commissioners appointed by congress in 1814, and treasury certificates to the amount of more than four millions of dollars Avere awarded among the various claimants. On the 10th of May, 1800, an act of congress was passed, laying the foundation of the land system, as it now exists. Under this law, all the lands, before they are offered for sale, are surveyed, on a rigidly accurate plan, at the expense of the government. This is the corner-stone of the system. In this con sists its great improvement over the land system of Virginia, according to which, warrants were granted to those entitled to receive them, for tracts of unsur veyed public land. These warrants might be located on any land not previously appropriated. In the absence of geometrical surveys, it was difficult, by natural boundaries, Indian piths, and buffalo traces, to identify the spots appropriated. The consequence was, that numerous warrants were laid on the same tract, conflicting claims arose, and the land titles of the country were brought into a state of the most » Statistical Annals, chap. v. p. 355. t The following fir.st section of a private act, passed in 1825, may serve as a specimen of the nomenclature by which lots of land may be indicated in the system of the public .surveys : — " Be it en acted hy the senate and house .of representatives of the United States of America, in congress as.=embled, that, when the secretary of the treasury shall be satisfied that John Johnson of Indiana, did Vol. il— Nos. 53 & 54 2 B perplexing and injurious embarrassment. The state of Kentucky, and that portion of Ohio allotted as bounty-lands to the Virginia troops, have constituted one great theatre of litigation, from their first settle ment. On the other hand, land titles acquired under the system of the United States are almost wholly exempt from controversies arising from uncertainty of location or boundary. The surveys of the public lands of the United States are founded upon a series of true meridians. The first principal meridian is in Ohio, the second in Indiana, the third in Illinois, &c., each forming the base of a series of surveys, of which the lines are made to correspond, so that the whole country is at last divided into squares of one mile each) and townships of six miles each ; and these subdivisions are distributed with mathematical accu racy into parallel ranges. The greatest division of land marked out by the survey is called a township, and contains 23,040 acres, being six English or American miles square. The township is subdivided into thirty -six equal portions, or square miles, by lines, crossing each other at right angles. These portions are called sections. The section contains 640 acres, and is subdivided into four part, called quarter-sec tions, each of which, of course, contains 160 acres. The quarter-sections are finally divided into two parts, called half^quarter-sections, of eighty acres each, and this is the smallest regular subdivision known to the system. The sectional and quarter- sectional divisions are designated by appropriate marks in the field, which are of a character to be easily distinguished from each other. The half-quar ter-sections are not marked in the field, but are de signated on the plot of the survey^ by the surveyor- general marking the distance on one of the iascertained lines, in order to get the quantity of such half-quar ter-sections as exhibited by his plan of survey. The fractional sections, which contain less than 160 acres, are not subdivided ; the fractional sections which contain 160 acres and upwards are subdivided in such a manner as to preserve the most compact and convenient forms. A series of contiguous tov/nships laid off from north to south is called a range. The ranges are numbered north and south from the base, or standard line, running due east acd tvest. They are counted from the standard meridian, east and west.t The dividing lines of the sections, of course, enter at the Brookville land-oflice, in said state, the east half of the north-east quarter of section thirty-five, and the west half of the north-west quarter of section thirty-six in township seventeen north, in range four east, by mistake, instead of the east half oi the south-east quarter, and the west half of the south-west quarter of the said sections, it shall be lawful for a patent to be issued to- the said John.son, for the two last mentioned half quarters, so ia- 198 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. run by the cardinal points, except where what is called a fractional section is created by a navigable river or an Indian boundary. The superintendence of the surveys is committed to five surveyors-general. One thirty-sixth part of all the lands s.iirveyed, being section No. 16, in each township, is reserved from sale, for the support of schools in the township ; and other reservations have been made for colleges and universities. All salt springs and lead mines are also reserved, and are subject to be leased under the direction of the presi dent of the United States. Whenever the public interest is supposed to require that a certain portion of territory should be. brought into market, for the accommodation of settlers or others who may wish to become purchasers, the president issues instruc tions to the surveyor-general, through the commis sioner of the general land office, at Washington, to have such portion of territory surveyed. The sur veyor-general makes this requisition publicly known to those individuals who are in the habit of contract ing for public surveys ; and a contract for the execu tion of the surveys required is entered into between the surveyor-general and deputy surveyors. The contract is given to the lowest bidder, provided the surveyor-general be fully satisfied of his capacity to fulfil the contract. The maximum price established by law for executing the public surveys is three dollars a mile, in the upland and prairie countries. In the southern parts of the- United States, where the surveys are rendered difficult by the occurrence of bayous, lakes, swamps, and cane-brakes, the maximum price established by law is four dollars a mile. The deputy surveyors are bound by their contract to re port to the surveyors-general the field notes of the survey of each township, together with a plan of the township. From these field notes the surveyor-gene ral is enabled to try the accuracy of the plan returned by the deputy surveyor, and of the calculations of the quantity in the legal subdivisions of the tract surveyed. From these documents three plans are caused to be prepared by the surveyor-general ; one for his own office ; one for the register of the proper land office to guide him in the sale of the land ; and the third for the commissioner of the general land office at Washington. The government has general ly found it expedient to authorize the surveying of forty townships of land annually, in each land district, so as to admit of two sales by public auction annually, of twenty townships each. The general land office at Washington is under the superintendence of an tended to be entered, on his relinquishing to the United States his mterest iii, and surrendering the patent issued for, the two. first officer, called the commissioner of the general land office. It is subordinate to the treasury department. The public lands are laid off into districts, in each of which there is a land office, under the superinten dence of officers appointed by the president and senate, called the register of the land office, and the receiver of public moneys. There are at present forty-two. land offices. The register and the receiver each receive a salary of 500 dollars per annum, and a commission of one per cent, on the moneys paid into their office. Till 1820, a credit was allowed on all purchases of public lands. In consequence of this system, large quantities of land had been pur-chased on speculation, and in the ordinary course of purchases a vast amount of land debt to the government had been contracted. To relieve the embarrassed condition of these debtors, an act was passed, authorizing the relinquishment of lands purchased, and substituting cash payments for the credit system. The most beneficial effects have resulted from this change, apart from the relief of those who were indebted to the ffovernment. At the same time the minimum price of the land was redu ced from two dollars to one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. In the first instance the public lands are offered for sale, under proclamations of the pre sident, by public auction, with the limitation of the minimum rate. Lands not thus sold are afterwards subject to private sale at the minimum price. A very large amount of public land is in the occu pation of persons who have settled upon it without title. This is frequently done, in consequence of unavoidable delays in bringing the land into market, and not from any intention, on the part of the settler, to delay payment. LaAvs have been passed, grant ing to settlers of this description a pre-emptive right in the acquisition of a title, that is, the preference over all other persons at private sale. These la-ws afford the actual settler no protection against those who might choose to overbid him at the public sales ; but it is believed, that in most cases, by mutual agreement among purchasers, the actual settler is enabled to obtain his land, even at public sale, at the minimum price. It is stated, however, that great injury is done to the settlers by combinations of land speculators, who infest the public £:ales, purchasing the lands at the minimum price, and compelling 6ona fide settlers to take them at an enhanced valuation. Should the settler refuse such an agreement, the spe culators enter into competition with him at the sale. On the whole it would appear, that, in general, the mentioned half quarters, iu such manner as sTiall he directed by the secretary ofthe treasury." TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 199 government obtains but the minimum price for its lands, although what is actually sold and occupied, being the choice of the whole quantity brought into market, is, of course, worth much more. It has been suggested, and with an appearance of justice, that the price of the public lands is still too high. The government, having already reimbursed itself for the cost of them, cannot be considered as having any other duty to. perform than to promote their settlement, as rapidly as it can take place by a healthy process, and to meet the wishes of all who desire bona fide to occupy them. Considering the class of men most likely to take the lead in settling a new country, one hundred dollars, (the price of a half-quarter section) paid in cash to the govornment, is a tax too heavy perhaps for the privilege of taking up a farm in an unimproved Avilderness. The price is already too low to oppose a serious obstacle to speculation ; so thfit a considerable reduction of it would not probably increase that evil, while it would essentially relieve the bona fide settler. There would, in fact, perhaps be little else to object to a plan of gratuitous donation of a half-quarter-section to actual settlers, than the comparative injustice of such a plan toward those settlers who have already pur chased their farms. Five per cent, on all the sales of public lands with in the several states is reserved ; three fifths of which are to be expended by congress in making roads leading to the states, and two fifths to be expended by the states in the encouragement of learning. The first part of this reservation has been expended on the Cumberland-road ; and the treasury of the United States is greatly in advance to that fund on account of this public work. — It appears, that up to the pre sent time, about 150 millions of acres of the public lands have been surveyed. Of these, thirty millions have not been proclaimed for sale ; twenty millions have been sold and, as much more granted by con- " It would appear that in con.seqrrence of the revenue produced from the sale of public lands being no longer needful to the ge neral -gover^iment, a most important change respecting them may possibly occur — the transfer of their title from the general government to the states where they are siluated. " On this point," says Mr. M'Lane, " the undersigned deems it proper to ob serve, that the creation of numerous states throughout the western country, now forming a most important part of the union, and the relative powers claimed and exercised by congress and the respect ive states over the public lands, have been gradually accumulating causes of inquietude and difficulty, if not of complaint. It may well deserve consideration, therefore, whether at a period demand ing the amicable and permanent adjustmentof the various .subjects -which now agitate the public mind, these may not be advanta geously disposed of in common with the others, and upon principles just and satisfactory to all parts uf the union. It must be admitted that the public lands were ceded by the states, or subsequently ac quired by the United States, for the common benefit, and that each gress for education, internal improvement, and other purposes. There are then 110 millions of acres sur veyed, but not sold, eighty millions of which are in the market, ready for sale at the minimum price, and thirty millions subject to be proclaimed for sale whenever there is a demand. The total quantity of land, the title of which vests in the United States, is estimated by Pitkin and Seybert at 400 millions of acres : the Indian title to a very considerable propor tion of this, however, is not yet extinguished. It must be evident, that while such a resource is pos sessed for the profitable occupation of redundant la bour or capital, the labourer Avill never be without remunerating produce for his toil, and the capitalist will be clear of the folly, not to say the guilt, of re ducing profits to such a shade, that no small manu facturer or small vender can possibly exist ; and con sequently, that the country so favoured will enjoy a long period of prosperity. The total amount received by the treasury for the sale of public lands, from the year 1796 to 1829, as stated in a letter from the secretary of the treasury to the chairman of the committee of retrenchment, in April, 1830, was 32,403,527 dollars; the highest amount was in 1819, 3,274,422 dollars. It appears that the capital thrown out of employ by the destruc tion of manufactures, on the return of peace, was ap propriated to speculations in land, in 1817, 1818, and 1819 ; but many of these speculations turning out unfavourably, the amount expended in the purchase of land resumed its usual level. From that year to the year 1829, the amount received from this source has varied from about one million to one million and a half of dollars ; but during the last two years it has greatly increased — the amount of 1830 being 2,329,356 dollars, and the amount for the present year, as cal culated by the secretary of the treasury, would prove to be about three millions and a half, a sum exceed ing that of any former year.* state has an interest in their proceeds, of which it can not be justly deprived. Over this part of the public property the powers of the general government have been uniformly supposed lo have a peculiarly extensive scope, and have been construed to authorize - their application to the purposes of education and improvement, to which other branches of revenue were not deemed applicable. It is not practicable to keep the public lands out of the market ; and the present mode of disposing of Ihem is not believed to be the most profitable either to the general government or to tbe stales, and must be expected, when the proceeds .shall be no longer required for the public debt, to give rise to new and more serious objections. " Under these circumstances, it is submitted to the wisdom of congress to decide upon the propriety of disposing of all the public lands in fhe aggregate, to those, states within whose terrilorial limits they lie, at a fair price, to be settled in such manner as mighl be satisfactory to all. The aggregate price of the whole may then be apportioned among the several stales of the union, according to such an equitable ratio as may be consistent -with' the 200 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. Respecting the internal revenue, as it has almost ceased to exist except in the shape of arrears, it is unnecessary to enter into any lengthened detail. Soon after the establishment of the government, it was found necessary to impose internal taxes, and the articles made liable to them are stills and spirits, snuff, refined sugar, sales at auction, licenses to retail wines and spirituous liquors, carriages for the con veyance of passengers, and stamped paper. It is in teresting to observe the regular and rapid increase in the product of these duties, from about 209,000 dollars to upwards of one million, froili 1792 to 1801. As the rate of duty was not increased, it must be evi dent the quantity consumed of the articles liable to them must have increased in the ratio of fifty per cent., per annum, the amount of the last year being five times that of the first. There is only one draw back on the satisfactory nature of this statement — a large portion of the increased consumption was in spirituous liquors ! The above duties were repealed in 1802 ; but the arrears of them continue to occupy a place in the treasury accounts till the year 1814, when, with very little variation, they were re-enacted. Subsequently, however, in consequence of the war, additional duties were imposed by congress on spirits and other articles, and during the same session taxes were imposed on most of the articles manufactured in the United States. In 1815, the revenue derived from internal taxation amounted to more than four and a half million of dollars, and in 1816 it reached its maximum of upwards of five millions. Soon af ter the termination of the war, many of the duties were either reduced or repealed, and subsequently the remainder have been dismissed from the statute book, unless the "fees on letters-patent," which amount for 1829 to 12,990 dollars, may be termed a remnant of internal taxation. It has already been intimated that the amounts which are stated in Ta ble I., in the column of internal revenue, are only the arrears of the former imposts, which as debts due to the government, continue to be collected. The direct taxes are those laid upon houses and lands, arid upon slaves. They were first imposed in 1798, to the amount of two millions of dollars, apportioned to the several states according to the constitution. Of this sum, rather more than one third was collected in the year 1800, another third in 1801 and 1802, and a portion only ofthe remain der has since been collected as arrears. In 1813 a tax to the amount of three millions of dollars was impo sed ; and in 1815 an annual direct tax of six millions of dollars was enacted, which, however, was reduced to three millions of dollars by the congress of 1816, and entirely repealed in 1817. The arrears of this tax still continue to flow annually into the trea sury. The whole amount levied by the four enact ments was fourteen millions of dollars, and in the year 1829, 12,702,597 dollars had been received, which allowing for expenses of collection, does not leave room for many defaulters. The following statement ofthe rate of assessment on each occasion of the several states will be instructive, as another test of the progressive increase in value of the pro perty of the inhabitants. STATES. New Hampshire Massachusetts Rhode Wand . . Connecticut . . Vermont . . . New York . . New Jersey . . Pennsylvania . . Delaware . . . Maryland . . . Virginia . . . Kentucky . . . North Carolina . Tennessee . . . South Carolina , Georgia . . . Ohio Louisiana . . . duotas apportioned in 1798. Dolls. 77,705 260,435 37,502 129,767 46,864 181,680 98,387 237,177 30,430 152,599 345,488 37,643 193,697 18,806 112,997 38,814 Cts. Mills. 36 2 3108 00 18 70 25 7279956699 96387387 Cluotas apportioned in 1813. Dolls. 96,793 316,270 34,702 118,167 98,343 430,141 108,871 365,478 32,046 151,623 369,018 168,928 220,238 110,086151,905 94,936 104,150 28,295 Cts 37 98 18 71716283 - 16 259444 7628554849 14II Cluotas apportioned in 1815. Dolls. as. 193,586 74 632,541 69,404 236,335 196,687 42 860,283 24 217,743 730,958 64,092 303,247 88 738,036 88 337,857 52 440,476 56 220,173 303,810 189.872 208,300 56,590 96 36 42 663350 10 96 982823 objects of the original cession ; and the proportion of each may be paid or secured directly to the others by the respective states pur chasing the land. All cause of difiiculty with the general govern ment on this subject would then be removed ; and no doubt can be entertained, that, by the means of slock issued by the buying stales, bearing a moderate interest, and which, in consequence of the re imbursement of the public debt, would acquire a great value, they would be able at once to pay the amount upon advantageous terms. It may not be unreasonable also to expect, that the obligation to pay the annual interest upon Ihe stock thus created, would diininisn the motive for selling the lands at prices calculated to impair the general value of that kind of property. It is believed, moreoverj TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 20 J Of the various tests by which the progressive pros perity of a country may be ascertained, the extension of its internal communications is certainly not one of the least important. In this respect the progress of the United States is, perhaps, more conspicuous than in almost any other. In the year 1775, con gress first established a line of posts from Falmouth, in New England, to Savannah, in Georgia : in 1782 all the surplus income derived from the postage was directed to be applied to the establishment of new post-offices, and the support of packets. In the year 1790, there were 75 post-offices, and 1,875 miles of post-roads ; in the year 1810 there were 2,300 post- offices, and 36,406 miles of post-roads ; and in 1829 there were 8,004 post-offices, and 115,000 miles of post-roads. The general post-office is established at Washington, under the direction of a postmaster-ge neral, who is authorized to appoint two assistants, and the requisite number of clerks ; he is further direct ed to superintend the business of the department in all the duties that are or may be assigned to it ; and he is required, once in three months, to render to the secre tary of the treasury an account of all the receipts and ex penditures in the department, to be adjusted and set tled as other accounts. The postmaster-general may establish post-offices, and appoint post-masters on the post-roads which are or may be authorized by law, at all such places as to him may appear expedi ent. He regulates the number of times the mail shall go from place to place, and he is authorized to contract for carrying the mail, and to establish post-roads. The rates of postage are very moderate, being about half those of Great Britain. For any distance not exceeding 30 miles, six cents ; 80 miles, ten cents ; 150 miles, twelve cents and a half; 400 miles, eighteen cents and three quarters ; above 400 miles, twenty- five cents.* Thus a letter may be conveyed from Maine to New Orleans, at least 2,000 miles, for a fraction more than one shilling sterling. Double that the interests of the several states would be better promoted by such a disposition of the public domain, th-an by sales in the mode hitherto adopted; and it would at once place at the disposal of all the states of the union, upon fair terms, a fund for purposes of education and improvement, of inestimable benefit to the future prosperity of the nation." — Finance Report,. December 7, 1831, pp. 19,20. » It may not be improper to remind our readers, who may not be familiar with American coins, that a cent, or the hundredth part of a dollar, is nearly equivalent to the English halfpenny. t Newspapers are not subject to stamp or other duty in the Uni ted States. t Privilege of Franking. — " Letters and packets to and from the following officers of the government, are by law received and con veyed by post, free of postage : — The president and vice-president ofthe United States; secretaries of state, trea-sury, war, and navy; attorney-general ; postmaster-general and assistant postmaster-ge neral ; comptrollers, auditors, register, and solicitor of the trea sury i treasurer ; commissioner of the geiieral land office ; com- letters, or those composed of two pieces of paper, are charged with double the above rates, and triple and quadruple letters in the same proportion. All letters weighing one ounce avoirdupois, or more, are charged at the rate of single postage for each quarter of an ounce, or quadruple postage for each ounce, according to their weight ; and no letter can be charged with more than quadruple postage, unless its weight exceeds one ounce avoirdupois. The postage on ship letters, if delivered at the office where the vessel arrives, is six cents ; if conveyed by post, two cents in addition to the ordinary post age. For each newspaper! not carried out of the state in which it is published, or, if carried out of the state, not over 100 miles, one cent ; over 100 miles, and out of the state in which it is published, one cent and a half. Magazines and pamphlets, if published periodically, distance not exceeding 100 miles, one cent and a half per sheet ; ditto, distance over 100 miles, two cents and a half per sheet ; if not pub lished periodically, distance not exceeding 100 miles, four cents per sheet ; ditto, distance over 100 miles, six cents per sheet. Small pamphlets, containing not more than a half sheet royal, are charged with half the above rates ; eight pages quarto are rated as one sheet, and all other sizes in the same proportion. The number of sheets in a pamphlet sent by mail must be printed or written on one of the outer pages ; when the number of sheets is not truly stated, double postage is charged. Every thing not coming under the denomination of newspapers or pamphlets is charged with letter postage.! Before entering on the general expenditure of the LTnited States, it may be proper to notice the mint establishment, and the state of the circulating medi um. In 1792, a mint establishment for the United States, to be carried on at the seat of government for the time being, was authorized by congress. Since the removal of the seat of government to Washington, missioners of the navy board ; commissary-general ; inspectors- general; quartermaster-general; paymaster-general; superintend ent of patent office ; speaker and clerk of the house of representa tives; president and secretary of the senate; and any individual who shall have been, or may hereafter be, pre.sident of the United States ; and each may receive newspapers by post free of postage. — Each member of the senate, and each member and delegate of the house of representatives, may send and receive, free of postage, newspapers, letters, and packets, weighing not more than two ounces, (in case of excess of weight, excess alone to be paid for,) and all documents printed by order of either house, during and sixty days before and after each session of congress. — Postmasters may send and receive, free of postage, letters and packets not ex ceeding half an ounce in weight; and they may receive one daily newspaper each^or what is equivalent thereto. — Printers of news papers may send one paper to each and every other printer of newspapers within the United Slates, free of postage, under such regulations as the postmaster-general may provide." — American Al- ma/nac, 1832, 202 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. this establishment has, by special act of congress, been continued at Philadelphia ; and very recently, a handsome and commodious new building has been provided, on such a plan as to admit of its operations beino- carried on to much greater extent than former ly. The gold coins of the United States are — eagles, of the value of ten dollars or units, containing 247 1-8 -grains of pure, or 270 grains of standard gold ; half eagles, of the value of five dollars ; quarter eagles, of the value of two and a half dollars. The silver coins are — the dollar or unit, of the value of one hundred cents, containing 371 4-16 grains of pure silver, or 416 grains of standard silver ; half dollar, of the value of fifty cents ; quarter dollar, of the value of twenty-five cents ; dime, of the value of ten cents ; half dime, of the value of five cents. The copper coins are — cent, of the value of the one hun dredth part of a dollar, and containing eleven penny weights of copper ; half cent, of the value of the Iavo hundredth part of a dollar. The devices upon the coins are, upon one side, an impression emblematical of Liberty, Avith an inscription of the word " Liber ty," and the year of the coinage ; upon the reverse of the gold and silver coins, the representation of an eagle, Avith the inscription, " United States of Ame rica ;" upon the reverse of the copper coins, an in scription expressing the denomination of the piece. The proportional value of the gold and silver in all the coins which are current in the United States, is as fifteen to one, according to quantity in Aveight ; that is to sa-y, every fifteen pounds weight of pure silver, are of equal value Avith one pound Aveight of pure gold. The standard of all the gold coins of the United States is eleven parts fine to one part of al loy ; the alloy is composed of silver and copper in proportions not exceeding one half of silver. The standard of all the silver coins is 1,485 parts fine to 179 parts of alloy ; the alloy is AvhoUy of copper. Any person may carry gold or silver bullion to be coined at the mint ; the bullion so brought is assayed and coined as speedily as possible, free of expense. As soon as the bullion has been coined, the person who deposited the same, may upon demand receive * A late British writer gives the following account of the quan tity of the .precious metals produced from the American mines : — " An elabo.rate paper prepared in the foreign office has been laid before parhament, which decides the question as to the compara tive productions ofthe American gold and silver mines during the last ten years, ending with 1829, and the periods immediately pre ceding. This return exhibits a material falling ofl'; and although much of the diminution may, perhaps, fairly be attributed to the unsettled slate of the countries in which the mines are situated, still there is abundant reason fur concluding, that the source itself is approaching to exhaustion.. From this curious document we make Ihe following abstract ;— Prom 1790 to 1809, the mines of Mexico yielded gold of the value of 4,523,3782., silver, 94,429,3032. ; in lieu thereof, coins of the same species of bulhon Aveight for weight of the pure gold or pure silver therein contained. The gold and siver coins struck at the mint are a lawful tender ; the value thereof is in proportion to their respective Aveights. The coinage effected within the last year (1830) amounts to 3,155,620 dollars, comprising 643,105 dollars in gold coins, 2,495,400 dollars in silver, 17,115 dollars in copper, and consisting of 8,357,191 pieces of coin, viz. Dollars. 126,351 making . . . 631,755 11,350 Half eagles . (iliarter eagles Half dollars . Dimes . . . Half dimes . Cents . . . 4,540 4,764,800 510,000 1,240,000 1,7U,500 8,357,191" 2,382,400 51,000 62,000 17,115 3,155,620 Of the amount of gold coined within the last year, about 125,000 dollars were derived from Mexi co, South America, and the West Indies ; 19,000 dollars from Africa ; 466,000 dollars from the gold regions of the United States, and about 33,000 dol lars from sources not ascertained. Of the gold of the United States above mentioned, 24,000 dollars may be stated to have been received from Virginia, 204,000 dollars from North Carolina, 26,000' dollars from South Carolina, and 212,000 dollars from Georgia. In the last annual report of the director of the mint, the progressive development of the gold region of the United States was illustrated by referring to the in crease of the annual receipts from North Carolina, which, previous t-o 1824, had been inconsiderable ; but from that year to 1829, inclusive, had advanced from -5,000 dollars to 128,000 dollars, and also to the then novel occurrence of gold having been received at the mint from Virginia and South Carolina, about 2,500 dollars having been received from the former, and 3,500 dollars from the latter. The past year exhibits, in relation to all these states, a conspicuous increase in the production of gold, and presents, also, the remarkable fact of 212,000 dollars in gold received from Georgia, from Avhich state no specimen even had been received at the mint in any previous year.* those of Panama, gold, 223,5182.; Chili, gold, 863,9742., silver, 944,7362.; Buenos Ayres, gold, 1,862,9552., silver, 19,286,8302. Prom 1810 lo 1821, Mexico yielded gold, 1,913,0752., silver, 45,388,7292.; Panama, eold, 23,6032.; Chili, gold, l,904,5142.,sil- ver, 878,1882. ; Buenos Ayres, gold, 2,161,9402., silver, 7, 895,8422.; Russia, gold, 3,703,7432., silver, 1,502,9812. The returns from Monte Video arc loo vague to lead to any safe results. The com parative increase or decrease in periods of ten years is as fol lows :— Mexico, from 1790 to 1799, and 1800 to 1809, in gold, an increase of 16 1-lOth; in silver, a decrease of 2 2-5ths; on the whole, a decrease of 1 3-5lhs, as compared with the first period i from 1 BIO to 1819, in gold, a decrease of 30 ; of silver,a decrease of 48 3-5ths ; on the whole, a decrease of 47 4-5ths, as compared TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 203 Owing to the proportionate value of the gold and silver coins not being properly adjusted, (gold being valued at only 15 to 1 of silver, while its real value is very nearly 16 to 1,)* there is no gold coin now in circulation. t It has been a question much agitated amongst financiers and political economists, Avhether the ab sence of the precious metals is a subject for lamenta tion or for congratulation. It has been affirmed by some, not Avithout apparent reason, that as tbe circu lating medium is only an instrument — a machine — the less the expense of its construction and mainte nance, the more profit or the less loss must- accrue : while it has been maintained, on the other hand, that there is no safety for commerce, unless gold, or paper immediately convertible into gold, be the circulating medium. We shall not so- far forget- the nature and limits-of our undertaking, as to enter into this con troversy, but content ourselves with stating our opinion, that, excepting the- advantage of cheapness, it is a matter of indifference whether the circulating medium be of value in itself, or be the representative of value ; that if it be the representative of value, it is not important whether that value be gold,. or land, with the first period; from 1820 to 1829, in gold, a decrease of 78 7-lOths; silver, a- decrease of 56 2'5ths ; on ihe whole, a- de crease of 57 2-5ths, as compared with the first period. Panama, from 1790 to 1799, and 1800 to 1809, in gold, a decrease of 11 7-lOths, as compared-with the first period; from 1810 to 1819, a decrease of 93 3-lOths;' 1820 to 1829, a decrease of 86 4-5ths. Chili, from 1790 to 1799, and 1800 to 1809,- in gold; an increase of 65 4-5ths; silver, a decrease of 31 ; on the whole; an increase of 4 3-5ths ; from 18t0 to 1819, in gold, an increase of 330 t-2 ; silver, an increase of 30 4-5ths;-on the whole, an increase of 148 3-5ths; 1820 to 1829, in gold, an increase of 5& 2-5ths ; silver, a decrease of 81 3-lOths; on the whole, a decrease of 31 9-60ths. Buenos Ayres, from 1790 to 1799, and 1800 to 1809, in gold, an increa.se of 45 4-5ths ; silver, a decrease of 23 4-5ths; on the whole, a decrease of 19 l-5th; from 1809 to 1819, in geld, an in crease of 42 3-5ths ; silver, a decrease of 51 ; on the whole, a de crease of 51 1-2 ; 1820 to 1829, in gold; an increase of 42 3-5ths; silver, a decrease of 70 ; on the whole, a decrease of 62 3-5ths. From 1820 to 1829, Russia produced, in gold, 3,703,7432., in sil ver, 1,502,9812. On the produce of the whole of these mines, therefore, from 1790 to 1799, and from 1800 to 1809,- there has been, as compared with the ijfst period, in gold, an increase of 26 4-5 ths ; silver, a decrease of 6 3-5ths; on the whole, a decrease of 4 4-5ths; from 1810 to 1819, in gold; an increase of 20 2-5ths; silver, a decrease of 49 1-2-; on the whole, a decrease of 45 4-5ths ; and from 1820 to 1829, in gold, an increa-se of 74 3-5ths ; silver, a decrease of 56 3-5ths; and on the whole, a decrease of 49 7-1 Oths."- » " The relative value of gold, and silver in our coins should be 15.9 to 1. In France, the relative value of gold to silver is about 15.82 to 1. In Great Britain, gold-is in value to .silver about as 15.86 to 1. The relative value of gold" and silver in Spain has Deen 16 to 1 during tbe last fifty or sixty years, and, according -to recent information, the valae of gold in Spain is now a little higher than this proportion, In Portugal, the rise of gold and the decline of silver in relative value -were slow«r and la;ter than in Spain ; but the relative value of the two metals in Portugal is now about 16 to 1, and this proportion appears to have prevailed there for many years. Prom all the information which can be obtained, it appears that the value of gold in relation to silver, is about 16 to 1- or houses, or barrels of flour, proAaded the circulating medium by which they are represented does not re present more than their marketable or exchangeable value ; and that the interests of commerce are not directly affected by the question, Avhether the circu lating medium be real value itself, or the representa tive of real value, but by the amount of the circula ting medium, the variations of which have a cor responding effect upon the prices of all articles ot trade. There can be no doubt, that as the interests of all are affected by the increase or diminution of the currency, this point should be sufficiently under the control of the executive, to prevent or mitigate the pernicious extremes in Avhich the avarice or indiscre tion of individuals have too often resulted. The committee, however, consider that the abundance of "paper money" in the United States is an evil. " While Ave have so much paper money," they state, " Ave can not have any great quantity of the precious metals in use, as money ; and while this extensive use of paper money shall continue, an adjustment of the relative value of gold and silver will not bring much gold into circulation. Still, the necessary ad justment should be made. No man can foresee how in all the American countries south of the- United States. This relative value seems to have prevailed in those parts of America which were formerly Spanish, acd especially in Mexico and Peru, during the last forty or fifty years. In Brazil, gold was for a long lime somewhat less valuable, but during the last ten years, the relative value of gold-in Brazil has also been about 16 to 1. In the "West Indies, the two metals fluctuate much in respect to each other; but the ratio 16 to 1 seems to be the average of relative value." — Report of the Select Committee appointed to consider the state of Ike Current Coin, <^c., presented to the Senate, I Sth of December, 1-830. t " The fact that we haveno gold coins in use, is not the intend ed effi^ct of our institutions. It has resulted from- loo low a valua,- tion of gold in respect to silver, when our system was established, and a. progressive rise in the relative value of gold since thai time. By our system, the two metals are coined upon the basis that one pound of gold is equal in value to fifteen pounds of silver, and all our coinage of the tw-o metals has been executed in conformity to this relative valuation. This proportion was too low a valuation of gold in the year 1792, and it is certainly much too low a valuation of gold in relation to silver at this time. Our gold coins being mnch underrated in respect lo silver, have never had any general circulation in the country ; they have ceased to be used as money; they are merely merchandize, purchased by a considerable premi um over silver, and they are used in manufactures, or exported to Europe-. Our public coinage of gold is now wholly without any public benefit : we prohibit and punish all private coinage of gold ; we coin this metal at the mint upon a principle which does not permit it to circulate as money, and v/e pay the expense of this useless coinage. In practice, this coinage aff-ords a facility to the possessor of gold bullion, since it enables bim to employ the mint lo weigh and assay his bullion, and to divide it- into very convenient portions, without expense to himself -When the coins are receiv ed from the mint they are sold for their value as bullion ; some ol them are- used in manufactures, and the- greater part are exported. If we will not rectify the legal proportion between the coins of the two metals, we ought to abolish the coinage of gold, 3ave a useless expense, and leave gold to be treatedlike other metals not coined as money." — Report of the Select Com.mittee, 1830. 204 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. far the present course of issuing paper will proceed, or hoAv long paper money, in its present form and abundance, will be tolerated. Whatever may hap pen in respect to paper money, the precious metals should always be coined, and a sound system of coins should be in constant operation, to the end that whether paper money shall be used or not, and whether the amount of our coins shall be great or Email, a portion of them may consist of gold, and another portion of silver."* It appears from the testimony of the select com mittee, that the coins now in the United States, and the bank notes noAV circulating as money, are esti mated at about one hundred miUisns of dollars. The coin is estimated at about twenty-three millions of dollars ; of which sum, it is conceived, that about fifteen millions of dollars are held by the banks, and * Very recently, so late as in June, 1834, three several bills were passed by the government of the United States, relative to the gold and silver currency of the country. These several acts altering and regulating the value of gold and silver coins, foreign and do mestic, are as follows: they have too important a bearing not to be here inserted. An Act concerning ihe gold coins of the United States, and for other purposes.— Be it enacted by the senate and house of repre sentatives of the United States of America, in congress assembled. That the gold coins of the United States shall contain the follow ing quantities of metal, that is to say : each eagle shall contain two hundred and thirty-two grains of pure gold, and two hundred and fifty-eight grains of standard gold ; each half eagle one hun dred and sixteen grains of pure gold, and one hundred and twenty- nine grains of standard gold; each quarter eagle shall contain fifty-eight grains of pure gold, and sixty-four and a half grains of standard gold. Every such eagle shall be of the value of ten dol lars; every such half eagle shall be of the value of five dollars; and every such quarter eagle shall be of the value of two dollars and fifty cents. And the said gold coins shall be receivable in all payments, when of full weight, according to their respective values ; and wlien of less than full weight, at less values, proportioned to their respective actual weights. Sec 2. And be it further enacted. That all standard gold or sil ver deposited for coinage after the thirtieth day of June next, shall be paid for in coin under the secretary of the treasury, within five days from the making of such deposite, deducting from the amount of said deposite of gold and silver one half of one per centum. Provided, That no deduction shall be made unless said advance be required by such depositor within forty days. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That all gold coins of the United Slates minted anterior to the thirty-first day of July next, shall be receivable in all payments at the rate of ninety-four and eight tenths of a cent per pennyweight. Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the better to secure a conformity of the said gold coins to their respective standards as aforesaid, from every separate mass of standard gold which shall be made into coins al the said mint, there .=hall be taken, set apart by the treasurer, and reserved in his custody, a certain number of pieces, not less than three, and that once in every year the pieces so set apart and reserved shall be assayed under the inspection of the officers, and at the lime, and in the manner now provided'by la-w; and if it shall be found thai the gold so a.ssayed shall not be inferior to the said standard hereinbefore declared, more ihan one part in three hundred and eighty-four in fineness, and one part in fivehundred in weight, the officer or officers of the said mint whom it may concern, shall be held excusable ; but if any greater inferi ority .shall appear, it shall he certified to the president of the United Slates, and if he .shall so decide, the said officer or officers shall be about eight millions of dollars are in circulation among the people. The bank notes in circulation are estimated at about seventy-seven millions of dol lars. The amount of money in circulation among the people is, accordingly, about eighty-five millions of dollars, consisting of about seventy-seven millions of bank notes, and about eight millions of coin. The banks in the principal sea-ports have at this time an unusual quantity of coin ; and the amount of coin now held by those banks is much greater than the sum which they have generally held. Of the sum of seventy-seven millions of dollars of bank notes in circulation, it is estimated that about one half consists of notes for sums exceeding five dollars, about one fourth of notes for five dollars, and about one fourth of notes for sums less than fiA'^e dollars. The notes for sums less than five dollars are chiefly for one dol- thereafter disqualified to hold their respective offices : Provided, That, in making any delivery of coin at the mint in payment of a deposite, the weight whereof shall be found defective, the officer, concerned shall be responsible to the o-wner for the full weight, if claimed at tht time of delivery. Sec. 5. An - be it further enacted, That this act shall be in force from and after the thirty-first day of July, in thfe year of one thou sand eight hundred and thirty-four. An Ael relating to the value of certain foreign gold coins within the United States. — Be it enacted by the senate and house of repre sentatives of the United Stales of America, in congress assembled, That from and afler the thirty-first day of July next, the following gold coins shall pass current as money within the United States, and be receivable in all payments by weight, for the payment of all debts and demands, at the rates following, that is to say: the gold coins of Great Britain, Portugal, and Brazil, of not less than twenty-two carats fine, at the rate of ninety-four cents and eight tenths of a cent per pennyweight; the gold coins of France, nine tenths fine, al the rate of ninety-three cents and one tenth of a cent per pennyweight; and Ihe gold coins of Spain, Mexico, and Colombia, of the fineness of twenty carats, three grains aud seven sixteenths of a grain, at the rate of eighty-nine cents and-nine tenths of a cent per pennyweight. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That it shall be the duly ol the secretary of the treasury to cause assays of the aforesaid gold coins, made current by this act, to be had at the mint of the Uni ted Stales, at least once in every year, and to make a report of the result thereof to congress. An Act regulating the value of certain foreign silver coins within the United States. — Be it enacted by the senate and house of repre sentatives of the United Slates of America, in congress assembled. That from and afler the passage of this act, the foUowirg silver coins shall be of the legal value, aud shall pass current as money within Ihe irnited States, by tale, for the payment of all debts and demands, at the rale of one hundred cents the dollar; that isto say: the floUars of Mexico, Peru, Chili, and Central America, ot not less weight than four hundred aud fifteen grains each; and those re«tamped at Brazil, of the like weight, of not le.ss finenesi th=n tep ounces fifteen pennyweights pure silvtr in the Troy pound of twc'^'e ounces of standard silver; and the five franc pieces of France, when of not less fineness than ten ounces and sixteen pen nyweights in twelve ounces Troy weight of standard sUver, and weigi^'cg not less than three hundred and eighty-four grains each, at the rate of ninety-three cents each. S"^;. 2. And be il further enacted. That it shall be the duty ot the secretary of the treasury to cause assays of the aforesaid silver co'"s made current by this act, lo be had at the mint of the United Stales, at least once in every year, and to make report of the re suit thei-eof to congress. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 205 lar, two dollars, and three dollars ; and a great por tion of them consists of notes for one dollar. The power to establish banks is claimed and ex ercised by the. government of the United States, and also by each of the states. There are now in the United States about five hundred incorporated banks, and the number is annually increased. The public revenue of the United States, and of every one of the states, is collected and disbursed almost wholly in bank notes. The coin held by the banks, and in circulation among the people, is silver. All the coin in common circulation, and most of that held by the banks, is half dollars and the minor silver pieces. It will have been perceived, that the subject of coinage is eventually interwoven with that of the use of bank notes. Before Ave leave this subject, there fore, we shall notice the bank of the United States — an institution, the existence of which, on constitution al grounds, forms the subject of considerable discus sion in the republic at this time.* The old bank of the United States was incorporated by an act of congress, approved in February, 1791. By the limit ation of the charter, it was to expire on the 4th of March, 1811. This, hke the banks of England and France, was a bank of deposit, discount, and circu lation, with a capital of 10,000,000 dollars. Those European writers, both British and French, who have eulogized this institution as being purely commercial, and distinguished from those of England and France by not being connected Avith the government, or an en gine of finance, cannot have read the charter, the pre amble to which begins thus : " Whereas the establish ment of a bank will be very conducive to the conduct ing of the national finances, Avill tend to give facility to the obtaining of loans for the use of the govern ment in sudden emergencies, and Avill be productive of considerable advantages to trade and industry in general," &c. Instead of being a merely commercial establishment, therefore, it was, essentially and main ly, of a financial and political character, and it was on this ground that its constitutional character was defended ; the right of congress to grant such a char ter being claimed mostly upon the strength of that clause of the constitution, which gives to congress the authority necessary for carrying into execution the powers enumerated, and expressly vested in that body. The origin of this establishment Avas, there fore, similar to that of the bank of England, and the resemblance is not limited to the general purposes of * For this statement respecting the United States bank, we with pleasure acknowledge our obligations to that ably conducted work, the Encyclopaidia Americana. Although we have read much in valious American publications upon the subject the statements of Vol. IL— Nos. 53 «fc 54 2 C its institution ; for, as the bank of England originated in a loan to the British government, so the act by which the old bank of the United States was charter ed, provided that the sums subscribed by individuals and corporations should be " payable, one fourth in gold and silver, and three fourths in the public debt' certificates. The president of the United States Avas authorized to subscribe for two millions of the stock in behalf of the United States. The directors, being twenty-five, were chosen by the stockholders, Avithout any interference on the ^part of the government in the election ; but the government reserved the right of inspecting the affairs of the bank, and, for this purpose, the secretary of the treasury Avas authorized to demand of the president and directors a statement of its concerns as often as he might see fit. The corporation was authorized to establish branches in any part of the United States. The only restriction, as to circulation, was, that the amount of debts due from the corporation by bond, bill, note, or otherwise, besides the debts due for deposits, should never ex ceed 10,000,000 dollars ; and, in case of excess, the directors, by Avhose agency such debt should be in- curred, were made personally answerable. This bank went into operation, and had a most powerful agency in establishing the credit of the government,, facilita ting its financial operations, and promoting the inte rests of industry and commerce. Congress having refused to renew the charter, it expired by its OAvn limitation, in 1811. During the war, however, the Avant of a national bank was severely felt, not only as an agent for col lecting the revenues, but more especially for trans mitting funds from one part ofthe country to another ; and then it might have been a useful auxiliary to public credit, by supplying temporary loans in cases of emergency. So thoroughly convinced were the public of the necessity of such an institution, that the members of the same political party by which the constitutional objections had been made to the old bank, and which had refused to rencAV its charter, passed an act of congress, which was approved by the president April 10, 1816, chartering the present bank ofthe United States, Avith a capital of 35,000,000 dollars, upon principles, and with provisions, A'ery similar to those contained in the former charter. For this charter the government demanded and received a bonus of 1,500,000 dollars from the stockholders. The government became a stockholder in the same the editors appeared to us so correct, and their views so just, that we found it unnecessary to do more than to add the slate of the bank at a period somewhat later than that work contains. 206 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. proportion as in the former bank, taking one fifth, or 7,000,000 dollars of the stock. The direction of the institution was left to the stockholders, as in the old bank, except that the government reserved the right of appointment and removal at pleasure, by the pre sident, of five directors out of the twenty-five, the other tAventy being elected by the stockholders. The government also reserved the right to demand a state ment of the concerns of the institution by committees of either branch of the legislature. One quarter of the subscriptions to the stock were payable either in gold and silver, or United States stock, at the option of subscribers. The seven millions to be subscribed by the government was payable either in gold and silver or public stock, at an interest of five per cent., at the option of the government. The transactions of the corporation Avere limited to making loans and trading in the precious metals, and the sale of such goods or proceeds of such lands as should be pledged. Branches may be established in any parts of the United States or their territories. No other similar corporations are to be chartered by the government, except banks in the district of Columbia, Avith a capital, in the whole, not exceeding 6,000,000 dollars, during the period for Avhich the charter was granted, namely, to the 3d of March, 1836. The bank is pro hibited from purchasing any part of the public debt, taking interest above six per cent., or lending to the government more than 500,000 dollars, or to any state more than 50,000 ; and the debts of the insti tution are in no case to exceed the amount of depo sits by more than 35,000,000 dollars. In case of re fusing payment of its notes or deposits in specie, the bank is make liable to pay interest at the rate of twelve per cent, per annum. The bank is also obliged, by its charter, to give the government the necessary facilities for transferring the public funds from place to place within the IJnited States, Avithout charging commissions, or claiming any allowance on account of the difference of exchange, and to trans act all the business of commissioners of loans Avhen- ever required so to do. The bank is prohibited from issuing bills under the denomination of five dollars. It is an object proposed by the charter, as appears from some of the provisions already noticed, to make the institution independent of the fortunes, and place it beyond the exigencies, of the government, by limit ing tbe amount of loans that may be made to the government, and prohibiting the purchase of the * The present secretary of the treasury, Mr. M'Lane, in his Fi nance Report for 1831, judiciously observes,—" The indispensable necessity of such an institution for the fiscal operations of the go vernment, in all its departments, for the regulation and preserva- woa of a, sound currency, for the aid of commercial transactions public debt. It is not in tne power of congress to exonerate the bank from the liability to pay, in specie its deposits made, or notes put into circulation, pre viously to the passing of any act for that purpose • so that the depositors and holders of its notes are entirely secure from any interposition of the govern ¦ ment between themselves and the bank, in violatioi: of the contract held by them. The institution is thus essentially commercial in its character, being directly auxiliary to the government, and subject to its control, only as a financial engine. It has had an important influence upon the industry and com merce of the country and the credit of the govern ment, and has been of immense utility in the man agement of its finances. But its greatest and most beneficial influence has been felt in the restoration of the currency to a sound state ; for, at the time of its going into operation, many of the state banks had an immense amount of unredeemable paper in cir culation, purporting, it is true, to be payable to the bearer in specie, on presentment for that purpose, but which was not, in fact, so paid. Immediately on the bank of the United States going into operation, with its various branches in the principal commercial ci ties, it became necessary for all the other banks Avith- in the circle of its influence to resume specie pay ments, or discontinue their operations. Those which had not resources to resume specie payments neces sarily stopped ; and the consequence of the influence of this institution is a complete restoration ofthe cur rency to specie, or its equivalent. In fine, Avhether Ave consider the extent of the capital of the institu tion, that of its operation, or its eommercial and finan cial utility and influence, it may justly be considered the second institution of the kind in the world, rank ing, in all these respects, next after that of England. The stock Avas made the subject of speculation soon after its establishment, and rose, at one time, to the enorinous advance of fifty-six per cent, upon the ori ginal subscription ; but the great losses incurred by some of the branches, especially those of the new states, and other causes, subsequently reduced it to ten per cent, discount on its original value. It has since risen to a more steady market-value of from twenty to tAventy-five per cent, advance. The amount of the circulation for 1828 Avas between 12,000,000 and 13,000,000 dollars. The deposits for the same year averaged from 13,000,000 to 14,000,000. The dividends have varied from five to six per cent.* Be- generally, and even for the safety and utility of the local banks, is not doubled, and, as is believed, has been sho-ivn in the past expe rience of the government, and in the general accommodation and operations of the present bank. The present institution may, in deed be considered as peculiarly the off-spring of that necessity, TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 207 'des the principal bank, there were in January, 1830, twenty-two offices of discount ; namely, at Portland, Portsmouth, Boston, Providence, Hartford, New York, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, Rich mond, Norfolk, Fayetteville, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, New Orleans, Nashville, Lexington, Louis ville, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. The state of the bank, April 1, 1830, was as follows :: — Dollars. Cents. Notes discounted 32jl38,270 89- ¦Domestic bills discotmted . . . 1.0,506,882 54, Funded debt held by the bank, . . 11,122,530 90 Real estate 2,891,890 75" Funds in Europe, equal to specie . 2,789,498 54 Specie -. . 9;043,748 97 Public deposits 8,905,501 87 Private deposits 7,704,25-6 87 Circulation 16,083,894 00, The expenditure of the United States, is divided into four departments : the civil list, which includes the salaries paid to all the political, judicial, and di plomatic functionaries of the general government, both at home and abroad, as well as a large amount for miscellaneous items ; the military establishment, including Indian affairs and internal improvements ; the naval establishment ; and the public debt. The last of them is an item which will probably not ap pear in any finance report after the present, or,. at any rate, the following year. At the close of this chap ter we have given a detailed statement of the expen diture of the United States for the year 1829, extract ed from the appendix of the Finance Report for that year. It speaks volumes in favour of the govern ment from which it issues. Here are no attempts at concealment — no appropriations obtained for one ob ject and devoted to another — but a simplicity of state ment Avorthy of the utility of the objects to Avhich the revenue is devoted ; indeed, the statement is so springing from the inconveniences whieh followed the first loss of the bank of the United States, and the evils and distresses incident to the excessive, and, in some instances, fraudulent issues of the local banks during the war. The propriety of continuing it is to be considered not more in reference to the expediency of banking generally, than in regard to the actual slate of things, and to the multiplicity of state banks already in existence, and' which can neither be displaced, nor in other manner controlled, in their issues of paper, by the general government. This is an evil not to be submitted to ; and the remedy at present applied, while it preserves a sound currency for the country at large, promotes the real interests of the local banks, by giving soundness to their paper. If the necessity of a banking institution be conceded or shown, that -which shall judiciously combine the power ot^the government with private enterprise, is believed to be mos^ efficacious. The go vernment would thus obtain the benefit of individual sagacity in the general management of the bank ; and, by means of its de posits and share in the direction, possess- the necessary power for the prevention of abuse. " It is not intended to assert that the bank of the United' States, BS at present organized, is perfect, or, that the essential objects of such an institution might not be attained hy means of an entirely clear and satisfactory, that any American who can read can not fail to apprehend the manner in which its funds are appropriated. Having put our readers in possession of this docu ment,, it will be only necessary for us to make some general observations on the principal items in each department of the expenditure. The whole amount of the civil list for the year 1829, including miscel laneous and foreign intercourse, was 3,101,514 dol lars ; of this sum 1 ,327,069 only belong properly to the oivjl list, the remainder belonging to the miscel laneous (1,566,679) and to the diplomatic depart ments (207,765 ;) and even then the civil list is charged with disbursements Avhich are not connected Avith it in other countries, the legislature receiving 467,447, the judiciary 239,447, and the governments of the territories 55,344, besides several other items ; leaving for the whole executive department only- 530,172 dollars, or little more than 100,000Z. sterhng. The first item in the disbursements is the salary of the president, 25,000 dollars, about 5,000?. sterling. The vice-president has only one fifth of that sum; the secretaries of state, of the treasury,, of war, of the navy, and the postmaster-general, receive 6,000 dollars annually ; the attorney-general 3,500 ; the chief clerks to each of the secretaries 2,000. In the treasury department the comptroller receives 3,500 ; and the second comptroller 3,000 ; five au« ditors, the treasurer, and registrar; 3,000 each ; the solicitor to the treasury 3,500 ; and the commissioner of the land office 3,000. In the judiciary, the chief- justice of the supreme court of the United . States receives 5,000 annually ; and six associate justices 4,500. In the foreign intercourse,, nearly half the amount of the disbursement is for expenses of treaties and other contingencies. The plenipotentiaries at foreign courts receive only 9,000 dollars per annum, new one, organized upon- proper principles, and withsalutary limit ations. It must be admitted, however, that the good management of the present bank,. the accommodation it has given the govern ment, and the practical benefits it has rendered the community— whether it may or may not have accomplished- all that was expect ed from it— and the advantages of its present condition, are cir cumstances in ils favour entitled to great weight, and give it strong claims upon the consideration of congress in any future legislation upon the subject. To these may be added, the knowledge the pre sent bank has acquired of the business and wants of the various portions of this extensive countr}', which, bein^ the result of time and ex,perience,. is an advantage it must necessarily possess over any new institution. It is to be observed, however, that Ihe fa cilities of capital actually affiarded by the present institution to the agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing industry of all parts of theunion, could not be withdrawn, even by transferring them to another institution, without a severe shock to each of those inte rests, and to the relations of society generally. To similar consi derations, it may be presumed, is to be traced the uniform policy of the several states of the union, to rechartering their local insti tutions, with such modifications as experience may have dictated, in preference to creating, new ones."^-Pp. 14^ — 16. 208 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. besides 9,000 for an outfit ; a charge d'affaires re ceives a salary of 4,500 ; and a secretary of legation 2,000. There are employed six plenipotentiaries, with a secretary of legation attached to them, and ten charge d'affaires. We apprehend that our readers on both sides of the Atlantic Avill concur in the ob servations of Mr. M'Lane on the amount of remune ration received by the ministers to foreign courts ; and many will probably be inclined to extend the principle to other officers of the republic. " The salaries of the public ministers abroad," observes Mr. M. " must be acknoAvledged to be utterly inadequate, either to the dignity of the office, or the necessary comforts of their families. At some foreign courts, and those Avhose relations tOAvards the United States are the most important, the expenses incident to the station are found so burdensome as only to be met by the private resources of the minister. The ten dency of this is to throAV those high trusts altogether into the hands of the rich, Avhich is certainly not according to the genius of our system. Such a pro vision for public ministers as Avould obviate those evils, and enable the minister to perform the common duties of hospitality to his countrymen, and promote social intercourse between the citizens of both na tions, Avould not only elevate the character of his country, but essentially improve its public rela tions."* Among the miscellaneous items are the mint es tablishment, 85,931 dollars ; the lighthouse establish ment, 289,149 ; surveys of public lands, 51,289 ; marine and navy hospitals, 188,562 ; public buildings at Washington, 74,114 ; shares in several canal com panies, 468.500 ; and revolutionary claims, 288,446. It is impossible to close this brief account of the civil hst of the United States Avithont expressing a sincere admiration of the purposes to Avhich its funds are devoted. Not only is the catalogue of its ex penditure free from those corruptions Avhich either are too gross to be clearly expressed, or if stated fill the mind Avith a just indignation ; but it is to us surprising how large a portion of the funds are made directly to bear on the AA^clfare of the people themselves, either in the shape of internal improve ment, (Avhich, Avhile it promotes comtnercial advan tage, by facilitating the communications betAveen the sea-ports and the states of the interior, confers scarce ly a less benefit in the well remunerated occupation it affords to the labourer,) or of hospitals, or light houses, or other similar objects ; Avhile the amount paid in salaries to a few individuals cannot possibly Finance Report forl83l, p. 18. be deemed either burdensome to the nation, or cor rupting to the possessors of office. The amount under the head Military Establish ment (6,267,626 dollars,) is nearly half the gross sum expended by the government, exclusive of that de voted to the liquidation of the public debt ; but a very large proportion of it is applied to purposes, either not at all, or very indirectly, connected with military affairs. The amount for pay, subsistence, clothing, medicines, recruiting, and contingencies, is little more than Iavo millions of dollars. This amount is found sufficient to keep on foot an army of 6,000 men, to which the peace establishment was reduced (from 10,000) in 1821. The force consists of the general staff, 119 ; comprising, medical department, pay and purchasing departments, a corps of mihtary and a corps of topographical engineers : four regi ments of artillery, consisting of 545 officers and men, the supernumeraries amounting to 2,240 ; and seven regiments of infantry, consisting of 547 officers and privates, amounting to 3,829 ; total organized force, 6,188.* In the armouries, arsenals, and ordnance, armament of fortifications, and arming and equipping the militia, there were disbursed, in 1830, nearly one million of dollars ; and in the construction of forti fications, and in the erection of barracks, were ex pended about 800,000 dollars. The military academy at West Point, an interesting and important institu tion, an account of which Avill appear in a subsequent section of the Avork, requires nearly 28,000 dollars annually : and this closes the list of expenses strictly military, making the whole, 3,800,000 dollars. The remaining two and a half millions are expended in the erection of breakAvaters, and other improvements of harbours ; in deepening and improving the navi gation of the Mississippi, Ohio, and about thirty other rivers or harbours ; and in the constrtiction or repair of the Cumberland, and tAvelve other lines of road. The pensions for soldiers who devoted their lives and fortunes to the great cause of the revolution, amount to 764,492 dollars ; it must therefore be admitted, even by the most bitter opponents of republicanism, that it has improved since the days of the splendid barbarians of Sparta and of Athens, whose ingrati tude to their most devoted patriots has ever been a reproach, Avhich the conduct of the^modern Greeks has tended to confirm rather than to remove. With the exception of a few miscellaneous items of little importance, the remainder is disbursed in the depart ment of Indian affairs ; the annuity to Indians, in the fulfilment of treaties for the payment of lands t American National Calendar for 1830. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 209 the title of which has been conveyed by the several tribes to the United States, amounting, for the year 1829, to 245,108 dollars, and various other payments, among which we find one, and one only, for " schools" for an Indian tribe, making the sum total half a mil lion of dollars. Before taking leave of the details of the expenditure in the military department, it may not be improper to suggest to those who may feel desirous to ascertain the present defensive power of the United States, in comparison with that of 1814, that it will amply repay their attention, if they will note on a map the points in fortifying which the gov ernment are annually expending a large sum. We are the more induced to make this observation, from a conviction that a compliance with it will tend to promote the growth of that just respect which is the true basis of political friendship between nations, and which some of the leading literary publications, of the day have so pertinaciously laboured to prevent or to destroy. The navj- has always been a favourite object in the United States, as in Great Britain ; and, from the flourishing state of the revenue, it will probably re ceive increased support. The amount disbursed an nually in the navy establishment is about three and a quarter millions of dollars, of -which a considerable portion is devoted to its gradual improvement, by the accumulation of stores, the erection of dry docks, and the building of additional vessels. In 1830, the United States navy consisted of seven sail of the line, all of which were laid up in ordinary ; seven frigates of the first class, of which three were in ordinary, and four in commission ; three frigates of the second class, of which one was a receiving ship, one in ac tual service, and one in ordinary ; fifteen sloops, of which two were in ordinary, and the remainder on different foreign stations ; seven schooners, of Avhich three were in employ as receiving ships, one in ordi nary, and two in commission. There were also five ships of the line and seven frigates in such a state of forwardness, that they could be ready for sea in from three to six months. There are seven navy yards maintained by the government in different states of the Union, for an account of which we must refer to the topography of the states in which they are located. Although Ave are compelled, by the limits of our undertaking, to condense our inform ation as much tis possible, there are some passages in the report of the secretary of the navy, recently presented to congress, indicative of the progress of this department, too interesting to be omitted. " The constraction of the two drv docks," says the secretary, Mr. Woodbury, " has advanced with great rapidity during the past year. Both are now mostly comple ted, except the removal of the coffer dams, and the finishing of some of the gates and steam machinery. They present to the eye specimens of stone masonry seldom rivalled in beauty and solidity. The expen ditures on each have been about 500,000 dollars ; and by the 4th of next July, it is hoped, that some of the public vessels requiring repairs may be safely docked in these useful, economical, and splendid con veniences for our naval establishment. The build ings for accommodation to the officers of yards report ed in the surveys and plans of a. d. 1828, are in progress where most needed, and, in connexion with the storehouses, sheds, Avharfs, walls, and shipways, require, annually, such appropriations as can be ex pended Avithout a neglect of more urgent duties. — An increased estimate, to advance all these improve ments, is presented for the ensuing year. Among other contemplated improvements in those plans, were ropewalks at some of our present yards. All obser vation and experience in the navy show, that in nothing does it suffer more at this time than from bad cordage. The impositions in the quality of the hemp, in the manufacture, and in the tar, are numer ous, and difficult of detection, productive of injurious delays Avhen detected, and when not detected, exceed ingly hazardous to the safety of both crews and ves sels. — The vessels in ordinary have been at most of the yards, covered, so as to shelter them effectually from sunshine and storms, and to render their security from decay much greater than heretofore. It is a gratifying circumstance, that most of those vessels, as well as those upon the stocks, are in a condition highly creditable to the persons who planned and ex ecuted the present mode of preserving them ; and that, by proper care in future, until put in commis sion, no probability whatever exists of much further decay in the important portions of their expensive works, or of any decay in those portions composed of the invaluable material of live oak. The whole purchases of timber and stores, under the act for the gradual increase of the navy, and which remain in deposit at the yards, are over a million and a half in value. The amount of purchases, under the act for the gradual improvement of the navy, in deposit, is nearly half a million. The amount of property on hand for repairs is almost a million. The ordnance, provisions, sequence of the cheapness of law, and of the multi plicity of tribunals scattered over the United States. The existence of the fact may be doubted : the doing of justice is greatly increased, but not litigation. It is not easy to form an accurate and comparative esti mate of the amount of business done in the courts, and out of the courts, by lawyers and judges in any two countries ; but if the judges are more numerous in America than in England, it is a most important point in the comparison, that the practitioners of the law are fewer in number ; and, by the union of the different branches of the practice in the same indi viduals, they are generally a more learned and more respectable class of men. In a Avork of good repute, the result of careful calculations is, that whilst in England and Wales there is one lawyer (barrister, conveyancer, special pleader, solicitor, attorney, ad vocate, or notary,) to every thousand persons, in the United States, the average is one to every seventeen hundred persons. It is probable that the good old practice of uniting the Iavo branches of attorney and barrister in one person elevates the general character of lawyers, and lessens litigation. Students* generally attend at the offices of establish ed practitioners, but law schools are increasing ; justice, who would not have done an unjust act for any worldly price or motive, — the ornament of His Majesty's government, and honour of England, the highest faculty of Westminster Hall, and pattern to all the reverend and honourable judges, — that godly, se rious, and practical Christian, the lover of goodness and all good men, a lamenter of the clergy's selfishness and unfaithfulness and discord.' Let us imitate the example of Selden, Clarendon, Holt, Hardwick, Nottingham, Mansfield, Thurlow, Sir William Jones, and the host of worthies, the lights of Westminster Hall ; and of our distinguished men in the profession, who have done so much for themselves and the country ; aud dwell upon the recollections of fhe gifted jurists who aided in the cause of our revolution, and in the establishment of our frame of government, — of Hawley, Otis, Adams, Q,uincy, Ellsworth, Hamilton, Jay, Wythe, Jefferson, Lee, Randolph, Henry, Parsons, Gore, Ames, Dexter, King : it was the men of this cast who in stormy periods girded on the ar mour, and subdued might to the empire of justice. They were of that popular cast, answering the description of James, who, when the twelve judges were brought before him, in the case of fhe Commendams, declared, ' that ever since his coming to the crown, the popular sort of lawyers had been the men that most affrontedly had trodden upon his prerogative.' " — Mr, Willard's Address to the Worcester Bar, Massachusetts, 1829. * The following rapid sketch of the tuition of an American lawyer, " Edward Jackson Lowell, a member of the Suffolk bar," in Massachusetts, is contained in an interesting notice of one who was lost too early to his country and friends. " Five years and a half spent in the college and law school of Harvard University ; a winter attendance upon the lectures and private instruction of (the retired) Chancellor Kent ; a year in a counsellor's office in Boston ; two years spent in study and travel in Europe ; and tw'o years of professional seclusion and study, excepting the interrup tions of sickness, fill out the short and simple outlines of his life. While ia Fr*n«e, he took an instructor in the civil and Frenca 250 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. " and," said Dr. Du Ponceau, in 1824, " the most exalted characters do not disdain to fill the professors' chairs. Until lately, the only institutions of this kind were two in Massachusetts, one in Connecticut, and one in Philadelphia : there are now established two in Kentucky. In the university of New York, the Hon. James Kent, during many years the distinguish ed chancellor of that state, and whose name and talents will long be venerated, fills the chair of juris prudence. At Baltimore, Professor Hoffman, and at Northampton, Judge Home, and Mr. Mills, a member of congress, lecture with success to considerable numbers of students."* Since the publication of Dr. Du Ponceau's Book, law schools and laAv professor ships have been established at various other places ; of these, one professorship, founded by a distinguish ed laAvyer, and filled by a distinguished judge, requires especial notice : Mr. Dane, one of the fathers of the Revolution, has dedicated the profits of his valuable Digest to a chair of jurisprudence at the university of Cambridge, in Massachusetts ; and he has had the good fortune to be able to appoint Mr. Justice Story as his first professor. The professor's eulogy of his founder is singularly happy, in the application of Lord Hale's character of Rolle, the learned chief-jus tice of the English Commonwealth : — " He argued frequently and pertinently ; his arguments were fitted to prove and evince, not for ostentation ; plain, yet learned ; short, if the nature of the business permit ted, yet perspicuous ; his words few, yet significant and Aveighty ; his skill, judgment, and advice in points of law and pleading, were sound and excellent. In short, he was a person of great learning and ex perience in the common law, of profound judgment, singular prudence, great moderation, justice, and in tegrity."! Mr. Story himself, after securing the re spect of one generation as a judge, like Chancellor Kent, will earn the gratitude of another as their teacher. The character of what the American youth are learning by such means will be best understood by a special notice of this eminent professor's inau gural address. After expatiating, in the manner of Blackstone, upon the great importance of legal knoAV- ledge to the citizens at large, the discourse is solemnly addressed to those who study the law as a profession, and holds forth the highest motives to arduous ap plication, with large and comprehensive vieAvs of the law ; and, both in France and in England, he attended the courts and legislative assemblies, and paid great attention to the history, the theory, and the operations, of their political and legal institu- tion<'. He died at the age of twenty-five years, and almost at the very hour when he was to have performed his first act of profes sional duty, and after having lived a life, which, though undistin guished by public exertion, made if privately known exactly how science, reminding the student that it is insufficient to be " the sharp and cunning pettifogger, a retailer of lawsuits, ' a canter about forms, and a caviller upon words,' described by Cicero. God forbid that any man, standing in the temple and presence of the law, should imagine that her ministers were called to such unworthy offices." The all-pervading and all-controlling influence of the administration of the laAvs upon the Avelfare of communities, and, most of all, of republics, is then dwelt upon with great pow er ; and the members of the profession are reminded that they are the guardians and sentinels of the purity and integrity of its administration, in defence of Avhich, against the popular attacks of the moment, they are bound to sacrifice, if needful, their own popularity, and should glory in the sacrifice. The advocate is also called upon to vindicate the laws from the attacks of the government itself. The dis couragements and the long-enduring labours through which the path to eminence lies, are then portrayed to students ; and they are cautioned against indulging " the belief, that fluency of speech, a kindling imagi nation, ready wit, graceful action, and steady self- confidence, Avill carry them through the struggles of the law."! In the wise spirit of Judge Story's ad dress, Otis had a century before urged the necessity of various and deep learning to the American laAvyer;§ and, in 17G0, the eloquent Patrick Henry, although an unlearned student, obtained admission to the bar of Virginia, upon proof of his extensive knowledge of the laws of nature and of nations, of the feudal system, and of general history. II Eminent writers in the United States have fairly vindicated their coun trymen from all reproach of neglecting the study or improvement of jurisprudence : by no people has so much been done in so short a time ; and a long ca talogue of their elementary writers, of their reporters, and of their laws, might be quoted to their great honour. To these sources of legal and constitutional know ledge must be added the two remarkable facts, that about fifty millions of copies of newspapers are issued in the United States in the year, in which constitu tional and legal reports and papers are published without limit. The local legislatures afford scope for discussion and deliberation to more than 3,500 members on the most important topics ; and at least he would have performed that duty." — Jurisprudent, No. 9. Bos ton, 1828. • Dr. Du Ponceau on Jurisdiction, Philadelphia, 1824, preface p. 19 + The American Jurist, No. 4. 1829, p. 407. t Tudor's Life of Otis, p. 10. § Ibid. p. 253. II Wirt's Life of Henry, p. 17. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 261 30,000 verdicts of juries are said to be returned yearly in the civil and criminal courts — circum stances which show the extent to which the minds and passions of men must be exercised in the United States, where, as well as in the legislative assemblies, all transactions are conducted with great publicity. It was one of the fruits of the revolution of 1776 to open all the legislative assemblies to the public as hearers ; previously, the sittings had been for the most part close. But so early as 1776, the house of assembly of Massachusetts, at the beginning of the great struggle, opened " a gallery for such as wished to hear the debates."* Law reporting is also more and more provided for by the state governments. In 1831, the legislature of Illinois directed 150 copies ofthe re ports of their supreme court to be bought by the public. In 1830, Alabama voted 800 dollars a year to the reporter of the supreme court ; and the like occurs in most parts of the union, in the best spirit of Lord Bacon's advice in England two centu ries ago. In America, as elsewhere, valuable law manuscripts exist, the careful publication of which would give certainty upon many points not likely otherwise to be rescued from the influence of doubt, and, worse — dis cretion. Such materials must abound in the United States, upon a particular class of cases, as interesting to them historically as to Great Britain legally. Un til the revolution in 1776, frequent appeals were made from the colonies, on various subjects, by peti tion to the king. These petitions were heard re gularly at the Cockpit ; and, for the most part, the leading lawyers of England Avere the advocates em ployed in these causes. The judicious course of Lord Somers in such a case, from Boston, has been noticed ; and Lord Mansfield is knoAvn to have had great practice there. The subjects being rarely in teresting to the English bar, a very fcAV reports of the arguments are published in our laAV books ; but it is clear that the agents of the transatlantic parties sent home large details of every thing that passed ; and, in desultory notices of Privy Council causes in American books, there is proof that some of these details are preserA^ed, as in Belknap's and Hutchin son's Histories of Massachusetts, and in the collection of the Boston Historical Society ; to Avhich society there were lately sent the printed briefs and petitions in thp very curious Privy Council appeal of " The Last of the Mohicans," an appeal which, in the fact of its having been seventy years before the English tribunal, furnishes a sufficiently clear illustration of * * Tudor's Life of Otis. one cause of the ruin of the native tribes. These Privy Council proceedings are important in the United States as matter of constitutional and legal history ; but to the existing English colonies the pre • cedents Avhich some of them would furnish of wise decisions, and the warnings which might be derived from the manifest errors exhibited in others, would be of the highest value. In New England there are extant also manuscript law cases, taken before the Revolution, by such a man as Josiah Quincy, whose short report, written from London, in 1775, of a speech of Lord Chatham, is one of the most precious remains we possess of that great man's oratory. The manuscripts in England affecting America are numerous. One of Sir Matthew Hale's, on the laAv of colonies, contains the following very curious passage : — " Concerning the plantations of Virginia, New Eng land, Bermuda, and other islands and continents towards the West Indies, and, also, our plantations in Africa and-the East Indies, the course of their ac quisition was, that the King issued a commission to seize them ; thus Virginia and Ncav England were seized in 4 Jac. I. ; Greenland and the northern plantations in 1 Phil, and Mar. pat. 3; the Carribee islands by Warner ; and so divers others Presently upon the acquest the English laAvs are not settled there, or at least only temporary, till a settle ment is made ; and therefore, Ave see there adminis tration of justice and law much differing from the English laws ; but the people carry Avith them those English liberties which are incident to their persons."! Another, respecting civil matters, is perhaps more curious, by containing one of the earliest suggestions for the settlement of the old colonies, as a means of humbling Spain, and of avenging the cause of the Elector Palatine, son-in-law to James I. This manu script is from the first Lord Fairfax, a well-knoAvn name in Virginia. It urges by way of incentive to North American colonization, in the seventeenth cen tury, that " in the glorious and happy days of dueen Elizabeth, frequent were the navigations of our Avor- thy countrymen ; every brave spirit Avas taken up Avith some action that deserves esteem ;" concluding with the just boast, — " Let the same occasion be that Avas, and there will be found English blood in Eng lish veins still ! The same that Ave received from our fathers, the same we will leave to our sons ;" — a boast which those sons have, indeed, nobly vindicated. t Lord Hale's Prerogative Regis. — British Museum : — Hargrava MSS. No. ai, p. 64. 252 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. To the foregoing very incomplete sketch of the constitution and jurisprudence of the United States, two concluding remarks remain to be added. The first is, that the essentially popular character of the constitution has led a greater number of disinterested men, than under any other form of government, to direct their faculties calmly to the consideration of the best means of acting upon, of improving, and preserving it :— the second, that in consequence of the steady and widely extended watchfulness of the people over all that concerns them, popular affections and direct popular intervenation have become safe influences in public affairs ; and a degree of certainty, at little cost, is thereby secured to the public peace, heretofore unknoAvn to human institutions. So deeply do we feel that these great results are attributable in a high degree to the character of the government under which they are found, that it is most uiiAvil- lingly we abstain from selecting, out of its legal his tory, many additional excellencies of the constitution of the American Union. CHAPTER II. RELIGION. As the state of human society in regard to religion is unquestionably the most important aspect in which it can be viewed, so the state and progress of religion can be nowhere contemplated with more interest, or to greater advantage, than in the North American republic. We have not here to trace its influence upon savages, but upon civilized man ; not upon un informed and wandering tribes, the natives of the wild, but upon the population of enlightened states suddenly transplanted to its soil. We find this popu lation, however, in a condition entirely new. Bring ing with them the knowledge and the arts of civil ized life, together with the principles of the civil, political, and religious economy of long-estabhshed kingdoms, they entered, not only upon the soil, but into the wild independence and unrestrained liberty of the savage. Released on the one hand from every thing which could have any tendency to render them either really or apparently religious, except the per manent force of truth and (under their circumstan ces) the diminishing power of habit, they may be considered-as presenting a fair example of what habit and truth can effect, when separated from the artifi cial helps of legislative enactments, of an ennobled and wealthy priesthood, and of an imposing public ritual : released on the other hand from all which might tend to fetter the free exercise of the under standing, and permitted, not only to choose for them selves in the first instance, but to make whatever alterations their experience might suggest, they may be regarded as having, for the first time, put to the test of common sense and practical utility, the forms both of religious sentiment and religious worship so long established — and because established revered — by the parent nations. The issue to which the ques tion of a national church establishment has thus been brought is of great importance ; and not less so is the aspect which the progress of religion has assu- ned, in the multiplication and extension of what has for some time been well know under the name of a revival. It Avill, of course, be recollected by the reader, that the religious aspect of the United States is very far from being uniform. Different portions of the re public are characterized, not merely by less or greater degrees of religion, but by the prevalence of different religious sects. This has arisen principally from the manner in which the colonies, which are now cemented under the general title of the United States, were formed. Little or no progress was made in cul tivating the transatlantic Avilderness, until it became a refuge from persecution. It was natural that the first parties who went over on this ground should consist of persons of similar religious sentiments— of those, namely, which at that particular period ex posed the holders of them to suffering ; and Avhen persons of a different creed became the victims ol similar bigotry, in its capricious waywardness, they, in similar bodies, sought an asylum, not in the arms of those already banished, (Avhere, indeed, it must be confessed, it would not then have been found,) but in some distant and unoccupied portion of the far-spread ing shore. In this manner the states of Massachu setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, together forming what is fami- liary known as New England, Avere colonized by the persecuted Puritans, and their religious condition bears the powerful impress of their origin to this day. Maryland was settled by Roman Catholics ; Penn sylvania by the Quakers, (or Friends ;) Avhile episco pacy prevailed in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Geor gia. Another circumstance contributing to diversify the rehgious aspect of the United States is, that seve ral of the colonies comprehended in the republic were not of English origin. New York, New Jersey, and DelaAvare, Avere originally colonized by the Swedes and the Dutch ; while Louisiana was long a pos session ©f the French ; and Florida is but recently acquired from Spain. The religious condition oi TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 253 these states bears distinct traces of their origin, in the existence, in the former, of Dutch and Lutheran churches, and in the prevalence of popery, supersti tion, and infidelity, in the latter. A further cause of want of uniformity in the religious aspect of the re public, is the rapidity with which the settlement of new lands is perpetually going forAvard. Every year the immigrant population is pressing ouAvards in the Avestern wilderness, and at a much SAvifter pace than the means of religious instruction. As you re tire from the more populous towns and the longer- settled districts, these means become more and more scanty, until the border settlers are withdrawn from every thing external by which a sense of religion might be maintained, and abandoned, until late ly, almost without an effort, to the prevalence of irre- ligion and vice. Although our limits preclude us from attempting any thing like a history of religion in the United States, and equally from giving an extended account of particular sects, we have selected a few brief notices, which will give to our readers, we trust, a sufficient view of the existing religious bodies. Not wishing to exhibit our own partialities, we begin with the Roman Catholics. A Jesuit priest accompanied the emigrants to Maryland in 1632 ; and from that date till the period of the revolution, the American Catholics in Maryland and Virginia were constantly served by Jesuit missionaries, suc cessively sent from England. The Rev. Dr. John Carrol having been elected by the clergy the first bishop, through a special indulgence granted them by the pope, Pius VI., a see Avas constituted, and the bishop elect consecrated in England, August 15, 1790. In 1810, the increase of the Romish communion had become so great in the United States, that it Avas judged best at Rome to erect the episcopate of Balti more into a metropolitan or archiepiscopal see, and to establish four new suffragan dioceses ; namely, Bos ton, New York, Philadelphia, and Bardstown in Kentucky. New Orleans, Charleston, Richmond, and Cincinnati, are now to be added to this list.* It ap pears that the court of Rome cherishes the hope of acquiring large accessions to its spiritual dominion in the United States, more especially from the western territory. Regular missions are established over the whole country, and the following language is held re- * The entire number of Catholic bishops throughout the states is fifteen. t Annales de 1' Association de la Propagation de la Foi. Paris, 1 829. t " These establishments do wonderful good: Catholics and Protestants are admitted indiscriminately ; the latter, after having finished their education, return to the bosom of their families, full of esteem and. veneration for their instructresses. They are ever Vol. II.— Nos. 57 & 58. 2 1 specting them : " The missions of America are of high importance to the church. The superabundant populei tion of ancient Europe is flowing towards the United States. Each one arrives, not with his religion, but with his indifference. The greater part are disposed to embrace the doctrine, whatever it be, which is flrst preached to them. We must make haste ; the moments are precious. America may one day be come the centre of civilization ; and shall truth or error establish there its empire? If the Protestant sects are beforehand Avith us, it will be difficult to destroy their influence."! To these missions there was remitted from Europe in the year 1828, out of the funds of the AssocfS,tion for the Propagation of the Faith, nearly 5,000Z. The methods adopted by the Catholics comprehend particularly establishments for education, from which they evidently expect much,! the formation of religious houses of a benevolent character, and the building of churches, " whose pomp and splendour form so striking a contrast with the barrenness and nudity of Protestant worship." § These efforts of the Romanists have been attended with a degree of success, which, though by no means extraordinary, has greatly encouraged the papal court, and has of late been regarded with anx iety by the more public-spirited part of other com munions in the United States. The number of per sons who have embraced Romanism does not appear to have been ascertained ; but " the population be longing to this church," (a phrase of great latitude and vagueness,) at the highest- of the various esti mates which have been formed of it, has been com puted at half a million.il We see nothing in this more than commensurate with the well-designed efforts and the devoted zeal which have been applied to the work, especially when combined with the extreme neglect with Avhich the population of the western territory has been treated by other religion ists, and the skilful adaptation of the papal system to the corrupt heart and proud imaginations of mankind. When American evangelical writers talk of contem plating the extension of popery with grief, Ave are ready to ask them, why they did not vicAV with equal grief the indifference and irreligion which were long before prevalent, and which were in themselves equally afflictive ; and Avhen they speak of it as a matter of humiliation that such a system should be ready to refute the calumnies which the jealousy of heretics lovea to spread against the religious communities ; and often, when they have no longer the opposition of their relations to fear, they em brace the Catholic religion." — Ibid. § Ibid. II Cluarterly Journal of the American Educatica Society, vol. ii. p. 199. 254 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. capable of diffusing itself in such a country as theirs, Ave may suggest, as a still more proper topic of abase ment, the supineness of those Avho, having light in their dwellings, have been pitiless of them that satin darkness and the shadow of death. There is reason to believe, hoAvever, that the depth of this sleep is past ; and we shall have occasion to notice, before we close this article, some recent exertions of great ener gy and promise in this direction. The number of Episcopalians among the settlers in the United States, was small ; in Maryland and Virginia, hoAvever, many churches were early formed, and had legal establishments for their support. The organization of the episcopal church in America took place after the revolutionary war. The Rev. Samuel Seabury, D.D. of Connecticut, was consecra ted at Aberdeen in Scotland, in November, 1784, by the Scotch bishops ; Bishop Provost and Bishop White, of Pennsylvania, in 1787, by the Arch bishop of Canterbury. Since that time, the number of Episcopalians in the republic has constantly in creased, and they are noAv found in all the states.* The colleges of Washington in Connecticut ; Colum bia in New York city ; Geneva, NeAV York ; the Uni versity of Pennsylvania ; William and Mary College, Virginia ; and Kenyon, Ohio, are institutions under their control. Their dioceses are fifteen, bishops ten, and clergy five hundred and twenty-eight. Ameri can episcopacy, though it Avas derived from this country, has been so greatly modified by its separa tion from state patronage, and is so very unlike its still venerated parent, that Ave may perhaps gratify our readers, especially those of the same faith, by a brief sketch of its constitution. The highest spirit ual capacity knoAvn is, of course, a bishop. Priests and deacons, being all the orders named in the Bible, are the only other orders knoAvn or used in America. The supreme authority is exercised by the general convention, Avhich is composed of Iavo bodies, — a house of bishops, and a house of lay delegates. Each diocese has a convention for the regulation of its own affairs. The general convention consists of the bishops, Avho form the house of bishops, and of lay men, Avho are sent as delegates from the state conven tions. The object of this body is to promote har mony and uniformity of doctrine in the Avhole church. The state conventions contain the clergy of the diocese, and a lay delegation from each church. In both conventions, the clergy (or bishops, as the case may be) and the laymen vote separately, a majority of both being necessary to an ordinance. Clergymen * The present house of bishops is at this time (June, 1 834) com posed of sixteen bishops. are presented by their congregations, and bishops are elected by the conventions of the diocese, and are ap proved of by the house of bishops. There is no sala ry yet given to any bishop, though provision, to a reasonable amount, is making for that object ; at present they are all rectors of churches. The oldest bishop for the time being is called the presiding bishop, though he enjoys no exclusive authority. The influence of republican institutions, even upon episcopacy, is here decidedly manifest. With the same name, this is obviously a very different thing from English episcopacy : the people uniformly choose their own ministers ; the bishops are elected by a process in which, by their delegates, the laity have a voice ; and no salaries are independent of a similar vote. It is Avell known that the Episcopa lians ofthe United States look with no complacency on the golden fetters of their parent church ; and it may be matter of some surprise how the admirers of the English hierarchy can delight themselves in the prosperity of a scion, Avhich, while retaining an identity of denomination, has adopted Avhat they must consider so dangerous and mischievous a prin ciple, as the popular nomination to ecclesiastical offices and appropriation of ecclesiastical funds. The first Presbyterians in America came from England, Scotland, and Ireland, about the year 1700, and settled in what is noAV a part of NeAv Jersey and DelaAvare. The first presbytery Avas formed about 1706 ; the first synod, that of Philadelphia, in 1716 ; the general assembly in 1788. The essential features of Presbyterianism are the folloAving : — 1. The parity of its ministers. It recognizes but one order of minis ters or presbyters, who receive their authority pri marily from the Lord Jesus himself, and have power after Avards to confer this authority upon their succes sors. 2. The order and co-operation of ruling elders. They are properly the representatives of the people, chosen by them for the purpose of exercising govern ment and discipline, in conjunction Avith pastors or ministers. 3. The union of its churches under courts of revicAv and control. The general assembly of this church in the United States has under its care — synods, 20; presbyteries, 104; ministers, 1,800; churches, 2,250; communicants, 182,000. Of the ministers, forty are either presidents of, or professors in, theological or literary institutions, and fifteen foreign missionaries. In February, 1810, the Cum berland Presbytery was formed in Tennessee Avithout any connexion Avith the Presbyterian church, princi pally because the synod of Kentucky refused to license ministers to preach the gospel Avithout a clas sical education. This was at a period of considerable TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 255 religious excitement, when the labours of clergymen were in great demand. They dissented also in some respects from the confession of faith of the general assembly, particularly in regard to the doctrines of reprobation, limited atonement, ^se.di in Americans expressing their meaning by words wnich were in use at the time of the emigration of the " pil grim fathers ;" while, in the mother-country, other excellence all the poetry of his country, as he did his predecessors in civilization and knowledge. He was not content with this, but learned the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and assisted to bring the rich treasures of these repositories of wisdom into his own market, for the supply of his own people, and the refinement of his own court. He was not a mere book--worm neither, for he was as ready to, fight as to write.; to enforce laws as to make them. He was no pedant, but the- great instructor of his people, anticipating ages by the power of his understanding, and the reach of his g'inius. Institutions of learning arose under his fostering care. The son of Alfred, Edward the Elder, was not a whit behind his father in his attention to the encouragement of learning, but having a regular education, there was no neees,sity for such efforts as were made by his father ; and the infant institutions his father establish ed were in a flourishing state. The son of Edward, Athelstan, was a more powerful prince than his father or grandfather had been, and extended his intercourse with the world more widely. The monastic institutions -which Alfred founded, Athelstan en dowed, and gave them books collected from every country to -n'hich he had access. Whatever we may think of monasteries now, they were the protectors and preservers of all the learning of antiquity, and the faithful trustees of all the knowledge committed lo their care when they were, first created. Through several changes of fortune, now smiled upon by Edward the Confessor, and then ne glected by his ambitious successors, learning flourished or declined in the more public institutions, until the invasion of William the Conqueror; but it was not often that contemplation w£is disturbed in the convent's shades, for ages after his accession to the, throne of England. Here, indeedj, " The little, fat, round- oily man of God," laughed, slept, or idled life away; "but these deep solitudes and awful cells," contained men of true pi-ety and profound learning; and to whose industry and wisdom we are now indebted for m^tch of our present advancement in knowledge. In 1066, William defeated Harold, and became king of England. His triumph -was so complete, that a sudden revolution was made in the information, taste, and pursuits of men in that island. It was natural for him to think his Norman language, uncouth and rough as it was, greatly superior to that of the Saxon, which he did not understand. The church and convent, and perhaps court records, which had been kept in Latin, were now, in many in- stanqes, ordered to be in Norman. The ballad makers who flock ed round fhe conqueror sung his praises in the Norman measure and language, and even the deeds of former kings, whose praises had for ages been echoed in pure Saxon, were no-iv sung in the rude rhymes of the minstrels of the Conqueror : and such was the influence of the new order of things, that in the course of half a century the pure Saxon was no longer to be found in England ; and a new language, the beginning of what is now our vernacular tongue, grew up there. Ellis, a learned writer on these subjects, says this was effected in the course of forty years afler the con quest, and that this change in the language of England was com pletely brought about in this time ; buf we should be nearer the truth, I imagine, if we should allow nearly a century for this trans formation. The language was indeed changed to the eye and the ear ; but still a great proportion of all its elements remained, and will for ever remain, a strong proof that in all the permanent im provements in civilization and Itnowledge, the Saxons ¦vfeie greatly in advance of their conquerors. This change assisted the ad- vance.nent of knowledge; for language, when advanced towards perfection, is the most labour-saving machine that ever ingenuity attempted to invent. The scanty words found in a primitive lan guage are inadequate to the conveyance of refined or e-'tended thought. By these simple elements the niee shades of difference in thought could be no more than indicated, not fully conveyed by fhe words written ; therefore much was left to the imagination ol refers, -vyhi^h ''ras supplied when language was oijly .spokeli by 2Y4 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. terms have been substituted : — as, for instance, the word " sick," which the Americans continue to use in stead of " ill," or " indisposed." " The best English," the looks, gestures, and accents of the speaker; hence arose the superiority, in the early times, of eloquence over written composi tions. The oral communication was then a better method of con veying ideas than the record, however fully exemplified by the -scanty language then in use, without faking info consideration the charm there has always been in a well toned and well regulated ¦voice. As language improved and expanded, the noim and the verb, the 'first elements of language, were found insufficient, with all their -declinations and inflections, fo convey thought accurately and for cibly. The connecting linlcs, the qualifying terms, the affirmations and negations, with the prefixes and affixes, to increase, change, or qualify the power of the words, were sought for, and obtained ; sometimes by a happy hit, which, by frequent repetitions, in time became usage, and usage law ; or by the elaborate reasonings of the scholar upon the doctrines of analogies, or the principles of an ¦easy composition or arrangement of sentences. Sometimes the -understanding directed in this wort of composition and structure -of language, bat oftener the ear ; and when at times the wise and the learned reasoned and laid down the rule, the great mass of the people changed it for euphony sake, and the learned at length came into the same use ; for custom is the despot over language. In the laws of language, as well as in those of national policy, the people, after all, are the revising tribunals ; not by their sudden impulses, but by the sober reflection of years ; and even their own opinions are revised by their own experience. The English literature received its share of fhe acquisitions of learning m.ade by the crusaders ; and the language of course -was greatly benefitted by the taste which these, heroic adventurers ^awakened and cherished. In these epochs of delicacy and refine ment, many of the coarse words were disused, and those better chosen and more appropriate became fashionatile. The English language gained much from the days of Chaucer to those of Spenser ; and more by the taste of Shakspeare than by any other person. It is a matter of some singularity, that so little of the Saxon lan- -guage is known hy our scholars, when on a strict examination we find that our poets and prose writers have used so many words de rived from the Saxon. In Shatepeare, taking out the proper ¦names, eight words out of nine are found to be of Saxon origin, as exemplified by several quotations takpn promiscuously from the works of the great dramatist. Milton, tried by the same rule, would give the proportion of six out of seven. Johnson's works, as he coined Latin words and used them freely, about five sixths are Saxon. In oar translation of fhe Bible, and fhe writings of Addison and Goldsmith, and other writers of simplicity and purity, the proportion of words of Saxon origin is still greater than in Shakspeare or Milton. Our own declaration of independence, and many other American productions, are written in the style which contains a great proportion of these words of pure Saxon origin. I will give a few specimens ofthe use of Saxon words among our best writers ; fair samples of their style, and the use of good old English. The Saxon words are in italics. But no ! the freshness of that past shall still Sacred to memory's holiest musings be ; Wlien through the ideal fields of song al will, He roved, and gather'd chaplets wild with thee; Wlien, reckless of the world, alone and free. Like two proud barks, 7ve kept our careless way. That sail try moonlight o'er the tranquil sea; Tlieir while apparel and their streamers gay. Bright gleaming o'er the main, beneath the ghostly ray. SANUa. While thus the shepherds watch'd the host of niglit. O'er heaven's blue concave flash'd a sudden light, The unrolling glory spread ils folds divine. O'er the green hills and vales of Palestine j says Mr. Cooper, in his Notions of the Americans vol. ii. p. 171, " is spoken by the natives of the mid dle states, who are purely the descendants of English And lo ! descending siogeis iwvering then. Stretch' d their loose wings, and in the purple air Hung o'er the sleepless guardians of the fold : When thai high anthem, clear, and strong, and bold, On wavy paths of trembling ether ?-a».- Glory to God — Benevolence to man — Peace to the world. PIERPOIW. A good man's piety and virtue are not distinct possessions ; thai are himself, and all the glory which belongs lo them belongs to himself. What is religion % Not a foreign inhabitant, not something alien to our nature, which comes and lakes up its abode in the soul. It is the soul itself, lifting itself up to its Maker. What is virtue 1 It is fhe soul listening to, and revering and obeying a law, vjhich belon'rs to iis very essence, ihe law of duty. We sometimes smile when we hear men decrying human nature, and in tlie same breathing exaltin" re ligion to the skies, as if religion were any thing more ilian human nature, acting in obedience io its chief law. CHANNING. There are some poems in the Saxon language which strongly show the rude, bold, and superstitious character ofthe Saxons be fore Christianity was introduced among them, or had generallj spread through the island. The Volupsa, the sybil of the Saxons was called Vola, is a poem given in an English translation by Turner, from whom, with Bede, Ellis, Tooke, and Campbell, I have derived much of my information on this subject of Saxon literature. If is a rhapsody on the creation, according lo the Saxon notions of it, and the first lessons of wisdom given to man from his Maker. The successive generations, with their history, are introduced, but only as a landscape is seen by the transitory flashes of the lightning amid the darkness of the storm. The Welch wrote at the same lime -with abruptness, and threw the fae and fanaticism of their Druids into the form of some wild and magic strain. True poetry can not exist until there is a considerable degree of mental cultivation in the bard -ivho makes if. Men must think, and feel, and reason, too, from cause to effect, before any delicacies of poetry can be developed ; but the strong ebullitions of genius raving lo soar to the regions of light and futurity, are scattered through the early ages of poetry ; and time gives these produc tions, perhaps, an interest beyond their real merits. The English language is now -so enriched from the sources I have mentioned, and other sources more recondite, and also from some more recently made contributions to our stock of words, par ticularly in terms of banking, trade, and revenue, that it may chal lenge any other language lo sho-n' more -n'ords of clear and definite significations, than we have legitimatized and .secured. The terms of art are every day increasing, as well as those of the sciences, and are constantly added for common use to our vocabulary, These, in general, have been formed by new applications of old words to fhe subjects, or by new compounds made to convey the idea of the use of the invention. The English language is full of strength. There are no feeble words in it, such as are often made by an effeminate people; but every part of the fabric is of good old materials lU- approved new ones. There is no thought, or shade of a thought, that the English language is not capable of conveying to the mind, if used by a ju dicious, learned, and .spirited -writer. In the use of language to gain, or lo defend a point, much depends upou the skill and judg ment of the writer or speaker. The vocabulary of angels would fail to propagate a thought, that would wake the genius or mend tht heart, in the mouth of dulness or apathy. The soul of the writer or speaker must brealhe into his language the breath of life. The earthly particles must be melted, as it were, into the ethereal, tc give a composition the spirit of intelligence and genius.' The fol lowing extracts, Ihe first from Shakspeare, and the other from Milton, show ihe natural strength of the English language; fot TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 275 parents, without being the descendants of emigrants from New England. The educated men of all the southern Atlantic states, especially the members of wilhtmt any apparent effort, or artful selection, the words admira bly convey the elevated thoughts which the authors had in their minds, and intended to put into an imperishable form. ' The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself; Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve. And, like the baseless fabric of a vision, Leave not a wreck behind." Tempest, Act iv. Scene is ' For in those days might only shalt be ad&ir'dj And valour an heroic virtue call'd- : To overcome in battle, and subdue- Nations, and bring home spoils with infinite Manslaughter, shall be held-the- highest pitch Of human glory, and for glory done Of triumph, to be styl'd -great conquerors. Patrons of mankind,- gods, and sons of gods. Destroyers rightlier call'd, and -plagues of men. Thus fame shall be achieved, renown on earth. And what most merits fame in silence hid/' ¦ Milton, b. xi. The beauty of -the English, language is conspicuous in English poetry and prose. It is fortunate for our vernacular, that the lan guage of poetry does n-ot differ, except in a few words, and perhaps in no one, from our prose; for in such a formation of language, all that is gained in the interchange with other nations in prose, is transferred to verse ; and all that is created-or refilled by verse, is given over to prose, a-ffer due trial and final judgment of its use- or beauty, at the tribunal of public criticism. The following poem is a specimen ofthat powerful, graceful beauty, which excites ad miration for its elegance, and respect for its strengths It seems to come upon us with that calmn-ess and divinity which it describes in the god of wisdom and taste, in-his easy victory over the Python. What a beautiful fable this is ; it was made to show how easily refinement and-wisdom can overcome and destroy the monster of the literary world--.a depra-?ed taste. Prize FOem — The Belvidere Apollo. (1812.) " Heard ye the arrow hurtle in the sky 1 Heard ye the dragon monster's deathful cry % •_ In settled majesty of fierce disdain. Proud of his might, yet scornful ofthe slain; The hea-venly archer stands — no human birth. No perishable denizen of earth ! Youth blooms immortal in his beardlfess face, A" god in strength, with more than god-like grace ! - All, all divine — no struggling muscle glows. Through hgaving vein no mantling life-Mood flows ; But animate with deity alone. In deathless glory lives the-breathing stone. " Bright-kindling with a conqueror's stern delight, His keen «ye tracks the arrow.'s fateful flight ; , Burns his indignant eheek with vengeful fire, And his- lip quivers -with insulting, ire ; Fdrm-fix-'d" Jiis tread, yet light, as when on, high. , He walks the impalpable and pathless .sky.^ , The rich luxuriance of his hair, confined- In. graeeful ringlets, wantons on the wind,. That lifts in. sport his mantles' drooping fold,; Proud 4o.display that form-of faultless mould.) "Mighty Ephesian 1 -with- an eagle's flight Thy proud soul mounted through the fields of lig-ht, Vtewedithe bright conclave of -Heaven's blest a{)Ode, . An4;th(3 cold marble leapt to Jifpa.god'.! ; those families which have long been accustomed to the better society of their towns, also speak an Eng»- lish but little to be distinguished from that of the Contagious awe through hreathiessmyriads raa-,- And nations bowed before- the work of man. For mild he seemed as in Elysian bowers, Wasting in careless ease the joyous, hours ; • Haughty, as bards have sung, with princely sway, Curbing -the fierce, flame-breathing steeds of day; Beauteous as vision seen in dreamy sleep By holy maid on Delphi's haunted steep ; 'Mid the dim twilight of fhe laurel grove, Too fair to worship, too divine fo love. " Yet on that form, m wild delirious trance. With more than reverence gazed the maid of France ; Day after day the love-sick dreamer stood With him alone, nor thought it solitude; To cherish grief, her task, her dearest care. Her one fond-hope — to perish — or despair. Oft -as the shining light her sight beguiled. Blushing she shrunk, and thought the marble smiled ; Oft, breathless listening, heard, or seemed fo hear, A voice of music melt upon the ear. Slowly she wan'd, and cold and- senseless grown, Closed her dim eyes, herself benumbed fo stone. Yet love in death a sickly strength supplied. Once more she gaz'd, then feebly smiled, and died." S-Aveefness in a language is intimately connected with' beauty. Beauty may perhaps consist without sweetness; no one of taste would say that the head of Apollo was a sweet one, while all agree that the face of Venus is full of sweetness ; yet, if beauty can exist without sweetness, the converse of the proposition would be offen sive to taste and truth, to say that sweetness was ever found with out beauty. 'I'he impression which beauty leaves on the mind, is pleasure and admiration ; but when sweetness is superadded, the, charm is increased to love and rapture. I have mentioned images that strike the senses to illustrate those which are sentimenfal.- This is the only method by which any thing ethereal can be made to affect us forcibly, as we are now constituted. The dirge in, Cymbeline is full of sweetness and delicacy, " To fair Fidele's grassy- tomb- Soft maids and village hinds shall bring:_- Eaehopening-sweet of earliest bloom. And rifle all the breathing spring. "No wailing ghost shall dare appear To vex with shrieks this quiet grove-; , But shepherd lads assemble here,. And melting virgins own iheir-love.-, "No wifher'd -witch-shall here be seen ; No goblins lead their nightly crew ; The female fays shall haunt the green. And dress i hv grave with pearly dew ! "-The redbreast oft, at evening hours. Shall kindly lend his little ai-1. With hoary moss, and gathered flowers. To deck the ground where thou- art laid. "When howling winds, and beating rain, In tempest." shake thy- sylvan cell ; Or 'midst the chase; on- every plain. The tender thought on, thee shall dwell - "•Each lonely scene shall thee -restore ;, For thee the tear be duly shed ; Belov'd; till life- can charm no more. And: mourn'd,- .till PJty'.s sejl bp.de**,'^ §76 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. best circles of the mother-country. Still there are shades of difference between these very persons that a nice and practised ear can detect, and which, as The wailing ghost — the withered witch — the howling winds, which at first thought seem to injure the loveliness of the picture, form a fine contrast to all the tender and affectionate images which are grouped around the grassy death-bed of beauty and innocence. The effect of this contrast is forcibly seen in the picture of Pros- pero, with the snow of many winters upon his reverend head, in the majesty of science and wisdom, and paternal affection, con trasted with the manly youth of Ferdinand, and the delicacy and beauty of Miranda ; and the finishing of the whole is the ugliness and ferocity of Sycorax, with her fiend-begotten Caliban, " whose nature nurture would not stick to." The majesty of the English language is conspicuous in the fol lowing .extract from Akenside : " Look then a,broad through nature, to the range Of planets, suns, and adamantine spheres, Wheeling unshaken through fhe void immense; And speak, O man! does this capacious scene With half that kindling majesty dilate Thy strong conception, as when Brutus rose Refulgent from the stroke of Cesar's fate. Amid the crowd of patriots ; and his arm Aloft extending, like eternal Jove When guilt brings down the thunder, call'd aloud On TuUy's name, and shook his crimson steel. And bade the father of his country hail ! For lo ! the tyrant prostrate on the dust. And Rome again is free !" The majesty of the language is conspicuous also in the follow ing extract : -" Different minds Incline to different objects : one pursues The vast alone, the wonderful, the wild ; Another sighs for harmony, and grace. And gentlest beauty. Hence, when lightning fires The arch of Heaven, and thunders rock the ground ; When furious whirlwinds rend the howling air. And ocean, groaning from his lowest bed. Heaves his tempestuous billows to fhe sky ; Amid the mighty uproar, while below The nations tremble, Shakspeare looks abroad From some high clift superior, and enjoys The elemental war." Our own writers furnish numerous specimens of the various "tharacferistics of our language. The chaste, pure, classical tan kage, abounds in Hamilton's prose, and Pierpont's poetry. For s^veetness' we might look info Ames's prose, and Percival's verse. Robert Treat Paine would furnish us with many sentences in strong language, in both prose and verse. Dr. Dwight's works might also be mentioned, as exhibiting a fine selection of words and phrases in communicating his thoughts. In fact, a hundred others among our distinguished writers might be quoted for our purpose, to illustrate the statement that our language is copious, beautiful, sweet, majestic, strong, &c., but we will not at this time make these selections, for fhe reader will probably call to mind as many instances of all these traits in our writers as I can. I need not dwell long on the importance of cultivating our mother tongue, nor attempt to prove that it is becoming the tri umphant language of mankind, -«'hen it is known fo all that it is now spoken by fifty millions of enlightened freemen, who keep it purer than that used by any other nation ; and that the number now, to whom it is vernacular, is five fold greater than it was fiflv years ago. As empire travels westward with us, or over the im- men.se plains of Asia with the English, this language, whose origin and history, copiousness, strength, beauty, sweetness, and import ance, will carry with it the blessings of sound political and civil they denote the parts of the union to which they belong, must be called provincialisms. These little irregularities of language solely arise from the want institutions, the blessings of letters and science, of virtue and re ligion. As our knowledge, political, civil, and religious, expands^ and our arts and sciences are extended, and the comforts and luxuries of life increase, words of new significations and aptitude are re quired, to correspond with these advancements. A poverty of words is a sure sign of poverty of thought in those who have had advantages to acquire a full supply. Not only fhe progress of knowledge, but Ihe fashion of society, has its influence over lan guage ; and the time has arrived with us, that no word found in the dictionary of our language, that is used with good taste and judgment, eas he considered as too learned for the social circle. It is neither affectation or pedantry to use any proper word in a proper sense. There is too much information diffused through the country, to require that condescension in fhe learned which strives to be simple and plain in language, in order to accommodate their hearers. The vocabulary of the scholar and the public man should be opulent and well arranged. There should be no " res angusta domi" for an excuse for himself to the public, in his pos session of the stores of his mother tongue. These are at his com mand. Every one's warehouse of words should not only be well stocked, but well sorted and arranged. Every synonyme s.hould be classed for a ready selection. Still, however, I would not be un derstood tn commend that fastidiousness that wakes to contentious valour in defence of an accent, or strives to martyrdom for the support of the pronunciation of a doubtful word or syllable. No, it is only that free, generous, tasteful use of language, and com mon regard to a just pronunciation, which shows at once the af fluence of thought, and the extent and polish of education, that I contend for. "The conversation of the social circle is now often rich and elegant, and even -when it relaxes to trifling and playful ness. Formerly there was a great difference between the written language and that used in common conversation ; but these styles are more nearly assimilated, and both have been benefitted by it. Eloquence has ceased to strut in corsets, and to walk only in measured steps, and to speak only in affected cadences. Nature has assumed her sway, and ease and grace prevail. Strong, beau tiful, neat, or delicate thoughts, should each have their appropriate dress. The lion's skin to throw loosely over the shoulders, the succinct tunic, the flowing toga, the sweeping robe, and fhe IraDS- parent veil, should all be ready for clothing for the thoughts of the conversationist, the poet, or the orator, as these thoughts arise in their imaginations, and are marshalled forth by their under standings for use and display. Words should be fhe vassals of the mind, at the call of memory ; but at the same time should always, like fhe slaves of the faithful, be used only in rigid just ness or innocent familiarity. Once profaned by an indecent use, their character is degraded for ever. Necessity is the only true mother of invention in words as well as in other things : wit and profligacy offen degrade appropriate words by indelicate uses. The languages of polished nations alone are liable to this misuse or profanation. It is in the reckless plenitude of genius that words are violated. A host of instances might be adduced to illustrate my meaning, if it were proper ; but this is rather a subject for the eye, or the imagination, than the ear. One or two instances might be named. The voluptuaries ofthe court of Louis 14th, called a pure white wine Virginis Lac; this was going far enough in all conscience; but another of a purple colour they called Lachryma Christi. To compare the ruddy, joyous drops of the wine-cup, to the tears of » suffering Saviour, was reaching the confines of blasphemy. Every pure and elegant mind ought to rejoice in a freedom from fhe fetters of bigotry and fhe prudery of excessive puritanism ; but should never relax his vigils over the chastity of his mother tongue. Morals depend more on taste, than philosophy, in her analysis of the human character, is willing to allow ; but no one will deny the correctness of the maxim of inspiration, that " words JetJ/i/ spoken are like apples of gold in pictures ef silver."-— Knag's Lectmres on American Literature. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 277 of a capital. Throughout all New England, and among most of the descendants of the people of New England, the Englisli language is spoken with more or less of an intonation, derived, I believe, from the western counties of England, and with a pronuncia tion that is often peculiar to themselves. They form so large a proportion of the entire population of the country, that some of their provincialisms are get ting to form a part of our ordinary language. The peculiarity of the New England dialect, (the term is almost too strong,) is most discernible in the manner in which they dwell on the last word of a sentence, or the last syllable of a word. It is not properly drawl ing, for they speak very quick in common, much quicker than the English ; so quick, indeed, as to ren der syllables frequently indistinct: but, in conse quence of the peculiar pause they make on the last word, I question if they utter a sentence in less time than those who dwell more equally on its separate parts. Among men of the world and of education, this peculiarity is, of course, often lost ; but education is so common, and the state of society so simple in New England, as to produce less apparent distinction in speech and manners than it is usual to find else where. The middle states certainly speak a softer English than their brethren of the east. I should say, that, when you get as far south as Maryland, the softest, and, perhaps, as pure an English, is spoken as is any where heard. No rule on such a subject, however, is without many exceptions in the United States. The emigration alone would, as yet, prevent perfect uniformity. The voices of the American fe males are particularly soft and silvery; and I think the language, a harsh one at the best, is made softer by our women, especially of the middle and southern states, than you often hear it in Europe. New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, have each their peculiar j)hrases. Some of the women have a habit of dwell ing a little too long on the final syllables, but I think it is rare among the higher classes of society. I do not know that it exists at all as far south as Baltimore. As you go further south, it is true, you get a slower utterance, and other slight varieties of provincialism. In Georgia, you find a positive drawl, among what are called the ' crackers.' More or less of this drawl, and of all the peculiar sounds, are found in the south western and western states ; but they are all too new to have any fixed habits of speech of their own. The usual vulgar phrases which are put into the mouths of Americans are commonly caricatured, though always founded in truth. ' I guess,' is a phrase of New England : it is used a great deal, though not as often as ' you know,' by a cockney. It proceeds, I Vol, II.— Nos. 59 & 60. 2 M think, from the cautious and subdued habit of speak ing, which is characteristic of these people. The gentlemen rarely use it, though I confess I have heard it interlarding the conversation of pretty lips that derived none of their beauty from the puritans. You see, therefore, that it has been partially introdu ced by the emigrants into the middle states. Criti cism is here so active, just now, that it is rapidly getting into disuse. The New Yorker frequently says, ' I suspect,' and the Virginian, ' I reckon.' But the two last are often used in the best society in the mother-country. The difference in pronuncia tion and in the use of words, between the really good society of this country and that of England, is not very great. In America, we can only tell an Eng lishman by whatwe are pleased to call his provincial isms, and quite half the time the term is correct. I was struck at the close resemblance between the lan guage of the higher classes in the mother country, and the higher classes of my own, especially if the latter belong to the middle states. There are certain ly points of difference, but they as often proceed from affectation in individuals, as from the general habits of the two countries. Cockneyisms are quite as fre quent in the language of an English gentleman, as provincialisms in the mouth of an American gentle man of the middle states." We can readily conceive that the Americans must often be strongly tempted to believe from the speci mens imported by emigrants, that they speak better English than the natives of Great Britain ; for we have found, to our cost, that, although not unac quainted with most of the varieties of our native tongue, the cottagers of some of the most romantic parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire were as unable either to receive or communicate ideas through the medium of words known to us, as though they had been inhabitants of the South Seas. Certainly we found far more difficulty than we have ever done among our Gallic neighbours. The construction of the English language is a topic which occupies much more frequently (we might almost say, incessantly) the attention of the public in the United States than in Great Britain. The American linguists have been thought presumptuous in supposing they could possibly understand the lan guage better than Murray, or other English gramma rians ; to an impartial examiner, however, there will appear much force and truth in many of their obser vations. The following extract from " Strictures on Murray's Grammar,"* may be taken as a specimen : ? Journal of Education, vol. i. p, 425. 278 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. " ' An article,' says Mr, Murray, ' is a word prefixed to substantives to point them out, and to show how far their signification extends,' Again, ' There are but two articles, a and the ; a becomes an before a vowel or a silent /t.' It is not difficult to find words in English resembling the nouns, verbs, adjectives, &c. of the ancient languages ; but this was not enough for the first English grammarians ; they must find in English as many ' sorts of words' as were said to exist elsewhere. Something called an article was found in Greek, and suspected to exist in Latin. O, the Greek article, is equivalent to hie in Latin, and hie in Latin is this (in some dialects thie) in Eng lish. But this, Murray calls a pronoun. The, his article, is a contraction of this, once spelled thae, and, afterwards, the. The has been pressed into the ser vice, and made an article ; while this has been denied the (or this or that) honour ; for two words that are entitled to form a separate class are, certainly, highly distinguished. Now, we venture to say, that, in every important case, this, that, these, and those, may be substituted for the, without altering the sense. Mr. Murray says that the in the sentence, ' Nathan said unto David, Thou art the man,' is peculiarly empha- tical ; but thou art this or that man is equally so. ' An article, (our author says,) is a word prefixed to substantives,' this and that, these and those, one, two, three, and every other numeral and ordinal adjective, are prefixed to nouns in the same way, ' to point them out,' and even, ' to show how far their signification extends,' for they effectually limit the signification of the noun. The man, this man, that man, forty men, seventh man. The words in italic are all articles, if Murray's definition be correct. Thus we have dis posed of one article. Not satisfied with one (that is an) article, our grammarian must have two. An is a contraction of one. An is generally contracted into a before words beginning with a consonant, and a does not become an, as Mr. Murray asserts ; for at no very remote period of our literature, an was used before all words. One is sometimes spelled ane, hence an. A book is one book. The article un, which the French grammarians have impressed into the list of articles, is also their numeral adjective. How a numeral adjective can be called indefinite, is hard to conceive. Is one or ten an indefinite num ber 1 The fact is, a, an, and the, are as good adjec tives as any in our language ; and had there not been an article in the Greek grammar, these words would have been left among the adjectives in ours." The subject of national education has engaged much attention, overcome many difiiculties, and made considerable progress in Great Britain during the last forty years. Previously to that time, the opinion of the clerical, and perhaps of the lay aristocracy of England, was decidedly adverse to the education of the people at large ; but finding that the dissenters would successfully conduct the great work of educa ting the poorer classes, the clergy resolved, perhaps wisely, not to suffer so powerful an engine to remain in the hands of their opponents ; and from these con trary, but co-operating causes, has elementary educa tion become in a good degree general. In the United States, however, the cause of the education of the people has had no such difficulties to contend with, and owes its successful progress to feelings far more honourable. State has vied with state, as to the most effective means of insuring the education of every individual within its borders. In the new states, large grants of land have been made by the general government to constitute funds for the support of public schools ; and a reservation of land is made for that purpose, in the laying out of every new town ship. In other states, enactments have been made by the legislature, compelling every township to pro vide, by assessment, instruction for its population, and rendering each township subject to indictment and fine if the regulation remains uncomplied with. We do not deem ourselves competent judges as to which of the states has made the best arrangements to attain so desirable a result ; and our limits will not permit us to enter on a general collection of the details of the number of public schools, and the amount expended in their maintenance. In most of the states education at the public expense is one of the " rights" of " free-born Americans ;" and through out the union there are very few whites who cannot both read and write. In the state of Massachusetts, by the returns from 131 towns presented to the legis lature, it appears that the amount annually paid in those towns for public schools is 177,206 dollars, and the number of scholars receiving instruction is 70,599 The number of pupils attending private schools in the same towns is 12,393, at an expense of 170,342 dollars. The number of persons in those towns be tween the ages of fourteen and twenty-one who are unable to read or write, is fifty-eight. In the town of Hancock, Berkshire county, there are only three persons between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one, who are unable to read or write, and those three are mutes. Infant schools have been extensively established in many of the states ; and the best mode of conducting early instruction has occupied much attention. We would add the testimony of our own experience to the high importance of the training the human mind TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 279 is capable of receiving between the ages of three and six, fully convinced as we are that the complexion of future life is frequently determined by the treatment received at that early age ; and would especially urge on the consideration of religious parents, whether the facts they are so ready to attribute to innate heredi tary corruption, do not, in truth, to a great extent, result from their own irrational and injudicious treatment, or to that of those whom they employ. Recently great attention has been bestowed on the improvement of the public schools, and a variety of means have been resorted to to render the teachers themselves more competent for their important work. Institutions for the improvement of schoolmasters are established,* various associations for mutual improve ment formed, lectures delivered, libraries accumula ted, periodicals on education ably conducted, and the systems of Europe investigated ; in fact, every pro cess is in operation which can indicate intense inter est — a patriotic persuasion that the stability of the empire depends on the intelligence and information of her people. Where the elements of education are thus open to all, it cannot be otherwise than that the more wealthy should be desirous of acquiring a larger portion of knowledge for their children than the public elemen tary schools can be expected, to afford. In the principal towns there are private schools, in which this desire may be fully gratified, and as good an education may be obtained as in similar institutions in England, though, perhaps, at an advance of thirty * One benevolent gentleman, in New York, devotes 8002. per annum to this important object. t A statement of the course of instruction, expenses, if-c. in Yale College. Terms of Admission. — Candidates for admission lo the freshman class are examined in Cicero's Select Orations, Virgil, Sallust, the Greek Testament, Dalzel's Collectanea, Graeca Minora, Adam's Latin Grammar, Goodrich's Greek Grammar, Latin Prosody, Writing Latin, Barnard's or Adams' Arithmetic, Murray's Eng lish Grainmar, and Morse's, Worcester's, or Woodbridge's Geogra phy. Jacob's Greek Reader and the Four Gospels are admitted as a substitute for Grsca Minora and the Greek Testament. — No one can be admitted to the freshman class till he has completed his fourteenth year ; nor to an advanced standing without a propor tional increase of age. — Testimonials of good moral character are in all cases required ; and those who are admitted from other col leges must produce certificates of dismission in good standing. The students are not considered as regular members of the college till, after a residence of at least six months, they have been ad mitted to matriculation, on satisfactory evidence of an unblemished moral character. Before this they are only students on probation. Course of Instruction. — The faculty to whom is committed the government and instruclion of the students, consists of a president ; a professor of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology ; a professor of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages ; a professor of mathe matics, natural philosophy, and astronomy; aprofessorof divinity; a professor of rhetoric and oratory ; and eight tutors. The whole course of instruction occupies four years. In each year there are three terms or sessions. The three younger classes are divided, each into two or three per cent, on the cost. In some instances, the public schools have intrenched materially on private acade mies ; while in others the case has been reversed. In some of the female seminaries, classical attainments are carried much farther than is deemed desirable in England — Latin, Greek, algebra, and mathematics, forming part of the routine, in addition to philosophy. astronomy, geology, botany, and the usual accom plishments : and a recent traveller complains parti cularly of the young ladies of Cincinnati being very "blue." It would appear to be characteristic o" American education, that a general acquaintance with language and science should be imparted, withoui pursuing any particular branch to its utmost limit Under such circumstances, there must be a liability to superficial knowledge in many cases. There is, however, a broad basis laid, on which the refinements of literature will naturally rise, as they are called forth by the increasing improvement of the national taste ; and, indeed, the progress of the last few years indicates that the time is not far distant, when " emi nent scholars" will not be so rare as they are now presumed to be. The colleges in the republic are numerous, and dispersed among the different states. Those which have attained the greatest celebrity, are Harvard Uni versity and Yale College. As it is our aim to afford information rather than offer opinions of our own, we have appended the systems of education pursued in one of these institutions in a note ;t and a table, containing the names of the various colleges through- parts ; and each of the divisions is committed to the particular charge of a tutor, who, with the assisfauce of the professors, in structs it. The senior class is instructed by the president and pro fessors. Each of the four classes attends three recitations, or lec tures, in a day, except on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when they have only two. The following scheme gives a general view of the authors recited each term: — FRESHMAN CLASS. iFolsom's Livy, from one half to two thirds, Adam's Roman Antiquities. Day's Algebra, begun. Graeca Majora, Vol. I., begun. ( Folsom's Livy, finished. II. -< Graeca Majora, continued through the historical part, ( Day's Algebra, finished, Horace, begun. III. { GrEeca Majora, Vol. II., begun. Playfair's Euclid, five books. SOFHOMOBE CLASS. Horace, continued. Graeca Majora, continued. Euclid, reviewed and finished. ' Horace, finished and reviewed, Graeca Majora, continued. Day's Mathematics ; Plane Trigonometry, Nature and TTse of Logarithms, Mensuration of Superficies and Solids and Isoperimetry ; Mensuration of Heights and Distan ces; and Navigation, ¦1 II, { 280 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. out the union, and many interesting particulars, ex tracted from the American Almanac, is given at the close of this chapter. It will be perceived, that the ' Graeca Majora, continued. Juvenal ; Leverett's Edition. Cicero de Oratore, begun. III. \ Day's Mathematics ; Surveying. Bridge's Conic Sections. Spherical Geometry and Trigonometry. Jamieson's Rhetoric. JUNIOR CLASS. i Cicero de Oratore, finished. Tacitus, begun. Graeca Majora, continued. Olmsted's Natural Philosophy and Mechanics. f Tacitus; The History; Manners of the Germans; and I Agricola. I Graeca Majora, continued. L Natural Philosophy, finished and reviewed. ¦ Astronomy.Hedge's Logic. Tytler's History. "> Fluxions. J I Homer's Iliad. > At the option of the student. \. Hebrew, French, or Spanish. ) SENIOR CLASS. r Blair's Rhetoric. I Stewart's Philosophy of the Mincu I. -{ Brown's do. j Paley's Moral Philosophy. Greek and Latin. Paley's Natural Theology. Evidences of Christianity. Greek and Latin. II. III. "1 III. Say's Political Economy. In addition to the recitations in the books here specified, the classes receive lectures and occasional instruction from the profes sor of languages ; the junior class attends a course of experimental lectures on natural philosophy; and the senior class the courses on chemistry, mineralogy, geology, and select subjects of natural phi losophy and astronomy. The members of the several classes at tend also the private exercises and lectures of the professor of rhetoric and oratory. A course of lectures on the Oration of De mosthenes for the Crown, is delivered to members of the senior class. Specimens of English composition are exhibited daily by one or more of each of the divisions of the sophomore and junior classes. Written translations from Latin authors are presented by the freshman class. The lower classes are also instructed in Latin composition. The senior and junior classes have forensic disputations once or twice a week, before their instructors. There are very frequent exercises in declamation before the tutors, before the professor of oratory, and before the faculty and students in the chapel. Gentlemen well qualified to teach the French and Spanish lan guages are engaged by the faculty, to give instruction in these branches to those students who desire it, at their own expense. The object of the system of instruction to the undergraduates in the college is not to give a partial education, consisting of a few branches only ; nor, on the other hand, to give a superficial educa tion, containing a little of almost every thing ; nor to finish the details of either a professional or practical education ; hut to com mence a thorough course, and to carry it as far as the time of the student's residence here will allow. It is intended to maintain such a proportion between the different branches of literature and science, as to form a proper symmetry and balance of character. In laying the foundation of a thorough education, it is necessary that aU the important faculties be brought into exercise. When certain intention of these institutions is to give a thorough education both in languages, mathematics, and the sciences ; and there is no reason to doubt that any mental endowments receive a much higher culture than others, there is a distortion in the intellectual character. The powers of the mind are not developed in their fairest proportions by studying languages alone, or mathematics alone, or natural or political sci ence alone. The object, in the proper collegiate department, is not to teach that which is peculiar to any one of the professions ; but to lay the foundation which is common to them all. There are separate schools fof medicine, law, and theology, connected with the college, as well as in various parts of the country, which are open to all who are prepared to enter on professional studies, With these, the undergraduate course is not intended to interfere. If contains those subjects only which ought to be understood by every one who aims at a thorough education. The principles of science and literature are the common foundation of all high in tellectual attainments. They give that furniture, and discipline, and elevation of the mind, which are the best preparation for the study of a profession, or of the operations which are peculiar to the higher mercantile, manufacturing, or agricultural establish ments. There are two public examinations of the classes in a year, — one in May, the other in September, — which are continued from four to six days each. The candidates for degrees are also ex amined at the clo.se of their course of study. There are three vacations in a year ; one of six weeks, begin ning at commencement, the second Wednesday in September; the second, two weeks from the second Wednesday in January ; and the third, four weeks from the first Wednesday in May. No stu dent is allowed to be absent, without special leave, except in vaca tions. The absence of a student in term time, even for a few days, occasions a much greater injury to his education than is commonly supposed by parents and guardians. Public Worship. — Prayers are attended in the college chapel every morning and evening, with the reading of the Scripfnres, when one of the faculty oiEciafes, and all the students are required to be present. They are also required to attend public worsMp in the chapel on the Sabbath, except such as have permission to attend the episcopal, or other congregations in town. Expenses. — The college bills are made out by the treasurer and steward three times a year, at the close of each term, and are pre sented to the students, who are required to present them to their parents, guardians, or patrons. If any student fails to comply with this requisition, he is not permitted to recite till the bilk aro paid. The annual charges in the treasurer's bill are, Dolls. Cts, For instruction 33 00 For rent of chamber in college, from 6 to 12 dollars — average 9 00 For ordinary repairs and contingencies 2 40 For general damages, sweeping, &c., about .... 3 30 For -wood, for recitation-rooms, about . . . . 1 30 Total .... 49 00 Besides this, fhe student may be charged for damages done by himself, and a small sum for printing catalogues, and other occa sional expenses. Board is furnished in commons by the steward, at cost, about 1 dollar 60 cents a week, or 64 dollars a year, not including vaca tions. It varies, however, with the price of provisions. Wood is procured by the corporation, and distributed to those students who apply for it, at cost and charges. The students provide for themselves bed and bedding, furniture for their rooms, candles, books, stationery, and washing. There are also, in the several classes, taxes of a small amount, for the fuel in the recitation-rooms, catalogues, &c. If books and furniture are sold, when the student has no further necessity for them, tht expense incurred by their use will not be great. The following may be considered as a near estimate of the W- TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 281 students who remain, and diligently apply themselves, during the full term, may attain the object proposed. It is admitted, nevertheless, that a large proportion leave college for the busy and interesting concerns of life, before they have allowed themselves sufficient time to become thoroughly grounded. It muy be doubted, however, how many individuals in England would condemn themselves to spend the fairest por tion of their lives in celibacy, were they not amply supplied, by means of endowments, with the luxu ries of life, and beguiled by a prospect of liberty and a good living at the death of some worthy consumer of the tithe. Contrasting the university system of Great Britain, under which many individuals are justly said " to spend their lives in polishing a key, without ever unlocking a door," with the less wealthy colleges of America ; and keeping in view their moral, as well as literary character, the superiority of the former may be viewed without envy by a people, who in their literary, as well as in their financial pur suits, have as few beggars as they have monopolists. cessary expenses, without including apparel, pocket-money, travel ling, and board in vacations : Dollars. Treasurer's bill, as above 49 49 Board in commons, 40 weeks, from 60 to 70 Fuel and light 8 16 Use of books recited, and stationery 5 15 Use of furniture, bed, and bedding 5 15 Washing 8 18 Taxes in the classes, &c, , S 7 Total 140 to 190 No students are permitted to take lodgings in town, except when the rooms in college are not sufiicient to accommodate all. Students who wait in the hall are allowed their board ; and jhose who occupy the recitation-rooms save their room-rent and fuel in winter, and receive a small compensation iu summer. A cheap boarding-house is opened, under the direction of the stew ard, for those students who wish to board at a lower rate than it is furnished in commons. The price of board here is about 1 dol lar 25 cents. By a resolve of the corporation, a sum not exceeding one thou sand dollars a year is appropriated to the relief of indigent students, and the encouragement of merit. TVie Theological Department. — The instructors in the theological department are a professor of didactic theology, a professor of sa cred literature, and fhe professors of divinity and of rhetoric in the classical department of the college. — The whole course of instruc tion occupies three years ; and the students are divided into junior, middle, and senior classes. — The time of admission is at the com mencement of the first collegiate term. The terms and vacations are [the same with those in the college. The conditions for en trance are hopeful piety, and a liberal education at some college, unless the candidate have otherwise qualified himself for pursuing advantageously the prescribed course of studies. — No charges are made for the tuition and lectures. — No funds have as yet been granted to this department for defraying the expenses of indigent students. — Board may be obtained in private ikmilies at from 1 dollar 25 cents to 1 dollar 75 cents per week. The Law School. — The Law School is under the direction of the Hon. David Daggett, LL. D., a judge in the supreme court in Con necticut, and professor of law; and SamuelJ. Hitchcock, Esq., at- Having thus briefly noticed the machinery of education in the United States, we shall make a few observations on its results, which will be found to correspond with the character of their causes. We commence with what, with few exceptions, may be termed the lowest kind. Newspaper literature has attained a universality unparalleled in the annals of the art of printing, and leaving, in point of quantity at least, the parent country far behind. There are published in the United States nearly 1,000 news papers : a large number of them daily, and some of them of very extensive circulation : many of them are entirely political ; and certainly we cannot com mend their style of conducting their warfare — they appear to mistake virulence for talent : others are purely commercial, filled with advertisements, at the rate of four insertions for a dollar. Some are devoted chiefly to literary and scientific purposes ; many of these are highly respectable. A considerable number, some of them of a very large circulation, (the New York Christian Advocate and Journal, and New York torney and counsellor at law. — The students are required to peruse the most important elementary treatises, and are daily examined on the author they are reading, and receive at the same time ex planations and illustrations of the subject they are studying. — A course of lectures is delivered by the professor of law, on all the titles and subjects of common and statute law. — A moot court is holden once a week, or oftener, which employs the students in drawing pleadings and investigating and arguing questions of law. — -The students are called upon from time to time to draw de clarations, pleadings, contracts, and other instruments connected with the practice of law, and to do the most important duties of an attorney's clerk. — They are occasionally required to write dis quisitions on some topic of law, and collect the authorities to sup'- port their opinions. — The students are furnished with the use of the elementary books, and have access, at all times, to the college libraries, and to a law library, comprising every important work, both ancient and modern. — 'The terms for tuition are 75 dollars per annum. The course of study occupies two years, allowing eight weeks' vacation each year. Students are, however, received for a shorter period. — The professor of law will also, for the present, occasionally deliver lectures fo the senior class in college, until arrangements are made for a systematic course to be permanently continued. The Medical Institution. — The instructors of the Medical Insti tution are, a professor of surgery and obstetrics, a professor of chemistry and pharmacy, a professor of the theory and practice ot physic, a professor of materia medica, botany, and therapeutics, and a professor of ein atomy and physioldgy. — The lectures com mence the last week iu October, and terminate ihe last week in February. During the course, from fifty fo one hundred lectures are given by each professor. — The students have access to the lectures on natural philosophy on paying the fees of the course, and they may attend the lectures on mineralogy aud geology with out charge. The examination for licenses and degrees is held immediately after fhe close of the lectures. — The institution is furnished with a library and an anatomical museum. The stu dents have access also to fhe library of fhe college, and to the cabinet of minerals. — The fees, which are paid in advance, are twelve dollars and fifty cents for each course. The matriculation fee and contingent bill are seven dollars and fifty cents. The en tire expense of a residence of four months, through the course, in. eluding fees and all expenses, except clothing, is from 120 'o '.5C dollars. 282 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. Observer, for instance, the former having 30,000, and the latter 14,000 subscribers,) are religious newspapers —a class that has never yet maintained its ground in England, although blessed with a "national religion." There is also another class of newspapers, very dif ferent from any in this country — weekly registers of facts connected with trade, commerce, internal im provements, mechanical inventions, as well as the proceedings of congress and the state legislatures — euch are Niles's Register and Hazard's Pennsylvania Register. We apprehend they cannot exist in this country unless the stamp duty were abolished, as they combine many of the features of a newspaper with those of a mechanic and scientific magazine. The present state of the monthly and quarterly publications indicates a rapid improvement in the taste of the American public. Several attempts were made, some years since, to establish an American Review ; but the North American has been the first that has maintained its ground ; and from its pro gressive improvement, it has well deserved the honour. It is now become almost as well known in Europe as the Edinburgh or (Quarterly ; and some of its articles on European politics are read with a biting interest. Two other American Reviews, the Quarterly and the Southern, both very ably conducted, are also pub lished quarterly. In the field of science, Silliman's Journal, published quarterly at New Haven, is well known, and deservedly esteemed. The American Monthly Review, recently established, gives short notices of all new works which issue from the press, either in Europe or America. The New England Magazine, though inferior, is somewhat in the style of our New Monthly. Several other literary perio dicals are published in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia ; and even the new states in the west are not wholly destitute of periodical literature. Theological periodicals are very numerous ; and some of them contain very able critical disquisitions on biblical literature, as well as controversial pieces. The Christian Examiner, and the Unitarian Advo cate, published at Boston, are the organs of Unita rianism. The Christian Spectator, published at New Haven, is the advocate of orthodoxy. The Theological and Critical Repository, published at Andover, con ducted by Professor Robinson and Dr. Moses Stuart, is perhaps one of the ablest critical works in biblical literature that has ever appeared in the English lan guage. The Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Swedenborgians, Universalists, and other sects, have each one or more periodicals. It might seem impos sible that such variety should exist without inducing universal freedom of thought ; but this result may be, and to a very large extent is, avoided, by the very simple process of each sect carefully excluding every other publication but its own, for the very sufficient reason that it is the only one which either does or can contain the truth — a reason perfectly similar in its principle to that which induced the Turk to order the destruction of the Alexandrian library. The principal annual works which issue from the American press are the American Almanac, a most admirable publication, and the Annual Register, which improves every year, both as to matter and arrangement. The pictorial annuals certainly exhibit no advanced state of the arts either of painting or engraving ; and, indeed, are more discreditable in the former point than in the latter : for most of the de signs are taken from English prints, and this (unless the taste of the American people is founded upon the principle that a painter is to have " no honour in his own country") most unnecessarily, as the scenery oi the Hudson, the Potomac, and the Ohio, not to men tion a thousand other streams, and the pencils of Cole and other American artists, would produce as inte resting an annual, at any rate, as borrowed prints, which as invasions of copyright, render the works not only unpalatable, but unsaleable in Great Britain. With respect to original works on general litera ture, if Aiherica has less to boast than Europe, she has still less to be ashamed of. If her genius has not been employed to enliven the fancy, neither is it devoted to the pollution of the heart. But the wri tings of Irving and Cooper have forced their way through the prejudice which exists against the pro ductions of our former colonies, and are too well known and too highly esteemed to permit any encomium from our pen, without a violation of proprie ty. It is true that their chief writers have sought the richer reward which the European market affords ; but the genius is no less American because exercised on this side the Atlantic, nor must our readers suppose that the claims of America to literary merit rest on two or three names alone. If a lucid and manly style is worthy of commendation, that of Franklin, and of Washington, has rarely been surpass ed ; if eloquence be a mark of genius, Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and others, may well lay claim to the wreath of fame. We are somewhat surprised to find the dramatic writings of the Americans to be so numerous. The editor of the American Quarterly states, that " he has actually in his possession nearly sixty American dramas, consisting of tragedies, comedies, operas, melo-dtamas, and farces ;" and he adds, that after a duly diligent perusal of them, he can venture to affirm TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 283 that " they are quite equal to the productions of the present race of London playwrights which are regu larly brought out at our theatres, and to which the certificate of having been performed a hundred nights, with unbounded applause, gives all the effica cy of a quack medicine." Nor have the Americans been destitute of poetic efforts ; not to mention living poets, Hopkins, Dwight, Barlow, Humphreys, Hopkinson, Trumbull, Freneau, Sewell, Linn, La- throp, Paine, Prentiss, Boyd, Clifton, Isaac Story, Allan, Osborn, Spense, Brainerd and Drake, have con tributed many powerful and even refined effusions of the poetic muse. It would, however, occupy a volume to give a brief account of American writers ; and it is a work which we hope will be taken up by some able pen, that the ignorance which ex ists on this subject may, at least, be left without excuse. We shall close our remarks on American literature with some very just observations by a recent Ameri can writer,* which place in a correct point of view the causes which have hitherto operated to retard the progress of literary refinement in the United States, while they at the same time vindicate the mental elements of their national character. " The Ameri can intellect possessing great compass, strength, and flexibility, united to a clear perception of fitness, is equal to any exigency in human affairs, and can adapt its pursuits to every change that may occur, and its measures to every new demand that may be made on it. This is attested by the great improve ments it has made in every branch of knowledge that is called for in the country, and by which an honourable independence can be gained. Our posi tion to this effect might be confirmed by a reference to the elevated condition of the liberal professions among 'us, and the multitude of inventions in the mechanical arts. Knowledge on these subjects, being needed in the present state of society, can be render ed profitable to its possessors, by an immediate appli cation of it to practical purposes. It is therefore eagerly sought after, and rapidly attained. And the' same will be true of every other branch of knowledge, as soon as it shall be called for under the certainty of a suitable reward. No matter whether it belongs to science, arts, or letters ; let a market for it be opened, and American genius will soon supply it. But little has been hitherto done by the public to encourage American literature. It has been even discountenanced, by an unreasonable preference of that from abroad. We call the preference unreasonable, ? New England Magazine, vol. i. p. 479. because the foreign articles preferred have been often inferior to the domestic ones that were undervalued, The consequence has been what every one who re flected on the subject anticipated. Polite literature has been comparatively but little cultivated among us, except as a matter of individual taste and amuse ment. We have had but few writers by profession, because neither honour nor riches awaited the pur suit. Our mechanics became wealthy by labouring in their vocations, while our scholars might have starved in the midst of the most exquisite produc tions of their pens. The reason is obvious. There was a great demand for the implements of agricul ture and some of the arts, but a very limited one for poetry, or any other kind of fine writing. The former was adapted to the state of society, while the latter was out of time. Necessaries and comforts, not luxuries or mere delicacies, were first to be pro vided. But polite literature is a luxury, and will not therefore be encouraged, because it cannot be in dulged in, except as a concomitant of wealth and leisure. During this condition of things, but few literary productions appeared ; and even those that did appear were not of the highest order, or in the most finished style, because they had not been suffi ciently elaborated : and to become a good writer is the work of years, under close industry, and the strictest attention to style and manner. Such was the -disheartening state of things : yet it has already appeared that, notwithstanding its power to blighl and wither, it did not render American genius un productive. Beneath gloom and winter the blossoms opened, and the fruit became mature and excellent, far beyond what there was ground to expect. But of late, the sentiments of society have changed, pub lic taste and judgment are improved, and a new era is evidently opening on American literature. Foreign productions are not, as formerly, almost indiscrimi nately approved, nor those of our own writers reject ed, merely because they are not the growth of a dis tant hemisphere. Readers examine and reflect, before they feel themselves authorized to decide. Their decision, therefore, is founded on principle, and is usually correct. As the consequence of this change in public feeling, American works are sought for and purchased to a much greater extent than in former years. Let this state of things con tinue ; or rather, let it improve in the requisite de gree ; let fine specimens of American composition be rewarded with honour and profit, and they will soon be abundantly produced. Let prompt and liberal purchasers be found, and the market, as in other cases, will be well supplied. The Souvenirs, Tokens, 284 TOPOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. and novels of the day, with many other productions of taste, give proof of this. We do not say that Byrons, and Sir Walters, and Moores, will immedi ately spring up among us. Authors of that class appear but seldom. But we do say that we shall soon have writers equal to any Europe contains, ex cept, perhaps, such prodigies as we have named; and in time we shall equal them. The same genius that gave renown to our fathers, through all the eventful periods of our history, is still the cherished inheritance of their descendants." The progress of the arts in the United States has been in proportion to their bearing on the essential comforts of life. Thus, in the mechanical arts they are inferior to no nation of the globe, as their ships, steamboats, and engines of all kinds, bridges, canals, and rail-roads, abundantly testify. Architecture has recently received a far greater portion of attention than formerly ; those who devote their attention to this subject generally making the tour of Europe, to inform their minds and cultivate their taste. Many of their recent state-houses and churches indicate the improved condition of the art, and afford just ground for pleasing anticipations of the future. We cannot give our readers a better idea of the domestic archi tecture of a respectable house in the cities of the United States, than by quoting the description which Mr. Cooper has given of a habitation of an American in the very best society, who is in easy circumstances, of extensive and high connexions. " Tl\e house in question occupies, I should think, a front of about thirty-four feet on the Broadway, and extends into the rear between sixty and seventy more. There are no additions, the building ascending from the ground to its attics in the same proportions. The exterior necessarily presents a narrow, ill-arranged facade, that puts architectural beauty a good deal at defiance. The most that can be done with such a front, is to abstain from inappropriate ornament, and to aim at such an effect as shall convey a proper idea of the more substantial comforts and of the neatness that predominate within. The building is of bricks, painted and lined, and modestly ornamented, in a very good taste, with caps, sills, cornices,