the country is under excellent cultivation, and great attention is paid to agricultural pursuits. The farms in the State are generally large, and skilfully managed. There are about 2,000,000 sheep in the State. Wheat and maize are the most important products, and flour of the best quality is sent to the Philadelphia and Baltimore markets. This region also produces abundance of excellent fruit. The watermelons, which are raised here, are of the best quality, and produced in such abundance, as to be often sold in the cities for a cent a piece. Peaches, pears, and apples are also raised in great quantities and in high perfection. In the interior and western parts, the grain already mentioned, with buckwheat, rye, oats, barley, hemp, and flax, are much cultivated.

6. Commerce. Philadelphia enjoys nearly all the foreign commerce of the State. This chiefly consists in the export of the productions above mentioned. The coasting trade also of this port is considerable. A great internal trade is carried on between Philadelphia and the West, across the mountains. The most common routs are to Pittsburg and Wheeling.* There is also a port at Presqu' Isle, on Lake Erie, which has some trade. The shipping of the State amounts to 104,614 tons; the annual imports, to 12,000,000 dollars; the exports to foreign countries, to 4,000,000 dollars.

7. Manufactures. Pennsylvania is the first State in the Union for manufactures. Those of Philadelphia have already been mentioned. At Pittsburg and in the neighborhood, are very large establishments of various kinds. The glass manufactures of this place are particularly celebrated, and furnish cut-glass ware and window glass equal to any in the country. The glass is white, clear, and excellent, both in texture and polish. The cotton manufacture is also extensive, and occupies several large establishments here and in the neighboring towns of Alleghany and Birmingham. The manufactures of iron employ 9 founderies, 8 rolling-mills, and 9 nail factories, which make 18 tons of nails daily. There are also 7 manufactories of steamengines, and lately the manufacture of sugar-mills, and small steam machinery to drive them, has become an important branch of business. There are two establishments in Pittsburg for the manufacture of steel. There are great numbers of iron-works in various parts of the State. At York, is a foundry for church bells, manufactures of cutlery, surgical instruments, &c. Elegant carpeting is also made at the same place. At Manyaunk, on the Schuylkill, are large cotton and woolen manufactories. At Chambersburg, besides other establishments, are extensive manufactories of edge tools, axes, carpenters' tools, hatchets, chisels, &c., of a quality and temper equal to any made in England. At Bush Hill, near Philadelphia, is a manufacture of elegant floor-cloths from hemp and flax, and of table-cloths from cotton. At Bethany, in Wayne county, is a glass manufactory, which produces 450,000 feet of window glass annually. In the western part, are large manufactures of salt from springs. The principal salt-works are on the Conemaugh, a stream running into the Alleghany. The water is obtained by boring. The strongest water is found 400 or 500 feet below the surface. Copper tubes are inserted in the perforation, in which the salt water rises to a level with the river, accompanied by sulphuretted hydrogen gas, often in considerable quantity. Fresh water is seldom found below 100 feet. Veins of coal and slate are penetrated at various depths, and narrow beds of limestone, lying deep, are passed through. In the process of manufacturing, salt water is pumped by horse-power into large troughs, where the earthy particles not held in solution, mostly subside. It is then passed into a shallow boiling pan of cast-iron, and after boiling is drawn off into vats, where the oxide of iron, which is abundant, and the earthy salts, subside, together with a portion of muriate of soda. The clean brine is passed off into a boiler, in which the salt, in fine crystals, is precipitated, and then removed to drain. No use is made of the sulphate of soda, of which there is considerable in the water. The salt manufactured at Kiskiminetas and Conemaugh has in some years amounted to 1,000,000 bushels; it is sold at from 20 to 25 cents per bushel, at the works; the expense of manufacturing does not exceed 10 cents a bushel.

A large portion of the numerous salt-works are near the river, in the ravines of the Kiskiminetas, and coal for fuel is procured from veins situated above the works, in the side of the hill, and costs but a cent a bushel. Considerable salt is made near Pittsburg, from a fountain

A great part of the transportation between Philadelphia and the western country is carried on by means of large, heavy wagons, of a peculiar construction, although the railroads and canals have monopolized most of this business. The bodies are long, and covered by cloth supported by bent posts. These are higher before and behind than in the middle. They are usually drawn by 5 or 6

horses, and these are, with few exceptions, of the Hanoverian breed. They are large, and usually in good condition, but they are much inferior to the New England horses in spirit, strength, and bottom. A representation of one of these wagons will be found in the vignette at the head of the article on the Middle States.

obtained by boring 270 feet; the water is strong, and is raised by a steam-engine; the salt is white, and of a good quality. This fountain is sufficient for the annual manufacture of 25,000 bushels. There are other salt springs on the Ohio, and also on the Chenango and Mahony. The preceding items may afford the reader some general notion of the nature and extent of the manufactures of this State, no regular and complete account of which has yet been embodied. 8. Government. The legislature is called the General Assembly, and consists of a Senate and House of Representatives. The senators are chosen for three years, and the representatives annually. The suffrage is universal. The governor is chosen for three years by a popu lar vote. There is no lieutenant-governor, and no council. The governor can only be elected thrice in 12 years, and on retiring from office becomes a senator. The legislature meets annually at Harrisburg, in December. The State sends 28 representatives to Congress.

9. Religion. The Presbyterians are the most numerous, and are divided into two classes, one of which call themselves Associate Presbyterians. These two bodies have 400 preachers. The Baptists have 140; the Methodists, 250; the German Reformed Church, 73; the Episcopalians, 70; there are also Lutherans, Unitarians, Catholics, Quakers, Dutch Reformed, Universalists, Moravians, Swedenborgians, Mennonists, and Jews.

10. Education. The University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, was originally an academy and charity-school, and, after repeated augmentations, became the university of the State in 1791. It has 13 professors, one of whom is chief officer of the university, with the title of Provost. Dickinson College, at Carlisle, was founded in 1783, but was for a time suspended. It has at present 8 instructers and 130 students, with a library containing 3,000 volumes. Jefferson College, at Canonsburg, was founded in 1802. It has a president, 9 professors, and 170 students. The library contains 1,500 volumes. The Western University, at Pittsburg, was founded in 1820. It has 7 instructers, and 53 students. Alleghany College, at Meadville, was founded in 1815. Washington College, at Washington, was established in 1806. It has 5 instructers, and 100 students. Pennsylvania College, at Gettysburg, Lafayette College, at Easton, and Marshall College, at Mercersburg, are new, but flourishing institutions. Notwitnstanding the number of literary institutions, education is in a backward condition. Not above one third of all the children in this State attend school, and the general means of instruction are very limited. The public attention, however, has lately been turned to the subject, and exertions are making for the advancement of popular education. The late Stephen Girard left 2,000,000 of dollars for the establishment of a school in Philadelphia.

11. History. William Penn, a Quaker, obtained from James the Second, of England, a grant of this whole territory, in 1681. This grant was made in consideration of services rendered the crown by the father of Penn, who was an admiral in the English navy. The territory at this time contained no settlement. In the autumn of the same year, three ships set sail for the country, loaded with settlers, chiefly Quakers. They landed at the spot where Philadelphia now stands. The next year, Penn, with another large body of settlers, came to the country; he purchased a tract of land from the Indians, laid out the city of Philadelphia, and, with a convention of the settlers, established a form of government and a body of laws. Penn returned to England, and, on the accession of William the Third, the government was taken from him, but was afterwards restored. In 1699, he revisited Pennsylvania, and remodelled the government. Delaware, which originally formed part of the colony, was allowed a distinct legislature. The early history of this State is not diversified with those narratives of Indian hostilities, which confer so deep an interest upon the annals of most of the other colonies. For 70 years after the beginning of the settlement, an uninterrupted harmony existed between the colonists and the Indians. Pennsylvania continued under the original charter until after the American Revolution. The present constitution was established in 1790.

CHAPTER XV. DELAWARE.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

1. Boundaries and Extent. Delaware is bounded N. by Pennsylvania; E. by the river and bay of Delaware and the ocean; and S. and W. by Maryland. Except Rhode Island, it is the smallest State in the Union, containing but 2,120 square miles. It is 92 miles long, and 35 miles is its greatest width. It lies between 38° 29′ and 39° 47′ N. lat., and 75° and 75° 40′ W. lon.

2. Rivers. Brandywine Creek passes through this State from Pennsylvania; it is 40 miles long, and is no more than a fine mill-stream. A battle was fought in its neighborhood, in 1777, between the Americans, under Washington, and the British, under Lord Howe. Christiana Creek receives the Brandywine, and runs into the Delaware. It is navigable for small vessels 15 miles. The other streams are too unimportant for notice.

pen.

3. Bay. Delaware Bay forms a great part of the eastern boundary of this State, but affords naturally no good harbor for ships. To remedy this deficiency, the United States government are now constructing a breakwater and dike at the entrance of the bay, just within Cape HenloThe breakwater is two thirds of a mile in length, and is a wall of stone, 22 feet wide at the top, and sloping outwardly on both sides. The dike is about half the length of the breakwater; it is placed further within the bay, and is chiefly designed as a defence against the ice which floats down the stream. Both of these are built of immense blocks of stone, sometimes 3 tons in weight, and are a little more than 5 feet above the highest tides. When completed, these works will form a secure harbor with two entrances, and from 4 to 6 fathoms depth of

water.

4. Climate. It will be perceived, that the climate of Delaware cannot differ much from that of the southern part of New Jersey, and the small extent of this State assures us, that it must be uniform throughout.

5. Soil, &c. The northern part, and most of the land lying along the Delaware, is clayey, but rich, and fine for tillage. Timber of the largest growth is found here. On the seacoast,

the soil becomes sandy. An elevation of swampy land, which divides the streams of the Delaware from those of the Chesapeake, passes north and south through this State, at a nearly equal distance from the two shores. At the southern limit, is the Cypress Swamp, where this elevation terminates. In the extreme north, the soil is stony. Nearly the whole territory is alluvial, with little variation of surface. There are very few mineral productions in this State. The southern part affords much bog-iron ore, but little use is made of it.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY.

1. Divisions. Delaware is divided into three counties; Newcastle, in the north; Kent, in the middle; and Sussex, in the south. These are subdivided into 24 Hundreds. The population is 76,739, of whom 3,305 are slaves.

2. Canal and Railroads. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal crosses the northern part of this State, uniting the two bays. It is 14 miles long, 60 feet wide, and 10 feet deep, with locks 100 feet in length, and 22 feet wide. It begins at Delaware city, 46 miles below Philadelphia, and passes westerly to Back Creek, a navigable branch of Elk River. The Deep Cut

is the name given to the passage of this canal, for 4 miles, through a hill 90 feet in height, being the deepest cut upon any canal in the world. The Summit Bridge, which crosses the canal at the cut, is a single arch, 255 feet in length. Here the sides of the canal are secured by walls of stone, and the high banks are in some places thatched with straw, to prevent their washing into the canal. East of this spot, the canal is carried through deep marshes; the foundation and embankments were executed at great expense. At every half mile are recesses for the passing of vessels, where the width of the canal is increased to 110 feet. At its junction with the Delaware, is an artificial harbor, or large basin, of a semicircular shape. This canal was begun in 1823, and completed in 6 years, at the cost of more than 2,000,000 of dollars. The Newcastle and Frenchtown Railroad also extends across the peninsula between the Delaware and the Chesapeake, 16 miles; steamboats connect the eastern terminus with Philadelphia, and the

western with Baltimore. A continuous line of railroad, connecting these two cities, has lately been constructed across the State, passing through Wilmington.

3. Towns. The largest town is the city of Wilmington, in the northern part of the State, between the Brandywine and Christiana, a mile above their confluence, and two miles west of the Delaware. It stands on a pleasant slope of ground, and is regularly laid out; the houses are mostly of brick. The commerce of the place is considerable, and the river admits vessels drawing 14 feet of water to come up to the town. Several ships sail to the whale-fishery. There are two bridges over the Brandy wine and Christiana. The surrounding country is pleasant, and, within a short circuit, contains 100 flour-mills and a large number of manufactories. Population, 10,000.

Dover is the capital of the State, and is situated on Jones's Creek, 7 miles from its entrance into Delaware Bay. It is a small, but regularly built town, consisting of four streets running at right angles. The houses are principally of brick. The State-house fronts upon a neat square in the centre of the town. Dover has a flourishing trade, chiefly in flour. Population, 1,500. Newcastle, upon the Delaware, in the northern part of the State, was once the capital, and enjoyed considerable trade. Delaware city has been laid out at the mouth of the canal below.

4. Agriculture. Wheat is the chief article of cultivation. The flour made here is of a superior quality, and is highly esteemed for its softness and whiteness. Maize, rye, barley, flax, buckwheat, potatoes, &c., also receive attention. In the south, are some fine grazing lands, which support considerable numbers of cattle.

5. Commerce. There is little foreign commerce, but there is a considerable trade in the export of flour, and timber from the swampy districts of the south. The shipping amounts to 20,000 tons.

6. Manufactures. Though small in extent, and the smallest of the States in population, Delaware has important manufactures. The chief of these are at Wilmington and in the neighborhood, and are devoted to the making of cotton and woolen goods, paper, gunpowder, snuff, &c. Some of the largest and finest flour-mills in the country are in this vicinity. The manufacture of iron in the southern part was formerly extensive, but it has lately declined.

7. Government. A General Assembly, consisting of a House of Representatives and Senate, compose the legislature. The Senate has 9 members, elected every 4 years; the House, 21 members, elected biennially. The Governor is chosen for 4 years. Elections are popular, and suffrage is universal. Delaware has but one representative in Congress.

8. Religion. The Methodists have 15 ministers; the Presbyterians, 10; the Baptists, 9; and the Episcopalians, 6.

9. Education. Delaware has one college, at Newark, with 4 teachers, and 50 students. There is a common-school fund, belonging to the State, yielding a yearly revenue of 10,000 dollars. The income also of 25,000 dollars, invested in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, is appropriated to the purpose of education. In 1829, a law was passed, establishing a system of common schools.

10. History. The first settlement in this State was made at Fort Christiana, on the creek of that name, by the Swedes and Finns, in 1637, and the country for some time went by the name of New Swedeland. In 1655, the colony was subjected by the Dutch of New York, and after the conquest of that territory by the English, in 1664, it was annexed to the colony of New York. In 1682, it was granted, as before stated, together with Pennsylvania, to William Penn, but was separated from that State in 1701. The two colonies, however, were under one governor, with distinct legislatures, till 1776, when Delaware adopted a new constitution, vesting the executive power in a president and privy council. The present constitution was established in 1831.

1. Boundaries and Extent. Maryland is bounded N. by Pennsylvania; E. by Delaware and the ocean; S. and W. by Virginia. It lies between 38° and 39° 44′ N. lat., and 75° 10' and 79° 20′ W. lon., and contains 13,800 square miles.

2. Mountains. The narrow strip of territory, belonging to this State, which extends to the west along the northern bank of the Potomac, is crossed by the Appalachian Mountains, but their extent is so small as not to require notice.

3. Rivers. The Potomac divides this State from Virginia; it rises in the loftiest region of the Appalachian mountains, near the Alleghany ridge, and flows southeasterly into Chesapeake Bay. It is 550 miles long, and 7 miles wide at its mouth. The tide water reaches 300 miles from the sea, and there is a good ship navigation for nearly the whole of that distance. Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown are situated upon this river. Three miles above Washington the navigation is interrupted by falls.

The Susquehanna comes into this State from Pennsylvania, and empties into Chesapeake Bay. The Patapsco is a small river, navigable from its mouth to Baltimore. The Severn is another small stream, on which Annapolis stands, 2 miles from its mouth. The Patuxent is 110 miles long, and is navigable nearly half its course. All these rivers enter the Chesapeake from the west. On the opposite side are Chester River, the Choptank, and the Nanticoke, which are navigated by small water craft.

4. Islands. The Bay of Chesapeake contains many islands within the limits of Maryland. Kent Island, on the east side of the bay, opposite Annapolis, is 12 miles long. The Tangier Islands lie further down the bay.

5. Bays and Harbors. The northern half of Chesapeake Bay is contained in this State. The whole Bay is 270 miles in length, and from 7 to 20 miles wide, and generally 9 fathoms deep; it is narrowest in the northern part. It contains many fine harbors, and is highly favorable to navigation.

6. Climate. The summers in this State are hot, moist, disagreeable, and unhealthy; agues and intermittent fevers prevail, and the inhabitants have a sickly complexion. These remarks apply more particularly to the southern regions of the State, and especially to those parts on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake. As Maryland lies not only further south than Pennsylvania, but is also a lower, and more level country, it will be readily seen, that the winters must be considerably milder; yet the Potomac at Washington is usually frozen in January. Throughout the whole State the weather is subject to sudden changes.

7. Soil. There is little rocky territory in the State, but there are many tracts of thin, unproductive soil. Much of the land, however, is well adapted to the culture of wheat and tobacco. Kitchen vegetables, in great perfection, are produced in the vicinity of Baltimore. 8. Geology and Minerals. The eastern plain consists chiefly of tertiary beds of clay and sand, in some places highly fossiliferous, in others quite destitute of organic remains. The beds of shell-marl are, in an economical view, the most important of these deposits; they occur in the central eastern, and lower western counties, and consist of shells of different kinds, imbedded in clay and cemented together by a calcareous or argillaceous cement. This substance affords the farmer an invaluable dressing for his land, those beds which contain the clam with a calcareous cement being the best adapted for this purpose. The masses of oyster-shells found at the mouths of many of the rivers, and sometimes from 6 to 8 feet in depth, and several hundred yards in length and breadth, and called by the inhabitants Indian shell-banks, and the oyster-rocks of Sinepuxent Bay, although not geologically connected with the shellmarl, and in no respects fossilized, deserve to be mentioned here on account of their application to the same economical use. A belt of the upper secondary series, extends across the State, through Cecil, Kent, Ann Arundel, and Prince George's counties, of the same age as the New Jersey greensand formation, and possessing the character of the greensand marl. The bog-iron ore of Dorchester, Caroline, and Worcester; the hone ore, brown ore, and brown oxides of a belt forming the western border of the Plain; the valuable clays adapted for the manufacture of stone ware, common pottery, glazed ware, and fire-bricks; alum earth, copperas ore, red and yellow ochres, are among the useful minerals of this region. West of the Plain, extends a belt of primary rocks of the stratified senes, comprising gneiss, mica-slate, hornblend rock, limestone, serpentine, chlorite, and clay slates, &c., passing on the west into rocks of the grauwacke group. Chromiferous ores, magnesian earth, yielding Epsom Salts, porcelain earth, lime, marble, manganese, copper ore, &c., occur in this tract, beyond which we find a repetition of the geological formations of Pennsylvania. Iron, coal, and lime, constitute the mineral wealth of the western counties. Pipe ore occurs in the valley beyond the Blue Ridge, and the coal-measures of Alleghany county comprise beds of nodular and hematitic The Frostburg coal-field extends from Pennsylvania through Maryland into Vir

iron ores.