rhododendron; here widely scattered, there collected into tufts; sometimes interlaced with the purple Russian flower; sometimes with the capricious clitorea, which decorates the alcoves with rich and variegated festoons. The margins of the pools and the low and moist spots are adorned with the brilliant azure flowers of the ixia, the golden petals of the canna lutea, and the tufted roses of the hydrangea; while an infinite variety of species of the pleasing phlox, the retiring and sensitive dionea, and the flamecoloured amaryllis atamasco, in those places where the tide reaches the impenetrable ranks of the royal palms, form a fanciful girdle to the woods, and mark the doubtful limits where the savanna rises into the forest. "The calcareous districts, which form the great portion of the region west of the Alleghanies, present certain tracts entirely divested of trees, which are called Barrens, though capable of being rendered productive. The cause of this peculiarity has not been accurately examined. Those parts of this region which are elevated 300 or 400 feet, and lie along deeply depressed beds of rivers, are clothed with the richest forests in the world. The Ohio flows under the shade of the plane and the tulip-tree, like a canal dug in a nobleman's park; while the lianas, extending from tree to tree, form graceful arches of flowers and foliage over branches of the river. Passing to the south, the wild orange-tree mixes with the odoriferous and the common laurel. The straight, silvery column of the papaw fig, which rises to the height of twenty feet, and is crowned with a canopy of large, indented leaves, forms one of the most striking ornaments of this enchanting scene. Above all these, towers the majestic magnolia, which shoots up from that calca reous soil to the height of more than 100 feet. Its trunk, perfectly straight, is surmounted with a thick and expanded head, the pale green foliage of which affects a conical figure. From the centre of the flowery crown which terminates its branches, a flower of the purest white rises, having the form of a rose, and to which succeeds a crimson cone. This, in opening, exhibits rounded seed of the finest coral red, suspended by delicate threads six inches long. Thus, by its flowers, its fruits, and its gigantic size, the magnolia surpasses all its rivals of the forest."* The climate of the United States has been divided by Volney into four regions; that of New England, extending southward to the chain of hills which gives rise to the Delaware and Susquehanna; the middle climate, extending to the Potowmac; the hot climate of the flat maritime country of the southern states; and the climate of the region west of the Alleghanies. Other varieties, however, present themselves in the great Mississippi valley; and each of these will come more properly under consideration in describing the several regions. Since the period of the first European establishments in the United States, the climate is supposed to have undergone some remarkable changes. Its most distinguishing peculiarity is its great inconstancy, together with the sudden and extreme variations, of which, it is said, even the Indians complain. The ruddy complexion prevails in New England and the interior of Pennsylvania; but, from New York to Florida, the pallid or sallow countenances of the inhabitants remind a stranger of the complexion of the Creoles in the West India Islands. The summer season in this region is very unhealthy. Malte Brun, vol. v. pp. 160-165. † Warden, vol. i. p. 161, The mean temperature of the year, according to Humboldt, is 9° (Fahrenheit) lower at Philadelphia, than in the corresponding latitudes on the coasts of Europe. The vine thrives as far north as Pennsylvania; but wines are made as yet to a very limited extent. Pennsylvania is noted for its superior breeds of horses and horned cattle. Flocks of the merino breed (pure or mixed) are spread over the northern, middle, and western States. No mines of gold or silver of any importance have hitherto been discovered in the territory of the United States; but the useful metals are, in general, abundantly distributed. Some of the iron ores are found in almost every State, and mines of this metal are worked in New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Lead is obtained from Missouri, where forty or fifty mines have been opened. Copper is said to exist in the North-west territory in great abundance; but it has hithertò been imported from Mexico and other foreign countries. Coal is found in New England, New York, and Pennsylvania; and one of the largest coal formations in the world, extends, with some interruption, from the western foot of the Alleghanies, across the Mississippi.† The American Confederacy originally consisted of thirteen States, namely, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.‡ Ver The vine has been successively cultivated in Indiana. When the new Government was first organized, only eleven States had ratified the Constitution; but North Carolina and Rhode mont was, shortly after the ratification of the Constitution, admitted to the Union; and the district of Kentucky, which had formed part of Virginia, was recognized, in the succeeding year, as a distinct State. In 1791, when the first census of the inhabitants of the United States was completed, the population of these fifteen States amounted to nearly four millions, of which the slaves formed not much less than a sixth. By the formation of new States, the number is now increased to twenty-four, each ruled by its own government; besides which, there are included in the dominions of the Republic, three territories in which civil governments are established without constitutions, and three other territories yet unoccupied by a civi lized population. These States may be classed in four grand groupes. The first embraces the six States east of the Hudson, or New England, which is the most thickly peopled and the most commercial section of the Union. The second comprises the Middle States, including New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, in which the agricultural character is united with and qualified by the commercial. Thirdly, the Southern States, including Virginia and all the maritime country to the Mississippi in these States, slaves are numerous, and the husbandmen are generally planters. Fourthly, the Western States, in the basin of the Ohio, where there are few slaves, and the character of the population is almost purely agricultural, enjoying the best climate as well as the richest soil in the United States. The following Table exhibits the name, extent, and population of the several States, estimated to the 1st January, 1828. : Island, the two dissenting States, adopted it; the former in November 1789, the latter in May 1790. Vermont acceded to it in 1791 |