

INTRODUCTION. 



Philadelphia lies in a nearly level plain, on the western 

 bank of the River Delaware, in 39 57' 7.5" N. latitude, and 

 75 !>' 23.4" west from Greenwich. The city is SO miles 

 from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delaware River, 125 miles 

 in a direct line north-east of Washington, and <S5 miles 

 south-west from New York. 



It is situated in a rich agricultural region, protected 

 from the sweeping western and north-western storms by the 

 range of hills known as the Blue Ridge. When first settled 

 by white men, the region lying within GO miles radius of 

 the city, including New Jersey, was densely wooded with a 

 great variety of fine forest trees, which, growing upon rich 

 agricultural soil in south-eastern Pennsylvania, were rapidly 

 cut down with the spread of cultivation. This region was the 

 favorite haunt of the Delaware Indians. Intersected by 

 two great streams, the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, any 

 part of it could be reached by hunting parties in a short 

 time by water. Into these two rivers, numerous creeks and 

 rivulets run, swelling the volume of water which empties 

 into the ocean at Capes May and Henlopen, and supporting 

 a variety of important food-fishes, such as the salmon, shad, 

 trout and cat-fish. Under cover of the trees and watered by 

 the numerous streams which intersect the country, a sur- 

 prisingly large number of herbaceous plants is to be found, 

 which, together with the rich variety of graceful forest 

 trees, give a peculiar charm to the entire district. In early 

 days, the scenery must have been impressively beautiful 



