Reviews, Book Notices, etc. 379 



about 1,200 pages, on the " Resources of Tennessee." It treats of the 

 geology, mineralogy, climate, soils, products, population, and wealth of 

 the State. Almost every industrial pursuit has received attention, 

 and such statistics and information as might be expected to be ser- 

 viceable to persons desiring to emigrate to that State have been care- 

 fully collected together. The entire area of the State is about 42,000 

 square miles, or 26,880,000 acres, which is divided into eight great 

 natural divisions, as follows : 



1. Tlie UmJcas, on the eastern border, having an average elevation 

 above the sea of 5,000 feet, and an ai-ea of 2,000 square miles. This 

 division is too mountainous to be of much agricultural importance. 



2. TJie Valley of East Tennessee, having an average elevation above 

 the sea of 1,000 feet, and an area of 9,200 square miles. This division 

 is a fluted region — a succession of parallel ridges and valleys — and 

 one of the most beautiful, populous and fertile portions of the State. 



3. Tlie Cumberland Table Land, having an average elevation above 

 the sea of 2,000 feet, and an area of 5,100 square miles. The soil of 

 this division is thin, unproductive, and of no agricultural importance, 

 but buried in the plateau are large quantities of coal and iron awaiting 

 the construction of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, large invest- ■ 

 nients of capital, and a great demand, when it will become one of the 

 important divisions of the State. 



4. TJie Highlands that encircle the basin of lowlands in the center of 

 this State, having an average elevation of 1,000 feet above the sea, and 

 an area of 9,300 square miles. The soil of this division is of varying 

 fertility, but altogether it is a region of considerable wealth and agri- 

 cultural importance. 



5. The Central Basin, having an average elevation of about 700 feet 

 above the sea, and an area of 5,450 square miles. This is the best ag- 

 ricultural region in the State, and the center of wealth and civilization. 

 It is called the Garden of Tennessee. 



6. The Valley of the Tennessee, having an average elevation above the 

 sea of 350 feet, and an area of 1,200 square miles. This division is 

 irregular, swampy, sparsely settled, and in comparison with the last 

 almost a wilderness. 



7. The Plateau of West Tennessee, having an average elevation above 

 the sea of 500 feet, and an area of 8,850 square miles. This is a great 

 plain, that slopes gradually toward the Mississippi. The streams are 

 sluggish, and the soil fertile, and capable of sustaining an immense 

 population. 



8. The 3fissmip2ii Bottoms, having an average elevation above the sea 

 of 295 feet, and an area of 900 square miles. This is a low, alluvial 



