A SUMMER DRIVE IN THE LAKE COUNTRY. 241 



On our way to Cortland we went a few miles out of 

 the course to enjoy the drive over the rocky road along 

 the eastern shore of the lake from Ithaca to Ludlow- 

 ville. It gave us fine views of the lake and of the 

 western shore. 



YI. 



Hills are a necessary feature in a pleasant landscape. 

 This fact has been emphasized in the mind during our 

 few days' stay in this thriving, busy village of Cortland. 

 Look whichever way you will, your eyes rest on near 

 or distant hills, a few still crowned with dark forests, 

 but most of them smiling under cultivation. The vil- 

 lage is situated in a broad and fertile valley, through 

 which the clear, bright waters of the Tioughnioga 

 River flow. Why the Indians called this river O'nan- 

 no-gi-is-ka, meaning shagbark hickory, is a query, as 

 there are few, if any, hickories in the county, the tim- 

 ber being principally maple, beech, bass wood, white 

 ash, and wild cherry: but there is no accounting for 

 names. A stranger passing through this county might 

 think by the guide boards at the corners of the country 

 roads that he was traveling in the " Old World," so 

 generally did the early settlers appropriate classical 

 names in their local nomenclature. The toAvnships in 

 this county are Yirgil, Homer, Solon, Tully, Lapeer, 

 Marathon, Truxton, Cincinnatus, etc. The villages have 

 been .equally honored. Two Cincinnatuses nestle near 



