HISTORY OF VERMONT. 49 



earth, upon the intervales. At no place in this 

 state, is there any appearance that the surface of 

 the intervales has been raised an inch, in the 

 period often years. Eut admitting such an in- 

 crease, where the depth of the intervales are fifty 

 feet, the period necessary to produce such an 

 effect, would be six thousand years. ' But in all 

 such kinds of computation, the data which we 

 assume, are not miuked with sufficient certainty 

 or precision, to leave us satisfied widi the con-^ 

 elusion^ The effects of the rivers'' upon the 

 solid rocks, seem to be more slow, regular and 

 uniform. There are situations in this, and in 

 every part of America, w here the water has been 

 constantly flowing over a solid body of rock, 

 ever since the channels of the rivers were first 

 formed. If we knew from observation, how 

 much such rocks were worn away in one cen- 

 tury, by the waters, we could forma pretty just 

 conclusion how lone the waters have been run- 

 ning in those places. If the philosophers of the 

 present age will make accurate observations of 

 the altitude and situations of such rocks, and 

 put their observations upon record in the trans- 

 actions of their philosophical societies, they will 

 enable posterity to solve a problem, which we 

 can hardly expect to determine in our day. 



While the one half of our rivers pass off in- 

 to the ocean to the south, through Connecticut 

 river, the other half 'find their way to the ocean, 

 at the northeast, through Lake Champlain and 

 the river St. Lawrence. ---Lake Champlain is 

 the largest collection of waters in this part of 

 the United States. Reckoning its length from 

 Fairhaven to St. John's, a course nearly 



