STATEN ISLAND. 15 



cultivated, picturesquely diversified with hill 

 and dale, and covered with villages, villas, and 

 farm-houses ; but I could not discover that 

 the land is under any regular system of agri 

 culture, or that, with all the advantages it pos 

 sesses, in the quality of soil and proximity to 

 the New York market, any effort is used to 

 make the most of them. 



Next day I crossed over to Staten Island, 

 distant from New York nine miles. This 

 island, about forty miles in circumference, is 

 like Long Island, beautiful and picturesque. 

 I drove over a considerable part of it, and 

 found large tracts of rich meadow land applied 

 to comparatively little profitable use. They 

 mow a considerable part of the meadows, but 

 I saw very little stock no sheep and such cat 

 tle as were to be seen were of the most hetero 

 geneous breeds, bad Lancashires, Scotch, and 

 Welsh, no two bearing the least appearance of 

 consanguinity. Wheat and Indian corn are 

 grown in small patches. The farming imple 

 ments are of a rude and awkward description ; 

 and, in a word, here is a fine tract of land which* 



