T 1 



208 



T E N 



and must of them run in narrow channels. This tract 

 greatly in fertility. uml>rrlaml Mo-.. 



to the distance of 20 miles I 

 chiefly of gia\<-l mixed with limestone, ami is OJ 

 fertility, but in general it is better limn i,i tin- immntain- 

 region, and laru . e fit for the 1:1 heat. 



The country west of this 1; u-rtile \w 



Tennessee : it extends over Hie win 

 north to south, and n. ' .vnrdsto K7 U \V. long, "nil- 



soil is not inferior to the best j>art of Kentucky, ami con- 

 sists of a large portion of clay and loam mixed with sand 

 and gravel. A large quantity of wheat in produced, hut 

 the staple articles are tobacco and maize. In the better 

 lands, especially along the ( 'umherlaml River, the com- 

 mon produce of maize is from GO to 70 bushels for one, 

 and in other places 40 or 50. The forests, whil- 

 e-over a great part of the surface, consist chit-fly of ash, 

 elm, black and honey locust, mulberry, sugar-maple, and 

 the wild plum ; and wild grapes are abundant. The w. 

 iii*tricts, or those which lie near the Tennessee Hivcr, and 

 extend about 30 miles east of it, are less hilly, but they are 

 also leas fertile: they produce the same articles, but the 

 '.ontiful. In some places cotton is cultivated. 



The If'i-xlfrn or Lenj Region lies between the Tennessee 

 and Mississippi rivers. The surface is traversed by some 

 swells of high ground : the most extensive is that which 

 runs across the state from north to south, about 12 miles 

 from the western bank of the Tennessee River, and is se- 

 veral miles wide. Other swells traverse the southern dis- 

 tricts, running from south-east to north-west, and ter- 

 minating on the banks of the Mississippi with the Chicka- 

 lilutf's. The north-west districts are nearly a dead 

 level, which de.-cends imperceptibly to the hanks of the 

 Mississippi, where it terminates in a large wooded swamp, 

 called tne Wood Swamp. This region was very thinly in- 

 habited twenty years ago, but it cannot be of indifferent 

 quality, if we judge by the rapidity with which the popu- 

 lation has increased. It appears however that the more 

 elevated portions of the country are much more thickly 

 settled than the level tract, which may be attributed to 

 the circumstance that the last-mentioned tract contains 

 many swampy places, and is less favourable to health. In 

 these regions every kind of grain is grown, and cotton and 

 tobacco are extensively cultivated. 



Riven. Numerous rivers drain this state, and some of 

 them have a long course. The larger rivers are navigable 

 for keel-boats and for steam-boats, but only during the 

 boating-season, which generally'commences on the 20th of 

 February, and terminates early in June. Occasional freshets 

 contribute to render them navigable during a short portion 

 of the other months, but no reliance can be placed on perio- 

 dical returns of freshets, except those of the spring season. 



The Tennessee River rises with numerous branches in 

 the Appalachian Mountains : the most remote of them 

 originate in Virginia near 81 20' W. long, and and 37 N. 

 lat., and run south-west. The largest branches are the 

 Clinch and Holston rivers: they unite with other branches, 

 which iise in North Carolina, in the country enclosed by 

 the Blue Ridge and the Iron Mountains, and which break 

 through the last -mentioned chain. The largest of them are 

 the Frenchbroad River, the Tennessee, and the Hiwassee. 

 After these numerous branches have united, the Ten: 

 traverses the mountain-knot between 34 and 35 20' N . hit . 

 It passes through the ridge, which on the south is called 

 Look-out Mountains, and on the north NYaldcn's Range. 

 It rushes through this gap with great impetuosity o 

 rocky bed : this place is called the Suck : its course within 

 the mountain-tract is very rapid, and it escapes from it by 

 another gap near Fort Deposit, in Alabama. At this place 

 it changes the south-west course into a western course, and 

 alter draining Alabama for about 200 miles, it returns to 

 Tennessee. In Alabama the river widens from two to three 

 miles, and in this part there are extensive rocky shoals, 

 which are known under the name of the Missel Shoals, 

 ivnd occupy for seven or eight miles the whole of the bed. 

 In low-wati T tlic.e rocks entirely obstruct the navigation, 

 but in the time of the freshets boats of moderate size may 

 Mcend and descend without danger. The lower course of 

 the Tennemee River, as far as it lies within T. 

 from south to north. After having entered Kentucky it gra- 

 dually declines to the west, and falls into the Ohio. The 

 whole course of the Tennessee probably does not exceed 

 BOO miles, reckoned from the source of the Holston or 



Clinch. In the t .1 by large 



which it escapes from the m. . 

 ul'its upper 



i-k. It appears that withn; .lachian Moun- 



tains it may be descended by boats, but the asiv 

 laborious and even dangerous. 



The Cumberland River rises in Kentucky, in the valley 



I by the Cumberland Mountains and ti 

 Mountains, ami traverses the south-eastern dish, 

 state ' -i course: after a inn of :. 



150 miles it turns to the south-west and em 

 where it soon resumes its western course. Il 

 northern districts of Tennessee by a course of about 



and turning gradually more to the north. 

 Kentucky, where its general course is to the north, ll 

 into the Ohio a lew miles above the mouth of tin- 

 Tennessee. This river runs about -1 



current is very gentle, the navigation is easy for sloops as 

 far as Nashville, more than 150 miles from its mouth. 1; 

 is stated to be navigable for river-boats 150 miles farther 

 up, but in Kentucky the upper course is obstructed 1 

 tensive shoals in several places. 



Clini <'. No meteorological observations made in Ten- 

 nessee having been published, v. c are unable to ibim u. 

 precise idea of the climate. It is v-.-ry p, 

 assumed by Darby, that the general level of the Mountain 

 Region is about 800 feet i the level 



tract on the Mississippi, v.bieh is about 300 feet above 

 the sea. This of course must produce a considerable dif- 

 ference in the climate of the two regions. ( 'ornelius found 

 the vegetation in Virginia, east of the Blue Ridge, two 

 weeks earlier than in the valley west of it. It is probable 

 that the winter in the Mountain Region ]:\<-\- ; 

 weeks, and that the frost is rather scvcic. In the con' 

 west of the range the rivers are generally covered with ice 

 for a few days in the winter. Snow falls to the depth of ten 

 inches, but seldom lies more than twelve or fifteen days on 

 the ground. In winter and spring a considerable quantity 

 of rain falls ; but in the other seasons rain is not frequent, 

 nor does it continue for any length of time. The air in 

 some parts of Tennessee is remarkable for its dr\ 



I'rntlurtirms. The state of agriculture in Tennessee will 

 best be inferred from the statement of the returns of 1840, 

 according to which the quantity of maize grown amounted 

 to 42,467,349 bushels, a quantity much larger than that 

 produced in any other of the United Slates. As this grain 



t adapted for the feeding of hogs, the miml 

 hogs was also larger than in other states, amounting to 

 2,795,630. Oats were raised to the 'amount of 8,770.116 

 bushels; wheat, 4,547,273 bushels; potatoes, 2,373,034 

 bushels: rye. -JiiT.UKt l'ii>liels : buckwheat, 6187 bush 

 and barley, only 4758 bushels. The quantity of cotton 

 amounted to 128,250,308Ibti.. whieh if as much 



as that produced in :\i 8 Ibs. . ami 



the quantity tl . : Alabama 



(240,379,669 Ibs.), but nearly as much as was crown in 

 Gcori': i Ohio (134,322,756 Ibs.). 



the amount of Ji>..~>i2.1 i v 



more than one-third of the quantity irrovvn in Virginia 

 (74, 157.84 libs.). Flax. and hemp yielded 45.<ra 

 and the meadows only ICO 12 tons of' hay. Rice is little 

 cultivated, as the produce was only 7729 Ibs. : the bop 

 plantations yielded only 8 10 Ibs. The cultivation of the 

 : :n seems not to have made much progress, as only 

 I163fb*. Of COCOOns Were gathered. The value of the pro- 

 duce of the orchards v, as estimated at 3r.ii.~o7 dollars, 

 which proves that horticulture has made O 6 pro- 



A small quantity of wine was made, amount i- 

 <;53 gallons. The sugar made from the sugar-maple 

 amounted to '> 1.7 15 Ibs. Though the produce of the 

 articles drawn from the forests ! - still 



considerable: the lumber was e t 2.<KX),266 dol- 



lars, I lit barrels of pitch, tar. turpentine and 



roMn. and 212 tons of pot and pearl a.-hes. The number 

 of horses and r. to :!J7..~>-(>. that of neat 



caitle to 773,390, and that < i : .">!). The value 



of the poultiy was estimated at 5Ml.5:tl dollar-. The pro- 

 duce of the 'dai. the value of 930,003 do' 

 the quantity of wool was 1,029,52(1 Ibs. ; and the wax 

 -,0.715 Ibs. 



Buffaloes were once numerous, but they have entirely 

 disappeared; the elk and moose-deer are only found 



