Bet-ween New York and Albany. 229 



high, and fometimes diverfified with hills 

 and valleys, which are commonly covered 

 with deciduous trees, amongft which there 

 appears a farm now and then in a glade. 

 The hills are covered with ftones in fome 

 places. About twelve miles from New 

 York we faw Sturgeons* (Acipenfer fturio), 

 leaping up out of the water, and on the 

 whole paflage we met with porpeffes in the 

 river. As we proceeded we found the 

 eaftern banks of the river very much culti- 

 vated ; and a number of pretty farms fur- 

 rounded with orchards and fine corn-fields, 

 prefented themfelves to our view. About 

 twenty-two miles from New York, the high 

 mountains which I have before mentioned 

 left us, and made as it were a high ridge 

 here from eaft to weft quite acrofs the coun- 

 try. This altered the face of the country 

 on the weftern fhore of the river : from 

 mountainous, it became interfperfed with 

 little vallies and round hillocks, which 

 were fcarce inhabited at all ; but the eaftern 

 fhore continued to afford us a delightful 

 profpecl:. After failing a little while in 

 the night, we caft our anchor and lay here 

 P 3 till 



* The New-York Sturgeons which I faw this year brought 

 over, had fhort blunt nofes, in which particular they are 

 different from the EngUJh ones, which have long nofes. F. 



