^L THE BOTANISTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 



before the marring hand of man disturbed the equilibrium | 

 of nature. Forest and plain, streams and rivers tumbling 

 over numerous cascades, rocky, fern-clad ravines, high hill M, 

 summits give, even at the present day, a diversity to the 

 landscape. Two or three spots, preserved in their primitive 

 naturalness, still attest to the wild attractiveness of the 

 scenery, which, nowhere very bold or grand, gives to the 

 country a peculiarly peaceful aspect, in harmony with the 

 moods of the early Quaker settlers. Two such places still 

 preserve the quiet beauty of the early river scenery, namely : 

 the Wissahickon and the Brandy wine regions, a stream of 

 the former name emptying into the Schuylkill in Fair- 

 mount Park, and one of the latter name into the Delaware 

 near Wilmington. The Wissahickon is one of the most 

 romantic of American streams. The slope of the land on 

 each side is high and abrupt. Self-guarded by these rock 

 battlements, it retains a primeval character. Along its 

 banks trees and vines hang down to the water's edge, and 

 numerous springs drip from the rocks. Its unbroken quiet, 

 its dense woodland, its pine-crowned hills, its sunless 

 recesses and sense of separation from the outer world con- ^ 

 trast strongly with the broad meadows, flowing river, and 

 bright sunshine of the adjacent region. 



The topography of the district is no less marked than 

 the general landscape. To the east of the Delaware, the 

 low-lying plain of southern New Jersey, with an elevation 

 at a few points of from 200 to 300 feet above sea level, is a 

 very striking feature. This plain geologically dates its 

 origin to the cretaceous and tertiary periods, and is made 

 up of alluvium along the Delaware River and Atlantic 

 Ocean beaches, and of yellow gravel, glass sand and sandy 



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