130 CANAL. 



are with lime the prevalent rocks, and they are 

 invariably the associates of the Coal formation. 



Sir Robert Atkins, in his History of Gloucester- 

 shire, observes, that if you lay a line on the ter- 

 restrial globe from the mouth of the Severn to 

 Newcastle, and so pass round the globe, coal is- to 

 be found within a degree of that line, and scarce 

 any where else in the world. I have not the 

 means of applying this remark to this country, 

 but if you think it worth while to notice an ob- 

 servation so eccentric and fanciful, your globe 

 will soon enable 3'ou to do it. 



Whether coal is a chemical deposit, or vegeta- 

 ble formation, I am not prepared to say, but in 

 any conceivable theorj^, I am persuaded that the 

 strongest reasons exist to show that it may be 

 found in this country. 



LETTER XXXI. 



Montezitma^ July, 1820. 

 My Dear Sir, 



AVhen I travelled in the steam boat from New- 

 York to Albany, I had an interesting conversa- 

 tion with an intelligent merchant from a neighbor- 

 ing village, who told me that goods which cost 

 40 dollars to transport by water from New- York 



