Book I. AGRICULTUliE IN NORTH AMERICA. 185 



southward. In the soutli-east, and along the Gulf of ]\Iexico, the summers are very hot, 

 and the winters mild and pleasant. Among the mountains it is cold towards the north, 

 and temperate in the south. Beyond the mountains, in the rich valleys of Ohio, Mis- 

 sissippi, and Missouri, the climate is temperate and delightful, till we approach the 

 Rocky Mountains, when it is subject to extremes, the winters being very cold. The 

 climate must be chilled among mountains constantly covered with snow. West of these 

 mountains, the climate changes, until we reach the shores of the Pacific Ocean, where it 

 resembles that of the western parts of Europe. The prevailing winds are from the west, 

 and, as they pass over a wide expanse of water, they cool the air in summer, and in win- 

 ter deluge the country with frequent rain. 



1 1 57. The seasons generally correspond with those in Europe, but not with the equality 

 to be expected on a continent, as even during the summer heats single days will occur 

 wliich require the warmth of a fire. The latitude of Labrador corresponds with that of 

 Stockholm, and that of Canada with France, but the climates of those places are widely 

 difierent. It would appear from Humboldt, that the difference of temperature between 

 the old and new continents, in the same latitude, is between 4 and 5 in favour of the 

 former. 



1158. The surface of the country in the United States presents every variety. The 

 north-eastern part of the coast is broken and hilly ; and is remarkably indented with 

 numerous bays and inlets. Towards the south, and along the Gulf of Mexico, the land is 

 level and sandy, interspersed with many swamps and numerous islands and inlets. At 

 the outlets of many of the rivers, there is a large portion of alluvial land, which is par- 

 ticularly the case along the Mississippi. Beyond the head of tide-waters, there is a 

 tolerably rich and agreeably uneven country, which extends to the mountains. The 

 mountainous district, on the Atlantic side of the country, is about 1 50 miles in breadth, 

 and 1200 miles in length. It extends in large ridges, from north-east to south-west, 

 and is known as the Alleghany Mountains. Beyond these the great valley of the Mis- 

 sissippi presents a surface of the finest land in the world. To the westward of this val- 

 ley are the mountains of Louisiana, and beyond these the bold shores of the Pacific Ocean. 



1159. The soil of Ike United States, though of various descriptions, is generally fertile ; 

 often, on the east of the Blue Mountains, in Virginia, a rich, brown, loamy earth j some- 

 times a yellowish clay, which becomes more and more sandy towards the sea. There 

 are considerable marshes and salt-meadows, sandy barrens producing only a few pines, 

 and sometimes entirely destitute of wood. On the west of the Apalachian Mountains 

 the soil is also generally excellent ; and in Kentucky some spots are deemed too rich for 

 wheat, but the product may amount to sixty bushels per acre. About six feet below 

 the surface there is commonly a bed of limestone. 



1160. The landed jnoperty of the United States is almost universally freehold, having 

 been purchased or conquered by the different states, or by the general government, from 

 the native savages ; and either lotted out to the conquering army, or reserved and sold 

 afterwards according to the demand. 



1161. The mode of dividing and selling lands in the United States is thus described by Birkbeck. " The 

 tract of country which is to be disposed of is surveyed, and laid out in sections of a mile square, contain- 

 ing six hundred and forty acres, and these are subdivided into quarters, and, in particular situations, half 

 quarters. The country is also laid out in counties of about twenty miles sqxxare, and townships of six ttiiles 

 square in some instances, and in others of eight. The townships are nuftibered in ranges, from north to 

 south, and the ranges are numbered from west to east ; and, lastly, the sections in each township are 

 marked numerically. All these lines are well defined in the woods, by marks on the trees. This done, at 

 a period of which public notice is given, the lands in question are put up to auction, except the six- 

 teenth section, which is near the centre, in every township, which is reserved for the support of schools, 

 and for the maintenance of the poor. There are also sundry reserves of entire townships, as funds for the 

 support of seminaries on a more extensive scale, and sometimes for other purjjoses of general interest. 

 No government lands are sold under two dollars per acre ; and 1 believe they are put up at this price in 

 quarter sections at the auction, and if there is no bidding they pass on. The best lands and mo.st 

 favourable situations are sometimes run up to ten or twelve dollars, and in some late instances much 

 higher. The lots which remain unsold are from that time open to the public, at the price of two dollars 

 per acre ; one fourth to be paid down, and the remaining three fourths to be paid by instalments in five 

 years ; at which time, if the payments are not completed, the lands revert to the state, and the prior 

 advances are forfeited. When a purchaser has made his election of one, or any number, of the vacant 

 quarters, he repairs to the land-office, pays eighty dollars, or as many times that sum as he purchases 

 quarters, and receives a certificate, which is the basis of the complete title, which will be given him when 

 he pays all ; this he may do immediately, and receive eight per cent interest for prompt payment. The 

 sections thus sold are marked immediately on the general plan, which is always open at the land-office 

 to public inspection, with the letters A. P., i. e. advance paid. There is a receiver and a register at each 

 land-office, who are checks on each other, and are remunerated by a per centage on the receipts." 



1 1 62. The price of land, though low when not cleared, rises rapidly in value after a very 

 slight occupation and improvement. Instances are frequent of a rise of 1000 per cent, 

 in about ten years. Cobbett, who resided in 1817 in Long Island, which may be con- 

 sidered the middle climate of the United States, gives the price of a cultivated farm in 

 that part of the country. " A farm, on this island," he says, " any where not nearer 

 than thirty miles otF, and not more distant than sixty miles from New York, with a good 

 farm-house, barn, stables, sheds, and sties ; the land fenced into fields with posts and 

 rails, the wood-land being in the proportion of one to ten of the arable land, and there 



