surgeons' reports— new jersey FIFTH DISTRICT. 291 



titioners. It is ppcnliar to itself, and consists in liracticint;- the senses to detect disease anions ^'»>1- 

 unteers, bealtli among dratted men, dec'cption in everybody; also, to fortify his sensibility asainst 

 the appalling sights and scents be is doomed to meet with, as well as against the calumny of every- 

 body directly or indirectly interested in his decisions. 



The tifth congressional district of the State of New Jersey comprises the county of Hudson, 

 and the city of Newark, in the county of Essex, and may be defined to be that portion of the terri- 

 tory of the State of New Jersey lying upon the west bank of the Hudson River and New York Bay; 

 north of a portion of the bay, Kill von Kull, and Newark Bay ; four miles to the eastward of Orange 

 Mountain ; and south of the most northerly township of Essex County, viz, Belleville, and of Bergen 

 County. 



Hudson County is composed of two peninsulas, the greater lying upon the Hudson Elver, and 

 extending southward to the waters of New York Bay, Kill von Kull, and Newark Bay, and on the 

 west separated from the lesser peninsula by the waters of the Hackensack. The greater peninsula 

 is traversed from north to south by an extension of the Palisades of the Hudson, which take a west- 

 wardly bearing from the river froui about the northern terminus of the county, and extend south- 

 ward to Newark Bay, a distance of about fifteen miles, where they terminate in what is known 

 as Bergen Point. Two-thirds of this distance presents to the Hudson a ragged front of trap-rock, for 

 the most part at an altitude of two hundred feet, much of which industry is endeavoring to convert 

 into Belgian pavement. The remaining third of this distance may be said to be an extension of 

 the Palisades, with a gentle declivity southward and eastward, with the rock invested by a pro- 

 ductive soil. The lesser peninsula is situated between the waters of the Passaic and Hackensack, 

 extending southward to where the two rivers unite and spread out into the beautiful sheet of water 

 known as Newark Bay. 



At the easterly base of the Palisades is a triangular space, with its base to the south on the 

 waters of the Kill van Kuhl, and its apex where the Palisades meet the waters of the Hudson, con- 

 taining two incorporated cities, namely, Jersey City and Hoboken, both situated on the Hudson, 

 and intimately connected with New York by ferry. The former is built mostly upon reclaimed land, 

 and the latter upon a small elevation with a marsh between it and the Palisades. On the heights 

 of rhe Palisades are situated Hudson City and Union Hill, the latter a GeiUKiu village. Both are 

 located near its easterly border, and command a fine view of New York and Brooklyn, together wilh 

 their harbors ; in fact, the view eastward is only limited where the horizeu and the Atlantic appar- 

 ently meet. From these heights, this peninsula gently declines westward until it merges into what 

 are known as the Salt Meadows that skirt the Hackensack, except near the terminus of that river, 

 where two hundred and thirty acres of land, known as Snake Hill, rise to an altitude of three hun- 

 dred feet above tide-water, from the summit of whicl> nine incorporated cities may be seen. 



The elevated grounds of the lesser peninsula arc on the east bank of the Passaic River, running 

 parallel with it from the northern boundary of the county to a point opposite Newark. They 

 present a beautiful hill-side to the westward, most of which is occupied by country-residences, among 

 which was that of the late lamented Major-Geueral Philip Kearney. From these heights, the decliv- 

 ity eastward is gentle until it merges into the meadow-land on the west bank of the Hackensack 

 River. Probably no county in the United States, nor any plot of ground of its size, (it contains 

 about thirty-eight thousand acres,) has so diversified a surlace as tliat of Hudson County. At 

 Bergen Point is a watering-place of much resort, and upon the Palisades and upon the Passaic 

 sites are selected for their picturesque beauty, for their landscai)es and healthfulness. Other sites 

 are selected for horticulture and agriculture, while about one-fourth is a marshy waste. 



The city of Newark, the shire town of Essex County, situated upon the west baidv of the 

 Passaic, twenty miles distant from New York by water and nine by railroad, has an area of nine 

 thousand two hundred and thirty-four acres, of which four thousand and eighty-nine acres are marsh. 

 It is traversed from north to south by three elevations, or ridges, the most easterly of which termi- 

 nates within the city-limits, declining toward the southward until it merges into the Salt Meadows. 

 Its elevation within the city-limits is ninety-two feet. The second ridge rises still higher, to an 

 elevation of one hundred and thirty-eight feet, and the third to an altitude of two hundred and 

 twenty feet above tide-water. The formation is drift, overlying sandstone. 



From the foregoing statements, it will be correctly inferred that the site of Newark is ujion 



