that the moisture they precipitate falls in drops from the eaves of the 

 buildings. The celebrated Cobbett adverts to this exemption of the island 

 from the prevalence of drouths, and observes : " I can truly say, as to the 

 article of water, I was never situated to please me so well in my life before. 

 The rains come in about once in fifteen days. They come in abundance 

 about twenty-four hours ; then all is fair and all is dry again immediately." 



In the last sentence, he alludes to a singular feature of the Long Island 

 soil. The inhabitants are seldom aflBicted by mud. The thorough system 

 of drainage which nature has provided in the under-stratum of gravel, 

 carries off the surface water with great rapidity, and leaves the earth dry 

 and pleasant. 



Water. — The water arrangement on Long Island, is marked by the 

 same dissimilarity to other districts which is so conspicuous in every trait 

 of its physical formation. Although the ridge is the natural water shed of 

 the Island, few streams flow on the south side, directly from it. The 

 streams generally start four or five miles from the ocean, sometimes burst- 

 ing from a single fountain in pure and bright water, and at others gather- 

 ing in almost stagnant pools. They uniformly, I believe, flow over beds 

 of clear white pebbles, and never have bottoms of slimy, deep mud, which 

 is usually so prevalent in flat countries. Most of the farms are supplied 

 by wells, which are often of great depth. The water on the Island is sweet 

 and sparkling, and commonly soft. On Fire Island, and other islands 

 ofiF the coast, of a sandy formation, wells dug in the sand at the margin of 

 the sea, afford agreeable fresh water, and the cattle depasturing on these 

 islands supply themselves with drink by pawing holes in the sand. 



Stock are frequently furnished with water by excavations on the sur- 

 face known in the region as " watering holes." They are a few feet deep, 

 and nature appears to sometimes provide them, but they are more fre- 

 quently contracted by puddling the soil. It is a singular fact and perfectly 

 illustrative of the purity both of the water and atmosphere, that the water 

 stands in these excavations throughout the summer, retaining a pure and 

 limpid condition without taint or putrescence. A few swamps or marks 

 appear on the plains, but they are limited in size and generally occur at 

 the head springs of the streams. 



I have thus presented a hasty outline of the physical features and char- 

 acteristics which distinguish the entire Island. This sketch seemed to be 

 necessary for a just and intelligent understanding of the qualities and pe- 

 culiarities of those sections which I propose particularly to discuss. 



The Hempstead Plain. — We enter upon this tract in a progress from 

 Brooklyn, soon after leaving the highly cultivated region in the vicinity cf 

 that city. These plains reveal one of the most remarkable exhibitions of 

 nature in the Eastern States. Formerly they embraced in an open area, 

 about 17,000 acres. The quantity is now reduced to about 12,000 acres. 

 Unoccupied, uncultivated, without enclosures, they present to the eye a 

 wide expanse, clothed in rich and beautiful verdure. This vast surface is 

 almost perfectly level, interrupted by slight undulations, and stretching 



