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NOWLEDGE is of little nfe, ^v!\cn confined to mere fpecu- 

 latioii ; But when fpeciUative irinhs are reduced to praftice, 



when theories, grounded upon experiments, arc :ipplicd to the com« 

 rnon piirpofc!i of life j and when, by thcfe, agriculture is Improved, 

 trade enlarged, the art§ of living tpgde more e^ify and comfortable, 

 and, of conrfej the increafe and happineft of mankiud promoted j 

 knowledge then becomes redly ufcfuL That thh Society, therefore, 

 may, In fome degree, anfwer the er.d& of its inftitutlon, the mem- 

 bers propofe to confine their difqulfirlons, principally, to fuch fob- 

 je<5ls n tend to the improvcmcat of their copntry, and adTanccment 

 uf jt:^ uncrcfland profperity. 



^ The trafl uf country now pofl'efied by the EngUfi In Norfh-/1in0-' 

 rica h large and very extenfAvei thefoi! and climate various j and, ]y^ 

 ing between the 25tb and jsth degrees of North latitude, is not ordy 

 fubjeil to the gradation? from extreme heat to extreme cold, but 

 fcems capable of fupplying almoft all the produftlons of the eardi- 

 It is watered with plentiful ftreams, accommodated with creekjs, 

 bays and havens, and hnerrefled by rivers, wWch run far Ulto the 



country, and not only open an eafy communication with the ocean, 

 but, by interlocking with each other, afford an Inland navigation 

 of fome thounind miles, that with no great expence might be ren- 

 dered flill more extcnfive* 



By the induftry of its inhabitants, the land in many places i« 

 cleared of its wood, reduced to arable and pafturo grovnid, and ren- 

 dered fit to receive thofc fruits, trees, pUnts and grain, which are 

 proper to every foil-^-The Indians who were nadves of this coun- 

 try, and whofe employments were hunting and ilfbing, paid little re- 

 gard to hufbandry, or the culiivation of the land. To trade and com 

 merce they were ftrangeri*. Elegance of living they defpifed. They 

 depended on the bow, and were content if, with the fortune of the 

 chafe, the fpontaneous fruits of the foreft, the fifli which thev 

 cauyht, and a' little //7,://rT./?. corn which their women and children raifed', 

 they could fupport lii^* Hence it was that^ upon the firft difcove- 

 ry of Jmcrica 

 found here. 



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the Eur$pcans^ Indian corn waa the only grjn'n 



The fruits, trees, plants, and grain, introduced by the new in- 

 habitants, are moftly fuch as were cultivated in Euro^Hhvi countries, 



c froni 



(«; Bcir&Ti-uvcIsiutoChm^. Dn Haldc'R Hiilory of China. Ki^n^pfcr^f HUWyof J i .u, 



