CHAPTER II. 



TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE STATE. 



TOPOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE. DIVISION OF THE STATE INTO AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS : NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN 

 HIGHLAND DISTRICTS ; EASTERN DISTRICT ; MOHAWK AND HUDSON DISTRICT; WESTERN DISTRICT ; SOUTHERN 

 DISTRICT; ATLANTIC DISTRICT. REFERENCE TO PLATES II., III. AND V. LETTER FROM D. THOMAS. 



TOPOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE. 



If variety of surface and climate favors multiplicity of productions, then may the State of 

 New-York be said to be fitted by Providence for that end. Stretching from north to south 

 over four and a half degrees of latitude, and rising to an elevation varying from the sea 

 level to five thousand feet and upward, a wide range is furnished for a multiplicity of spe- 

 cies, both in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. She extends her arms through a large 

 portion of the temperate zone ; and by her elevated northern highlands, ranges closely 

 upon alpine regions, where the larch, spruce and fir dwindle to mere shrubs, or in fact 

 lose their identity as it were in dwarfish miniature trees. It is difficult to draw distinct 

 and sensible boundary lines between regions which shall be distinguished both by dis- 

 similar vegetable growths and animal forms ; yet we may see that large areas do exist 

 where climate and soil are better fitted for certain productions than others, although they 

 are so blended that the boundaries are obscured by a gradual coalescence. I leave out of 

 view here what seem to be mere local peculiarities of certain districts, which, in conse- 

 quence of frosts out of season, render certain crops uncertain and precarious, such as that 

 of indian corn in some parts of St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties, where the mean 

 temperature of the seasons is sufficiently high for its culture. The same may be said of 

 certain fruit trees, as the apple and plum, which, though they may flourish for several 

 years, are yet liable to be destroyed by an unseasonable frost. Many minor districts have 

 their peculiarities, which are rarely taken into the statistics of climate, and which are 

 overlooked in general views. 



