94 J PLANTS OF MONROE COUNTY. 137 



feet high, with no trees. Oak the principal timber near New Hartford (Cana- 

 waugus.) Along the Genesee river above the falls at Rochester were thick 

 woods of beech, basswood, sugar maple, tulip tree, oak, hickory, chestnut, 

 butternut, black walnut, dogwood, ironwood, and two or three hemlock pines. 

 He observed white pines on the east side of the river, and could see the tops 

 of pines which lined the shores of lake Ontario. He speaks of the sugar 

 maple abounding more than any other tree in the Genesee country. 



1800. — An Account of the Soil, Growing Timber, and other produc- 

 tions of the land in the countries situated in the back parts 

 of the States of New York and Pennsylvania, in North 

 America ; and particularly the lands in the County of 

 Ontario, known by the name of the Genesee Tract, lately 

 located, and now in the progress of being settled. (Report 

 of the Deputy Marshal of New York on the preemption 

 lands in the County of Ontario, December, 1800.) Doc. 

 Hist. State of New York, Vol. II. Albany, 1849. 

 Among the peculiar advantages of this region the report claims : The 

 uncommon excellence and fertility of the soil ; the superior quality of the 

 timber, and the advantages of easy cultivation in consequence of being gener- 

 ally free from underwood ; the abundance of grass for cattle, in the woods 

 and on the extensive meadow grounds upon the lakes and rivers ; the vast 

 quantities of the sugar maple tree in every part of the tract ; the great variety 

 of other fine timber, such as oak, hickory, black walnut, chestnut, ash of 

 different kinds, elm, butternut, basswood, poplar, pines, and also thorns of 

 prodigious size ; the variety of fruit trees, and also smaller fruits, such as 

 mulberries, grapes of different kinds, raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries, 

 wild gooseberries and strawberries in vast quantities, also cranberries and 

 black haws. 



The report also speaks of the extensive ranges of meadow grounds on 

 the Genesee flats, on which there was little or no underwood and which are 

 represented as being covered with a growth of coarse grass, luxuriant beyond 

 description and very fit for hay. 



1803. — Le Pour et le Contre, on Avis a ceux qui se proposent de passer 



dans les Etats-Unis d'Amerique. Suivi d'une description 



du Kentucky et du Genesy, deux des nouveaux etablisse- 



mens les plus considerables de cette partie du nouveau 



monde. Par Louis Bridel. Paris, 1803. 



The writer describes the Genesee country, comparing it with Kentucky ; 



speaks of the fertility of the soil and the enormous size of the trees, one black 



walnut measuring 22 feet in circumference, and near it a sycamore measuring 



44 feet. Speaks of a bundle of grass, gathered by chance in the forest and 



sent to Amsterdam, which measured 4 l / 2 feet in height. He says the forests 



were made up of fir, oak, elm, birch, black walnut, chestnut, cherry, mulberry 



and apple trees. Says that the sugar maple was very common, and speaks of 



the sumac as being peculiar to this part of the country. 



18, Proc. Roch. Acad, of Sc, Vol. 3, May, 1896. 



