228 



NEW YORK. 



of water., and surrounded by a 

 fertile country. Another lake, 

 called Chataucjtte, lies in the 

 western extremity of the State, 

 near Lake Erie, and sends its 

 waters south into the Alleghany 

 River ; it is IS miles long, and 

 from 1 to 3 wide ; it is surround- 

 ed by a good agricultural coun- 

 try. 



6. Islands. Long Island ex- 

 tends along the coast of Con- 

 necticut. It is 140 miles long, 

 from east to west, and its great- 

 est breadth is about 20 miles ; 

 its average breadth about 10 

 rocky ridge or spine, extending 

 lengthwise through it, which presents summits of considerable elevation ; the broken ground 

 of this ridge forms Brooklyn Heights, at the west end of the island ; the highest point is about 

 400 feet above the water. South of this ridge, the land is level and sandy. Hempstead Plain, 

 on the south side of the island, is an extensive tract of wild savanna, 15 miles in length and 

 4 in breadth ; the most of it is now a common, and serves as a pasture for horses, sheep, 

 and cows ; wild fowl, such as the heath-hen, plover, &c. abound here. North of the ridge, 

 the land is more uneven, but there are no lofty swells ; the soil is a thin mould covering a layer 

 of white sand, and in some parts a yellowish loam mixed with gravel ; the soil is in general 

 more suitable to wheat than maize. In favorable years, the best parts of the island have yield- 

 ed, with a good dressing of manure, particularly of whitefish,* 30 and 40 bushels of wheat to 

 the acre. Immense shoals of these fish abound in the waters around the island, and no kind of 

 manure is so cheap or rich as that which they furnish ; the number taken is prodigious ; 150,000 

 have been caught at a single draught. The general use of this material communicates to the 

 air of this part of the island, an odor not the most agreeable to strangers. In the western 

 part are many fine orchards. The apples of Newtown are equal to any in the world. East of 

 Hempstead Plain the island is covered with stunted oaks and pines, and this part is much 

 frequented by the pinnated grouse or heath-hen. The streams in this neighborhood abound 

 whh trout, and in the centre of the island are great numbers of wild deer. The laws prevent 

 the deer from being hunted from .January to July, and most of the other game from April 

 to October. The shores of the island abound with the finest oysters. Shelter Island lies 

 in Taconic bay, in the east end of Long Island ; it is about 7 miles long and 5 wide, and 

 contains 8 or 9,000 acres ; it hfis a light, thin soil, and is well adapted to the pasturing of sheep ; 

 some of it is rich land and well cultivated. There is a good ship channel around the island. 

 Fisher^ s Island lies near the east extremity of Long Island ; it is 12 miles long and 1 wide ; 

 the surface is broken, but it affords a good farm, and its dairies ai'e very fine. Ram Island, 

 at the mouth of Mystic River, on the Connecticut shore, contains a few acres of indifferent 

 land. Robin'' s Island, in the bay between Southold and Southampton, contains about 400 

 acres. Gardiner''s Island is on the north side of Long Island, with the shore of which it forms 

 Gardiner's Bay, a safe and capacious harbor for ships. It contains about 3,000 acres of 

 valuable land, for grain and grass ; its dairy and mutton have a high reputation. Grand Island 

 lies in Niagara river above tlie falls ; it contains about 48,000 acres ; there is a large marshy 

 tract in the centre, but the remainder is covered with a thick forest. Statcn Island lies at the 

 mouth of New York harbor ; it is about 13 miles long and 8 wide. The surface is generally 

 rough and hilly, but on the south is a level tract of good land. This island forms the county 

 of Richmond. Manhattan Island, on which stands the city of New York, is 13^ miles long 

 and li wide on an average. It is washed on the western side by the Hudson, and separated 

 from the continent and Long Island on the cast by narrow channels. It is generally level in 

 the lower part, and the soil here rests upon a granite rock. At the northern extremity, the 

 granite is succeeded by limestone, which affords excellent marble, and extends for some 



* A species of herring remarliably fat, and so full of bones that it cannot conveniently be eatsn. It is much used 

 for manure along the shores of Connecticut. 



I iciv on Linjvirii Luke. 



miles. This island is of alluvial formation, but there is a 



