CHAPTER II. 
TOPOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE STATE. 
TOPOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE. DIVISION OF THE STATE INTO AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS l 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. 
1* 
