proaches the great Apalachian chain, or Blue Ridge, as it is sometimes called, where the fertility of the soil and salubrity of the climate are equal to that of any part of the continent. It is here that the rivers, rising from opposite sides of this ridge, flow in opposite directions in their course; the Tennessee, for instance, flowing south-west, through the State to which it gives its name; and the Savannah flowing south-east, by the city so called, which stands on its banks near the sea.

There are no less than six classes or kinds of soil in this territory: the first of these is the tide swamp, near the sea; the second is the inland swamp, above the reach of the tide-water range; the third is the high-river swamp; the fourth is the salt marsh; the fifth is the hickory and oak high land; and the sixth is the pine barren. In the first two classes, rice and hemp are chiefly cultivated, as these require wet lands for their growth. In the third, hemp, corn, and indigo, thrive best. The fourth, the salt marshes, are not much used. The fifth grows corn, indigo, and cotton. The sixth is the least fertile of all, and consequently is not much cultivated. In point of healthiness, the high lands are the most salubrious, and the low lands the least so. In the first three classes, the miasma of the summer is so fatal to European and American constitutions, that all the white planters quit their homes early in May, and do not return again till October, leaving their plantations during that time to the care of an overseer, and the negro slaves. If the overseer be a white man, he is almost sure to be attacked with fever and ague during the autumn; and though he may survive the attack, every repetition of it makes great

havoc on his frame, and ultimately carries him off. The high lands are dry and healthy, and the residents there may remain at home all the year round.

The climate, as far as temperature is concerned, is more agreeable than in most other parts of the United States, having no greater heat than Maine and Massachussetts in summer, and being free from their intense colds in winter. In Charleston, for seven years, the thermometer was not known to rise above 93° or fall below 17° above zero; while in Boston it was during the last summer above 100o, and in the present winter was at 8° below zero. Frost very rarely occurs on the low lands, nor ever lasts more than a day or two; and it is mentioned as a very unusual circumstance, which alarmed many of the people of the country, that snow once remained on the ground for a period of three days. The most variable period of the year is February; the most sultry is August; and the greatest variation of temperature ever experienced in any one day was 46°. In the highlands and mountains, towards the western boundary of the State, the frosts are sometimes severe, and snow remains for weeks in succession.

Among the articles of culture, fruits abound, and pears, pomegranates, melons, oranges, and pine-apples, are produced in great perfection; while apples, peaches, nectarines, apricots, figs, olives, and almonds, are also grown in various parts of the country. Grain is not much cultivated, at least in wheat, barley, or oats, for all these are imported from the north, and their growth is neglected for the more profitable cultivation of rice and cotton, which form the staple productions of the State. The introduction of rice by a ship from the East Indies, and the

discovery of the indigo plant growing wild in the woods, have been already mentioned. These constituted, with tobacco, the earliest articles of produce, until about 1795, when cotton began to be raised; and since that period rice and cotton have formed the chief articles of growth and export from the State. The following tabular view from the most recent official documents up to January 25, 1839, will shew its extent:

EXPORTS OF COTTON AND RICE, FROM THE PORT OF CHARLESTON.

By this table it will be seen that the amount of cotton exported is less, and the quantity of rice exported rather more, in the last quarter of the last year, than in the corresponding period of the preceding; but the difference is not material in either; and the whole export of the year 1838 may be taken to be about 250,000 bales of cotton, and 100,000 tierces of rice. The following table, drawn from the same official documents, and up to the same date, will show the comparative exports of cotton from the different ports of the United States:

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF EXPORTS OF COTTON FROM THE
UNITED STATES, COMMENCING OCT. 1, 1838.

Grand Total, 125293 82926 | 6717 256349 88453 14502

...

Coastwise Exports from the Southern to the Northern ports, from 1st of October, 1838, to dates, 145,938 bales.

Coastwise Exports from the Southern to the Northern ports, from 1st of October, 1837, to dates, 111,392 bales.

Of the two descriptions of cotton, the Sea Island, which, as will be seen by the first table, is the smallest in quantity, is produced from a black seed, is reared near the sea-coast with great care, and cleaned at great expense; and it is sold in the market here at from 50 to 75 cents, or from 2s. to 3s. sterling per

pound; while the Upland cotton is produced from a white seed, at less cost, and cleaned with less care, and this sells at from 12 to 15 cents, or from 6d. to 71⁄2d. per pound, the proportion of the first being only as 1 to 72 in quantity grown, to the last; and the greatest profit is said to be made by the cultivation of the coarser kind.

Of mineral productions there are, in various parts of the State, lead and iron ore, potter's clay, fuller's earth, talc, marble, and limestone; with several ocherous earths used in the manufacture of painters' colours. Gold, also, is produced in this region; but this precious metal abounds most in North Carolina, where there are at present not less than 30,000 persons employed in the gold district, in the mines under working, and in digging for the discovery of new veins. It is found generally mixed with the soil, from the smallest particles up to pieces of one or two pounds weight, valued from 100 to 1,000 dollars; and one piece was dug up in Cabarras county, worth about 8,000 dollars, or 1,600l. sterling. The present product of the gold-mines is said to be about 100,000 dollars per week, or a million sterling per annum. It is worthy of remark, that in the opening of new mines, evidences are found of their having been previously worked, and that by the native Indians; as crucibles and mining instruments have from time to time been discovered under circumstances, and in situations, which make it impossible to attribute them to even the earliest of the European adventurers.

The population of South Carolina has been progressively on the increase, but with nothing like the