SITUATION AND EXTENT.

THE United States, stretching from the Alantic to the Pacific, and from 49° north latitude to 24° 30′ south latitude, comprise nearly the whole of the mild and warm temperate egions of North America, and thus embrace the most attractive portions of the grand division. The greatest length of the country, from north to south, is nearly 2,400 miles; the greatest breadth, from east to west, about 1,700 miles. Its area is very nearly 3,000,000 square miles, or but little less than that of the entire surface of Europe.

SEA-COASTS, ETC.

In external form this country is remarkably compact, presenting no great peninsula except that of Florida, and being penetrated far inland by no great arm of the sea. Owing, however, to the presence of the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and the oblique directions of the Atlantic and Pacific shores, it has an ample development of coast, and enjoys abundant maritime advantages.

The Atlantic coast and Gulf coast are varied by numerous small inlets and by several bays of corsiderable ex ent; so that the total length of the former, including its windings, is nearly 6,900 miles, and of the latter nearly 3,500 miles. The Pacific coast, on the contrary, is more uniform; the mountain ranges which run parallel to it, or extend along its borders-in many parts trenching close on the sea, and presenting a bluff, iron-bound shore; while only at two points do they open for the access of far-invading waters, the narrow inlets of Puget Sound and San Francisco Bay. The whole length of the Pacific coast, therefore, is but little over 2,300 miles, or only two thirds as great as that of the Gulf coast

On the north the United States have no sea-coast; but nearly equivalent to this are the shores of the Great Lakes, which, although remarkably uniform-affording few harbors except at the mouths of the rivers-have a total length (including their insular lines) of about 8,600 miles.

Thus the entire shores of this country, bordered by great bodies of water, are not far from 16,000 miles in length, or about four fl'ths as long as the winding sea-coast of Europe, the most maritime of the grand divisions of the globe.

NAVIGABLE INLAND WATERS.

But notwithstanding the compact figure of the United States, or the fact that none of the great bodies of water which surround it peneꞌrate far toward the heart of the country,—its natural facilities for water communication are by no means chiefly confined to its borders. Nor in scarcely any part, except the southwest, is it very difficult of interual access without the aid of artificial channels.

The Mississippi River, with its numerous tributaries ramifying like a vast arterial system through the interior, opens not less than 15,000 miles of navigable water-ways The main stream of the Missouri-Mississippi may be ascended in light-draft steamers from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Falls of the Missouri, or nearly to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. On the Pacific side of the mountains, the Columbia River may be ascended in like manner to the Ca-cades; so that the distance between the heads of steamboat navigation on the two streams is only 450 miles.

The Ohio River-the great eastern tributary of the Mississippi-is open to steam' navigation as far as Pittsburg, in western Pennsylvania, or to within 200 miles of the head of natural navigation on the Potomac River.

Accordingly, one may pa-s through the heart of the country, from the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, without an overland journey of more than a few hundred miles. The same easy natural means of communication appear in other directions. The journey from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes may be accomplished in steamers by way of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to within a hundred miles of the head of Lake Michigan. In like manner one may pass from the remotest extremity of the Great Lakes to the Atlantic by way of the St. Lawrence and other connecting streams, aided only at a few points by canals to circumvent the rapids.

Easy communication also may be had between New York-the great commercial metropolis of the country-and the St. Lawrence, by way of the Hudson River, joined by a short canal to Lake Champlain and its outlet, the Sorelle.

The number of navigable channels extending inland from the coast to distances varying from near a hundred miles to 300 or more - as the lower courses of the Delaware River, the James, Cape Fear, Savannah, Appalachicola, Alabama, Colorado, and Rio Grandeare too numerous to be mentioned.

On the Pacific borders of the country, however, the extent of navigable streams is quite limited, owing to the near approach of the mount ins to the coast, and the fact that they seldom open for the outlet of large rivers from the interior.

GENERAL SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY.

Passing from east to west, the surface of the United States presents eight principal sections, viz, the lowlands which border the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, the Appalachian Mountain System and its associate plateaus, the lowlands of the Great Central Plain, the Western Steppes, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Western Plateau, the Pacific maritime chain of mountains, and the Pacific coast region.

The Al'antic lowlands vary in breadth from 50 to 200 or 250 miles.

In the New England States they are seldom more than 100 miles wide, and, except in Southeastern Massachusetts, generally present a somewhat hilly surface, diversified with numerous lakes and ponds. The abundance of these sheets of water in some parts of Maine and New Hampshire renders the scenery remarkably picturesque, the country as viewed from the lofty hill-tops seeming litera ly begemmed with their mirror-like surfaces. The prevailing unevenness of the maritime region of New England renders the coast

bold and irregular, and causes the presence of many rocky islands along its border. It abounds, therefore, in deep and well-sheltered harbors which afford superior facilities for commercial intercourse. This character is especially marked on the coast of Maine. From the Hudson River, southward, the Atlantic lowlands are divided into two princtpal sections one, a low plain, bordering the sea, and bounded on the west by a rocky terrace koown as "The Ridge," the other, a hilly region, gradually increasing in ruggedness toward the Alleghanies.

The surface of the plain is wavy in the interior, but flat and frequently marshy over a considerable breadth along the seaboard. Owing to the flatness of the latter section, it has gently sloping and comparatively regular shores, bordered by shallow waters, and affording but few good harbors. Being of an alluvial character, moreover, it is skirted to a great extent by long low islands formed of the accumulated sediment deposited between the spreading currents of the rivers and the inflowing tides of the ocean. In some parts these islands afford but few inlets to the narrow bays or channels which separate them from the mainland. Shifting sand-bars, also, frequently obstruct the inlets or the mouths of the rivers beyond, thus rendering access to the latter comparatively difficult. The width of the maritime plain varies from fify to one hundred miles, except in the northern part of New Jersey, where it is much narrower. The larger rivers cros-ing this plain are generally navigable to the foot of "The Ridge," over which the waters descend in abrupt falls or rapids. These falls are among the most important geographical features of this part of the United States, since, by arresting the progress of navigation and sup plying extensive water-power, they have given rise, in their vicinities, to a chain of large commercial and manufacturing towns and cities-such as Newark, Trenton, Baltimore, Georgetown, Richmond, Petersburg, Raleigh, Augusta, and Macon,-which extends, on the line of "The Ridge," through seven of the Atlantic States.

The Peninsula of Florida, lying between the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is wholly embraced in the maritime plain, and to a great extent is flat and marshy.

The Gulf Lowlands are merely a continuation of the Atlantic Lowlands. East of the basin of the Mississippi they are divided, like the latter, into a hilly interior section and a level or wavy coastwise section by a somewhat ill-defined prolongation of the Ridge, through Georgia and Alabama, into Mississippi Their limit on the north is quite irregular, being formed by the extremities of the plateau and higher ranges of the Appalachian System and by the watershed which separates the basin of the Tombigbee River from that of the Tennessee. The breadth of these lowlands is seldom less than 250 miles, or more than 300 miles. Their most distinguishing characteristics are the well-marked valleys which furrow the hilly regions at intervals from north to south, or from northeast to southwest, and the high ranges of bluffs which border the upper courses of several of the rivers West of the basin of the Mississippi the Gulf Lowlands are almost wholly occupied by the maritime plain. They vary in breadth from 150 to nearly 800 miles, and, except a flat con ise belt covering about one fifth of this breadth, are an extensive undulating prairie. The Appalachian Mountain System consists of two principal sections, separated from each other by a well-marked depression in the basin of the Hudson River and vicinity, and gradually rising thence to their culminating point in the north and south.

The northern se tion is the most irregular, embracing, besides its principal ranges and groups, numerous peaks scattered over a wide area, especially in Maine and New Hampshire. It reaches its greatest elevation in the wild and romantic group of the White Mountains, the sublime seenery of which is familiar to travelers from all parts of the world. The plateau, or broken series of table-lands which belongs to this section, has a rugged outline, and presents but little area except of a hilly or mountainous character.

The southern section of the Appalachian System consists of two parallel zones of elevation: the eastern zone, composed of successive ranges rising one after the other toward the interior; the western, divided from the former by a broad plateau-like valley, and consisting of adjacent table-lands or high plains, wrinkled here and there with longitudinal ranges of hills.

In the northern half of this section, most of the ranges are "remarkable for their regularity, their parallelism, their abrupt acclivities, the almost complete uniformity of their summits, and their moderate elevation. They present the appearance of long and continuous walls, the blue summits of which trace along the horizon a uniform line seldom varied by any peaks or crags."

Advancing southward, however, their elevation increases, the ranges become indented, irregular, and more numerous; until, in North Carolina, "the form of simple parallel ridges" disappears, and, in place of this, we have a broad mountain-tract, thickly and often irregularly studded with lofty peaks. Here, in all respects, is the culminating region of the Appalachian System. Scores of summits rise to a height of 6,000 feet, while the loftiest -Black Dome or Mitchell's High Peak, in the group of the Black Mountains-has an altitude of 6,711 feet, being the highest point of land east of the Mississippi River. South of North Carolina, the mountains gradually sink into low hills, and the ranges terminate in northern Georgia and Alabama.

The Plateau of the Alleghanies, or southern plateau of the Appalachian System, is traversed by ranges of hills running parallel with the mountain chain of which it forms the basis. Between the Blue Ridge on the east and the Alleghanies and Cumberland Mountains on the wes', it consists of a spacious valley, embracing level tracts of considerable area, which extends through Penns lvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee. The average elevation of the plateau is scarcely 1,800 fect, but in southern Virginia it reaches a height of 2,000 feet and upward.

The lowlands of the Great Central Plain, in the castern part, are somewhat broken by the descending terraces of the Appalachian highlands and by the low ranges of mount. ains or hal's which border the same. West of this, they present a vast level or undulating tract, reaching far beyond the Mississippi.

This almost unvarying expanse is made up in great part of half wooded and pen prairies-the latter, or true prairies, being most common in Illinois and in the States lying west of the Mississippi, and reaching as far south as the Ozark Mountains. In many seotions, however, the landscape is agreeably varied by woody bottom-lands bordering the rivers, and bounded on each side generally by steep acclivities or lines of bluffs.

Along many of the larger rivers the bottom-lands are of considerable breadth. Those of the Missouri, for instance, are five miles wide. But the bottom-lands of the Mississippi below its junction with the Missouri are most remarkable for breadth, being frequently from forty to fifty miles wide; while the bluffs which border them are in some places two or three hundred feet high.

Here and there the marginal flats are penetrated by creeks or bayous, and interspersed with swamps or lagoons. Winding through them, the rivers pursue a variable and uncertain cou se; the force of their currents, when deviated by slight obstacles, often wearing away the soft alluvial banks until an entire new channel has been gained. Thus, in some places, the whole breadth of the bottom-land is brought on one side of the stream; while, on the opposite side, the river runs close to the bluffs, or even undermines them.

The lower Mississippi is especially noted for its crooked and variable course. Some of its bends, where the infervening neck is only one mile across, are thirty miles around. Channels called cut-offs have been opened across several of these, making an important saving in the navigable distance of the river.

But although the general character of the Lowlands of the Great Plain is that of a level or undulating tract, they include several regions besides that along the eastern border, which present a marked variety of surface. Among these, the most uneven is the hilly tract, embracing the Ozark Mountains, which extend from the interior of Missouri into the northwest corner of Arkansas, and the neighboring border of Indian Territory. Much of Minnesota, also, with the northern part of Wisconsin and the peninsula between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan are comparatively rugged. The scenery of these northern regions is rendered peculiarly attractive by the myriads of lakes embosomed in their val leys, and the numerous water-falls which break the peaceful currents of their rivers.

The Western Stepp 8, embracing the table-land section of the Great Central Plain, consists mainly of a succession of terraces, generally presenting abrupt edges to the east, and rising one above the other, with gentle slopes, to the Rocky Mountains.

In many places, especially at the south, the rivers crossing these terraces flow through cañons, or deep and narrow defiles, which at the borders of the terraces, in some instances, extend several hundred feet below the general surface.

The mean height of the S'eppes, between the Arkansas River and the upper Missouri, is about 4,000 feet; but, along the base of the Rocky Mountains, from the Llano Estacado to the upper Missouri it is not less than 5,000 feet, or, in many parts, more than one mile. The Rocky Mountains, entering the United States from British America, gradually expand east and west, until the chain attains a breadth of from 200 to 300 miles. The mountain region is made up partly of distinct ranges, an I partly of peaks irregularly disposed, frequently with broad level valleys between. The height of the mountains, except in New Mexico, often exceeds 10,000 feet above the sea, and in several instances 14,000 feet, but owing to the elevation of the table-land region that forms their basis, and which in some arts has a height of 7,000 feet, their altitude is much less imposing than it would otherwise appear Indeed few of the mountains lift their snowy crests more than a mile above the neighboring surfa e; and at intervals, ia many cases of not more than 50 or 100 miles, the chain is broken by passes, affording more or less practicable routes for travel.

The Great Westen Plateau presents a varied surface, consisting of elevated plains traversed by mountain ranges, with numerous broad valleys and terraced slopes.

South and east of the Great Basin it is intersected in many parts by cañons; some of them formed apparently by a violent sundering of the rocky strata whose ragged edges make up their almost perpendicular walls; others, by the slow wearing away of their beds by the s reams which traverse them. Many of these cañons are of the most startling character. On some sections of the upper Colorado they are over a mile in depth, and so narrow at the top that the beams of the vertical sun scarcely irradiate the fearful chasm. The surface of the Great Plateau also is strikingly diversified in the south by elevated tables termed mésas (maʼsahs), the abrupt edges of which, in many instances, are scarcely less precipitous than the rocky walls of the cañons.

The maritime chain of mountains which forms the western boundary of this plateau is in many parts higher than the Rocky Mountains. Unlike the latter, however, it rarely takes on a plateau-like form, but consists mainly of parallel ridges rising to a great alti. tude above their base, and including numerous snow-capped peaks. These ranges are generally sharp, and are peculiarly abrupt on the western slope. But notwithstanding their height, they are sundered at several points by transverse valleys which afford outlets to the principal rivers.

The Pacific coast region consists chiefly of narrow valleys opening toward the sea.

MINERALS.

The mineral resources of this country surpass those of any other known section of the globe. Deposits of all the principal metals except tin are found here in great abundance and richness; and those of less important metals to such extent as warrants the belief that they are not less plentifully distributed than in other countries.

The western part of the United States seems almost to realize the extravagant anticipation of the early adventurers who visited America in search of the mythical El Dorado. Its gold-fields are the most spacious and productive in the world, and its newly-discovered silver regious in the south also are of unusual extent and richness.

Iron is very widely disseminated. Indeed, there is scarcely a State or Territory in the national domain where it may not be mined in sufficient quantity for future wants. NOTE.-For further information concerning the metallic products of this country, see pages 106, 107.

But the coal-fields of the United States are among its richest possessions, both on account of their unrivaled extent, and of the situation of several in the midst of vast level regions where the supplies they afford will prove of inestimable value for purposes of steam manufacture.

Those in the eastern half of the country are estimated to cover an area of not less than 225,000 square miles-nearly equal to the whole of the Western States north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi. The principal one extends along the western border of the Appalachian high¡ands, from New York to Alabama, covering nearly 100,000 square miles. Another, more than half as large, occupies south western Indiana and most of Illi nois; another, of great extent, occurs in Missouri and Iowa; and another, of several thousand square miles, in Michigan.

Most of the coal derived from these fields is of a bituminous character. In some parts of the coal regions, especially the northern portion of the Appalachian fleld, springs of petroleum or rock-oil abound, the recent discovery and opening of which has proved of immense value in cheapening supplies for illuminating and other economical purposes. An extensive bed of anthracite coal, which affords most of the fuel for the cities of the Atlantic slope, exists in Pennsylvania, between the Blue Ridge and eastern branch of the Susquehannah.

Salt springs are common along the western border of the Appalachian highlands and in the dry regions beyond the Mississippi. In Louisiana an extensive bed of rock-salt has been recently discovered, and numerous beds of like character are believed to exist in the great table-lands of the West, especially where the systems of drainage are imperfect.

SOIL

The soil of the United States, except of the great table-land belt west of the 100th meridian, is in general remarkably fertile. Nowhere else in the temperate zones is there a region of equal extent which rivals in productiveness the eastern half of this country. Tho fertility of so great an area is due not only to its favorable mineral character in most parte, but also to an ample fall of rain over its whole surface, and to its immense level tracts suited to the retention of moisture, and which in the lapse of ages have become overspread to an extraordinary depth with vegetable mold.

This fertility, however, is not without exception. Most of New England and of New York, north of the Mohawk River, has a thin and stony soil, of inferior productiveness,-being formed upon the older and harder rock-such as granite, gneiss, quartz, etc. But owing to the ruggedness of these regions, many of the valleys, and especially the low tracts along the rivers, are amply enriched with alluvial deposits washed down from the hillsides, and thus are rendered well deserving of cultivation. A great part of the surface, however, is better suited to grazing than to agriculture.

The low coastwise plain also which extends from the mouth of the Hudson River to the Rio Grande is, to a great extent, sandy and sterile; but in many sections it contains beds of marl and other fertilizing earths which may be used to render it productive. The swamp-lands, moreover, which abound along the coast, are in many parts susceptible of drainage and cultivation; and their vicinities, as well as the borders of the rivers, present alluvial tracts of superior richness.

The region of the Alleghanies is of course inferior in fertility to the level or undulating lowlands of the Mississippi valley; yet the hilly country, in most parts, abundantly rewards cultivation, while the long Appalachian valley contains some of the best farming lands in the United States.

The general character of the table-land region west of the 100th meridian-comprising the Western Steppes and Great Western Plateau-is that of marked sterility. This is due mainly to the lack of rain, especially during summer; but in some parts the natural constitution of the soil is also unfavorable to productiveness.

Near the mountains, however, and in the bottom-lands along the rivers, there are many tracts suited to cultivation, while the neighboring sections generally support a plentiful herbage and are well adapted to grazing. But more remote from these regions, except along the eastern border, the plains are strikingly barren; and the hollows in some parts aro covered with a saline or alkaline crust, caused by want of drainage and by the evaporation of water which collects in them from the neighboring slopes, and thus is impregnated with the soluble matter of their soil. Nearer the mountains, where the supply of water is somewhat more abundant, there are many salt pools. The valleys known as Parks, between the parallel ranges of the Rocky Mountains, are remarkable for their beauty and fertility. The Pacific coast-region is distinguished for the highly fertile intervals between its mountain spurs, which, owing to the peculiar favorableness of the climate, are almost unrivaled in their capacity for producing the smaller cercals, root-crops, and fruit. South of Monterey Bay, however, the country is somewhat arid; and in many parts, especially where facilities for irrigation are scanty, is better suited to grazing than tillage.

VEGETATION.

Owing to the great extent of its well-watered and fertile plains, this country is peculiarly rich in its vegetation.

It is especially distinguished for the extent and variety of its forests. Nearly the whole ea-tern section, from the Mississippi to the Atlantic, is, in its native state, richly wooded. The western or Pacific slope, on the other hand, from the northern boundary to about the 40th parallel, except in the more arid districts, is also clothed with fine forests, and still farther south presents luxuriant wooded tracts along the maritime border.

A marked contrast, however, appears between the forests of the east and west. In the north, an extensive belt, chiefly of white pine, of great economic value, reaches from the Mississippi valley to the Atlantic, its southern limit being in about the latitude of the northern shore of Lake Ontario.

South of this belt, as far as to a little below the mouth of the Ohio River and Chesspeake Bay, the forests are mainly of deciduous trees. These forests are remarkably mixed; comprising maple, beech, oak, chestnut, hickory, ash, elm, birch, cherry, basswood, buckeye, etc., etc. In the richness of their foliage, as variegated by autumnal tints, they are probably unrivaled in any section of the globe.

Entering the warmer latitudes below the last-mentioned limit, foliaceous or broadleaved evergreens become common, and vegetation in general assumes a sub-tropical

This limit nearly coincides with the northern boundaries of Tennessee and North Carolina.

character. Live-oaks appear along the Atlantic coast; cypress and gum trees grow numerous; and soon the characteristic region of magnolias and laurel is reached. The dry lowlands of the Atlantic and Gulf slopes are overspread, to a great extent, with the long-leafed pitch-pine, one of the most picturesque and valuable timber trees of this section.

Among other characteristic forms are the southern cotton-wood, catalpa, bumelias, palmetto, persimmon, and Chickasaw plum. Various species of oak, maple, beech, etc., abound in the uplands and elsewhere

In the Peninsula of Florida, vegetation is more tropical. Mangroves appear in extensive thickets; several characteristic fruits, among which is the Florida orange, are introduced; and various straggling forms from the neighboring zone become more or less prevalent.

It is evident from the foregoing that the forests of the eastern part of the United States are remarkable not only for their extent, but also for their variety. In fact, they have “ no parallel for the diversity of species collected in a growth of trunks of nearly the same size, and thriving on the same soil and in the same climate."

The western slope of the country presents a vegetation strikingly dissimilar to that of the eastern. On the Pacific side, deciduous trees are decidedly repelled, and the number of their species is comparatively few.

Of the leading forms prevalent in the eastern forests, the following are entirely absent in the western; viz., magnolias, bass-wood, locust, and other pod-bearing trees, elms, walnuts, hickories, beeches, etc. The chestnut is represented merely by a single species, and the maples by only one or two small forms.

Cone-bearing trees, on the contrary, except in the arid districts, are particularly favored, * affording the finest evergreen forests known in the temperate latitudes. Many of these trees, in the moist and equable climates near the Pacific, are of gigantic size; their height and vastness of trunk striking the beholder with astonishment.

The pine family, especially, are remarkable in this respect. Among these, the Douglas spruce, the sugar-pine, a species of yellow pine, and the balsam-fir tower to a height of over 200 feet A species of white cedar, also, has a similar size.

But the majestic redwood family surpass all others. The common redwood grows to an altitude of from 180 to 800 feet, often with a thickness of 10 or 12 feet; while the giant redwood (confined to a single small locality in California) reaches the wonderful height of from 300 to 400 feet and a diameter of from 20 to 30 feet. These trees have no rivals in the existing vegetable kingdom.

Among the latter species, there is a single prostrate trunk (known as the Monarch of the Forest), the top of which has been partly destroyed-probably by fire-which measures 86 feet in diameter at the butt, and 110 feet in circumference. The length of the whole portions of the trunk is 300 feet, and the diameter at the small end 12 feet. From fragmen's in a line with the main stem, and apparently belonging to it, it is estimated that its full height when standing must have been from 450 to 500 feet.

Turning our attention to a different field, it may be observed that notwithstanding the vast extent of forests in this country, there are immense areas nearly or quite destitute of trees. Of this character are the dry regions of the Great Western Plateau and nearly the whole of the Steppes, except the bottom-lands along the rivers. Of the same descrip tion, also, is a large part of the Mississippi lowlands, extending from the Steppes to the northwest corner of the Gulf of Mexico, and farther north, invading the central portion of the Mississippi valley nearly as far as the middle course of the Ohio River.

These treeless regions are called prairies. They are covered, for the most part, with coarse grass, intermixed on the table-lands-in the warm-temperate and cool regions-with deep-rooted shrubs, as the artemisia (inappropriately called sage*), and—in the subtropical and tropical regions-with similar shrubs and thick-leafed juicy plants, such as the cactus and yucca (or Spanish bayonet).

The absence of trees on the table-lands is doubtless owing chiefly to the dryness of the climate and the consequent aridity of the soil.

In the less elevated regions of the Mississippi valley it may be partly due to the same cause and partly to the extraordinary depth of the soil, which in many places probably renders the proportion of moisture retained near the surface insufficient for the support of a forest growth. But the treeless character of these plains is believed to be mainly owing to their visitation in former years by sweeping fires, which are peculiarly liable to originate on the dry grassy table-lands, and spread eastward as far as local conditions permit. The United States possesses a numerous assemblage of interesting grasses. Among the most remarkable is the tree-like cane, which forms extensive brakes or thickets along the Gulf of Mexico and in the moist alluvial lands on the borders of the rivers and elsewhere throughout the South. So dense are these brakes in many sections that they are absolutely impenetrable except with the aid of the hatchet.

The adaptation of the United States to the production of different agricultural staples varies to a remarkable degree with its soil and climate. In respect to several staples, it holds a rank attained by no other country. Its capacity for yielding breadstuffs in the North and cotton in the South is unrivaled, while its suitableness to the growth of tobacco in the middle latitudes probably surpasses that of any other region of equal area. The more hardy cereals (maize, wheat, oats, rye, and barley) flourish throughout the agricultural sections. Maize, however, is the most characteristic staple, and by far the most important. It grows most luxuriantly in the Southern and Western States, and is of especial importance in the central portion of the Mississippi valley. In the maritime region of the Pacific, however, it thrives less successfully, and in many localities fails to mature, owing to the prolonged drought and cool nights of summer.

Wheat and oats, which rank second and third in importance among cultivated cereals, grow best in the valleys along the Pacific, in the Western States north of the Missouri and Ohio rivers, and in the Middle States and those of the Southern States adjoining the latter. The yield of these grains per acre, however, is most abundant in the two former sections. Rice finds a congenial locality in the marshy tracts along the southern seaboard, particularly in South Carolina and Georgia.

Artemisia tridentata. Many parts of the table-lands, overspread with this plant, are termed "sage plains."

Cotton flourishes chiefly south of the 35th parallel, in the States north of the Gulf of Mes ico, or bordering the Atlantic.

Tobacco has its most profitable range between the 86th and 40th parallels. [See this range on the map.]

The potato is a characteristic product of the northern portion of the country, particu larly of New England and the Middle States; also of the Pacific slope west of the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada.

The batatas or sweet potato thrives in the warmer regions.

Sugar-cane appears to have found only a few limited sections where it is a preferable crop, its culture thus far having been confined chiefly to that part of Louisiana projecting south of Mississippi.

The portions of the United States well suited to the production of hay-crops or to grazing are of immense area. Throughout the fertile districts, except in the warmer parts of the Southern States, the unplowed fields are overspread with a rich carpet of verdure which affords excellent pasturage during the warm months, or yields a valuable harvest for winter store. The profitableness of the latter may be inferred from its ranking third in value among the crops of the country, being surpassed in this respect only by corn and cotton. The dry table-lands, also, except in the most arid districts, afford good grazing during a large part of the year; and in many localities where the grass is somewhat abundant, the summer drought causes it to cure or become hay while standing in the field; so that ample pasturage is afforded (the snow being light) through all or nearly all winter.

ANIMALS.

The northern border of the United States is embraced in the district of fur-bearing anlmals, and the forest tracts of the northeast and northwest contain various species which are much sought by the hunter and trapper. The most important on account of their furs are the otter, beaver, mink or American sable, marten, and musk-rat. There are also found in the same range the black bear, wolverine, Canada lynx, bay lynx or wild-cat, and wolf Several of the above, however, as the Canada otter, black bear, and wild-cat, likewise dwell far south. The moose-deer exists in the extreme northeast.

The eastern forest regions are inhabited by the common American deer, the American elk or stag (now very rare in this section), the Virginia opossum, raccoon, etc. The common American deer likewise frequents the grassy regions of the Great Central Plain.

But in general the prairies have a fauna somewhat peculiar. Their most noted habitant is the American bison or buffalo, which roams in vast herds over the unfrequented tracts west of the Mississippi. The prairie-wolf, also, is especially characteristic of these plains. Upon the plateaus and within the Rocky Mountain district the American elk is again found; and in the same range the mule-deer, prong-buck, American badger, etc.

The mountain sides are inhabited by the Rocky Mountain goat and big-horned sheep, the latter roving throughout the rugged highlands from the Western Steppes to the Pacific. The species already mentioned as belonging to the prairies are found both east and west of the Rocky Mountains. It must be remembered, however, that, as a whole, the faunas on opposite sides of this chain are different. Thus part of the ruminants, the gnawers, the insects, and all the mollusks are of distinct species.

From the foregoing it will be observed that most of the principal ruminants are found west of the Mississippi, where the unfrequented grassy plains afford them abundant subsistence. The range of several, however, formerly extended much farther east-the buffalo, for instance, having been known even upon some parts of the Atlantic coast.

The largest and most powerful of American carnivora-the grizzly bear-has a similar range with the above, preying upon those whom feebleness or want of fleetness renders unable to escape. His chief home, however, is the oak and pine regions of the Western slope, where he finds an agreeable subsistence of acorns and pine-cones as well as flesh. The puma or cougar (known also as the panther or American lion, but unlike either the lion or panther of the Old World) frequents the same range as the grizzly bear; and, to a greater or less extent, wanders through nearly all the unsettled parts of the country.

The United States is frequented by a great number and variety of migratory birds, the principal of which are wild geese, ducks, and pigeons. The wild turkey is common in the lowlands of the Mississippi valley.

The principal birds of prey are various species of eagles, hawks, owls, and buzzards. The turkey-buzzard, in particular, is numerous in the southeast, where it frequents even the populous settlements, and serves as a valuable scavenger.

The most noted reptiles are turtles, alligators, and rattlesnakes. Alligators infest the rivers, marshes, etc., of the warm regions in the east and southeast; their range extending as far north on the coast of South Carolina as latitude 82° 30'.

Here, as elsewhere, noxious insects abound in the heated districts. Mosquitoes, especially, are an annoying pest, being so numerous about the rivers and marshes in some parts of the south as to render the vicinity uninhabitable.

The coasts of this country are well supplied win fish. Cod, haddock, mackerel, her. ring, halibut, etc., are abundant. The inland waters are likewise well stocked ; white-fish abound in the Great Lakes; and pike, trout, perch, etc., are common in both the large and small bodies of water.

CONCLUSIONS.

From the foregoing account of the physical geography of the United States, it is obvious that this country possesses within itself the natural resources for an extraordinary material prosperity. The remarkable fertility of its soil; the unequaled richness of its mineral deposits; the ample facilities for manufactures afforded by the numerous rapid streams which descend from the uplands along its coasts, or by the inexhaustible supplies of coal distributed through its interior; and the extraordinary advantages for commerce presented not only by its extensive coast line and its vast network of inland waters, but also by its broad plains easily crossed by railways or trenched by canals—all combine to render it of surpassing fitness for the abode of man.

Hence, peopled in the main by a highly cultivated race, the varieties of which are fast becoming intermixed here, and thus are producing an unusually vigorous stock, it remains only to develop these resources under a just and wise policy in order to attain a national greatness unparalleled in history.