enters the state in the N. E. and flows easterly 50 miles to the sea at Newburyport; in this course it receives Concord and Shawsheen rivers from the S. The greater part of Nashua river, which falls into the Merrimack in N. Hampshire a few miles N. of the Massachusetts line, is in Massachusetts. Charles and Neponset rivers in the E. join the sea at different points in Boston Bay. Pawtucket and Taunton rivers in the S. flow into Narraganset Bay.

Only two of the above mentioned rivers have any considerable navigation. The Merrimack is navigable for vessels of 200 tons to Haverhill, 15 miles from its mouth; to this point the tide extends; at some distance above are rapids; at its entrance into the sea it expands to a mile in width and forms the harbor of Newburyport. The Connecticut, though obstructed by falls at different points, is susceptible of boat navigation, and in Massachusetts is from 80 to 100 rods wide. Steamboats run on this river between Windsor and Hartford. The general character of this stream we have elsewhere described.

5. ISLANDS. Nantucket, 20 miles S. of the main land at Cape Cod, is an island of triangular form, about 15 miles long and 11 broad in the widest part, containing 29,380 acres. It is little more than a heap of sand without a tree of native growth upon it, yet it maintains a numerous population, distinguished for their activity and enterprise. The island affords some pasturage, and cows and sheep in considerable numbers are raised; the land being held in common, they feed in one pasture to the amount of many thousands. But what gives this island its chief importance is the whale fishery, in which almost all the inhabitants are engaged. The Nantucket whale ships are found in every quarter of the globe, and their seamen are regarded as the most adventurous and skilful in the world. The climate of this island is much milder than that of the neighboring continent; and the soil, though sandy, is in some parts productive, bearing fruits and grass; a century ago it was covered with trees. S. E. of this island, out of sight of land, lie Nantucket shoals, a dangerous reef of sand, 50 miles in extent.

Martha's Vineyard, W. of Nantucket, and lying nearer the continent, is 20 miles long, and 10 broad. This island has a good soil, and in the western part is somewhat elevated; it has many productive farms, and contains the town of Edgarton, which has a good harbor. Holmes' Hole is a safe and commodious harbor in the N. part of the island, much frequented during the winter by inward bound vessels.

The Elizabeth Islands are a chain of 16 small islands lying N. W. of Martha's Vineyard, and forming the S. E. side of Buzzard's Bay; a part of them only, are inhabited. A multitude of islands lie in Boston Bay, some of them very beautiful, but none sufficiently large to merit a detailed description.

In the N. of the state, at the mouth of the Merrimack, lies Plum Island, 9 miles long, and 1 mile wide. On the side toward the ocean, it consists of sand hills 20 or 30 feet high, thrown into a thousand fantastic shapes like snow-drifts in a storm. These hills are covered with low bushes bearing the beach plum, a fruit about the size of a musket ball, and of a pleasant taste; wild cherries and grapes also grow in different parts. On the side towards the land, a tract of salt meadow extends the whole length of the island, and at the southern extremity, which forms a point at the entrance of Ipswich harbor, the soil becomes loamy and arable; here are one or two small farms. The sound which separates the island from the continent, varies from a quarter of a mile to a mile in width; this is crossed at the N. part by a bridge three miles from Newburyport. In the early part of autumn, the plums are ripened, and the island then becomes the resort of numerous parties of pleasure from the neighborhood, who pitch their tents among the

sand-hills, and gather the fruit, or enjoy the cool sea breeze along the smooth beach which skirts the outer side of the island. At the northern extremity are two light houses and a hotel.

6. BAYS, HARBORS, &c. Massachusetts Bay, between Cape Ann on the N. and Cape Cod on the S. is about 40 miles in extent. Within this !lies Boston Bay, which comprises the space between Point Shirley in the N. and Point Alderton in the S., and includes the harbors of Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hingham, with Nantasket and President roads, and the numerous islands within the Boston light house. In the S. of Massachusetts Bay is Cape Cod Bay, 15 or 20 miles in extent, lying between Cape Cod and Plymouth; within this are Barnstable and Plymouth bays. In the S. of the state is Buzzard's Bay, on the S. W. side of Cape Cod, 20 miles deep, and containing the harbor of New Bedford.

7. SHORES, CAPES AND PENINSULAS. In the N. part of the state, the shore is rocky and bold. Cape Ann, the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay, is a rocky promontory 15 miles in length, containing several good harbors. The peninsula of Cape Cod in the S. E. part of the state, is about 75 miles long, and from 5 to 20 miles broad; its shape is nearly that of a man's arm bent inward at the elbow and wrist. The greater part of the peninsula is a barren desert; in the southwestern portion, the land though flat and comparatively sterile, is under some cultivation, but the northern part consists almost wholly of hills of white sand, entirely destitute of vegetation, or producing only whortleberry bushes, low pitch pine shrubs, or coarse wild grass. The sand is continually blown about by the wind, and the pine trees are often buried in it, and killed. The houses are built upon stakes driven into the ground, with open spaces between for the sand to drift through. The cape, notwithstanding, is well inhabited, and supports a population of 28,000. Nothing is raised in the northern part except a few cows. In the S.W. part, the inhabitants live by agriculture and trading; in the N. altogether by fishing. The cape abounds with clear fresh ponds well stocked with fish: it is beset with dangerous shoals, and has long been the dread of mariners. A storm is generally sure to make it the scene of numerous shipwrecks. There appears to be some evidence that the land is wearing away; stumps of trees being discovered under water along the shore. At the first settlement of the country, there was an island E. of the cape, about 9 miles out at sea, which was 20 acres in extent, and covered with savin and cedar trees; for a century this island has been entirely submerged, and the water above is 6 fathoms deep.

The peninsula of Nahant, a few miles N. of the harbor of Boston, is connected with the main land by Lynn beach, a smooth and level floor of sand, two miles in length. Nahant is now become a favorite place of resort for the inhabitants of Boston during the heat of summer: two splendid hotels of stone are thronged with company, and a great number of neat cottages, occupied as summer residences, adorn the place. Steamboats ply between Nahant and Boston almost every hour in the day, during summer.

8. CLIMATE. The severe winters of the last century have become rare; the Snows which formerly buried the earth many feet deep every season, are now experienced only at intervals of some years. It is to be remarked however, that excessive cold of short continuance generally occurs during the month of February.

Summer has in no degree diminished in heat; this is at times excessive, although like the cold in winter, such intensity commonly terminates after a few days, and is felt not more than two or three times in a season. The nights are seldom otherwise than cool and refreshing. About the first of March the ice in the rivers breaks up; but snow storms often occur after that

period, though the ground is generally clear of snow in the course of th month. During March and April, northeast winds are sure to prevail, con monly accompanied with rain, but always damp, cold and disagreeable.

This is decidedly the most unpleasant part of the year; but in May the weath er becomes settled, and after the first thunder showers, S. and W. wind blow, the heavens are clear, and a warm sun gives the first effectual impuls to vegetation. In general the spring is about a week earlier than in N Hampshire. Potatoes and pease may be planted by the 22d of March the peach tree is in bloom April 15th: the apricot, April 25th: cherry, Ma 10th: apple, May 15th: maize is planted May 15th: ripe apples are in marke early in August.

The finest weather is in June, August and September. In the first o these months, immediately after the cessation of the spring rains, the sky becomes serene, and a rapid vegetation covers the earth with a luxurian mantle of verdure. In July the weather is hot, and clear, with the exception of thunder storms. In the early part of August, it is very sultry, but toward: the end of that month and throughout the following, the air is temperate, clea and elastic, the nights cool and serene, and the weather in every respect delightful. Frosts occur late in October, but it is rare that snow falls in that month Heavy rains fall in October and November; snow storms sometimes are experienced in the latter month, but the winter cannot be considered as fairly set in till December. Snow which remains for any length of time, does not commonly fall before the middle of this month. All the rivers are frozen for two or three months, and sometimes, though not often, the harbors on the coast for a week or fortnight, are closed by the ice.

9. NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. The latitude, elevation and geological character of Massachusetts, differ so immaterially from those of the states already described, that we cannot expect any great diversity in the products of the soil. Most, if not the whole of the forest trees already enumerated, are natives of Massachusetts. Though this was settled before any other New England state, the forests still occupy a large portion of its surface. These have a remarkable fresh and healthy look; the clean and smooth bark of the walnut, maple, beech, birch and others, show no traces of the mossy covering, which a humid air engenders in a European wood. Of oaks we have 30 or 40 distinct varieties; the stately white pine and hemlock exceed in height those of the old world.

The most noble and majestic of our trees, and that which in form, color and size the most strikingly surpasses its European rival, is the American elm, which is planted in our cities and towns for ornament. The great elm in the middle of the Common at Boston, has long been celebrated for its height and elegance; but the largest in the country is near Newburyport, about a mile from the centre of the town. This noble tree is one third larger in cubic extent and 25 feet higher than the Boston elm. It is now growing with the rapidity of a young sapling, and at two feet from the ground, measures 21 feet in circumference. Its droppings extend 96 feet; it is of a perfectly regular shape, and covered with the richest foliage. It was planted in 1713.

10. SOIL. In the southeastern part of the state, the soil is light and sandy, with occasional fertile tracts. The middle and western parts have a strong, rich soil, excellent for all purposes of agriculture: in the northern portion on the sea coast, the land is not naturally very fertile, but by skilful culture is highly productive. Salt marshes are numerous in all the maritime parts.

11. GEOLOGY. The New England States are almost entirely primitive. In Massachusetts there is a strip of transition formation covering part of the primitive and extending from Boston southwesterly to Rhode Island, from 10

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to 15 miles in width. Red sandstone forms the bed of the Connecticut in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and is in parts covered with ridges of greenstone trap. The mountains toward the W. of the state consist of mica slate, clay slate, hornblende, limestone, granite, gneiss, quartz and other silicious rocks. In the E. sienite, pudding-stone, serpentine, &c. occur. In the northern part the primitive rocks are washed by the sea.

12. MINERALS, QUARRIES, &c. The finest building stone is abundant in Massachusetts; quarries of excellent granite and sienite are found in all parts of the state. The most celebrated are those of Chelmsford and Quincy, which have supplied the materials for the finest structures in Boston and the neighborhood. Beautiful white marble is abundant, and extensively wrought at Lanesborough, Lenox and Stockbridge; Soap-stone is found at Cummington; limestone, serpentine and asbestos at Newbury. Bog-iron ore is found at Carver in Plymouth county; iron also occurs in several places in the county of Bristol. At Hawley, near the banks of Deerfield river is an inexhaustible mine of magnetic iron ore, which has been wrought for many years. There is a copper mine at Greenfield on the Connecticut, but it has been little explored. Yellow ochre is found at Templeton, in the county of Worcester. Anthracite coal exists in many places in the interior of the state, but no mines are wrought at present. The island of Martha's Vineyard produces abundance of argillaceous earth, from which alum is manufactured. Quarries of slate exist at Lancaster, Harvard and Bernardston.

13. FACE OF THE COUNTRY. The mountainous region occupies the western part of the state, still that district cannot be called in general an elevated country. The middle and northeastern parts are lower, but hilly and broken. The southeast is the lowest part, and is in general level and sandy. E. of Wachusett, there are no high mountains.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY.

1. DIVISIONS. There are 14 counties in Massachusetts; Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Plymouth, on Massachusetts Bay: Barnstable, comprising Cape Cod; Nantucket, in the island of that name; Dukes, comprising Martha's Vineyard and the small islands lying round it. Bristol, on Buzzard's and Narraganset bays, and Middlesex, Worcester, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire and Berkshire, inland. The number of towns is 305. The population of the state, 610,014.

It

2. CANALS. Middlesex Canal, uniting the Merrimack with the waters of Boston harbor, was begun in 1793 and completed in 1804, at an expense of 575,000 dollars. It is 27 miles long, 30 feet wide, and four feet deep: it has 20 locks and 7 aqueduct bridges over valleys and streams. The canal leaves the Merrimack one mile above Pawtucket falls, and terminates in Charlestown Mill Pond, an artificial basin connected with Boston harbor. is supplied with water by Concord River. The locks are 90 feet long and 12 wide, and are strongly built of hewn stone. By this canal, a boat communication is opened between Boston and the interior of N. Hampshire. Pawtucket Canal was begun in 1793, and finished in 1797. It passes round Pawtucket falls on the Merrimack; is 14 miles in length, and was originally 30 feet wide and three deep, but was enlarged to 90 feet wide and four deep in 1821, for the double purpose of navigation, and conveying water to the manufactories of Lowell, in which town it is situated.

Blackstone Canal follows the valley of Blackstone river from Worcester to Providence R. I. 45 miles. It has 48 locks, all of stone, making a rise and fall of 450 feet. The locks are each 82 feet long and 10 wide.

3. ROADS. In the older towns, especially in the eastern parts of the state,

the roads are generally good, and ample provision is made by law for thei support. The towns are portioned out into districts, and surveyors are ap pointed to clear all obstructions and keep the roads in repair. Turnpike: are numerous everywhere, and more than 60 turnpike companies have beer chartered. The Newburyport turnpike, from that town to Boston, was com pleted in 1806, at a cost of 420,000 dollars. Few of the turnpikes in this state have brought any immediate profit to the proprietors, but the facilities for travelling which they generally afford are very great.

4. RAIL ROADS. The Quincy rail-road, from the granite quarries in Quincy, to Neponset river, was constructed in 1826. It is about three miles in length. The rails are of wood, iron bound, and laid upon a stone foundation. There are four planes upon the road, of different inclinations; the track is single. On the summit of the hill from which the stone is quarried, stands a square tower from which the spectator may view a delightful prospect. One of the faces of this tower contains an inscription commemorating the Quincy rail road as the first undertaking of the kind in America.

Of the various other rail roads which have been projected in this state, two are in a fair way of accomplishment. The Boston and Lowell rail road is already begun, and within a year or two may be expected to bring the manufactures of Lowell and the agricultural products of N. Hampshire into the capital of Massachusetts. It will be about the length of the Middlesex canal, and will run in nearly the same direction. The Boston and Providence rail road is designed to connect those two cities, and will be about 40 miles in length. It is to be immediately commenced.

5. CITIES AND TOWNS. Boston, the largest city in the New England states, and the capital of Massachusetts, stands on an oblong peninsula at the bottom of Massachusetts Bay, having a beautiful harbor shut in from the sea by a group of islands. The peninsula is hilly, and in almost every part covered with buildings; the city exhibits a noble appearance as the spectator sails up the harbor, or approaches it from the country. This splendid exterior, however, has not a corresponding regularity and symmetry within. The city was built almost from the beginning, without any regard to plan, beauty or future convenience, and the streets were left to fashion themselves into a tortuous intricacy that might have excited the envy of Dædalus of old. We must except however the happy reservation of the vacant spot called the Common, originally a cow pasture for the house-keepers of the town, but now a public park and promenade of unrivalled beauty. In the more ancient parts of the city, the streets are still narrow and crooked, and a great proportion of the buildings are of wood.

In the western and central parts, a style of elegance and comparative regularity prevails. Many of the streets are neat and spacious, and the improvements which are going on yearly in widening the old streets, and opening new ones, have done, and are doing much to remedy the defects of the original plan. In the greater part of the city the houses are either of brick or stone, and the old wooden structures are fast disappearing. A large number of the public edifices are of striking elegance, and the private buildings surpass in splendor those of any other city in the United States. The State House, from its lofty and commanding position, is the structure which first catches the eye in approaching the city. It stands on the summit of Beacon Hill, fronting the Common; it is built of brick, painted of a Portland stone color, and is spacious and lofty, with a dome and cupola. Within, the visitor may be gratified with a view of the statue of Washington, by Chantry.

As we descend from the State House toward the mercantile part of the city, the Tremont House attracts our attention; this is a spacious and