Alexandria, on Red River, 150 miles from the Mississippi, by the windings of the stream, is a pleasant village, in the centre of a rich cotton district, and ships large quantities of that article by steamboats and river craft. Natchitoches, 80 miles above, at the head of steam navigation, is remarkable on many accounts. It is the frontier town of the United States toward the Mexican territories, and is usually termed the 'jumping off place,' by the traders, adventurers, and fugitives in that quarter. It was settled before New Orleans, and is more than a century old. The population, is, like its history, an odd mixture of Indian, Spanish, French, and American. It has been under the rule of all these powers, and has had its war dances, fandangoes, French balls, and backwoodsmen's frolics. It is still a place of much gaiety. The trade with Mexico centres here; and it transmits to that country manufactured goods, spirits, and tobacco; and receives silver bullion, horses, and mules. Many fugitives from justice, and lawless characters resort hither; yet the town has much respectable society, and a newspaper in French and English is published in the place.

A few miles west of Natchitoches, is the ancient town of Adayes, founded by the Spaniards, and exhibiting the most complete specimen of an old Spanish town that is to be found in the country. It consists of houses an hundred years old, and a little old church, decorated with coarse paintings. The inhabitants are all Spanish. It is about 25 miles from the Mexican frontier. Madisonville, near the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain, stands on a healthy spot, and is a summer residence for the people of New Orleans. Opelousas, and St Martinsville, west of the Mississippi, are thriving settlements, surrounded by a fertile and well cultivated district.

5. AGRICULTURE. Sugar and cotton are the staples of the country. The sugar cane is raised chiefly on that tract of the river alluvion, called the coast, and upon the shores of the gulf, and some of the bayous. It is planted in cuttings, or slips, and is cultivated nearly in the same way as maize. The rows are six feet apart. The soil should be of the richest quality, and a foot in depth. There are four varieties of cane, the African, Otaheitan, West Indian, and Riband cane. The last is a new variety, and its stalk is marked with parallel stripes. It ripens some weeks earlier than the other kinds, and will flourish farther north. After the cane is cut, it lies a few days to ferment, and is then passed through iron rollers, which press out the juice; this is evaporated by boiling, and the sugar crystallizes. An acre well cultivated, will yield 1200 pounds of sugar. In 1828, this state produced 88,878 hogsheads, of 1,000 pounds each. The capital invested in sugar estates, amounted to 45,000,000 dollars.*

The following particulars respecting the cultivation of sugar are extracted from a report of the Agricultural Society of Baton Rouge, September, 1829.

The gross product of one hand, on a well regulated sugar estate, is put down at the cultivation of five acres, producing 5,000 pounds of sugar, and 125 gallons of molasses; the former valued on the spot at 54 cents per pound, and the latter, at 18 cents per gallon, together, $297,50. The annual expense of each hand, including wages paid, horses, mules, and oxen, physician's bills, &c., is $105. An estate with 80 negroes, annually costs $8,330. The items are as follows: salt, meat, and spirits, $830; clothing of all sorts, $1200; medical attendance, and medicines, $400; Indian corn $1,090; overseer's and sugar maker's salary, $1,000; taxes, $300; annual loss on a capital of $50,000 in negroes, at 24 per cent., $1,250; horses and oxen, $1,500; repairs of boilers, $550; do. of ploughs, carts, &c., $300. Total, $8,330. Fifteen acres are required for each hand, 5 for cultivation in cane, 5 in fallow, or rest, and 5 in wood-land. The annual consumption of wood, on an estate of 80 negroes, is 800 cords. Two crops of cane are generally made in succession on the same land, one of plant cane, the other of ratoon; it then lies fallow two years, or is planted in corn or peas. One hand will tend 5 acres, besides cutting his proportion of wood, and ploughing 24 acres of fallow ground.

The capital vested in 1200 acres of land, with its stock of slaves, horses, mules, and

arm.

The cotton plant grows 6 feet high, with stalks as large as a man's It bears large yellowish blossoms; and a cotton field -in flower, has a very brilliant appearance. The cotton is formed upon the cup of the flower, and is the down which envelopes the seed. The planting is performed in drill rows, six feet apart; the growth is thinned to a proper quantity, and is kept perfectly clear of weeds. The cotton is picked from time to time, as the pods open. It is passed through a gin, which detaches it from the seeds, and is then packed in bales.

Maize is cultivated to a considerable extent, and the sweet potato grows in the sandy soil to the utmost perfection. Rice yields abundantly, but the cultivation of indigo is nearly abandoned. Oranges of the finest quality are produced here, but the trees are often killed by the frost. Agriculture as a science is in its infancy, and the labor is performed by slaves.

6. COMMERCE. All the commerce of the state centres at New Orleans. It is chiefly transacted by vessels belonging to other parts. The shipping of the state, in 1828, amounted to 51,105 tons. The imports in 1829, were 6,857,209 dollars. The exports of domestic produce, 10,898,183 dollars. Total exports, 12,386,060 dollars. These consist of all the agricultural and manufactured products of the valley of the Mississippi; but the chief articles are sugar and cotton.

7. GOVERNMENT. The legislature is called the General Assembly, and consists of a Senate, and House of Representatives. The senators are chosen for four years, and half the number are renewed every second year. The representatives are chosen for two years. The Governor is chosen by a joint vote of the two Houses, and must be taken from the two highest previously balloted for by the people. His term of office is four years, and he is ineligible for the succeeding term. The clergy are excluded from office. The right of suffrage depends upon the payment of taxes. Louisiana sends three representatives to Congress.

8. RELIGION. The Catholics are the prevailing sect; and their ecclesiastical divisions, extending over the state, comprise above 20 parishes, most of which have priests. The Baptists have 14 ministers; the Presbyterians 4; the Methodists 6, and the Episcopalians 3.

9. EDUCATION. There are colleges at New Orleans and Jackson, and 40,000 dollars are annually appropriated by the legislature, for the education of the poor.

10. HISTORY. The Mississippi was discovered in 1673, by two French missionaries, named Marquette and Joliette, who proceeded from Quebec by the way of the lakes, to the Mississippi, and down the stream, to the mouth of the Arkansas. Hennepin, another French missionary, sailed down to the mouth of the Mississippi, in 1680. Two years afterwards the country was farther explored by La Salle, and named Louisiana, from Louis XIV. settlement was attempted by him in 1684, at the bay of St Bernard, on the Gulf of Mexico, about a hundred leagues west of the Balize or mouth of the Mississippi. The first permanent settlement was at the bay of Biloxi, within the present limits of the state of Mississippi. The next year, a fort was built on the Mississippi, about 50 miles above its mouth. In 1717, New Orleans was founded by Bienville, the commandant of the colony. Two years after

working oxen, is estimated at 147,200 dollars. One third, or 400 acres, being cultivated in cane, yields 400,000 pounds at 5 cents; and 10,000 gallons of molasses, at 18 cents; -together, 23,800 dollars. Deduct annual expenses as before, 8,330 dollars, leaving an apparent profit of 15,470 dollars, or 10 3-7 per cent. interest on the investment.'

In a report made the following year, however, it appears the Society were misled by the abundant and extraordinary crop of 1827, and they give it as their opinion, that the rate of income is not more than 6 per cent.

ward, 500 negro slaves were imported from Guinea. About this time, the patent of the colony passed into the hands of the Mississippi Company in France, and was made instrumental in promoting the celebrated stock-jobbing bubble of John Law.

At the treaty of peace, in 1763, Louisiana was ceded to Spain, and it was taken possession of by that power in 1769. In 1800, it was ceded to France. In 1803, it was purchased by the United States, from the French republic, for 15,000,000 dollars. The territory thus acquired, included all the possessions of the United States, west of the Mississippi. Of this, the present state of Louisiana forms but a small portion. The remainder constitutes the territory of Arkansas, and the state and territory of Missouri, and the territory of Oregon. In 1812, Louisiana, as defined by its present limits, was admitted into the union as a state. The constitution was formed the same year.

1. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. The southern states are bounded N. E. by Maryland; N. W. by Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, and Arkansas; E. by the Atlantic; S. by the Gulfs of Florida and Mexico; and W. by Mexico. They extend, including Florida, from 25° to 40° 43' N. lat. and from 75° 45 and 94 W. lon., and comprise 386,060 square miles.

2. MOUNTAINS. The mountainous parts lie chiefly in the north, and these are mostly in Virginia. South of Virginia, the mountains form the northwestern limit of these states, and disappear in the northern part of Alabama. 3. RIVERS. Most of the rivers flow through a level country. Their currents are sluggish, and their mouths generally barred with sand. With the exception of the streams in the western part of Virginia, which flow westward into the upper portion of the Mississippi valley, all the rivers of the southern states flow southerly or casterly into the Atlantic, or Gulf of Mexico. They mostly have their origin in the elevated region of the Apalachian mountains. 4. BAYS, SOUNDS, &c. The largest are in the northern part of this region. Chesapeak bay is the deepest and most convenient for navigation in

the country. Southward of Pamlico Sound, there are no large bays on the Atlantic; the coast is uniform to the Gulf of Mexico. The largest navigable bay in this quarter, is that of Mobile. The lakes of Louisiana are shallow, and little available for the purposes of navigation.

5. SHORES AND CAPES. Every part of the coast is low and flat, without a single lofty headland, to warn the navigator of his approach to the land. The capes of North Carolina do not project far into the sea, but they are beset with shoals, and are the most dangerous spots upon our coast, south of Nantucket. The peninsula of East Florida may be considered as an immense cape, and much the largest in the United States. The Mississippi has formed at its mouth, by the mud brought down in its waters, a cape, 40 miles in extent, the extreme point of which is called the Balize, through the whole length of which, the river passes into the Gulf of Mexico.

6. CLIMATE. In the northern and mountainous parts, the climate is temperate and healthy; but the far greater portion of this territory may be characterized as subjected to a climate, hot, moist, and insalubrious.

7. SOIL. Some of the richest soils in our country are in the southern states. Almost all the good lands are alluvial; their peculiarities have been already described. The poor soils are commonly sandy, and these tracts occupy the greatest portion of the surface.

8. NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. It is in these states, that the productions of nature exhibit the greatest luxuriance and variety. Here may be seen the magnificence of the primitive forests, and the exuberant vegetation of the marshy alluvion. The shores of Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, offer to the eye a succession of groves, which seem to float upon the waters. The forests of yellow pine have already been noticed. The cypress swamps are gloomy, inaccessible regions. The cypress tree has a trunk formed of four or five enormous buttresses, which rising from the water, unite at the height of 7 or 8 feet, and produce a straight tapering shaft, 60 or 80 feet in height. At the top, it throws out horizontal branches, which interlace with the adjoining trees, and are covered with a foliage of the deepest green. A cypress forest at a distance, looks like a scaffolding of verdure in the air.

The palmetto is a beautiful tree, and may stand for the personification of grace, as the live oak may for that of strength. The trunk often rises to the height of fifty feet, and it hardly decreases in size even at the top. This is a pendant and thick cluster of glossy fan-like leaves, more than four feet long, and nearly as wide. A few of the upper ones are upright, but the rest hang down like the twigs of a willow, and wave gracefully like long hair in a gentle wind. A close cluster of these palmettoes, of an uniform height, resemble at a distance, the pillars and entablature of a dilapidated temple.

The live oak is a fit emblem of strength. The leaves are very small, but the moss gives an appearance of double foliage. This moss is of a venerable grey, and hangs from the branches many feet. The trunk of the live oak is seldom straight or tall, and the tree seems rather to run into horizontal branches, which cover a great space. The knees of this tree make the best timber for shipbuilding. The live oak is altogether a tree so singular in its shape and robe of moss that a stranger will pause long to examine it.

The laurel, or magnolia, has been much admired for beauty, but it has not been too much praised. It rises in a tall and smooth stem to a great height, but it is the leaves and flowers which give it all its beauty. The leaves are of a deep and glossy green, six or eight inches in length, and three inches broad. There is no leaf in the New England forest that will compare with that of the laurel. The rich white flowers are scattered over the tree, in profusion. They are of a dazzling white, several inches in diameter, and have a resemblance to the pond lily. To this flower, succeeds a crimson

cone, which in opening, exhibits rounded seeds of the finest coral red, suspended by delicate threads. The tree is often more than an hundred feet in height.

The Dogwood is a large shrub, covered in spring with a profusion of brilliant white flowers, and in autumn, with berries of a fine scarlet. It is found from Pittsburgh to the Gulf of Mexico. The Persimon is another large shrub, with a fruit of remarkable astringency, when green. The cotton wood, is a sort of poplar, with a trunk sometimes 12 feet in diameter. It bears in its blossoms a downy substance like cotton. The catalpa is indigenous to Louisiana. The pawpaw, or Indian fig, the Chickasaw plum, prairie plums of various species, and grapes of many sorts, are found native in these states. The Cherokee rose, (rosa multiflora) twines itself around the tallest trees, and adorns their foliage with festoons of its beautiful flowers. The lakes and rivers produce an aquatic vegetation, which has given rise to the fiction of floating islands. The leaves and delicate white flowers of the pistia float upon the surface, and are attached to the bottom by a twiny stem many yards in length. The bow of a vessel makes a furrow through fields of this floating vegetation, while fishes are darting, and alligators gamboling in the depths beneath. The nymphea nelumbo is the prince of the flowering aquatic plants. It rises from a root resembling the large stump of a cabbage, and grows sometimes in ten feet depth of water. It has a smooth elliptical leaf, often as large as a parasol. The flowers are a foot in diameter, and have all the brilliant white and yellow of the New England pond lily, but are devoid of its fragrance.

The cane brakes are another remarkable feature in the vegetation of this region. The cane grows upon the low grounds, and in a rich soil. It sometimes almost equals the bamboo in size. Its seed is farinaceous, and often used for bread. Its leaves are long and dagger-shaped, and a thick cane brake forms an impervious roof of verdure in the air, which has the appearance of a solid layer. A cane brake is almost impenetrable by man, but is a favorite resort of bears, and cougars. When the canes are cut and dried, the negroes enjoy a high amusement in setting fire to them; the rarified air in the hollow compartments of the cane, bursts them with a report like a discharge of musketry, and the burning of a cane brake sounds like the roar of a battle. The land thus burned, is in excellent preparation for maize.

9. MINERALS. The most important mineral furnished by the southern states is gold. We have given at p. 217 an estimate of the quantity annually produced by the mines in Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia, according to the most recent statements, which however must be regarded as very uncertain, and which are probably somewhat exaggerated. In 1830, the gold coined at the mint of the United States amounted to 24,000 dollars from Virginia, 204,000 from North Carolina, 26,000 from South Carolina, and 212,000 from Georgia. Coal and iron are obtained in Virbe ginia, yet, with the exception of the gold districts, these states may considered as unproductive in minerals.

10. ANIMALS. The Virginia Deer is common in the wooded parts of all the southern states, and is particularly abundant in Louisiana. The American Elk is sometimes, though rarely, met with in the southwestern portion. The bear, wolf, and cougar are occasionally found. Red and grey foxes are abundant. Beside these, the following quadrupeds are found in the southern states; the racoon, opossum, Maryland marmot, skunk, hare, fox-squirrels, together with the other species of squirrels, mentioned under the head of New England and the Middle States. The bison seems not to extend its migrations as far south as Louisiana, and is not found east of the Mississippi. The Pouched Rat is to be seen in great numbers in Florida and Georgia.