been made much in the fame way; of course the foil must be fimilar, and the natural growth not remarkably different.

The ground is uniformly level and low in most of the counties on the eastern shore, and confequently covered in many places with ftagnant water, except where it is interfected by numerous creeks. Here also are large tracts of marsh, which, during the day, load the atmosphere with vapour, that again falls in dew in the clofe of the fummer and fall feafons,

Chelapeak bay divides this State into the eaftern and western divifions. This bay, which is the largest in the United States, has been already described.* It affords many good fisheries, and is remarkable for the excellence of its crabs, and alfo for a particular fpecies of wild duck, called CANVAS BACK. In a commercial view, this bay is of immenfe advantage to the State; it receives a number of large rivers. From the eastern fhore in Maryland, among other fmaller ones, it receives the Pocomoke, Nantikoke, Choptank, Chefter and Elk rivers; from the north, the rapid Sufquehannah; and from the weft, the Patapfco, Severn, Patuxent and Potomack, half of which is in Maryland, and half in Virginia. Except the Sufquehannah and Potomack, these are finall rivers. Patapfco river is but about thirty or forty yards wide at the ferry, just before it empties into the bafon upon which Baltimore stands; its fource is in York county, in Pennsylvania; its course is fouthwardly till it reaches Elkridge landing, about eight miles weftward of Baltimore; it then turns eastward, in a broad bay-like ftream, by Baltimore, which it leaves on the north, and paffes into the Chesapeak.

The entrance into Baltimore harbour, about a mile below Fell's Point, is hardly piftol fhot acrofs, and of courfe may be easily de fended against naval force,

Severn is a fhort, inconfiderable river, paffing by Annapolis, which it leaves to the fouth, emptying, by a broad mouth, into the Chesapeak.

Patuxent is a larger river than the Patapfco; it rifes in Ann-Arun. del county, and runs fouth-eastwardly, and then `eaft into the bay, fifteen or twenty miles north of the mouth of the Potomack. There are also several fmall rivers, fuch as the Wighcocomico, Eaftern Branch, Monocafy and Conegocheague, which empty into the Potomack from the Maryland side.

SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS.

The foil of the good land in Maryland is of such a nature and quality as to produce from twelve to fixteen bushels of wheat, or from twenty to thirty bushels of Indian corn per acre. Ten bushels of wheat, and fifteen bushels of corn per acre, may be the annual average crops in the State at large.

Wheat and tobacco are the staple commodities. Tobacco is generally cultivated in fets, by negroes, in the following manner; The feed is fown in beds of fine mould, and tranfplanted the beginning of May; the plants are fet at the distance of three or four feet from each other, and are hilled and kept continually free of weeds when as many leaves have shot out as the foil will nourish to advantage, the top of the plant is broken off, which prevents its growing higher: it is carefully kept clear of worms, and the fuckers, which put out between the leaves, are taken off at proper times, till the plant arrives at perfection, which is in Auguft: when the leaves turn of a brownish colour, and begin to be spotted, the plant is cut down and hung up to dry, after having fweated in heaps one night. When it can be handled without crumbling, which is always in moift weather, the leaves are ftripped from the stalk, and tied in bundles, and packed for exportation in hogfheads, containing eight or nine hundred pounds. No fuckers nor ground leaves are allowed to be merchantable. An induftrious perfon may manage fix thoufand plants of tobacco, which yield a thoufand pounds, and four acres of Indian corn.

In the interior country, on the uplands, confiderable quantities of hemp and flax are raised. As long ago as 1751, in the month of October, no less than fixty waggons loaded with flax feed came down to Baltimore from the back country.

Two articles are faid to be peculiar to Maryland, viz. the genuine white wheat, which grows in Kent, Queen Ann's and Talbot counties, on the eastern flore, and which degenerates in other places, and the bright kite's foot tobacco, which is produced at Elkridge, on the Patuxent, on the western shore.

Among other kinds of timber is the oak, of feveral kinds, which is of a straight grain, and eafily rives into ftaves, for exportation. The black walnut is in demand for cabinet, tables and other furniture. The apples of this State are large, but mealy; the peaches

plenty

plenty and good: from these the inhabitants diftil cyder and peach brandy.

In Worcester county a fpecies of grape vine, of a peculiar kind, has been difcovered, by a Mr. Jones, of Indian river. The bark is of a grey colour, very smooth, and the wood of a firm texture. They delight in a high fandy foil, but will thrive very well in the Cyprus fwamps. The leaf is very much like that of the English grape vine, fuch as is propagated in the gardens near Philadelphia for table use.

The grape is much larger than the English, of an oval shape, and, when quite ripe, is black, adorned with a number of pale red fpecks, which, on handling, rub off. The pulp is a little like the fox grape, but in tafte more delicious. Thefe grapes are ripe in October, and yield an incredible quantity of juice, which, with proper management, would no doubt make a valuable wine.

Mr. Jones employed a person to gather about three bushels and one peck of them when ripe, and immediately had them pressed; which, to his furprife, yielded twelve gallons of pure juice, though a good quantity must have been loft in the preffing.

In about twelve hours after putting the juice in a keg it began to ferment, and he füffered it to go on till it got to be so violent, that it might be heard all over a large room. It continued in that state for three days. He then checked it, fearing it might turn acid, though, he fays, he was afterwards convinced, that if he had fuffered it to ferment as long again, it would have separated the vinous parts from the fleshy, and given greater fineness to the liquor.

After this it was racked off, and before cold weather buried in the garden, the top about fix inches under ground; where having continued till the fummer following, he could not discover that it had in the leaft altered, either in taste or colour. He obferves farther, that, after eating a quantity of them, or drinking the juice, they leave an astringency, as claret is apt to do.

There is an immenfe quantity of thefe vines growing on the beach, open to the fea; and they are alfo found in great plenty upon the ridges and in the fwamps. Since their difcovery Mr. Jones has transplanted a number of them into his vineyard, from which, in a year or two more, he expects to make a wine much better than is commonly imported.

The forefts abound with nuts of various kinds, which are collectively called maft; on this maft great numbers of fwine are fed, which run wild in the woods; thefe fwine, when fatted, are caught,

killed,

killed, barrelled, and exported in great quantities. This traffic formerly was carried on to a very confiderable extent. Mines of iron øre are found in feveral parts of this State, of a fuperior quality.

CIVIL DIVISIONS AND CHIEF TOWNS.

This State is divided into nineteen counties, eleven of which are on the western fhore of Chefapeak bay, viz. Hartford, Baltimore, Ann-Arundel, Frederick, Allegany, Wafhington, Montgomery, Prince George, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's; and eight on the eaftern fhore, viz. Cecil, Kent, Queen Ann, Caroline, Talbot, Somerfet, Dorchester and Worcester. The principal towns in this State are as follow:

ANNAPOLIS.

Annapolis (city) is the capital of Maryland, and the wealthiest town of its fize in America: it is fituated at the mouth of Severn river, and was originally known by that name, which was changed for its prefent one in 1694, when it was made a port town, and the refidence of a collector and naval officer: it stands on a healthy spot, thirty miles fouth of Baltimore, in north latitude 29° 25′: it is a place of but little note in the commercial world. The houses, about two hundred and fixty in number, are generally large and elegant, indicative of great wealth; the number of inhabitants does not exceed two thousand. The defign of those who planned the city was to have the whole in the form of a circle, with the streets like radii, beginning at the center where the State Houfe ftands, and thence diverging in every direction. The principal part of the buildings are arranged agreeably to this awkward and ftupid plan. It has a State Houfe, which is an elegant building.

BALTIMORE.

Baltimore has had the most rapid growth of any town on the con tinent, and is the fourth in fize and the fifth in trade in the United States. It lies in latitude 39o 21', on the north fide of Patapfco river, around what is called the Bafon, in which the water, at common tides, is about five or fix feet deep. Baltimore is divided into the town and Fell's point by a creek, over which are two bridges. At Fell's point the water is deep enough for ships of burden; but

In point of fize, the towns in the United States may be ranked in this orderPhiladelphia, New-York, Bolton, Baltimore, Charleston, &c. In point of trade, New-York, Philadelphia, Bofton, Charleston, Baltimore, &c.

fmall

fmalt veffels only go up to the town. The fituation of the town is low, and was formerly unhealthy; but the increase of houses, and, of course, of fmoke, the tendency of which is to deftroy or difpel damp and unwhole fome vapours, and the improvements that have been made, particularly that of paving the streets, have rendered it tolerably healthy. The houfes were numbered in 1787, and found to be one thousand nine hundred and fifty-five, about twelve hundred of which were in the town, and the rest at Fell's point; the prefent number is about two thousand three hundred. The number of warehoufes and ftores are from one hundred and eighty to two hundred, and of churches nine, which belong to German Calvinifts and Lutherans, Epifcopalians, Prefbyterians, Roman Catholics, Baptifts, Methodists, Quakers and Nicolites, or New Quakers. The number of inhabitants in the town and precincts, according to the cenfus of 1790, was thirteen thousand five hundred and three; they have greatly increased fince that time.

Market-ftreet is the principal ftreet in the town, and runs nearly east and weft a mile in length, parallel with the water: this is crossed by feveral other ftreets leading from the water, a number of which, particularly Calvert, South and Gay ftreets, are well built. North and east of the town the land rifes and affords a fine profpect of the, town and bay. Belvidera, the feat of Colonel Howard, exhibits a fine landfcape-the town-the point-the fhipping, both in the bafon and at Fell's point-the bay, as far as the eye can reachthe rifing ground on the right and left of the harbour-a grove of trees on the declivity at the right-a stream of water breaking over the rocks at the foot of the hill on the left-all confpire to complete the beauty and grandeur of the profpect.

GEORGE-TOWN.

George-town ftands on the bank of the Potomack river, about an hundred and fixty miles from its entrance into Chesapeak bay. The ground on which it ftands is very broken, being a cluster of little hills, which, though at prefent elevated confiderably above the furface of the river, were, probably, at some former period overflowed, as at the depth of eight or ten feet below the furface marine shells have been found. Dr. Martin concludes an account of the climate and diseases of this town in the following words:

"Upon the whole, George-town and its vicinity may be confidered as a healthy part of America; and in any difputes about the pro