plenty and good: from these the inhabitants distil 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 fmooth, and the wood of a firm texture. They delight in a high fandy foil, but will thrive very well in the Cyprus {wamps. 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 fhape, and, when quite ripe, is black, adorned with a number of pale red specks, 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 preffed; which, to his furprise, yielded twelve gallons of pure juice, though a good quantity muft have been loft in the preffing.

In about twelve hours after putting the juice in a keg it began to ferment, and he fuffered 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 says, he was afterwards convinced, that if he had suffered it to ferment as long again, it would have feparated the vinous parts from the flefly, 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 aftringency, 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 discovery Mr. Jones has tranfplanted 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; these fwine, when fatted, are caught,

killed,

killed, barrelled, and exported in great quantities. This traffic for merly was carried on to a very confiderable extent. Mines of iron ore 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, Dorchelter and Worcester. The principal towns in this -State are as follow:

ANNAPOLIS.

Annapolis (city) is the capital of Maryland, and the wealthie 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 ftands 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 stupid 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 39° 21', on the north fide of Patapfco river, around what is called the Bafon, in which the water, at com mon 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 fhips of burden; but

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

fmall

fmall veffels only go up to the town. The fituation of the town is low, and was formerly unhealthy; but the increafe of houfes, and, of course, of smoke, the tendency of which is to destroy or difpel damp and unwholefome vapours, and the improvements that have been made, particularly that of paving the ftreets, 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 warehouses and stores are from one hundred and eighty to two hundred, and of churches nine, which belong to German Calvinists 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 increafed fince that time.

Market-ftreet is the principal ftreet in the town, and runs nearly eaft and weft a mile in length, parallel with the water: this is croffed by feveral other streets 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 profpec of the town and bay. Belvidera, the feat of Colonel Howard, exhibits a fine landscape-the town-the point-the fhipping, both in the bason 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 fome former period overflowed, as at the depth of eight or ten feet below the furface marine fhells have been found. Dr. Martin concludes an account of the climate and difeafes of this town in the following words:

66

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

priety of the feat of the general government being fixed here, no objection can be urged against it on account of its diseases."

FREDERICK-TOWN.

Frederick-town is a fine flourishing inland town, of upwards of three hundred houfes, built principally of brick and stone, and mostly on one broad street: it is fituated in a fertile country, about four miles fouth of Catokton mountain, and is a place of confiderable trade: it has four places for public worship; one for Prefbyterians, two for Dutch Lutherans and Calvinists, and one for Baptifts; befides a public gaol and a brick market-house.

HAGARS-TOWN.

Hagars-town is but little inferior to Frederick-town, and is fituated in the beautiful and well-cultivated valley of Conegocheague, and carries on a confiderable trade with the western country.

ELKTON.

Elkton is fituated near the head of Chesapeak bay, on a small river which bears the name of the town. It enjoys great advantages from the carrying-trade between Baltimore and Philadelphia, and the tides ebb and flow up to the town.

POPULATION.

In 1782 the number of inhabitants in this State, including flaves, was two hundred and fifty-four thousand and fifty. According to the cenfus of 1790 it was as follows:

MARY

By comparing these two accounts, the increase appears to be fixty. five thousand fix hundred and feventy-eight in eight years, or eight thousand two hundred and fix per annum-reckoning, therefore, only on the fame proportion of increase, the prefent number of inhabitants in this State cannot be lefs than three hundred and fifty thou fand.

RELIGION AND CHARACTER.

The Roman Catholics, who were the first settlers in Maryland, are the most numerous religious fect. Besides these, there are Proteftant Epifcopalians, English, Scotch, and Irish Presbyterians, Ger man Calvinifts, German Lutherans, Friends, Baptifts, Methodists, VOL. III. Menonifts

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