submit to the English, and remained under the British authority until the conclusion of peace. The separation of this district from Massachusetts was frequently attempted. In Oct., 1785, a convention met at Portland to consider the subject, and in the following year the project was submitted to the people of Maine; but it appears that a majority of the voters decided against the measure. In 1819, numerous petitions having been presented to the legislature of Massachusetts, an act was passed for ascertaining the wishes of the people. A large majority voting in favor of separation, a convention was called, under the authority of Massachusetts. A Constitution was formed and adopted, and on the 2d March the District of Maine became an independent state, and a member of the confederation.

AUGUSTA, the capital of the state, lies on both sides of the Kennebec River, 43 miles from its mouth, and at the head of sloop navigation: latitude 41° 18′ 33′′ north, and longitude 69° 47′ west. Population, 8,231. The two portions of the town are united by a handsome stone bridge. The city is regularly laid out, and has many elegant dwellings. It contains the state-house, court-house, jail, United States arsenal, and several hospitals and churches. The state-house is situated on an eminence, a little south of the city, on the west side of the river. Its central part is 84 feet long and 56 feet deep, with two wings, each 34 feet long by 54 deep. It has a Doric portico of eight granite columns, one stone each, 21 feet high, and weighing 10 tons. The dome and cupola are handsome structures. Before it is a spacious park, ornamented with walks and trees. The United States Arsenal, on the east side of the river, is a large and elegant stone edifice, and the Lunatic Asylum is a fine granite building, with wings, and is surrounded with 70 acres of ground. It is also on the east side of the river. The High School is a brick edifice, 65 by 50 feet, two stories high. Half a mile above the city is a splendid dam across the river, with locks to facilitate navigation. The cost of this great work was between $300,000 and $400,000. There were in Augusta, in 1850, ninety-four stores; four gristmills; four saw-mills: two oil-mills; one distillery; two academies, with 150 students; and thirty-six schools, with 2,129 scholars. The growth of the place has been rapid since it became the seat of the government.

PORTLAND CITY, which is the largest and most important town of the state, is finely situated on an elevated peninsula, projecting into Casco Bay. It is well laid out, and neatly built. The harbor is deep, safe, spacious, easily accessible, and always open. The shipping belonging to the port amounts to about 140,000 tons. Population, 26,816.

The CITY OF BANGOR, at the head of the navigation of the Penobscot River, 60 miles from the sea, communicates with an extensive interior country by means of the wide-spreading branches of the Penobscot, and possesses on the falls, immediately above the town, every facility for manufacturing purposes. Population, 14,441. It is the seat of a Theological Seminary, and, as a whole, is one of the pleasantest situated and most elegantly-built cities in the Union. Its commerce is extensive, and its coasting-trade superior to most of the northern ports.

THE STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.

THIS state lies immediately west of Maine. It is bounded on the north by Lower Canada; south-east by the Atlantic Ocean, on which it has a seacoast of eighteen miles; south by Massachusetts, and west by Vermont, from which it is separated by the Connecticut River. It lies between the meridians of 70° 40′ and 72° 28′ W. long., and 42° 41′ and 45° 11′ N. lat., and is 168 miles long, and from 19 to 90 miles broad, having an area of 9,411 square miles, or 6,023,040 acres, of which 110,000 acres are estimated to be covered with water.

The Atlantic shores of New-Hampshire are in most places but a sandy beach, and bordering upon them are extensive salt marshes. They are penetrated by numerous creeks and coves which accommodate vessels of small size, but with the exception of Portsmouth, at the mouth of the Piscataqua, there is no harbor sufficient for merchantmen. For twenty or thirty miles from the coast the country is either level or variegated with small hills and vallies. Beyond this the hills increase in size, and in many parts of the state swell into lofty mountains, particularly in the north and along the height of land between the Merrimack and the Connecticut. The highest summits between these rivers are Grand Monadnock, near the south-west corner of the state, which is 2,354 feet above the level of the sea; Sunapee mountain, near the lake of the same name, and Mooseheloc, still further north, the height of which is estimated at 4,636 feet. But the White Mountains are more celebrated than either of these. They lie about thirty miles north of Lake Winnipiseogee, and with the exception of the Rocky mountains, are the loftiest in the United States. Mount Washington, the highest summit, is 6,428 feet high. The mountains, lakes, vallies, and cataract of New-Hampshire abound with sublime and beautiful scenery, and have acquired for the state the title of "the Switzerland of America." The White Mountains, though not an uninterrupted range, are sometimes regarded as a continuation of the Alleghanies. The "Notch" in these mountains is regarded as a great natural curiosity, being in some places not more than 22 feet wide, with lofty precipices on both sides, and affording some of the wildest and grandest scenery in nature. A road passes through this "Notch," being the only place in which the mountains can be passed. By this road the products of northern New-Hampshire and the north-east part of Vermont find a market at Portland, in the State of Maine; and so important is this communication regarded by that state, that its Legislature has frequently made grants for its improvement. The other more elevated peaks in this state are Mount Adams, 5,960 feet high; Mount Jefferson, 5,860; Mount Madison, 5,620; Mount Monroe, 5,510; Mount Franklin, 5,050; Mount Pleasant, 4,920; and the Kearsarge Mountains, 2,460 feet above the level.

The soil of New-Hampshire is generally fertile. The intervales on the large rivers are the richest and best fitted for tillage, but the uplands having a warm, moist soil, are best fitted for grazing and pasturage. Indian corn, wheat, rye, oats and flax are produced, and the pork, beef, mutton, cheese and butter are largely exported. The natural growths are the oak, elm, birch, maple, pine and hemlock. Sugar is extensively made from the hard maple trees the amount, as estimated by the "Commissioner of Patents" for 1847, was 2,225,000 pounds.

New-Hampshire enjoys a very healthy climate, and the weather is gen

erally serene. In summer the heat is great, sometimes rising to 95°, and the winters, during which the thermometer sometimes marks 15° below zero, are often very severe. These extremes, however, seldom occur, and are of short duration. In the neighborhood of the White Mountains, the peaks of which are almost always covered with snow, the winters are excessively cold, but they temper the air and render summer delightful and cool. Longevity of the inhabitants is notorious in this state, and it is not unfre quent to find persons enjoying good health at the age of 100 years and upwards. The cold weather sets in about the middle of September and continues till May; the severity of winter, however, does not set in before November, from which to the opening of spring the country is clothed in a thick mantle of snow, and the rivers frozen up from their sources.

Among the beautiful lakes of this state are Lake Umbagog, on the eastern state line, and Winnipiseogee, near the centre, which is a highly picturesque body of water, twenty-two miles long, and contains a number of romantic islets. The country around is mountainous, and abounds in the most exquisite scenery. Squam Lake lies a little northward, and Lake Sinapee to the south-west, running between the Merrimack and Connecticut. The Androscoggin River rises in Lake Umbagog, and after a northerly course of twenty miles, turns to the east and passes into Maine. The Piscataqua is the boundary between this state and Maine from its source to its mouth, and in the first part of its course is called Salmon Fall River. The Merrimack rises in the White Mountains, near the sources of the Saco, and running south through the centre of the state, passes into Massachusetts, where it turns and runs in a north-easterly direction and falls into the Atlantic. The Connecticut rises in the highlands which separate this state from Canada, and passing through the lake of the same name, and running south between Vermont and New-Hampshire, passes into Massachusetts. The principal tributaries of the Connecticut, commencing at the south, are Ashuelot, which empties itself near the south-west corner of the state; Sugar River, which is the outlet of the Sunapee Lake; lower Ammonoosuck, which rises in the White Mountains, near the sources of the Merrimack, and falls into the river near Bath and upper Ammonoosuck, which empties itself at Northumberland. The principal tributaries to the Merrimack from the west are the Nashua, which comes from Massachusetts and empties itself near the southern boundary of the state; the Cootoocook, which empties itself at Concord; and Baker's River, which rises in Mooseheloc mountain, and empties itself at Plymouth. The tributaries from the east are Winnipiseogee River, the outlet of the lake, and Squam River, which is the outlet of Squam Lake. The principal branches of the Piscataqua are the Swamscot or Exeter and Cocheco rivers, both of which join it near its mouth.

The Isle of Shoals, eight in number, lie in the ocean eleven miles southeast of Portsmouth. A part belong to Maine and a part to New-Hampshire. They consist of barren rocks, and are inhabited by a few fisher

men.

The State of New-Hampshire possesses many remarkable peculiarities which are considered as natural curiosities. The "Notch" has been adverted to before. Bellows' Falls are in the Connecticut River at Walpole. The whole descent of the river in the space of a hundred yards, is forty-four feet. There are several pitches, one above another, at the highest of which a large rock divides the stream into two channels, each about ninety feet wide. When the water is low, the eastern channel is dry, being crossed by

a bar of solid rock, and the whole stream falls into the western channel, where it is contracted to the breadth of sixteen feet, and flows with astonishing force and rapidity.

The White Mountains are frequently visited by travellers. Mount Washington is usually ascended from the south-east. After climbing the sides of the mountain for some distance, the forest trees begin to diminish in height, till at the elevation of about 4,000 feet, a region of dwarfish evergreens surrounds the mountain with a formidable hedge a quarter of a mile in thickness. After this, the bald part of the mountain, which is very steep, and consists of naked rocks, presents a scene of desolation; but the labors of the aspirant are recompensed for his toil, if the sky be serene, by a most noble and extensive prospect. On the south-east there is a view of the Atlantic, the nearest part of which is distant sixty-five miles in a right line; on the south, Winnipiseogee Lake lies in full view; on the south-east the summit of Mooseheloc, and far away on the verge of the horizon is Grand Monadnock. The barren rocks which extend a great distance in every direction from the summit, add a melancholy cast to the grandeur of the scene.

The recent geological survey of this state by Dr. Charles F. Jackson, has resulted in the discovery of extensive copper and iron mines. A coppermine, in Coos county, yields an ore of 33 per cent. of pure copper. NewHampshire also abounds in granite and marble, with many other mineral. substances of equal value.

The aggregate population of New Hampshire in 1850 was 317,864, or one person to every 19 acres; and its distribution into the ten counties into which the state is divided, was as follows:

The industry of New-Hampshire is chiefly agricultural, but of late years manufactures have sprung up, and are now making considerable progress. Commerce and internal trade have likewise received an impetus since the introduction of railroads, while all minor employments are prospering.

Agriculture employs three fourths of the whole population. The products of the soil are similar in every respect to those ordinarily grown in northern latitudes. In this state, however, the ruggedness of the country and austerity of the climate, is prejudicial to some growths. The great crops are Indian corn and oats, about 1,500,000 bushels of each being the average annual product; wheat is next in extent, yielding about 200,000 bushels; rye about two thirds that amount, and then buckwheat and barley, which are comparatively small crops. The potato crop yields about 5,000,000 bushels annually, and about half a million tons of hay are cured. Maple sugar is produced to a very large amount. The live stock consists

of about 48,000 horses, 262,000 neat cattle, 800,000 sheep, and 140,000 swine, and poultry to the value of $120,000. The product of wool is at the rate of 1,200,000 pounds per annum. Lumber is also largely produced.

The capital invested in manufactures is about $16,000,000, showing an increase of 75 per cent. since 1840. The chief manufactures are cotton and woollen goods, in the production of which three fourths the factory capital of the state is employed. The minor manufactures are paper, hats and caps, glass and crockery, bricks and lime, etc. There are also considerable numbers of tanneries and other leather manufactories, carriage factories, powder mills, and mills of other descriptions. The value of home-made goods averages annually about $1 per head of the population. Mining and the fisheries are comparatively of small account. On the coast, however, a number of fishing stations have long been established, and some tonnage is employed in the mackerel and cod fisheries.

New Hampshire has but one port on the Atlantic, and as far as its direct foreign commerce is concerned it might as well be without any. In 184950 the total value of its exports to foreign countries was only $8,927, and for the same year its imports amounted only to $49,079. The amount exported, however, does not indicate that it has no exportable produce, but that what it has is carried to ports of other states. The shipping employed in the foreign trade was 19,257 tons, as follows:

The shipping owned within the state on the 30th June, 1850, was 23,093 tons, of which 14,979 tons were registered, and the remainder licensed, etc. The proportion of the latter employed in the coasting trade was 4,025 tons; in the cod-fisheries, 2,664 tons; and in the mackerel-fisheries, 1,204 tons. The number of ships built in 1849-50 was 10, and the tonnage, 6,914 tons; but the greater part of this was built for other states. In 1805 the exports of New Hampshire were valued at $608,408, and in 1810 at $234,650. To 1825 they averaged $200,000, but since that period have rapidly declined. The coasting trade, however, has greatly increased.

There are 22 banks in the state, with an aggregate capital of $2,375,900, the capital of the banks varying from $50,000 to $200,000. The circulation amounted in December, 1850, to $1,897,111, and the deposits to $566,634. The principal assets were specie, $129,399; debts due, $4,328, 120; real estate, $43,670, etc.

The means of internal communication are being rapidly improved. At the close of 1850, 16 railroads had been built, with an aggregate length of