of square miles: larger, that is, than the whole of Europe, and entirely within the temperate zone. This great country possesses the longest river in the world, and many others second only to it, and that magnificent chain of fresh water lakes which, with the rivers, gives it such unequalled facilities for inland navigation. Its grand mountain ranges, the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevadas, besides the Alleghanies and others, hold untold mineral wealth and inexhaustible supplies of coal. It has vast forests of valuable timber; prairie lands of such extent and fertility that they could grow corn for ten times its present population; and bottom lands along the rivers which produce the finest cotton, sugar, and other tropical crops. The climate is, of course, very various over such an extent of country. That of the Northern, Eastern and Central States may be said to be much drier than our own, with greater extremes of cold and heat. The Southern States are semi-tropical in character. The climate of the Western States, between the Mississippi and the Pacific, is modified considerably by the mountain ranges and the sea coast. The rain-fall is generally moderate and pretty evenly distributed; but some of the States, such as New Mexico and Colorado, suffer greatly from drought, and have to resort to artificial irrigation to secure their crops. The Northern and Eastern States are generally hilly or undulating and well wooded; as we advance into the interior, the country becomes flatter and more open, until we cross the great plains or rolling prairies in the centre of the continent; then we reach the great Rocky Mountain chain, and finally the beautifully varied scenery of the Pacific States. The following list of the States and territories1 with their area and population is taken from the official census for 1870. Area, Population, etc. of the United States in 1870. 1 The newly settled districts not yet entitled to be fully represented in Congress by reason of the sparseness of their population, are called Territories and not States. Area, Population, etc. of the United States in 1870-(cont.) Area. Population. Chief Cities.' MIDDLE STATES--6. New York New Jersey Maryland District of Columbia TOTAL WESTERN STATES-9. 46,000 4,382,759 Albany, New York. II, 124 60 131,700 It will be seen that the area and population are very unequally distributed. Rhode Island, the smallest State, is not much larger than Yorkshire; Texas, the largest, is five times as large as England. The New England and Middle States, whose united area is little more than one-twentieth of the whole country, have more than one-third of the total population; and in wealth, education and influence are far ahead of the others, including as they do nearly all the great cities, commercial ports, and manufacturing centres. The Southern and South-Western groups, comprising the old slave-holding States, are almost entirely agricultural, and rich in cotton, rice and other tropical productions. They have however one great port, New Orleans, besides three others of some importance. The Western States are entirely agricultural and comprise the great wheat and corn growing area, the level or rolling prairie lands so admirably adapted to farming purposes. The Pacific group' comprises the great and rising State of California with its fine port, San Francisco, (the New York of the Pacific) its fertile soil, magnificent scenery, varied climate and important mineral wealth. The |