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On Kentucky river we find many fertile valleys, or bottoms along the river, especially towards its rife. There is good land alfo on Red river, but toward the heads of this and the Kentucky, the foil is broken; but even here, we find in valleys and along the ftreams, a great deal of fruitful land. Generally the foil within a mile or two of Kentucky river is of the third andfourth rates; from about that distance, as we leave it on either fide, we approach good lands. The country through which it winds its course, for the most part, may be confi. dered as level to its banks, or rather precipices; from the brow of which we behold the river, three and fometimes four hundred feet deep, like a great canal.

Dick's river runs through a great body of first rate land, abounding every where with cane, and affords many excellent mill feats. Many mills are already built on this ftream, and will have a plentiful fupply of water in the dryeft feasons. The banks of this river, near its mouth, are fimilar to the banks of the Kentucky. The several streams and branches of Salt river afford excellent mill feats; these roll themfelves through a great tract of excellent land, but the country from the junction of these waters, and fome miles above towards the Ohio, which may be about twenty-five miles, is level and poor, and has abundance of ponds. For a confiderable distance from the head of this river, the land is of the first quality, well fituated, and abounds with fine cane. Upon this and Dick's river, the inhabitants are chiefly settled, it being the safest part of the country from the incurfions of the Indians.

Green river affords excellent mill feats, and a constant stream. This is allowed to be the beft watered part of Kentucky. On its banks we find many fine bottoms, fome first rate, but mostly second and third rate lands, and at fone distance, many knobs, ridges, and broken poor land. Below a creek called Sinking creek, on this river, within fifty miles of the Ohio, towards Salt river, a great territory begins, called Green river Barrens, extending to the Ohio; it has no timber, and little water, but affords excellent pafturage for cattle. On fome parts of this river we find abundance of cane, fome falt licks, and fulphureous and bituminous fprings.

That part of Cumberland river which is in the Kentucky country, traverses a hilly poor fand, though in fome parts we find good foil along its fides. The other rivers mentioned, viz. Great Kanhawa and Tennessee, are not in the Kentucky country, and therefore will be treated of in another place.

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The reader by cafting his eye upon the map, and viewing round the heads of Licking from the Ohio, and round the heads of Kentucky, Dick's river, and down the Green river to the Ohio, may view in that great compafs of above one hundred miles fquare, the most extraordinary country upon which the fun ever shone.

South of Green river, in the lands referved for the continental and state troops of Virginia, an exceeding valuable lead mine has lately been discovered. Iron ore is likewife found on Rough creek, a stream running into this river.

The Ohio river, the great refervoir of all the numerous rivers that flow into it from both banks, has many fine valleys along its fides, and we obferve that opposite to each of them there is a hill, these hills and bottoms changing fides alternately. It only remains under this head to inform the reader that there is a great body of first rate lands near the falls or rapids, called Bear-grafs; and it will be fufficient just to mention, that the country on the north-west fide of the Ohio is allowed by all travellers to be a moft fertile level country, and wellwatered.

The foil of Kentucky is of a loofe, deep black mould, without fand, in the first rate lands, about two or three feet deep, and exceedingly luxurious in all its productions.* In fome places the mould inclines to brown; in fome the wood, as the natural confequence of too rich a foil, is of little value, appearing like dead timber and large tumps in a field lately cleared. These parts are not confiderable. The country in general may be confidered as well timbered, produ

As the quality of the land is the great object to emigrants, every one must be pleafed with the foil, and was that the only thing requifite to make a country valuable or pleafing, Kentucky would be the most fo in the world, as the land is no where excelled. After you are got fairly into Kentucky, the foil affumes a black appearance, rich and light in fubftance; and should you vifit the country in the spring, you will be surprised at finding no leaves under the trees. The reafon is, the ground is fo rich and damp, that they always rot and disappear with the winter, except where the foil is evidently poor for that country. It then bears the appearance of the better fort of land in Pennsylvania and Jersey, though differing widely in substance, there being no fand to be met with in the foil of Kentucky.

There is a fpecies of flat or split lime-ftone that pervades all the country, lying at unequal depths. In the rich and black-looking foil it lies near the furface, and, in general, the nearer the stone lies to the furface, the richer the land is fout to be. At the fame time, the stone does not, as I expected, impede the growth of the trees, as they grow every where to an amazing height, except near the falt licks, where the influence of the faline particles feems to check their growth. American Museum, 1792.

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cing large trees of many kinds, and to be exceeded by no country in variety. Those of the natural growth, and which are peculiar to Kentucky, are the fugar tree, which grows in all parts in great plenty, and furnishes every family with plenty of excellent fugar. The honey locuft is curiously furrounded with large thorny spikes, bearing broad and long pods, in form of peas, has a fweet tafte, and makes excellent beer.

The coffee tree greatly resembles the black oak, grows large, and also bears a pod, in which is enclosed coffee. The papwa tree does not grow to a great fize, is a foft wood, bears a fine fruit, much like a cucumber in shape and fize, and taftes sweet. The cucumber tree is fmall and foft, with remarkable leaves, bears a fruit much refembling that from which it is named. Black mulberry trees are in abundance. The wild cherry tree is here frequent, of large fize, and fupplies the inhabitants with boards for all their buildings. Here alfo is the buck eye, an excellent foft wood, bearing a remarkable black fruit, and fome other kinds of trees not common elsewhere. Here is great plenty of fine cane, on which the cattle feed and grow fat. This plant, in general, grows from three to twelve feet high, of a hard subftance, with joints at eight or ten inches diftance along the stalk, from which proceed leaves refembling those of the willow. There are many cane brakes fo thick and tall that it is difficult to pafs through them; where no cane grows, there is abundance of wild rye, clover, and buffalo grafs, covering vast tracts of country, and affording excellent food for cattle. The fields are covered with abundance of wild herbage not common to other countries; the Sha

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*Among the many accounts that have been given of Kentucky, none of them have done juftice to the timber. Oak and locut on the flat lands are common at five feet diameter. Poplars growing on the beach lands are so common at five and fix feet through, as hardly to be noticed. The beach grows to the thickness of four or five feet, and oth of the laft mentioned to the height of one hundred and twenty to one hundred and thirty feet. Thefe, and the advantage of pafture in the woods, conftitute the great excellenca of Kentucky. American Museum, 1792.

The ftories told of the abundance of grafs in the woods, are in many inftances true. You frequently find beds of clover to the horfe's knees-fometimes a fpecies of ruth grafs, commonly called the wild rye, from the fimila.ity of its stalk to the rye so called among us; in ther places we meet with large tracts of wild cane, very much effcemed by the wild and tame cattle, it continuing in verdure all the winter. There is alfo a fpecies of vine, called the pea vine, from its producing a small pod, refembling that of the garden pea, of which both horfes and cattle are extremely fond. These are scattered

generally

wanefe fallad, wild lettuce, and pepper grafs, and many more, as yet unknown to the inhabitants, but which, no doubt, have excellent virtues. Here are feen the finest crown imperial in the world, the cardinal flower, fo much extolled for its fcarlet colour; and all the year, excepting the winter months, the plains and valleys are adorned with variety of flowers of the most admirable beauty. Here is alfo found the tulip-bearing laurel tree, or magnolia, which has an exquifite fmell, and continues to bloffom and feed for feveral months together.

This country is richest on the higher lands, exceeding the finest low grounds in the fettled parts of the continent. When cultivated, it produces in common fifty and fixty bufhels per acre; and it has been affirmed by credible persons, that above one hundred bushels of good corn were produced from an acre in one feafon.* The first rate land is too rich for wheat till it has been reduced by four or five years cultivation.

Colonel Harrod, a gentleman of veracity in Kentucky, has lately experienced the production of small grain; and affirms, that he had thirty-five bushels of wheat, and fifty bushels of rye per acre.

In common, the land will produce about thirty bushels of wheat and rye, upon a moderate computation, per acre; and this is the general opinion of the inhabitants. We may fuppofe that barley and oats will increase abundantly; as yet they have not been fufficiently tried. The foil is very favourable to flax and hemp, turnips, pota toes, and cotton, which grow in abundance; and the fecond, third, and fourth rate lands are as proper for fmall grain. Every husbandman

generally through the country, according to the different foils, but are not to be met with univerfally. The woods, however, afford abundance of food for cattle; and in confe quence of this abundance, the people pay very little attention to the making and im proving pafture lands. The milk from this food is, however, thin, and both that and the butter retain a strong taste of weeds. In hot weather, their milk will turn four in two or three hours after milking; but as the custom of the country is to use four milk, this disadvantage is not much regretted. American Museum, 1792.

The great boast of a Kentucky-man is the quantity of corn that the land will raife upon as acre, of which one hundred and seven bushels are the greatest quantity that I could find ascertained to have been produced: this, in the fall, fells for fix-pence a bufhel. The common produce of the foil is from fifty to eighty bushels an acre, in a favourable feason. This, upon an average, is about three times the quantity we can raife on an acre in the old States; grain of this kind must therefore always be low in Kentucky, probably lower than at prefent, when the country comes to be more opened, Ibid.

may

may have a good garden or meadow, without water or manure,

where he pleases.

The old Virginia planters fay, that if the climate does not prove too moist, few foils known will yield more or better tobacco.* Experience has proved, that the climate is not too moift. Great quan. tities of this article have been exported to France and Spain, through New-Orleans; and it is a well-kown fact, that Philadelphia is a profitable market for the Kentucky planter, notwithstanding all the inconveniencies and expenfes of re-fhipment at New-Orleans, under a Spanish government. What advantages then may not this country expect from a free navigation of the Miffiffippi, unreftrained by Spa nish policy!

Iron ore and lead are found in abundance, but we do not hear of any filver or gold mine as yet discovered.

There appear to be great natural ftores of fulphur and falt in this country. A fpring at Boonsborough conflantly emits fulphureous particles, and near the fame place is a falt fpring. There is another fulphureous spring upon Four Mile creek, a third upon Green river, and many others in different places, abounding with that useful mineral.

There are three fprings or ponds of bitumen near Green river, which do not form a stream, but difgorge themselves into a common reservoir, and when used in lamps, anfwer all the purposes of the finest oil.

There are different places abounding with copperas, eafily procured, and in its prefent impure ftate fufficient for the use of the inhabitants; but when refined, equal to any in the world.

There is an allum bank on the fouth fide of Cumberland river, fituated at the bottom of a cliff of rocks projecting over it. In its present state it has the appearance and poffeffes the virtues of that mineral, and when purified is a beautiful allum.

Many fine falt fprings conftantly emit water, which being manufactured, affords great quantities of fine falt. There are five, which in time will become of the utmost importance, viz. the higher and

No land appears better adapted to the culture of tobacco than that of Kentucky, and it is now become one of their, staples. At prefent there are but few orchards; but as the country opens, they will find it their intereft to plant them.-The flour I have feen made here is generally black, and not so good as might be expected. Poffibly i may be the fault of the mills, or it may proceed from the richness of the ground, though it must be confeffed the grain itself looks well. American Museum, 1792.

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