The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1861-10-02
NORTH CAROLINA IN HER PHYSICAL
ASPECTS,
pY noN. q. Z. cLINoMAs.

4
miles of territory--iust about the area OF
England. But while England. exclusive Of
Scotland and Wales, has population OF sew
enteen millions, North Carolina has barely
one million. If this difference is to contin-
ue, can we ever equal. or even approximate.
the population Of England? When at
Washington. persons, comparatively stran-
gers to our State, often have said 10 me
I" So you are from the piny region OF North
Carolina" They sometimes seemedsurpris-
ed when told them that the section from
which | came was more remote from that
district covered with pines than Washington
City itself. and even less like it in its ex-
ternai features. The lactsthat the principal
lines Of travel through our State have been
along that comparatively narrow belt of lev
el pine forest, has made most persons from
abroad suppose that the whole State is Of that
character.
Ii was in the month of July. 1884. that
the FIRST Europeans who ever touched the
shores OF any one o! he old thirteen States,
approached the coast Of North Carolina, un-
der the command d Amadas and BarlOwe.
In the report Of Sir Walter Raleigh. drawn
up by the latter. il lie said that two days be-
fore they came in sight Of land, i" We smell.
ed SO sweet and so strong a smell as il we
had been in the midst Of some delicate gar
den, abounding with all kinds of odoriierous
fiowers." On reaching the land il was
found $50 full Of grapes. as the very beating
and surge of the sea oyerflowed them, OF
which we found such plenty, as well there as
in all places else, both on the sand and on
the green soil, on the hills as in the plains.
as well on every liitle shrub, as also climb
ing the tops Of high cedars, that think in
all the wnrld the like abundance is not to be
found; and myself having seen those parts of
Europe that most abound. find such differ
ence as were incredible 10 be written" In
side Of the long narrow tract Of islands. a.
long which they coasted for two hundred
miles, they found what appeared another
great sea-" between them and the main land.
Everywhrre. they were struck with surprise.
as they beheId the variety, the magnitude
and beauty Of the iorest trees. which not on
" surpassed those Of Bohemia. Muscoyia or
Hercyia," but 'bettering the cedars Of the
Azores. of the Indies. or Lebanon
Two wears later, after residence OF
twelve months on the main land, with a par
ty Of colonisis, Ralph Lane declared " the
man to be the goodiest soil under the scope
of heaven" " the goolliest anu most pleasing
TERRITORY IN the world . " aud the climate 50
wholesome, that We had not one sick since
We touched the land here" lie aiirms that
IL il Z had but horses and kline IN snme rea-
s0rable proportion. dare assure myself. be-
ing inhabited with English. no realm in
ehristend0m were comparable 10 II. For
this already, we 6nd. that whar commodities
sneyer Spain, France. or Italy, or the East
parts, do WELD to u, &c.,-ihcse parts, do
abound with The growih of them all. and sun
dry other rich commodities, that no parts ol
the wurid. be they West or Eas, Indies have
here We find the greatest abundance ol."
When we contemplate North Carolina al
the present day, We recognize the feature:
here described. There i on The same lone
line Of low sandy islands, probably formed
by the deposits oi sediment. where the tluyl-
/ al waters from the interior are checked u
their course by the opposing current nf th'
Gulf Stream. With the erceptnn of th'
fine harbor ol Beaufort, there are the sam,
difficult inlets which terrified these earl,
A ,oyagers, and on their maps we're marked
!. with figures of sinking ships ln.ide OF th'
. range. there are the same broad and shallow
seas. most abnnlantly supplied with hsh
AID those other inhabitants of the deep
which are alike calculsted TO minister 10 th,
necessities aud luxnries Of mankind. Oi
the "main" there are lands nat inferior il
Iertility 10 the lamaus drlias oi the Nile O
The Mississippi Cultivation for one hun
Idred successive wears, IN the most exhaust
o ing Of grain crops, has not diminished thei
II prodactiyeness. Though IL has cnst some
y thing To render these swamp lands suitabl
!. for cultivation. vet no agricultural invest
4 ment ever made 10 America, perhaps. yield
better return, and this fact affords aEuihr
. illustration ol the truth that Providence ha
deereed thai the best things 10 lile shall cos
labor to attain them. And vet. up to thu
ume but small proportion. many persons
. think not one.fiih part Of the swamp land
!. in the Eastern portion Of the State, has,
been put into cultivation. When, alter ih,
manner Of Holland. all this region shall hav,
been reclaimed, the entire popalstlon of th,
State might b. removed TO u, without bein,
able to cultivate the half Of il. Almost e,
\ cry poruon oi ii. too, is penetrated BY nayi
n gable streams. Passing inward hundre,
! niles or more from the coast. we reach tha
belt Of pine land which was formerly regard
ed q. only valuable FOR its timber, and nava
' stores generally, but which later experiment
show may, without difficulty. be rcnderet
$ highly productive. BY the application o
mari or lime. il has been ascertained tina
most Of this region can be made TO yield a
: bundant crops both OF cotton aud the cereals
! Westward Of this. there stretches Tor two o
% three hundred miles, moderately eleyaie'
. undulaiing country, presenting almost ever,
variety Of landscape, suil. and production
AT its extreme borders, there rises up
mountainous region with bolder scenery an'
more bracing climate. Few Of our owl
. citizens realize the extent of this district. o
!, are aware Of the fact that il Is three hundre'
miles in length. aud has probably more thar