OHIO, one of the principal states in the North American union, is situated between 38.30. and 42.0. of north la [7:16:326]titude, and between 80.28. and 84. 42. longitude west from Greenwich. On the north it is bounded by Michigan and Lake Erie; on the east by Pennsylvania and the river Ohio; on the south by the Ohio River, which separates it from Virginia and Kentucky; and on the west by Indiana. Ohio may extend about 220 miles from north to south, and as much from east to west; but as Lake Erie projects considerably into the northern borders, and the Ohio cuts off much of its southern quarter, the area of the state cannot be computed at more than 200 miles square. Ohio occupies about one third of the plane which declines from Pennsylvania to the Mississippi, and may be considered generally as a surface of table-land, sloping in one direction towards the Ohio, and in the other towards Lake Erie. The state is divided by nature into four grand divisions, which are named after the principal waters on which they are situated. These are the Miami country, the Scioto country, the Muskingum country, and the Lake country. The interior and northern parts of Ohio are generally level, but the northern belt has large tracts of wet and marshy soil. They are however placed in such positions as render them easily drained; and when they are cleared of the forests which cover them, they will form not the least valuable parts of the state. In its primitive condition, Ohio was, with the exception of some central prairies, overspread with a dense forest, to which the great fertility of the soil gave a stupendous development; indeed the size, majesty, and variety of the trees of the Ohio basin has been a theme of just admiration. There are still extensive tracts of land heavily timbered, and which are as level as prairies. The forest-trees are the same as those of Kentucky and Indiana, excepting that the peccan tree, which is common on the waters of the Wabash, is seldom found here. The forests are deep, and some of them are in the richest soils, where, however, the trees are less remarkable for their size than for their straightness. On the head waters of the two Miamis, the Muskingum, and the Scioto, there are rich and extensive prairies, some of which are low and marshy, and others are elevated and dry, the latter being by no means so fertile as the former. Immediately on the borders of the Ohio, there are numerous tracts of intervale or meadow-land of exuberant fertility. In the interior parts, bordering on both sides of the Scioto, and on the two Miamis, are the most extensive tracts of rich and level land. About one quarter of the eastern and south-eastern divisions of Ohio is hilly, in some places too broken, and precipitous to admit of cultivation; but in no parts are the hills very large or high, and nine tenths of the surface of the state are susceptible of cultivation, “On its whole wide surface,” says Mr Flint, “there is scarcely any land so hilly, sterile, or marshy, as, with moderate labour, may not be subdued, drained, or cultivated. The whole region seems to have invited a hardy and numerous body of freeholders to select themselves moderate and nearly equal-sized farms, and to intersperse them over its surface. In respect to the smallness of the farms, the number, equality, and compactness of the population, not confined, as farther west, to the water-courses, but diffused over the whole state, it compares very accurately with New England.”

The principal river of Ohio is the noble and beautiful stream to which it owes its name; but this will demand a separate notice. T he next largest and most interesting river in this state is the Great Miami, which rises between 40 and 41 degrees of north latitude, and interlocks with the Massissineway of the Wabash, and the St Mary’s and Au Glaize, branches of the 2∙1aumee and Scioto. It has a south-westerly course of above fifty miles, flowing in a strong but generally smooth and unbroken current, through a valley of uncommon width and fertility, receiving several tributaries in its course. The Little Miami rises in the southwest corner of Madison county, and, after traversing several counties, joins the Ohio seven miles above Cincinnati. It is of little importance as a navigable stream; but it is valuable in a manufacturing point of view, there being upwards of sixty mills upon it. It has a number of branches; and about one hundred miles from its mouth it forms singular rapids, the stream being compressed to ten yards in width, and falling two hundred feet within no great distance. The country between the Great and Little Miami is in general finely watered, healthy, pleasant, and fertile, and may be characterised as the garden of the state. The Scioto is a considerable river of Ohio, and has the whole of its course in the state, being little short of two hundred miles, one hundred and thirty of which are navigable. It rises in a morass north of Logan county, in the southern division of the state, and has generally a south-easterly course. The banks of the Scioto now rank amongst the most fertile, eligible, and pleasant parts of the state. Between this river and the Muskingum is situated the great Hockhocking and its waters. It has a deep and still but narrow channel, and is navigable for boats forty miles above its mouth, having also a number of mills erected on it. The Muskingum rises near the sources of the Cuyahoga of Lake Erie, in the southern part of Connecticut Reserve. Its course is remarkably sinuous, but its general direction is to the southward. It has a long course, traversing a number of counties, is boatable in good stages of the water one hundred miles by the course of the river, and enters the Ohio at Marietta by a mouth two hundred and fifty yards wide. The Mahoning is also a large stream, which, with those already described, may be considered as belonging to the southern division of the state. In the north there is the Maumee, which rises in the north-eastern angle of the state of Indiana, and flows in a north-eastern direction, across the north-western borders of the state of Ohio, into the western extremity of Lake Erie. This important river has a course of one hundred miles, and is a broad, deep, navigable stream. It has a valuable fishery, and its banks in the season of vegetation are remarkable for the luxuriance of their verdure. The St Joseph, the St Mary’s, and the Great and Little Au Glaize, are considerable tributary streams of the Maumee. The Sandusky rises in the western limits of Richland county, and runs in a general northwest direction ninety miles to the lake. It is more rapid than the other lake streams, but yet affords good navigation. Cuyahoga rises in the central parts of Geauga county, and falls into the lake at Cleveland, after a course of sixty miles, for the greater part of which distance it is boatable. Chagrin, Grand, Ashtabula, and Concaught, are considerable streams, which rise near the lake, run in a northerly direction, and discharge their waters into it.

Ohio possesses an extensive and rich coal region in its eastern and north-eastern divisions, on the Muskingum, the Hockhocking, and the Scioto. The mineral is not only in great abundance, but of the best quality; and in the same region vast quantities of iron ore are found. Limestone, marble, and freestone abound; they are easily accessible, and are admirably adapted to building and public works. The useful earths and fossils are also in abundance. Specimens of gypsum are procured from Sandusky Bay. Salt springs are common, and some of them contain as much saline matter as the waters of the ocean. Nearly half a million bushels of salt are annually manufactured in the state. Those springs the waters of which are drank for medicinal purposes are most of them more or less impregnated with muriate of soda. The Yellow Springs, the most celebrated watering-place after Harrodsburgh Springs in the western country, are situated near the falls of the Miami, sixty-three miles from Cincinnati. The antiquities which belong to this state are somewhat similar to those described in the article New York ; mounds of earth, in which have been found domestic utensils, pottery, vases, and trinkets.
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Instruments of warfare have likewise been dug up, amongst which Mr Flint mentions a curious sword and an iron horseshoe of a diminutive size.

Except along the deep vales of the Ohio, and those of the other streams near their influx into that great recipient, the climate is as uniform as the surface, and considerably more severe in the winter season than in corresponding latitudes on the Atlantic. But the other seasons are warmer, and the nature and luxuriance of the vegetation indicates a temperature of greater mildness in general. The summers are warm, and pretty regular, although to a certain extent subject to tornadoes. The central parts of the state are in the same latitude with Philadelphia. The mean temperature of the year at this city was found to be 53°; but during the same year that of Ohio was two degrees higher. As we recede from the Ohio, the temperature diminishes in a greater ratio than the latitude would indicate; but in general throughout the state there is a striking correspondence between the two. Whilst the summers are warm, the winters are very severe, and the river Ohio has occasionally been crossed at Cincinnati for nine consecutive weeks. At other times this season of the year is mild; but during the winter months the transitions from heat to cold and the reverse are frequent and violent. In that part of the state which slopes to the south, the snow seldom falls deep or lies long; but in Connecticut Reserve, and in the points which slope towards the lakes, they have deep and durable snows. Autumn is almost uniformly temperate, dry, and beautiful; and spring is also a pleasant season. The winds of Ohio, whether high or low, generally blow from the west and south-west at all times. In some parts, near marshes and stagnant waters, fevers and agues frequently prevail; but the climate in general is decidedly healthy.

The soil and the climate of Ohio together are admirably adapted to the most valuable vegetable productions which grow in such a latitude. The soil is very productive, without, however, being so remarkable in this respect as some parts of Illinois and Missouri. After the severity of winter abates, which is early in February, vegetation begins to put forth its powers; and as the heat of spring and summer takes effect upon the soil, it advances with astonishing rapidity. Ohio, generally, has a soil admirably adapted to wheat. Indian corn is the staple grain, and it is nowhere raised more easily, or in greater abundance. On rich alluvial soils 110 bushels have been produced from an acre; but fifty may be considered as about the average crop. Rye, barley, oats, spelts, buckwheat, and all other grains, are raised in great abundance and perfection. Melons, squashes, pumpkins, the pulses, garden vegetables both bulbous and others, as potatoes, onions, beets, carrots, parsnips, asparagus of the best description, and various culinary products of the soil, attain the highest development. From its stiff, clayey nature, the soil retains moisture well, and is better fitted for gardens than the soils farther west. Fruits of all kinds are raised in the greatest profusion; and apples in particular are very plentiful. Pears, plums, peaches, cherries, strawberries, grapes, and what not, are cultivated to such an extent as amply to supply the markets. “In a few years,” says Mr Flint, “this state will take place of any in the Union, in the abundance and excellence of its fruits of all kinds. From the fulness and richness of the clusters of cultivated grapes, it is clear that this ought to be a country of vineyards. The Germans have already made a few establishments of the kind with entire success. Apricos, nectarines, and quinces succeed; and this state is the appropriate empire of Pomona. Recently, tobacco has been added to the articles cultivated. ...Hemp is an article of cultivation in some parts of the state. Agricultural improvement, however, proceeds with slow pace. The people generally are not at all given to experiment, and continue to farm in the old and beaten routine....Besides trees, shrubs, and vines, this state produces a great abundance of indigenous productions that are useful in medicine. We may mention actea racemosa, squaw root, Virginia snake root, Indian turnip, ginseng, which is dug in considerable quantities as an article of commerce, Colombo, labelia, valerian, blood root or sanguinaria, canadensis, and various other herbaceous medicinal plants.”

This state, being more populous than any other in the west, and possessing in many respects manufacturing capabilities, has taken precedence of all the rest in manufactures. Cotton yarn, cloth, and woollen goods, are already manufactured to a considerable extent, as are also flour and spirits; and family manufactures are likewise industriously prosecuted. The principal domestic articles of trade are horses, cattle, swine, whisky, flour, and tobacco. Those articles which are exported from the northern and some interior counties are frequently sent to Montreal and New York markets, by way of Lake Erie. From the southern parts of the state they are transported down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans. Foreign goods are received from the same place by the steam-boats, and from Philadelphia and Baltimore across the Alleghany Mountains. “The surplus produce of the state of Ohio,” says Mr Pitkin, in his Statistical View of the Commerce of the United States, “it is believed, may be calculated at about ten millions. The exports of Cincinnati alone, in 1833, were valued at five millions of dollars. This amount does not probably exceed the truth, when it is considered that the number of hogs slaughtered in that city in 1833 was 123,859, which would make as many, and probably more, barrels of pork, and, in the same year, 21,880 barrels of pork came to that city by the Miami Canal, making about 150,000 barrels in the whole, and which, at nine dollars per barrel, would be 1,359,000 dollars; and that in 1834, the number slaughtered was 150,000. And we cannot but here remark, that the whole quantity of pork exported from the United States in 1833 was only 105,870 barrels, leaving in favour of Cincinnati 45,000 barrels.” It is of course taken for granted, that of the 150,000 barrels of pork said to be made at this city, all above the 45,000 entered as having been exported was reserved for home consumption. Mr Pitkin continues, “the exports of Cleveland on Lake Erie, in the same year, was 1,794,000 dollars coastwise, and 250,000 to foreign places, and from Huron 274,840 dollars; and from the country of Muskingum, on the river of that name, and from the flourishing village of Zanesville, with her numerous flourishing mills, as ascertained by those well acquainted with the facts, was 500,000 dollars. The value of the exports from these places alone make about seven millions and three quarters; and when it is considered that the quantity of tobacco raised in Ohio in 1833 was 10,000 hogsheads, only 3000 of which is included in the above exports from Muskingum, and when to these are added the exports from the Sciota valley, and from many other places on the Ohio River, and on the lake, we apprehend that the surplus produce of Ohio cannot be less than ten millions of dollars.”

The following account of the statistics of Ohio for 1836 is taken from the American Almanac for 1837.

Value of Taxable Property.
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Taxes Levied.
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Although the first permanent settlement was made in Ohio not more than fifty years ago, and although it was admitted into the Union as a state as recently as 1802, yet it has now become one of the most considerable states in the union, has entered largely into the system of internal improvement, and has constructed one of the longest canals in the world. The state canals are under the direction of a board of canal commissioners; and the Ohio and Miami Canals, which, together with their branches, are more than four hundred miles in extent, have been constructed at the expense of the state. For an account of the canals of Ohio, see the article Navigation, Inland.

Railroads have likewise been constructed on the same extensive scale, and numbers of them are in course of being laid. Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, extending from Dayton to the city of Sandusky, is to be 153 miles in length. The Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad is designed to commence at Pittsburgh, and terminate at Massillon on the Ohio Canal, the length being 180 miles. There are some others of smaller size; and some idea may be formed of the extent to which these works are carried, from the fact that no less than twenty-eight companies were incorporated in the year 1836. In connection with trade and internal improvement may be mentioned the banks of Ohio. In the year 1835 there were thirty-one banks in this state; and the condition of twenty-nine of these, from which returns were received, was, that they had of specie 1,906,715, and of capital 6,390,741; and that their circulation was 5,654,048. The legal interest in Ohio is six per cent.; but there is no law against usury, so that in some parts it is seldom less, and often more, than ten per cent.

A laudable zeal has been shown to diffuse education throughout this state. In the year 1825 the New England system of tuition was introduced into Ohio, and by various emendatory enactments it has now acquired a degree of form and consistency. By an act of the state the trustees of every incorporated township are required to divide it into a suitable number of school districts, the prudential concerns of which are managed by three school directors, a clerk, and a treasurer. The funds for maintaining this vast system arise from various sources besides the easy tax of one mill upon a dollar, constituting a large and growing revenue. By this act it is provided that the youth of every class, without distinction, shall be instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as in other necessary branches of education. There are no less than nine colleges or universities, viz. the university of Ohio, at Athens, with five instructors, seventy-two alumni, twenty-six ministers, forty-five students, and about a thousand volumes in the college library, and as many in that of the students; the Miami university, at Oxford, with eight instructors, eighty alumni, seventeen ministers, one hundred and twenty-six students, and 1200 and 2500 volumes respectively in the college and students’ libraries; the Franklin university, at New Athens; the Western Reserve university, at Hud-^ son; the Kenyon university, at Gambier; the Granville university, at Granville; the Marietta university, at Marietta; the Oberlin institution, at New Illyria; and the Willoughby university, at Chagrin; all of which are smaller than the first two, but have from fifty to one hundred students. There are five theological seminaries, a presbyterian college at Cincinnati, and another at Hudson, a Protestant episcopal college at Gambier, a Lutheran theological school at Columbus, and a Baptist institution of the same kind at Granville. There are two medical schools; one at Cincinnati, having six professors, and another at Northing, with four professors. There is a law college at Cincinnati, which has three professors. Amongst institutions of a public character may be mentioned an asylum for the deaf and dumb, which has been established at Columbus. Literature is making considerable progress in Ohio. In 1810 there were only fourteen newspapers in the state, and in 1834 their number amounted to 140. There are, besides, several other periodicals of a literary and scientific nature.

Almost every religious denomination is found in this state, but the Presbyterians and Methodists predominate. In 1831, which is the latest complete return that we have obtained, the numbers were, of Presbyterians, 22,150 communicants, having 346 churches; of Baptists, 8801 communicants, having 240 churches; of Methodists, 36,064 members; of Lutherans, 8706 communicants; of Associate Presbyterians, sixty-five congregations; of German Reformed, eighty-two congregations. The Episcopalians had also sixteen ministers, and the New Jerusalem church four societies; and there were, besides, a number of Friends and Roman Catholics, and some Universalists, Unitarians, and Shakers. “It is affirmed by a gentleman,” says Mr Flint, “well known for his researches into the antiquities of this state, that there is a greater number of professors of religion, in proportion to the whole number of the people, than in any state in the Union. There are a vast number of religious societies; but there is not a great number that have regularly established pastors. The custom of itinerating preaching, as a supply, is very prevalent. The people are generally a quiet, orderly, peaceable, moral, and industrious race. Suicide, excesses, murders in affray, and instances of deliberate and atrocious cruelty, are rare; and the general moral character of the people is highly respectable.”

From the census of 1830 we learn that there were at that time in Ohio the remains of Indian tribes, amounting to 2350 persons. They then owned 390,846 acres of land, besides 16,200 acres which were secured to individuals belonging to the several tribes. These lands are secured by treaty to the Wyandotes, Shawnees, Senecas, Delawares, and Otta was; the other remnants of tribes being classed with these. Some of them have sold their shares; but to those which still hold them, considerable annuities are paid by the national government. The number of individuals belonging to these tribes is gradually diminishing, and they must soon entirely disappear in the tide of white population which is fast overspreading their native territories. There are not many negroes in Ohio,and none are held as slaves. Few descriptions of the inhabitants are exempted from military duty. The militia of this state is principally composed of hardy agriculturists, and exceeds one hundred and fifty thousand men. A portion of the land in Ohio still belongs to the United States. In the north-east part of the state there is a tract containing 3,300,000 acres, called New Connecticut, or Connce-tient[7:16:329] Western Reserve. The fee of these lands is in the state of Connecticut, but Ohi has the jurisdiction. I he state of Virginia also owns a tract of above four millions of acres, called the Virginia military lands, which are situated between the Scioto and Little Miami Rivers. The following table exhibits the

Population of the Counties and County Towns of the State of Ohio in 1830.
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The increase of population in the state of Ohio has been rapid almost beyond example. In the year 1790 it was only about 3000; in 1800, 45,365; in 1810, 230,760; in 1820, 581,434; and in 1830, 937,679.

For an account of Cincinnati, the principal city of Ohio, see the article Cincinnati. Columbus, the political metropolis, is situated near the centre of the state, upon the east bank of the Scioto River. The beautiful slope on which it stands, just below the confluence of the Whetstone River with the Scioto, was a compact forest in 1812. It is now cleared and well cultivated, and the city contains some excellent public buildings, including a penitentiary, an asylum for the deaf and dumb, and above three thousand inhabitants. Steubenville, the seat of justice for Jefferson county, is situated on the western bank of the Ohio, near the Pennsylvania boundary. It was laid out with great regularity in 1798, and is situated in the centre of a rich and populous country. It has the usual number of public buildings found in towns of the same size, and it possesses cotton, woollen, and other manufactures. Chillicothe is finely situated upon a level alluvial plain on the west bank of the Scioto, forty-five miles in a right line from its entrance into the Ohio. It was laid out with great regularity in 1796, and contains some handsome buildings. It possesses several cotton factories, and a number of flour and other mills. Marietta, the oldest town in the state, is situated on the Ohio, a little above the mouth of the Muskingum River. Ships were formerly built here, but this business has been discontinued, and the town, although very advantageously placed, has not prospered like many others in the state less favourably situated. Sixty miles north of Marietta, on the Muskingum, is the town of Zanesville, principally distinguished for its manufactures of iron. Here there are likewise a number of flour and other mills, driven by the waters of the Muskingum; and two or three glasshouses. Cleveland, situated upon the southern shore of Lake Erie, at the mouth of Cuyahoga River, is destined, from its position, to become an important town. It is one of the principal points for embarkation on the lake, and during the last American war was a provision dépôt, and a place where many boats and other lake craft were built. Cleveland is intermediate between Buffalo and Cincinnati, and is the dépôt of that vast quantity of merchandise which is destined for the east and west. One of the most important places on Lake Erie is Sandusky, situated on the southern shore of a bay of the same name. Although it is comparatively a young settlement, it has a great number of stores, and is one of the chief points of landing and embarkation between the Mississippi Valley and New York, Buffalo, and Detroit. The other ports or harbours on Lake Erie are Put-in Bay, Maumee Bay, Fair Port, and Ashtabula Creek. The relative importance of these, as well as the other towns belonging to Ohio, will be seen from our tabular view of the counties and county towns.

The first permanent settlement in the state of Ohio was made at Marietta, on the 7th of April 1788, by forty-seven persons from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. In the year following a settlement was made at Columbia, six miles above Cincinnati, by a company principally from Pennsylvania. In September 1799, the first territorial legislature assembled at Cincinnati, under the ordinance of congress of the 13th July 1786, for the government of the territory of the United States north-west of the river Ohio. On the 30th of April 1802, congress passed an act authorizing the calling of a convention to form a state constitution for that part of the North-west Territory which now constitutes the state of Ohio. On the 1st of November following the convention met at Chillicothe, and formed the present constitution, by which Ohio was admitted into the union. The following is an outline of the constitution of Ohio. The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representatives, which together are styled the General Assembly of the State of Ohio. The representatives are elected annually on the second Tuesday in October; and they are apportioned amongst the counties according to the number of white male inhabitants above twenty-one years of age. Their numbers cannot be less than thirty-six, nor more than seventy-two. The senators are chosen biennially, and are apportioned according to the number of white male inhabitants of twenty-one years of age. Their number cannot be less than one third, nor more than one half of the number of representatives. The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected by the people for two years, on the second Tuesday in October; and his term of service commences on the first Monday in December. The general assembly meets annually at Columbus, on the first Monday in December. The right of suffrage is granted to all white male inhabitants above the age of twenty-one years, who have resided in the state one year next preceding the election, and who have paid or are charged with a state or county tax. The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, in courts of common pleas for each county, and such other courts as the legislature may from time to time establish.
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The judges are elected by a joint ballot of both houses of the general assembly, for the term of seven years, (r. r. r.) Ohio, a great river of the valley of the Mississippi, in North America, formed by the confluence of the /ïlleghany and Monongahela Rivers at Pittsburgh, in the western part of Pennsylvania. The highest sources of the Alleghany are in Potter county, Pennsylvania, twelve miles to the eastward of Condersport, where they interlock with the head waters of theGenessee River, and the eastern and western branches of the Susquehannah. During its course through Pennsylvania, which is exceedingly irregular, it is joined by several streams, the most considerable of which arc, Toby’s Creek, extending one hundred miles into the interior of Pennsylvania, and the Kiskiminitas, formed by the junction of the Conemaugh and Loyalhanna, which rise near the Alleghany Mountains, one hundred miles distant. This branch of the Ohio, although its volume is not apparently wider than the other, is by far the most important tributary. It has a swift, sweeping, and rapid current, and often a rocky bottom, whence huge blocks rise to the surface of the water. In the spring time, when it is full, flat and keel boats descend it rapidly, without any danger. It has been navigated by steam-boats, but has been found one of the most difficult currents to stem ever attempted by these vessels. Monongahela River, the other fork of the Ohio, rises in Virginia, about seventy miles north-west of Morgantown. It traverses a rich and well-settled country, celebrated for its whisky, flour, and iron manufactures. The banks are often bold and high bluffs, and in some places the country is hilly. In good stages of the water, it is boatable by large boats for about one hundred miles from its mouth. During its course it receives the waters of a number of tributary streams, the most important of which is the Youghiogeny River, or, as it is commonly called, the Yough, which rises near the upper waters of the Potomac, the rivers being only separated by a spur of the mountains. From the western declivity of these mountains, both this and the main river receive a great accession of mountain streams. The united current, which has now become broad and majestic, flows in a north-west course to Pittsburgh, and where it unites with the Alleghany it is more than four hundred yards in breadth. At the confluence of the two great branches, the Ohio is somewhat more than six hundred yards wide, and it immediately assumes that broad, placid, and beautiful aspect which it maintains to its junction with the Mississippi, in latitude 37. 0. north, and longitude 88. 52. west. Its length from Pittsburgh to its mouth is about nine hundred miles, including the windings of the river; but the direct distance is only six hundred and fourteen miles. Its breadth varies exceedingly, being in some parts fourteen hundred yards, whilst in others it is only four hundred yards across. At Cincinnati it is about eight hundred yards wide, and this is nearly its average breadth. For thirty miles below Pittsburgh its course is north-west. It then turns slowly to the west-south-west, and pursues that general direction for some five hundred miles. It flows south-west for above one hundred and fifty miles, then westward above two hundred and fifty miles, and finally south-west about one hundred and seventy miles through that low and swampy country in which it joins the “Father of waters.” Between Pittsburgh and its mouth it is diversified with about one hundred considerable islands, besides a great number of tow-heads and sand-bars, which in low stages of the water greatly impede navigation. Some of these islands are of exquisite beauty, and afford most lovely situations for retired farms. The passages between them and the sand-bars at their head are amongst the difficulties of the navigation of the river. Notwithstanding these obstacles, however, it is well adapted for boat navigation, the i current being remarkably smooth and gentle, excepting at Louisville in Kentucky, where it is broken by falls, the water running for several miles with great rapidity, although not so much so as to be insurmountable by boats. A canal round these falls, a work of great magnitude and utility, has been completed. The annual range of the Ohio, from low to high water, is about fifty feet; the extreme range is ten feet more. When lowest it may be forded at several places above Louisville. It is generally lowest in August, September, and October, and highest in December,· March, May, and June. Throughout the year it is subject to sudden and very considerable elevations and depressions. Near Pittsburgh it is frequently frozen over for several weeks during the winter, and this has sometimes been the case four hundred miles lower down. Generally, the navigation upward is suspended by floating ice for eight or ten weeks in winter. When the river is at its mean height, its current is about three miles an hour; when higher and rising it is more, and when very low it does not exceed two miles an hour. Above two hundred steam-boats ply on the Ohio, a great part of which are employed in the commerce of the states bordering on the river; but they also connect with it the commerce of the states on the Mississippi. The produce of the contiguous states is readily transported to this channel by the numerous navigable rivers which it receives, and is thence conveyed to New Orleans, the grand commercial emporium of the valley of the Mississippi. The Ohio and all its tributaries cannot, it is believed, have less than five thousand miles of boatable waters; and, taking all circumstances into account, few rivers in the world can vie with it, either in utility or beauty. From its very commencement it affords most delightful prospects. Rivers of a romantic and beautiful character flow into it almost at equal distances, like lateral canals. Its valleys are of extraordinary depth and fertility; generally high and dry, and for the most part healthy; whilst the configuration of the country 7 on the banks has much grandeur, softness, and variety. Of the rivers and creeks which join the Ohio, the number is very great. The following are all navigable, in moderate or high stages of the water, by steam-boats, for considerable distances, viz. the Muskingum, Great Kenhawa, Big Sandy, Scioto, Great Miami, Kentucky, Green, Wabash, Cumberland, and Tennessee. The last is by far the largest and most important tributary of the Ohio, watering considerable portions of Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Of creeks and smaller rivers there arc probably nearly two hundred which enter the Ohio; but a list of them would only be a dry catalogue of uncouth names. (r. r. r.)