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however, is to be made between clearing and cultivating a country. While clearing a country makes it fickly in the manner that has been mentioned, cultivating a country, that is, draining swamps, deftroying weeds, burning brush, and exhaling the unwholesome and fuperfluous moisture of the earth, by means of frequent crops of grain, graffes and vegetables of all kinds, render it healthy. Several parts of the United States have preffed through the feveral ftages that have been defcribed. The first fettlers received their country from the hand of nature, pure and healthy. Fevers foon followed their improvements, nor were they finally banished, until the higher degrees of cultivation took place. Nor even then, where the falutary effects of cultivation were rendered abortive by the neighbourhood of mill-ponds.

As a third caufe of this increase of fevers, the unequal quantities of rain which have fallen of late years, has been affigned. While the creeks and rivers were confined within fteady bounds, there was little or no exhalation of febrile miafmata from their fhores. But the dry fummers of 1780, 1781, and 1782, by reducing the rivers and creeks far below their ancient marks; while the wet fprings of 1784 and 1785, by fwelling them beyond their natural heights, have, when they have fallen, as in the former cafe, left a large and extenfive surface of moift ground expofed to the action of the fun, and of course to the generation and exhalation of febrile miafmata *.

This state, having been fettled but little more than a hundred years, is not fufficiently old to determine from facts the state of longevity. Among the people called Quakers, who are the oldeft fettlers, there are inftances of longevity, occafioned by their living in the old, cultivated counties, and the temperance imposed on them by their religion. There are fewer long-lived people among the Germans, than among other nations, occafioned by their excess of labour and low diet. They live chiefly upon vegetables and watery food, that affords too little nourishment to repair the waste of their ftrength by hard labour.

Nearly one half of the children born in Philadelphia, die under two years of a fage, and chiefly with a disease in the stomach and bowels. Very few die at this age in the country.

Population, character, manners, &c.] In the grand convention which was held in Philadelphia, in the fummer of 1787, the inhabitants in Pennsylvania were reckoned at 360,000. It is probable they are now more numerous perhaps 400,000. If we fix them at this, the population for every fquare mile will be only nine; by which it appears that Pennsylvania is only one-fifth as populous as Connecticut.

But Connecticut was fettled nearly half a century before Pennfylvania; fo that in order to do juftice to Pennsylvania in the comparison, we must anticipate her probable population fifty years hence. At this period, if we admit that the number of inhabitants is doubled once in twenty-five years, by natural increase, without the aid of foreign emigrations, the population will be equal to thirty-fix for every fquare mile. Add to this, 400,000 for the increase by emigrants and their defcen*Inquiry into the causes of the increase of fevers in Pennsylvania.

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dents, which is probably not too large a number, confidering the length of time-the extenfive tracts of rich and vacant lands-the fpirit of emigration in the eastern states-the probable influx of inhabitants, upon the establishment and falutary operation of the new government-and the inducements which are held up to encourage fettlers to fix in this ftate. All these things taken into view, we may venture to predict, that Pennsylvania, at the end of half a century from this time, will contain two millions of fouls, which is about forty-five for every fquare mile, equal to the prefent population of Connecticut.

Statement of the number of taxable inhabitants in Pennsylvania, in the years 1760, 1770, 1779, and 1786*.

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The number of militia in Pennfylvania, are reckoned at 85,000, between eighteen and fifty-three years of age.

The inhabitants of Pennfylvania confift of emigrants from England, Ireland, Germany and Scotland. The Friends and Epifcopalians are chiefly of English extraction, and compofe about one-third of the inhabitants. They live principally in the city of Philadelphia, and in the

So often have the counties of this ftate been divided and fubdivided-and the boundaries altered, that a comparison in this statement can hardly be made, except between the feveral totals: as, for infiance, it would appear from the above table that Philadelphia county had decreased in population between the years 1779 and 1786 whereas the contrary is the cafe-for Montgomery county was ftruck off from it. The fame is obfervable of all the counties wherein a decrease appears.

↑ No return.

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counties of Chefter, Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery. The Irish are mostly Prefbyterians. Their ancestors came from the north of Ireland, which was originally fettled from Scotland; hence they have fometimes been called Scotch-Irish, to denote their double descent. But they are commonly and more properly called Irish, or the defcendents of people from the north of Ireland. They inhabit the western and frontier counties, and are numerous.

The Germans compose one quarter at least, if not a third of the inhabitants of Pennfylvania. They inhabit the north parts of the city of Philadelphia, and the counties of Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Dauphin, Lancafter, York and Northampton; moftly in the four last. They confift of Lutherans, (who are the most numerous fect) Calvinists, Moravians, Mennonitts, Tunkers (corruptly called Dunkers) and Swingfelters, who are a fpecies of Quakers. These are all distinguished for their temperance, induftry and oeconomy.

The Germans have usually fifteen of fixty-nine members in the affembly; and fome of them have arifen to the first honours in the ftate, and now fill a number of the higher offices. Yet the lower clafs are very ignorant and fuperftitious. It is not uncommon to fee them going to market with a little bag of falt tied to their horses manes, for the purpose, they fay, of keeping off the witches.

The Baptifts (except the Mennonift and Tunker Baptifts, who are Germans) are chiefly the defcendants of emigrants from Wales, and are not numerous. A proportionate affemblage of the national prejudices, the manners, cuftoms, religions, and political fentiments of all thefe, will form the Pennsylvanian character. As the leading traits in this character. thus conftituted, we may venture to mention industry, frugality, bordering in fome inftances on parfimony, enterprize, a taste and ability for improvements in mechanics, in manufactures, in agriculture, in commerce, and in the liberal fciences; temperance, plainness and fimplicity in dress and manners; pride and humility in their extremes; inoffenfivenefs and intrigue; in regard to religion, variety and harmony; liberality and its oppofites, fuperftition and bigotry; and in politics an unhappy jargon. Such appear to be the diftinguishing traits in the collective Pennfylvanian character.

In this connection, and in a work of this kind, the remarks of a citizen of Philadelphia, on the progrefs of population, agriculture, manners and government in Pennsylvania, in a letter to his friend in England,'’

are too valuable to be omitted.

"The first fettler in the woods is generally a man who has out-lived his credit or fortune in the cultivated parts of the state. His time for migrating is in the month of April. His firft object is to build a fmall cabin of rough logs for himself and family. The floor of this cabin is of earth, the roof is of fplit logs-the light is received through the door, and, in fome inftances, through a fmall window made of greased paper. A coarfer building adjoining this cabin affords a fhelter to a cow, and a pair of poor horfes. The labour of erecting these buildings is fucceeded by killing the trees on a few acres of ground near his cabin; this is done by cutting a circle round the trees, two or three feet from the ground. The ground around these trees is then ploughed, and

Indian corn planted in it. The feafon for planting this grain is about the 20th of May. It grows generally on new ground, with but little cultivation, and yields in the month of October following, from 40 to 50 bushels per acre. After the firit of September it affords a good deal of nourishment to his family, in its green or unripe state, in the form of what is called roafting ears. His family is fed during the fummer by a small quantity of grain, which he carries with him, and by fish and game. His cows and horfes feed upon wild grafs, or the fucculent twigs of the woods. For the firft year he endures a great deal of diftrefs from hunger -cold-and a variety of accidental caufes, but he feldom complains or finks under them. As he lives in the neighbourhood of Indians, he foon acquires a strong tincture of their manners. His exertions, while they continue, are violent; but they are fucceeded by long intervals of rest. His pleasures confift chiefly in fifhing and hunting. He loves fpirituous liquors, and he eats, drinks and fleeps in dirt and rags in his little cabin. In his intercourfe with the world he manifefts all the art which characterize the Indians of our country. In this fituation he paffes two or three years. In proportion as population increases around him, he becomes uneafy and diffatisfied. Formerly his cattle ranged at large, but now his neighbours call upon him to confine them within fences, to prevent their trefpaffing upon their fields of grain. Formerly he fed his family with wild animals, but these, which fly from the face of man, now cease to afford him an eafy fubfiftence, and he is compelled to raise domeftic animals for the fupport of his family. Above all, he revolts against the operation of laws. He cannot bear to surrender up a fingle natural right for all the benefits of government; and therefore he abandons his little fettlement, and feeks a retreat in the woods, where he again fubmits to all the toils which have been mentioned. There are inftances of many men who have broken ground on bare creation, no lefs than four different times in this way, in different and more advanced parts of the state. It has been remarked, that the flight of this clafs of people is always increased by the preaching of the gospel. This will not surprise us when we confider how oppofite its precepts are to their licentious manner of living. If our firft fettler was the owner of the spot of land which he began to cultivate, he fells it at a confiderable profit to his fucceffor; but if (as is oftener the cafe) he was a tenant to some rich landholder, he abandons it in debt; however, the small improvements he leaves behind him, generally makes it an object of immediate demand to a fecond fpecies of fettler.

This fpecies of fettler is generally a man of fome property; he pays one-third or one-fourth part in cash for his plantation, which confifts of three or four hundred acres, and the rest in gales or inftalments, as it is called here; that is, a certain fum yearly, without intereft, till the whole is paid. The first object of this fettler is to build an addition to his cabin; this is done with hewed logs and as faw mills generally follow fettlements, his floors are made of boards; his roof is made of what are called clapboards, which are a kind of coarse shingles, fplit out of fhort oak logs. This houfe is divided by two floors, on each of which are two rooms: under the whole is a cellar walled with ftone. The cabin ferves as a kitchen to this houfe. His next object is to clear a little mea

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dow ground, and plant an orchard of two or three hundred apple-trees His ftable is likewise enlarged; and, in the courfe of a year or two, he builds a large log barn, the roof of which is commonly thatched with rye ftraw: he moreover increases the quantity of his arable land; and, instead of cultivating Indian corn alone, he raises a quantity of wheat and rye: the latter is cultivated chiefly for the purpose of being diftilled into whiskey. This fpecies of fettler by no means extracts all from the earth, which it is able and willing to give. His fields yield but a fcanty increase, owing to the ground not being fufficiently ploughed. The hopes of the year are often blafted by his cattle breaking through his half-made fences, and deftroying his grain. His horfes perform but half the labour that might be expected from thein, if they were better fed; and his cattle often die in the fpring from the want of provision, and the delay of grafs. His houfe, as well as his farm, bear many marks of a weak tone of mind. His windows are unglazed, or, if they have had glafs in them, the ruins of it are fupplied with old hats or pillows. This fpecies of fettler is feldom a good member of civil or religious fociety: with a large portion of an hereditary mechanical kind of religion, he neglects to contribute fufficiently towards building a church, or maintaining a regular administration of the ordinances of the gofpel: he is equally indifpofed to fupport civil government: with high ideas of liberty, he refufes to bear his proportion of the debt contracted by its establishment in our country he delights chiefly in company-fometimes drinks fpirituous liquors to excefs will spend a day or two in every week, in attending political meetings; and thus he contracts debts, which, (if he cannot discharge in a depreciated paper currency) compel him to fell his plantation, generally in the courfe of a few years, to the third and laft fpecies of fettler.

This fpecies of fettler is commonly a man of property and good character; fometimes he is the fon of a wealthy farmer in one of the interior and ancient counties of the ftate. His first object is to convert every fpot of ground, over which he is able to draw water, into meadow: where this cannot be done, he felects the moft fertile fpots on the farm, and devotes it by manure to that purpose. His next object is to build a barn, which he prefers of ftone. This building is, in fome inftances, one hundred feet in front, and forty in depth: it is made very compact, fo as to shut out the cold in winter; for our farmers find that their horfes and cattle, when kept warm, do not require near as much food, as when they are exposed to the cold. He uses ceconomy, likewise, in the confumption of his wood. Hence he keeps himself warm in winter, by means of stoves, which fave an immenfe deal of labour to himself and his horses, in cutting and hawling wood in cold and wet weather. His fences are every where repaired, fo as to fecure his grain from his own and his neighbour's cattle. But further, he increases the number of the articles of his cultivation, and, instead of raifing corn, wheat, and rye alone, he raises oats, buck-wheat (the fagopyrum of Linnæus) and fpelts. Near his house, he allots an acre or two of ground for a garden, in which he raifes a large quantity of cabbage and potatoes. His newly cleared fields afford him every year a large increase of turnips. Over the spring which fupplies him with water, he builds a milk-house: he likewife

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