quent plus pour s'exercer à cette étude." Among the publications which have wrought this change, may be mentioned as among the most important, De Sacy's own magnificent Hariri, and Freytag's edition of the Hamasa,t to which he constantly refers his readers, as well as to the Moallakat, edited by Menil, Vullers, Kosegarten, Hengstenberg, and others. Proceeding on the principle of mere detail, it is obvious that our author was exempted, by this change in the resources of the student, from the obligation to enlarge his Grammar, which would otherwise exist. That it did not rather lead him to modify his plan, though it may appear surprising, can scarcely be regretted, as the Baron's strength so evidently lies in the laborious arrangement of details. It may be, that the lively and ingenious mind of Ewald, when brought to work upon De Sacy's rich materials, will produce, or rather has produced, a Grammar vastly better than either by himself could be expected to construct. Our only fear is, that in attempting to supply the Baron's lack of philosophy, the new cloth will take too much from the old garment, and the rent be made worse.

There is one improvement in the Grammaire Arabe which must not be overlooked. The second volume is enlarged by the addition of near fifty pages, on the subject of Prosody and Versification. This topic was omitted in the first edition, perhaps, because it had been somewhat overlooked in the author's private studies. It is stated by Ewald, in his Latin treatise on this subject, that the Arabic verses printed in the early publications of De Sacy, abound in false quantity and metrical anomalies. It may have been this criticism which occasioned the addition to the Grammar now in question. So far as we have seen, however, Ewald's little work is neither cited nor referred to.

On the whole, the value of the work does not seem to be remarkably enhanced, nor does the proprietor appear to have expected that the second edition would displace the first, for we see that he has advertised the treatise on Prosody for sale apart, in order to accommodate the former purchasers.

Les Séances de Hariri, publiée en Arabe, avec un commentaire choisi, par M. le Baron Silvestre de Sacy. Paris, 1822, folio.

+ Hamasæ Carmina, cum Tebrisii scholiis, primum edidit, indicibus instruxit, versione Latina, et commentario illustravit, G. G. Freytag. Bonn. 4to.

De metris carminum arabicorum libri duo. Auctore G. H. A. Ewald.

Brunsviga. 1825. p. 139.

VOL. IV. No. IV.-4 A

ART. VI.-VIEW OF THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI,

Or the Emigrant's and Traveller's Guide to the West; containing a general description of that entire country, &c. &c. pp. 341, 12mo. H. S. Tanner, Philadelphia, 1832.

THIS is an excellent book, on a subject of great interest at the present time. Information of the kind it contains, is not only very much needed, but very much desired.

We have our attention here directed to a portion of the world, which, in whatever light it be regarded, must awaken many interesting reflections. No one can cast his eye over the map of this continent, without being struck with the almost unexampled advantages in many respects possessed by the great Valley of the Mississippi. Accordingly, we find that it is attracting the attention of the whole civilized world. The European, especially, of the middle or lower ranks, casts many a wishful look to that fertile and extensive region, where he may find a peaceful retreat from the confusion and oppression of his native land. The American people feel a still deeper interest in what all expect to see the abiding place of our national strength. The patriot's bosom glows, as he calculates its immense resources, and its high promise; the politician estimates, with keen-sighted sagacity, the probabilities of the balance of power being cast, ere long, west of the Alleghany; and the philanthropist looks westward, too, as a theatre for the execution of his benevolent plans and purposes. But, especially to the Christian is the west an object of interest. As he views this nation born almost in a day, and springing forward to the full maturity of manhood, almost before he realizes the fact of its existence, and promising future increase which imagination can scarcely paint, he inquires with deep concern, what is to be its moral character; its influence upon the welfare and progress of the Church of God?

Feelings and inquiries of this kind, we confess, are the first which arise in our minds, every time our attention is turned to the Valley of the Mississippi; and we are glad to see the book before us, for the additional reason to the one already mentioned, that it furnishes many facts which enable us to give replies to those inquiries, and, as Christians, and especially as Christian reviewers, to form an opinion as to the Church's duty to that part of our country. This work de

serves the more special attention, as it is written in a Christian spirit, and abounds in serious reflections; and also, as it • gives an accurate view of the various means of instruction and improvement now in operation in the Valley of the Mississippi.

"The Emigrant's and Traveller's Guide" we would, therefore, recommend to all who desire to be made acquainted with that region. The author, who, we are at liberty to state, is the Rev. Robert Baird, General Agent for the American Sunday School Union, and who has had the most advantageous opportunities for several years, of recording observations on the western country, has, under the modest title which he has chosen, given us a satisfactory and interesting picture of it. He has not attempted originality, but has freely used, in the preparation of his work, the statements of those who have written on the same subjects before him. His object, as stated in the preface is, "to give a brief, and yet satisfactory account of this vast country ;" and his desire has been, to embody in as small a compass as possible, such information as he deems most desirable and useful to the community. He has had especially in his eye three classes of persons. 1. Those who desire to remove to the west, and there cast their lot; and for their benefit, many of his observations and statements of facts are intended. 2. Those who purpose to travel for amusement, health, or business, west of the mountains. 3. A third class to whom the author hopes his book may be useful, is composed of those who, while they remain at home, desire to know more about that great country, interesting in so many respects to us all. For all these the work is well calculated.

The author begins his view of the western country in his second chapter, by informing us of the existence commonly unobserved, of a great central valley in North America, extending from the Gulf of Mexico, on the south, to the Northern Ocean, and bounded east by the Alleghany mountains, as far as Canada, and then a line of hills, extending farther to the north, and on the west by the Oregon, or Rocky Mountains, which extend from the Isthmus of Darien, 2500 miles in a northern direction. This immense basin, or valley, containing upwards of four millions of square miles, embraces four smaller vallies, distinct from each other, and of different sizes that of the St. Lawrence; that of numerous streams running into Hudson's Bay; the valley of M'Ken

zie's river, and that of the Mississippi. Only the first and last of these have as yet become the abode of civilized man.

The Valley of the Mississippi, according to our author, is to be regarded as bounded on the east by the Alleghany range of mountains, with its continuations from the southern point of Florida into the State of New York; thence the boundary bends its course westward, until it nearly reaches the shores of Lake Erie, thence southward for some distance, then westward through Ohio and Indiana, and in Illinois, to the northward, it takes another direction to the west, and strikes the Rocky mountains in latitude 49°. These mountains constitute the western boundary down to 41°, whence the line passes down the highest table land between the Arkansas and Red rivers on the east, and the Rio Bravo on the south-west to the Gulf of Mexico. As described thus, it extends through more than 20 degrees of latitude, and 36 of longitude, and contains about 1,300,000 square miles.

After this accurate outline of the "Valley," the writer gives a more detailed account of its different parts, with some of their most striking physical features, with which we presume our readers to be sufficiently well acquainted, and advance at once to his Fifth Chapter, in which he considers :

"1. Climate considered in relation to the productions, &c. -We may number four distinct climates between the sources and the outlet of the Mississippi. The first commencing at its sources, and terminating at Prairie du Chien, in lat. 43°, includes the northern half of Michigan Territory, almost the whole of Huron and Sioux districts, and all of Mandan, and corresponds pretty accurately with the climate between Boston and Quebec; with this difference, that the amount of snow falling in the former is much less than in the latter region; and its winters are not as severe, and its summers are more equal in temperature. Five months in the year may be said to belong to the dominion of winter. The Irish potato, wheat, and the cultivated grains, succeed well in this climate; but the apple, peach, pear, and the species of corn called the gourd seed, require a more southern climate to bring them to perfection. Abundance of wild rice grows in the numerous lakes at the head of the Mississippi, which constitute an important article of food for the natives. On account of the vast body of frozen water still further to the north, spring opens late; but the autumn continues longer than in the same parallels on the Atlantic. A species of corn called the Mandan, cultivated by the Mandan and other tribes, flourishes in this climate.

"The next climate includes the belt of country between 43° and 36° 30'. In this climate lie Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, the southern part of Michigan territory, Western Pennsylvania, Western Virginia, and Kentucky. The severity of winter commences with January and ends with the second week of February. Wheat is at home in this climate. The Irish potato flourishes well in the northern, and the sweet potato in the southern part. It is the favoured region of the apple, the pear, and the peach tree. The persimmon is found throughout, and the pawpaw with its luscious fruit, abounds in the southern part. Throughout the southern half of this climate, cotton is cultivated for home consumption, and some for exportation, but not much. Tobacco and Hemp find a congenial soil, and temperature, in the same part of this climate.

"The next climate extends from 36° 30′ to 31°. Below 35°, in the rich alluvial soil, the apple tree begins to fail in bringing its fruit to perfection. Between 36° and 33° cotton is in general a certain crop; but below 33° is perhaps its best climate, and there it becomes a first rate staple article. Wheat is not cultivated much in the southern part, but corn grows luxuriantly throughout this climate. I have never seen finer orchards than in the northern part. Tennessee, Arkansas, and almost the whole of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, lie within this climate. Wheat is not cultivated in the southern part, and does not flourish in any part as well as in the one preceding. The long moss is here seen on the trees along the swamps. The palmetto abounds, and the fig tree and orange flourish in its southern parallels. Sugar cane will grow also in that part of this climate, but is not a profitable crop generally, as the season is too short for its full maturity.

"Below 31°, to the Gulf of Mexico, is the region of the sugar cane and the sweet orange tree. It would be, if it were cultivated, the region of the olive. On the Florida projection, almost every species of tropical fruits, including the banana, cocoa, almond, &c. find an agreeable climate, and in many places a suitable soil.

"Snow is seldom seen here, and the streams are not often frozen. Winter is only marked by nights of white frost, and days of north-west winds, and these do not last longer than three days at once, and are succeeded by south winds and warm days. Cotton and corn are planted from February to July. The trees are generally in leaf by the middle of February, and always by the 1st of March. Early in March the forests are in blossom. Fireflies are seen by the middle of February. In these regions the summers are uniformly hot, although there are days when the mercury rises as high in New England as in Louisiana. The