[Illustration: Mount Vernon. Seat of General Washington.]
That part of the Southern States near the Atlantic ocean and the gulf
of Mexico is low and sandy. The greater portion of this section of
the country is barren, except the parts near the rivers, which are
exceedingly fertile. After proceeding towards the interior about 75 or
100 miles, the country becomes mountainous and productive.
Tobacco, cotton, rice and sugar are the staple productions. The owners
of the lands where these articles are cultivated are called planters,
and the labor of the plantations is performed by slaves.
The climate of this part of the United States is various. In Virginia
and Maryland the heat of summer is not extreme, and a small quantity of
snow only, falls during the winter. In the most southwardly States snow
is exceedingly rare in winter, and the heat is intense in the summer
months.
The commerce and manufactures of these States are very limited, and to
agriculture, almost the whole attention of the inhabitants is directed.
Their tobacco, cotton, and all their exports are sent out in ships
owned in the Northern States. The reason for this probably is, that the
cultivation of the staple productions is more profitable than commerce.
The inhabitants of the Southern States, residing on large plantations,
are so much separated from one another, that it is impossible to carry
into effect a system of education so extensive as that of the Northern
States, and of course the people generally, are not so well informed.
The higher classes are, however, well educated.