sent to compel them; war broke out. The war under the leadership of George Washington began in 1775, and lasted for some years; the British were defeated; and England was in 1782 compelled to recognise the independence of the United States.

The

2. Number and Size. There are now thirty-eight States in the Union, ten territories, and one district. district is called the "District of Columbia"; and in it stands Washington, the federal capital of the whole of the States. The total area of the United States is not much less than that of Europe; and it is more than fifty times as large as that of England and Wales. The population of the whole of the States amounts to more than 50 millions. Of these, 43 millions are whites; the rest are negroes, who number 61 millions; and the remainder, Indians and Chinese.

3. Government. The government of the United States is a republic. The whole of the States are under one general government; but each State also possesses its own Parliament and makes its own laws. The chief of the republic is called the President. A new President is elected every four years. The laws are made by Congress. This body consists, like our own Parliament, of two Houses-an Upper House and a Lower House. Upper House is called the Senate; and its members are elected by the members of the Parliament of each State. The Lower House is called the House of Representatives; and its members are elected directly by the people.

The

4. Agriculture.-The most important industry of the people of the United States is the tillage of the ground; and its chief wealth consists in agricultural producegrain and stock. The chief seats of the agricultural industry of the United States are-the central plain of the Mississippi; the Atlantic plain on the east; and the California basin on the west. So various are its soils and its climates, that the Union grows cotton, rice, and sugar in the south, and rye, oats, and barley in the north; while its crops of maize and wheat are its largest crops. Wheat is the largest of all the crops; but cotton is the most important-because it is the most profitable. The old saying was, "Cotton is king"; and this meant that all interests must give way to the largest production of the best cotton, and that the prosperity of England—and especially of Lancashire-depended on a regular supply of cheap cotton in its raw state.

5. Mining.—The industry which aims at extracting the useful and the precious metals from the rocks which contain them, is one of the greatest in the United States. It

is also, perhaps, the most rapidly growing industry in the whole country. Coal and iron are found in large quantities on the high-lands of the Atlantic slope; a great deal of gold and silver is mined among the Rocky Mountains; lead is found in the valley of the Upper Mississippi; and copper on the shores of Lake Superior.

6. Manufactures.-The manufactures of the United States are very little inferior in importance to their agriculture and their mining. Two conditions of cheap manufacture exist in enormous quantity in the States; there are cheap coal and great water-power. Most of the great manufacturing seats are found north of the Potomac and the Ohio. The spinning and weaving of cotton and wool; the making of tools and machinery; the grinding of flour and the cutting of timber,-these are the chief industries, after agriculture, of the Americans of the United States. . . In the New England States—a group of States in the north-east, fishing is also a great source of wealth.

7. Commerce. The buying and selling of goods—which is called Commerce-is carried on in the United States on a larger scale than in any other part of the world, with the exception of Great Britain. Not only have the States much to sell, but they have so many easy ways of sending their products to the sea-coast. Countless railways, valuable and convenient water-ways with deep channels and slow currents, line the country in every possible direction. Of the innumerable water-routes by which goods are sent down to the seaboard, there are three worthy of special mention. The first is the route by the great lakes and the St Lawrence to the ocean. The second-which is still more important and more frequented—is by the great lakes, the Erie Canal, and the Hudson river, to New

York. This, indeed, is the principal route of trade-the main highway of commerce-on the American continent. The third great water-route is by the Mississippi and its large branches down to New Orleans. This last is no doubt destined, in the near future, to be the chief water

way of the United States. . . The railways are beyond counting. In general, it may be said that those lines of railroad which run from north to. south convey most passengers, while those which go from west to east carry most goods.

com-pelled', forced. (L. con, together; Con'-gress, the meeting together. (L. con, together; gradi, to step.) ex-tract'-ing, the smelting out (L. ex, out of; trahere, to draw.) con-vey', carry. (L. con, together; vehere, to carry.)

pellere, to drive.)

rec'-og-nise, acknowledge.

(L. re,

again; cognoscere, to know.)

1. The District of Columbia is a small area of 61 square miles that was cut out of the State of Virginia and presented to the nation.

2. Railways. Most of the goods from north to south pass along the Mississippi and its tributaries, and hence the railways carry considerably less goods from north to south. Again, the eastern States along the coast are most populous, and most of the passenger traffic is in them from north to south.

THE KANSAS EMIGRANTS.

1. We cross the prairie as of old
The pilgrims crossed the sea,
To make the West, as they the East,
The homestead of the free!

2. We go to rear a wall of men
On Freedom's southern line,
And plant beside the cotton-tree
The rugged northern pine!

3. We're flowing from our native hills
As our free rivers flow;
The blessing of our motherland

Is on us as we go.

4. We go to plant her public schools
On distant prairie swells,

And give the Sabbaths of the wild
The music of her bells.