ILLINOIS.

THIS Comparatively young member of the American Union was, nevertheless, partially settled, by civilized adventurers, as early as the year 1673. A party of enterprising Frenchmen from Canada accompanied M. De la Salle in his second exploration of the country, in the above year, when in search of the River Mississippi, and founded the villages of Kaskaskias and Cahokia. These settlements continued to flourish for some years; but the people, by constant intercourse with the surrounding savages, gradually reduced themselves to a semi-barbarous condition, and for a long period their numbers were but little augmented by immigration. By the treaty of peace between the French and English, in 1763, the Illinois country, together with Canada, was ceded by the former to the latter, who took formal possession two years afterwards. It remained in their hands, under several successive military governors, until 1778; in which year a body of Virginia troops, commanded by General Clarke, penetrated the country, and subdued all the fortified places. In the same year, a county called Illinois was organized by the legislature, and placed under the care of a deputy governor. The country had been considered, hitherto, as a part of the territory included in the charter of Virginia; and the claim founded thereon was recognized by the treaty of

1783. Viginia, however, ceded it to the United States, four years afterwards, when it constituted a section of the North-west Territory," so called. In 1800, it received a separate organization and a territorial government, in conjunction with, and under the name of, Indiana. Another division took place in 1809, when the distinct Territories of Indiana and Illinois were formed; both of which were subsequently admitted into the Union as independent states the former in 1816, and the latter in 1818. The name of the state is derived from that of its great central river original appellation, signifying the River of Men.

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BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT.

The state is bounded north by Wisconsin; east by the southern portion of Lake Michigan, by the State of Indiana, and by the Ohio River, dividing it from Kentucky also on the south; and west by the Mississippi, which separates it from the States of Missouri and Iowa. Its extreme length is some 380 miles, extending from 37° to 4210 north latitude. Its breadth varies from about 145 to 220 miles, being widest in the centre, and narrowest at the northern and southern points. Its utmost reach of longitude is 4 degrees, viz., from 87° to 910, west from Greenwich. Its area is computed at 55,400 square miles, of which near 50,000 are believed to be well adapted to agricultural purposes.

RIVERS.

The Illinois is the largest river in the state. Fox and Des Plaines Rivers, its two largest branches from the north, rise in Wisconsin, and with the Kankakee River from Indiana, form the Illinois, which, after a course of 400 miles, enters the Mississippi twenty miles above the Missouri. It is navigable a distance of about 250 miles. Rock River rises in Wisconsin, and after a course of 300 miles, mostly in Illinois, empties into the Mississippi. The Kaskaskia rises near the middle of the state, and after a south-westerly course of 250 miles, enters the Mississippi 63 miles below the Missouri. It is navigable for boats 150 miles. The Wabash forms a part of the east boundary. The Little Wabash, after a course of 130 miles, enters the Wabash a little above its junction with the Ohio. Peoria Lake, through which the Illinois River flows, about 150 miles from its mouth, is a beautiful sheet of water twenty miles long and two broad.

CLIMATE.

In general, the climate of Illinois, in its influence upon health, does not differ materially from that of the other states, lying within the same parallels, east of the Alleghany ridge. It furthermore enjoys the advantage of exemption from annoying easterly winds, although the prairie breezes are often severely cold. The temperature, ordinarily, is much like that of Ohio

and Michigan during the respective seasons.

The length of the winter is usually somewhat less than three months. Snow seldom falls to a great depth, or 'continues upon the earth many days in succession; and the ground is commonly free from frost throughout half the winter. The early spring months are rainy and unpleasant; but they are soon succeeded by a milder season, a warm and cheering summer, with an invigorating atmosphere; and, finally, "the year is crowned" by a delightful autumn of some months' duration, rarely disturbed by a cloudy day or a stormy hour.

SURFACE, SOIL, &c.

There are no lofty mountains in this state, although at its northern and southern extremes the land is considerably elevated, and occasionally broken. In general, the surface is level, or slightly undulating, about two thirds of the whole consisting of immense prairies, clothed luxuriantly with grass, herbage, delicious strawberries, and other wild berries, and resplendent with myriads of indigenous flowers, flourishing in all the beauty of "nature unadorned." No impenetrable forests encumber these vast tracts, although isolated patches of woodland, some of them covering many acres, are frequently found in their midst. In some quarters of the state timber is sufficiently abundant; in others there is a deficiency. The most common descriptions are the oak, hickory, maple, elm, ash, locust, beech, poplar, sycamore, and various other woods. The

soil is almost invariably fertile, often of the finest and richest quality, to a great depth. The products of the earth are of corresponding value and amount. Every variety of grain, and of edible vegetables, together with hemp, flax, cotton, and tobacco, are cultivated with extraordinary success. All the fruits common to the temperate latitudes are produced in abundance: grapes, especially, natives of the soil, are remarkably plentiful in most parts of the state, and of fine quality, capable of yielding excellent wines. The fecundity of the land, and the generous returns with which it rewards. even the moderate labors of the husbandman, may be inferred from the fact that in almost all parts of the state an average crop, per acre, can be obtained, of fifty bushels of Indian corn-one of its important staples; and instances are frequent where the product reaches 75 or a 100 bushels.

AGRICULTURE.

There were in this state, in 1855, 6,000,000 acres of land improved, and 7,000,000 acres of land unimproved in farms. Cash value of the farms over $100,000,000. Value of live stock, horses, cows, oxen, &c., about $25,000,000. The wheat crop of 1855 was 20,000,000 bushels; rye, 115,000; Indian corn, 180,000,000; oats, 13,000,000; barley, 112,000; buckwheat, 200,000; peas and beans, 90,000; potatoes, 3,000,000; sweet potatoes, 200,000. Value of fruit produced, $500,000. Produce of market gardens, $133,000.