Along the whole coast of North Carolina is a ridge of sand, separated fromthe main land, in some places by narrow sounds, in others by broad bays.The passages or inlets through it arc shallow and dangerous, and Ocracokeinlet is the only one north of Cape Fear, through which vessels pass. In thecounties on the sca-coast, the land is low', and covered with extensive swampsand marshes, and for 60 or 80 miles from the shore is a dead level. Beyondthis, the country swells into hills, and in the most western part rises into moun-tains. Coal has lately been found in Chatham county, and lead ore a few milesnorth of Raleigh. The principal rivers are the Chowan, Roanoke , PamlicoNeuse, Cape Fear, Yadkin , Catawba, and Broad. Most of the produce ofNorth Carolina is exported from the neighboring states. Not a single pointhas yet been found on the coast, within the limits of the state, at which a safeand commodious port could be established. Hitherto the productions of thenorthern parts of the state, lying on the Roanoke and its branches, and also onthe upper parts of the Tar and Neuse, have been sent to the markets of Virginia ;and the trade of Broad river, the Catawba, and the Yadkin, has gone to SouthCarolina . The principal exports are pitch, tar, turpentine, lumber, rice, cotton,tobacco, wheat and Indian corn. The value of the exports from the ports ofNorth Carolina in 1829 was only 8564,000.
In the level parts the soil generally is but indifferent. On the banks of someof the rivers, however, and particularly the Roanoke , it is remarkably fertile;and in other parts, glades of rich swamp, and ridges of oak-land, of a blackand fruitful soil, form an exception to its general sterility. The sea-coast, thesounds, inlets, and lower parts of rivers, have invariably a soft muddy bottom.That part of the state which lies west of the mountains, is, for the most part,remarkably fertile, and abounds with oak trees of various kinds, walnut, elm,line, and cherry trees ; the last of which grows there to such a size that manyof them are three feet in diameter. The soil and productions, in the hillycountry, are nearly the same as in the northern stales. Wheat, rye, barley,oats, and flax, are the crops most generally cultivated, and seem to suit wellthe nature of the soil. Throughout the whole state, Indian corn and pulse ofall kinds are abundant. Cotton is raised in considerable quantities.
Of the plains in the low country, the large natural growth is almost univer-sally pitch pine, a tall and beautiful tree, which grows here to a size far supe-rior to the pitch pine of the northern states. This valuable tree affords pitch,tar, turpentine, and various kinds of lumber, which, together, constitute aboutone-half of the exports of North Carolina . It is of two kinds, the common andthe long-leaved. The latter differs from other pines, not in shape, but in thelength of its leaves, w'hich are nearly half a yard long, and hang in large clus-ters. The trees in the low countries both of North and South Carolina , areloaded with quantities of a long, spongy moss, which, hanging in clusters fromthe limbs, give to the forests a singular appearance. The misletoe frequentlyengrafts itself upon the trees in the back country. In this part piums, grapes,blackberries and strawberries grow' spontaneously; also several valuablemedicinal plants, as ginseng, Virginia snake-root, Seneca snake-root, and someothers. The rich bottoms are overgrown with canes, the leaves of w’hich con-tinue green through the winter, and afford good pasture for cattle.
North Carolina is far removed from that perfection of culture which is neces-sary to give it the full advantage of the natural richness of its soil and the valueof its productions. One great cause of its backwardness in agricultural im-provement, is the want of inland navigation and of good harbors.
w The gold mines of North Carolina , which have latch' excited much
o mines. j n j erest) are f oulK | on the Yadkin and its branches, in the neighbor-hood of Wadesborough and Salisbury, and extend over a considerable district,in almost any part of which gold may be found in greater or less abundance,