Ever with restless, wretched heart, Plying her task, she turns to gaze She harks for a footstep at the door, Her fault? O Benjie! and could you steel In duty and love that lighten woe; To drive away the dull day's dreariness, Blessing the toil that blunts the pain Of a deeper grief in the body's weariness. Proud, and petted, and spoiled was she: In the great, gay city grows estranged: Now father and mother have long been dead, Walks up the long dim aisle alone. Years blur to a mist; and Dorothy Sits doubting betwixt the ghost she seems Bright young Dorothy, idolized daughter, That sets on a world of withered leaves ! Yet faithfulness in the humblest part Is better at last than proud success, 7. T. Trowbridge. THE GRAND TRAVERSE REGION OF MICHIGAN. THE HE peopling of a great extent of wild country by immigration from over-crowded nations is like the flow of waters from pent-up reservoirs into a vast interior basin. Through every inlet which is opened for its admission it rushes with such volume and force as would seem sufficient speedily to fill the vacant space and leave no room for more. Yet the torrent continues to flow, and spread itself farther and wider, forming pools, with smaller streams radiating therefrom, losing its impetuous rush as it finds its levels, and creeping so gradually over the great area, that it is only by observing the gauges by which we mark its progress that its rise can be detected. Its impetuous course at first carries it onward to distant points, before it begins to spread itself laterally, and flow back to fill up sections near its place of entrance; while at intervals it receives new impetus by reaching the margin of a deeper hollow, or is checked till it gathers strength to overcome opposing obstacles. The flood of immigration is pouring ceaselessly through every inlet to the great West in such torrents, that one who took note only of its volume would think it must speedily fill the whole region to repletion. Yet it spreads itself silently, or collects in bodies of greater or less extent, and is lost in the immensity around it; and although we are continually surprised at the rapidity with which certain places here and there have become the centres of a dense population, it is only by a comparison of growth at periods of years that we can realize the vast aggregate increase of the swelling flood. And, like the inrush of water, too, it often passes far beyond the portions nearest the points of admission, which remain unoccupied till the filling up of more distant spaces causes a reaction and turns the current into lateral chan nels, whose attractive power was insufficient to stay the mad progress of its earlier stage. Those of us who remember the long trains of emigrantwagons which thirty years ago cumbered every great road from the East, will recall the feelings of wonder with which we used to ask the questions, "Whence do they all come?" and "Where do they all go?" The stream never ceased flowing, and yet the increase was hardly perceptible in the vast region which received them. Railroads have since increased the volume of immigrants tenfold, but new regions have opened before them in more than corresponding ratio, and although portions which were then comparatively wild are now dotted with cities and towns, and the wolf and panther and deer have given place to the flocks and herds of the husbandman, yet the realms which have been reduced to civilization are insignificant in comparison with those which remain to be subdued. The whole of that portion of the United States which is east of the Mississippi would lie between that river and the Rocky Mountains, leaving the entire Pacific slope and a wide margin north and south still untouched; and if all the population of the States west of the Mississippi were turned back to its eastern shore, there would be room enough for them in the still unoccupied portions of the great States they would first enter, in which vast tracts still remain unsettled and comparatively unknown. regions, where the chief attraction often lies in the mystery enveloping the un known. By reference to the map of Michigan, it will be seen that the northern half of the Southern Peninsula is for the most part unsettled, that it is well stocked with inland lakes and streams, and that it is penetrated on its northwestern shore by a deep bay whose general trend is north and south. This is known as the Grand Traverse Bay," and it is to the country lying around it, known as the "Grand Traverse Region," that we now invite attention. The fact of its being a little of the route of the great channels of emigration and comparatively isolated, while its position would naturally lead to the supposition that its winters must be rigorous, has resulted in its being comparatively unknown and thinly settled; yet, in reality, it possesses soil climate, and situation with reference to market. giving it very great advantages for certain kinds of culture over many of the sections which have been more eagerly sought and more rapidly settled, and in which, as a consequence, the lands have already attained a much higher pecuniary value. And in addition to these elements of intrinsic agricultural value, the variety and beauty of its natural scenery are such as will always render it far more attractive to the lover of the picturesque than the dreary monotony of the prairies. The prevailing idea in regard to the whole of Northern Michigan, throughout the Eastern and Middle States, from which alone could emigration be expected, is simply that it is only valuable for its lumber, and offers but little inducement to the agriculturist. The statement that the region in question, lying on the shores of Grand Traverse Bay, and the peninsula which separates it from Lake Michigan, is much the same in its capacity for growing the finest and most delicate kinds of fruits and vegetables as that portion of New Jersey which lies in the latitude of Philadelphia, while the enervating summer heat of that section is never known, and the winter climate is but little more severe, will be received by the majority of people with surprise and perhaps with incredulity; yet such is the simple fact, the proofs of which are at hand, and can readily be shown to result from natural causes. It is well known to all who have given special attention to meteorological phenomena, that the most severe and blighting winds which prevail during the earlier winter are those from the southwest. It is proverbial with sailors, that "the first of a southerly wind is always cold.” It is equally true, but perhaps not so generally known, that the blighting effect of these winds is always greatly mitigated when they sweep over large bodies of water before striking the land. This is exhibited on a large scale by a comparison of the productions of regions of the same parallels of latitude on the eastern and western coasts of our own and other countries. If we follow the latitude of New York to Europe, we find ourselves in the land of the orange, the vine, and the olive; if westward to California, we find the most delicate varieties of our greenhouse grapes growing in the open air as readily as apples do with us. We are so accustomed to think of these fruits as the products of Southern climates that we constantly forget that the latitude of Northern Spain and Central Italy is the same as that of Boston, and that the difference of climate results solely from their relative position with regard to the water. On a smaller scale the same thing may be observed on our Atlantic coast, wherever projections occur which the southwest winds can only reach after traversing a broad extent of ocean. At Newport, R. I., many garden plants are perfectly hardy which cannot sustain the severity of an inland winter at any point north of Philadelphia. At Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, the English ivy grows luxuriantly; while at Boston, two degrees farther south, its culture in the open air is a hopeless task. It is common to ascribe this result to the vicinity of the Gulf Stream; but the same effect elsewhere, in places similarly situated, proves that we need not seek its cause in any unusual warmth of the water. - Referring again to the map, it will be seen that the southwest winds must sweep the whole length of Lake Michigan before striking the shores of the Grand Traverse Region; and we find the same rule in force here as elsewhere in regard to its effect upon climate and vegetation. The well-known fruit regions in the neighborhood of St. Joseph, from which the Chicago markets are supplied, derive their capacity from the same source, but in a less degree, for the simple reason that the extent of water to be passed over is much less than at Grand Traverse. The safe wintering of fruit-trees is not indicated by the mean temperature as shown by the thermometer. Nevertheless, it has been proved, by a comparison for a series of years of observations at Traverse City with those at Manitowoc, on the opposite shore of Lake Michigan, at Montreal, St. Johnsbury, Vt., Gardiner, Me., Ann Arbor, Janesville, and Dubuque, all in about the same parallel of latitude, that the mean is very much in favor of Traverse City, being 51° milder than that of Gardiner, and 81° milder than that of St. Johnsbury, while the extremes exhibit a much greater difference. But the practical result, which is the point of interest to farmers and especially to horticulturists, is found in the simple but already well-established fact that the peach, which cannot be grown on the western shore of the lake, even at its southern extremity, is perfectly hardy and luxuriant throughout this region; and every other variety of fruit and vegetable which is grown in the latitude of Philadelphia is equally capable of cultivation, and as safe from blight and frosts in the Grand Traverse Region. Tomatoes and other tender vegetables remain untouched by frost till the last days of October. Potatoes and other roots may be left in the ground through the winter without injury, and it is literally true that potatoes may be seen annually growing - NO. 154. 13 VOL. XXVI. where none have been planted for years, the result of self-propagation from seed left by accident when digging the crop. Apples, pears, plums, grapes, and all the best varieties of vegetables, attain their highest degree of perfection in this favored land. Of farm crops it is enough to say that this region produces the finest of white winter wheat. The dahlia blooms till the last of October, and the bulbs may be left in the ground without injury till spring. Delicate greenhouse roses stand out through the winter, with the same impunity as in Alabama or Louisiana. Snow remains upon the ground till the middle of April, and preserves vegetation from the stimulating influence of occasional warm days, so that the fruit-buds remain dormant till the danger of injury from frost is past. When the snow disappears the soil is in condition to receive at once the genial influence of sunshine and atmospheric action. The disagreeable period of mud, caused by the slow escape of frost from the soil, is unknown, and the region is preserved alike from the injurious effects of early and late frosts by the modify-ing influence of the great lake. In the general character of the soil; also, the resemblance may be traced between this region and the portion of New Jersey which has been mentioned, and which furnishes the markets of Philadelphia with their best supplies of fruit and vegetables, and comprises probably the finest and most extensive market-garden region yet under culture in the United States, holding the same relation to Philadelphia and New York which the Grand Traverse Region is destined to hold to the great cities of the Western lakes. The soil is a rich sandy loam, — the kind best adapted to such culture, the easiest to work, and the one which brings its productions to the earliest maturity. The soil in New Jersey produces tomatoes, pears, and all such vegetables, ten days earlier than the heavier soils of Pennsylvania on the opposite shore of the Delaware; and the same difference exists between the Grand Traverse Re gion and the heavy soils of the prairies out its whole extent; while numerous across the lake. Generally speaking, the region is covered with a magnificent growth of hard wood, of which the sugar-maple is the most abundant, the other varieties being the beech, elm, ash, oak, poplar, and yellow birch. Of evergreens, the hemlock, white cedar, balsam, fir, and larch or tamarack are more or less abundant; and the white-pine is occasionally found, and attains a majestic size. The full grandeur and beauty of the primeval forest may here be seen, -the hemlocks, mingled with maple, beech, and elm, towering often to a great height, their trunks attaining a diameter of four or five feet; while the lack of undergrowth gives to the forest the appearance of an endless colonnade of majestic pillars, through which, but for occasional fallen trunks, a carriage might be driven. smaller bodies of limpid water, with picturesque shores, serve to invest the whole region with a character of enchanting beauty and inexhaustible interest. This has been so well described by Professor Alexander Winchell, of the University of Michigan, in his report upon the geological resources of the region, that we quote his words, as conveying to the mind of the reader a more vivid conception of the reality than we could hope to present in language of our own: "The scenery of the Grand Traverse Region is subdued and soft, sometimes picturesque, always beautiful, and in some instances exquisitely so. Viewed from some suitable eminence, the landscape presents an undulating sea of verdure, one softly rounded hilltop succeeding another in the retreating view, the dimness of distance lending an ever-increasing enchantment to the prospect. "From the bluff on which the seminary of New Mission is situated, an exquisite view is obtained of Grand Trav erse Bay, with its eastern and western arms dissolving in the haze of the dim distance, and the broad lake seen through the mouth of the bay sinking beneath the northern horizon. A fringe of emerald forest skirts the opposite shore. The softened outlines of the Peninsula emerge from the misty em brace of the two arms of the bay, and all around the framework of the scene loom from the background the purple hilltops looking perpetually down upon the picture." The surface of the country is ́undulating and sometimes broken and hilly. Of the natural features which contribute most to the beauty and attractive interest of the region, the magnificent bay which gives it its name, the numerous inland lakes of greater or less extent, and the clear streams abounding with trout, lend to it a picturesque character which no effort of art can rival. The bay is thirty-three miles in length from north to south, with an average breadth of eighteen miles. Its southern portion is divided into two arms by a tongue of land known as the Peninsula, seventeen miles in length and from one to two miles wide. The bay is navigable for vessels of the largest size, its depth being from twenty to seventy fathoms; and numerous small harbors of from one to three miles in depth along its shores afford perfect shelter from storms, and sufficient depth of water for the largest vessels that navigate the lakes. A remarkable series of inland lakes is connected with the bay by navigable waters. These lakes vary in size from two to eigh-five thousand. Its principal town teen miles in width, and form a chain of eighty miles of inland water navigable for tugs and small vessels through That this region is destined to be the future abode of a rich community of farmers, and its picturesque sites to be dotted with the villas and country seats of men of wealth, is obvious to any one who considers its capacity, attractive charms, and the prospective growth of the West. At present whole population is probably not ove Traverse City, at the southern extret ity of the bay, with a population about one thousand. The other town |