Rivers, &c. D. Long Island Sound. E. Atlantic Ocean. B. East River.

ays. j. Oyster Bay. r. Jamaica Bay. k. Flushing Bay. 1. Cow Bay.

Villages. NORTH HEMPSTEAD, Flushing, Jamaica, Newtown.

BOUNDARIES. North by Long Island sound and the East river; East by Suffolk county; South by the Atlantic Ocean, and West by Kings county.

SURFACE. The northern portion of this county is rolling, but with no high hills. Harbor Hill, the highest elevation in the county, is 319 feet above the ocean. The great Hempstead plain extends through the central portion of the county.

RIVERS, &c. The county is well watered, but none of the streams are of considerable size.

BAYS AND HARBORS.

These are numerous, both on the northern and southern coasts. The principal on the north, are Flushing, Hempstead, Little Neck, Cow, Oyster, and Cold Spring, bays. On the south, are Jamaica, Rockaway, and part of the Great South bay.

These bays abound with a great variety of fish, oysters, &c., and at certain seasons, large numbers of wild fowl congregate here, the taking of which affords ample amusement to the sportsman.

ISLANDS. Riker's island, on the northern coast, Hog island, Cow island, and several others in Jamaica bay, on the southern, are the principal.

PONDS. Success, or Sacut pond, in Flushing, is the only one worthy of special notice.

This pond is very deep, and its waters of remarkable purity and coldness. Perch are very abundant in it. They were first put into its waters by Doctor Samuel L. Mitchell.

CLIMATE. Like that of the Island generally, it is mild, equable and healthy. The seasons are early, and the frosts occur late in autumn; consequently, fruits attain great perfection.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. The geological character of the county alluvial and diluvial, the boulders are mostly granitic. In the southern portion of the county, there are no rocks, nor even stones, of more than a few ounces weight. There are few minerals of importance.

SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil of the northern portion is very fertile, and perhaps under as high cultivation as that of any other part of the state. The southern part is sandy and naturally sterile, but by judicious management, it has been made to produce tolerable crops.

The timber is principally oak, hickory, chestnut, and locust in great abundance. The latter was originally introduced from Virginia. In the northern part, the apple, pear, peach, cherry, &c., thrive well. Wheat, corn, and grass, are also fatorite

crops.

PURSUITS. Agriculture and horticulture are prominent pu suits of the inhabitants of this county. Large quantities of corn and oats are raised. Butter, pork, and wool are produced in abundance. Shrubs, fruit trees, and rare exotic plants are sent from the numerous gardens and nurseries in the county, to all parts of the Union.

Fishing, and fowling, are also the employments of many of the inhabitants. Manufactures are not extensive. The most considerable are flour, woollen cloths, distilled liquors, and leather.

The commerce of the county is confined to the coasting trade, and carried on through the ports of Flushing, Glen's Cove, Oyster Bay, and Cold Spring. Steamers ply between New York, and Flushing, Glen's cove, and Rockaway.

STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Corn, oats, butter, wool, fruit trees, and flowers.

SCHOOLS. The county has seventy public schoolhouses, in which schools were taught, in 1846, an average period of ten months. In them 4960 children received instruction, at an expense of $15,346. The school libraries contained 13,803 vol

umes.

Beside these there were thirty-six private schools, with 708 pupils, four academies and three female seminaries, with 272 pupils. One of these is a collegiate school, of a high order.

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Episcopalians, Baptists, Friends, Dutch Reformed, Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics. Total number of churches, 59, of clergymen, 43.

HISTORY. The first settlement made in this county, was at Hempstead, by a company of emigrants from Stamford, Conn., in 1644. This company acknowledged the Dutch jurisdiction, and obtained a patent from Governor Kieft. The place was first called Hemsteede.

In the spring of 1645, a company of Englishmen who had previously resided in Vlissingen, in Holland, emigrated to this country, and locating themselves in Queens county, founded the town of Flushing, called by them Vlissingen. They, too, obtained a patent, from Governor Kieft, for their lands. Between this period and 1656, settlements were commenced at Oyster bay, Newtown, and Jamaica.

A considerable number of Friends having settled in Vlissingen, Governor Stuyvesant, animated by the spirit of intolerance so prevalent at that day, issued an order requiring the people of the town to cease giving them any countenance, or entertaining them.

To this order, the people of that town sent a dignified remonstrance. Gov. Stuyvesant, however, persisted in his intolerant measures, inflicting heavy fines, protracted imprisonment, and severe corporeal punishment, on those who professed the Quaker faith, as well as upon all who assisted or sheltered them. Some thirteen or fourteen prominent individuals were thus made to feel the weight of his displeasure.

One of the sufferers, having manifested more firmness than the rest, in the avowal of his sentiments, was sent by the Governor, a prisoner in chains, to Amsterdam. He was liberated from confinement, and sent back by the West India Company, and made the bearer of a letter from the company to the perse

cuting Governor, which, for the noble sentiments, in regard to religious liberty, which it avows, deserves to be written in letters of gold.

But the intolerant spirit of the Dutch governor did not stop here. The Lutherans also fell under the ban of his displeasure, and he banished them from the colony.

This bigotry did much toward rendering the people dissatisfied with the sway of the director, and but for the incursion of the English, in 1664; they wold, in all probabilty, have thrown off their allegiance, by a civil revolution. In the exchange of masters, however, there was little else than an exchange of tyrants. Religious intolerance still prevailed, under a new form.

In 1702, Lord Cornbury, having taken refuge in Jamaica, from yellow fever, (at that time epidemic in New York city), occupied the residence of Rev. Mr. Hubbard, the Presbyterian minister of the place, which was courteously tendered him, by its occupant, as the best dwelling in the village.

With characteristic ingratitude, he dispossessed this clergyman of his pulpit, in which he placed an Episcopal minister, whom, on his return to New York city, he ordered to occupy Mr. Hubbard's parsonage. Twenty-six years elapsed, before the Presbyterians were able to recover possession of their church edifice.

In 1707, Lord Cornbury imprisoned two Presbyterian clergymen, in this county, for preaching without his license, and finally liberated them, on the payment of a fine of $500.

During the Revolution, a majority of the inhabitants of this county took the oath of allegiance to Great Britain. British troops were stationed in different portions of the county, and the people were obliged to furnish them with large quantities of wood and provisions.

There were many, however, whose hearts beat with true loyalty to the cause of their country, and who rejoiced, when she succeeded in throwing off the yoke of foreign oppression.

It was rather, perhaps, the misfortune than the fault of the people of this county, that, exposed as they were, without defence, to the hostile power of the enemy, they yielded to a force they could not oppose.

Yet this was made a subject of reproach to them, and in 1784, a tax of £100,000 was levied upon the southern district, to be appropriated, as a compensation, to the other parts of the state, on account of their not having been able to take an active part in the war; and Queens county, in addition to her severe losses from the British, was obliged to atone for her own misfortunes.

-VILLAGES. NORTH HEMPSTEAD, the seat of justice for the county, is situated near the southern boundary of the town of the same name. It is an inconsiderable village, and was selected for the county seat, from its being the geographical centre of the county.

Flushing village, in the town of Flushing, situated at the head of the bay of the same name, is one of the most beautiful villages in the state. It is a favorite summer residence of merchants

and others, from the city of New York, and has many noble villas and country seats. Population 2500.

Its schools are highly celebrated. St. Ann's Hall, a female seminary of a high order, St. Thomas' Hall, and St. Paul's college, about three miles from the village, a collegiate school for boys, are among the most distinguished. These schools are under the direction of the Episcopalians. The Friends have also a flourishing seminary, and there are several well conducted select schools.

The nurseries and botanic gardens here, have long held the first rank in our country. The Linnean Botanic garden was established, by Mr. Prince, in 1750, and still maintains a high reputation, while the new nursery of the Messrs. Prince, the Bloodgood nursery, the Commercial garden and nursery, and the Floral and Pomological nursery, contend with it for the palm.

In this town is still standing the Bowne mansion, where the celebrated George Fox, the apostle of the Friends, spent much of his time. Near it stands the ancient and venerable oak, under the canopy of which he proclaimed his views, with an eloquence which won many hearts.

Jamaica village, in the town of that name, is situated on the line of the Long Island railroad, twelve miles east from the city of Brooklyn. It is a beautiful village, with many facilities for intercourse with the adjacent towns. The railroad company have here a large manufactory, for the construction and repair of their cars. It also contains Union Hall academy, an old and flourishing institution, a female seminary of some reputation, and several select schools. The Union race course is within the limits of this town. Population about 2000.

Hempstead village is delightfully situated, on the southern margin of the great Hempstead plain, in the town of the same name. For beauty and salubrity, it has few equals. The Hempstead seminary has a fine and costly edifice, and is in a flourishing condition. The village is a favorite summer resort. Population about 1800.

There are several other villages in the town. Rockaway beach, or Far Rockaway, is a headland projecting from the southern shore of the town, on which the restless surges of the ocean beat, with ceaseless vehemence,

Near Rockaway is a pleasant and thriving little village. Near the Methodist church, stands a marble monument erected to the memory of 139 unfortunate emigrants, whose bodies were washed ashore from the wrecks of the ships Bristol and Mexico, in the winter of 1836-7. In these two melancholy shipwrecks 215 persons were lost.

Newtown, Astoria, Oyster Bay, Glen Cove, and Norwich, are villages of some importance. Lloyd's neck belongs to the town of Oyster Bay.