one of the United States of North America, and, after Rhode Island, the smallest in the Union, having an area of only 2120 square miles. It occupies the north-eastern portion of that peninsula lying between the bays of Chesapeake and Delaware, and extends from Lat. 38° 28' to 39° 47' N., and from Long. 74° 56' to 75° 46' W. It is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the west and south by Maryland, and on the east by Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Its length from north to south is about 92 miles, and its breadth varies from 36 miles in the south to less than 10 in the north. The general character of the surface is plain, with a general slope towards the Delaware and the ocean. The northern part as far as Christians Creek is hilly, and somewhat rugged, but none of its eminences exceeds 500 feet above the level of the ocean. A table-land or low sandy ridge, nowhere more than 60 or 70 feet in height, passes through the state near its western boundary, and divides the waters that fall into the Chesapeake from those that fall into Delaware Bay. This table-land abounds with swamps in which most of the rivers and streams have their sources. At the southern extremity of the state is the Cyprus swamp, a morass 12 miles in length and 6 in width, including an area of 50,000 acres, the whole of which is a high level basin, containing a great variety of trees and plants, and infested by wild animals and reptiles. The rivers are all small, generally rising within the state and flowing into the Delaware. The Brandywine, however, rises in Pennsylvania. It is 40 miles in length, and uniting with the Christiana creek, forms the harbour of Wilmington one mile below that town, and two miles west of the Delaware River. The other principal streams are the Appoquinimink, Duck Creek, Jones' Creek, Mispillion Creek, and Indian River. The eastern shore is washed by the Delaware Bay, but contains no good harbours, having generally long sandy beaches. To remedy this inconvenience, the government of the United States has constructed the Delaware breakwater opposite the village of Lewestown, above Cape Henlopen. It consists of two piers, the one forming a shelter from the fury of the waves, which roll in here with great violence, and the other affording protection from the masses of floating ice brought down by ebb tide. The former is 2748 feet long at the bottom, or 2030 at high water mark, 75 feet wide at low water mark, and raised 15 feet above low, or 3 feet above high water mark; the ice-breaker is 1700 feet long at the bottom, and 1378 at the top, of the same breadth as the other, but only 9 feet in height. The only arms of the sea extending inland, are Rehoboth Bay, and the estuary called Indian River, which are spacious but shallow basins, not admitting vessels of more than six feet draft.

The soil of Delaware is in many places excellent, but is generally thin and sandy. In the northern parts of the state along the Delaware River and Bay, and for 8 or 10 miles inland, the soils are generally rich clays; thence to the swamps, the soil is light and sandy, and of an inferior quality; while the central and southern parts have also a sandy soil, which gradually becomes less productive the farther south. Bog iron-ore is found in the swampy tracts in the south, and has long been used for economical purposes; shell-marl, extensively used in agriculture, occurs in considerable quantities; and in the north is found porcelain clay, which is sent to supply the Philadelphia porcelain works. Agriculture is the principal occupation of the inhabitants; but in the north, where there is an abundance of water power, manufactures have long been in existence, and are in a very flourishing condition. Commerce and trade are also extensive, and the whale fisheries have been prosecuted with success from Wilmington. The principal agricultural productions are wheat, rye, Indian corn, oats, barley, buckwheat, potatoes, and flax. In the southern part of the state there is some fine grazing land. In 1850 there were 513 manufacturing establishments producing to the value of $500 and upwards; and of these 12 were cotton factories, employing 413 males and 425 females, 8 woollen mills, employing 122 males and 18 females, 15 establishments engaged in manufacturing iron, viz. 13 in manufacturing castings, employing 250 hands, and 2 wrought-iron, employing 50 hands; and 16 tanneries, employing 108 hands. The other establishments are chiefly grist, flour, saw, gunpowder, and paper mills, smitheries, &c., and in the north are several machine shops. Some salt is made from sea water at Lewes and Rehoboth, and ship building is carried on to a considerable extent at Wilmington. The foreign trade of Delaware is effected chiefly through Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia, especially the last; so that its direct foreign commerce is very inconsiderable (the exports in 1849 amounting to only $38,229, and the imports to $1400); the coasting trade, however, is extensive and active. The total amount of shipping owned within the state at 30th June 1850 was 16,719 tons, of which 1651 tons were of the class "registered," 14,639 tons of the class "licensed and enrolled," and 447 tons small licensed craft under 20 tons. The steam shipping amounted to 2774 tons. During 1850 16 vessels were built, of an aggregate burden of 1848 tons, viz., 12 schooners, 3 sloops, and 1 steamer. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is an important work connecting these two bays by a channel navigable for seagoing vessels. It extends from Delaware city to Buck Creek, a navigable branch of the Elk River, and is 13½ miles in length, 66 feet wide at the top, and 10 feet deep. The Newcastle and Frenchtown railway, extending also across the peninsula, is 16½ miles in length, and, in connection with steam-boats at each terminus, forms a line of communication between Philadelphia and Baltimore. The Phila- Delaware, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railway crosses Delaware farther north, and being the nearest land line between those cities, it is the usual route taken by travellers between the northern and southern states.

This state is divided into 3 counties (Newcastle in the north, Kent in the middle, and Sussex in the south) and 25 hundreds. The population in the different decennial periods since 1810 was as follows:

| Year | Whites | Free Colored | Slaves | Total | |------|--------|--------------|-------|-------| | 1810 | 55,961 | 13,136 | 4,177 | 72,674 | | 1820 | 59,642 | 12,938 | 4,509 | 72,749 | | 1830 | 57,691 | 15,855 | 3,292 | 76,848 | | 1840 | 68,561 | 16,919 | 2,805 | 78,885 | | 1850 | 71,289 | 17,957 | 2,829 | 91,535 |

Of the entire population in 1850 there were 58 deaf and dumb, 46 blind, 70 insane, and 101 idiotic.

The legislature meets at Dover, the capital, on the first Monday of January biennially, and consists of a senate and house of representatives, styled the General Assembly. Senators, of whom three are sent from each county, must be at least 27 years of age, possessed of 200 acres of freehold land in the county, or an estate therein worth $1000, citizens and inhabitants of the state for three years, and of the county for the last year previous to election. Their term of office is four years. The representatives, of which there are seven for each county, must be at least twenty-four years of age, and are elected for two years. The elective is vested in all free white male citizens twenty-one years of age, who have resided in the state for one year, and in the county in which the vote is given one month previous to the election. The governor is elected for four years, and must be at least thirty years of age, a citizen of the state for the last twelve, and an inhabitant for the last six years previous to the first meeting of the legislature after his election. Delaware sends one representative to the federal congress. The judiciary consists of a superior court, court of chancery, orphan's court, &c. There are five judges in the state, one of whom is chancellor and president of the orphan's court, one chief justice of the state, and the remaining three are associate justices, one residing in each county. The chief justice and two of the associate justices form the superior court, and court of general session; and all the judges except the chancellor form the court of oyer and terminer. The orphan's court consists of the chancellor and the associate judge of the county. The government of Delaware is one of the least expensive in the Union, the income in 1850 amounting to only £31,863, and the expenditure to only £26,792. In 1850 there were in the state 209 free schools, with 13,288 scholars. Besides these there are about 40 academies and grammar-schools. The Delaware college at Newark was founded in 1838, and in 1850 had a president, 5 professors, and 30 students, and a library of 7000 volumes. St Mary's college at Wilmington, a Roman Catholic seminary, had, in 1850, a president, 3 professors, and 107 students. The most numerous religious body in the state is the Presbyterian, and after that the Methodist. There are also many Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Baptists, and Quakers. This state derives its name from Lord De La War, governor of Virginia, who (in 1610) was the first to enter the bay, which took its name from him. It was first settled by the Swedes and Finns, under the patronage of Gustavus Adolphus, in 1627, and took the name of New Sweden. In 1630 the colonists built a fort at Lewestown, and a year after, another near Wilmington. They were, however, too weak, and too far removed from the protection of the mother country, to defend themselves against the Dutch, who claimed the country; and accordingly, in 1655, Delaware came into their power. In 1664 this colony, with other parts of New Amsterdam, fell into the hands of the English, and was granted by Charles II. to his brother James Duke of York, who in 1682 conveyed it to William Penn. In 1704, Delaware, though still under the same proprietor, became a separate colonial establishment, and remained such till the revolution. The people of Delaware, by a unanimous vote in convention, adopted the constitution of the United States 3d December 1787.

river of the United States, which rises on the west side of the Catskill Mountains, state of New York, and after separating Pennsylvania from New York and New Jersey, falls into the Delaware Bay five miles below Newcastle. It is formed by the union of two streams. The Mohawks, or western and main branch, rises from a small lake in Lat. 42. 45. N., at an elevation of 1886 feet above the sea, and flows S.W. for nearly 50 miles, when it turns suddenly to the S.E., flowing in that direction for five miles to the Pennsylvania boundary line in Lat. 42. N. Eight miles below this spot it is joined by the Popaetaon branch, which has a previous S.W. course of about 50 miles. After the union of these two streams, the river pursues a winding S.E. course between New York and Pennsylvania for 60 miles to the N.W. corner of New Jersey, where it receives the Neversink River. It then turns S.W. along the base of the Kittanning range for 35 miles, in passing through which it forms what is called the "Water Gap," a great natural curiosity. The banks here rise precipitously from the water's edge to the height of 1600 feet, overhanging by immense masses of rock, and at the S.E. entrance leaving scarcely room for a road. The passage, however, widens towards the N.W. Its entire length is about 2 miles. From this point it pursues a S.E., and then a S.W. course to Easton, where it receives the Lehigh, a large tributary, from the west. A little below this the river passes through South Mountain, and has a S.E. course to Trenton, 60 miles below Easton; having in that distance 25 rapids, with a total fall of 165 feet. These falls are navigable at high water. The river below Trenton turns to the S.W., until near the bay, which it enters in a S.E. direction, after an entire course of 309 miles. It is navigable for vessels of the largest class to Philadelphia, 40 miles, and for sloops 35 miles farther, to Trenton. Above the falls at Trenton it is navigable for boats of 8 or 9 tons for 100 miles. The Delaware is connected with the Hudson river and the bays of New York by the Delaware and Hudson Canal, the Morris Canal, and the Delaware and Raritan Canal.

Delaware Bay, at the mouth of the Delaware River, is a large arm of the sea, 75 miles long, 20 miles wide between Cape May on the N. and Cape Henlopen on the S., and 30 miles wide in the middle. The navigation is difficult and dangerous, being interrupted by many shoals. Its low and sandy shores were without harbours until the construction of the breakwater within Cape Henlopen, noticed under the State of Delaware.