water flows in, where it remains till harvest, which takes place in August on the coast, and in September inland. But the great obstacle in the way of riceculture, is the unhealthiness of the neighborhood, caused by the miasma raised by the heat of the sun, which is most deadly to white men, and very injurious also to the negroes. The rice-planters generally leave their homes during the summer, and take their families to the cities, or to the uplands, to avoid this evil.

From 600 to 1,500 pounds of rice are obtained from an acre inland, and on the coast from 1,200 to 1,500, and even sometimes 2,400.

The separation of families from each other, in a country where the plantation system is universal, and the scarcity of villages and even smaller settlements, necessarily throw many obstacles in the way of social improvement. Children can hardly be collected in schools, or the people in churches, while social intercourse must be limited, even though there may be much hospitality, leisure, and love of society, such as are generally found in this and other south

ern states.

Railroads.—South Carolina distinguished herself by her early enterprise, in constructing one of the first great railroads in the Union, on a plan whose success has proved its sagacity. It was constructed across an extensive region, offering indeed few obstacles of surface, but encouraged by few of the advantages found in a thickly-populated country. The grand object lay in opening a communication with the Savannah river overland, by which the delay and exposure of the sea voyage might be avoided; and a large part of the great cotton crops, annually gathered on its banks, is now carried in safety and at a rapid rate to the city of Charleston, the great commercial port of the south, to be shipped for New York and Europe.

KEOWEE LAKE (see page373).-This secluded little lake lies among the wild scenes of a region little changed by cultivation or the neighborhood of man. A bold and wooded hill rises on the right with a sudden swell, while a path, wind

ing along the left bank, is shaded with a variety of trees, presenting a diversity of form and foliage. A white sail, seen at a distance, intimates that the placid waters are sometimes disturbed by a passing boat, while the group of visiters in the foreground, reminds us, that the beautiful scene has attracted the attention of the admirers of nature.

THE FALLS OF THE CHARASHILACTAY.- -This view is inserted here, to give an idea of the bold and picturesque scenery which abounds in some parts of the high, western regions of the state. The stream, whose singular, aboriginal name has been preserved, after flowing some distance, meets an abrupt, mural precipice in its course, and falls, in a beautiful sheet, interrupted by two successive projecting shelves of the rock, to the bottom of the gulf which opens beneath. The effect is very striking, especially when viewed from below, the bare ledges in front, whitened by the glistening foam of the falling stream, being crowned with foliage, and half shaded by trees, which line the banks, and spring from the crevices.

CHARLESTON is the principal Atlantic || seaport of the southern states, and a large and flourishing city. It stands upon a peninsula, at the mouths of Cooper and Ashley rivers, which empty into a spacious bay, with depth of water sufficient to form an excellent harbor. By the aid of several islands, advantageously situated, it is well protected from the waves of the ocean, and fortified against foreign attack. The population, including the Neck, in 1850, was 42,806.

Although the site of the city is level and low, like the neighboring land, its appearance is favorable from the water. The buildings, however, are chiefly of wood, and the streets are narrow, except the two principal ones, which cross each other, and traverse the city in its length and breadth. The principal public buildings are the city-hall, courthouse, college, orphanhouse, medical college, guardhouse, hospital, poorhouse, customhouse, jail, St. Andrew's hall, and state building, with several churches. The city suffered from a great conflagration in 1835, which laid waste a