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The subject of the waste lands of Long Island has, for several years, engaged my earnest attention. Curiosity first induced me to visit the region, that I might examine with my own eyes, a territory which seemed to be consigned by public sentiment to desolation, and to be regarded as valueless for the purposes of husbandry. I was unable to perceive any sufficient reason why even a barren desert of sands, so contiguous to the best market on the continent, could not be profitably cultivated. I was naturally forced to contrast such an aspect in our own country, with the efforts of Flemish industry, which could wrest from the dominion of the ocean a naked sand beach, and convert it into the garden of Europe. The parallel was not grateful to my national pride. More than one careful examination of this district, in reference to its geological structure, agricultural capabilities, and local advantages, have confirmed the original impression, that no natural impediments exist, to the successful culture of these plains. A strange and inscrutable popular delusion seems to prevail very generally on this subject. Hereditary opinions seem to have taken singular possession of the public mind. These opinions have been probably adopted and been cherished without reflection, and without examination of facts, which are everywhere disclosed on the island. Historians of Long Island have assumed the same conclusions, and in asserting and diffusing them, have exerted a most injurious influence upon private interests and general progress. So decided have been these views, that until recent intelligent investigation had changed the policy, portions of these lands were deemed so utterly worthless, as not to be considered worthy of being placed on the grand list.

I might distrust the propriety of a stranger meddling with this local question, were it not that my views have been so fully sustained and fortified by the decided, opinions of General Dix, expressed in his recent admirable address before the State Society. I have no possible interest in these lands, and can therefore speak with more freedom and impartiality. The facts and results upon which are based my convictions, I have collected with great care and vigilence, as well by personal investigations as from conversations with intelligent gentlemen, who are familiar with the subject. Among the numerous persons to whom I am under obligations, I may particularly refer to the Rev. E. M. Johnson, of Brooklyn, whose clear memory, in a green and vigorous age, enables him to trace the progress of ​the island for nearly half a century; to Mr. Harold, the intelligent secretary of the Queens County Society, and to Mr. Bridger, of North Islip, who combines with careful observation much practical experience in the cultivation of the plains. I should violate my sense of justice, were I not to refer especially to the services and efforts of Doct. Edgar F. Peck, of Brooklyn. From this gentleman, who for fifteen years has strenuously combatted the deepest prejudices and the most unyielding opposition, in his labors for the development of these lands, I have received the most important aid and information. I do not hesitate, in this connection, to adopt the words of an eminent gentlemen, who remarked to me: "If these plain lands are reclaimed and brought into successful culture, the result must be attributed to the zeal and intelligence of Dr. Peck, more than to any other cause." The convictions of Dr. Peck, as to the qualities of these lands, were derived from personal investigation, commenced in 1841, and subsequent results have fully confirmed the views then formed.

Long Island combines, perhaps, more peculiar and decided advantages for residence, than any other district of our widely-extended territory. The Gulf stream, approaching near to its coast, imparts to the climate a delightful temperature, that exempts it from the rigors incident to a northern latitude; surrounded by the ocean, it rarely suffers from intense heat or droughts; it is almost under the shadow of the towers of New York, and enjoys every facility of access to its market. Under such circumstances, the Island should exhibit the aspect of one prolonged cultivated farm, and orchard, and garden, smiling throughout its whole area, in that exuberance of beauty and culture, which so eminently mark some sections of its territory. These great and marked advantages early attracted the attention of the emigrant, and hence, for more than two centuries, Long Island has been regarded, not only by the partiality of its own people, but by the public verdict and the voice of the traveler and historian, as "The garden of America." This reputation, however, attaches to the island from the aspect of a narrow margin along the north and south shore, and small districts upon the eastern and western extremities. A very large proportion of the interior has been abandoned to neglect, and is at this day in a more desolate state, than it presented in its primitive condition, for the stately native forest has given place to the scrubby oak and to coarse and worthless vegetation.

I can the most readily explain and illustrate my views, by presenting a rapid sketch of the physical arrangement of the island, its natural capacities, and its existing condition. The formation of Long Island, in its physical and geological arrangements, is remarkable, and without any parallel. It is about, one hundred miles in length, from east to west, with a general width ranging from eight to twelve miles. It is divided into nearly equal sections, by an elevated range of land, which traverses it longitudinally. This ridge subsides into the plain at the east, and in the vicinity of Brooklyn is broken into abrupt heights. Long Island presents no analogy to any adjacent territory, but in its natural arrangement is ​peculiar and distinct. It is proper I should state, that my explorations were chiefly limited to the slope extending from the ridge to the ocean on the south, and to the western portion of the island. This range embraces that section of the territory to which my investigations were particularly directed, and afforded me, in the cultivated districts, the data I required for contrasting the soil of the plains with the fertile farms.

Geology.