In the next year the total number of buildings was ascertained and found to be 20,260-say 8874 in the city, 2998 in the Northern Liberties, and 2301 in Southwark, and their inhabitants 88,988. If we should pursue this data, it is deemed reasonable to conclude that in the last eighteen years, from 1809 to 1827, the new buildings may have averaged 600 in each year, thus producing an increase of 10,800 to be added to the former 20,260, and thus forming an aggregate of about 31,000 buildings, and a probable total of 133,000 inhabitants in 1827. I deem this estimate high enough, but the next census will check it.

In the year 1823, the churches were ascertained to be 80 in number, to wit:

13 Presbyterian,

10 Episcopalian,

8 Baptist,

14 Methodist,

5 Friends,

4 Papists,

26 of all other denominations. (Vide Poulson's paper of 24th of March.) Philadelphia, as a great commercial city, kept a proud pre-eminence of the cities in the Union, until about the year 1820. In the year 1796, the exports of Philadelphia were above one-fourth of the whole United States, being then 17,613,866 dollars, but as quickly as the year 1820, she became as low as the seventh State in the grade of the Union! The exports of New York, in 1792, was but 2,930,370 dollars, but in 1820, it was 13,163,244 dollars! Thus, as Philadelphia has been sinking, New York has been rising, and her great canal will give her still more decided advantages, until we in turn derive our increase from our purposed inland improvements. Even the exports of Baltimore, in 1820, recent as has been her growth, was, in 1820, 865,825 dollars more than ours!

I since find the following facts concerning the number of burials occurring in the city about a century ago, to wit:

In 1722. the Gazette began first to record the death and burials of the month, fo wit: In February, 1722, for one month, it was three of the Church of England-Quakers four, and Presbyterians,

none.

In 1729 to '30, the interments in one year, from December to December, were 227 in number, to wit: In Church ground 81—in Quaker 39-in Presbyterian 18-in Baptist 18, and in strangers' ground (the present Washington Square, an adorned grave ground now for them!) 41 whites and 30 blacks. In some weeks I perceived but one and two persons a week, and in one week none. It is worthy of remark that although the influence of Friends was once so ascendant as to show a majority of their population, yet it seems from the above, that the churchmen must have been then most numerous. In the week ending the 15th of July, 1731, I noticed the burials of that week were "none !"

WHALES AND WHALERY.

"The huge potentate of the scaly train."

IT will much surprise a modern Philadelphian, to learn how very much the public attention was once engaged in the fishery of whales along our coast, and to learn withal, that they disdained not occasionally to leave their briny deeps to explore and taste the gustful fresh waters of our Delaware, -even there,

"Enormous sails incumbent, an animated Isle,

And in his way dashes to heaven's blue arch the foaming wave." "The Free Society of Traders" had it as a part of their original scheme of profit, to prosecute extensively the catching of whales. To this purpose, they instituted a whalery near Lewistown, and as I am inclined to think there was once in some way connected with the whalery, a place of sale or deposit at the junction of "Whalebone alley" and Chesnut street, on the same premises now Pritchet's. The old house which formerly stood there, had a large whalebone affixed to the wall of the house, and when lately digging through the made earth in the yard, they dug up several fragments of whales, such as tails, fins, &c. Its location there. originally was by the tide water ranging in Dock creek. Be this as it may, we are certain of the whales and the whaleries, from facts like the following, to wit:

In 1683, William Penn, in writing to the above Society, says, "The whalery hath a sound and fruitful bank, and the town of Lewes by it, to help your people."

In another letter of the same year he says, "Mighty whales roll upon the coast, near the mouth of the bay of the Delaware; eleven caught and worked into oil in one season. We justly hope considerable profit by a whalery, they being so numerous and he shore so suitable."

In another letter of 1683, William Penn again says, "Whales are n great plenty for oil, and two companies of whalers, and hopes f finding plenty of good cod in the bay."

In 1688. Phineas Pemberton, of Pennsbury, records a singular isiter, saying, "a whale was seen in the Delaware as high as he Falls!"

In 1722, deficiency of whales is intimated, saying in the Gazette,

that there are but four whales killed on Long Island, and but fittle oil is expected from thence.

In 1730, a cow-whale of fifty feet length is advertised as going ashore to the northward of Cape May, dead. The harpooners are requested to go and claim it. Thus showing, I presume, that a fishery was then near there, by the same persons who may have harpooned it.

In 1733, month of April, two whales, supposed to be a cow and a calf, appeared in the river before the city. They were pursued and shot at by people in several boats, but escaped notwithstanding. What a rare spectacle it must have been to the freshwater cocknies of the city!

In 1735, month of July, some fishermen proved their better success at this time in capturing an ocean fish, such as a shark of seven feet length in a net, a little above the city. The Gazette of the day says it is but seldom a shark is found so high in fresh water. If that was strange in that day, it was still stranger in modern times, when "a voracious shark" of nine feet long and 500wt. was caught at Wind Mill Cove, only five miles below Philadelphia, in July, 1823. Not long after, say in January, 1824, near the same place, was taken a seal of four feet four inches long, and 61lbs. weight, near the Repaupa flood gates.

About the same time another was taken in Elk River. Many years ago seals were often seen about Amboy, but to no useful purpose.

In 1736, February, "two whales are killed at Cape May, equal to 40 barrels of oil, and several more are expected to be killed by the whalemen on the coast."

Finally, the last "huge potentate of the scaly train” made his visit up the Delaware about the year 1809,-then a whale of pretty large dimensions, to the great surprise of our citizens, was caught near Chester. He was deemed a rare wanderer, and as such became a subject of good speculation as an exhibition in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Thomas Pryor, who purchased it, made money by it, and in reference to his gains was called "Whale Pryor." The jaws were so distended as to receive therein an armchair in which visiters sat.

GRAPES AND VINEYARDS.

NUMEROUS incidental intimations and facts evince the expectations originally entertained for making this a flourishing grape and wine country. Before Penn's arrival, the numerous grapevines every where climbing the branches of our forest trees, gave some sanction to the idea that ours may have been the ancient Wineland so mysteriously spoken of by the Norwegian writers. Almost all the navigators, on their several discoveries, stated their hopes from the abundance of grapevines with exultation. But neglecting these we have substituted whisky!

Penn in his letter of 1683, to the Free Society of Traders, says, "Here are grapes of divers sorts. The great red grape, now ripe, (in August,) called by ignorance the foxgrape, because of the rich relish it hath with unskilful palates, is in itself an extraordinary grape, and by art, doubtless may be cultivated to an excellent wine-if not so sweet, yet little inferior to the Frontinac, as it is not much unlike in taste, ruddiness set aside, which in such things, as well as mankind, differs the case much. There is a kind of muscadel, and a little black grape, like the cluster grape of England, not yet so ripe as the other, but they tell me, when ripe, sweeter; and that they only want skilful vignerons to make good use of them. Then he adds-I intend to venture on it with my Frenchman this season, who shows some knowledge in these things. At the same time he questions whether it is best to fall to fining the grapes of the country, or to send for foreign stems and sets already approved. If God spare his life, he will try both means-[a mode of practice recently obtaining favour with several experimenters.] Finally, he says, I would advise you to send for some thousands of plants out of France with some able vignerons." With such views, Penn, as we shall presently shew, instituted several small experiments. He and others naturally inferred, that a country so fruitful in its spontaneous productions of grapes, must have had a peculiar adaptation for the vine. When the celebrated George Fox, the founder of Friends, was a traveller through our wooden wilderness, he expressly notices his perpetual embarrassments in riding, from the numerous entangling grapevines. The same too is expressly mentioned by Pastorious, in his traversing

the original site of Philadelphia. And when Kalm was here in 1748, he speaks of grapevines in every direction, the moment he got without the bounds of the city; and in his rides to Germantown and Chester, &c. he found them all along his way. Thus numerous and various as they once were, it may be a question, whether, in the general destruction of the vines since, we have not destroyed several of peculiar excellence, since modern accidental discoveries have brought some excellent specimens to notice,-such as the Orwigsburg and Susquehanna.

In 1685, William Penn, in speaking of his vineyard to his steward, James Harrison, writes: "Although the vineyard be as yet of no value, and I might be out of pocket, till I come, be regardful to Andrew Dore the Frenchman. He is hot but I think honest. This, I presume, refers to the vigneron, and to the vineyard at Springetsbury.

In another letter he writes to recommend Charles de la Noe, a French minister, who intends, with his two servants, to try a vineyard, and if he be well used more will follow."

In 1686, he writes to the same steward, saying, "All the vines formerly sent and in the vessel (now.) are intended for Andrew, (Dore,) at the Schuylkill, for the vineyard. I could have been glad of a taste last year, as I hear he made some. Again he says, if wine can be made by Andrew Dore, at the vineyard, it will be worth to the province thousands by the year,-there will be hundreds of vineyards, if it takes. I understand he produced ripe grapes by the 28th of 5 mo. from shoots of 15 or 16 mos. planting. Many French are disheartened by the Carolinas (for vines) as not hot enough!"

About the time William Penn was thus urging the cultivation of the vine. his enlightened friend Pastorius, the German and scholar, was experimenting, as he expressly says, on his little vineyard in Germantown.

How those vineyards succeeded, or how they failed, we have no data on which to found an explanation now. We behold, however, now, that Mr. E. H. Bonsall is succeeding with a vineyard among us; and at Little York the success is quite encouraging.

The following description of the discovery and character of the Susquehanna grape, will probably go far to prove the superiority of some natural grapes once among us, or leave grounds to speculate on the possibility of birds conveying off some of Penn's abovementioned imported seeds! Another new and excellent grape has been discovered on the line of the new canal, beyond the Susquehanna.

About a year ago, there were obtained some cuttings of a grapevine which was discovered by Mr. Dininger, on an island in the Susquehanna, called Brushy Island. The island upon which this vine was found is uninhabited and uncultivated, the soil alluvial, and subject to overflow. The vine runs upon a large sycamore,