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Life of Thomas Eddy

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and tree, from the hyssop that springeth from the wall,to the cedar of Lebanon. His mind had a most noble scope in the field of science, not confined to those wehave named; for, before he was thirty years of age,he seemed determined to make himself acquaintedwith many things, then but partially known, as maybe seen by the following extract from The AmericanMonthly Magazine and Critical Review. So long ago as the year 1814, the following querieswere prepared by the late John H. Eddy, of this city.He had them printed in the form of a circular, and anumber of copies were sent to various gentlemen in different parts of the country to which they relate.Few communications, however, were received inreply; and the multiplied avocations of Mr. Eddycompelled him to postpone the prosecution of hisinquiries to a period of greater leisure. But anuntimely death, arresting him in the midst of hislabours, has torn him from science and his country,and left the task to other hands. With the view ofreviving inquiry upon this subject, we publish thecircular drawn up by Mr. Eddy, and solicit the atten-tion of the scientific to the topics therein suggested.Any communications, addressed to the editors, willbe gladly received, and immediately placed in thepossession of one who will turn them to good account. New York, March 14, 1814. The unexampled progress of cultivation and im-provement in that part of the state of New York,lying west of the meridian of the village of Utica,and the surprising increase of its population andproduce, present a subject of inquiry highly interest-ing, not only as affording a basis for a correct calcu-lation of the future advance of our interior settle-ments to the west, where lands, and the title to it, aregood, and thus affording a glimpse of the scene our country is one day, we may hope, destined to pre-sent; but it has opened to the observation of thegeographer and the geologist, a number of very