Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/631

 LONG ISLAND 625 principal political counsellor. Zenobia was de- sirous of throwing off the Roman yoke, and making good her right to supreme sovereignty by force of arms. Longinus encouraged and advised her, and on the capture of Palmyra was put to death by order of the emperor Aurelian. He was the ablest philosophical writer of his age. The doctrine of the uni- versal influence of soil and climate on the in- tellectual capacities and on the civilization of mankind is especially due to him. The only important fragment of his voluminous works now extant is a portion of his celebrated trea- tise "On the Sublime." The first edition of this fragment is that of Robortello (Basel, 1554), the best that of Morus (Leipsic, 1769- '73). It has been translated into English -by William Smith (London, 1739). Complete edi- tions of all his extant writings were published at Leipsic in 1809, at Oxford in 1820, and at Paris in 1837. LONG ISLAND, an island comprising Kings, Queens, and Suffolk counties, New York, situ- ated between lat. 40 33' and 41 10' N., and Ion. 71 51' and 74 2' W. ; extreme length E. and W., 115 m. ; extreme width, 23 m. ; aver- age width, about 14 m. ; area, 1,682 sq. m. It is bounded N. by Long Island sound, E. and S. by the Atlantic ocean, and W. and N. "W. by the Narrows, New York bay, and the East river, connecting the ocean with the sound. The sound through the greater part of its ex- tent separates it from Connecticut, and the East river from New York city. Several small islands which lie in the adjacent waters are attached to it politically, among which the principal are Shelter, Gardiner's, Fisher's, and Plum islands. The population in 1870 was 540,648, of whom all but 144,549 resided in the city of Brooklyn. The coast is deeply in- dented with numerous bays and inlets, abound- ing with shell and other fish. A large deep bay, divided into Gardiner's bay, Little Pe- conic, and Great Peconic, extends inland 30 m., and divides the E. end of the island into two distinct parts, the northern terminating at Oyster Pond point, and the southern at Mon- tauk point, about 20 m. further E. Along the S. border is a remarkable bay nearly 100 m. long and from 2 to 5 m. broad, formed by the Great South beach, a narrow strip of fine white sand from m. to 1 m. wide, with occasional openings to the ocean. Jamaica, Hempstead, Oyster, and Huntington bays are toward the "W. end of the island. The coasts of Long Island have been provided by government with an excellent system of lighthouses, and life-saving stations have been established pro- vided with proper facilities for affording aid to vessels in distress. Though much diversi- fied, the surface presents no great elevations. A ridge of hills extends, with occasional in- terruptions, from the N. boundary of New Utrecht in the west nearly to the extreme end of the northernmost eastern branch of the island. The highest of these are Harbor hill, at the head of Hempstead harbor, and Jane's hill, one of the West hills in the town of Hunt- ington. A number of spurs known under various names proceed from the main range. To the north of these hills the surface is gen- erally uneven and broken ; to the south remark- ably level, with a gradual inclination toward the sea. There are several large tracts of apparently infertile plains, portions of which, however, by the application of suitable ma- nures, have been put under profitable culti- vation. The island, which has always been abundantly supplied with wood, still contains considerable forests. The great pine plains commence about 40 m. from the W. end, and continue almost uninterruptedly for about 50 m., occupying for that extent nearly one half of the island. There are many springs and small streams; the largest of the latter, the Peconic, flows into Great Peconic bay after a course of 15 m., in which it furnishes numer- ous mill seats. Fine natural ponds or lakes abound, and many swamps and marshes are scattered over the surface. Of salt marsh the island is computed to contain 116 sq. m. The soil is generally very fertile and under a high state of cultivation, a large portion of the agri- cultural industry being engaged in providing vegetables for the New York market. The climate, owing to the influence of the sea, is more temperate than in the same latitude in the interior, the thermometer seldom falling below zero or rising above 90, the mean tem- perature being about 51. There are many public resorts on the island for fishing, bathing, and summer residence. The E. portion forms the customs district of Sag Harbor. Here the whale fishery was formerly extensively carried on, but it is nearly extinct. The menhaden fishery is now an important branch of indus- try, and cod and mackerel fishing are pursued to some extent. The island is well supplied with railroads, the principal lines being the Long Island, which extends nearly the whole length, the South Side, and the Flushing and North Side. When first discovered Long island was inhabited by 13 tribes of Indians, of whom there now remain but about 200 individuals, mixed with negro blood, and retaining no knowledge of their ancient language. The date of the first settlement by whites has been variously stated. It was commonly supposed to have taken place as early as 1625, but more recent investigations prove this not to have been the case. Stiles in his " History of the City of Brooklyn" indicates 1636 as the date, but a minute of the Dutch council, a transla- tion of which is given in an appendix, shows that settlements began to be made in 1632. These settlements were at the W. end, and un- der the authority of the Dutch ; the E. por- tion was first settled in 1640 by the English. Its name, which it received from the Dutch, was changed by the colonial legislature to that of the island of Nassau, which was never adopt- ed by the people. The E. extremity was