t will surprise many persons to learn that the trade
between the United States and Canadas, carried on chiefly by the lakes
and their connecting waters, ranks third in value and first in
tonnage, in the table of our foreign commerce; being, in value, only
below that of England and the French Empire, and in tonnage above the
British Empire.

American goods to Canada $9,950,764
Foreign goods 8,769,580

$18,720,344
Canadian goods to the States, 12,182,314

$30,902,658

We here append a table showing the progress, from decade to decade, of
the principal centres of population of the plain since 1820. It has
been made with all the accuracy which our sources of information
enable us to attain. There are in it, no doubt, many errors, but it
will be found, in the main, and for general argument, substantially
correct. For future reference, it will be valuable to persons who take
an interest in the development of our new urban communities. Included
in each city are its outlying dependencies--such as Newport and
Covington with Cincinnati, and Lafayette with New Orleans.

1830. 1840. 1850. 1860.

New Orleans 46,310 90,000 130,565 180,000
Cincinnati 21,831 47,000 130,739 250,000
St. Louis 5,852 16,469 82,000 180,000
Chicago 100 4,650 29,963 150,000
Pittsburg 12,568 25,000 71,595 125,000
Buffalo 8,653 18,213 42,265 100,000
Montreal 30,000 40,000 55,000 90,000
Louisville 10,341 21,210 43,194 89,000
Detroit 2,222 9,162 21,019 80,000
Milwaukee 50 1,730 20,061 75,000
Cleveland 1,047 6,071 19,377 70,000
Toronto 1,677 13,500 27,500 70,000
Rochester 9,269 20,191 36,409 50,000
Quebec 26,250 32,500 41,200 55,000
Columbus, O. 2,450 6,671 17,882 40,000
Mobile 3,194 12,672 20,515 35,000
Hamilton, C. W. 1,500 4,200 13,000 25,000
Memphis 1,500 3,500 8,839 25,000
Nashville 5,566 6,929 10,478 25,000
Dayton 2,954 6,067 10,977 25,000
Indianapolis 1,000 2,692 8,034 22,000
Wheeling, Va. 5,221 7,885 11,435