into the port cities in the Northeast。Philadelphia‘s population nearly doubted in those years，reaching about 30，000in 1774，New York grew at almost the same rate，reaching about 25，000by 1775。The quality of the hinterland dictated the pace of growth of the cities。The land surrounding Boston had always been poor farm country，and by the mid－eighteenth century it was virtually stripped of its timber。The available farmland was occupied，there was little in the region beyond the city to attract immigrants。New York and Philadelphia，by contrast，served a rich and fertile hinterland laced with navigable watercourses。Scots，Irish，and Germans landed in these cities and followed the rivers inland。The regions around the cities of New York and Philadelphia became the breadbaskets of North America，sending grain not only to other colonies but also to England and southern Europe，where crippling droughts in the late 1760‘s created a whole new market
