216 [Senate 



sition, office and economy of manures, so that he may raise the same 

 quantity of Indian corn on one acre of land, with the same manure 

 and half the labor it now takes him to produce it on four acres. 



AGRICULTURE OF WASHINGTON COUNTY. 



BY G. J. BAKER, FORT ANN. 



1st. Aspect of the County. — This county as you are probably 

 aware, is somewhat of the shape of a triangle, of which the northern 

 part forms the apex. Now cut off this northern part by a straight 

 line, beginning at Patten's mills, running on the southern boundary 

 of Fort Ann, through the north of Hartford and the center of Gran- 

 ville, and you have the two natural divisions of the county. The 

 northern part is quite uneven, hilly and mountainous, yet comprising 

 many noble farms and much valuable pasture land. It has three 

 laree ranges of mountains, w^hich divide it into two sections. The 

 first range begins at Lake George, follows the east border of that 

 lake until it meets the middle range, running from Battle Hill near 

 the southern part of Fort Ann, by the west border of Lake €-ham- 

 plain, at the junction of the two lakes at Ticonderoga. The western 

 range begins at the termination cf the Hartford hills, and runs 

 through Hampton to the ease border of Lake Champlain. The two 

 valleys between these ranges comprise the farming land. The high 

 lands afford much grazing, large quantities oi iron ore^ and an incre- 

 dible amount of pine and hemlock lumber, and cord wood. The soil 

 in the valleys is generally clay or muck, and on the upland, sand, 

 gravel, loam, and slate. The principal prochicts are lumber, iron, 

 and wool. The two former are marketed at Troy and Albany, and 

 the latter generally sold to " wool buyers," w^ho send it to the Mas- 

 sachusetts and Connecticut manufacturers, mostly the former. The 

 southern part is more level, or gradually undulating, and containsbut 

 little or no waste land. It is emphatically an agricultural section. 

 Its soil is varied, as clay, marl, loam, sand, gravel, slate and muck. 

 Wool and grain are the principal products. The former is marketed 

 by the same hands as that of the northern part, and the latter is con- 

 sumed either by northern lumbermen, or by those of Warren county, 

 and if there be any surplus it is sent to Troy or Albany. The tim- 

 ber of the northern part is generally pine, hemlock, spruce, maple 

 and beach, while that of the southern is nearly the same, save the 

 pine and spruce. The value of the land of the former is from $2 .50 

 to $25 .00 per acre, while that of the latter ranges from $15.00 to 

 $60.00 per acre. 



2d. The favorite breeds of Cattle.^ Sheejj, Swine , ^c. — Although 

 of many things I can speak with pride of the farmers of Washington, 

 yet when I come to this, justice demands that the truth should be 

 told, both for the benefit of themselves and others. In truth, save a 



