No. 63.] 339 



er. and to causes over which they had no control, we have had only 

 two and a half days to perform our tour of duty, therefore a very mi- 

 nute description of the different farms must not be expected. 



The first farm your Committee were invited to examine, belonged 

 Mr. Peter Roggen of Oakhill, in the town of Durham. The farm 

 contained one hundred and forty acres, and about one hundred and 

 ten under improvement, and is situated on the south side of the Cats- 

 kill creek, and bounded by woods on the west and north; general 

 surface inclining to the east, and composed of sand and loam, and in 

 some places coarse gravel was seen, except two lots, one of which 

 appeared to be of a more tenacious soil, the other gave evidence of 

 once being very stony and was of a slight gravely soil. Perhaps a 

 more desirable situation for farming, cannot be found in the county. 

 The farm is divided into nineteen lots, by stone walls, varying from 

 five to nine acres in a lot; walls from two and a half to three and 

 a half feet thick, and from three to five in height; those of a less 

 height than four feet, had posts in the center and boards nailed at the 

 top; the passway into each lot w^as furnished with a substantial fram- 

 ed gate on iron hinges, and not a brush or brier was to be seen in any 

 of the fields. The general appearance of the farm gave evidence of 

 an abundant harvest. The fields recently seeded down, showed that 

 the occupant seeded with a liberal hand. We learned from Mr. Rog- 

 gen that he had been in possession of the farm three years, and since 

 that time all these repairs and fences have been made; which is an 

 evidence to your Committee that he prefers investing his surplus 

 capital in his own farm, rather than taking a bond and mortgage on 

 that of his neighbor, which your Committee believe is too much 

 practiced by agricultural capitalists. The dwelling house appeared 

 to be in fine condition, and, in fine, every thing around gave evidence 

 of perseverance and skill. 



The next farm your committee visited, was Mr. Lewis SherrePs in 

 the town of Greenville, and lies about half a mile north of Green- 

 ville village, and principally on the west side of the road; tontaining 

 160 acres of somewhat a rolling surface from east to west, but of ea- 

 sy access to any part with team, and is well adapted to grain or grass; 

 and from appearance, produces more than an average crop, compa- 

 red with other lands in that vicinity, and is divided into seventeen 

 lots of equal size. The fences are all made of stone from three to 

 five feet thick and from four to five and a half feet high. Mr. Sher- 

 rel informed your committee that all the wall on his farm was over 

 nine miles; and what was very remarkable on this farm, as well as of 

 that of Mr. Roggen, no shrubbery of any kind was seen along the 

 walls or in the fields; and every field was entered by a swing gate 

 made in a cheap and substantial manner, and balanced on the top of 

 the gate post, and safely fastened shut by means of a mortice in the 

 top of the post with a hook and staple under the top rave of the gate. 

 The dwelling-house gave evidence of taste and economy. The out- 

 buildings were in good order and well arranged for the purposes in- 

 tended. The present occupant and his father have been in posses- 



