814 [AsSSMBi-Y 



soils, leached ashes are among the most active and useful ma- 

 nures, and exert a permanent physical agency upon the soil, that 

 alters its consistency and modifies its whole character. 



Tanneries. — Another profitable and very proepeTOUS business, 

 which is sustained by the products of the forest, is becoming the 

 predominant occupation of the town of Minerva and portions of 

 Schroon. Several large and valuable tanneries are established in 

 this district, and the adjacent towns in Warren county. The ex- 

 tensive demands these works create for bark, forms an extensive 

 market, which is abundantly supplied from the woodlands of that 

 region. 



A eonflagration of the woods presents a scene in the highest 

 degree imposing and terrific, and often inflicts destructive ravages 

 upon the pursuits of the maaufacturer, as well as the products of 

 agriculture. In certain periods of the year, the dried leaves and 

 other combustible materials of the forest form an inflamahle mass, 

 which spreads a fiame with inconceivable celerity. Impelled by 

 the wind which constantly accumulates in vehemence, its progrees 

 is so rapid that neither man or beast is secure of safety in flight. 

 It spreads widely its column of flame as it advances. It seizes upon 

 tops of the loftiest trees, and leaping from object to object, it laps up 

 every combustible substance, far in advance of the body of the con- 

 flagration. Sparks borne by the whirlwind for furlongs, start 

 new fires. Immense amounts of property, comprising timber, 

 lumber, wood dwellings, fences, crops of grain and grass are often 

 in a few hours consumed by these inflictions. The intense heat 

 of these fires, by consuming all the organie elements of the soil, 

 frequently destroys for many years the fertility of the earth. 



In the spring of 1852, the thriving village of Franklin Falls, 

 just on the boundary of Essex county, was overwhelmed by a 

 visitation of this kind. A fire was noticed in the woods, at a dis- 

 tance of four mileSj without alarm or suspicion of danger. With- 

 in forty minutes from that period the village, comprehending 

 dwellings, stores, valuable mills, and all their appurtenances, with 

 a mass of manufactured lumber, was enveloped ia a sea of flame, 

 and the inhabitants, scarcely escaping with their lives, left to the 



