60 Zoar. 
with Mr. Biemler, (to whom I had a letter of introduction,) exam- 
ining the improvements of these industrious people. The language 
spoken is German, so that in the short space of a few minutes I was 
transferred from the mixed jargon of a western canal boat, into a 
community whose dialect, dress, buildings and manners, were assim- 
ilated to what is seen in the heart of Germany, and to the middle of 
the seventeenth century. There was something so patriarchal and 
primitive in all around me, that I was delighted with the transition. 
Their present population is about three hundred. The buildings 
are generally of frame work, some filled in with bricks, and with 
high pointed roofs. ‘They are covered with red tiles, made of the 
common clay of the country, burnt very hard, so as to be durable, 
and they look well because they are durable. Manufactures of flour, 
woolen, linen, leather, &c., are all carried on, and recently a large 
furnace has gone into operation near the margin of the canal. A 
substantial wooden bridge crosses the Tuscarawas, here about eighty 
yards wide. From the top of the Zoar hotel, which is surmounted by 
a handsome cupola, there is a delicious prospect of the surrounding 
country.. The lands of the colony lie on both sides of the river, 
stretching out into broad hills and wide finely cultivated alluvions, 
through which the Tuscarawas winds for four or five miles, bordered 
with the richest verdure ; all kinds of cereal: productions suited to 
the climate, here find congenial soils. 'The meadows are very fine, 
and the banks of the river are so low as to admit of irrigation, thus 
producing a succession of crops on the same field: amidst other ar- 
ticles, I noticed a large field of rape, with its bright yellow blos- 
soms now fully expanded. ‘The seed yields a fine oil, suitable for 
lamps. The Germans are every where noted for their taste in the 
cultivation of fine flowers. This little “ city of refuge,’’ although so 
far removed from the “fader land,” and seated in the wild woods of 
the ‘Tuscarawas, instead of the classic groves of the Elbe, keeps up 
an extensive garden, and one of the finest green houses I have ever 
seen. It contains a number of Jemon and orange trees, at least 
twelve feet in height, filled with the richest’ fruit ; and a large num- 
ber of rare exotic plants and shrubs in full bloom, filling the large 
and lofty room with the richest perfumes. The house is kept with 
the utmost neatness and order. A flower and vegetable garden of 
two acres, laid out with great beauty and in the best German taste, 
slopes gradually to the south in front of the green house. Here the 
choicest peaches, pears, plums and grapes, are also cultivated. A 
