AND WHERE TO FIND ONE. 193 



to the labor of man ?&quot; Along the railroad line is a 

 district containing 150,000 acres, but partially cul 

 tivated. In Queens and Suffolk Counties there 

 were nearly 200,000 acres of unimproved land, as 

 shown by the census of 1855. All this lay within 

 two and three miles of the railroad. In leaving 

 the cultivated lands about Jamaica, there is an un 

 occupied, uncultivated, unenclosed expanse, without 

 tree or shrub to obstruct the view for miles. 



Numerous towns held great tracts containing 

 thousands of acres, which were kept for public use 

 as commons. Hempstead originally held 17,000 

 acres. North Hempstead disposed of her lands at 

 low prices, and was largely benefited by the influx 

 of new settlers. When the railroad was opened in 

 1844:, it traversed an almost unbroken wilderness, 

 in which scarcely a dwelling was to be seen. But 

 twenty years have wrought wonderful changes in 

 the condition of the lands adjoining it. 



In many places on and near the railroad, within 

 about an hour s ride of New York, there is land for 

 sale at moderate prices Mr. Schnebly says at from 

 ten to thirty dollars an acre, according to location. 

 He refers to the crops produced by various farmers 

 on land in this condemned region. Peach trees 

 grow luxuriantly and bear profusely. Corn, oats, 

 barley and rye are produced as largely as in the 

 best regions, while the average wheat product of 

 the island exceeds that of the State. The State Ag 

 ricultural Society awarded to Mr. Yan Sicklin, of 

 Riverhead, the premium for the best cultivated 

 farm, he having produced crops worth $3,300 at an 



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