THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



1^9 



dc-spcratc efTort. Strenj^-th and resolution held out 

 until our arrival at a point wlirre Imraes could^ 

 take us. The young Rosbrooks had lie.'n sent oil" 

 in advance ten miles for our horses: they would 

 not probably arrive till midni/ht. Doctor Oliver 

 was almost as much jaded out as we were : Dr. 

 Dana, as light of foot as he was volntile and elas- 

 tic of mind, was ready and anxious to proceed on 

 foot; but Mr. Rosbroiik in a slinrt time made tlie 

 preparation, -and in less tlian half an ho\ir we were 

 reposing over the bed of the Saco on a soft bed of 

 evergreen houghs. Scarcely had we laid down, 

 when the tramp of liorses on the road advertised 

 us of the approach of aid in our progress home. 

 It was not th« conveyance for which we had sent : 

 the namesake of the conqueror of Ticonderoga, as- 

 taining where we were wlien the young Rosbrooks 

 passed him, immediately volunteered unasked to 

 bring us to a place of rest ; and through his aid at 

 midnight we were comfortably in quarters at Ros- 

 brook's in Bretton-woods. 



Mr. Ro.sbrook at that time, with a view of get- 

 tino- a location nearer to the mountain, fi.xed his 

 eye upon the spot near the meadow and the 

 Notch as a suitable place for erecting buildings ; 

 and then solicited our aid to procure a title to a 

 few acres of land. The whole territory in the vi- 

 cinity with the mountain then belonged to the 

 estate of the deceased Col. Wliipple of Portsmouth 

 under the administration of Hon. Aaron Hill, the 

 former postmaster of Boston. Rosbroos supposed 

 that a gift of all the land he would want might be 

 obtained in consideration of erecting a house there 

 for the acconimodatiou of travellers ; but, unfortu- 

 nate on his own premises from some cause, he nev- 

 er carried his project into e.tecution. Thomas 

 Jefferson Crawford, a younger brother of Etlian 

 Allen, and son of Abel Crawford whose farm is 

 eight miles below, has procured a title to this land 

 and erected the requisite buildings for a public 

 house. The crops of beautiful herdsgrass and clo- 

 ver, of oats and potatoes, growing at this time upon 

 the land which ho has cleared, prove the fertility 

 of the soil in the midst of these mountains to bo 

 scarcely infcTior to any other land in the State. 



AtFabyan's (formerly E. A. Crawford's and the 

 residence of his grand father Rosbrook) there is an 

 intervale flat on the Amonoosuck of more than a 

 hundred acres ; a portion of this land has been un- 

 der cultivation seventy-five to a hundred years. 

 Little pains has been taken for its cultivation. The 

 frost on tliis ground for several seasons has been 

 Bo frequent as to kill both the crops of potatoes and 

 oats. Mr. Fabyan during the two last years has 

 sown upon this ground one nundred bushels of 

 seed, without procuring the return of a single 

 bushel of ripe oats. The land is e.-iccllent for hay, 

 and has produced the present year from one hun- 

 dred to one hundred and fifty tons. It is remark- 

 able that the recent clearing of T. J. Crawford in 

 the midst and directly under the shade of the 

 "inountain should be so free from frost as to produce 

 good crops of grain and potatoes, while the e.xten- 

 dcd flat at Fabyan's witli the mountains more dis- 

 tant siiould produce neitlier. Mr. F. attributes the 

 dirterence to the fact tliat tlie cold nights gathering 

 frost in the lowlands adjacent to the mountains.the 

 sun not appearing at Crawford's until eight or nine 

 o'clock when the surrounding air is warmed, the 

 frost is extracted without injury to the vegetable, 

 while the sun striking earlier in the morning upon 

 bis premises, at once kills the stalks which have 

 been made stiff by the frost. 



When the area fronting the White Mountains 

 to the south and west, and the verdant valleys be- 

 tween and at the sides of the mountains on either 

 hand shall be cleared and cultivated, our opinion 

 is tlrat the White Monnlain region will be equally 

 certain of annual crops of wheat and oats pnd pota- 

 toes and peas,if not of Indian corn, as the land in any 

 other part of the State. The land for cultivation, 

 separate from the mountains themselves, is of less 

 elevation than much of the cultivated ground in 

 the counties of Sullivan, Hillbborougli and Chesh- 

 ire ; there are entire lownsliips on the Vermont 

 mountains, excellent for the pioduction 'of cattle, 

 horses and slieep, more elevated than thousands of 

 acres near the mountains of Grafton and Coos, in 

 New Hampshire, that have been considered too 

 cold and comfortless for settlement. To the south 

 of the road running through this area there is an 

 extended tract of land covered with a heavy black 

 growth, much of which, when cleared, will turn 

 out to be first ra?.? land for grazing. Thefirstcrop 

 of wheat will twice pay for the clearing of the 

 land : the pasturage afterwards for many years will 

 give the value of ten to twenty dollars the acre to 

 this territory. 



"Mount "Deception," from wliich the whole 

 BPace of the area is viewed in every direction with 



the fronting mountains to their base, is northerly 

 from Fabvau's, and one mile from bottom to top, at 

 an angle say of twenty-five to thirty degrees. 

 This mountain at a distance looks ragged and crag- 

 gy : passing over it, we find a fine and fruitful 

 black soil producing abundance of honey -suckle, 

 where busixes and briars have not usurped the place 

 of grass. Beautiful strawberries iu aliundance 

 were growing or ripe on tlie sides of this uioun- 

 tain on the 2l)thofJu!y. Much of this mountain 

 miffht be cultivated with the side hill ]>lough, if 

 the proprietor of the land would undertake it, and 

 a few hundred feet above the alluvion hay field be- 

 low, we think, the untimely frost would not injure 

 the common garden vegetables. 



Under proper cultivation, tiie area of the White 

 Mountains would present a residence not less invi- 

 ting than the best part of New-England. It is 

 well known that climate is affected not le^s by el- 

 evation than by degrees of latitude: a rise of one 

 hundred and fifty feet is said to be equal to a de- 

 gree of latitude of si-xty-nine miles north or south, 

 ftlount Vesuvius, in the vicinity of Naples, is of 

 higher altitude than Mount Washington, but, situ- 

 ated in a milder region, is not so cold at the same 

 altitude. On tlie sides of this mountain are all the 

 varieties of jiroduction and climate. So it is with 

 tile stupendous Andes of South -\merica, situated 

 directly under the equator. The fruits of the 

 warmest climate abound at the base — further up 

 arc oToves of lemons and oranges — still higher are 

 wheat and corn, and the productions of temperate 

 climates — higher up grows the hemlock and the 

 larch — higlier yet, the green growth hugs to the 

 ground — at another and another reach, vegetation 

 ceases, and the region of perpetual snow is gained. 

 The entire table land of Mexico is probably not 

 less elevated tlian the top of Mount Washington : 

 standing upon this foundation are other mountains 

 from fifteen to twenty thousand feet above the ta- 

 ble. The climate of Mexico, approaching the 

 nearest equatorial latitudes, is said to be very fine, 

 possibly not less temperate than that of Virginia or 

 Pennsylvania, situated twenty to thirty degrees 

 further north. 



Carrol aud Whitefield. 



July 20. Passing down the Amonoosuck over 

 the excellent road towards Littleton village five 

 miles, we turned off through the new settlement of 

 Carrol on the way to Lancaster ; in the distance 

 we pass the south edge of Clierry mountain, over 

 which, in a nearer direction to the north through 

 Jefferson, a turnpike road was many years ago 

 constructed. For several years this part of the 

 road has been nearly aliandoned by travelling car- 

 nages. Throuah Carrol to Whitefield, a distance of 

 fourteen miles, the ground for a road is as good as 

 may be found in almost any direction. 



The fertility of the soil in Carrol is exceeded in 

 no upland township in New Hampshire. The in- 

 habitants here, as in every other new settled place, 

 commence generally with feeble means; but al- 

 ready m the space of six years several have, with 

 the aid of tiieir own hands solely, made beautiful 

 farms. Off of the main road at the very verge of 

 the mountain, fifteen or twenty families are loca- 

 ted, 'fhe crops ot' herdsgrass and clover growing 

 among the stumps of the newly cleared land were 

 highly luxuriant — wheat, rye and oats were very 

 flourishing; potatoes exhibited a fine growth ; and 

 some of the farmers had taken courage to plant 

 corn in the woods. The laiid nearest the foot and 

 up the sides of the mountain is found to be of the 

 better quality — it is wanner and less liable to frost, 

 and the soil is more light, rich and mellow. 



In addition to the raising of cattle and sheep, the 

 products of the dairy, the cultivation of wheat and 

 other trrains, tlie growing and securing herdsgrass 

 and ch-iver seed may be made a business of abun- 

 dant profit to the new settlers of Coos county. 

 The land yields herdsgrass, red and white clover 

 in great abundance. The Coos Democrat men- 

 tions a farmer in Carrol, who saved the last year 

 from about six acres of land, fifteen hundred 

 pounds of clover seed, wiiich he sold for eighteen 

 cents per pound in cash, giving a clear income of 

 ij;'270 or about 1*45 to the acre in one season. The 

 raisinir of grass seed need not impoverish the soil, 

 as the ripe hay, after tlie seed has been gathered 

 from it, makes good food for young cattle, so that 

 the manure niaj' be returned to the ground from 

 whence the profit is extracted. 



In all newly settled lands, the original fertility 

 is &iuch as renders the farmer careless of the appli- 

 cation of manure. Necessity perhaps in some in- 

 stances, which require.-i the whole labor of tlie far- 

 mer to sustain himself and family while the land 

 is clearing, induces to the neglect of the land al- 

 ready cleared, while it continues to depreciate year 

 after year. With much loss labor aud expense 



than may be supposed, the fertility and production 

 of land may be kept up. Pnstures often runout 

 by growing up to bri.ars and bushes, when, if prop- 

 erly seeded and cleared, cattle and sheep would 

 keep them smooth and productive from year to year. 

 Fields cultivated wit!i the plougli need not have as 

 much annually carried to as taken from them to 

 perpetuate their fertility ; kept clean of noxious 

 weeds, with a dressing of manure once in five or 

 six years, if of ten or twelve good o.\ loads to the 

 acre, very good, liiit much better if double the 

 quantity, all arable lands with retentive soils may 

 be marie to sustain their original fertility. If mow- 

 ing ground is too rocky or rough for the plougli, it 

 may be turned into jiasture ; and ground which 

 runs out in pasture, and cannot be cultivated, had 

 better be reserved for a growth of wood aud tim- 

 ber, which will be wanted thirty and forty years 

 hence even in tho:je towns now jiresenting an a- 

 bundance of the finest gro^vth. A proper regard 

 to tliese subjects — to the classification and cultiva- 

 tion of the lands hn every farm in the State, would 

 Aitirely supersede the wearing out of farms, so dis- 

 couraging to the occupants, as to induce hundreds, 

 after years of severe labor, to leave all and seek for 

 easier, and may-he more fertile lands in the west. 



The township of Carrol is one of the newest in 

 the State : a few thousand dollars ten years ago 

 might have purchased the whole of it. Near the 

 west line of the town, a stream tributary to John's 

 river passes northwest and south-east. On this 

 stream are most magnificent pines, some of whicli 

 rise fifty and seventy-five feet into the air, without 

 the intervention of a limb. These pines are of tiie 

 kind, denominated tlie pudding pine, and of a qual- 

 ity suited for the most elegant finish of buildings. 

 Some lotsof a single hundred acres of these pines are 

 now valued as high as the whole township would 

 have sold for twenty years ago. 



There is much more of this excellent pine tim- 

 ber on the Israel's and John's, and Amonoosuck 

 rivers than we had supposed. A great deal has 

 been wasted, paying hardly cost for transport to 

 the market ; but much more remains in the town- 

 ships of Carrol, Whitefield and Dalton, than has 

 been taken from them. Whitefield is six miles 

 westward of Carrol. A hundred acre lot of pine 

 timber was shown us in this town, which wus sold 

 two years ago for §;lti,UOO ! There are nine mills 

 for the manufacture of pine lumber on John's riv- 

 er in the town of Whitefield. The clapboards ami 

 shingles manufactured in these mills are very fine. 

 The value of manufactured timber is much lessen- 

 ed from the difiiculty of water transport : it is sent 

 to Hartford, Ct. and New York ; but the obstruc- 

 tion of the fifteen miles fiills on the Connecticut re 

 quires the clapboards, &c. to he first transported 

 by land to the outlet of the Amonoosuck near Ha- 

 verhill, thirty miles. The larger lumber business 

 is perhaps in the transjiortation of logs; these are 

 sent down over the falls and manufactured into 

 boards at the mills below. A t^t^w years ago at 

 Whitefield the indiscriminate price of pine boards 

 from these beautiful trees was only three dollars 

 the thousand feet — a sum now insufficient to pay 

 for cutting, carrying to the mill and sawing. Now 

 common merchant:il)le boards sell for five dollars, 

 and clear boards are eight, ten and twelve dollars 

 the thousand. The owners of timber lots will 

 be gainers to let their timber stand rather than sell 

 even at the present prices. 



Whitefield is one of the best hill townships in the 

 State. The land upon the swells is warm, and the 

 soil is rich and deep. There arc many fine farms 

 in this town. Some individuals have realized 

 handsome estates simply by the rise on the value of 

 lauds during the last two or three years. The val- 

 ue of the timber lands is yet hardly appreciated. 

 Here as in other parts of New England, a newjvil- 

 l.age surrounding tiiree or four mills on John's riv- 

 er, with neat and convenient painted houses, stores 

 and mechanics' shops, and a new meeting house, 

 has grown up within a few years.- 



The Shire-Town of t'oos. 



The post-road from Whitefield to Lancaster, 

 eight miles, is more hilly than that from White- 

 field to the White Mountains; that portion in the 

 town of Lancaster is of more recent settlement than 

 the part of the town upon Connecticut river. For 

 two miles ami a half we come down upon Lancas- 

 ter in one almost continued steep descent. At 

 that distance we were caught in a shower upon 

 Saturday afternoon, of almost precisely the same 

 character of that at Loudon on the previous I\Ion- 

 day, at the house of Mr. Twoinbley who moved 

 from Dover forty-nine years :igo, and there first 

 settled and cleared his land. Tiie old gentleman 

 bent nearly double with severe labor, carried on his 

 farm alone, at the age of seventy-nine years ; he 

 had hoed his corn the third time ; but ho was ap- 



