THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



165 



ng soi!. Much of our barren land v/ants only one i fighting on botli sides." 

 of these ingredients, and tiie addition of that often ■ al, -^you are prisoners." 

 increases the fertility more than tiie best vegetable 

 manures. Marl, (composed of calcareous earth p.nd 

 clay) answers as a substitute for both clay and lime. 

 Now all these substances are known to exist in 

 New England, and probably the day is not far dis- 

 tant when they will be found in much greater a- 

 bundance than at present.* In considering the 

 means of enriching our farms, it should not he for- 

 gotten that a much greater quantity of vegetable 

 manure can easily be produced ; and that tiie low, 

 boggy lands in many places furnish inexhaustible 

 supplies. But it is a great mistake, (though one 

 quite too prevalent yet among farmers) to suppose 

 tliat the presence of animal or vegetable manure is 

 necessary to fertility. They are only necessary to 

 supply the place of some mineral substance which 

 is wanting. It is doubtless true, that after decom- 

 position, their carbon and some other elements, en- 

 ter into the substance of the new plant; but it is 

 equally true, that were there not too large or too 

 small a proportion of some mineral substance, they 

 might well be dispensed with. It has been abund- 

 antly proved b}' experiment, that air and water fur- 

 nish all the elements necessary for the growth of 

 vegetation while the soil does little more than to 

 keep the plant in an erect position, and supply the 

 roots with moisture. 



From the considerations which have been men- 

 tioned, are we not justified in asserting that New 

 England has, witliin herself, tlie elements of pros- 

 perity? But it would be doing great injustice, 

 were we, in estimating her farining interest, to stop 

 here. The numerous manufactories which are 

 springing up among us as by magic, are not there- 

 suit of mere temporary excitement. The numer- 

 ous water privileges which abound on almost every 

 Btreani, mark this as the AoiHCof the manufacturer: 

 consequently the farmer will always find a ready 

 market at hand for his produce; and however su- 

 perior the western lands may be for grain, his sheep 

 and dairy will furnish him with the same means of 

 independence. Add to this her commercial resour- 

 ces, the activity, intelligence and morality of her 

 citizens, and her system of education, and then let 

 the farmer say how much reason Jie has to com- 

 plain of his situation and prospects. But if the sons 

 of the Pilgrims have not yet learned that the pros- 

 perity of a community does not depend wholly on 

 the fertility of the soil, let them contrast the con- 

 dition of those who dwell on the barren heaths of 

 Scotland, or the rugged mountains of Switzerland, 

 with that of the luxurious and enervated inhabi- 

 itants of Italy and Spain. OBSERVATOR. 



Keene, Nov. 5, IS'Si). 



*Few exrepl those who hive made personal experiinent.-*, 

 aie aware of the quaniity of lime stone inthe eastern States. 

 'I'lie iiumher of localities at present t;no\vn, amunnis t- sev~ 

 eriil h 11 [i (lied. From reci-nt nliaervatiima in some pntts o( Ver- 

 mont, ! have little doubt Unt tli^t l.ir^-e port kuh nf tint Stale 

 fire underlaid with a stratum ()( th;\t vnlunhle tiiineral. The 

 (1i-covery nfmarl hy Dr. Jncrkson, in his recent {.'C'dnKicaL-sur- 

 vey of Maine, is at\ impfirtiint evenr to her cuizena ; and 

 Bhoiild he lie a.- siircesshil in dcvelopinj the mineral res'iur- 

 ces or New Hampshire, there n i. I In-: liitle reasrm to he dis- 

 saiiished with the selection ol nur Slate Geologist. 



For toe Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 

 Arnold's escape, 



Mr. Ebesezer Chase was a private in the New 

 Hampshire militia, which relieved the Pennsylva- 

 nia line at West Point in 17;:^0, when those troops, 

 being veteran, were wanted elsewhere. Mr. C. 

 with several others, being off duty, was on the 

 shore of the Hudson when Arnold deserted. When 

 Gen. Washington assigned him the command of 

 West Point, he left his own barge in his posses- 

 sion. A temporary iiut was erected on the east 

 shore for the accommodation of the four oarsmen 

 who managed tho barge. On the morning of his 

 desertion, Gen. Arnold rode down to the shore, 

 from his Jiead quarters at Robinson's farm, very fast, 

 as was his custom — threw the reins to his attend- 

 ant, and ordered the barge to be manned. He then 

 directed his course towards the Point; but on 

 reaching the middle of the river, the boat was ob- 

 served to take a course down stream, and move 

 verv swiftly through the water. 



The explanation Vi'as afterwards made by the 

 boatmen. He hoisted a flag of truce and told them 

 to pull for the Vulture sloop of war, which lay be- 

 low, saying that he had some business with her 

 captain, and promised if they would row him down 

 to her as soon as possible, to give ihom a guinea 

 and a gallon of rum each. On nearing the Vulture, 

 and being within range of her guns, Arnold opened 

 his plan saying, *' I have served the ungrateful 

 scoundrels long enough," and declared if they 

 would go with him they should have double pay, 

 and be made sergeants in the British service. One 

 of the rnen replied that *' he did »ot understand 



"Then," said tlic Gcner- 



When they came along side tlie sloop of war 

 Arnold ascended the deck, and was received by the 

 marines with presented arms. He then ordered his 

 men to come on board as prisoners of war. One of 

 them who had been theirspokesnian just before, said 

 "it was a shabby trick, as they had toiled to their 

 utmost strength to get the boat along, now to re- 

 fuse the pro'uised reward, and make them prison- 

 ers to boot." The English captain heard their mur- 

 murs, ar.d stepping forward, observed — "Gen. Ar- 

 nold, I command this sliip, and while I walk the 

 quarter dock no such transaction shall take place. 

 I know the meaning of my words, sir, and will 

 meet their comment." Then addressing the men, 

 ho continued — "My good fellows, I respect your 

 principles and fidelity to your country, although 

 you areencmius to your King. You shall have lib- 

 erty to go or stay as you please. — " Here," taking 

 them from his i)urse, "are your guineas : steward 

 put up four gallons of rum for these men." The 

 boatmen thanked the gallant and generous sailor, 

 and returned in safety to head quarters to report 

 their proceedings to Gen. Washington, who had 

 just arrived in camp Arnold, chagrined and en- 

 raged, retired without uttering a word to the cab- 

 in of the sloop of war. 



Tliis statement was made by Mr. Chase about a 

 fortnight before his death in 1831. He also stated 

 that he saw Major Andre going to execution riding 

 in the centre of a troop of eight horse. 



Arnold, before his escape, had received informa- 

 tion that "John Anderson," the name with which 

 he had filled Andre's pass, was taken. The infor- 

 mation was sent him by the unfortunate person 

 himself. This determined his purpose for sudden 

 flight. He was afterwards distinguished for the in- 

 veteracy with which he carried on his predatory war- 

 fare against the property of his fellow countrymen. 

 After the war he went to England, where, although 

 he received tiie countenance of the British gov- 

 ernment, his ^ootl htUntions m his unsuccessful 

 plot against the liherty of his country were despised 

 by the British officers. The unfeeling wretch cal- 

 led upon the widowed mother and sister of his un- 

 fortunate victim (Andre.) The servant announced 

 to them the name of Gen. Arnold; and they im- 

 mediately returned a message that they did not de- 

 sire to see him. V. 



Fences, &c. 



Kennchunh, October Ath, 1839. 



Hon. Isaac Hill ; Dear Sir — As you did me 

 the honor to consider a communication of mine de- 

 tailing the method of cultivating corn in New York, 

 worthy an insertion in your valuable periodical, I 

 am flattered into the belief that some further ob- 

 servations or rather illustrations of the agricultural 

 economy of the New York farmers, may not be 

 wholly vvithout interest to your readers. 



In my journeying through the New England 

 States 1 have frequently been struck with the want 

 of beauty and too often the want of durability and 

 sufficiency of the walls and fences, enclosing and 

 upon otherwise beautiful farms. In some parts the 

 scarcity of stone and in others the difficulty of pro- 

 curing the common fencing materials, such as 

 cedar rails, 6ic. is the common apology for the ab- 

 sence of a good secure and durable fence. There 

 are many objections urged against hedges, with 

 how much reason I leave others to decide. The 

 doubtful nature of the experiment however, and 

 constant care supposed to be necessary to bring one 

 to perfection, added to the risk of its ultimately 

 providing a safe closure, deters many from setting 

 it. Its beauty is certainly a strong inducement to 

 give it a thorough trial Hon. Barnabas Palmer of 

 this town has a beautiful hedge under way with ev- 

 ery prospect of complete success. In your June 

 number ((.S) of the Visitor, he gave some inJorma- 

 tion derived from sources entitled to great respect, 

 in regard to the quality and propeT cultivation of 

 hedges. His hedge which was set in May last is 

 of the Buckthorn variety, and was procured from 

 the farm of E. H. Derby, Esq. of Salem, Mass. It 

 is now something better than two feet high on an 

 average, and appears to be doing exceedingly well, 

 with only three times hoeing since set, and bids 

 fair to become a competent fence in four years or 

 less. Mr. Palmer gave the preference to the Buck- 

 thorn, from the representations of those better ac- 

 quainted with it, that it is more hardy and rapid in 

 growth than the other varieties, and from its pos- 

 sessing certain medicinal qualities rendering it un- 

 palatable to cattle, which would deter them from 

 browsing it. Many prefer the Cockspur or Dela- 

 ware thorn to any other, by reason of its having a 

 thorn on it, thus rendering any attempt to pene- 

 trate it less likely to succeed. I did Mot intend, 



however, to have said ?o much in regard to hedges, 

 but to propose a substitute to such as may not feel 

 inclined to try the hedge. There is a beautiful 

 specimen of hedge around the marine Hospital at 

 Chelsea, of the maple leaf Washington thorn, which 

 appears well. The hedges around the garden of 

 the Insane Hospital at Charlestown are Hawthorn ; 

 but this plant is not generally approved of, though 

 its foliage is exceedingly beautiful ; but it requires 

 too much and careful attention to be profitable, and 

 will not thrive well in our climate. I would re- 

 commend to those who feel curious in these mat- 

 ters to visit and inspect them, should business or 

 other circumstances call them to Boston. 



In the interior of New York I frequently saw a 

 species of wall or fence made of stone and soo, 

 which was thought highly of there, and which I 

 think might be profitably introduced among us. I 

 will endeavor to describe it, and the process of mak- 

 ing it. First a layer of stones from four to six inch- 

 es high, say eighteen inclies in width. On top of 

 this is put a layer of sods, grass down, carefully 

 filling up all the interstices in the stone beneath, 

 then a layer of stone, then sod, thus alternately un- 

 til your wall is at the desired height, when you cap 

 it with sod. Grab's seed is then sown on the top, 

 and around the sides on the edges of the turf, which 

 should come out "flusli" and smooth with the 

 stone. The following season the grass entirely 

 covers and conceals the stone, and you have a most 

 beautiful and solid wall. I would observe that the 

 thickness of the wall, in order to prevent its set- 

 tling, should diminish as you ascend ; eight or ten 

 inches width at the top being sufficient. The sods 

 necessary for the wall being generally, or for the 

 most part, taken from the spot, is usually done so as 

 to make a good drain some four or five inches deep 

 on each side of it. Fears may be entertained that 

 this description of wall would not be secure from 

 the effects of the frost. I was particular in my en- 

 quiries on this point, and was assured that no es- 

 sential injury was perceived to arise from it. I saw 

 many which had been built six to ten years, and 

 they appeared solid and firm. You have very like 

 ly seen the batteries and redoubts thrown up in 

 many places on our sea coast, during the last war. 

 There are many such on some of the islands in 

 Portsmouth harbor: at Eastport, Me. Fort Sullivan 

 was entirely surrounded with them; they were 

 composed generally of bushes, shavings, &c.,cot- 

 ered at the top and sides with turf. The^ have re- 

 tained their shape, verdure, and solidity for years. 

 In fact I apprehend there is but little danger of so 

 great an expansion by frost as to destroy a wall 

 such as I have described, especially after the grass 

 roots become firmly united and knit together. This 

 kind of wall may be built as cheap as rail fence. 1 

 have knov.'ii it laid for thirty -seven and a half cents 

 per rod. It appears nearly as handsome as hedge, 

 and when built in the summer is in full perfection 

 the following year. This kind of wall can perhaps 

 be better built than any other in those neighbor- 

 hoods where there is a deficiency of large stones 

 suitable for entire stone walls, and where a slaty 

 quality of stone prevails. 



In conversation with a friend lately on the sub- 

 ject of walls and fenci^, and the expense of build- 

 ing them, he informed me that having made it a 

 subject of inquiry with a view of erecting a wall 

 himself, he could not estimate the cost of good 

 stone wall in this vicinity, at less than five dollars 

 per rod ; an item of expense which but few can af- 

 for4, and which all would probably choose to avoid. 

 I am, dear sir, 

 Very respectfujly, your friend, &c. 

 BENJA.F. EMERY. 



Fine Cnop. — To refute the opinion that there is 

 any thing in the soil or climate of Coos County to 

 prevent the cultivation of corn or any other useful 

 crop, that can be raised in any part of the State, a 

 plain statement of facts alone is necessary. Hikau 

 LucA^, Esq. of Northumberland, informs us, that 

 he has raised the past season, "from one acre — one 

 hundred and eighty bushels of sound cars of corn 

 — equal to ninety Oushefs of shelled corn fit for 

 grinding." Coos County Democrat. 



Northumberland is situated one h'lndred and 

 thirty miles, full two degrees in latitnd.v, north of 

 Concord, and near the forty-fifth deirree, in the up- 

 per or northern region of the fertile \ alley of Con- 

 necticut. The alluvion on the banks of the river 

 in this town was originally covered with a growth 

 of butternut. Here the meadows are annually cov- 

 ered by the spring floods, and are consequently very 

 fertile. The Bellows farm in tljis town is saiti to be 

 one of the best of its size in the State. — £d. Month- 

 ly Visitor. 



