V3'^ 



J'HK lAUMERS iVJONTHLY VISITOR. 



the river has broken in Bcvoral clmnnel:;. AVitli- 

 out any coiisiderublc d;ini the vator has been 

 used lor iaetories, both ujion tlic main lund and 

 upon the islands. An excellent Inisinees, for the 

 amount of capital invested has been carried on by 

 the company for several years : the article prin- 

 cipally manufactured has been bed-tickings,wliich 

 has often sold at a profit when other cotton man- 

 ufactures have failed. 



The immense water power at these fiijls, be- 

 ing, we believe, about sixty feet in the space of 

 little more than a mile, while those at Low ell are 

 only about half that number of feet \\as in a 

 measure thrown away upon the first works. 

 About five years ago an extendeil capital \\ as in- 

 vested, and besides these falls on the west side of 

 the river, the land and water jjrivileaes on tlie 

 east side were also purchased. Tlie company 

 also purchased out tlie water-jioweron both sides 

 of the river at the Hookselt falls, eiglit miles 

 above, where they have extended the cotton fac- 

 tory to about six thousand spindles and looms to 

 correspond. Subsequently to this, they united 

 the capital of the Concord Water-Power Compa- 

 ny at the falls on the river three miles below this 

 (Concord) village : to their inv< slinent, adding the 

 purchase of farms for the lo(:iii.in of a village joji 

 the east side of the Merrimark, witli niajiy acres 

 of woodland near it. As yit the water power 

 here, which is a fall of some tljirty feet, is unoc- 

 cupied. 



The present investment of the Anioskcag 

 Company which corresponds with the Looks and 

 Canals at Lowell, is one million of dollars. It 

 includes the three falls at the distance, the lirst of 

 eight miles, and the last of twelve miles abo\e 

 Ainoskeag : it also includes besides valuable 

 farms, several thoi-saud acres of wood and tim- 

 ber land, the growth of which is constantly in- 

 creasing, and the value of wliich is appteciating 

 with every new improvement made iij)ou the riv- 

 er. A granite quarry upon the river about six 

 miles above Amoskeag, lieiug a movmtain afford- 

 ing an uiexhaustible quantity of the very best of 

 that beautiful material, belongs to the com])any 

 by purchase : also an extensive stone quarry or 

 ledge not very far from the site of the future city 

 which if it shall bear the name of the town in 

 which it is located, may vie with another most 

 extensive manufacturing town in Englmid of tlie 

 same name, will furnish in great abundance the 

 material for foundation and cellar walls that do 

 not require liev. ed stone. 



Amoskeag (for this is the name by which the 

 settlements on both sides of the river are kiwwn ) 

 already has the appearance of a city on the east 

 side, nearly the whole of which has gro\\n uj) in 

 the three last seasons. The Comiiany has erect- 

 ed two large factories of five stories from the 

 basement, one hundred and fifty-five feet in 

 length by forty-eight feet in breadth : one is called 

 the Stark, the other the Manchester mills. The 

 water-power and superstructures of each, inclu- 

 ding the mills and machinery, the offices and 

 dwelling-houses, have been purchased of the ori- 

 ginal Amoskeag Conqiany, and are separate cor- 

 porations. The capital of these companies is 

 five hundred thousand dollars each. 



The Amoskeag Company has constructed pro- 

 bably the best and most capacious canal in Ame- 

 rica, from the head of the iiills to the distance of 

 five thousand feet, nearly one mile. This canal 

 carries the water upon the higher level, and is 

 forty feet wide at the bottom, and sixty feet wide 

 upon the surface. Below it, upon a ^icond le\ el 

 after the water has been once ui-i d, another ca- 

 nal of similar width has been mrde fiir ihe dis- 

 tance of one thousand and fifty lie!. Tiie ex- 

 pense of making these two n.agnitii'cut canals, 

 in which the water is amply secured lor its des- 

 tined use, has been one hundre^l and tqrty thon- 

 sand dollars. 



Near the Stark and Manchester fmnories, the 

 Company have erected tVir machine shop, a 

 brick structure three bundled and I'orty feet in 

 length by forty feet in width: of this tlic black- 

 smith shop embraces the length of eightv feet. 

 The expenditures in the machine sho)) alreadv 

 amount to about $175,000 — the shop itself having 

 cost in the erection .$46,000, the dwelling house's 

 attached .*30,000, and the machinery tor makiii'^ 

 the spjndles and other inanutaeturing apparatus 

 having aJready been made to the amount of ."ias- 

 4{000. W)l^n completed, this machine shop w ill 

 exceed probably any other siiniler eBtahlishmeiit 



of the country. The several forges of the black- 

 .^mith establishment are furnished w ith a a blow- 

 er or bellows which acts without manual aid. 



The factories and iiuichine shop already erect- 

 ed furnish the most perfect fire apparatus tliatwe 

 have ever seen. This apjiaratus by simply turn- 

 ing acock at convenient distances on the outside 

 of the building, throws the water through hose at 

 all distances so as to strike the tops of the high- 

 est eliimneys. The inside preparations for ex- 

 tinguishing fires are likewise of the ncwcpt and 

 most elfei'tive inventivm. 



The bricks, with which Jhe Company build- 

 ings have been erected, ate principally made at 

 Hooksett, on the bank of the river eight miles 

 above. These are, we lliink, the best model of 

 brick tor permanence, if not of elegance, of any 

 ever used in the country : they are but nt deeper 

 than the common brick — so deep that in a day of 

 sunshine they will throw across the river from 

 the liictory buildings at the distance of full half a 

 mile, the rays of the sun as we sometimes see 

 them upon glass. The economy of building with 

 bricks like these, which can be injured neither by 

 wet or by frost, which will stand fire like iron 

 and far better than granite .or almost any other 

 Isard material, and w liicli must be as lasting as 

 .time, eaiuiot be disputed. 



The coinmeiicemeiit of the compact town by 

 the Company, borders on the canals near to the 

 river and extends b; ik some fifty rods. The 

 great factory buildings and machine shop, near- 

 est to the river, face it in their whole length. 

 Further in the rear are the commodious three 

 story brick houses facing in a direction at right 

 angles, used as dwellings for the operatives, ^\'e 

 A\ere pleased to obser\e that the rooms of these 

 houses were constructed of more ample dimen- 

 sions than has been usual at mantifacturing esta- 

 blishments. There cannot be a doiilit that the 

 better policy has been consulted by building tlie 

 houses in those airy positions and with that op- 

 portunity for ventillation so necessary and so con- 

 ducive to health. The crowded position of build- 

 ings in cities, the close and confined air breathed 

 many times over by several sleeping together in 

 a room with a single window, are causes of the 

 premature sickness and death of hundreds and 

 thousands of human beings. 



The village of Amoskeag is still in the rear 

 and further distant from the river than the Com- 

 pany's factories and dwelling houses already 

 erected. For the purpose of accommodating 

 those who wish to buikl, fifty-twn ticres of land 

 have been laid out, and sales of the lots have 

 been realized to the amount of .^7ci,000 on this 

 ground. Besides the lots the Company have 

 made provision for open s(|uares, and have left 

 ample streets at the proper intervals. They have 

 likewise presented lots to the dilierent religious 

 societies for places of public worship, on Avhich 

 three elegant and commodious edifices have al- 

 ready been erected. Rents have been higher at 

 this place than at any other place in New Hamp- 

 shire for the last four years; and they continue 

 high. The teinjitalion presented by these high 

 rents has induced the owners of lots in some in- 

 stiinces too much to cover the ground purchased 

 with buildings of an inferior (luality. The mat- 

 ter of erecting better buildings hereafter, will 

 come in of course. 



In the course of the next two years a rail road 

 will b(! completed from Amoskeag to Nashua, if 

 the ow ners of .\moskeag stock in Boston shall 

 consult thei.' interest — ^^ibr such a road would 

 raise the value of the Cominmy's property on the 

 river above proliably equal to the whole expense 

 of grading the ronj the distance of eighteen 

 miles. 



The building up of such a place as Amoskeag 

 is destined to become, is a matter of some inte- 

 rest to fhe agriciiltuial community around it : it 

 iiirnishes an inducement lor agricultural iin- 

 provements that ought not to be neglected. The 

 population of the farming towns in the vicinity 

 of large manufacturing places has not much in- 

 creased in the last twenty years, because too 

 many have been tempted to leave their fauns to 

 take up an employment that .seemed to aflbrd the 

 more ready means of gain. But if the popula- 

 tion has not increased, there has been an increase 

 in the production and value of real estate, which 

 proves that population must increase hereal>er 

 where it has iallen oft" or only holds its own. 

 The farmers in the old towns of New F.ne- 



land, some of whom have suffered their grounds 

 to become sterile and un]iroductive, have every 

 inducement to renovate them, audio increase the 

 capacity of their land to yield greater crops. 

 They can raise hardly any product that may not 

 be turned into means contributing to wealth and 

 independence. The mamiliicturing towns, such 

 as Amoskeag and Nashua and Lowell, are fast 

 increasing in the ability to purchase all the sur- 

 plus produce which is too heavy or too perisha- 

 ble to be carried to a greater distance. The 

 healthy growth of the manufacturing towns will 

 contribute to the healthy growth of the whole 

 farming region about them. There is a mutual 

 interest w hich should induce each to seek for 

 the prosperit}' and growth of the other. We 

 should desire to see aveited all cause for jea- 

 lousy between the ftrming and the manufacturing 

 interests. The great manufacturing corporations, 

 owned by wealthy non-residents, are naturally ob- 

 jects of jealousy to the mass of the people: lei 

 them, by a liberal and generous course, by omit- 

 ting to take an unjust advantage which their posi- 

 tion sometimes gives them, do away all suspicion 

 that they act so much against their own best in- 

 terest as to disregard the general good ; for in 

 that general good consist the elements of their 

 prosperity. We would greatly rejoice to see 

 Amoskeag grow into a great and flourishing city, 

 if it can come up on the only true principle of 



"l.ivr. A.ND Lr.T LIVE." 



Fi'^tm the Third Report on tlie Agriculture of Mass. 

 On Braining and Subsoil Ploughing. 



The statements which I give below, are from 

 an examination had before a large committee of 

 the British Parliament, relating to thaining and 

 subsoil iiloughing. I at first intended to give on- 

 ly a short abridgment of them; but they are of 

 such remarkable importance, that I have chosen 

 to give them at large. I know they will be read 

 with the greatest interest. 



Stulciiient bi/ T. F. Kemicdy, Esq. of Duntirc, fro- 

 mcrly M. P. for the Ai/r Burghs, respecting his 

 txpericttcc of Ihc system of Draining and Sub- 

 soil Ploiigliing, recommended by Mr. Smith, of 

 J)eanslon, in the County of Steiiing. 



I liave practised Mr. Smith's system of drain- 

 ing and .subsoil iiloughing upon my iarm, in the 

 county of Ayr, during the last three years, and 

 the result has fully justified every anticipation of 

 benefit. It Is applicable to all soils not rocky 

 w hiel) have not an absolutely porous subsoil — the 

 great objeel being, tliat the subsoil should be ren- 

 dered artificially porou.«, and that all rain water 

 should sink on the spot on which it falls, and that 

 no running of water should take place on the 

 surltice. 



There was, at the outset, considerable difficul- 

 ty in ha\ing the work executed; it was arduous, 

 and those engaged in the superintendence and 

 labor were adverse, because they did not see the 

 principles of the system, or the sdvantages which 

 were likely to arise. A little encouragement and 

 a distinct intimation that then" must be persever- 

 ance, overcame every dilficiilty. This observa- 

 tion applies to the subsoil ])lougliing, while some 

 difficulty attached to the ]ierfi3ct execution of the 

 drains, in having them made of the full depth of 

 30 inches, and filled neither too much nor too lit- 

 tle, and ^vilh all due care in all particulars which 

 must be attended to secure permanence in the 

 eftects. 1 have invariably made the drains twelve 

 feet apart, in order to secure the effect being com- 

 plete ; being much imju'cssed w ith the lolly of 

 spending a considerable sum per acre in the op- 

 eration, and still failing to obtain what I may term 

 perlt'ction in the system. I have also used brok- 

 en stones as the material when they could be ob- 

 tained within such a distance as to prevent the 

 expense of cartage being excessive ; in other cas- 

 es I have used tiles, witli a layer of three or four 

 inches of stone or gravel over them. When stones 

 alone were used the drains have been uniformly 

 30 inches deep, leaving 16 inches for the opera- 

 tion of the plough and subsoil plough ; where 

 tiles have been used the de]ith has been about 24 

 inches, the same depth for the ploughs being left 

 as in the other cases. A crop of oats has gener- 

 ally been taken after the drams have been execut- 

 ed, and the land ha? been compBrfttively dry 



