J 64 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



am and Danville, we called a few moments at the 

 farm of Mr. Kankin, the brother of the first man 

 of that name in Littleton, N. H., whose descend- 

 ants are fomiliar as rnen of some public consider- 

 tion in New Hampshire. Mr. Rankin had here 

 been settled forty years on a beautifid farm of two 

 hundred acres. On this soil every thing grows 

 well thai is put into the ground. Mr. Rankin had 

 growing in his field sucli ruta baga turnips as we 

 must look for in vain the present year in the 

 county of Merrimack, or even on the best cultiva- 

 ted grounds in the vicinity of Boston. 



A OOVERiSOR-FARMER. 



Danville, a town of larger dimensions than 

 Peacham, of equal fertility and having less land, 

 is the shire town of Caledonia county. Belbre 

 arriving at the elegant village called Danville 

 Green, which is the county seat, having a fine 

 new court house and several meeting houses, all 

 of which together with the dwelling houses not 

 of brick are neatly painted white, on the way 

 from Peacham, we come to the premises of Gov. 

 Palmer. This gentleman, long in pu lie lile ei- 

 ther as clerk of the courts of his county, Sena- 

 tor in Congress or chief Magistrate of his State, 

 seems to have retired to the care exclusively of 

 his household and his farms, where, from the 

 prosperity of every thing without and the com- 

 forts within, he must realize enjoyments which 

 the turmoils of public lite can never give. Gov. 

 P. apjieared as the farmer who labors with his 

 own hands : he was in the working dress of his 

 profession. At the age turning into the " sere 

 iuid yellow leaf" no man wears a healthier face 

 and a more active limb than the working man 

 upon the fiirm. E.xeicise upon the feet, exercise 

 of niiiscle by the rake or The hoe or the crow bar 

 in the held, "will give to the man of fifty years 

 stamina and strength of arm such as the student 

 or man of .sedentary Jiabits at the green age of 

 twenty-five knows not. From information we 

 are inclined to believe that our colemporary of 

 Danville who has the fortune to have been made 

 a man of uncommon ])hysical power, might ad- 

 vantageously change llie present habit of almost 

 entire seclusion for the mingling now and then 

 in public matters relating to the welfare of his 

 fellow citizens. 



We had been delighted to spend more time in 

 viewing the farms of Gov. Palmer. His crop 

 of corn of the present year, (or the region 

 far north, was very encom-aging. From precise- 

 ly one fourth of an acre he obtained sixty fidl 

 bushel baskets of soinid Canada corn, and from 

 one acre, two hundred bushrls. Those who 

 know how to distinguish the small Canada corn 

 from the larger kinds raised southerly of Caledo- 

 nia county can judge of the greater weight anrl 

 superiority of the small to the large corn in the 

 ear. We think the crop of corn raised by Gov. 

 Palmer, undi^r all the circumstances, to be equal 

 to any croj) ever produced in New England — it 

 *erlainly exceeded the growth of any acre on 

 whicli we ever set eyes. The quarter acre pro- 

 ducing the greater crop was directly in the rear of 

 the barns upon the farm ; it was rich Iroin cul- 

 tivation as well as by nature. The land of Gov. 

 Palmer, as well as the greater jiart of the fine 

 region central in the county of Caledonia, is of 

 that fine deep rich mould in which the plough 

 finds no bottom, occasionally bringing up small 

 gravelly pebbles of limestone which we believe 

 disappear on long eyposure to the atmosphere, 

 and essentially contribute to the earth's fertility. 

 The growth upon this land is generally maple 

 and beech with the black and yellow birch inter- 

 spersed. Three fourths of an acre of the corn 

 was land that had recently been ftMiced off at the 

 point where two roads meet and which had hiid 

 co'umon. Not more than the usual quantity o' 

 manure had been put upon the ground; and the 

 ground tliis year was only nimured in the hill 

 with a composition from the hog pen. The liills 

 of this corn, the stalk of which is very diminutive, 

 were placed at the distance of about two and a 

 half i'crt one w;iy by two feet the other. The 

 corns butts were cut down U]ion the irrouiKl 

 where this corn grew: the remaining hills and 

 slump's exhibited the marks of that good hus- 

 bandry in which the owner delights. 



At a distance from the house on Gov. Pahner's 

 premises wms another field of corn. On this 

 gromul he carted niamu'e at the rate of fortv 

 loads to the acre : and as an inducement to a 



neighbor who had no field of his own he offered 

 him the one half of the crop to plough the 

 ground, |)lant and carry it on, and guaranteed him 

 lor the service thirty bushels of com lor his halt; 

 The land produced eighty bushels. 



Nearer to Danville Green than vvhere he re- 

 sides. Gov. Palmer has another fine farm, the 

 whole income of which he is said generously to 

 give to a friend and relative. This and other 

 beautiful fiirms in Danville we had no time to 

 give more than a passing view. 



We had the pleasure of calling for a few mo- 

 ments upon the Hon. Israel P. Dana, an old friend 

 and acquaintance of thirty years, who, at an age 

 somewhat advanced, was laboring under a pain- 

 ful, but we hope not alaring temporary illness. 

 This gentleman, we were informed by others, has 

 constantly made the sheep growing business prof- 

 itable for many years. His buildings and his 

 grounds out of doors showed his good taste as a 

 farmer: the cushioned chairs and carpeted floors 

 within evinced that farmers of the country, not 

 less than the men of affluence of the cities, en- 

 joy not only the comforts, but the elegancies of 

 life. 



THi; DRAINED POND. 



Northwardly from Danville we took our course 

 to St. Johnsbury, the first above Barnet in the 

 valley of the Passumsic. To get here we had 

 come round about more than half of the whole 

 distance taking the circuit across from the river 

 road to the hill road and returinng back. The 

 mail stage from Haverhill to Canada line passes 

 three times a week each way by Peacham and 

 Danville over the hill road, and the three alter- 

 nate days by the road which jvasses tip the val- 

 ley of the Passumsic. There is at the point of 

 this road where the waters of the Passumsic and 

 the waters running north into lake Memphrema- 

 gog and the river St. Lawrence have their som-ce, 

 a natural curiosity which goes to conform our 

 theory that the rich amphitheatres among the 

 hills constituting some of the best townships of 

 Vermont were originally lakes and ponds of wa- 

 ter. In the town of Glover up to the year 1817 

 near tlie summit level there was a pond of con- 

 siderable extent which discharged its waters on 

 the way to Long Island Sound through the valley 

 of the Passumsic. In the first settlement of the 

 wilderness beyond towards C.inada, a man had 

 erected a mill below the level of the |)ond on a 

 small stream running the other way. As he had 

 a deficiency of water it occurred to him that he 

 nfight bring to his aid a portion of the waters in 

 the pond, there being only a small ridge barring 

 them out. He commenced digging out a pas 

 sage way upon the surtitce of the ridge, and found 

 the soil so pliable that the work of an hour or 

 two brought it down to the surface of the pond 

 The water began to flow and in a few minutes 

 made such progress that he barely had time to 

 run to the nnll and alarm his wife whom he 

 knew to he there so that she might retreat to a 

 place of safety. The artificial or natural ridsre 

 was not able to stand for a moment w hen the 

 water had oi.ce gained headway. Down it came, 

 taking nff the mill in a moment, and carrying 

 along with it trees and rocks weighing many 

 tons and every other obstruction, swee|)ing down 

 to the lake an immense mass of material. 

 Since that time a simple brook running towards 

 the lake Memphremagog is all that is left of the 

 pond; and the ground constituting and surroun 

 diuE its bed, is just like that of other valleys on 

 which we suppose the water to have rested in 

 da\ s long subsequent to the creation. The trav 

 eled road pursues its course through the bed of 

 this pond. 



Returning to our journey; there has grown up 

 within a very few years a considerable village 

 called North Danville upon a stream which from 

 the height of land unites with the Passumsic at 

 St. Johnsbur)'. 



ruvEU KOAns i\ Vermont. 



The ro.ids running through the mountains and 

 liills of Vermont which have been recently con- 

 structed up the stream.o, discover the powers of 

 invention and imrenuily of the Yankee cliaracter 

 in contending with obstacles apparently insm- 

 mountablc. Roads are there made on the side ot 

 precipitous ledges and through steep gorges, that, 

 looking over the ground, woidd seem to hid defi- 

 rince to man. Some of these roads running into 

 the wildest country that can be imagined, now 



pursuing their way along the margin of a stream 

 down to whicii it is trij>fitf'ul to look, and nowdi- 

 ving into and through some bank whose edge is 

 fringed with trees apparently stan<ling directly 

 over head, are of so easy travel, that immense 

 loads ol' from six to teutons pass over them with- 

 out apprehension of danger. 



The dusky twilight of an interesting day 

 brought us down liom the village of North Dan- 

 ville, over one of these newly constructed roads, 

 to the village of St. Johnsbury Plain. The hos- 

 pitable mansion of Erastus Fairbanks, Esq. near 

 this village, was the place to which we had been 

 invited, and here we foimd a hearty welcome. 



A SUCCESSFUL ESTABLISH.MENT. 



The mauutitcturing establishment of Messrs. 



E. & J. Fairbanks is situated some half a mile 

 westnard from the Plain; and the machinery is 

 moved by a water power furnished from the 

 stream running down from Danville, which at the 

 village unites itself to the Passumsic. There is 

 belie vfed to be no muuufiicturing establishment 

 witliin the limits of the State of Vermont, none 

 certainly in the interior of New England, that 

 has so well succeeded as this. 



The works of Messrs. Fairbanks on this stream 

 have once been entirely swept away, dams and 

 all, by the flood. The mountain stream in a high 

 ireshet had been damned up by logs and other 

 obstructions, which breaking away at once came 

 down with such force as to take off every thing 

 in its way. 



Their commencement was the manufacture ot 

 the large Iron Screws which now extensively take 

 the place of the large weoden screws. On this 

 screw in the year 182C, they obtained a silver 

 medal from the New England Society for the pro- 

 motion of Manutfictures and Mechanic Arts, with 

 the inscription on one fide — " Genius, Intelligence 

 and Industry triumpli." On the reverse, •' Ar- 

 chiinedes,Galiteo, JVewtoii, fVanklin, H'ult, Fulton" — 

 six names eminent as the greatest ol' all for pow- 

 ers of invention and lor that mighty uenius which 

 must call forth theadmiratiim of i)um in all ages. 



Another invention of the Messrs. Fairbanks is 

 their Pliitform Balance and Scales. These are 

 manulactured here of all sizes, from such as are 

 used in weighing cars with their loads iqion rail 

 roads down to the most minute scale for ascer- 

 laining accurately the weif;ht of the least parti- 

 cle. The price of a scale that should weigh five 

 rail road cars at once is .$1000; that lor weighing 

 a single car #3.50; that ot a six ton team $160; 

 and so down to a hand weight in a store at the 

 price of ten dollars. The patent balances are 

 constructed on a principle that, whether the 

 weight be large or small, precludes the ))ossibili- 

 ty of mistake. The generous storekeeper who 

 uses one of them will alivays save that part whicli 

 he loses in turning the common scale; and the 

 trader disposed to take advantat'e of erroneous 

 weight will not have the oi)portunity to |)ursue 

 the cheat in the use of this scale, 'f he Messrs. 



F. have done a very extensive business in the 

 manufacture of the Balances and Scales. They 

 have, in addition to iheirown at hona», a tbunderv 

 at Pittsbm-gh, Pa. iiir their maimfactnre. They 

 have the medal of the American Inslitute of New 

 Vork in 183.5 for the Platlbrm Balance ; of the 

 same Institute in 1638 for the Platform Scales ; 

 and of the same in 1837 for the Patent Scales, to- 

 ijether with the Diploma of the Massachusetts 

 Cliaritable Association in the same year. The 

 platform balance and scales are extensively used 

 in England, where a patent has been taken out. 



A third article extensively tnanufiictured by 

 tiie Messrs. Fairbanks is the Ploufrk. This im- 

 pliment of agricultiu'c they have been constantly 

 improving, so that it meets almost universal ap- 

 probation where if has been used. They tnako 

 the side hill, the connnon sward and seed [)ioughs 

 in all their varieties. One thousand of these, an- 

 nually made at their establishment, are supplied 

 to he used by tire fiirnicrs within a hundred miles 

 of St. Johnsbury. These gentlemen have like- 

 wise a foimdery and establishment at Waterville, 

 Maine, tor the manufnctin-e of Plough.s. 



About thirty hands arc st tliis time employed 

 in this establishment : in brisker times, they have 

 employed more. The expense of transport near- 

 ly two himdred miles from the seaboard is to 

 them a serious inconvenience : anthracite coal 

 from Pennsylvania, indispensable for some kinds 

 of heating, is carried a longdistance bv team be- 



