the Agriculture of Massachusetts. 225 



by the application of sand, gravel, or loam to its surface, has been con- 

 verted into profitable mowing. Much of this same description of land 

 remains to be redeemed, and will fully compensate for the expenditure 

 which this improvement n)ay require. There are considerable tracts on 

 the Agavvam river, the waters of which are forced back by the mill- 

 dams thrown across it near its mouth, which must be regarded as irre- 

 claimable while those obstructions remain. 



"The climate of Essex county is affected by its maritime situation. 

 The proportion of snow which falls in the course of the year is consid- 

 erably less than falls in the interior and western parts of the state; the 

 proportion of moisture, in the torm of vapor, snow, and rain, is greater. 

 The degree of cold is sometimes as intense, but not as long continued. 

 The spring is in advance of the interior of the state generally, from a 

 week to a fortnight; and the frosts, excepting in some particular locali- 

 ties, are not so early, nor severe. P"'or healthiness, as far as this may 

 be determined by the tables of longevity, this county may be safely com- 

 pared with any part of the known world. 



"The whole number of acres in Essex county, according to the re- 

 ports of the valuation committee in 1831, is as follows: 



Tillage, Acres . 14,113 



English and Upland Mowing, ... " . 31,947 



Fresh Meadow, " . 15,471 



Salt Marsh, " . 14,139 



Pasturage, " . 100,309 



Wood, " . 22,058 



Unimproved, " . 34,281 



Unimprovable, " . 10,417 



Owned by the Towns or other Proprietaries, " . 8,604 



In roads, " . 6,606 



Covered with water, " . 17,176 



Total, . 270,121 

 "The soil of Essex county is of primitive formation; and of various 

 character. There is a locality of limestone mentioned, by the geologi- 

 cal surveyor, in Newbury and Bradford; but it is believed of small ex- 

 tent. There is little purely sandy land, excepting on the sea-shore. 

 There are extensive tracts of peat bog. The soil on the sea-shore 

 among the projecting cliff's and ledges, on the peninsulas and islands on 

 the coast, with the exception of Plum Island, which is almost unmixed 

 sand, is a deep rich loam, highly productive in grass, corn, oats, and po- 

 tatoes. On the main eastern road from Salem to the extreme line of 

 the county, there prevails generally a gravelly loam from six inches to 

 a foot in depth; not ditffcult to be worked, and productive under good 

 cultivation. The lands bordering on the Merrimack are much broken; 

 but the hills are generally rounded, of not difficult ascent, and compos- 

 ed of a rich dark clayey loam. They ordinarily produce good crops of 

 wheat, barley, corn, oats, and potatoes. This variety of soil embraces 

 an extent of three or four miles from the river on the south side. On 

 the west side the land is much more charged with sand, and is not so 

 fertile. With the exception of a considerable tract in Haverhill, and 

 an island of fifty acres lying below the bridge in Haverhill, there is no 

 fresh alluvial meadow on the river. The towns in the interior of the 

 county are of various character, in some places presenting long strips 

 and high eminences of rich clayey and gravelly loam: and in other 

 parts a broken, thin, hungry and stony soil, the cultivation of which is 

 difficult and unproductive. The primitive forests have been long since 

 removed; but there are extensive tracts of wood in different parts of the 

 county. The maritime parts are principally supplied with fuel by im- 

 VOL. IV. NO. VI. 29 



