82 QUARTERLY JOURNAL. 



VI. Gleanings from Greatfield. 



Aurora, June 6, 1845- 

 Dear Friend — I have just returned from a visit to Davi 

 Thomas. Now if I consulted ray feelings only, I should brea 

 out into something which you would call his praise. There ar 

 however, some strange customs in society : for instance, you m£| 

 talk as wickedly of a living man as you please, especially when! 

 is a candidate for an office. You must not, however, speak in k 

 praise, unless you intimate at the same time, or before you clof 

 that after all there are some indications that he may be a hyp 

 crite, or a great scamp. The contrary, however, becomes therv 

 when a man dies. You must then show your charity by givbi 

 at least a thin coat of whitewash, though the individual wi 

 notorious thief. The latter may be very well on some acco 

 still, truth is a little too precious to be trifled with, and too valrl 

 ble a commodity to be sacrificed on any occasion. But let us 

 turn to David Thomas, not however to praise, but simply to spe 

 of his pursuits. David Thomas then, is, strictly speaking, a bo 

 nist of the first class. Not, however, one of those who has 6i 

 studied the characters by which plants are named and distinguit 

 ed, he is not one who has guzzled down and stored in his mem 

 a multitude of strange words ; but he is one who has studied 

 affinities of plants and has made this knowledge highly useful 

 their cultivation. It is for this reason that he is the best pomolo§ 

 in this State. He has made it his great object to settle a few gij 

 and important problems in fruit growing. His object is to diet 

 mine v;hat is the best mode, the easiest and shortest mode of p 

 curing fruits ; what kinds are upon the whole the best, and b 

 they may be improved. These are great problems, andalqi 

 industrious life is full short enough for their settlement. 



Before I proceed with my gleanings of Greatfield, I will sa 

 few words of the soil of Aurora and of its vicinity. Two ki 

 mainly predominate. Near the lake, and especially towal 

 Springport, a drab, stiffish clay predominates. It is a pale fajj 

 color, though sometimes a deep annatto red. The other is ratjj 

 a calcareous loam, not however, as a general rule, with sufficin 

 lime to effervesce with acids. It is a drift mainly, having b| 

 derived from the sandstone, shales and limestone immedialii 

 north. The first, or drab colored clay, is derived from the gyi^ 



