PHASES OF FARM LIFE 233 



and the close acquaintance with the heart and vir- 

 tue of the world. The farmer should be the true 

 naturalist; the book in which it is all written is 

 open before him night and day, and how sweet and 

 wholesome all his knowledge is! 



The predominant feature of farm life in New 

 York, as in other States, is always given by some 

 local industry of one kind or another. In many 

 of the high cold counties in the eastern centre of 

 the State, this ruling industry is hop - growing ; 

 in the western, it is grain and fruit growing; in 

 sections along the Hudson, it is small-fruit grow- 

 ing, as berries, currants, grapes; in other counties, 

 it is milk and butter; in others, quarrying flag- 

 ging-stone. I recently visited a section of Ulster 

 County, where everybody seemed getting out hoop- 

 poles and making hoops. The only talk was of 

 hoops, hoops! Every team that went by had a 

 load or was going for a load of hoops. The princi- 

 pal fuel was hoop-shavings or discarded hoop-poles. 

 No man had any money until he sold his hoops. 

 When a farmer went to town to get some grain, or 

 a pair of boots, or a dress for his wife, he took 

 a load of hoops. People stole hoops and poached 

 for hoops, and bought, and sold, and speculated in 

 hoops. If there was a corner it was in hoops; 

 big hoops, little hoops, hoops for kegs, and firkins, 

 and barrels, and hogsheads, and pipes; hickory 

 hoops, birch hoops, ash hoops, chestnut hoops, hoops 

 enough to go around the world. Another place it 

 was shingle, shingle; everybody was shaving hem- 

 lock shingle. 



