380 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



JUNE 6, 1838. 



Popular JVotices of Mount Washington and the. 



vicinity; liy G. W. Nichols, with additional 



remarks by the Editor. 



Continued. 



Our younger friends liad been iiersnaded to 

 make p;u-l<s of tlieir great coats, being assured 

 tliat, although the world was smiling below, they 

 would ere long arrive in a region, where they 

 would he glad to wrap their limbs in these seem- 

 ing incumbrances ; and so it proved ; for, at the 

 distance of a mile from the top of the mountain, 

 we were involved in winter. The dark volumes 

 of vapor which, from the hotel whence we de- 

 parted, appeared in detached masses, only as a 

 light drapery, gracefully rolling up the breast and 

 over the hoary peak of Jlouiit Washington, were 

 now congealed, and involved us in a white driving 

 cloud that froze on our apparel, and tufted the 

 rocks with si)lendid crystallizations of ice. Here 

 our guide, having issued the welcome command 

 to dine, opened at once the treasures of his pack, 

 that we might obtain vigor for the remainder of 

 our toil, the severest part of which was still be- 

 fore us. 



Our refreshments were indeed most acceptable 

 and salutary ; but our hands was so heniimbed 

 with the cold, that we could scarcely convey the 

 food to our mouths. 



From our hasty repast, we started again, as if 

 pursuing or pirrsued, and struggled onwnrd over 

 iu)niense piles of ruins frosted with the congealed 

 va[)or, and thus rendered treacherous to the f-et, 

 which were constantly in danger of sliding into 

 the innumerable chasms and holes that yawned 

 arouiid our path. Our toil grew more and more 

 severe, — not a vestige of htiman footsteps remain- 

 ed, and we were guided only by jiiles of stones 

 erected as landmarks for the adventurer. The 

 last stunted evergreens ceased to appear, the wind 

 blew a frozen gale, involving us in white palpable 

 clotids, which were rather masses of flying ice 

 than ordinary snow ; they investi^l every object, 

 and hung in magnificent tufts of long, slender, and 

 perfectly white crystals, from every rock and 

 over every chasm. 



Still, au occasional outburst of the sun threw a 

 glorious flood of golden light over the enormous 

 peaks that were groupeil thickly around us, and 

 disclosed the immense bosoms of the valleys and 

 the green forests that opened among this wild 

 ocean of mountains ; the trees on their sides, ap- 

 peared minute and delicate as geraniums, while 

 the deej) and wide chasms jtroduced by vast slides 

 presented horrid features of devastation, attesting 

 the ravages of alpine floods, bearing down before 

 them forest, soil, and rocks, with every movable 

 thing, anti thus gashi'ig the solid frame work of 

 the everlastirfg hills with the deep woumis of the 

 olden and the modern time. 



Quite at the feet of the mountains, and along 

 the ojiening vales and plains, ran in full view, 

 silver streams, among cultivated fields, giac(;fully 

 bordering the works of man — his houses, fartns, 

 and villages. 



Again, the clouds of flying ice, resembling tufts 

 of cotton, closed thickly around, iind hung an im- 

 penetrable veil between us and the world below ; 

 a wintry tempest now rtiged around, and with 

 great difliculty we mounted the last rocks, and 

 saw that there was nothing higher than ourselves. 

 Here the wind blew a ftirious gale, and the strong- 

 est man among us could not keep his standing 

 without holding fast by the rocks, while those who 



neglected this precaution were instantly prostrated 

 by the storm, which, as if in exultation, roared 

 lutd bowled vvith a tritly savage grandeur, over 

 this wild alpine solitude. The cold was so severe 

 and the pejting of the storm so violent, that a few 

 minutes at a titne was all that we could give to 

 the mountain peak. We were glad to step under 

 a covert, where the rocks afforded a partial shel- 

 ter from the tempest, and here we finished our 

 little remaining store of refreshments. 



For science there was little to survey. The 

 piles we trod on were the ruins of the stupendous 

 graiiile mountains, elevated in ancient time, laslied 

 by tlie storms, cracked by frost, and mutilated for 

 untold ages by the sure, although slow agencies of 

 nature. The very peak of the mountain is mica 

 slate supported by granite. Th«re could be no 

 doubt, that the immense masses of loose rocks, of 

 every size, which we saw around us, were once 

 united in a connected summit, and that these ruins 

 are only evidence of the mighty work of demoli- 

 tion, which is always going on with a real although 

 imperceptible j/rogrfss. As to organic remains, 

 it were vain to look for them in this primitive re- 

 gion, and almost equally vain is it to expect to 

 find any living animal in these wild and barren 

 solitudes. It is, however, a satisfaction to have 

 trod on the highest jieak of New England, the 

 most elevated of the United States, and of North 

 America, until we reach the Rocky mountains and 

 the table land of Mexico. The arduous circum- 

 stances of our ascent and the absence of instru- 

 ments |)revented any accurate observations ; but 

 the height of this peak is generally stated to be 

 betiveen six thousand and seven thousand feet, 

 probably six thousand five hundred above the 

 level of the sea. 



It nearly jjenef rates the region of |)erpetual 

 cold — therefore winter relaxes his dominion but 

 for a very short period, a few weeks at most, in 

 the hottest season of the world below, and sununer 

 never smiles upon the summit of Mount Wash- 

 ington. On the succeeding day as we travelled, 

 we saw this mountain quite white, from its peak 

 a long way down and around, on evtry side that 

 was within our view. 



The des'cent was of course more rapid than the 

 ascent ; it was much less fatiguing to the lungs, 

 but very trying to the limbs, especially to the 

 larger muscles and to the iiatella, which seemed 

 as if it would part with the strain. Great caution 

 was requisite also, to avoid falling into the innu- 

 merable holes among the rocks, and to prevent 

 slipping frotn their smooth ami glazed surfaces. — 

 Arrived once more at the cami) where the horses, 

 become rc^stless with hunger and 'now eager for 

 their stables, remaiiied fiist bound to the trees' — 

 we quiidily mounted, ami twilight beginning to 

 set in, we hastened through the pilgrimage of the 

 muddy forest, till having arrived in the open 

 ground, all dashed forward with cavalry speed, 

 and the ^loorest rider on the hardest horse fares 

 ill in a race, which he is neither able nor much 

 disposed to resist or avoid. AH hurry onward, 

 as if from the route of disastrous battle, and glad 

 is the adventurer to fiml himself once more safe 

 in the tridy comfortable hotel, where he is regaled 

 not only with all necessary reiVeslimenls, but with 

 wonderfully fim; echoes produced from the neigh- 

 boring mountains by a long shrill horn, blown at 

 the door of the hotel, after evening has closed in, 

 and by the discharge of artillery, whose explosion 

 is returned in deep and soletnn reverberations 



from the winding hills. The ascent of Mount 

 Washington is certainly worth the toil and trouble, 

 although probably few appreciate it justly, before 

 ttiey have made the trial. 



The pedestrian ascent occupied two and a half 

 hours, and the entire journey about ten hours, of 

 strenuous and constant exertion. 



(From the Genesee Farmer.) 



PREPARATION OF WOOL FOR MARKET. 



Mit Editor — In a recent comnmnicatton pub- 

 lished in your journal, headed "Washing of 

 Sheep, &c." I called the attention of my brethren 

 wool-groive,rs to the importance of bestowing more 

 pains in washing their wool, and putting it up for 

 market. I endeavored to sustain the position, 

 that in preparing wool, which is designed for sale, 

 cleanliness is of paramount importance with a 

 view of obtaining for it au increased price. I 

 also alluded in strong terms to the dishonesty of 

 many farmers, and absolute frauds committed by 

 them, upon the manufacturer, by putting all sorts 

 of trash with the -fleece, and in a way, too, which 

 excluded it from the sight of the purchasers, who- 

 ever they were, and which was not brought to 

 light until it passed into the hands of the sorters 

 pre|iaratory to manufacturing. I drew, beyond 

 doubt, a correct picture of these vile practices, 

 and requested the guilty to appeal to the manu- 

 facturer for confirmation of my assertions ; but, 

 fearing that few would trouble themselves about 

 the matter, I resolved to do it for them, and ac- 

 cordingly hddressed the following queries to Mr 

 Samuel Lawrence of Boston, who is associated 

 with the Middlesex Company, the most extensive 

 manufacturing establishment in the Union. His 

 reply will show, that I did not err in applying to 

 the right source for the informati(U) needed. Some 

 other information is communicated not exactly 

 peltinent to the subject, but nevertheless will be 

 interesting to us all. After a perusal, it will be 

 discovered that some of us have perpetrated frauds ; 

 that the manufacturer does not ask us to be honest 

 voluntarily, but he is willing to pay us for being 

 so ; — that, if we will stop cheating him, we shall 

 he rewarded by handing us over the quid pro quo 

 — that is, he will pay us some ten or,fifleen per 

 cent, more per pound for our wool, if it be in 

 good condition. Yes, I say again, the manufac- 

 turer agrees to reward us for bein^; honest ! ! 



Subjoined is the correspondence above alluded 

 to: 



Lansing, Tompkins Co. March 28, 1838. 



Dear Sir — Being yourself largely engaged in 

 the manufacture of wool, as well as grower of it, 

 and amply inforiried on the subject of, and inter- 

 ested in the promotion of both — and particularly 

 inf(H-med in reference to the gross negligence, and 

 I may say, frauds committed by many farmers in 

 washing and putting up their wool for market — F 

 presume no apology is necessary in calling upon 

 you to aid me in exposing these abuses, and con- 

 vincing all, that in preparing wool designed for ■ 

 sale, by keepi:ig an eye to its good condition, they 

 promote their own interest. 



As early a reply to the following queries as will' 



suit your convenience, will oblige I 



Your ob't serv't, I 



L. A. M**»«*». 



Samuel Lawrence, Esq. Hoston. ' 



1st Of the average of American wool, washed 



