S38 



Shakers^ Establishments. 



Vol. III. 



sublunary world. Her beneficence of dispo- 

 sition induced her never to overlook any tact 

 or circumstance that fell within the sphere 

 of her observation, which proniiseil to be in 

 any respect beneficial to her fellow-creatures. 

 To her g-entle influence the public are in- 

 debted, if they be indeed indebted at all, for 

 whatever useful hints may at any time have 

 dropped from my pen. A being', she thought, 

 who must depend so much as man does, on 

 the assistance of others, owes, as a debt to his 

 fellow-creatures, the communication of the 

 little useful knowledge that chance may have 

 thrown in his way. Such has been my con- 

 stant aim : such were the views of the wife 

 of my bosom — the friend of my heart, who 

 supported and assisted me in all my pursuits. 

 I now feel a melancholy satisfaction in con- 

 templatincT those objects she once delighted 

 to elucidate. 



From Rev. H. Colman's Second Report of the Agricul- 

 ture of Massachusetts. 



Shakers' Establisliinents. 



1. The Family at Tyringham consists or- 

 dinarily of one hundred members. The farm j 

 is understood to contain more than one thou-j 

 sand acres, principally situated on the side of j 

 a high hill, and running down into the valley, j 

 Vv'here it is crossed by the sniall stream called j 

 Hop brook, which empties into the Housato-j 

 nic river at South Lee. The view from thisj 

 eminence, as the prospect extends towards the i 

 northwe.st, embracing the village of Lenox, | 

 " set upon a hill," with the whole intervening I 

 valley of a diversified aspect and luxuriant | 

 soil, the little manufacturing bee-hive of 

 South Lee, and the many rich summits every 

 where scattered in the background of the pic- 

 ture, their tops and sides fringed with thei 

 chestnut and the rock maple, and the noble pile j 

 of Saddle-Mountain lying in the distant per-i 

 spective like a contemplative giant in his re-j 

 pose, is among the most beautiful of those en- j 

 chanting views which are constantly opening 

 upon the traveler, in this picturesque region. 1 



The principal object of their farming, at 

 Tyringham, is the raising of stock ; neat cat- 1 

 tie especially. The dairy is well managed; 

 and they have a garden of four or five acres, 

 devoted to the raising of garden seeds and , 

 medicinal herbs, under skilful and successful 

 cultivation. Their annual sales have some-| 

 times amounted to $8,1(10; and they allow to 

 their agents twenty-five per cent, commission 

 on sales, and take hack wiiat is unsold. They 

 produce some wheat, corn, and oats; and they 

 are now effecting with great labor and admi- 

 rable skill the redemption of extensive allu- 

 vial meadows on Hop brook, by draining, 

 rooting out the stumps, and cultivating the 



.soil, which will bring these lands under a 

 course of most productive improvement. 



Of the religion of this peculiar people, it 

 is not for me in tiiis place to speak. A reli- 

 gion which holds the severest restraint over 

 appetites and passions ever liable by their ex- 

 cesses to lead men astray, which encourages 

 industry, frugality, mutual love and kindness, 

 and that which is certainly not lowest in the 

 scale of virtues, the mcst exemplary neatness 

 and order in every thing, is .=o far entitled to 

 respect and commendation. Under whatever 

 aspect we view it, we have at lea.«t occasion 

 to congratulate ourselves, that we live under 

 a government tolerant to every hone.«t differ- 

 ence of worship and opinion; and to remem- 

 ber, that the same principle, which secures 

 freedom to ourselves, should guarantee to 

 others a like boon. 



2. The establishment of the brethren at 

 Pitt^ficld and Hancock, consists of about 

 seven hundred acres, lying together ; and is 

 possessed by three large families, containing 

 upwards of three hundred individuals. They 

 are united for all the general purposes of their 

 society; but in their financial concerns are as 

 families separate from each other. The land 

 is not of the best description, being low. cold 

 and wet; and their attention is mainly direct- 

 ed to the cultivation of grass and garden 

 seeds, and the keeping of cows and sheep. — 

 Their first purpose is for their own supply. — 

 They raise the best they can, and they eat 

 the best they raise; and though from tlieir 

 temperate and careful habits their thrift is re- 

 markable, yet the accumulation of property 

 is evidently not a principal object with them. 

 They have various mechanical contrivances 

 by which their labor is abridged or liphtened. 

 1'hey have made the best use of the water 

 power which their place furnishes, and hus- 

 band it with care and economy. They have 

 an extensive saw- mill carried by water, and 

 all their fuel is cut in the same way. A sini 

 pie arragement which it may appear trifling 

 to mention, impressed me by its shrewdness 

 and good judgment. Ordinarily, fire wood is 

 piled horizontally, and when exposed to the 

 weather, becomes water soaked and mouldy. 

 Their billets of wood being sawed were 

 stacked up in convenient piles, the sticks be- 

 ing placed upright on the end, so that any 

 water which fell upon the pile was immedi- 

 ately drained oft*. Aller being sawed they 

 were neatly put up under cover. 



I have already referred to their magnificent 

 barn, built of stone of a circular form, three 

 stories in height, ninety-six feet in diameter, 

 and capable, as well as may be calculated, of 

 containing from three to four hundred tons ot 

 hay. The carts enter in the second story; the 

 floor or drive-way is continued round by the 

 wall for the whole of the circle, so that the 



