616 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 10 



fortunately vacant at the time of the calamity. In 

 Grace's hous^e was himself and wiie andhitle boy. 

 The two former were extricated from the ruins 

 dead, and the boy was taken out alive, very little 

 hurt, bare tooted and bare headed, the buildings 

 havinir been shaitered in a thousand pieces — 

 Avhich is undoubtedly one of tlie most sinsular 

 escapes thai ever came to our knowledixe. There 

 were four of Mrs. Leavensvvorth's laniily in her 

 house — herself and three children. Two of the 

 children were in bed at the time, and probably 

 asleep, and were afterwards taken from the midst 

 of the wreck, dead, crushed almost to a jelly, and 

 were undoubtedly thrown instantly from a natural 

 sleep into a sleep of death. Mrs. Leavensworth 

 was taken out shockingly bruised, and was barely 

 alive when we last heard from her. Fortunately 

 three of the liimily were at church at the time, 

 and escaped awful deaths. 



The stables were owned by Mr. Bingham, in 

 which were 22 horses, and all carried along with 

 the mass together, with nine or ten dirt carts. Six 

 horses were taken from the ruins alive — the other 

 sixteen were killed. The dead bodies of the horses 

 can this morning be seen mingled among the 

 ruins. Mr. Bingham's loss must be considera- 

 ble. 



We learn that the body of a person was found, 

 name unknown, who was probably em|)loyed in 

 the brick kiln or stables — which makes in all five 

 dead bodies taken ti'om the ruins last night. There 

 are probably others buried among the ruins, as it 

 is likely some persons at the time were in the sta- 

 bles or brick kiln. 



The avalanche passed over a public highway 

 which leads to the mill and nail fiictory, and might 

 have carried along with it some straggling travel- 

 ler. The clay is piled up in masses to the depth 

 of fi'om 10 to 40 feet over a large surface. It must 

 have moved with sreat rapidity, and it is fortunate 

 that it had not happened at the time when the la- 

 borers were employed in diggitig from the hill. At 

 the time it was snowing freely, and this morning 

 the scene was entirely covered with a white veil. 

 The scene that presented itself in the early part 

 of the evening was awful in the highest degree. 

 The horrors of an earthquake could not have pre- 

 sented a more dreadlul sjiectacle. In the midst of 

 a mass of convulsed earth, a muhitude of human 

 beiniis were moving to and fro — some carrying 

 torches and others digging among the ruins, and 

 dragging from the midst the remains of some life- 

 less body, or were rescuing some one in whom 

 life had not yet become extinct — some were 

 crying " ho ! ropes, ropes !" " help," " shovels,'" 

 &c. while the scene was dimly illuminated by the 

 flames from the burning brick kiln, which is yet 

 smouldering like an almost exhausted volcano. 

 The scene must have been witnessed to be real- 

 ized — we can ffive but a liiint description of it. 



Five large trees were precipitated li'om the hill, 

 some of which are now standinir erect at the bot- 

 tom, and others in a siiixhtly inclined posture. The 

 whole is considered a singular phenomenon, and 

 its immediate cause is the result of much specula- 

 tion. 



We have endeavored to give all the particulars 

 that have come to our knowledge — in doing it in 

 great haste, a i'ew inaccuracies may have crept 

 into our statement, but in the end it will be found 

 generally correct. 



From the [JBiitisli] Nonliern Wliig, October 1835. 

 A BIOVIXG BOG. 



This rather rare phenomenon has been lately 

 witnessed on a part of Lord O'Neifs estate, in the 

 neighborhood of Randalstown, on the Ballymena 

 road and about two miles and a half from the for- 

 mer town. The following is the substance of a 

 letter which we have received from a gentleman 

 who was at the place on Saturday last : — •' On the 

 19th lilt., in the evening, the first movement oc- 

 curred. A person who was near the ground was 

 surprised to hear a sort of rumbling noise, as if 

 under the earth; and immediately after, his sur- 

 prise was not a little increased, on perceiving a 

 part of the bog move pretty rapidly forward, a dis- 

 tance of a few perches. It then halted, and ex- 

 hibited a broken, rufrged appearance, with a soft 

 peaty substance boiling up through the chinks. 

 It remained in this state till the 22d, when it sud- 

 denl}' moved forward, at a quick rate, covering 

 corn fields, potato fields, turf-stack, hay-ricks, &c. 

 not a vestige of which now remains to be seen. 

 So sudden and rapid was this movement, that the 

 adjacent mail-coach road was covered, in a few 

 minutes, or rather moments, to a depth of nearly 

 twenty feet. It then directed its course towards 

 the river Maine, which lay below it ; and so great 

 was its force, and such the quantity of matter car- 

 ried along, that the moving mass was forced a 

 considerable way across the river. In conse- 

 quence of the late heavy rains, the river has airain 

 found its channel through the matter deposited in 

 its bed, otherwise the water would have been 

 forced back, and immense damage done to the 

 land on the banks. The fish in the river have 

 been killed to a great distance. The damage 

 done by the mossy inundation has been very con- 

 siderable. About 1-50 acres of excellent arable 

 land have been covered, and rendered totally use- 

 less. Down the middle of this projected matter 

 a channel has been formed, through which there 

 is a continual flow of dark peaty substance, over 

 ground where only two weeks ago the reapers 

 were at work. A house close by the road is so 

 far overwhelmed, that only a part of the roof is to 

 be seen. Besides the actual damage sustained, 

 the utmost alarm prevails and the people living 

 adjacent to the place have been removing their 

 furniture, &c to a distance. All manner of absurd 

 reasons are assigned to account for the destroj'ing 

 visitation; but as the cause is one of a natural 

 and sufficiently well ascertained kind, it is useless 

 to dwell upon the solutions offered by ignorance." 



From ttie Qiiiirteily Journal of Agriculture. 



ON THE CULTURE OF BR AMv, OR BUCK- 

 WHEAT. 



By Mr. Main, Chelsea. 



Notwithstanding this plant is probably a native 

 of Ciiina anil other warm climates, it may be cul- 

 tivated in all the northern countries of Asia and 

 Kurope. This is owing to its being an annual of 

 very quick growth, requiring only a summer of 

 two or three months to bring it to perfection. It 

 even ripens in tlie short summers of Siberia, and 

 is considered exceedingly valuable on poor light 



