38 



Sl)e JTarmer's iUcntI)ltj lltsttor. 



industrious peo|ile overcome ? The sea dyked 

 and kept oft', liesides the land of rich vegetable 

 mould, leaves extensive "sand wastes": these, 

 lying along side of cultivated farms, are brought 

 into profitable cultivation in the manner de- 

 scribed by Mr. VVackerhagen. 



Not only sand wastes upon the sea-shore, but 

 flowing sand wastes in the interior, containing 

 many acres of apparently remediless sterility, 

 may be reclaimed. How is the beauty of nature 

 marred by travelling along sandy districts where 

 there is a flow from every wind as that which 

 accumulates blocking snow banks in narrow- 

 fenced roads? All these wastes may be easily 

 converted into bearing land which, in a quick 

 rotation, will generally be made as profitable for 

 cultivation as the best and most tenacious black- 

 soiled lands. We speak with great confidence, 

 when we aver the belief, that stimulants may be 

 applied to such "poor lands" with as good a 

 profit as if applied to what are considered the 

 better lands. It is all a mistake that the manure 

 leaches and passes into the earth through a light 

 porous soil. In such a soil, it needs only to be 

 covered under or incorporated with the earth 

 near the surface, to give its quickest and most 

 effective advantage to an expected crop. The 

 ammonia of manure passes perhaps more readily 

 off in the air, if exposed directly upon the sur- 

 face, upon the light sandy lands than upon the 

 hea\ier lands: the sun and other warming at- 

 mospheric influences are of more force upon the 

 sand than upon the clay — upon the light than 

 upon the heavy land, while under cultivation. 

 For this reason, there is a general belief that the 

 manure is of less benefit, that much of its effect 

 is lost, upon light sandy porous land. 



Most valuable of all is sand as a composition 

 of the soil : the very best lands contain, it is said, 

 full twenty-five per cent. Very good soil for 

 many purposes, may be made to reach as high 

 as ninety per cent. With care the benefits of 

 stimulating manures will be gained on such 

 sandy lands, perhaps of equal amount, that 

 would spread over double the time in a more te- 

 nacious soil. So that the fanner, rightly manag- 

 ing it, need not fear the loss of his manures ap- 

 plied to the lighter lands. These light lands 

 want in all cases, what all heavy lands eminently 

 want, deep trenching or ploughing. Generally 

 the vegetable mould of all lands forms to the 

 whole depth of the ploughing, after the due at- 

 mospheric action upon the ground stirred. The 

 deep heavy ground, to derive the benefits of 

 deep ploughing, must be effectually drained: 

 heavy, dead land will be made light by thorough 

 drainage. The lightest sandy land, needing no 

 drainage, will better stand the drought from 

 deeper ploughing. Capillary attraction best does 

 its work in extreme drought from the deeper 

 stirring of the earth : a porous light under soil- 

 even the lightest coarse gravel— should be no 

 discouragement to deep stirring of the ground. 

 The most sterile barrens of Cape Cod, where the 

 sand has flowed long in heaps, when a barrier to 

 the windward has prevented the continued drift, 

 have been made, with comparatively little ex- 

 pense of manure, fine bearing grounds for fruits 

 and vegetables. 



Reduction of Duties in Austria.— On the 

 1st of January a reduction was to he announced 

 by the Austrian Government, on the duties upon 

 raw cotton, sugar, and other colonial produce. 



[Every new opening of trade in other coun- 

 tries, and reduction of duties, is favorable to the 

 farmers and producers of the United States.! 



?few England Wealth and Enterprise forty- 

 seven years ago. 



The Salem Register of July 21, 1801, announ- 

 ces the following: 



Pleasing Spectacle. — Among the number of rich 

 and valuable vessels from various parts of the 

 world that have enlivened our harbor for these 

 few days past, we are happy to announce the 

 safe arrival of four rich Indiamen: their cargoes 

 are estimated to be worth about 900,000 dollars: 

 the government will receive about 80,000 dollars 

 reveune.— Independent Chronicle, July 23, 1801. 



It should be understood that much the larger 

 share of the wealth returned by the Salem mer- 

 chant Indiamen, was property made in the course 

 of an extended voyage. The ship would leave 

 the port with a cargo for trade (costing only a 

 few hundred dollars) with the natives of distant 

 islands in the Pacific ocean. One article of pur- 

 chase at the islands, was sandal wood, a material 

 carried thence to be used by the Chinese and 

 other eastern nations, for making rings for their 

 idol worship : that cargo disposed of would be 

 exchanged for another, and a voyage undertaken 

 to other seas and islands. In these courses of 

 trade and exchanges, at length the rich cargo 

 would be procured, with which to return to the 

 United States, making an addition to the capital 

 of the country which a State might feci in its 

 whole extent from the enterprise of a single 

 ship. 



William Gray, jun., of old Salem, was the most 

 enterprising, bold and successful merchant of 

 New England fifty years ago. Hi.- accumulations 

 gave him so many ships, that he saved by becom- 

 ing his own under-writer for insurance: his 

 argosies were freighted for trade to all the distant 

 climes, oceans and seas. A great portion, indeed 

 possibly the whole of his adventures were under 

 bis personal direction — done perhaps in bis own 

 counting-room, with as few clerks as would now 

 be employed in a common country store. The 

 work of his own head and hands performed the 

 tasks usual to several persons: plain in dress and 

 familiar in intercourse, he was hardly to be dis- 

 tinguished as one of authority over the servants 

 of his establishment. Accumulating to the a- 

 mount, perhaps of millions, as the minor natur- 

 ally gives way to the major, his capital and busi- 

 ness with himself, removed from Salem to Bos- 

 ton in the first ten years of the present century. 

 The anecdote is told of his offering to carry the 

 market-basket from Fancuil Hall to the young 

 merchant's iiouse for the compensation, some 

 twelve and a half cents, which the latter was of- 

 fering for the accommodation, at the same time 

 he was on the way to carry home his own. At 

 one time it was estimated that " Billy Gray " (as 

 he was familiarly called every where,) was won h 

 at least five millions of dollars. The most ex- 

 tensive merchant ship-owner in the United States, 

 bis ships became the prey of billigerent avarice 

 of Great Britain and France. With so much 

 property arrested by the stringent measures of 

 embargo on ships, and non-intercourse with 

 France and England during the existence of the 

 Berlin and Milan decrees of Napoleon, and the 

 orders in Canada of George the Third— measures 

 proposed by Mr. Jefferson, as a substitute for war, 

 to force the billigeients to acknowledge our 

 rights— Mr. Gray came forth as the supporter of 

 our national administration. The mighty sea- 

 robbers in the time made such depredations on his 

 ships and property, that his estate was reduced 

 from millions to as many hundred thousands of 

 dollars in value, lie died, leaving property it is 

 supposed, not much to exceed half a million ol 

 dollars, having greatly contributed to the wealth 



and prosperity of his country in the accumula- 

 tion of that of which he was robbed. 



Several years after Mr. Gray, Mr. Peabody, an- 

 other of the merchant princes of Salem, accumu- 

 lating his wealth by trade in distant seas, was 

 considered as one of the richest men in the 

 United Slates. 



The business of the country has now so much 



accumulated, that numbers of men make their 



millions of dollars at home : some have done it 



in successful manufacturing operations — others 



i ■ ' 



in the rise of land and other properties — and 



others, in the natural accumulation of money 

 capital. After all, we think that clear gains, with 

 the greatest good to the greatest number, are no 

 where so distinguishable as in the long trade 

 abroad of our merchant ships, and in the whale 

 voyages to the other side of the globe, where our 

 ships and seamen are absent for years.- The im- 

 ports here may be accounted as the wealth of the 

 nation, earned by the enterprise of our own 

 countrymen. 



Revival of an old acquaiutance---The Eosjes- 

 man— Trade with South Africa— ■-Cultiva- 

 tion—Introduction of the New England 

 Plough. • 



After the lapse of about fifteen years, the edi- 

 tor of the Visitor was grateful to meet in the city 

 of Washington, in one of the first days of the 

 last month, Isaac Chase, Esq., who had been ab- 

 sent from the country, in the capacity of Consul 

 of the United Slates at the Cape of Good Hope, 

 nearly the whole of that time. Our acquaintance 

 with Mr. Chase had been sudden and of short 

 duration. He is a native of Plaistow, N. H , hut 

 up to the time of going to South Africa, was do- 

 ing business in Boston. With a brother, and 

 perhaps some others, as owners of two small 

 whale ships, visiting distant seas on long voyages 

 to the southern Atlantic ocean, Mr. G, on the ex- 

 pediting of the sale of oil, had gone out to meet 

 the returning ships to the Brazils. One of the 

 ships coming into Rio, a profitable mercantile 

 arrangement was made at one of the minor ports 

 of Brazil : the other ship was not heard of, and 

 he took passage home to the United States. 

 Soon after his arrival at New York, the missing 

 ship came in, having touched at the Cape of 

 Good Hope on account cf the sickness of the 

 captain, and remained until his recovery. At 

 this time there was very little intercourse of the 

 Americans with this Anglo-Dutch colony; but 

 the representations of his captain determined 

 Mr. C, almost against the advice of his friends, to 

 make this distant point his future place of resi- 

 dence. There was then no consular agent of the 

 United States at the Cape: Mr. C. determined to 

 apply for the situation which is without salary, 

 other than fees. lie went to Washington with 

 letters to the President, and first called on the 

 editor, then of the Senate, who introduced him 

 to the. Secretary of State and Gen. Jackson. 

 There was not a moment's hesitation in granting 

 the request, when the object was once under- 

 stood ; and the only fear expressed, both by the 

 President and the Secretary was, that the busi- 

 ness could not be made an object for remaining 

 in that position. The Consul has remained in 

 that distant country for the fifteen years, having 

 rarely left his place for a day, and from his own 

 resources, aided by the countenance of authority 

 from our government, has been of essential bene- 

 fit in sustaining the credit and promoting the 

 trade of the Americans in a distant land. 



With an accomplished family, reared almost 

 from infancy, in that distant clime, he is now on 



