32 



THF, FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



Fehrary, 142- 



was such ns might put to tlie Mush some of the 



best cariJeijters of the preseut day. Charles 

 Stark, Esq., grandson of the General, the present 

 owner, with whom resides John Stark, Esq., third 

 son and only surviving child of the General at 

 the age of 79 years, has altered and repaired this 

 mansion within the last three years. The size of 

 the house is about fifty feet by thirty on the 

 ground, with a hall of nine feet crossing it in the 

 centre : — the house is of two stories with a pitch- 

 ed roof of an angle near forty-five degrees and 

 gable ends. The finisli of the lower rooms was 

 of clear white pine boards, sometimes two and a 

 half feet over ; and as well in the rooms belo.v as 

 in the chambers above the wide panels still tell 

 of the giant pines from which the boards were 

 taken, which were the first growth upon this 

 land. There is a beaufette or China closet at the 

 corner of the sitting-room — an ornament and 

 convenience deemed mdispensable in those days- 

 whicli is a cmiosity as displaying the taste and 

 workmanship of tlie olden times: the head or 

 cap is beautiful carved work from^ a laige log. 

 The work expended upon this inconsiderable 

 corner seemed to be equal to tile whole of the 

 best finish of a large room of modern times. It 

 must have employed the good Dea. Kimball, if he 

 did the work alone, nearly a full month. Tlie 

 stairway and stairs of this venerable house yet 

 remain as an evidence that scenty-five years ago 

 expense was not regarded in the construction of 

 a good house : those stairs were made of stout 

 inch and a half clear hard pine boards, and in all 

 . this time, from the excellence of the material, 

 have been so little worn that they would wear out 

 several sets of stairs of modern date. The ban- 

 isters and st<iirs, as well as the doors and wain- 

 scoting of this house, were constructed in a style 

 of magnificence such as we might conceive of 

 some one of the Higldand chieftains described by 

 Walter Scott. 



As characteristic of the manners and amuse- 

 ments of the days in which this house was built, 

 the surviving son, being the third child of the 

 General, related the following anecdote. While 

 the work of finishing was going on, a work bench 

 and shavings remained in one of the unfinished 

 rooms. A party of neighbors were collected, of 

 which the good Mr. Kimball, the carpenter, 

 then not a deacon it is presumed, was one, and the 

 music had commenced in another room that had 

 already been finished; John, then about three 

 years old, while the dance was going on, crept into 

 the room unfinishedand drew fire into the shavings 

 which soon kindled into a blaze ; and owing en- 

 tirely to tlie snow on the ground the fire was ar- 

 rested and the building saved. Previous to re- 

 moving from Londonderry, the elder Stark once 

 lc-.;t his house by fire. ^ , , „ 



John Stark was married to Elizaboih Page in 

 1758. Between the termination of the French 

 war of 1756 and the revolutionary war, he proba- 

 bly pursued the busines?^ of agriculture mainly : 

 tho first alarm of the battle of Lexington found 

 him at work in his saw mill on Amoskeag falls. 

 His two elder sons, Caleb and Archibald, were of 

 age to participate with him in the public service ; 

 but John, the third son, was then too young, and 

 tarried at home. 



John Stark, jun. ever resided on the homestead 

 with tho General, and inherited the estate after 

 his death. He married Polly Huse iu the year 

 1782; and their children, twelve in number, six 

 sons and six daughters, all survive as follows:— 



Rare have been the instances ol a tamily so 

 prosperous and so numerous, all growing up and 

 passing the middle age of man: the daughters 

 were all beautilid when young— have all been 

 married, and the most of them h^ave families : two 

 of the sons have been made members of the Leg- 

 islature— one of them a .senator, judge and sher- 

 iff of the county. 



A most lamentable occurrence brought to her 



end the amiable mother of this iiitcrestir 

 ly. The father and mother resided in one part of 

 the old mansion house; the son Charles, the 

 present ou ner, with his small family, in the other. 

 The son and son's wife had gone out, and a fe- 

 male attendant they left in the house also left the 

 house logo to a neighbors. The elder Mr. Stark 

 also left his wife, who had just laid upon the coals 

 a gridiron with meat upon it. The son first re- 

 turned and was drawn to the room by a most of- 

 fensive scent, and found his beloved mother 

 dead, her head nearly burnt up, and the fire ex- 

 tending from the neck to the body. She had 

 probably liunted and fallen with her face directly 

 upon the gridiron. The shocking manner of this 

 death so affected the afflicted husband that he is 

 unable to name it without tears. 



The ancient farm of five hundred acres is now 

 divided into several farms. .Apple trees yet re- 

 main of a very large size which were undoubted- 

 ly planted soon after the land was cleared: they 

 look like old centennarians — more thrifty than old 

 apple trees generally appear. 



Charles Stark, Esq. who has recently repaired 

 the mansion in a way to preserve evidence of the 

 work done upon it by his grandfather seventy- 

 seven years ago, leaving the ancient chimney 

 with seven fire-places at one end undisturbed — is 

 bringing up the cultivation in a manner to prove 

 that even sandy, and light soil, sujiposcd to be 

 worn out, may be made valuable. Wo observe 

 on these premises preparations making to mix 

 the black mud and clay of swamps with tho sand: 

 the process of making maiuuo ibr the purpose of 

 covering well this old ground as (iist as it shall be 

 ploughed deep, is going on there. Improvement 

 is the order of the day as well iu the lands near 

 Manchester as iu other parts of the country. 

 There is at that point the prospect of a new mar- 

 ket and of good priies for surplus produce, which 

 encourages the farmer forward. There is also a 

 spirit of improvement abroad which is .«preadiiig 

 under the force of examjile, and which will 

 neither " slumber nor sleep." 



To GIVE Iron the white.ness of Silver.— 

 To nitric acid, diluted with an equal quantity of 

 water, add as much mercury as the acid will dis- 

 solve ; then add to the solution three or four times 

 as much water, and having given tiie iron a coat 

 of copper, as directed in the above experiuieut, 

 brush it over in the same manner with the dilu- 

 ted nitrate of mercury ; its appearance will be 

 equal, if uot superior, to that of real silver. In 

 this manner any common or rough iron work may 

 be apparently silvcreil at a mott insignificant ex- 

 pense. 



To give Wood a Gold, Silver, or Copper 

 Lustre. — Grind about two ounces of white beach 

 sand in a giM of water, in which half an ounce 

 of gum arable has been dissolved, and brush over 

 the work with it. When this is dry, the work 

 may be rubbed over with a piece of gold, silver 

 or copper, and will in a measure assume their re- 

 spective colors and brilliancy, but should not be 

 varnished. 



A Simple Remedt. — A i)liysician of extensive 

 practice tells us that a prompt and effectual rem- 

 edy for violent bleeding at the nose is to soak the 

 feet iu warm water. Lay this up "against time 

 of need." — Concord Freeman. 



When the stopper of a glass decanter becomes 



3 tight, a cloth wet with hot water and applied 

 to the neck, will cause the glass to exjiand, so ihat 

 the stopper may be easily removed. 



Combustibility of Wood .Ashks. — Au arti- 

 cle ill the American Journal of Science, written 

 by Dr. Plummer, of Richmond, Indiana, relates 

 instances of apjiarently spontaneous combustion 

 in wood ashes which had long been removed 

 from the firo. 



COFFEE.— 'I'll 

 during the past wi 

 as reported ni our 



s been little done in this articln 

 111 prices remain about the same 

 Sales consist of 400 bags St. Du- 

 inir at 8 c ; 2011 do; Rio3 J o ; 300 



doalei 



Some forceil operati 

 s at exceedingly lo' 

 of the article by 



per ton, 6 





: been made by 



■ith 1 



of 



THE MARKETS. 



From the Boston Courier, Feb. 28, I8'12. 

 REVIEW OF THE MARKET. 

 ASHES.— Shies of Pot, about SO ca^kd, at G c ; 

 .■jmail parcels Pearl at Sgc per lb. 



Pearl, per 100 lbs. cash, h 75 a 

 Pot. 6 00 a 6 12i 



C\jSDLES. — Sperms have been taken forshipmen 

 30 a 31 r, and Moulds, a few small lots, at 11 a IIA, 4 t 

 MouUI, 11 a Hi 



Sperm, 30 a 31 



Lehigh, cargo, per ton, 6 00 a 7 ( 

 Lackawana, ton, 6 00 a 6 50 



COTTON.— But litlle change existed in the English 

 market .at the fast advices received by the ship North A- 

 merica. The transaclions here, during the past week, 

 exhibit a fair demand Ibr the article, and the trade have 

 purchased about 1000 bales, ef different descriptious, and t 

 300 bales have been taken for foreign shijiment. New jk 

 Orleans, 94a 10c, and one entire parcel, 10.Jc; some I 

 choice do. Il.jal2cperlb; Alabama, 9{ a 9.3 c ; Upland, I 

 8ia9icperlb. I 



FLOUR.— Southern Flour has gone off rather more 

 freely, on account of an increased' demand for Eastern 

 ports, and inquiries for foreign shipment. Of the late ar- 

 rivals ol Ohio, sales of common have been made at g6i 

 a 6.i, the latter on short time. Some parcels of favorite 

 brands arrived this week are not offered, being held for 

 higher prices. Genesee, steady sales at §6 44. a §6 50 ; 

 10 a 1200 brls Petersburg City Mills sold at «6. 

 FEATHERS.— Live Oeese, southern, 3.5 a 45 



do. Russian, No. 1, 2, 3, 12 20 26 

 _ GR.\IN. — ^The principal sales consist of a cargo white 

 Corn, taken carlv in the week, at 60 c. and a cargo since, 

 at 57 c ; yellow 'Hat do. 60 a 61 c ; 2000 bushels do. old 

 do. 68 c ; 2 a 3000 do. do. 66 c per bushel ; 8 a 10.000 

 bushels New Orleans, white and yellow, 53 a 67 c ; a car- 

 go Delaware Oats, 48 c per bushel; Northern Rye, from 

 vessels, 83 c, do. do. The sales by auction have been 

 from 4 a 5000 s.-ioks New Orleans Corn, .50 a 534 c P*' 

 bushel of 53 lbs ; Southern Bran, 37 c per double bushel. 

 HIDES.— The transactions since our last consist of 

 2000 Buenos Ayrcs, 134 c, less 2 per cent, on 6 mos. cr. 

 1000 do. do. 134c,fiinos; 1000 do. do. heavy, 11 c, 6 mos. 

 cr ; a few hundred Pernambuco at 10 c per lb; 500 New 

 Orleans at 11 c per lb. cash ; 100 bales green salted, Cal- 

 cutta Cow, 95 c a SI 05 each. 



HOPS.— There hr-Scen no accumulation of stock dur- 

 ing the past week, a,*, but few sales ; prices remain nom- 

 inally the same as before reported. 



1st sort, .Mass. 1811,1b, 12 a 13 



IRON.— Russia I'SI Old Sable, per ton of 2240 lbs. 

 97 00 a 100 00. 



LE.VD. — Since the forced sales a week or two since, at 

 3J c, cash, we learn of no transactions. Some parcels 



offering at 4 c. 6 

 present at this price. 



Pig, Missouri, lb. 

 LIME.— Per cask, Thomaston, 



Camden, 

 MOLASSES.— The tr.insactioi 

 nsist of 200 hhds Havana, old < 

 ket. at I3A c, 6 mos ; 300 do. do. r 

 Trinidad 3o. 19 a 20 c ; and by au 

 leans, 181 a 19*: 40 do. do. 135 

 184 a I9c. 4 mos. 

 N.VILS. — .\ssortcd Foreign Iron, lb. 5 a 5.J c, 6 mos. 

 OIL. — The market has sustained but little change on 

 Last reporled prices. Sales Linseed, American, 95 c ; Ol- 

 •Jl 10; and Crude Sperm, 6 a 700 brls, 85 a 86 c per 

 gall, equal to cash. 



PLA-^TER PARIS.— Per ton, 2240 lbs. cash, 2 25 a 

 2 37. 



POTATOES— Chenangos, 30 a 50. 

 PROVISIONS.— Large quantities have arrived during 

 the past week, and tho market is .iltogether unsettled, 

 and present quotations are consequently in a great mea- 

 sure quite nominal. 



but there i 



31 a 34 



75 a 80 



65 a 75 



distilling qualities 

 to go out of mar- 

 16|a 17 c; 200 do. 

 . 150 brls New Or- 

 9 do. Porto Rico, 



lilk, 



SALT.— St. Ubes, 1 87 a 2 00 



Turks Island, 2 12 a 2 25 



SEED.— Sales 8 a 10.000 lbs. western Clover, 10 c 



lb; 300 bags Sicily Linseed §1 95 per bushel, 6 mos. < 



Clover, northern, lb. 10 a 12 



do. southern, 94 all 



Canary, per bush. 3 SO a 4 00 



Flaxseed, American, bush. a 1 CO 



1 87 a 2 00 



ao. foreign. 

 Mustard Seed, Dutch white and 



brown, bag, 10 00 a 11 50 



Herds grass do. 2 25 a 2 50 



Rod top, do. 35 a 10 



SUGAR. — Several hundred boxes have been taken by 



the trade, and to go out of the market, at prices accord- 



in" to quality, 44 a 64 c per lb ; 100 do. white do. 74 a 8c. 



Brazil white, 7.J c, and Porto Rico, 5 a .'>4 c per lb. 4 a 6 



STEEL.— English blistered, best, 



Common, 



Swedish tub, 112 lbs. 



do. Faggot, 

 German Halbach, 

 Cast, best, 

 American, blist«red. 



. 6al0 



