40 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



in many towns corn could not be bought, and it had to be dealt 

 out little by little, with fear that it would not hold out through 

 the winter. Passing from town to town was out of the ques- 

 tion ; indeed, there was no communication between different 

 parts of the same town ; and this difficulty continued far into 

 the month of March. Some huge mountains of snow lingered 

 even till the 28th of April. The spring, therefore, was very 

 backward; and this added much to the sufferings of the people, 

 already, it would seem, at their height. 



At length a few vessels appeared in March, and people came 

 down from the country towns "and lugged the corn up through 

 the snow drifts, leading their horses." Corn sold at three 

 pounds fifteen shillings a bushel, and rapidly rose to six pounds 

 a bushel, even after the spring had opened. 



All, rich and poor, were compelled to buy provisions. Nor 

 did the distresses of this memorable year end here. The plough- 

 ing could not be done in season in the spring, partly on account 

 of the loss of oxen and horses in the winter, partly from the 

 want of hay, which made the few which were left almost unfit 

 to work, and partly on account of the lateness of the spring, 

 which crowded all the labors of the farm into a very short 

 time. 



When at last the corn was planted, millions of worms ap- 

 peared to eat it up, and the ground must be planted again and 

 again. Thus many fields were utterly ruined. 



It was time now, in the month of May, for the drought to 

 take its turn in the work of destruction, and it set in with ter- 

 rible severity, even before there had been rain enough to settle 

 the ground after the frost. The grass dried up almost as soon 

 as it came out of the earth. In many instances people were 

 obliged to mow what little they had in June; and they had so 

 little that it sold for one hundred and twenty pounds a ton. 

 The stalks of the Indian corn dried up, and it was thought it 

 would die. Now fires raged with quenchless fury, spreading 

 fear and dismay in their course, and destroying property to ;i 

 vast amount. Fields were laid waste, barns and mills were 

 swept away, and families were driven from their houses. In 

 one town, no less than six houses and two sawmills, as well 

 as several barns and many animals, were consumed, and in 



