196 Old and New Homes. 



minds of the farmers at home ; yet here, only three hours away from New 

 York, the fields were being ploughed, and early pease were planted in many 

 places. Next would follow the early potatoes, beets, and onions. Rows of 

 green spinach were even now ready for the market ; for it had been growing 

 bravely all winter under the snow. Then by every little farm-house were 

 to be seen the hot-beds, covered with sash, in which were but just sown the 

 seeds of tomatoes and egg-plants : they would be ready for planting out 

 on the first of May. It is true, there might be some cold weather yet, and 

 a few light snows ; but they would do no injury to pease or potatoes : and by 

 the middle or end of March, unless the winter was unusually prolonged, 

 the rows of pease would be up, and vigorous- There were acres of straw- 

 berries, only awaiting the advent of milder and more settled weather to 

 be cleared up, and made ready for the crop ; while everywhere were peach- 

 orchards, w ith blackberry and raspberry bushes to fill up the intervening 

 spaces. This was another grand difference between the New-England and 

 New-Jersey farming. Small fruit-farms were the favorites here. " A little 

 farm well tilled " was, in some neighborhoods, the prevailing sentiment ; for 

 the plantations were near together, and seemed to contain not more than 

 fifty acres each, many even less. All this my father took in at a glance, 

 as he moved swiftly along in the cars ; and so well pleased was he with 

 his observations, that he determined to stop at the next town. He had 

 set out on a tour of investigation, and was bent on carrying out his plans. 

 " Burlington ! " shouted the conductor as the train came to a stand-still 

 before a handsome hotel in the midst of an old-fashioned-looking town. 

 My father alighted on the platform, and made the best of his way in at the 

 open door of the bar room. Others were registering their names, — persons 

 who were evidently strangers like himself : so, glancing his eyes over the 

 list of arrivals, judge of his astonishment at discovering there the name 

 of one of his own neighbors ! A natural curiosity arose in his mind to 

 know what could have brought this old-fashioned farmer — more so, if 

 possible, than himself — to travel down into this region. He knew how 

 careful he had been to say nothing of his own trip beforehand, or of the 

 secret purpose that had induced him to become a traveller for the first 

 time in his life. Could it be possible, then, that the same motive had 

 actuated both ? 



