135 



dise, only of brilliant whiteness and filled with gems, is seen, to the best 

 advantage from below. The passage through the chasm, where you 

 are compelled to creep over an abyss of terrific depth, is in its 

 present condition sufficiently starding and perilous ; and not to be 

 advised until some means of security are furnished other than a 

 bridge of two decayed saplings extended over this chasm. But the 

 passage may at a small expense be made secure ; and will afibrd to 

 those who have a taste for such exciting objects great delight. 

 The lofty arched chamber of great dimensions, about mid-way 

 of the passage, is very grand. Several intelligent writers have 

 pronounced the Giant's Staircase as an object of curiosity, worthy 

 to be associated with some of the most picturesque and sublime ob- 

 jects in nature, which are to be found in our country. 



XV. DESIRABLE AGRICULTURAL IMPROVE- 



MENTS. 



1. Agricultural Capacities of Berkshire. The county 

 of Berkshire is eminently designed for an agricultural county. It 

 abounds in excellent and permanent water-powers, and is already 

 thickly sprinkled over with manufacturing villages. These establish- 

 ments, as far as they call upon the farmer to supply from his industry 

 the raw materials of their fabrics tend directly to excite and reward that 

 industry. While they withdraw some considerable portion of the pop- 

 ulation from the labors, who are nevertheless to be sustained by the 

 products, of the field, and introduce a considerable population from 

 abroad, they present a quick and the best of all markets, a home- 

 market for his produce. Besides this, to a large portion of the coun- 

 ty some of the largest markets in the country are directly accessible. 

 The farmer in Berkshire raises nothing worth raising for which he 

 cannot find an immediate sale. The soil and climate are favorable to 

 cultivation. In ordinary years wheat is successful ; oats are abun- 

 dant ; potatoes and vegetable esculents yield an ample return ; and 

 with the exception of what are emphatically termed the cold years, 

 Indian corn has succeeded as well as in any part of the state. Rough 



