22 



1859, he received from the American Institute, a premium on about twenty- 

 four bushels of beautiful fruit picked from these vines. He has other 

 pieces of the cranberry quite as promising as this, under cultivation. Mr. 

 Young, in his statement to the Institute, says, as the results of his experi- 

 ence, that " the cranberries will grow and do well, although the vines be 

 taken directly from the swamps ; that they will grow on new land and im- 

 mediately on its being broken up ; without manure ; without a wet sub- 

 soil ; without artificial irrigation ; with but a moderate amount of labor ; 

 producing a good sized, deep colored, well matured and high flavored berry, 

 and that in dollars and cents, the returns are sufficient to induce many to 

 follow the example set before them." 



I regret that the limits of this paper will not permit me to explain the 

 method pursued in the cultivation of this valuable plant, or to urge the va- 

 rious reasons which suggest themselves for an extended appropriation of 

 these lands to the object. I found a number of individuals preparing with 

 much zeal, to embark in the business the next year. 



Numerous gardens are scattered near the line of the Railroad through 

 the whole length of the Bush plains. Fragrant with flowers and exhibit- 

 ing a growth of vegetables of great size and rare excellence, they are emi- 

 nently suggestive of the results which may be attained when horticulture 

 shall receive the attention and enlarged operations its great importance 

 will warrant. The beautiful grounds and decided success of the efforts of 

 Mr. Ranney and Mrs. Landon, near Thompson's Station, and of various 

 other individuals in different localities, enforce this conviction. 



The gardens of the Messrs. Van Sicklen, south of the Railroad in Ja- 

 maica, illustrate the great profit of this occupation in connection with these 

 lands, when it is conducted on a liberal and capacious plan. These gen- 

 tlemen occupy about one hundred and sixty acres of land, not superior in 

 quality to the average of the plain lands, and which is chiefly devoted to 

 the culture of vegetables and other garden products. They expend annu- 

 ally $3,000 worth of manure, principally stable dung, and realize upon 

 their grounds an average neat profit each year, of about $6,000, from the 

 proceeds of the crops they produce. 



When improvement and cultivation shall have succeeded the rude wil- 

 derness which now deforms these plains, the repose and seclusion, the de- 

 lightful climate, the salubrious air, and the exceeding beauty which will 

 then fascinate the eye, will allure to this region, the votary of Nature, and 

 the men of business and wealth. A dwelling upon these plains will then 

 gratify the taste, and secure all those pleasures and enjoyments which ren- 

 der a rural life so attractive to the denizens of the city. A small freehold 

 may now be purchased on this territory at a price which would scarcely se- 

 cure a rocky knoll at the same distance from New York, on the banks of 

 the Hudson. The region surrounding Lake Ronkomkama, a beautifully pic- 

 turesque and romantic sheet of water, will afford the most delightful coun- 

 try residence that wealth or taste can desire. 



A design of Mr. Stone, of Brooklyn, which I trust will be consummated 



