No, 244.] 161 



ashes, and -will cost less than half the price when delivered. I made 

 examination and inquiry as to the expense of transporting this black 

 earth and marl from the district in which it is so abundant, to the 

 shores of Long Island, and found it to be only two dollars per ton. 



I brouo;ht home with me a bushel of the earth and marl, and when 

 it becomes dry will weigh it. Allowing it to weigh forty pounds to 

 the bushel, then a ton would make four New-York city dirt cart 

 loads, of fourteen bushels each, which would make the cost but fifty 

 cents per load for transportation. It could be delivered on cana\ 

 boat from the ground for one shilling per load. Leached ashes are 

 sold by the soap makers for ten shillings per load of fourteen bushels, 

 to be added as carting and boating. Thus it will be seen that this 

 marl and earth presents a newly discovered mine of wealth to this 

 great State, worth more than all the gold of all the Californias, for it 

 will yield an annual crop for all time. 



This section of the state where the rich deposit exists in such abun- 

 dance is wet, but it lies so much higher than the water of Lake Onta- 

 rio, that it could be drained into that great reservoir, and made one of 

 the richest and most productive districts in the world. 



I traversed over in various directions during several tours which I 

 made in this section of the State. 



Plank roads are working wonders in this district, as well as in 

 ■other portions of the State which I visited These roads can be used 

 on water beds, and can hi travelled at all seasons of the y^ar, are 

 more useful to the great farming interest than railroads, for the rea- 

 son that the farmer can use them with his own team, and at a season 

 of the year when his teams are usually idle. 



Plank roads cost from $900 to $1,500 per mile; are made of hem- 

 lock plank, two inches thick, laid on sleepers running lengthways of 

 the road, 4 inches square. The plank are cut in lengths of 8 feet, 

 and bedded in the ground, the sleepers keeping the edges even. 



I travelled on several of these roads, and observed the evidences of 

 prosperity which was visible in the improvements of farmers. I saw 

 ino old hats or old garments stuck in the windows as a substitute for 

 glass, nor did I find any barn doors off the hinges, or hanging by a 

 single hinge. 



[Assembly, No. 244.] L 



