48 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



At'GrST 15, 1S3S. 



THE CHILD AT PRAYER. 



'T was summer's eve— llie rosy li^'hl 



Had faded from ihc sky, 

 And stars came twinkling pure and bright, 



Thruuyli the blue arch on higli ; 

 And the western breezes softly >io!e, 



To kiss the weeping flower. 

 And nature wore her sweetest sniiie, 



To liless the twilight hour. 



There sal within a curtained room, 



A mother young an i lair— 

 What voice com-;5 softly through the gloom 



'J' is chiUhoud's voice m prayer ! 

 A cherub boy is kneeling now, 



Ueside ihu'l mother's knee- 

 She who had taught him when to bow 



Before tlic Ocily. 



A father on the distant deep, 



A sister slumbering near, 

 A babe upon the molher's breast, 



Anil tbtit kind mother dear : 

 For cv'ry living ihing he loves, 



His pniv'r ascends to heaven, 

 And for liimseU he humbly asks 



Each sin may be forgiven. 



And in after years, when grief 



Shall bow his spirit dowa, 

 And the world, the cold and bitter world, 



Shall meet him with a frown— 

 And when allured from virtue's path 



He treads a dangerous way— 

 Oh ! he will Inrn to the blest hour 



When he first knell to pray. 



And the kind hand which then was laid 



Upon his silken hair — 

 AnI the soft voice which taught him first 



His simple words of prayer- 

 Will coine again witli thrilling power 



To still his pulses wild. 

 And lure him back in that dark hour 



As sinless as a child. 



The prayer is o'er— the last fond kiss 



By thai kind mother given ; 

 Bat rises not from scene like this 



That childish prayer to heaven .' 

 It does, it does— au angel's wing 



Has borne its lone whh joy, 

 And the earnest blessing which it sought 



Comes on the sleeping boy. 



STATE OF MAINE. 

 LiNll Ofkic 



and em out from the military road leading from Bangor frontier of Canada. It will be at once perceived, that 

 to Houlton, near .Mattavvanihea" Point to the Aroostook the country which we have explored is a most valu.able 

 river, a distance of about 75 uiihs. I territory, possessing every advantage required by settlers. 



About $17,UO0 will he e.xpeiidod this year, upon this | Heavy timber offers a reward to the enterprising lumber 

 road by tlie Land Agents uf Maine and Massachusetts, dealer. A rich soil capable of producing an average crop 

 and with the part already finished the road will be com- of ilO bushels of wheat to the acre, and in some cases 

 [ pleted about one half of the distance. The whole dis- producing from oO to M) bushels, offers an ample reward 

 I taiice will probably be completed next year. All the land ' to the hiisbaiulinan. Inexhaustible supplies of limestone, 

 ! on this road has been sold for about two thirds of the dis- j valuable both for building materials and for agriculture, 

 1 tance, and in several townships all the lots upon the road vast and inexhaustible mines of rich iron ore, amid iii- 

 have been taken up by actual settlers. The remaining terminable forests which will furnish an abund; 



Bangor, April 30, 183S. 5 

 The twelfth section of " an act additional to promote 

 the sale and settlement of the public lands," passed March 

 24 A.D. Ib;i5, making it the duty of the Land .\gent "to 

 adVertisc the settling lands in market, once a year, for 

 tffO months, in one paper in the city of Boston, one in 

 Obncord, N. H. and tn one paper in each county m the 

 State, di-scribing tho quality and situation of said land 

 and the terms of sale," the Land Agent here'oy gives 

 public notice that Township number 4, in the fifth range 

 of Townships west fiom the east line of the State, ha.s 

 beon lotted tor settlers, and is now in the market for sale 

 «ind uettlcmi^nt under the provisions of the following law 

 paaged at the last session of the Legislature. The [irice 

 wm bo from fifty to seventyfive cents per acre, accordii 

 to the quality and situation of the lots. Tlio lots avcra-u 

 160 acres each. The soil in this township is good, being 

 ramai-kably free from stones, and the land lying in mod- 

 erate swells. The location of this township is favorable 

 lai Bettlement, as the Aroostook road passes within one 

 mile of the western lino of the township. There are be- 

 tween 40 and 00 settlers in the adjoinin" township No. 

 ♦ in the Bth Range, and a good saw mill and grist mill 

 have recently been built there by Ira Fish, Esq. only one 

 milo distanl 'from this township. . , . , 



Townships No. '.! in the Ith Range, No 7 in the fith 

 Range, and No. H in the 7tb Range have been surveyed 

 and lotted into mile sections. Lots of IGO acres will be 

 run out from anv of these sections to actual settle 

 whore the land is'more suitable for fanning than for tim- 

 ber. Townships Nos. S, ID and 12 in tho ."ith Range have 

 been ordered to be surveyed, by the Surveyor General, 

 forthwith, and will be open for settlers as soon as the lots 

 can be run out. The .Vroostook road passes directly 

 through these townships and the soil is represented to be 

 exooilent for t'uming. The Aroostook road is laid out 



part of the land upon "this road, owned by this State is 

 now oli'ered for sale to settlers. The ])rice of lots in these 

 townships under the condition of the new land law will 1 

 be from fifly cents to one dollar per acre, according to 

 their situation and quality. Should any company of set- 

 tlers select any unsurveyed township in this part of the 

 State on which they should wish to erect mills under the 

 provisions of the new land law, the Surveyor General 

 would proceed as soon as practicable in the survey of 

 such township. 



The settling duties required by law, are " thai the pur- 

 chaser of each lot shall clear in a proper manner, fifteen 

 acres thereof, ten or more of which shall be well laid 

 down to grass, and build a house thereon, within four 

 years from the time of the purchase." 



The board of Internal Improvement for this State have 

 just ordered an exploration and survey of all the lands 

 situated in the Aroostook country in reference to their 

 settlement and agricultural capabilities. This survey will 

 be commenced forthwith under the charge of Ur Ezckiel 

 Holmes, of VVinthrop. His report of the situation, qual- 

 ity and value of the public land in this part of the State 

 may be expected in the course of the season, and will 

 give all needful information, to those persons who may 

 feel desirous of making a settlement upon them. 



The Ibllowing extracts from the second report of Dr. 

 Jackson on the Geology of the public lands, made to the 

 Legislature, and now tn the liaiuls of the printer for pub- 

 lication, show the value of these lands tor cultivation. 

 Speaking of the Aroostook country the Doctor says, "the 

 average width of the alluvial region on the Aroostook 

 river cannot he less than six or eight miles, and in some 

 places it is much wider. It is a well wooded region and 

 is the best settling land in the State, equalling in fertility 

 the famed regions of the Western States, and capable 

 even under a less genial clime, of producing crops of 

 wheat and other grain, fully equal in abundance with any 

 soils of which we have any records. 



" We here found a yellow loam of a fine kind, derived 

 from the limestone rocks and luxuriant in its produce, 

 and in some places covered to the depth of 4 or 5 inches 

 by a black vegetable mould. 



This yellow loam is remarkable for the tall rank grass 

 called blue joint, which skirts the margin of the river 

 and from 4 to r> feet high and extremely luxuriant. The 

 forest trees are of a mixed growth, hut the sugar maples 

 are most abundant, and are of gigantic size. Elms, white 

 birch, black and white ash also abound. The soft wood 

 gi-ows mostly on the low lands, while the uplands in the 

 rear are densely crowded with bard wood trees, among 

 which are scattered magnificent pines. In the course of 

 two years, there will be a free communication between 

 Bangor and tho Aroostook and a groat number of enter- 

 ii-ising settlers will take up their residence in this fertile 

 alley, and by farming, they will obtain an ample reward, 

 nd that region will become as it is destined by nature to 

 be the granary of the north." 



In another place Doctor .Tacksoii says—" On the Aroos- 

 took it will be remarked, that very few if any hemlock 

 trees exist, and the predominating growth is of a mixture 

 of various hard wood trees, the sugar maple, ash and yel- 

 low birch abounding, while occur scattering, some of the 

 most lofty pine trees ever beheld. There are evident 

 reasons why this should be the case, for the richest soils 

 are always most crowded with a mixed growth, and the 

 Aroostook soils are mostly of limestone alluvion, and are 

 exceedingly rich and good settling lands reniarkable for 

 their heavy crops of wheat, rye and other grains, and are 

 certainly richer as an agricultural district, than any other 

 portion "of Maine. The present population on this river 

 IS estimated between 400 and 500 persons, chiefly cmi- 

 grniits from Maine." 



Tovvarils the conclusion, Dr Jackson says : " the re- 

 ttlers, i searches of the present season have brought to light many 

 ini|iorlant resources in the public domain which were 

 helore unknown. Beds of iron ore of immense magnitude 

 favorably situated for advantageous operations occur on 

 the .\roostook, and all the marked characteristics of the 

 regular coal formation exhibit themselves over a great 

 belt of country from tho Schools to the Aroostook and 

 St. John, and "extend to tho TemmiBCOuta lake near the 



pri. 



barcoal, required for the manufacture of the finest kind 

 of iron and steel— the country presents every natural ad- 

 vantage that might be required to call forth the enterprise 

 and industry of the farmer and manufacturer." 



By an inspection of the map of Maine, it will be seen 

 that'there are nearly one hundred townships of land sit- 

 uate on the Aroostook river and its tributaries, one half 

 of which belongs to the State of Maine and is now open 

 for sale and settlement under the new land law. Con- 

 sidering the remarkable fertility of the soil in this region, 

 and the high price of produce, and the ready market 

 which it finds among the lumbering people on the Pen- 

 obscot and St. John rivers, and the advantages of the 

 road now making by Maine and Massachusetts into this 

 region, it is believed that an uncommon opportunity is 

 nov\- ofi'ered to persons who may feel desirous of obtain- 

 ing good farms at a low price. 



The field notes of the surveys of all these townships 

 are in the Land Ofiice, open to the iuspeetiori of every 

 person, and all information that may be received here, 

 fi^m time to time, from the progress of surveys, and the 

 reports of Agents, will be cheerfully given to all inquir- 

 ers, and every facility m-anted within the means of this 

 office, to secure to individuals and companies, all the 

 benefits and privileges intended by the Lemslature, for 

 actual settlers under the provisions of the following law. 

 ELIJ.AH L. HAMLIN, 



Land Agent of Maine. 



State ok M.iiNE. 

 In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 



thirty-eight. An act additional to promote the sale and 



settlement of the Public Lands. 



Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate iind House of 

 Reprcsentiilircs in Legislature assembled, That all lands 

 lotted to settlers shall' he sold to tliose only who will per- 

 form settling duties on the same as prescribed by law, the 

 prire to be fixed by the Land Agent, having reference ti> 

 the field notes, not however at a less price than fifty 

 cents per acre ; three fourth parts of said price to be paid 

 within three j'ears from the time of said sale in labor h> 

 be laid out in making roads in such township where said 

 lands so sold are situated, under the direction of the Land 

 Agent ; and the remaining fourth part to be paid in easli 

 within four years from the time of said sale. 



Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That whenever twenty 

 or a less number of individuals, shall each select a lot of 

 one hundred and sixty acres of land in any tovviisliip lul- 

 led for settlers, the sa'me having no mill within its limits 

 and shall give bonds satisfactory to the Land .\gent, that 

 they will within the term of three years from the time of 

 said selection, erect in a proper and substantial manner, 

 a saw mill and grist mill, on such lot within said tow ii- 

 ship, as shall be designated by the Board of Internal Im- 

 provement, the same shall b"e entitled to a deed_ of such 

 lot ; and each individual shall receive a deed from the 

 Land Agent for his respective lot, without any further 

 consideration, conditioned however, for the performance 

 of the settling duties required by law. 



Sec. 3. Beit further cmictr.d. That from and after the 

 passage of this act, all a<ts and parts of acts inconsis- 

 tent with the provisions of this act, be and the same are 

 hereby repealed. 

 In the House of Representatives, March 23, 1838.^ 



This bill, having had three several readings passed to 



be enacted. ELISHA H, ALLEN, Speaker. 



In Senate, March 23, 1838. This bill having had two 



several readings, passed to be enacted. 



N. S. LITTLEFIELD, President. 



March 23, 1838. Approved. 



EDWARD KENT. 

 Secretary's Oifice, ) 



Augusta, March 2U, 1638. 5 



A true copy of the original on file. 

 Attest, ' SAM'L. P. BENSON, 



Secretary of State. 



TUTTLE, DENNETT AND CHISHOLM, PRI-NTBHS, 



17 SCHOOL STREET. ...HOSTON. 



