Proceedings of the Faemees' Club. 427 



of over 8,000 acres at fifty -five dollars an acre, for wliicli lie pays 

 cash, amounts to over .SiOO,OoO. AVhat other country town in the 

 the State of Xcw York has sucli a property; such an inheritance? 



A very great misapprehension in the puhlic mind prevails, in regard 

 to the " great Hempstead plains/' The strangest things imaginable 

 have been said about it and against it, about its barrenness ; " a great 

 dreary waste," none of which are true. It is not a great " dea<l 

 level." As before remarked, it is a great and beautiful upland 

 meadow ; the summit level or most elevated part on tb.e northern 

 borders of the " plains '' is more than 150 feet above tide Avater, 

 distant about seven miles, to the south side of the island. Thus 

 it will be seen that it is a great elevated tal)le land, having a 

 southern aspect or slope of about twenty feet to tlie mile, just 

 enough to make the most perfect drainage. The entire surface is 

 gently and beautifully undulating, so that in passing over the 

 " plains " from vrest to east, you pass over a succession of gentle ele- 

 vations and depressions, running northwardly and southwardly ; they 

 are so gentle and gradual, with few exceptions, that they are almost 

 imperceptible. These valleys or depressions, have the appearance of 

 the drieil bed of streams or water courses, meandering off through 

 the '' plains " southerly toward the ocean shore ; and near by at the 

 southern edge of the plains they nearly all contain springs of the most 

 pure and living water, which soon swell into the " brooks and rivu- 

 lets," so beautifully descriljed l)y an old author, " which empty them- 

 selves into the sea on the south side of Long Island." This old 

 author says : "'Yea, you shall scarce travel a mile butyou shall meet 

 with one of them whose crystal streams run so swift that they purge 

 themselves of such stinking mud and filth, which the standing or 

 low paced streams of most brooks and rivers westward of this colony 

 (L. I.) leave lying, and are by the sun's exhalation dissipated, the air 

 corrupted, and many fevers and other distempers occasioned, not 

 incident to this colony (Long Island Colony). Neither do the brooks 

 and rivulets premised, give way to the frosts in winter or drought in 

 summer, but keep their course throughout the year." Such is a 

 description of the beautiful streams which arise along the soutlieru 

 borders of Hempstead plains. 



The same old author ( Denton's History, published 200 years 

 ago,) says: " Towards the middle of Long Island lyeth a ])lain, six- 

 teen miles long and four broad, u])on which plain grows very fine 

 grass, that makes exceeding g(jod hay, and is very good pasture for 



