254 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



tific. The railway runs about four miles from the 

 south shore. In a passage of 40 miles from Brook- 

 lyn to North Islip, -we scarcely cross a stream 

 large enough to require a culvert, yet all the way 

 along by the common highway, which keeps near 

 the south shore, are beautiful ponds of crystal 

 water, abounding in trout, and supplied by streams 

 large enough in many cases to carry mills, and 

 having their rise within the four mile breadth. 

 The summit of the railroad is about 150 feet above 

 tide-water, and there are no hills worthy the name 

 in all this part of the island. The streams are fed 

 by springs, which have a very uniform flow of 

 water. A friend who accompanies me, insists that 

 it is impossible that all this water can come from 

 the rain, and that it must come up from the sea 

 in some way by capillary attraction. In support 

 of his theory, he says that on Fire Island, which 

 is close by Long Island, the cattle find fresh wa- 

 ter by -digging holes in the sand through which 

 the sea-Avater is filtered and becomes fresh. I kave 

 not seen any rain-tables kept on the island, but 

 am inelined to think the rain-fall will be found to 

 be very large, and the evaporation heretofore has 

 been small, the land being covered with a low 

 growth of pines and oaks, so that the filtration 

 would be comparatively large. 



There is very little opportunity on Long Island 

 for the exercise of my favorite agricultural science 

 of drainage, as nature has got the start of us, and 

 thorough drained nearly the whole island. The 

 wells are from 20 to 40 feet deep, and the water 

 is always found before reaching rock. Indeed, the 

 inhabitants say there is no rock under the island. 

 In all my travels, except near Brooklyn, I have 

 seen no ledge of any kind, no such thing as a 

 stone fence, nor any stone of a hundred pounds 

 weight, except a few on the north side, in Smith- 

 town. Bricks are used for wells, and brick clay 

 is found in some localities. 



Long Island ought to be the kitchen garden of 

 New York. The climate is mild, the land is well 

 drained and early, is very easily cultivated, and 

 must be productive. 



From some chemical tests which I have had ap- 

 plied to the soil, it seems to abound in potash, to 

 have aluminum enough, but to be deficient in 

 lime and phosphates. Bone, or superphosphate of 

 lime would be the specific manure, if this impres- 

 sion prove correct. 



These lands are surely worthy of careful exam- 

 ination by those seeking for market-garden farms. 

 Any farmer who will visit them in the heat of 

 summer, while the crops are on, may determine 

 readily the only points Avhich can admit of doubt, 

 namely, whether the soil will endure a drought, 

 and whrether the statements as to the crops of 

 Avheat, rye and grass, Avhich I have given, are 

 true. Upon these points, I give the authority of 



others. I feel confident that the Wilson farm, at 

 Deer Park, is a fair test of the North Islip lands, 

 and I could find no person who would say that 

 the lands in that region were peculiarly subject to 

 drought. Let any man who feels interested, ex- 

 amine for himself, and he will bo sure, at least, at 

 Stillenwerfs Hotel at Islip, to find a first rate 

 house, with sea-fowl and trout and oysters, and 

 all other creature comforts that a reasonable man 

 can ask, and he will find enough of interest in this 

 wilderness by a great city, to compensate for the 

 journey. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 DAIBYIITG— FENCES. 



Mr. Editou : — I see by an article in the Farm- 

 er of February 18, that your "New Bedford" cor- 

 respondent says "Mr. Pinkham can calculate, and 

 Mr. Bailey figure, yet people Avill not be con- 

 vinced that farming is a losing business." Mr. 

 "G. W. H." makes a mistake of three dollars, in 

 his way of running up my figures. I think it is 

 evident to every observing man,, that there are 

 some things connected with farmings that do not 

 pay. It is well known that what pays well in some 

 parts of the countrj^ does not pay at all in anoth- 

 er part, and it may be so in rcg-ard to raising neat 

 stock. It may bo that, in Massachusetts, where 

 it does not cost much to transport stock ta mar- 

 ket, it is more profitable to raise stock than it is 

 here in Vermont. As an ofl'sct to the unprofita- 

 bleness of raising stock, I will give your readers 

 the benefit of my observation, in one single case, 

 and I might give many more. A few years ago, 

 a man in this vicinity bought a fann of 200 acres, 

 for some $2,200. He paid about S800 more for 

 his team, stock, hogs, grain, provisions, farming 

 tools, &c. In fact, he had everything- to buy, for 

 he had nothing to commence Avitb, except $1000 

 in cash, which he had eai'ned by working out for 

 farmers, for some six or eight years previous. He 

 was now $2000 in debt ; a pretty heavy load for 

 a young farmer, and ho felt it to be so ; and went 

 to work with the determination to remove it. The 

 first two years he paid off one half of this debt, 

 but since then, he has not probably cleared over 

 S300 a year on account of hard times. Perhaps 

 some of your readers would like to know how we 

 make money so fast up here in rocky, hilly Ver- 

 mont. Well, I will tell you how the gentleman 

 referred to did it, and what has been done, can 

 be done again. He made butter-making his whole 

 business, keeping about twelve cows, but no more 

 other stock than was necessary. His cows and 

 hogs are his chief source of income, as he usually 

 feeds out all his grain. I do not claim that there 

 is no other way to make money on a farm ; but 

 I know that "round these diggins," there are none 

 who make money so fast as the dairymen. And 

 I find it generally true, what an old Scotchman 

 once said to us : "If ye ha kies, ye ha every thin 

 to live week" 



I am happy to see that a new topic has been in- 

 troduced in the Farmer, i. e., fences, and I hope 

 your farming correspondents will give the subject 

 justice. Our experience is, that a good half wall 

 "is the best fence. It will certainly stop all kinds 



