1863. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



315 



Al^r UP COUNTRY LETTER. 



Bethel, Me. Amjust 21, 1863. 

 Friend Brown: — For fear you should lose 

 Bight of your Associate, and be tempted to adver- 

 tise "An Editor Astray !" I have determined to 

 drop you a few lines from the pleasant village of 

 Bethel, situated among the hills of Oxford County, 

 Maine. A rural and retired little place like this, 

 of course, affords little of interest to our readers, 

 in the way of startling items — but for re^ enjoy- 

 ment, health-giving breezes, and scenery tliat it is 

 hard to equal, I can coixlially commend this place 

 to the attention of travellers. The number of vis- 

 itors here, tWs summer, has been very large. The 

 two public houses have been filled to overflowing, 

 and every family that received boarders has had 

 all tliey could find accommodation for. There are 

 many pleasant drives in the vicinity, and many 

 points of interest to visit — but my stay here has 

 been so short that I have, as yet, seen but few of 

 them. Sunset Ilock, Paradise Hill, Screw Auger 

 Falls, Albany Basins, and the Jlineral Springs, 

 are among the most noted. This place is complete- 

 ly surrounded by mountains, many of them of 

 very respectable height — from 1500 to 3000 feet. 

 The weather alone has prevented me from ascend- 

 ing one ot\h€ most prominent — Grey Mountain — 

 to-day. It is completely bare of trees from the 

 top nearly half way down, and looks like a huge 

 pile of rocks tumbled together in a style much re- 

 sembling the enormous ledges of Mount Wash- 

 ington. The vi€w of the Androscoggin Valley, 

 from its summit, is veiy fine'; and an extended 

 view of the surrounding country, heavily timbered, 

 and abundantly watered by the numerous moun- 

 tain streams that find their way into the Andros- 

 coggin, and dotted here and there by the clearings 

 of the sturdy farmers of this fertile valley, may be 

 had, with the sole drawback of the exceedingly dif- 

 ficult climbing necessary to overcome the rocky as- 

 cent However, that difficulty I have determined 

 to surmount, with the first fair day, confident of a 

 full reward for my labor. 



The crops in this neighborhood arc looking 

 well, and old farmers tell me that tJiere will be a 

 good yield. The intervale along the Androscog- 

 gin embraces some of the best farming land in the 

 State. I notice some hop fields, but there are not 

 80 many grown now as there were a few years 

 since — partly owing to the decline in price, and 

 partly to the depredations of a worm which de- 

 stroys the foliage of the plant, and commits sad 

 havoc with the crop. 



Although not practically a farmer, my course of 

 leading and observation has fitted me to note 

 many things that a mere traveller for pleasure 

 might overlook. Since my first knowledge of this 

 town, some nine years since, I notice an improve- 



ment in many places, which I am inclined to attri- 

 bute to the influence of the excellent Farmers' 

 Club which has flourished here during that period, 

 and which was started about the year 1852. You, 

 1 know, will agree with me in asserting that the 

 influence of these associations, when properly con- 

 ducted, can hardly be oveiTated. I have wit- 

 nessed an annual exhibition of this Club, which, 

 for amount and excellence of products of the farm 

 and garden, and quality and number of cattle and 

 other farm stock, put to shame many a more pre- 

 tentious County Show. Nor were the ladies at all 

 backward in making up their part of the Show. — 

 but the tables devoted to the products of the dairy 

 and the kitchen, and the triumphs of the loom and 

 the needle, were well and creditably filled. May 

 the Bethel Farmers' Club continue to prosper! 



Being within a comparatively short distance of 

 the White ^lountains — thirty miles — and the 

 weather promising a favorable view, I thought I 

 could not do better than to make one of a party 

 of ten, which left here on the 18th, for the top of 

 Mt. Washington. I am going to give you a very 

 brief record of my experience in "doing" the 

 White Mountains in a hurry — premising that it 

 is positively my last attempt in that line — the 

 hurri/inf/, I mean. 



Arriving at the Alpine House, Gorham, about 

 noon, we dined, and then started with a four-horse 

 team, for the Tip Top House, expecting to reach 

 it before sunset. A ride of sixteen miles, more 

 than one-half of which is uphill, and steep at that, 

 is not to be made in a hurry. When about half- 

 way, we took a lighter wagon, and added two 

 horses to our team. After reaching the Ledge, 

 half-way up Mount Washington, we enjoyed some 

 fine views. The weather was cool, but not un- 

 comfortably so, and as we rode up, the magnifi- 

 cent panorama of the Saco Valley and the Fran- 

 conia region drew forth many admiring expres- 

 sions from our party. 



We arrived on top at about 7.30 P. M., just in 

 season to witness the ending of a glorious sunset 

 — not so clear, however, as the one which I gazed 

 on three years ago, with all the emotion of a nov- 

 ice in White Mountain sight-seeing. As the sun 

 sunk behind tlie distant hills, two distinct belts of 

 clouds crossed his face — bars sinister, as I after- 

 wards believed, foreshadowing our coming tribu- 

 lation. For, be it known, we soon found that 

 there was no accommodation for the weary. In- 

 cluding those whom we found on top, and tw^o 

 parties who subsequently arrived, there were be- 

 tween 80 and 100 persons who desired supper and 

 — beds for night — rather a difficult position for 

 the landlord whose arrangements only anticipated 

 a possible contingency of some 40 applicants I 

 Besides, the "help" had been driven to their ut- 

 most, since early morning, in preparing food for 



