FARM AND VILLA OF MR. COLT. 
151 
FARM AND VILLA OF MR. COLT. 
This farm is situated in Paterson, New Jersey, 16 
miles west of New York, and just an hour’s ride by 
railroad. It comprises 560 acres, of which 430 
adjoin and are half encircled by the village—making 
some part of it town lots—and 130 lie on the tower¬ 
ing hill, about a quarter of a mile beyond. This last 
has been devoted principally to pasture, and we shall 
speak of it hereafter. The soil of the lower divi¬ 
sion of the farm is a sandy or gravelly loam, and 
naturally thin—some parts indeed are very poor. This, 
however, only stimulated the genius of Mr. Colt the 
more to study to improve it, which he has done to a 
very high degree ; and now, in many instances, the 
crops quadruple and quintuple the former produce of 
the land. 
In bringing this up to its present state of fertility, 
Mr. C. has been at no extravagant outlay on the farm 
proper, but has merely set an example that any intel¬ 
ligent and industrious man desirous of improvement 
may follow. Of course he has carefully husbanded 
all the barn-yard manures; in addition to this, he has 
availed himself of the peat and swamp mud in the 
vicinity; but one of his chief resources, after all, has 
been the night soil of the town of Paterson, and the 
waste from the woollen, cotton, hemp, flax, paper, 
leather, and comb factories of the town—offal from 
the slaughter-houses, and indeed all vegetable and 
dead animal matter which could be found within a 
convenient distance of the farm. All these are emi¬ 
nently fertilizing substances, and yet in many places 
they are left to accumulate in filthy heaps, scenting 
the air with their noisome exhalations—a disgusting 
nuisance to their neighborhood, and frequently highly 
detrimental to the health of the inhabitants. But 
here Mr. C. directs these waste materials to be seized 
upon, mixes them with swamp mud or peat, adds a 
little charcoal dust, plaster of Paris, ashes, lime, salt, 
or some other foreign substance, and thus forms a 
rich inodorous compost, which has a most astonishing 
effect upon vegetation. Of the exact manner of making 
these composts we shall give recipes hereafter, for the 
benefit of all farmers who may be so situated as to be 
able to procure the materials to form them. 
Rotation of Crops. —These are such as are usually 
followed by good Jersey farmers, and are so well 
known as to need no particularizing. 
Stock. —This is various and choice in its kind. 
The Devons were obtained from the herds of Mr. L. 
F. Allen, of Black Rock, and Mr. Stanley, of Balti¬ 
more. They are very handsome, especially those 
procured of Mr. A., and just the thing for such light 
land. The Alderneys are from the importation of 
the late Mr. Nicholas Biddle, of Pennsylvania. They 
cost a high price in England—about $300 each—and 
are the only pure animals of this breed of cattle we 
know in this vicinity. We have seen plenty which 
are called Alderney ; but we have met with none be¬ 
fore of undoubted pedigree. They are small in size, 
and in appearance rather ugly than otherwise. Their 
color is yellow inclining to dun, with white patches. 
The nose and Glrn round the eye is of a dark ash or 
brown ; the horns short, fine, and turned up; the 
eyes large and brilliant. They are celebrated for the 
extreme richness of their milk—the quantity is 
small, rarely exceeding eight to ten quarts per day. 
As a curiosity they are worthy of propagation, and 
we are glad to learn that Mr. Colt means to keep 
them pure; he seem^to have no great faith in this 
immaculate crossing for improvement , which seizes 
like a mania upon so many of our countrymen, and 
for which, as a general rule, we entertain the most 
supreme contempt. The Durham cows are few, 
and kept for the large quantity and good quality of 
milk they give. The pigs are mostly Berkshire. 
We also observed a pure Cochin China sow. Its 
color is black, with grey legs, and patches on the 
belly. The animal is of small size, with a bear’s 
head and hollow back—the belly like a blown up blad¬ 
der, and almost touching the ground. The other part 
of the stock is working cattle and horses for farm use 
The soiling system of feeding is here adopted, and 
has been found far preferable to that of pasturing. 
Farm Buildings. —These are plain and convenient, 
and were erected at a moderate cost. The barn and 
sheds surround the yards, thus rendering them much 
more comfortable for stock. The piggery and hen 
house are well contrived, and superior of their kind. 
The urine from these buildings, the wash of the 
kitchen, and any other fertilizing substance which 
can be, is conducted into the well littered barn-yard, 
and helps to form and enrich its compost heaps. 
Villa. —Mr. Colt reserved 70 acres adjoining the 
farm for his own residence and particular manage¬ 
ment. This he is fast transforming into one of the 
most charming places imaginable. In 1839 the en¬ 
closure was a barren sand hill, with an alder swamp 
of twelve acres at the foot, and the residue of the 
land of the poorest quality. The top of the hill was 
first levelled somewhat, and here was erected the 
family mansion. 
The sides were then handsomely terraced and 
planted with a great variety of forest and fruit trees, 
flowering shrubs and grape vines. Among these 
wind the carriage road and footpaths from the gate¬ 
ways to the house. South and west of this, and on 
the apex of the hill, spreads out a beautiful lawn, 
with a little pond of the clearest water in the cen¬ 
tre ; while below, on a level with the street, plays 
a fountain with a single jet d’eau. This pond sup¬ 
plies the mansion with water of the softest and pures- 
kind, from the garret down to the cellar kitchen; and 
can be used also, any time it is needed, to irrigate the 
lawn and terraces. In this way the grass and sur¬ 
rounding vegetation are kept green and growing in 
the hottest and driest weather. 
The swamp was next drained, and its surface 
proved a rich bed of muck several feet deep. This 
was dug out and spread upon the neighboring upland 
to enrich it. A clear rivulet was then let in, and 
thus was an unhealthy swamp turned into two pretty 
lakes, separated by a fall of nine feet. Here Mr. C. 
has placed a water wheel, which gives sufficient 
power to force the water to the very top of the man¬ 
sion and into the little pond before spoken of in the 
centre of the lawn on the hill. A rustic lodge is 
erected over the water-works to protect them from all 
weather, and this is encircled by a copse of wood, 
so that, till closely approached, the two lakes are 
supposed to be one. They are well stocked with fish, 
and have boats in them for water excursions, for 
those disposed for a short row or sail. A great va¬ 
riety of water fowl may be seen sporting in the 
lakes and around, among which we noticed wild 
geese, the beautiful wood-duck, and a pair of magnifi¬ 
cent swans from the royal gardens of Fontainbleau, in 
