218 
A GOOD GRAZING DISTRICT.-THE CANADA THISTLE, ETC. 
A GOOD GRAZING DISTRICT. 
I do not know a better grazing district than the 
southern tier of counties of New York, and more 
particularly the western portions of them. Owing 
to the mistaken policy of the Holland Land Com¬ 
pany, who were the original proprietors of many 
millions of acres, in holding them at high prices on 
long credits, and for which most of the lands were 
taken up in small farms by actual settlers, and 
more or less improved and cleared ; and the subse¬ 
quent opening of the immense government tracts at 
the West at low rates,'and the easy communication 
thereto, thousands of these hardy pioneers, finding 
themselves with a large debt and its years of accu¬ 
mulated interest on their shoulders, from which 
immediate extrication seemed impossible, sold out 
for a mere song, and, in frequent instances, availed 
themselves of what personal property they pos¬ 
sessed, and then emigrated to the great western 
“ Dorado .” 
Some years since, the Holland Land Company 
sold out to different parties all its remaining land 
possessions, together with an immense amount of 
expired land contracts, at low prices, many of 
which had already reverted to them, and ever 
since have continued to revert, as the circumstances 
of the contending parties in possession, and the de¬ 
mands of the wholesale purchasing parties, have 
proved unsatisfactory. The consequence of all 
this is, that in the counties of Wyoming, Allegany, 
the southern portion of Erie, Cattaraugus, and Chau- 
tauque, are thousands of farms, portions of which, 
from one to two-thirds, are cleared up, and can now 
be purchased at from $5 to $10 an acre, which are 
penetrated by good roads, and in the neighborhood 
of mills, schools, churches, and near to railroads 
and water communications ; abundantly supplied 
with clear, sparkling streams; delicious springs; a 
most healthful atmosphere, and delightful scenery; 
and for the growth of grass, oats, all the root crops, 
and the hardy iruits, it cannot be surpassed. I 
have stood on the rich wheat farms of the low 
country, which cannot be purchased for less than 
$40 to $50 per acre, and looked out upon those 
green and vigorous hills, only a few miles distant, 
where thousands of acres, with quite comfortable 
buildings, in an humble way, can be bought at $‘6 to 
$8 per acre, and wondered why they were not be- 
dotted with flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle, 
which can nowhere thrive better than on the sweet 
grasses of those elevated grounds. J have visited 
them often, and nowhere have I ever seen fatter or 
healthier cattle, nor better and more highly condi¬ 
tioned sheep, or with heavier fleeces. Whethei the 
finest kinds of Merino or Saxony will thrive as well 
on those moist hill sides and elevations, or in the 
deep sheltered valleys, as on the more gravelly and 
drier low grounds of other regions, I cannot say; 
but so far as tried, they are equally healthy. And 
for long-woolled sheep, I know, from abundant 
evidence of their trial, that no country can exceed 
it. The soii is strong (lacking only in lime), and 
the grass in the greatest abundance. I have seen 
hay produced in the meadows of a whole farm at 
the rate of two tons per acre; corn forty to fifty 
bushels; oats thirty to forty; and rutabaga and 
carrots a thousand bushels per acre. Why should 
not our extensive flock-masters appropriate this 
broad region to themselves ? It only requires their 
capital and their sheep to make it one of the rich¬ 
est and most productive of our wnol-p’oducing 
counties. Long wool is rapidly beconing an 
article of extensive consumption in our factories; 
its production requires little labor; close attention, 
care, and experience, are only demanded. Its reve¬ 
nues are liberal; its expenditures small; and we 
hesitate not to say, that after the wide prairies and 
the ridgy qaeningsof the farWest are all examined, 
thousands will return to the green and health-giv¬ 
ing hills of New York, and plant their flocks on 
their surface. 
I do not hesitate here to put it on record, that 
the “ sequesteral counties,” as they have so often 
been termed, of this great State, now that they are 
certain to be penetrated by that immense work, the 
Erie railroad, which is forthwith to be prosecuted 
by the vigorous enterprise of our great commercial 
city, will, at no distant day, become the favorite 
wool and dairy region of the North. 
I may at some fitting time resume this subject, 
and speak of the more eastern counties lying on the 
same great lines, prefacing my suggestions, how¬ 
ever, with the remark, that I hold neither lands, 
railroad shares, nor a particle of any interest what¬ 
ever connected therewith, other than what apper¬ 
tains to the prosperity and growth of the great agri¬ 
cultural welfare of our community. Western. 
THE CANADA THISTLE, BURRWEED, 
AND SPURRY. 
The Canada thistle ( Cnicus arvensis ) is one of 
the most pestifevous weeds that are found amongst 
us, and has, of late years, increased so rapidly as to 
become an object of considerable alarm among our 
farmers. It springs up among the grain crops, and 
its sharp spines are so formidable as to cause great 
difficulty in reaping grain in which the thistle is 
growing. It spreads rapidly, too, in grass lands. 
If suffered to ripen, its downy seeds are borne by the 
winds in clouds, in every direction ; and as they rea¬ 
dily take root, and as the plant likewise is perennial- 
rooted, that is, springs from the old root it is difficult 
to keep it down. Much might be done, however, if 
farmers were unanimous, hut the plant is in many 
cases permitted to grow and ripen by the sides of the 
roads, whence the seeds are scattered over the 
fields. Repeated mowings in summer will cause 
the roots to wither and die ; and if each one would 
take the trouble to cut off the flowering heads of 
those that grow in the roads of his own farm, the 
plant would be prevented from seeding (a). 
The vile plant, however, of which I have just 
been speaking, is not so bad as the burrweed (Ga- 
leopsis tetrahit) that is spreading over our fields and 
ruining our farms. This is a vigorous plant, 
growing from a creeping root, which is, I believe, 
perennial; though the stalk is annual. It has a tall 
branchy stem, with leaves like those of a nettle; it 
bears a pretty white labiate flower, succeeded by 
large burrs or seed vessels, covered, when ripe, 
with hard, sharp prickles, defying the touch. It 
produces seeds in most prolific abundance, which 
are unfortunately scattered before our grain is cut; 
and as it spreads from the root as well as the seed. 
