PRICES OF PRODUCE.—MOUNTAIN FARMING. 
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roots and nourishment of vegetables. These effects 
of lime in soils, except in those that are gravelly or 
sandy, cannot be accounted for simply on mechani¬ 
cal principles, but may probably be explained on 
such as are chemical. 
(a) Has this fact generally been observed by 
American farmers, who have given their land 
heavy dressings of lime ? If so, to what cause do 
they attribute it ? Have they derived any advan¬ 
tage thereby in clayey soils ? 
PRICES OP PRODUCE. 
We hear much complaint on the part of farmers, 
about the present low price of produce, and fears 
are expressed that they may be still lower. We 
are of opinion that this last cannot well be, our rea¬ 
sons for which are brief. 
First, the potato crop is badly injured by the rot 
in Great Britain and Ireland; the consequence is, 
these countries will want large importations of 
Indian corn and wheat from the United States, to 
supply their place. Nearly a million bushels of 
Indian meal were given out last year, by the Gov¬ 
ernment, for the use of the Irish peasantry, in con¬ 
sequence of their loss by the potato rot; and this, 
be it understood, notwithstanding the late high 
duties, and the strong prejudice of the people 
against this new article of food. Now, that preju¬ 
dice is rapidly wearing away, and the article can 
be afforded at a much lower price. Owing to its 
nominal free admission, under the new British 
Tariff, the consumption for the coming year will 
be greatly increased. The potato rot in our own 
country proves much more extensive than last 
year, which will add something extra to the con¬ 
sumption of flour, meal, and rice. Second, an un¬ 
common demand has lately sprung up in Germany 
for American rye, for distillation and other pur¬ 
poses, and this seems likely to be on the increase 
Third, mechanics and manufacturers generally find 
full employment, and in our humble opinion are i 
likely to continue to do so, notwithstanding the 
reduction of duties under the new American Tariff 
Act In addition to this, several thousand persons 
the past season have left their agricultural pursuits 
and engaged in the Mexican war, and thus, for a 
short period at least, have made themselves con¬ 
sumers instead of producers. Fourth, business 
generally is very good, not only in this country but 
in Europe, giving active employment to the people. 
The combined effect of all this must have a ten¬ 
dency to keep prices from falling any lower than 
they now are. 
But supposing produce to be lower this year than 
it was last, are not other things correspondingly 
so? We do not speak of the prices of flour dur¬ 
ing the insane speculations of last winter—for 
they were totally unwarranted, as subsequent 
events proved-—but of the healthy ruling prices of 
the first, ten months of the year 1845. Labor is 
cheaper, especially that of mechanics; and many 
kinds of manufactured goods are also cheaper, with 
a tendency to downward prices. Considering all 
things, the farmers have great cause to be thankful 
tor their abundant crops, and that prices are so good 
as we find them. 
MOUNTAIN FARMING. 
During the month of July last, we spent a week 
rambling among the farmers of the Catskill Moun¬ 
tains. Our main route was thus. We landed a 1 
Saugerties, passed up the Kauterskill Clove, down 
the valley of the Schoharie several miles below 
Plattsville, thence round to the head waters of the 
Delaware, thence to the sources of the Sodus 
Creek, and thence down its course to Kingston. 
During this tour we occasionally deviated from the 
main route, making short excursions through 
various defiles of the mountains, and ascending 
some of their loftiest peaks—among others, that of 
the Round-Top, the highest of all. The view from 
this peak is much more grand and extensive than 
from the celebrated fashionable resort—the Moun¬ 
tain House. Late barometrical observations make 
its height upwards of 4,000 feet above the level of 
the sea. The top is conglomerated rock, with very 
little soil upon it; yet, notwithstanding this, and 
its great height, the forest is quite dense. We 
found many of the trees from 35 to 50 feet high, 
with a diameter of 18 to 30 inches. Their growth 
seemed thrifty and vigorous. Quite a variety of 
flowers flourish there, and the mosses are beautiful, 
and very abundant. 
The Catskill region embraces a surface of at 
least forty square miles, bristling with several hun¬ 
dred peaks, scarcely one less than 1,500 feet 
high, measuring from the base from which it 
springs. The scenery throughout is grand and 
varied. This is a much superior farming country 
Jo what we had anticipated. The land bordering 
the creeks is generally a rich alluvial, varying 
from a few rods to a quarter of a mile in width. 
We found all kinds of crops, except corn, growing 
up the sides, and on the table lands of the moun¬ 
tains, at least 3.000 feet above the level of the sea. 
The early kinds of corn, ripen well in the valleys. 
Roots do exceedingly well here, especially turnips; 
and the grass is famous for its sweetness. Much 
! of ihe butter passing under the name of Goshen , is 
made among the Catskills. It is a great dairy dis¬ 
trict, but we think it wouid be still more profitable 
if the higher portions of it were turned into sheep 
pastures. The soil generally is a red shale, formed 
by the disintegration of a reddish-brown slate 
stone. The rocks are of great variety. 
We saw many excell'ent farms during our tour 
among the mountains, and found their owners in¬ 
telligent, industrious, and disposed to make the 
most of their situations ; but the general method of 
cultivating rough hilly land, throughout the United 
States, is wrong in the extreme. We conceive that 
this arises mainly from an erroneous principle, 
which is carefully instilled into the minds of 
American farmers. It is this—“ every one should 
raise all he wants to consume on his farm and in his 
family.” Acting upon this principle, the possessor 
of. a rough mountain farm adopts precisely the 
same course in its cultivation that the owner of 
smooth fertile plains does. Can anything be more 
absurd ? Just calculate the difference in the cost of 
plowing the one and the other; the carting out of 
manure and the harvesting and carting home of the 
crops ; and then the difference in the yield is greatly 
in favGr of the latter. Such is not the method of 
