CULTURE OF THE FIELD-BEAN. 
131 
usually being his best. Added to all this his tem¬ 
per is pretty good, and he is easily kept. Mr. Gib¬ 
bons thinks very highly of this horse, and is now 
breeding to him exclusively. We wish for the sake 
of the country, that a dozen good roomy roadster 
mares ccmld be put to him in order to test the prod¬ 
uce; for farm and carriage-horses, we are per¬ 
suaded the stock would be all that could be de¬ 
sired, The pedigree of Mariner is of the very best 
kind; all his family having been celebrated for 
great endurance, strength, and speed. Shadow 
is also a splendid animal, three inches taller than 
Mariner, and both him and the bull Zero, Mr. 
Gibbons allowed to stand last year, and will do 
the same the present season, at a moderate price, 
at Morristown. We really hope the farmers of 
that vicinity will avail themselves of this liberal¬ 
ity on the part of their owner, and make good use 
of these valuable animals. 
Some of the mares in this stud we are confident 
would also prove admirable roadsters, particularly 
Jemima Wilkinson, Magpie, and Ornament. We 
trust that the lovers of the turf will not think we 
are undervaluing the thorough-breds by such ob¬ 
servations, as it is well known that we are a strict 
utilitarian , and no sportsman; and yet we will 
yield to none in admiration of the horse, and to 
show that we are not niggardly in our praise, we 
ask what can he finer than Fairy, by Henry, and 
her pretty yearling filly ? 
The Mansion.'— The grounds attached to the 
mansion consist of about 200 acres, and are a part 
as before observed, of the solid body of the farm. 
A high stone wall handsomely faced on both sides, 
capped and pointed, encloses this part of the do¬ 
main in front for some distance along the road, and 
on the division line. The approach to the house 
is through a high iron gate, on either side of which 
is a handsome stone lodge in the castellated Gothic 
-style. It stands at a suitable distance from the 
road, on rising ground, in the edge of a forest of 
60 acres. It is quite imposing, of Grecian archi¬ 
tecture, 130 feet front, 80 feet deep through the 
centre, and has a conservatory attached to it 80 
feet in length, 20 high, and 20 wide. There is 
sufficient ground cleared up immediately about it 
for a flower-garden and ornamental shrubbery, and 
avenues are cut through the forest in various direc¬ 
tions, in order to command views of the adjacent 
country, which is varied and picturesque to a wide 
extent around. The stables are about 20 rods 
from the house, and screened by a belt of the for¬ 
est. They are of brick, in handsome style, and 
have every possible convenience of carriage, har¬ 
ness, and tool-house, grain-bins, hay-lofts, stalls, 
racks, feeding-troughs, and water; indeed, we 
think them as well as one of the farm bams, ex¬ 
cellent models which would be well worth study¬ 
ing by any one desirous of building. We have cer¬ 
tainly seen nothing more complete or convenient 
abroad; and yet all is done with due regard to the 
cost. 
Kitchen Garden.—T his is in front of the sta¬ 
bles, contains about 2 acres, and is laid out in con¬ 
venient squares, with turf walks. We think these 
mueh cleaner and better than gravel, and noticed 
that they were becoming quite common in Eng¬ 
land, especially in heavy soils. Mr. Gibbons is 
paying much attention to fruit, and his espaliers 
struck us as particularly healthy and thriving. 
He cultivates the strawberry in a different manner 
than we have ever before seen it. The soil being 
sandy, it is subject to drought and burning. His 
object is to obtain coolness and moisture. After 
properly preparing the beds, he leaves at every 
length of the bricks, and three widths of them, an 
open space of three inches square for the plant, 
which makes them stand in the bed 9 inches by 14 
apart. The vines as they grow spread over the 
whole surface of brick, and the heat radiating from 
these ripens the fruit quicker and makes it sweet¬ 
er than when grown on the ground; added to this, 
it is kept perfectly clean, and does not require 
washing when prepared for the table. Water 
greatly injures the flavor of the strawberry. 
Mr, Gibbons has this year commenced an ex¬ 
periment with the gooseberry, with the view of 
preventing the mildew. He has planted the shrubs 
along the north side of a tight board-fence to which 
espaliers are trained, so that the sun can not shine 
upon them till past 2 o’clock. As the gooseberry 
perfects itself in the cool cloudy climate of Eng¬ 
land, it is reasonable to suppose that as much hot 
sun as we have in our own country must prove in¬ 
jurious to it. The finest gooseberries we have 
seen in the United States grew in a cold clay soil, 
on the banks of the Niagara river, at the foot of 
Lake Erie, where the summer climate is delight¬ 
fully cool, and more moist than in the eastern sec¬ 
tions of the country. 
In improving his large landed property, intro¬ 
ducing fine stock on to it, and extensive building, 
Mr. Gibbons is doing great good in his neighbor¬ 
hood, and his example is worthy of all praise. In 
our visit to his farm, we had noted many other 
things of which it was our purpose to speak ; but 
the length to which we have already extended 
this article, admonishes us to draw it to a close. 
Such part of Morris county as we saw we were 
highly pleased with; we found it, generally, un¬ 
der a high state of cultivation, and many creditable 
farms in it. Among other things there, consid¬ 
erable attention is paid to the culture of the 
peach, and indeed most species of northern fruits, 
this city being an excellent market for all such 
things. 
CULTURE OF THE FIELD-BEAN. 
It has often been a matter of regret with us that 
the common field white bean is not more exten¬ 
sively cultivated, especially in the eastern states. 
It produces bountifully, and pays better for the la¬ 
bor bestowed upon it than any other crop on light 
poor soils. Baked or boiled it is a favorite dish at 
the table ; it is also most excellent feed for stock, 
especially sheep. We estimate this humble little 
vegetable highly ; and if the following hints serve 
in the least to extend its culture, we shall feel 
amply repaid for writing this article. 
Soil. —The bean will grow well in any soil, from 
the stiffest clay to the loosest sand; but in our ex¬ 
perience of its culture we have found that of a light 
gravel, abounding somewhat with stone, suit it 
