“AGIMOULTUJtE 18 THE MOST UKALTHFUL, MOST USEFUL, ANO MOST NOI5LE EMPLOYMENT OF MAN.”— Washington. 
OEANGE JUDD COMPANY, 
Publishers and Proprietors, 215 Broadway. 
ESTABLISHED IN 1842. 
Herman Edition issued at the same rates as in KnglisL. 
I TERMS: $1.50 per Annum in Advance, post-free; 
( Four Copies $5.— Single Number, 15 Cents. 
VOLUME XXXVIII.—No. 7. NEW YORK, JULY, 1879. NEW SERIES—No. 390. 
In looking at the paintings and engravings that 
decorate the walls of the study, or “den,” of a 
gentleman well known as a friend to agriculture, 
we were particularly struck by a water-color paint¬ 
ing representing huckleberrying in the mountains. 
There was such a breeziness, so to speak, about the 
picture, and the broad color effects were so true to 
nature, that we asked permission to copy it for the 
American Agriculturist, well knowing that the effec¬ 
tiveness of the picture was largely due to color, 
and that much of this would be lost in rendering it 
in the black and white of an engraving. The re¬ 
quest was readily granted, and the engraving above 
given is the result. To those who keep the run of 
art matters, we need say nothing of Mr. Winslow 
Homer. Others may like to know that he is an ar¬ 
tist who, instead of seeking his subjects among the 
ruins and places of the old world, or in the wilder¬ 
ness of the new, goes to some farming district, and 
there, in the rural and farm scenes, finds subjects 
for his pictures which are always sought for by 
lovers of art, as they are truly American in subjects 
and treatment. A huckleberry is a very small 
thing in itself, hut when aggregated into pints, 
quarts, and bushels, it is the foundation of the 
prosperity of many a family, and furnishes them 
most of the ready money that they receive in the 
course of the year. The New York market is sup¬ 
plied with huckleberries from two principal locali¬ 
ties—the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, and the 
mountains of New York, especially the Shawan- 
gunk range in Ulster and the adjoining counties, 
though other ranges near the Hudson river furnish 
a considerable share. In August, 1876, we gave an 
account by one of our most intelligent produce mer¬ 
chants, Mr. C. W. Idell, of the extent of the huckle¬ 
berry trade in New Jersey. That of the mountains 
of New York is not so well organized, and statistics 
concerning it are not so readily obtained. Former¬ 
ly all the berries gathered in this part of New York 
State had to reach the river and be brought down 
by boats, but the building of new lines of railroad, 
bringing the “iron horse ” into the very heart of 
the mountain region, has changed this, and now 
immense quantities of huckleberries go to market 
by rail. Ellenville, in Ulster Co., is a great ship¬ 
ping point. Wurtsborough, in Sullivan Co., is an¬ 
other. One dealer informs us that in one day a 
single express company, the American, brought to 
the city no less than 1,300 boxes (I bushel each) 
of huckleberries from this mountain district. In 
some cases the pickers themselves bring their ber¬ 
ries to a convenient point upon the railroad. In 
others there are persons who go to certain points 
in the mountains, buy up the berries, and ship them 
themselves. By whatever method they may be 
brought to rail or boat, the destination of the ber¬ 
ries gathered in these mountains is the New York 
market. The fruit is put up in flat boxes, holding 
half a bushel—or we should perhaps say, intended 
to hold that quantity. While the New Jersey berries 
come in open boxes, and the quantity can be seen, 
those from the mountains of New York are ship¬ 
ped in covered boxes, and the temptation to short 
measure is not always resisted. Those sent from 
the mountains are, strictly speaking, Blue-berries. 
Copyright, 1879, by Grange Judd company. 
