32 
GOOSE AND DUCK PASTURE. 
It was proposed in the agricultural society of 
this county to petition the legislature, for a law 
to levy a general tax upon dogs to pay for the 
sheep destroyed. Goveneur Morris rpoved to 
amend the motion, reverse the order, and tax 
the sheep to support the dogs; as it was evi¬ 
dent that a majority of the people of this coun¬ 
ty were more in love with dog meat than with 
mutton. He had tried to keep sheep enough to 
furnish his own table, but found that he could 
not do it unless he took them into his own bed 
room every night. And even that would not 
save them; for they are frequently attacked in 
open day, in some secluded pasture. It is a 
pity that every one who keeps a sheep-killing 
cur, is not obliged to eat him. Young calves, 
too, are often destroyed by these intolerable 
pests of the Westchester farmer. 
Much of the land in this county is suita- 
able for fruit culture, and would be exten¬ 
sively planted in orchards of choice fruit for 
the city market, except for the reason given at 
length in another article. But now, who will 
plant an orchard when he knows the fruit will 
be all stolen? Or who will buy a flock of 
sheep to graze his rocky hills, although good 
for little else than sheep walks, when he knows 
one half of them, at least, will go to the dogs, 
instead of the butcher. 
I enjoyed a long ride with an enterprising 
young farmer, through the winding crooked 
roads, and over the granite hills, and saw much 
more to interest my mind than I can now relate. 
Everything has an ancient, and I must say rath¬ 
er behind-thc-age appearance. Old-fashioned 
gambrel-roofed farm houses; old barns and out¬ 
buildings, covered with an old mossy coat; old 
mossy wells, with old iron-bound buckets; old 
willow trees overhanging the old spring house, 
from whence the same little rill has trickled 
down among the old grey granite rocks, through 
long centuries of old time. Old stone walls 
meet the eye at every turn, to mark where once 
was perhaps a fence; where now is an unsight¬ 
ly line of stones, greatly in the way of cultiva¬ 
tion, which would serve a far better purpose if 
buried beneath the surface to act as under¬ 
drains, than they do in their present position. 
Much of the land is of a character that would 
be benefited by such a disposition of the sur¬ 
face stones, which, in many cases, have been 
laid into walls, just to get them, out of the way. 
Do farmers ever think how much walls are in 
the way; or how much land they now occupy ? 
I noticed upon one farm, five contiguous lots, 
not one of which contained an acre, surround¬ 
ed by heavy stone walls; and the remainder of 
the farm was divided into inclosures of four or 
five acres each. Probably one tenth of the land 
was thus lost to cultivation, besides the loss of 
time in annual repairs, and keeping them clear 
of bushes. Close as this county is to the city, 
the majority of the inhabitants have not yet 
caught the infecting spirit of improvement, 
which is now animating the age, and fulfiling 
that prophecy which says, the crooked shall be 
made straight, and rough places smooth. But 
the time is speedily coming when old prejudices 
must give way. 
This is a reading age. The young farmers of 
Westchester are beginning to take cheap facili¬ 
ties of obtaining practical and scientific agri¬ 
cultural information. Many of them will ob¬ 
tain and read this journal the present year. I 
hope we may have many a pleasant evening 
together. Solon Robinson. 
New York , November , 1850. 
GOOSE AND DUCK PASTURE. 
I reside in a neighborhood where the land is 
poor and rocky, but abounds in marshes and 
ponds. The soil is either too thin, or too stony, 
or too wet to cultivate to any advantage; and 
yet, I cannot afford to let it lie idle. I have 
tried cattle feeding on it without any advantage; 
sheep have done better, still not quite well 
enough; I am therefore, of opinion, it would be 
more advantageous to turn it to a large goose 
and duck pasture. What is your opinion on 
the subject ? Will it pay ? 
I have no doubt, that after the goslings get the 
pin feathers on their wings, they could find 
a good living on the pasture, and in the ponds; 
and as for the ducks, there is any quantity of 
grubs, tadpoles, grass roots, and other matter, 
for them to feed upon all summer. I am sure 
they would do well, but am not so confident 
about the geese, or more properly the goslings. 
Please to advise me. Inquirer. 
We are of opinion that our correspondent 
would do well to stock his rough lands with 
geese and sheep. Large quantities of poor 
heathy land is thus devoted to them in Eng¬ 
land, and other parts of Europe. A sheep will 
get a living where a bullock would starve ; and 
a goose would find sufficient pasture where a 
sheep could not exist. There are thousands of 
acres of just such land within sixty miles of 
this city, as our correspondent speaks of, all of 
which might be profitably devoted to goose pas¬ 
ture, and thus cheeply supply our markets with 
fat, luscious roasters. 
