284 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
no small favor, but to have one’s own name, or that of a 
mother or sister, taken without leave or license, to be 
sacrificed at the Moloch altar of beef, mutton and pork, 
is “ carrying the joke a little too far.” Would “Bru¬ 
tus” give his own fair name as a cognomen for a buck, a 
bull, or a boar ? If not, remember the golden rule. By 
the way, I have a princely gentleman of the cow-yard; a 
roaring four year old animal magnetizer, whose present 
title is “Brutus;” if the incog. “ Brutus” will send me 
his address, he shall forthwith become God-father to as 
splendid a bull as there is in the Parallelogram County. 
Yours, Junius. 
NOTES OF A TRIP TO LOWELL. 
Messrs. Editors —You will grobably remember that 
when, on passing through your city a few weeks since, I 
mentioned to you my intention of making a short excur¬ 
sion to the eastward, you mentioned to me to furnish 
you with some memoranda of what I might see worth 
noting in the course of my trip. I declined engaging to 
do so, on the ground of being unqualified to write for the 
public eye, as well as disinclined to do so in this age of 
fine writing and critical animadversion. I thought no 
more of the matter until I reached Lowell, where, find¬ 
ing a leisure evening, I remembered your request, and 
set about scribbling a few rough memoranda, such as I 
here send you. 
Allow me to start at Vergennes, an incorporated but 
small city, and by the way, the only city in our State. 
Vergennes lies on the Otter creek, eight miles north of 
my place of residence, and is accessible to vessels of the 
largest size from Lake Champlain. It has manufactures 
established on an unlimited water privilege, and a Uni¬ 
ted States Arsenal. It is the place where McDonough’s 
fleet was built and equipped in the last war. The largest 
vessel in the victorious battle of Plattsburgh, was built 
here in 42 days; the timber mostly taken from the stump, 
in the mean time. Here I went on board the new pack¬ 
et “ Garland,” which plies monthly between this city and 
Buffalo. At her side were lashed several boats laden 
with iron, timber and other commodities, which were 
all towed to Whitehall at the head of the lake, by one of 
the lake steamers. On one of these tow-boats I shipped 
a few sheep, ordered by Mr. Peckham of Utica, which 
he assured me were designed to improve his flock “ at the 
west.” 
In Albany, I met Mr. Robert S. Wilson, a planter 
from Baltimore county, Maryland, with whose conversa¬ 
tion I was highly entertained. He is a practical agricul¬ 
turist, and among the many experiments which he has 
been making, he mentioned one on Indian corn, which I 
think worthy of note. He has for three consecutive years 
planted seed corn taken from within an inch of the butt 
end of the ear, and the result has been he has obtained a 
mature crop of corn, some two or three weeks earlier. I 
have never tried the experiment myself, but I am confi¬ 
dent the corn crop can be forwarded in this way, from 
the fact and for the same reason that beans taken for 
seed from the lower part of the vine which mature first, 
have been found on trial to ripen some time sooner than 
those taken from the upper parts which mature later. 
Mr. Wilson informed me that great improvements were 
making in the agriculture of his State, particularly by 
some enterprising indivitluals who had emigrated from 
the eastern States, and he thought that those who chose 
to settle there, with help brought from the east, would 
find themselves able to invest money very profitably in 
lands and agricultural operations; that lands were now at 
their minimum price, and would in a few years advance 
in value a hundred per cent. He said that he himself 
raised last year a crop of corn from a piece of “ worn out 
land,” as the lands exhausted by long cultivation are 
there called, which yielded 70 bushels to the acre; and 
that his crop now growing, promised him an average 
of 100. He remarked further, that bone dust was one of 
the best fertilizers for these lands, which they had found; 
d.nd that this could now be procured in plenty and very 
.heap, in the cities and market towns. 
In New-York, I called on Mr. Van Ness, the collector 
; »f customs, not to obtain an office, (Heaven forbid!) but 
to obtain from him such information and assistance as hr 
might be able to render me in reference to a contempla 
ted voyage to Spain; he having been lately our Ministei 
to that country. He obligingly gave me such informa 
tion as I desired, and promised me such letters as migh< 
be useful to me abroad. 
Leaving New-York for Providence, I passed in onp 
of the noble steamers, through Long Island Sound. P 
being clear and calm, we had a delightful view of thp 
city as we passed it, and the scenery along the shores of 
Manhattan and Long Island, surpassing any prospect tha* 
I ever before witnessed. The improved cultivation 
along the banks, the elegance and taste displayed in build 
ing, fencing, laying out of gardens, parks, alleys, &c. and 
arranging copses, shrubbery, &c., all added a beauty and 
loveliness to the scenery which seemed more like en 
chantment than reality. 
Along the route between Stonnington and Boston, I 
observed that the field crops were suffering considerably 
by drouth, though all along the border of Lake Cham¬ 
plain, the Hudson and the Sound, they were quite promi¬ 
sing. The grass crop is not as heavy in general, as last 
year; but the quality is I think better than I have ever 
observed before; red and white clover literally cover 
the ground with their blossoms. In Vermont, the wheat 
harvest has never appeared better within my recollec¬ 
tion. There is sufficient growing to supply the State at 
least one year. Last year the average crop was about 18 
or 20 bushels to the acre; this year, I think the average 
will reach nearly 25. The Black Sea wheat will be of 
incalculable value to the State, should it continue to yield 
as it has done for the few years since its introduction. 
But to return: I made but a few hours stay in Boston, 
and consequently saw but little of that beautiful and flou¬ 
rishing city—a home for Yankees. I called, however, 
on the editors of the Boston Cultivator. Mr. Pedder I 
found at the office, and the short interview I had with 
him assured me that he was an enlightened practical far¬ 
mer, and I was particularly interested in his intelligent 
observations respecting the management of sheep. He 
said he had formerly had the charge of (I think) about 
13,000 in Pennsylvania. 
At Lowell, I called on Samuel Lawrence, Esq. I 
found him at his mansion-house, a little out of the city, 
on elevated grounds, which command a fine view of the 
city and adjacent country for many miles in circuit. He 
has just finished his house, which may be fairly called a 
palace. It is of wood—a very elegant and costly style of 
building, and finished in exquisite taste. But however 
pleased I was with the mansion itself, I was still more so 
with its worthy owner and inmates. 
I found Mr. Lawrence clad in checked cloth of his 
own manufacture, such as he sells at $1.25 per yard. He 
said he had worn no cloth other than of his own manu¬ 
facture for fifteen years. 
On arriving at his factories, I was much surprised to 
find manufactured there every kind and quality of woolen 
cloths, from those worn by the humblest, to such as are 
chosen by the wealthiest citizen of our land. I learned 
that the two factories under his charge, had consumed 
3,300 lbs. of wool per day for the last month, and that 
the general average through the year is 3,000 lbs. per 
diem. I saw piles of wool in the fleece, in his ware¬ 
houses, all of last year's clip or older, to the amount, as 
1 was told, of more than 1,000,000 lbs. 
Mr. Lawrence pays more for fine wool, and less for 
coarse, than any other purchaser. His prices varied from 
25 to 80 cents; for many lots that bring 38 and 40 cents 
in Vermont, he could not offer more than32 to 35cents. 
Mr. L. says he has no doubt that the weight of fleece 
may be increased in our flocks, without injury to the 
pile; that the length of staple w r as no detriment to the 
manufacturer, and that this would soon be recognized as 
the first wool-growing country in the world, with the 
best and most profitable breeds of sheep. He further 
agreed with me respecting the competition from the 
west, that Vermont had nothing to fear at present—tha< 
if he owned 1,000 sheep, he would sooner place them 
in Addison county, Vermont, than to send them to the 
prairies of the west. 
The contrast between the condition of the laborers ir 
