252 
THE CULTIVATOR 
July, 
A Brief Account of the Uncultivated Lands on 
Long Island, in 1850. 
I N answer to numerous inquiries relative to tlie uncultivated lands 
on Long Island, and for information concerning them, the atten¬ 
tion of the public is directed to the following brief account of their 
position, natural capabilities, and the facilities they offer the city 
mechanic, the market gardener, the fruit-grower, the dairyman, 
and all others who are in quest of a new home. 
These lands are mostly in the interior or middle parts of the 
Island, and probably were at first neglected more from their remote 
situation, than anything else, being inland , as it is commonly ex¬ 
pressed by the inhabitants. 
In fact, there does not appear to be any other cause for the origin 
of the discredit in which this portion of the island has long been 
held, than that it was a few miles from the shores, and therefore not 
so desirable to the early settlers as the lands bordering on the beau¬ 
tiful bays and harbors that surround them. 
Indeed, all the first settlements were made near the shores; for 
the waters afford great privileges, added to the pleasures and com¬ 
forts of life, as they abounded with fish and wild fowls in great 
variety; and which were a means of subsistence to the inhabitants 
then, as now. There is no other way to account for the strange 
and singular neglect of the middle regions of this Island. The east¬ 
ern parts of it are highly cultivated, with a soil by nature no better 
than that now under consideration; the northern and southern 
shores, nearly its whole length, have been settled and cultivated, as 
long as the western part of it; more than two hundred years. 
By reference to the old maps of Long Island, it will be seen that 
the settlements are as above described, and that the middle portion, 
for about forty miles long, and from six to eight miles broad, are 
entirely a blank. The Long Island Railroad passes through nearly 
the centre, from east to west, of this unimproved tract, which com¬ 
mences at Farmingdale, distant thirty-one miles from the city, and 
extends to Riverhead, about forty miles. 
The “ Great Hempstead Plains” are nearer the city, being only 
about sixteen miles distant. There are in this tract about 17,000 
acres of the most beautiful land, capable, in every respect, of the 
highest cultivation, and belongs to the town of Hcampstead, in com¬ 
mon. It cannot be sold without a popular vote of the inhabitants, 
a majority of whom have always opposed the sale of it; and it is 
probably for this reason, alone, that it is at present unimproved; for 
the soil is equal to any other part of the Island of like extent. It is, 
in truth, a prairie, and the only one east of the Alleghanies, and was, 
in the early history of the country, considered as a great curiosity, 
and as such, was visited by great numbers of people from the differ¬ 
ent colonies, and by' the early European travelers, but was not then 
regarded as barren. 
It was more than one hundred years ago that Long Island ob¬ 
tained its distinctive appellation of the “ Garden of America,” and 
was then considered as highly fertile and productive, and described 
as such by all those who wrote anything about it previous to the Re¬ 
volutionary War. Had the middle parts of the Island, along the 
borders of the railroad, been cultivated as the other parts, the lands 
there would now present the same appearance that those under 
cultivation now do. 
Long Island was, in the early history of the country, regarded as 
highly fertile, as will appear by the following extract from the An¬ 
nual Report of the American Institute, to the Legislature of the State 
of New York, for the year 1847, from page 6SS. “ A work of 1670, 
proves this a rare and curious book, Denton’s History ; or a Brief 
Description of New York, formerly called New Netherlands (this 
has been called one of the gems of American History, being the 
first printed description, in the English language, of what is '"now 
the great, wealthy, and populous State of New York.) Long Island 
is not spoken of in this, nor any subsequent work for a great many 
years, as being of poor soil * * * it is everywhere spoken of 
as being exceedingly fruitful, with a pleasant and healthful climate, 
and beautiful streams and bays, abounding in all kinds of fish and 
water fowl.” The Island was then (1670) settled on the eastern parts of 
the towns of East and South Harripton, and all the north shore, in¬ 
cluding the towns of Huntington and Sinithtown, and the settle¬ 
ments in the north part of Brookhaven, so that, the whole island was 
at the time of this author well known; for he say's, “ The Island is 
most of it very good sovle, and very natural for all sorts of English 
grain, which they sowe, and have very good increase of, besides all 
other fruits and herbs common in England. 
“The fruits natural to the Island, are mulberries, posimons, 
grapes, huckelberries, cranberries, great and small plums of several 
sorts, raspberries and strawberries ; of which last is such abundance, 
in June, that the fields are died red; which the country people per¬ 
ceiving, instantly arm themselves with bottles of wine, cream and 
sugar, and instead of a coat of mail, every one takes a female upon 
his horse, behind him, and so rushing violently into the fields, and 
never leave till they have disrobed them of their red colours, and 
turned them into the old habit. The greatest part of the Island is 
very full of limber, as oaks, white and red, walnut trees, chestnut 
trees, which yield stores of mast for swine; also maples, cedars, 
saxifrage, beach, birch, holly, hazel, with many sorts more.” 
Then follows the enumeration of a variety of herbs and flowers 
which the country naturally affords, “Yea, in May you shall see 
the woods and fields so curiously bedecked with roses and an innu¬ 
merable multitude of delightful flowers, not only pleasing to the 
eye, but to the smell, that you may behold Nature contending with 
Art, and striving to equal, if not excel, many gardens in England.” 
Such is the description given of this Island bv all the early writers. 
The Hon. Gabriel Furman, in a very able and interesting ad¬ 
dress, delivered at Jamaica, October 10th, 1844, before the Queens 
County Agricultural Society, say's the first printed history of New 
Netherlands, published by Vanderdonck, at Antwerpt, in 1650, 
gives a similar description of the fertility of Long Island. 
The streams of the Island are numerous and of remarkable clear¬ 
ness and purity. The old author above (Denlon,) says of tile “ Rivers 
and Riverels which empty themselves into the Sea ; yea, you shall 
scarce travel a mile, but ymu shall meet with one of them whose 
Chrystal streams run so swift, that they purge themselves of such 
stinking mud and filth, which the standing or low-paced streams of 
most brooks and rivers westward of this colony leave lying, and are 
by the Sun’s exhalation dissipated, the air corrupted, and many 
fevers and other distempers occasioned, not incident to this Island.” 
All this part of the Island is covered with a rank and vigorous 
growth of vegetation, and has probably produced a crop of wood, 
pine, and oak, fit for the New York market, every 18 or 20 years, 
for the last 100 or 150 years, besides having been burnt over a great 
number of times during the above-named periods. From this fact 
alone, may be seen its productive power; for any land that will 
roduce wood, and the various kinds of vegetation that this land pro- 
uces, must be capable of cultivation to the highest degree; and there 
can be facts enough adduced to prove beyond a doubt that this is 
true of almost all that part of Long Island now uncultivated and 
wild, along the borders of the railroad. There never has been an 
attempt made to cultivate any portion of it that has failed; in every 
instance where it has been fairly tried, it has succeeded. There are 
now many farms and gardens, highly productive and fertile, that 
were a few years since reclaimed from the same kind of land. 
It is the opinion of the best agriculturists of the state of New 
York, and other men of high intelligence and practical skill and 
knowledge of agriculture, who have examined these lands, that 
there is no reason why they cannot be cultivated by ordinary means, 
and rendered as prodvetive and as valuable as any other lands on 
the Island. 
Among those who have seen these lands, and expressed opinions 
favorable to their cultivation, is Judge Meigs, of the American In¬ 
stitute. He says that “Long Island contains all those materials, 
calcareous and others, necessary for high and profitable cultivation, 
and that these lands, for the various productions of the garden, field, 
and orchard, are very highly adapted, and also for the vine and silk 
mulberry.” 
Dr. Underhill, celebrated for his cultivation of the grape, at Cro¬ 
ton Point, has examined this portion of Long Island, and says, 
“there can be no doubt that all these lands can be rendered highly 
productive and fertile without any difficulty, and by the same 
means that will cultivate and enrich any other land.” He further 
says, he is “ willing to stake what reputation he has as an agricul¬ 
turist, that these lands are susceplible of most profitable cultivation 
for the vine, the peach, the apple, and other orchard fruits, and the 
usual productions of the garden and field.” 
Professor Ren wick, of Columbia College, says, “ those portions 
of the soil from Hempstead Plains, have been analyzed in his labo¬ 
ratory (in Columbia College,) and “ were found to partake of all 
the constituents of a fertile soil, in large proportions, and only re¬ 
quire the application of quicklime and other decomposing substances 
to render them fit for, the process of cultivation;” and says of the 
scrub-oak lands, “that it is a fact, that in many parts of the coun¬ 
try those lands called ‘ oak barrens,’ and neglected for a time, have 
been found to be the best wheat lands, and these lands of Long 
Island may prove of the same character.” 
Professor Mapes is also of opinion that these lands may be easily 
cultivated. 
The late T. B. Wakeman, Esq., and General Chandler of the 
American Institute, have given opinions, after having examined 
these lands, favorable to their successful and profitable cultivation. 
Charles Henry Hall, Esq., whose skill and judgment are undoubt¬ 
ed, in all matters relating to agriculture, expresses his entire belief 
in the feasibility of rendering these lands eminently productive; 
that the climate and soil of Long Island are favorable to a high de¬ 
gree of perfection to all kinds of fruits and plants that grow or can 
be raised in this latitude. 
A. B. Allen, Esq., editor of the American Agriculturist, says there 
is no doubt that these lands can be successfully cultivated, and Mr. 
Allen’s opinion on the subject of clearing it of roots, or of breaking 
it up and rendering it fit for the plow and hoe, is deserving of very 
great consideration. 
One great objection urged by the people of the Island against any 
attempt to clear and cultivate the part of it under consideration, is 
the great difficulty and expense in clearing the land of the growth of 
bushes, which, as commonly done by hand, by means of a large 
hoe. or mattock, and costs too much. Mr. Allen thinks that it can 
be broken up by the plow for about three or four dollars per acre, 
and he has had great experience in all matters pertaining to the 
clearing of new land. It is now found by experience that crops can 
be put in these lands by the harrow, and thus cleared at even less 
than by plowing. 
Evidence of this kind can be adduced to almost any extent, and 
there are no facts that can be brought against it, and all the opinions 
to the contrary are founded upon ignorance and prejudice. 
Samuel A. Smith, Esq., of Smithtown, in an address before the 
Suffolk County Agricultural Society, at Commac, in the fall of 1846, 
said of these lands, “ that they had always considered them only fit 
for deer to roam over, and foxes to dig holes in, and they knew no 
other reason for such opinions than that their fathers had told them 
so ”—that they never had made any attempts to cultivate these lands, 
and therefore "did not know from any fact that they were unfit for cul¬ 
tivation. 
The situation of these lands is extremely favorable, and even desi¬ 
rable. The Long Island Railroad passes directly through the un¬ 
cultivated parts of the Island—thereby affording easy and certain ac¬ 
cess during the whole year, having, in this respect, a great advan¬ 
tage over even those places on the coast or bays that are esteemed 
the most valuable—for, by the railroad, the market can be reached 
at all seasons and at all times, without reference to wind and tide, 
and unobstructed by ice, as the bays and harbors are for three months 
in a year. 
The surface of this part of the island is varied, or gently undula 
