THE CULTIVATOR. 
43 
PX.ATE XI« 
MOUNT HOPE, 
The Residence of E. P. Prentice, Esq. 
We have the pleasure of presenting our readers this 
month, with a view of Mount Hope, the residence of E. 
P. Prentice, Esq,, well known to the farmers of this 
State for his enterprising and successful efforts in the in¬ 
troduction of improved breeds of cattle—engraved on 
steel by Jordan of New-York, from a drawing made ex¬ 
pressly for The Cultivator. 
Mount Hope is situated on the west bank of the river, 
about a mile below this city. It is a beautiful natural si¬ 
tuation,—one of the finest indeed of the numerous beau¬ 
tiful situations on the Hudson,—much embellished by art, 
but not reduced 10 artificial stiffness. In front of the 
house is a fine lawn of ten or fifteen acres, descending 
from the house to the road, interspersed with trees, and 
flanked on either side by gently rising hills covered with 
scattered groups of trees and dense copses. In front, and 
about thirty rods below the house, is a fine elliptical 
sheet of water, 150 feet long by 300 wide, bordered by 
trees, and surrounded by a neat fence, and in the center of 
which a perpetual fountain, in the form of a fine deli¬ 
cate silvery jet, shoots upwards fifteen feet or more in 
height. 
The view from the house is of uncommon beauty, 
and embraces the city on the left, and the Hudson 
for many miles below, until lost among the blue hills. 
The distant peaks of the mountains of Vermont and Mas¬ 
sachusetts are distinctly visible. The surface of the river 
is constantly spotted, during the season, with white sails 
moving up and down its channel, and the scene enlivened 
by the occasional arrival and departure of steamboats, 
and of trains on the Boston rail-road, which is seen for 
many miles from this place. 
On the right of the house is a well-arranged flower 
garden, and in the rear vegetable and fruit gardens, with 
a large and fine natural grove beyond on a greatly varied 
surface—the whole furnishing a most refreshing and 
lovely retreat from “ the tumult and smoke of the city.” 
In the annexed figure, a view is presented of the first 
floor of the house, together with the adjoining grounds 
First Floor—Scale 48 feet to the inch —(Fig. 14.) 
The farm at Mount Hope, consists of 127 acres, 25 of 
which are in wood. The whole of the cleared portion! 
has been brought to a high state of fertility, as may be in¬ 
ferred from the fact that it maintains on n average over 
fifty head of neat cattle, (of various ages, from calves to 
full-grown animals,) six horses, and from fifteen to twen¬ 
ty swine. All this stock is actually supported from the 
farm. Grain or meal has sometimes been purchased, but 
the amount of hay, &c. sold, has been more than sufficient 
to balance this. In addition to supporting the stock, the 
farm and garden produce grain, vegetables and fruits, 
amply sufficient for home consumption. 
The soil of the greater portion of the farm may be said 
to have been naturally of not more than medium quality, 
and its extraordinary fertility and productiveness have 
been caused by the application of manures. Besides the 
manure made from the stock of the farm, Mr. Prentice 
makes use of the animal matters, and other waste, from 
a large manufactory of various articles of fur. The 
waste from the factory is a very powerful manure, and 
being mixed with earth, the scrapings of the streets, &c. 
constitutes a valuable dressing for all crops. The barn 
yard is well calculated for preserving the manure, and 
the cattle are kept constantly well littered, either with 
straw, or fine shavings and dust made by a planing ma¬ 
chine. The litter absorbs much of the urine, which 
would otherwise be wasted. 
Fig. 15 exhibits the ground plan and the internal ar¬ 
rangement of Mr. Prentice’s barns, and the apartments 
for stock, which it will be seen are convenient and judi¬ 
ciously contrived. 
Among the attractive objects about Mount Hope, is the 
beautiful herd of Improved Short Horn cattle. Many in¬ 
dividuals of this herd have at various times received the 
highest premiums of the New-York State Agricultural 
Society, and portraits of several of them have appeared 
in former volumes of the Cultivator. The first of Mr. 
Prentice's herd, were a pair, Leopard and Trim, purcha¬ 
sed of the late Hon. Stephen Yan Rensselaer in 1834. To 
these were added Susan, imported by Mr. G. W. Smith 
in 1832, Matilda, out of Heart, which was imported by 
j Thomas Hollis, Esq., and the following animals import- 
