W IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. ^/ ^ v^ A 1.0 I.I liilM 125 2.0 lit m u ■ao M ||P||U|i6 < 6" ► HiotDgraphic Sciences Corporation M V ^"^ O ^. 23 WIST MAIN STRIET WfBSTIR.N.Y. 145M (716)t72-4S03 6^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de mi Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductions historiquas Taehnical and Bibliooraphie NotM/NotM taehniquM at bibliographlquaa Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy avaiiabia for fiiming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographicaihf uniqua. ¥vhich may aftar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may aignificantiy ehanga tha uauai mathod of fiiming, ara chaclcad balow. □ Colourad covara/ Couvartura da coulaur r~~| Covara damagad/ D D n Couvartura andommagia Covara raatorad and/or lamlnatad/ Couvartura raataurte at/ou paiiiculAa □ Covar titia miaaing/ La D titra da couvartura manqua |~n Colourad mapa/ Cartaa gtegraphlquaa wn coulaur Colourad inic (l.a. othar than blua or black)/ Encra da coulaur (l.a. autra qua biaua ou noira) I I Colourad plataa and/or liiuatrationa/ Planchaa at/ou liiuatrationa an coulaur Bound with othar matariai/ Rail* avac d'autras documanta Tight binding may cauaa thadowa or diatortlon along intarior margin/ La raiiura sarrAa paut cauaar da I'ombra ou da la diatortlon la long da la marga int^riaura Bianit laavaa addad during raatoration may appaar within tha taxt. Whanavar poaalbia, thaaa hava baan omittad from filming/ II aa paut qua cartalnaa pagaa blanchaa aJoutAaa lora d'una raatauration apparaiaaant dana la taxta. mala, ioraqua cala 4tait poaaibia, caa pagaa n'ont paa *t* fiimAaa. Additional comments:/ Commantairaa supplimantairaa: L'Inatitut a miorofiimi ia mailiaur axamplaira qu1l iui a it* poaaibia da aa proourar. I.aa dAtaiia da eat axamplaira qui aont paut-Atra uniquaa du point da vua IMbliographiqua, qui pauvant modif iar una imaga raproduita. ou qui pauvant axigar una modification dana ia mithoda normala da filmaga aont indiquia ci-daaaoua. |~n Coloured pagaa/ D Pagaa da couieur Pagaa damaged/ Pagaa andommagiaa Pagaa raatorad asid/oi Pagaa reetauriae at/ou paliiculAea Pagae diacolourad, etained or foxe< Pagaa dAcoioriaa. tachatAea ou piquAea r~~| Pagaa damaged/ I — I Pagaa raatorad asid/or laminated/ 0Pegee diacolourad, etained or foxed/ Pegea □ Pages detached/ Pagaa ditachAea 0Showthrough/ Tranaparence Tranaparence Quality of prin QuaiitA InAgaie de I'lmpreaaion inciudea auppiamentery matarii Comprend du metAriel supplAmenteire Only edition available/ Seuie Adition diaponible I I Quelity of print variaa/ F~| inciudea auppiamentery materiel/ r~~| Only edition available/ fa rl r r Pagaa wholly or partially obacurad by erreta slips, tissuaa, etc., have been refllmed to enaure the best poaaibia Image/ Lea pegea totalement ou pertiellement obacurciea par un fauiilet d'errata, une pelure. etc., ont AtA fllmAee A nouveeu de faqon A obtenir la meilleure imege poaaibia. This item is filmed et the reduction retio checked below/ Ce document est filmA au taux de rAduction indiquA ci-dessous. 10X 14X 1SX 22X 2AX 30X 7 12X 16X 20X a4X 2BX 32X Th« copy filmad hare has b««n raproduead thanka to tha ganaroaity off: National Library of Canada L'axamplaira ffilmA ffut raproduit grAea k ia g*n4roaitA da: BibiiothAqua nationaia du Canada Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poaslbia conaidaring tha condition and lagibiiity of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract apacificationa. Original copiaa in printad papar covara ara fllmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- aion, or tha back covar wh«tn appropriata. All othar original copiaa ara fllmad baginning on tha firat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- aion, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraaaion. Laa imagaa auivantaa ont M raproduitaa avac la plua grand aoin. compta tanu da la condition at da la nattatA da l'axamplaira filmA, at an conformity avac laa conditiona du contrat da filmaga. Laa axamplairaa originaux dont la couvartura an papiar aat ImprimAa aont filmte an comman9ant par la pramiar plat at •!% tarminant aoit par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'illuatration, aoit par la aacond plat, aalon la caa. Toua laa autraa axamplairaa originaux aont filmte an commandant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'illuatration at an tarminant par la darnidra paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. Tha laat racordod frama on aach microficha ahall contain tha aymbol — ^> (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha aymbol ▼ (moaning "END"), whichavar appliaa. Un daa aymbolaa auivanta apparaftra aur la darnlAra imaga da chaqua microficha. aalon la caa: la aymbola -^ aignifia "A SUIVRE". la aymbola ▼ aignifia "FIN". Mapa, plataa. charu. ate. may ba filmad at diffarant raduction ratioa. Thoaa too larga to ba antiraly includad in ona axpoaura ara filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand cornar. laft to right and top to bottom, aa many framaa aa raquirad. Tha following diagrama illuatrata tha mathod: l.aa cartaa. planchaa, tablaaux, ate, pauvant Atra ffilmte 6 daa taux da reduction difff Aranta. Loraqua la documant aat trop grand pour Atra raproduit an un aaul clichA. 11 aat film* A partir da I'angla aupAriaur gaucha. da gaucha A droita. at da haut an baa, an pran.int la nombra d'imagaa nAcaaaaira. Laa diagrammaa auivanta illuatrant la mAthoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 AGRICULTURAL TOUR IN THE UNITED STATES. ^ ■ ' ii'\- A j _» /; (t/t x^ ' ^, /o^ ^3 " . V '. '■ -J ■', ' J ^^ { '1 ''^ . ' t ; * '. \ t V^-' "/I ■V IMMSTI-n in .1 IIIX STAKK. AGRICULTURAL TOUR IN THE UNITED STATES AND LPPER CANADA, ^VITII MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. BY CAPTAIN BARCLAY OF FRY. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, EDINBURGH, AND 22, PALL MALL, LONDON. MD.CCCXLIL 2i^TR' •' o. 'it' ,•■ To THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD PAXMURE, &v. tic. ^c. Mv Dkah Loud, !• HOM the interrst you constantly take in ovorythinfr connected with a^rHculturo, and thf benctit which, in this part of Scotland, the practice of it has de- rived from your examjjle and munificence, there is no one to whom a work having reference to that subject, may njore api)roj)riately be inscribed. With this conviction, and with a lively remem- brance of friendship early evinced, always unvaried, and of which I continue to receive very gratifying proofs, 1 have the greatest pleasure in respectfully dedicating to your Lordship, the following relation of my visit to the L'nited States and Upper Canada. Forty years have revolved since I undertook a pe- destrian task— one of the first in which I was engaged on a match with the late Captain Fletcher of Balinshoe, in Forfarshire, for the large stake of 5000 guineas a I VI DKDILATION, ^i(lt•. Trom my havinjr hvm •• yoimj.^' cnouiih to attempt it previously, lor a small sum, without any pn-paration, and haviutr (•(mscciucntly faili'd, the opinion of the know- ii!U' ones amoujr the Al/ifcfff of the day, was deeidedlv ai:aiust me. On that oecasion, vou were not a di.-lu-art- » uinu doubter. I put myself in traininjr under the ce- lebrated Javkrji Smith of Ousetou, near Easintiwold in ■^'oikshirc, recommended by you ; and owinu liituh \o his skilful manajrcnient, I easily performed the task of uinetv miles in twenty successive hours. I have now ventureil on a task of ipiite anotlu-r kind — an endeavour to describe, and to suggest improve- ments in the rural affairs of a distant land. In this I may again have been attem])ting what l)y some may be thought hazardous; but again I am en- louraged by your ai)probation of my purpose, and l)v that 1 shall be greatly consoled, even if other opinions provf mifavourable. With the greatest regard, I have the honour to be. My Deau Loud. Yours very sincerely, • * R. IJARCLAYALLAUDICi:. Ukv, ')//( Januanj \\ii'2. 1* it K F A C K. Viioyi lial)itual pursuits, the wnter, in liis visit to tlie (.thcr side of the Atlantic, would most prohahly have found his attention pe- culiarly attracted hy agricultural matters. Uut one of the i)rincipal objects of his \ isit, liavinup/i,nenfs nith o hunter, but does it very good naturedlv. and it is pk-.-,.. ...f.- to understand from him, that the Americans find the ".oans ofgivino. the Kn^ilish, ^' a Howhmd for their Oh"- ver." ii PREFACE. XI This sufficiently corroborates the propriety of* the criterion by which the writer formed liis opinions of practical agriculture in the United States. But, as to a certain extent confirming these opinions, it may be useful to notice that, in liis address, Mr Biddle goes on to enquire irlrfj it is that icitli all the natural advan- tages the farmers of Pennstjlvania possess, THE EXGLISII FARMER BEATS TIIE:\I ? and he ascribes this mainly, first to a want of taste for agriculture as a profession, and secondly to the Pennsylvania farmer not employino* suf- ficiency of cai)ital in his business. Now these, it will be found, are included by the writer, among tlie causes to which he imputes the imperfect condition of agriculture in the United States, inasmuch as he has in- culcated the propriety of granting there, m hat in this country are termed improriitu; leases, in order that thereby the expenditure of ca- pital may be encom-aged and rendered sate, and a race of farmers by education and jirofes- sion, may be established. xu PREFACE. It may also be observed that among the va- rious striking advantages possessed by the American farmer, in spite of which the skill of the British agriculturist triumphs, Mr Bid- die instances the following :— that land which in England could not be rented under ten or twelve dollars an acre, m. y be rented in the States at two or three dollars ; and that if on an English farm of f200 acres, the rent and charges would amount to 3000 dollars, the same rent and charges would in the States, be only 700 dollars, making in favour of the American farm, a difference of 2300 dollars per annum. In his estimate, insofar as relates to an English ffirm, Mr Biddle is no doubt below the mark, but his local knowledge is sufficient to warrant the accuracy of his statement in the other case ; and thus it will appear, the writer is supported to the full, in the opinion he has promulgated, as to the increase in pro- ductiveness, which would be effected by the introduction into the States, of the British modes of farming j and also as to the great ad- PREFACE. Xlll vantage which, consequently, the British agri- culturist intending to emigrate, would reap from the employment of his capital and skill in that country. Having taken occasion to make a compari- son on the subject of emigration, between Up- per Canada and the United States, the writer would here remark, that it may be supposed any prepossessions he had on that subject, must naturally have been on the side of a colony belonging to his own country. But on examining the matter on the spot, he founu the difficulties and discouragements which settlers of moderate capital encounter in Upper Canada, are as yet so formidable, and the advantages to persons of whatever amount of capital, setthng in the United States, comparatively so great, that he was called upon not to withhold the opinion he had formed, but to contribute what that opinion might be deemed worth, in preventing the se- nous disappointments which often is the lot of agricultural emigrants to the former coun- try. XIV PREFACE. I' ( » ii He does not conceive that a preference jQfiven, by British emigrants, to the United States, can prejudicially affect British interests. He would rather imagine its tendency were just the reverse ; as a good understanding be- tween the two countries, so vitally important to both, must be promoted by infusing our su- perabundant population into the population of the States.* * This was written before the writer had an opportunity of seeing " Buckingham's America," in which he finds a similar opinion more fully and forcibly expressed, in the following })assage : " If the surplus ])opulation of Britain, who cannot ob- tain adequate renmneration for their labour at home, could but be prevailed upon to transport themselves at once to this country, and seek for employment where it is best found on their arrival ; it is impossible to estimate, to their full extent, the benefits that would result to both countries, but, above all, to the parties emigrating. Iir>re, millions of acres, now lying untouched, would be brought into cultivaiion, and the wealth of the country increased, while the spread of dwellings and population, the increase of towns and cities, the opening of railroads and canals, would send Amer^^a a century forward in all that is de- sirable. "• In Englr.nd the effect would be felt, first bv a rise in 4 I PREFACE. XV If the writer is right in suggesting that pre- t'erence, it must, to those who coincide with liim, be satisfactory to find, what now appears, t Iiat the tide of Transatlantic emigration ha.s of late been setting strongly in the direction he recommends. But whatever may be deemed best, with re- gard to the destination of British emigrants, it is to be regretted that adequate measures are not adopted by the government or the le- gislature, for encouraging and aiding emigra- tion, to an extent sufficient to obviate the dis- tress which an excess of population has creat- ed and is daily producing in this countrv. And although, under existing circumstances, Upper Canada does not certainly hold out to the wages and an improvement of the condition of those who remanied at home ; next in the increased demand for British manufaetures, wlncli the increased population of America would create ; and, la.tly, hjj f/u- ,stren,ihenhnr of those tu's of/dndre I CHAPTER V. Departure from Albany — Country to I tica — Eences common in New York State — From I 'tica to Sy- racuse — Auburn — Departure for Cananuaigua — Description of American stage-coach — (Jeneva — Arrival at Canandaigua — Mr Greig — Evening at his house — Departure for Geueseo, CHAPTER VI. Arrival at Genoseo — Mr Wordsworth — His exten- sive landed property — Colonel Wordsworth's farm — His stock — His flock — Xo green crops — Treatment of stock in winter — His rotation of crops — Remarks on his system — Mr Words- worth's tenantry — Aversion to granting leases — Agricultural horses — American plough — Labour- I'S C'ON'TFA'TS X\l 18 '2H crs wa^r<"* anil hours — Col. Wordsworth's csta- l)lishtm'nt of hiboiirtTs — (JciU'Sfc flats — Price of hind — Milithi (Jont'ral, . . jjd ("IIAPTKK VII. DepartuH' from (j(>ncsr(. — Cah'donia — .Mr Now- boM's farm and stork — Tlmudorstorm — Mr Macnaii^^htons farm — InstaiH't' of rapid rise in price of hind land — Means of transport and markets wanting — Specu- lators in land — Favoiu-able settlement for labour- mg people only — Expense of Cultivation — \'isit to Mr Ferguson at Woodhill — Meeting with the Chief of Macnab — Introduction to Sir Allan Macnab — His treatment by V/hig (Jovernmeht — My purpose in visiting Upper Canada alluded to — Temperature — Return to Toronto — Bishop Strachan, ,, , 51 i)7 (>1 n XXII CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. lloutc to New York — Buffalo — Sail to Erie — De- parture by stage for Pittsburgh — The trials of that conveyance — Comparison of old Scotch roads — Wildness of country between Erie and Pittsburgh — Crops — Indian com — Stock — Dif- ficult ascents — Arrival at Pittsburgh, . Page 74 CHAPTER XL Pittsburgh — Ohio River — Iron founderies — Steam- boat machinery — Trade — Departure for Wheelin — Country between Pittsburgh and WTieelin — Arrival at \\Tieelin — Its communication with east- ern states — Departure for Frederick — Country travelled over — Enter the AUeghanies — Cross these mountains — Arrival at Haggerston — Wag- gons and horses — Weather — Frederick — Arrival at Baltimore — The City — Visit to Mr Belzouver's farm, . ... 80 CHAPTER XII. Departure for Richmond — Washington — Sail up the Potomac — Fredericksburgh — Arrival at Rich- mond — Condition of slaves in Virginia — Mr Marx's farm — His mode of faniiing — Culture of oats — Objections to his farming — Allowance of seed — Mules used in agriculture — Improvements suggested — To be partly adopted by Mr Marx — Flour-mills — Cotton-mills — Departure from Richmond — Arrival at Washington — Capitol — House of Representatives and Senate — Introduc- ^ CONTFATS. XXIU 80 tionio tho Prosidfiit — Mount Vonion — Tho resi- (k'licf of \Vu.sliinjff,m__IIis tomb — Uotiirn to \Vushinj?ton, . . . Pa^^ 99 ( HAPTKR XIII. > Dopartun' froiu Washington— Country between it and PhilufUlphia— Arrival there — Head's Man- sion-House — Mr Cope— Drive with him to the country— Visit to Mr Shears farm— Superiority of his mauafrement — Crops secured in bams Ob- jections to that mode — Excellence of his barns — (iardenand orchards — His place for sale Mr and Mrs Tyson — Water-works — Penit«'ntiary Girard's College — Chinest- museum — Mr Cad- wallader's fast-trotters — Secretary of Antiquarian Society — Draft of Deed of Independence De- parture from Philadelphia, . . 108 CHAPTER XIV. Return to New York through East Jersey Anni- versary of American Independence — Exemplary behaviour of the assemblage — Jubilee suddenly terminated by a terrific thunderstorm — Visit to Glover Farm New Jersey — Departure from Nevr York — Arrival at Boston — Dinner on board Bri- tannia Steamer, and presentation of plate to Captain Cleland — Concluding observations on the United States — Departure from Boston — Return to Liverpool — Unprecedented rapidity of the voyage, . . . . 129 APPENDIX. Dinner to Captain Barclay of Ury, at Stonehaven, IGl ^! ' ! .» \>l' ti&. AGRICULTURAL TOUR IN THE UNITED STATES AND UPPER CANADA. CHAPTER I. Departure from Liverpool — Gale — INIail Steamers — Halifax — Aspect of the Town — Mcinity — Bay — De- parture from Halifax — Passengers from Liverpool Captain Cleland. April 184L At 11 A. M. of Tuesday the 20th of April 1841, I sailed from Liverpool in the Britan- nia Mail-steamer, for Halifax and Boston. For the first two days of the voyage the wea- ther was favourable, but on the second after- noon, on our leading Cape Clear and bidding adieu to land, the wind changed right a-head, with a very hea\'y sea, which continued with- out intermission until the following Wednesday night. 2 GALE. J \\ f i 1 (■ I ^ 'H 'i' On Sunday the 25th, we encountered a gale truly tremendous — the sea running moun- tains high, and frequently sweeping us from stem to stern — in the course of which one of the crew had his leg broken. The gallant ship, however, rode bravely through it, rising like a duck over the mountainous billows, and submitting admirably to the direction of the helm and the wonderful mechanism by which she was propelled. The Mail-steamers, four in number, are well adapted for crossing the stormy Atlantic, being 235 feet in length, and only about 30 feet wide, although from their being narrow and light, carrying besides fuel, nothing but passengers with their luggage, and the Mail bags, they roll excessively in a heavy sea. The head-wind and sea continued with lit- tle abatement until we reached Halifax on the morning of the 4th of May, where we remain- ed about eight hours. I went on shore and walked through the town and neighbourhood. It is a miserable dirty place j the houses all of wood, and tered a ^ moun- is from one of gallant rising vs, and of the which ■5, four ig the h, and I their s fuel, Y in a, th lit- )n the main- h the Table and HALIFAX. 3 ','% •f: straggling in every directi )n : the streets nar- row and a foot deep in mud ; the lower class of the inhabitants, particularly the black po- pulation, in their appearance squalid and po- verty struck, and the horses very wretched animals. Nova Scotia, of which Halifax is the ca- pital, has been a colony of Great Britain for about eighty years. Considerable atten- tion has been paid during that time to its improvement in agriculture, chiefly under the auspices of societies instituted for that laudable purpose, but a rugged and generally unpro- ductive soil has proved a great obstacle, and I could see that coastwards but little impres- sion has been made in overcoming its na- tural poverty. As far as the eye could car- ry me, the country appeared rocky, bare, and sterile ; the timber trees all cut down, and only dwarf firs remaining* : and the land upon the whole much resembling the bleakest parts of the east coast of Scotland, to a resem- blance to which the country may well owe its name. l':| 4 HALIFAX. I was amused with the local partiality at* some of the principal inhabitants, which led them .0 endeavour to persuade me, that, poor as it seemed to me, the country was really a fine one, and some of them even went the length of assuring me, the land would carry 100 bushels or 12J quarters of oats per acre ! The bay is beautiful, capable of containing the whole British navy, and the fort very strong ; and it will be recollected that it was to Halifax the British troops, and with them several thousand of the Royalist inhabitants, retired when obliged to evacuate Boston on its bombardment by General Washington in 1776. We took our departure from Halifax about 1 p. M. of the 4th, having there left two- thirds of our passengers, who were bound for Quebec, St John's, and Montreal. I may here observe, that we had 90 pas- sengers in the Britannia, from Liverpool. The passage-money is L. 41, and no steerage pas- sengers are allowed. This, of course, makes the company select, and accordingly 1 never I CAPTAIN CLKLAND. ^ l^efore met as numerous a company, strangers to each other, so agreeable and anxious to make things mutually pleasant — there was in fact not a single black sheep on board. Of the captain, Cleland, I can hardly speak in terms of sufficient commendation. His tact, and anxiety to make himself acceptable to every individual, without losing sight of his proper position as commander, was the theme of general praise. For myself, I shall always retain a sense of his kindness : — It happened that I went on board at Liverpool a total stranger to every one, and consequently felt (done and somewhat uncomfortable. Observ- ing this, the captain made up to me, and in- vited me to his cabin, and having there in the course of conversation, learnt my name, he asked if I was " the celebrated Capfam Bar- clay f^ To this I pleaded guilty ; it was soon circulated from right to left, and in the course of a very short time I knew almost every body, or at any rate almost every body knew me. Notwithstanding the boisterous weather we I. • hp i ■!fe " SEASONING. encountered, the constant crashing of plates, glasses, and other moveable articles, and the crowded state of the ship, I after three or four days became seasoned, and the time passed quickly and liglitly. i ■ ARRIVAL AT BOSTON. CHAPTER II. Arrival at Boston — Town — Bunkorshill — Vicinity of Boston — Farms — Roads — Population— Manners of the People. i>/rt;/ 1841. We had a pleasant run, of about thirty- seven hours, from Halifax to Boston, the ca- pital of Massachusetts, the distance about 380 miles. We arrived in the harbour at 2 a. m. of the Cth, thus having made the voyage from Liverpool in fourteen days to Halifax, and fifteen days and a half to Boston. Vv ith the same weather, in a sailing vessel we should probably have been six weeks on the passage. At 6 A. M. I went on shore, heartily glad to find myself once more on terra firma. I took up my quarters at the Albion Hotel, a very comfortable house — went into a cold 8 BOSTON. |.i« if' '■ A I. bath — ate a good breakfast — and then walk- ed through the town, which is much to be admired. The houses are all of brick or stone, and particularly handsome ; the streets regular and clean, paved with wooden blocks, and having foot-paths about six feet wide, laid with brick, and everything proclaiming Boston to be a place of importance. The population, I under- stood, is now upwards of 100,000, having in- creased more than five-fold within the last eight-and-forty years. From the quantity of well-fed beef and mutton I saw in the butchers' market, I in- ferred that the land about Boston must be good, and feeding well understood. The fish and poultry markets were also excellent, and, in short, there appeared to be in Boston no want of the good things of this world. On Friday the 7th, I drove eight or ten miles into the country, and visited Bunkers- hill where a monument, designed to be 280 feet high, is erecting of granite, to commemo- rate the battle fought there in the beginning , , m FARMS. 9 to be of the war of independence. The country through which I passed, and as far beyond as the eye could reach, was extremely fine, studded with farm-houses built of wood, roofed with blue shingles in the form of slates, and gaily whitened. These houses, I was told, will last loO years. The farms seldom exceed from 100 to 300 acres, and they are all occupied by the pro- prietors. The fields are small, and enclosed with rude stone dikes. From the opportuni- ty I had I could not well judge of the quality of the soil, but the grass lands were evidently only recovering from the effects of a severe winter, and vegetation seemed more backward than in Britain. I could not discover any appearance of a re- o-ular system of farming. The implements of husbandry were clumsy and uncouth. Oxen, seemingly of the large red Sussex breed, ap- peared to be chiefly used in agriculture, but from the lateness of the season and the want of keep, no stock was to be seen in the fields. In Boston they have an active well-bred sort 10 ROADS. ,■'1 '^ of horse, chiefly used in buggies, which I was told is reared in New England, and fetches a price as high as forty or fifty guineas. I was assured the proprietor of a farm of the size I have noticed, lives in a comfortable style, equal to that of a Scotch laird of from L. 500 to L. 1000 a-ycar, and, from the appearance of the dwellings, I had no doubt of it. No attention is paid to the roads, which are full of holes sufficient to shake any sort of car- riage to pieces. There are no turnpikes nor any fund for maintaining the roads. This, it is obvious, must operate as a great drag in the business of agriculture, and one is surprised to find an enlightened people like that of Massa- chusetts, not more alive to the fact that the value of land is incalculably enhanced by good roads of internal communication.* i) * It should not, however, be forgotten, that, fifty years ago, the roads in Scotland were generally not in a much better condition than those in Massachusetts. Within that period the rent of land has greatly increased, being now, in most instances, more than three times the former amount. This is due, in a great measure, to the improvement of the land, consequent on the opening of ^'■ MANNEUS. 11 1 I was fetches eas. I the size e style, L.JOO ■ance of ich are of car- es nor 'his, it in the sed to fassa- t tlie good fifty >t in a isetts. Jased, s the the ig of Within a circuit of twenty miles round Bos- ton, the ])opulation, comprised in towns, vil- lages, and numberless farm-houses, is extreme- ly dense, and, including that of Boston itself, is said to exceed 200,000, forming altogether, an intelligent, enterprising, and thriving people. It was here I began to observe that very distorted descriptions of American manners are indulged in by some of our travellers. I am not sure that in that matter a comparison would be favourable, generally speaking, to my own country ; — at all events, I can with truth say that I met with much polite attention in Bos- ton, and regretted it was not in my power to prolong my stay there. new roads and the melioration of the old ones, the farmer in Scotland being now accommodated in respect of roads, better perhaps than his brethren in any other part of the United Kingdom. L\ 12 DEPARTURE FROM ROSTO.V. i K ii ; CHAPTER III. Departure from Boston—Country to Stonington— XeNr York — Haarlem — American mode of driving in gigs — Long Island— Staten Island— Inattention to hus- bandry—Cause of it— Field for enterprising farmers- Domestic economy in New York — Hospitality— De- parture. 3Iai/ 1841. At 4 P. M. of the 8th of May I left Bos- ton for New York, proceeding first by the rail- way to Stonington in Connecticut, and thence in the steam-boat to New York, where I ar- rived at 6 o'clock the following morning, the whole distance being about 250 miles. The country through which we passed to Stonington is, near the railway, low and marshy ; higher up it is rough and stony, and covered with copse and young pines, the tim- ber trees having evidently been all cut down \K\V YOllK. 13 ;ton — New ng in gigs )n to hus- farmers — ility— De- ij 1841. left Bos- the rail- d thence ;re I ar- ling, the lassed to 3w and )ny, and the tim- iit down for use. This was invariahly the feature of the country, with here and there a patch of titly or sixty acres taken in from the woods and improved. The fields are small, poor in soil, and enclosed with rough stone dikes. After quitting the railway I had not an op- portunity of seeing the country between Ston- ington and New York. I now found myself in a magnificent city containing about 300,000 inhabitants — the streets spacious, particularly the foot-paths, which appear to be double tlie width of those even in the more modern parts of London — the Broadway, three miles in length, and many of the other streets one and two miles. All is activity and bustle, and here, with the En- glish language in his ears, and a general En- glish appearance in his view, one may easily fancy himself in London. The streets are quite as much crowded as those in London with foot-passengers ; and the shops are large and elegant, but there is not the same crowd of carriages, waggons, carts, or other vehicles, and there are but few IV H 14 HAARLEM. gentlemen's carriages to be seen. But agri- cultural matters being the more immediate ob- jects of my attention, I abstain from at- tempting any particular description of New York, which, indeed, is too well known to render such an endeavour on my part ne- cessary. In the afternoon I drove out with my friend IVIr George Barclay to Haarlem, distant from New York nine miles, — the intervening space being, however, one continued street. I was much amused with the number of gigs and buggies on the road, all with fast trotters in strong cGinpetition, and some of them going a tremendous pace. They are driven with a straight iron bit, on which the horse lays all his weight, the charioteer holding a rein in each hand with an immense strain on his arms, totally opposed to our system, and, I should think, to comfort. On the 11th of May I crossed over to Long Island where I walked several hours. This island is lOO miles long and 18 broad. It is the garden of New York, rich in soil, highly 3 3 STATEN ISLAND. 15 Jut agri- diate ob- Tom at- of New aown to part ne- ly friend int from \g space I was igs and tters in going a with a lays all rein in s arms, should 3 Long This It is highly cultivated, picturesquely diversified with hill and dale, and covered with villages, villas, and farm-houses ; but I could not discover that the land is under any regular system of agri- culture, or that, with all the advantages it pos- sesses, in the quality of soil and proximity to the New York market^ any effort is used to make the most of them. Next day I crossed over to Staten Island, distant from New York nine miles. This island, about forty miles in circumference, is like Long Island, beautiful and picturesque. I drove over a considerable part of it, and found large tracts of rich meadow land applied to comparatively little profitable use. They mow a considerable part of the meadows, but I saw very little stock — no sheep — and such cat- tle as were to be seen were of the most hetero- geneous breeds, bad Lancashires, Scotch, and Welsh, no two bearing the least appearance of consanguinity. Wheat and Indian com are grown in small patches. The farming imple- ments are of a rude and awkward description ; and, in a word, here is a fine tract of land which, 16 AGRICULTURE. (;■ as regards the matter of agriculture, is almost neglected. The cause of this neglect is obvious : — In the neighbourhood of New York, in Long Island, and also in Staten Island, the land is occupied chiefly by mercantile people. Com- merce engrosses their time and attention, and agriculture is with them of secondary conside- ration, seemingly as little understood as cared for. Much, therefore, might be done here by enterprising men, capable of introducing and keeping up a proper breed of stock, and re- solved as well as qualified to follow a British system of agriculture. Or, as these Islands command the New York market, much of the land might be turned to great account by con- verting it into market gardens for the supply of that city. But in this case, and perhaps in both, it would be necessary to bring from Britain skilful hands and suitable implements. In both Islands there is an ample supply of stone and timber. In quitting New York, I feel it incumbent on me to observe, that in every family I visit- HOSPITALITY. 17 Visit- * ed, I found the same comforts and correct domestic economy as in the first famihes in S Britain— their servants equally respectful and well bred, and certainly void of any approach to that vulgarity and improper fi-eedom with accounts of which some travellers amuse their readers. My acknowledgements for great kindness and hospitaUty are due to my relatives Messrs George and Anthony Barclay, as well as to Friend Mott and his dehghtful family circle, in all of whom I found friends indeed. From the Messrs Barclay I obtained useful infor- mation as to the state cf the country -nd my future progress ; and on the 1 ith of May I bade adieu for a time to New York. fTrr B '5 18 HUDSON. CHAPTER IV. Sail up the Hudson — Red-Hook — Mr Henry Barclay's estate — System of farming followed there — He novr intends to grant improving leases — Advantage of his locality — Voyage up the Hudson continued — Arrival at Albany — Mr Southam — His farm — His stock — Situation and population of Albany — American hos- l)itality — Episcopal chapel — Observance of Sabbath and religious duties — Inspection of Mr Southam's stock — Mr Rcnton's stock — Sheep — Soil round Al- bany — Kentucky farmers — Their farming — Disad- vantage of their distance from market — Their pur- chase of stock — Stock suitable for them. May 1841. From New York I enjoyed the great beauty of the sail up the Hudson, llG miles, to Red- Hook. We passed what is styled the High- lands, a bold picturesque and rocky shore, winding through mountains covered with wood, and having beyond them a rich cultivated country extending far into the interior. >©. RED-HOOK. 19 arclay's He now I'e of his ■Arrival stock — an hos- Sabbath utham's ind Al- -Disad- eir pur- 1841. )eauty Red- High- shoiv, wood, vated From Red- Hook I crossed over to the re- sidence of Mr Henry Barclay who has pur- chased a considerable estate on the opposite shore, and named it Un/, I was kindly re- ceived by Mr Barclay, who has resided fifteen years at Ury, where he has founded a town, now containing 2000 inhabitants, erected paper and cotton mills, and altogether laid out a large sum which he informs me is making him a handsome return. His residence is about six miles from the Catskill mountains, a range in form not unlike the Grampians, though more stupendous, and for the most part covered with pine trees and huge rocks. He says a country lies between him and the Catskill range, which is well cul- tivated. But on his own estate I observed the same objectionable system of agriculture I ha^ e already noticed ; — no attention is paid to sto(!k, and no leases are granted, the tenants holding from year to year, and being allowed to crop the land as they choose. He is now, however, quite aware of the ad\antages he would derive from an enterprising tenantry I li W [ . M 1 ■ '.*■ i 1 1 > 1 1 1 1 fj M I i 1 R ) ! I i ,1 ;i. ^19 ttf ;i if! II 20 HUDSON. conversant with a proper mode of husbandry, and would wilHngly grant to persons of that description favourable leases for a term of years ; and, as his estate is situate within seven hours sail of the New York market, a grand field is here laid open for agricultural emigrants from Britain. On the 15th, about 2 p. m. I resumed my voyage up the Hudson, in the steamer for Albany, distant fifty miles. The shore on both sides continues bold and rocky, but be- yond, as far as the eye can reach, it travels over a country rich in enclosed fields, woods, and villas. Ariving at Albany at 6 o'clock, I was met on board bv a Mr Southam from Oxfordshire, who has been in the country three or four years, and occupies a farm of 300 acres about ninety miles from Albany, which, lying quite out of my route, I was not able to visit, and this I the less regretted as I understood it is still in a very rough state, and does not yet fully exhibit the effects of subjection to the English mode of management. Mr Southam '3 A k --**%. '» ■ ■i». , < W -»^.. imB —W» i^ WP» J B W ALBANY. 21 rour has been a large importer of Durham and Hereford cattle, particularly the latter, which he considers better adapted for this country, although on this point I have difficulty in coin- ciding with him. Albany, a neat clean town, containing about 30,000 inhabitants, is pleasantly situate on the banks of the Hudson, and commands, on both sides of the river, an extensive view over a fertile country interspersed with thriving towns and villages. The hospitality of America, to which I can- not too often allude, was here again experien- ced by me in several of the first families in the place, particularly in those of Mr Rhodes and Mr Corner, the latter of whom had been my fellow-passenger in the Britannia. These gentlemen are both engaged in trade, and no- thing could exceed the comforts of their houses and establishments. On Sunday the l6th I attended an Episco- pal place of worship — ^neatly fitted up and commodious — as much so as most churches in London ; the service much the same as in the !> j>. ^^: i T' Rr ; .! •> 22 FARMING-STOCK. Established English church, the sermon excel- lent, and the congregation of respectable ap- pearance. From the little I had seen, and all I had heard, it appeared that here and elsewhere the people in ^^.merica are correct observers of the Sabbath and attentive to the duties of religion. In Albany there is also a Presbyterian church, and several others of dif- ferent persuasions. Next daj, I inspected Mr Southam's im- ported stock which, his farm not being in a fit state to receive them, he keeps within three miles of Albany. I accordingly saw a herd of about twenty Hereford cows, all tied up, and in fair condition ; one very superior three years old Durham heifer ; and some good Berkshire pigs. The Herefords seemed very good, but I do not pretend to much know- ledge of that breed. I also visited a neighbouring gentleman, a Mr Prentice, who has a herd of about twenty Durham cows, which, for the most part, he had imported, and also three Durham bulls. His cows were tolerable, but he decidedly t ^ SOIL. S3 V 4. had not gore to the fountain head for his bulls, as one of them was a coarse ungainly animal, and the other two evidently spurious. Hitherto, I had not had an opportunity of seeing any sheep. I now saw a small flock of Merino ewes belonging to Mr Southam, which he proposes to cross with the Cotswold. The Merinos are ugly unsightly animals, but I was told they are universally preferred through- out the States. Round Albany, the soil is sandy and poor, requiring much manure to make it productive, 1 could not discover that any better system of agriculture was followed here, than I had ob- served in other places. I here met with two Kentucky farmers, with whom I had a good deal of conversation re- garding the objects of my enquiry. They mentioned that their soil is of the richest de- scription — that they can, without manure, raise wheat and Indian corn, crop after crop, fid in fin if inn, but, being 1000 miles from mar- kets, chiefly overland, grain, beyond what is required for their own consumpt, is to them f{ i i: , ( ()f { if, l»H [I ;t- 'i i I': CATTLE. nearly valueless, so much so, that they drive large herds of cattle into their fine fields of Indian com, to feed upon it and beat it down as they may ; after which the land is ploughed for a wheat crop. In these circumstances, the Kentucky far- mers confine their attention chiefly to grazing cattle, and for this purpose have adopted the Durham breed ; but having, after they are fed, to drive them so great a distance as 1000 miles to market, they find the cattle of that heavy breed reduced to mere shadows at the end of their journey ; consequently, the animals which leave Kentucky perfectly fat, must, when they reach New York, be sold as lean stock, and that, probably, of the worst description. The farmers of Kentucky, therefore, now think of changing to a breed of cattle that will carry their hcef along with thcrn^ and this qua- lity they expect to find in the Ilerefords. With that impression, they gave Mr Southam a price equal to 100 guineas for one of his cows, and, by the by, at the same time, paid him as much as sixty guineas for a Berkshire sow. I- vOitmiiS^^SSxe'aaH^pas.r-riJim-^^:-'^* BLACK-CATTLE. 25 t I fear they will find themselves mistaken and disappointed in the Herefords, and I am con- vinced that in their circumstances they would reap greater advantage by importing Angus or Aberdeenshire Daddies, which are kindred breeds of well-formed, moderate-sized, active animals — or perhaps still better, the small and peculiarly symmetrical West-Highland cow — and to cross these with a short-horn or Dur- ham bull. The West- Highlander possesses all the points of a good feeder, and being hardy and active as a deer, would suffer little from being driven even 1000 miles. In its native glens it may feed to twenty or twenty-five stones Amster- dam, but the heifers on being transplanted to a rich and sheltered pasture attain to nearly double that weight. I have proved this by introducing a herd of forty West-Highland heifers on my own farm at Ury, (not the Amerkan Un/), where they have been crossed with my short-horn bulls, and the experiment on repeated trials has been attended with great success ; for while the mothers by removal to a i\ 1 i- • 1/ 1 ' In (V \h \l 26 DIiEEDING STOCK. more nutritious pasture have greatly increased in size, the cross has produced strong and handsome animals, kindly feeders, rising to a great weight and fetching high prices. The Kentucky grazier, occupying pastures of the richest kind and enjoying mild winters, would I think be well-advised in adopting the same plan, — of course observing that if it can be avoided, the produce of the cross should not be bred from, it being well-known that the progeny of hybrids turn out to be coarse and unprofitable stock. There is no reason to doubt that such a cross would carry their heef along ivith theiih from Kentucky to New York, in the same way that, before steam navigation was invented, fat cattle were often driven from Scotland to London, a dis- tance of 500 or Goo miles, with no perceptible loss of weight or condition.* * In corroboration of the advice given in the text, to the Kentucky farmer, and also as affording a proof of the advantage to be derived from attention to the breeding of stock generally, the writer hopes he may be eTicused for referring to the following notice taken by the news- i w I 13Ili:i:UL\G STOCK. 27 papers, of his annual salo of stock in October 1841 : *• Captain liarclay of Ury's annual sale of pure short- horn bull calves, — half-brod yearling heifers and steers, ii cross between a short-horn bull and pure Argyleshire cows — and pure bred I^eicester sheep, came off on the 7th instant, and was, as usual, numerously and respectably attended. The sale commenced with the short-horn bull calves, and after a spirited bidding, the first was knocked down at seventy-five guineas, the price of the others rang- ing from thirty to fifty guineas, and the average price of the whole being about L.45 a piece. There was also a keen competition for the yearling half-bred steers and heifers, which broujzltt an average price of about L. 12 a head. After the sale, the captain entertained his friends at dinner, and the evening was spent in a very happy manner. The average (of the bull calves) this year is three guineas a head higher than any former year." With the same view, and not without a feeling of he trusts pardonable pride and satisfaction, he would refer to the newspaper report of c public dinner to which, on a late occasion, his neighbours and friends did him the ho- nour to invite him, in compliment to his exertions in the cause of agriculture ; and, as the report is too long to be inserted in a note, it is given as an appendix to this pub- lication. I' r\ ^ii 'ill » 1 m ■,'V f i ill i 28 DEPARTUnE FROM ALBAVY CHAPTER V. Depanuro from Albany _ Country to Utica _ Fence, oomm, ,, in Ke„. Y„rk State-From Utiea ,o Svral cuse-Aubnrn-Dopartnre for Canandaigna _ be- Den T f T '■■ ^^^-e-Evening at his house- Departure for Genesee. r\ ^, . ^^"y 1841. Ox the 18th, I left Albany by the railway ior Auburn distant about 200 miles. For about twenty miles from the former place, the ■soil I.S hght and sandy ; after that it improves oUt,ea exhibiting the same rich appearance I had before remarked. The fields seem well cleared and are all enclosed, bearing crops of wheat, Indian com and clovers, or lyinc in pastures; but stiU there is an absence of those >mpr„ved modes of agricultural practice for which the soil and climate are so well adapted i ] ■H UTICA. 29 and which would so greatly conduce to the far- mer's advantage. As far as I had yet travelled, and as I un- derstand throughout the state of New York, no hedges are to be seen. Here enclosures are rudely formed with what in the eyes of a native of Britain seems a waste of timber ; log is piled over log to the height of seven or eight feet, and a fence thus formed I am told lasts about ten years. From Utica to Syracuse the railway tra- verses forests of gigantic oak, elm, sugar-maple, and other kinds of timber. Great exertions appear to be making to clear the land, the railway having opened up these immense fo- rests to agricultural enterprise. At Auburn, a very pretty town, I remain- ed all night, and left it by the stage next morning for Canandaigua, a journey of forty miles. This was the first trial I had had of an American stage-coach, and I sincerely hope it may be the last, until the means of con- ducting them with the infliction of less torture on passengers be devised, as certainly a more I Ti »• 30 STAGE-COACII. I I abominable conveyance than this vehicle, or roads more abominable than those it v;as dragged over, can hardly be imagined. The American stage-coach is a most un- gainly vehicle, carrying nine insides, three on a front seat, three on a back seat, and three on a bench hung in the middle ; instead of panels, it has oil-skin curtains to shut down at night ; its body is something in the form of a boat, resting on strong leather slings in- stead of steel springs, which indeed would not stand a m^le on their roads ; it conse- quently dances in the air like a balloon, giving a certain kind of variety to the mo- notony of a journey. The coachman sits on a bench, considerably lower than the top of the coach, and lower even than the horses, and there being no pad-terrets the reins dangle loose and afford no command of the horses ; but then they are so admirably broken that, although fine high-spirited animals, they regulate their pace instantly at his call. Each man drives a twelve or fifteen mile stagse, and what much surprised me, pulls up every four STAGE-COACH. 31 or 'as n- 3n ee of 11 m 1- d or five miles and gives his horses an ad libitum dose of water. Including the long delays in changing horses, dining, breakfasting, &c. the average speed does not exceed four miles an hour. The coachees are paid by the proprie- tors at the rate of twelve dollars per month and receive no fee from passengers ; and this latter is the rule also with all public servants in the States, as in hotels, steam-boats, anu railways. My anticipations, it may be supposed, were none of the most pleasurable, when in one of the vehicles I have endeavoured to describe, I found myself placed beside eight large men and a child. For a time I submitted to threatened suffocation added to the risk of dis- located joints, but soon finding my position no longer endurable I tried what effect the offer of a fee would have in inducing the Ame- rican coachee to favour me with a seat be- side himself *, for outsiders, no doubt from a re- gard for people's bones, are not here encouraged. A fee had the same virtue with him as it has in such quarters in other parts of the world, in! t,: I f S (I «;l 4 ■ ill( I I :i 1^ (■ 52 GENEVA. and accordingly I mounted the bench, beside the driver whom I found of an injocose and taciturn class, thankful enough for information as to foreign modes but not themselves of a communicative turn. I still however underwent a course of ex- cruciating jolting, and was exposed to conti- nual danger of dislocation of my joints, or of being pitched off ; but I enjoyed the free air of Heaven, and what to me was for the time of more importance, a full view of the country than which nothing can be imagined more beautiful. Composed of alternating hill and dale it strongly reminded me of the most ad- mired parts of Northamptonshire ; but al- though all cleared and enclosed, the land evi- dently is mismanaged and much of its intrinsic value thereby lost. We changedhorses at Geneva, twenty-three miles from Auburn and delightfully situate on the lake of that name, forty miles in length and three in breadth. It is suiTounded by a countiy possessing that indescribable beauty and rich- ri I CAXANDAIGUA. 33 ness which characterize the finest districts of this part of America. Continuing our progress through the same description of country, I arrived about six o'clock at Canandaigua. Forty or fifty years ago Mr Greig, a Scots- man, came over to manage the great Pultney estates in this neighbourhood. He is now himself a man of large fortune and an exten- sive land-owner, living at Canandaigua in a mansion truly magnificent as well in external appearance as in what relates to interior fur- nishing and decoration J and what is better, the owner is universally respected as one in whom great benevolence, the most generous sentiments, and perfect integrity are combined with an excellent judgment. To this gentleman I had a letter of intro- duction from my friend George Barclay of New York, which I having sent up, Mr Greig in a short time came himself in his phaeton to take me to his house. I saw at once that he was all that had been represented to me, his countenance beaming with kindness and intel- I' i i\ m ill K ' 34 MR GREIO. ligence, and which to me was not a little in- teresting, he retains to this day his native ac- cent in all its purity, which, I confess, sound- ed sweetly to my ear in this land of strangers. Unfortunately for me, Mr Greig who has this year been elected a member to Congress for his own district, had fixed to-morrow for his departure for Washington, so that his time was greatly occupied and I was deprived of an opportunity of acquiring much information which I expected to receive from him. Still I had some interesting conversation with him regarding his locality, in the course of which I learnt that forty years ago the whole of the surrounding country for hundreds of miles, was one impenetrable forest, and that then not a stone existed of the town of Canandaigua now containing several thousand wealthy in- habitants. Several of Mr Greig's neighbours were as- sembled at his house, whom I had the pleasure of meeting, and among them a Mr Renton an Ayrshire man who had settled near this seven years ago. Upon the whole I passed a \1 OENESEO. 35 ll most agreeable evening at Mr Greig's, where everything bore the marks of affluence, ele- gance and comfort. Next morning I breakfastea at Mr Ren- ton's and there experienced the frank hospita- lity of the country. Being as it seemed no farmer, he makes the most of his land by sel- ling small allotments for building. Having as I felt had quite enough of an American stage-coach, I hired a phaeton to convey me to Geneseo, distant thirty miles, and accordingly about three o'clock p. m. I left Canandaigua. A 36 GE.VESEO. 1 '* ; 1 CHAPTER VI. Arrival at Geneseo_Mr Wordsworth-IIis extensive landed property—Colonel Wordsworth's farm—His stock-His flock-No green crops-Treatment of stock m winter-His rotation of crops-Remarks on his system-Mr Wordsworth's tenantry— Aversion to granting leases — Agricultural horses — American plough— Labourer's wages and hours— Col. Words- worth's establishment of labourers— Geneseo flats-^ Price of land— Militia General. fl !( Mai/ 1841. I arrived at Geneseo about nine o»cIock in the evening of the 20th, having found the country as I came along, a continuation of the enchanting scenery I had previously passed through. Next morning I called on Mr Words- worth, one of the largest if not the most ex- tensive land-owner in the State of New York, i r COL. WORDSWORTH. 37 to whom I had brought a letter of introduc- tion. He lives in r ^ne house exactly resem- bling that of an English squire, picturesquely situate on a rising ground and commanding views similar in character and not excelled in beauty by the prospects from Richmond Hill or Windsor Castle. His family consists of two sons and a daughter, one of the former married and residing about a mile off; the other son and the young lady Hving with their father. When I called the family were from home, but in a few hours Colonel Wordsworth, the younger son, visited me and in a most open and kind manner pressingly invited me to take up my residence at his father's house, an invitation which I accepted. I found the elder Mr Wordsworth the very heau ideal of a fine old English country gen- tleman ; tall and graceful in person, and in manners courteous, affable, and hospitable. In all the young ladies of the States, to whom it had hitherto been my good fortune to be in- troduced, I had remarked an amiable complai- I I ,1 I t ,•« ^!l .»i / 1, d8 COL. WORDSWORTH. sance which I regret to say a stranger rarely meets with on a first introduction to my fair countrywomen, who in their reception of stran- gers, are from education and habit apt to as- sume a false and repulsive dignity, while an American lady on a similar occasion displays, with high polish, a frankness and cordiality extremely grateful to one's feelings and lead- ing him at once to fancy himself among old friends. Such on my introduction to Miss Wordsworth, were the qualities I found her in an eminent degree to possess, and with them uniting great beauty and accomplishment. Mr Wordsworth's property comprises about forty miles of country, the richness and pic- turesque appearance of which it is impossible in adequate terms to describe. Of this pro- perty Colonel Wordsworth occupies lOOO acres, 1000 of which, in the Genesee flats, are alluvial meadow land equal to any in the vales of Aylesbury and Buckingham. This portion of land he keeps in old pasture, laid out in divisions of from CO to 100 acres each. The 3 li: FARM-STOCK. remainder of the farm is upland and under a rotation of crops, affording the first specimen of anything approaching to systematic hus- bandry I had seen since I entered the States. His stock comprehends 400 cattle, steers, heifers and bulls, and about i2000 sheep of the Merino breed, and I could not but regret seeinsr land so valuable covered with stock of so inferior a description. The red breed of cattle which I had seen all over the State of New York, Colonel Wordsworth informs me are considered to be Devons. If so they are much degenerated, being of diminutive size, coarse, and evidently bad feeders, averaging not more than from Q5 to 30 stones. Colonel Wordsworth's young stock are part- ly bred by himself or bought in at one year old for about 25s. a head ; they seem starved and stunted in their growth, and as miserable in appearance as the worst stock on the bleak sides of our Grampian hills, and yet were de- pasturing land of a quality equal to what with v» ■iS 1 I ""' i, ! ■ !/ (I up i'!i 40 GREEN CROPS. US in Scotland might bring a rent of L. 5 per acre. He has two or three Durliam bulls for cros- sing, but they are so low in condition and so disfigured — appearing as if scalded with hot water — that it is impossible to judge of their properties. He also crosses with half-bred bulls, and the consequence is a heterogeneous mixture which it would puzzle a Wetherell to analyse. His system is to sell his cattle in the fall, when they are three or four years old, at the New York market distant 300 miles, where they fetch a price equal to L. 8 or L. 10 a head. He raises no green crops, with the excep- tion of a few acres of potatoes and mangel wurzel. Turnips he says cannot be raised with them, being all cut off with the fly ; but to the cultivation of that valuable root I could discover here no physical impediment which might not be overcome by skilful management. He mows annually about 500 acres of his meadow land, and the hay made from it is the I i!. ' SHEEP. 41 t J sole dependence of his stock througliout the winter. But his farm buildings are not at all adequate to the requirements of such a farm, and his stock in winter is foddered in the open fields, where the animals must well nigh starve, there being neither hedge nor shelter of any kind to mitigate the severity of the cold. This practice, in which the Colonel is not singular, but which on the contrary is a very general one, may well account for tiieir miserable appearance, as it is not easy other- wise to explain why cattle fed on good mea- dow hay, should at the end of winter be found in such a condition ; and this too happens in a country where timber is a drug, and hovels might be run up in every direction at little expense. His flock as mentioned are all Merinos, or are so stvled, and their value consists chieflv in their wool, little account being had of the carcase which at three or four years old brings only from 8s. to 10s. The weight of fleece is S lb. which sells at 2s. of our money per pound, each sheep thus yielding for wool 6s. per annum. ^ D ^ism «* ^ 1 j n 'Hi I .'(' ill I tl! •I Ntqi H ii , I 42 DAIRY. Colonel Wordsworth has also a dairy of sixty cows which he lets out to a tenant who ma- nages the establishment, making the cheese and butter and paying to the Colonel 20s. for each cow, besides a proportion of the produce in kind. It need hardly be remarked that the quantity of milk yielded by a cow left night and day to shiver in the open air in the rigour of an American winter, must be very trifling, not certainly one-third of what she might give under proper shelter. The rotation of crops followed on the arable farm are wheat and clover alternately — that is, wlieat is sown in autumn, and amongst it clover is sown in spring •, the clover remains until the second summer, neither mowed nor pastured, but ploughed in for manure and then w heat is again sown in autumn. This is the only manuring the land receives ; for as the cattle are all foddered in winter on the meadow, the straw is either burnt, or piled up in large masses to rot and waste under the in- tliicnr'c of the weather. That this is a most impro^ ident mode of I 3? ! / '^. ill ! ROTATION OF CROPS. 43 agriculture, will at once occur to every person acquainted with the principles of good farm- ing ; indeed it must create infinite surprise that the advantages to be found in a right system of convertible husbandry, should at this time of day be as a terra incognita to the otherwise enterprising American cultivator ; for it is proper to observe that in describing Colonel Wordsworth's practice, I relate what takes place generally over the States. Were Colonel Wordsworth to alter his mode only so far as to provide the means of consum- ing his straw by foddering in the yard in win- ter, and his clover by soiling with it in sum- mer, his cattle might be brought to double their present value at the time he sends them to market ; and his land being manured with a due allowance of farm-yard-dung thus ob- tainel, might carry nearly double the crop of wheat it now produces, which notwithstanding the great natural fertility of the soil averages only from twenty-five to thirty bushels an 4i ! acre. I I '!' I ill, ' I 44 TENANTRY. Mr Wordsworth has a numerous tenantry, but under a tenure which can yield neither profit to the landlord nor benefit to themselves; they have no leases, but plough and sow from year to year, the landlord receiving* for rent a portion of the produce in kind. His portion is ascertained on the field after the crop is reaped, and is delivered by the tenants at an appointed barn v»here it is insv ..'v thi^»shed out and the straw given to the winds. Such a system must be a bar to every im- provement ; it in fact operates as a pro/u'bi- tion of all exertion and expenditure by the te- nant for encreasing the fertility of his larm, it being unreasonable to expect that any tenant will use exertions or lay out capital, where the landlord is to reap, certainly a large share of the benefit thence accruing, and from the precariousnessof the tenure perhap the whole. Mr Wordsworth therelbre mav cro on to draw his share of the pittance of grain which his t€> nants may under present cii^^umstM^oes be able or disposed to raise, but lie must iay his account that in these circumstance, nothing ( i- \\ a i t i TENANTRY. 4.5 can be done by them to improve fhr. soil and render it duly productive. In agricultural business it is well known there are two extremes ; at the one extreme is placed the reckless speculator who catches at every new, theory however visionary; at the other, he with whom a sufficient reason for avoiding every improvement however much recommended by experience, is just that it is an interference with old rules and habits. Now, although Mr Wordsworth is an acute well informed man who must have seen well and far before him, having at an earlv period made an extensive purchase of land at a price greatly under the value to which time and cir- cumstances have raised it, yet it appears to me he is much wedded to old customs, other- wise he would at once perceive the advantage of dividing his estate into farms of a proper size, erecting on them suitable buildings, and granting leases for such a term of years as would ensure to the tenants a return for money expended on improvements. By similar means and by establishing and stipulating for judicious i 46 HORSES. .l§ I i ill lU ! WAGES. 47 all hard- woods decay, as I was informed, in a few years sufficiently to admit of their being torn out. They plough with two horses abreast and it is said a pair of horses generally plough two acres a-day, but the furrow is ebb, not gene- rally more than two or three inches. There are no carts, the agricultural carriage being a light waggon with a pole, drawn by two horses abreast. The average rate of labourer's wages is about three shillings of our money per diem with board and lodging. The hours of labour are fiom sunrise to sunset ; all the crops are mowed, and a man mows of wheat from two to three acres and of red clover when clover hay happens to be made, two acres per diem. Colonel Wordsworth's reofular establishment consists of twenty men, and this he finds suf- ficient for his large farm ; they are boarded and lodged in a commodious farm-house. He has no difficulty in getting what additional hands are required in harvest time ; and pro- fessional sheep-shearers attend at the proper I 1' ii i I m 48 GENESEE FLATS. } i' I jf'i ( ii i I season and are paid by the piece, generally accomplishing the shearing of his flock of 2000 sheep in the course of one week, but from the description I had of it the work is but rough- ly done. Having on the first day of my sojourn here inspected Colonel Wordsworth's farm, I rode out with him again on the 22d, and took a circuit of twenty miles over this enchant- ing country of upland and meadow, already one of the most beautiful and only requiring a proper application of agricultural skill to be rendered one of the most productive in the world. As conveying some idea of the vigo- rous vegetation the soil is capable of sustaining, I may mention that in the course of our ride I saw in Colonel Wordsworth's meadows an oak tree which I measured and found to be fifteen yards in circumference near the ground. The Genesee flats, of which as already ob- served these meadows are a portion, are 100 miles in length and from three to four in breadth, thus perhaps exceeding in extent any continuous tract of equally fertile land in ■13: ^ & 1^ ! f PRICE OF LAND. 49 1 ' ( i I / nny country. Two desirable estates v/hicli are for sale were pointed out to me ; one of 300 acres, the other of 500, with a capital man- sion-house and orchards on each, and I was told tlie price of such land in this locality ran- ges from L. 10 to L. QO an acre. I had to-day the honour of an introduction to a General of miHtia, who for the present— and long may he do so ! — occupies himself in the peaceful pursuits of farming, and certainly has nothing verij military in his appearance. He had been employed for two years in feed- ing two oxen, for competition at a coming aoricultural show ; thev are of the red or De- von breed, and may weigh each from sixty to vseventy stones of li lb. ; but although the Ge- neral seemed to have directed his whole ener- ofv to the feedinof of these beasts, and for his own part regarded them as perfect wonders, they were after all not better than what on any Scotch larm would be called " good fat." ( )n Sunday the ^23d of Mav, I attended an Episcopal church — a very creditable building for a country town — in which service was re- spectably performed. R ■i: I' !1. I 50 MR ^\ oiiDawoRTn. ' ? '5' i I afterwards dined at the house of Mr James Wordsworth. His lady is from Phila- delphia and of a family originally of the So- ciety of Friends. She has the gentle and amiable manner peculiar to the female part of that excellent people, and also no small share of wliat their simple costume proves, Needs not the foreign aid of ornament. Mr James Wordsworth farms extensively, but as his farm lies at a considerable distance, I was obliged to forego the gratification of vi- siting it. After dinner, however, I once more accom- panied his brother in a ride over his farm, and was in consequence the more confirmed in my first opinion, that with an improved breed of stock and a better system of husbandry, he might double or triple the ^•alue of it. In the evening I learnt, in the course of conversation with the elder Mr Wordsworth, that in the neighbourhood of Caledonia, a town about eleven miles off, the settlers are entire- ly Scotch, and as 1 found that locality was not much out of my route, I determined to visit it. ■4 ^ni i' *i DKPARTURE FROM GENESEO. 51 i 91 ^ CHAPTER VII. I Doparturo from Gencsco — Caledonia — Mr Nowbold's farm and stock — Thunder storm — Mr Macnaughton's farm — Instance of rapid rise in price of land — Scotch families at Caledonia — Arrived with small capital — Now inde})endent. 31(11/ 1841. (jx the '2l\]\ I tern.inated my visit at the hospitable mansion of Mr Wordsworth, and left it deeply indebted to him and his family for the most ])olite attention and kindness, and with the ])leasino" hope of meeting and renew- ing" our aequaintance at New York in the end of June. Colonel Wordsworth drove me to breakfast at the house of a friend of his near Caledonia, a Mr Newbold, a young man wdio in con- nection with a Mr Roy farms extensively. After breakfast, which was sumptuous and 5-2 GENESEE FLATS. (I ani])le as all American breakfiists are, I in- spected Mr Newbold's farm-offiees which are proportionally larger and more commodious than any I had yet seen, and include a thrash- ing-mill moved by water—but still they are not on what, in Scotland, would be considered a j)roper scale, or properly laid out. ^Ve then drove out to his farm which con- sists of fine rich meadow land on the (lenesee flats. His stock is of a better kind and in much better condition than (^olonel Words- worth^. 1 saw a very good Durham bull, se- veral Durham cows and heifers, and crosses of these with the native breed, the quality of which latter distinctly proved the vast improvement of the stock here, that may be made by judi- cious crossino-. Our perambulation was, however, suddenly interrupted by a violent thunder storm which drove us back. For the first ten da\'s after my arrival at Boston, the weather had been cold and very backward for the season, none of the forest trees being yet in leaf. For the last few days it had become hot and sultry, I I SCOTS HIGHLANDER. 53 4 the thermometer in the shade rang^ing from 70° to 80\ I (h(l not, however, feel any of the oi)pression ^vhich, with the same degree of lieat, I siiould have suffered in our own eoun- tiy. The storm continuing, we took an early dinner, and 1 was regaled unexpectedly enough with some excellent Scotch whisky. When it cleared we drove to the farm of a Mr Macnautrhton, who was in his tields when we arrived, hut soon returned, and was delighted to meet me, a countryman of his own. He is a hardy looking Highlander, about sixty years of age, from Lord Breadalbane's country. He came to America fifteen years ago, with a small ca])ital, and now he possesses 500 acres of the best wheat-land, all cleared and his own property. He showed me a field of sixty acres of wheat, and mentioned in connection with it, a circumstance furnishing a striking instance of the rapid rise of the value of land in this quarter. Soon after his arrival a neighbour wished to purchase this field of him, and he Si h ^ •I. i i V 'I, it ; ii; ■ t i • ■i . 1 \ ' I 1 1 \\ ^h ^. Jl niSE OF LAND. accordinofly parted with it for <)OC)dollars, which was considered the full value of it. In the course of three years his neighhour determined on sellincf the whole of his property, and of- fered back this field to Donald, but now at the price of 3000 dollars ; this he at once agreed to give ; a bargain was struck accordingly, and the first crop of wheat yielded the purchase money. Donald's whole establishment smacks strong- ly of the Highlander. His domestic arrange- ments include none of the delicacies and but a sparing allowance of the comforts of life ; in short, he appears to be as much a scorner of luxury as his stalwart countryman of old who indignantly kicked aw ay tlie snow-ball which, in their bivoffftc, his too effeminate son had prepared for his pillow. In his fanning economy he has improved nothing on what he found to be the practice of the country : — one larffe barn receives his crops and accommodates his horses and cattle, and like others he burns his straw and ploughs in his clover for manure ; yet Donald has ill [■i..— SCOTS !■ AMI LIES. 55 4 made money and continues to make it. What niicrht not be accomplished under a more ra< tional system ? Limestone abounds here, but is not, as for as I could learn, made use of in cultivatincr land, and perhaps it is not necessary it should, as the soil may already contain sufficiency of calcareous earth. Stone dikes enclose the helds and are neatly l)uilt as in Scotland. The storm having long detained us, I had it not in my power to visit any other of the Scotch fin-m-houses, but proceeded to Caledo- nia, a considerable town with two hotels. Here I procured an interview with a Scots- man, from whom I learnt that ^250 Scotch fa- milies are settled in this neighbourhood ; the greater part of them came over forty years aoo with very little capital, many of them w"ith hardly sutfieicut to purchase a yoke of oxen ; thev all got wealthy and now they own farms varying from ^200 to 600 acres each. According to my informant, the mode of iarming among these settlers, does not dif- fer from that followed by Mr Ivlacnaughton, ^\ " i. 1 '\t I « 'l t i« i'l ', '. II' 56 FARMS. and he, I have ah-eady noticed, plods on in the imperfect course common in the country. I also learnt that, no doubt from the calca- reous nature of the soil, the land here is pecu- liarly adapted to wheat which at present sells at Irom four to five shillings of English money per busliel of GO lb. * 1,4 i. DKPARTIKE FROM CALEDONIA. 57 W. 4 3n m 'try. ;alca- )ecu- sells* oney CHAPTEll VIII. Departure from Caledoina—Batavia— Description of «|# American Hotel— Lockport— Visit to Falls of Niaga- ra— Lewiston— Arrival at Toronto, Capital of Upper Canada. At Caledonia I took leave of my kind friend. Colonel Wordsworth, and having brought a phaeton from Geneseo, I set out for Batavia, distant seventeen miles, at six o'clock of the afternoon. The road passes through a fine corn country, all on limestone and enclosed with substantial stone dikes, but more rugged than anv I had >et seen. About lime o'clock I arrived at Batavia, and having determined next day to take the phaeton on to Lockport, distant thirty-three miles, put up for the night at a grand-looking hotel, which I found greatly infested with buffs. It i6 not, however, from the irritation 1 4 i W 1' , 'fi I 1 <; I » 1 ' I i •il * t i ■ 1 58 HOTEL. these bed-fellows occasioned me, that I am led here to notice, that the interior of an Ameri- can hotel may be in woful contrast with its ex- ternal ap])earance. In most towns there are to be seen two or three hotels of much outwa. d show, promising great things within, but, entering any one of them, you find the accommodation consists of what is called a bar, being jus!: a large tap- room, thronged with people of all descriptions, and a great hall in which there is every [hx aii ordinary at fixed hours—breakfest usually at ■seven, dinner at one, and supper at five o'clock. This hall not only is the eating-room of stran- gers, but is frequented by a great proportion of the to^^■n's people, who certainly dispatch every meal with wonderful celerity and in- stantly depart. IVivate parlours \here are none ; and if you wish to be alone, you must sit in your bedroom, but unless with much dif- ficulty and grudging, you can be served with nothing a^ay from the orcunary ; for as the business of the house centres there and in the bar, no attention is willinglv ])aid anywhere 1 !• 1' :\ FALLS OF NLVGAllA. rj\) else. Mine host himself is seldom visible, and the waiters attend to your orders so tardily and with so much of the appearance of indif- ference, that you are strongly tempted to ac celeratc their movements by a certain apphca- tion of your foot. However, by putting a re- straint on my tem])er, which I confess I at first managed with some difficulty, I found that I ultimately got what I wanted. Next day, the ^25 th, I -proceeded on my jour- ney to I.ockport, the country gradually lessen- ing in attractiveness, the quantity of cleared land being comparatively sn. 1, and the pro- portion of forest consequently greater than in the (;ountry I liad just left. From Lockport I passed by the railway to the Fah;- of Niagara, the distance being twenty- four miles ; and on the ^2()th, J crossed over to the Canadian side to behold these amazing works of* nature, of the grandeur of which de- scriptions are familiar to every reader. I have (mlv to observe that on viewing them, 1 sensibly cxpcrioiicecl the disaijpoint- ment usuallv attending the actual sight of any I f * 1 -I W ill i'i 60 FALLS OF NL\GARA. ' 'J f i H '/• 1} ( r I i !'; In 1 1 ' .1 I remarkable object regarding which previous accounts have given rise to unbounded expec- tations. No doubt the whole body of a mighty river falling precipitously from a height so great as 150feet or more, is an object of true sublimity, but I now found that even of such an object exaggerated ideas may be pre.onceived ; and although the scenery connected with the Falls has been justly represented as extremely fine, I was unable to elevate mv notions of it o-reatlv above the recollection I had of scenery in some parts of the Highlands of Scotland. In a word, I left the renowned Falls of Niagara with an image of them on my mind much less magni- ficent than what had been impressed upon it before I saw them. To Lewiston T proceeded by the railwav, and from thence by a steamer down the river to Niagara, whence I crossed Lake Ontario to Toronto. / TORONTO. 61 CHAPTER IX. I -opulation of Toronto— Streets and Buildings — Mr A. Wood— Arrival at Hamilton— Ditference between peo- ple in Upper Canada and those in the States — Features of the country— Cleared land- -Means of transport and markets wanting — Speculators in land— Favourable settlement for labouring people only — Expense of Cul- tivation— A'isit to Mr IVrguson at Woodhill— Meeting xvith the Chief of Macnab— Introduction to Sir Allan Macnab— His treatment by Whig Government— My purpose in a isiting IJpper Canada alluded to — Tempe- rature Ueturn to Toronto — Ijishop Strachan. Mail 1841. ToRON ro, the capital of U})per Canada, pleasantly situate on the banks of Lake Onta- i-io, is said now to contain L'>,()00 inhabitants. T\w. streets are good, the buildings respecta- ])le, and two handsome churches, one Presby- terian and the otlier Episcopalian, add much to the ap])earance of the tow n. Of the latter ' r W J ( 62 HAMILTON'. ii I It I church Bishop Strachan a native of Aher- deeii is minister. My arrani^ements did not admit of mv re- maininff here for more than one dav on the present occasion, and after the pleasure of meetino- with my old friend Alexander Wood who, in the course of the forty years he has re- sided and carried on husiness in this town, has acquired a larffe fortune, I emharked in a steamer for Hamilton. There I arrived on the ^8th of jVIav, and had the gratification of find- ing my daughter in good health. I remained at Hamilton until the Sth of June, and in the interval made frequent ex- cursions in the pro\ ince, taking every oppor- tunity of acquainting myselF with its ])resent situation. On entti-iiio- Canada 1 liad been impressed with a marked difference between it and the United States. In the latter the people were everywhere distinguished by that cheer- fulness and a])pearance of contentment which attend activity and exertion in peaceiul pur- suits. In Canada there prevailed an almost ^!' ic- J w UPPER CANADA. 63 universal orloom, the consequence of recent in- ternal commotion ; of the still existing conflict and rancour of political feeling ; or of the withered hopes of many who, having speculat- ed largely in land, have received little or no return for their money. This was my early impression, and anything I have since observ- ed, or by inquiry ascertained, has served to contirm it, and to satisfy me that of the two countries the States hold out for agricultural pursuits, by far the greater advantages to per- !sons posses:^ed of any capital. With the exception of portions of cleared land varying from fifty acres in some situations, to several hundreds in others. Upper Canada is an immense and trackless forest, forlorn and forbidding at best, and in many places ren- dered more gloomy and repulsive, by the trees having been burnt pre})aratory to being cut down, and conse(piently now presenting to the eve nothing but bare and blackened poles. And with regard to what is called cleared land, it consists of no more than a patch here and there, on which the huge pines that for 1 ll 1 h ) li^ h 'ii '* h I \ '\ ■ u '3 J C)4> UPPER CANADA. ages had been tenants of the soil, have by the appheation of fire and axe been reduced to stumps four feet in height, so thick set as in many places to bid defiance to the ])lough, and to preclude any mode of cultivation ex- cept sowing and hand-raking the seed. There are here no railways, and no interior water-carriage, advantages so amj)ly enjoyed in tlie States, and although there are roads, they are of such a description as to be nearly impassable, excepting in winter when the .slfigh is made use of. Up])er Canada, too, is comparatively destitute of local markets, or of any proper outlet for the surplus ])r()duce of the land ; for the po])ulation is not onlv thin and widely scattered, but them- selves chiefly agricultural, each family there- fore raisinir sufficient for its own supplv ; and there are no towns of any magnitude to create anv considerable demand for the surplus, nor if there were, are easy means of transport af- forded. In such circumstances, it is liy no means surprising to find that the greater number d' ); .^ M ' ..ja.,- CLEAlllNG LAM). 65 the tliose who had s])ecu]alecl in land have suffer- ed i^rievoiis disappointment, and that ot those cominii' under the description of g-entlemen who h.id attempted to convert the forest into corn Unid h^- the force of money, tlie o-reater numher (piicldy got rid of it anrl tlien eitlier hetook themselves to other pursuits, or as sometimes ha})])ened, liecoming' d^ ijfusted and reckless, gave themselves up to dissipation. There is, howe^"er, one description of ner- son to wliom a settlement in these forests may pro\c tolerable — the lahourer, and especially the hardy HiL^hlaiider Avho o'lad to escape from [)iivation at liome and delighted to roam at large, may with his own hands and assist- ed hv a faniih; of sons, erect a rude hovel of og, gradually clear a quantity of land sufii* ce?it for a subsistence, nnd in the course of time come to ])os; ess a 'vuill property, the height (if fition. Except to such per- sons cl.'ari\ig land here cannot he attractive or made reinunerating\ The tajjection vliich in mo;-;: cases applies to the cultivation of wasi:e land on a large w 66 CLEARING LAND. itJ uV '■ 'I I scale in Scotland api)lies here with redoubled force; the expense of the improvement is more than, when improved, the land is worth. It may give some idea of the disadvantage under which the clearing of land in Upper Canada n ust be accomi)lished, to advert to what takes place in clearing a fir wood in Scotland. There, although labour costs little more than one-half of its price in Canada, and although the largest trees are but as walking sticks in comi)arison with the Canadian pines, w^ood-land cannot be cleared and put in a condition for a corn crop, for less than L ^20 per acre. The crop of trees may go far, per- hai)s do more than answer this expense ; but in Ui)per Canada, in clearing land, the trees are altogether valueless and yield no return for the trouble and exi)ense of cutting them down and collecting their immense trunks into piles to be burnt ; and yfter all, their stumps renuiin for a great many years to en- cumber the ground and obstruct cultivation. In short, the art of cultivating land is not perhaps practised in any country where, fell Mu rr.iuiisov. 67 )uble(l int is ^vorth. intaurchased. I had the pleasure of meeting at Toronto the chief of Macnab who, some fifteen years ngo, emigrated to Canada with his whole clan, and settled about 100 miles up the coun- try. He is a fine representation of the High- land chiellain of days (jone bv — tall and state- ly and having, with })erfect courtesy, the bear- ing of a man born to be obeyed. He seems well satisfied with liis present position and de- scribes things as iic.urishing in his clanship. I was also introduced to Sir Allan Macnab who has buiit a Uu.gnificent house a mile or so from Havtiilton, close on Burlington Bay, and made out and enclosed a large ])ark in the English style. Sir Allan is also a fine-look- / ii SIR ALLAN MACNAB. 09 ing man, his countenance strongly indicative of that intelligence and resolution which he is known in an eminent degree to possess. In the shortest iiterviewone discovers in him the well-bred and accomplished gentleman. The interest he has taken and the ser\ ices he luis rendered in the aiFairs of Canada, have rai.^ed his character so high, that any evdogium from me might be deemed j)resumptuous. Suffice it to allude to the presence of mind, promp- titude and enerii'v with which, two ^•cars ago, he led out the miliiia force which he connnands, and saved Toronto and its neigh- bourhood from beina: saclicd antl burnt bv a numerous body of rebels, when all the re- gular troops had been w ithdrawn to the lower province. i was hosj)itably entertained at the house of Sir Allan, and lihould j)urcliase a pennanent residence iri the Province or in the States. Now, looking- to the matter of present com- fort only — taking into view that the States are in comparison with Upper Canada, an old country, in many parts highly cultivatt^d, and with good .society — and that tlie Province is but in its infancy and only holds out pros- pects of advantaij^e to be realized by some fu- ture generation, — I had no hesitation in pro- nouncing in favour of the former. This explanation of my purpose will ser\'e to show that my opinions ha\e not been form- ed altoox'ih'jr i>rr.taiiousiv, nor without consi- deration ; bui: a^ tlie same tiaie I should wish it to be understood, tliat although I have de- scribed with iaitliliihiess what fell under my own observation, or was derived from the most authentic iiijorination I could obtain, yet my opportunities of examining into the agricultu- ral alfairs of Upper Uanada were very limited. X •■■I ' -'i: i i It I h {''■ 72 TORONTO. It is a n()l)le country certainly, and one day may rise to innuense importance ; but behind, as it is in cultivation, and neolectcd as it has been bv tlie ofovernment at liome, and defi- cient as it yet is in caj)ital, its progress in im- provement iiiust, to all present a])})earance, necessarily be slow. It will thus be understood that while I would recommend the States to the choice of 15ritish emigrants, in preference to Upper Canada, I am induced to do so entirely from a conside- ration of existintr circumstances ; as I do not doubt the time may come when, from the in- crease of population — the enlargement of pre- sent towns, and the growth of others — the establishment of railways and other means of internal communication and access to markets — and the accomplishment of numerous other desiderated improvements which it is in the power of (jovernment to introduce and en- courage, the Province will acquire attractions for emiirrants, of which it is yet destitute, and afford those advantages which the States now exclusively present to tlie m. On the 8th of June I took lea^e of my 1 IH BISHOP STRACIIAN. 73 daughter and returned by steamer to Toron- to, my face being now fairly turned home- wards. The soil round Hamilton is of a sandy na- ture, and the town is encompassed by lofty wooded hills ; during all. the time of my so- journ there the thermometer in the shade, ranged from 85« to 90', and this height of temperature, aggravated by the nature of the locaUty, I felt both night and day extremely oppressive, but yet not at all injurious to health. At Toronto I now dined with Bishop Stra- chan, a man of great intelligence and agreeable manners, and much esteemed and respected. His living is worth L. 1000 a-year, and he has an excellent house just out of the town, where I was received by him and Mrs Strachan and their son, with that heartiness of welcome, and unaffected kindness, for which in Scotland un- sophisticated families are still noted. Next day, the 9th, I spent with Alexander Wood, with all the gratification which the reminis- cence of former days, and the renewal of old friendship could inspire. I ,M, « I 74 BUFFALO. 'I ■ i ! i i ! ' CHAPTER X. Kouto to New York — Buffalo — Sail to Erie — Departure by stage for Pittsburgh — The trials of that convey- ance — Comparison of old Scotch roads — Wildness of country between Erie and Pittsburgh — Crops Indian corn — Stock — Difficult ascents — Arrival at Pitts- burgh. June 1841. Having resolved to return to New York by a route different from that by which I came, I sailed for Lewiston at seven o'clock of the morning of the lOth of June, and thence pro- ceeded by the railway forty miles to Buffalo, which, travelling over an uninviting country, I reached about six o'clock in the evening. Buffalo, from " small beginnings," has risen during the present century to a town of great trade and wealth ; having a population of 20,000, with spacious streets, handsome shops. 1 I 'H LAKE ERIE. /•> 4 numerous public buildintrs, and exhibiting all the life and activity of a busy and thriving shil)l)ing-i)lacc, from whence trade is earned on with all tlie western and southern states. At nine o'chu-k on the 11th, I embarked in a steamer on Lake I^rie for the town of Erie. The sail was delightful, the vessel having been steered near enough the land to afford a view of a beautiful country enriched by cultivation and enlivened by numerous handsome man- sions interspersed among the fields and forests. At Erie, a small country town, possessing no remarkable feature, I arrived at six o'clock, and remained all night. Next morning at eight o'clock, I set off for Pittsburgh, distant h3() miles, and, although I had hoped for exemption from a repetition of the trials of an American stage-coach, I here found mvself once more compelled to submit to them, as, in travelling ti'om Erie to Pitts- burtrh, I had no choice but to take my seat in one of those rude and rickety machines, carry- ing nine passengers all stowed inside, in three rows, as formerly described, and to submit, so jV T I Iff i ' r() ROADS. circumstanced, to be jolted over one of the worst roads on which wheel ever rolled. I can remember since the roads in Scotland were so bad that travelling in a post-chaise was a kind of adventure, and it was a usual thing, when any one projected the shortest journey, to make interest to procure for the oc- casion the services of the most expert post- boy at the inn, as affording some security against the common catastrophe of an upsef ; but the Scotch roads of that period were bow- ling-greens in comparison with those which it was now my doom to be dragged over. Nor was the injucundity of the conveyance relieved by any amenity in the country through which we plodded, it being for the greater part a continued forest, with now and then, in the wilderness, a portion of land of 100 or '200 acres, cleared in the roughest manner, and cropped among the remaining stumps with wheat, clover, and Indian corn, by farmers ap- ])arently in a small way, and generally dwel- ling in uncomfortable-looking log-houses. This vast tract of country, a few years ago. V* \ ' \ CHOPS. 77 was Congress land, but is now all disposed of, and in projrress of clearing. The wheat crops in our course looked well, and also, if I might judge, the Indian corn. The latter, I may here mention, is grown in rows, having a space of four feet between every two, and the plants in the rows three feet asun- der, two seeds, as I learnt, being always dib- bled into each hole. The land may thus be very effectually horse and hand-hoed, and, in- deed, it appeared to me, that no crop 1 had ever seen admits of so thorough a working of the land in summer as this does. 1 could not, however, learn whether Indian corn is found to be an exhausting crop, as " exhausting crop" seems not to be a term ni an American farmer's vocabulary ; at least it has not been yet recognized in his language, although a persistence in his present manage- ment may ere long illustrate its meaning. From the class to which this plant belongs, it should be inferred, that it is to be included among deteriorating crops. The stock I observed in the course of this k 5( 11 ^ all the way to Wheelin, and in many pla ^s it was truly beautiful. About eleven o'clock A. m. I arrived at Wheel- in, a small town on the Ohio possessing some iron founderies, but deriving its chief import- ance from being the great outlet from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and other places eastward, to New Orleans and the great southern and western states. The communication from those cities is maintained, first by the several hues of rail- road emerging from them, to Frederick, in Maryland, and from thence, by what is called " the great national road," across the Alle- ■I; I i ■J It ■>.< ir 84 FREDERICK. ghany mountains, to Wheelin. From the lat- ter town to New Orleans, the distance is about 2000 miles, down the Ohio and Mississippi, and it is accomplished by steam-boats in an incredibly short time. At one p. M. I left Wheelin by stage — to which I had become somewhat reconciled — for Frederick, distant 224 miles. For the first forty or fifty miles, the coun- try was in some degree open and cultivated, but after that we got into forest, and gradual- ly into the depths of the Alleghany moun- tains. The road was still sound and good, but the hills may without exaggeration be described as tremendous, the ascents not only being ex- cessively steep, but continuing so for many miles on end. Notwithstanding their great elevation, these mountains are clothed to the top with fine timber, occasionally interspersed with patches of cleared land ; and as in this quarter im- mense tracts, formerly Congress land, are now the property of individuals, cultivation will doubtless be rapidly extended. ) ^ ALLEGHANIES. 85 If, for the difficulty of the ascents between Erie and Pittsburgh, the traveller is recom- pensed by the views from their summits, much greater must be his gratification on accom- plishing the more toilsome task of surmount- ing the Alleghanies. Placed there on a ridge of the earth, upheaved hundreds of yards above the general surface, and extending to nearly 1000 miles in length, and from 100 to 200 miles in breadth, he experiences an exal- tation of mind befitting the contemplation of the boundless regions encompassing him — but yesterday composing inhospitable wilds, peopled by ruthless savages,— to-day possessed by an enlightened and powerful nation, under whom majestic rivers, wending their far jour- neys among primeval forests, have become sub- servient to the purposes of wide-spreading commerce, while every where appear splendid cities, handsome towns, and cultivated fields, with all that for utility or for ornament civili- zation brings in its train. On Friday the 18th, in the morning, we descended from the mountains, and arrived at t .ii* I 1 I ^1 1- ■ 1. 11^ I !i t i* (t Is. !.t! I 80 HAGGEUSTON. Haggerston in Maryland. Both here and in Pennsylvania, which we had now left, the horses are strong and heavy, resembling the waggon-horses of England; and, indeed, the waggons employed in transporting commodi- ties from Frederick across the Alleghanies, drawn by six or eight powerful animals, put one mujh in mind of the old English stage waggons, to which he was accustomed forty years ago. Between Haggerston and Frederick, a dis- tance of twenty-five miles, the country is high- ly cultivated, the fields large and quite clear- ed of stumps, and the crops of wheat abun- dant and Ikr advanced. From the day I left Toronto, we had expe- rienced frequent heavy thunder-storms, and the weather throughout the journey was cool and pleasant, and generally of a temperature not materially different from that of my own country, consequently without any of that oj)- pressive heat which I endured in Canada. I arrived at Frederick, which is but a small town, at three o'clock afternoon, having been fif- >\ i \ BALTIMORE. 87 ty hours on the journey of Q'2i miles from Wheehn ; and at ten o'clock the same night, I set off by the railway for Baltimore, which I reached at two o'clock next morning. Baltimore, the capital of Maryland, ranks as the fourth city of the Union ; the population is said to exceed 100,000, of which about one- third consists of free people of colour or of slaves, and of the white inhabitants, a large proportion are Roman Catholics. In the appearance of the city there is no- thing which very peculiarly distinguishes it from other large and wealthy towns in the Union ; the streets are good ; the houses, chiefly of brick, are neat ; the shops fine ; and nume- rous public buildings, and not a few conspicu- ous monuments, add much to the general ef- fect. Among the monuments here is that erected in honour of the great American Liberator, which bears a resemblance to the Monument of London, and, including the statue of Wash- ington, rises about ^200 feet in height. A spi- ral stair of 300 steps inside, leads to the sum- o I i, f fW f' ), • ^^ i) I I I • I' i|t 88 MR BELZOUVEIIS FARM. mit, on which the statue is placed, and from thence is enjoyed a complete view of the city and surrounding country, with the Patapsco on which the city stands, winding its course to the Chesapeake ; with the combined rich- ness and magnificence of this scenery I was much dehghted. In the afternoon I drove out with the land- lord of the hotel, Mr Belzouver, to inspect a farm of 300 acres possessed by him, four miles from the city. This farm is well cultivated in the American manner, with wheat and Indian corn, and I found Mr Belzouver, displaying as a farmer, more enterprize and tact than com- mon, having imported several Durham cows and bulls, and possessing a herd of eighteen cows and heifers, partly reared by himself. As regards shape, breeding, and condition, they are the best I had yet seen in the States, and indeed, as to some of the animals, as good as are to be met with in any country. After all, there was even in his case an ob- vious deficiency in housing, although, from the advanced state of the season, the condition •ti 1 HISKANDRY. 89 of his cattle did not betray it so very obvious- ly as in cases that had previously come under my observation ; and it also appeared to me that a great improvement in the productive- ness of the land might be effected by a bet- ter system of husbandry'. *,-', h h I a :l.l '1. 00 RICHMOND. I { I I i J ! A l i I iil^^ : I III' CHAPTER XII. Ooparture for Richmond — Washinf^ton — Sail up the Po- tomac — Fredericksbuvfrh — Arrival at Richmond — Condition of slaves in Virginia — Mr Marx's farm — His mode of farming — Culture of oats — Objections to his farming — Allowance of seed — Mules used in agricul- ture — Improvements suggested — To be partly adopted by Mr Marx — Flour-mills — Cotton-mills — Departure from Richmond — Arrival at Washington — Capitol — House of Representatives and Senate — Introduction to the President — Mount \'^emon — The residence of Wa- shington — His tomb — Return to Washington. June 1841. Being desirous of acquainting myself with the condition of the slaves in Virginia, I left Baltimore en 7'oufe for Richmond, capital of that State, by the railway, at nine a. m. on the 20th ; arrived at Washington, forty miles from Baltimore, at eleven ; and from thence embarked in a steamer bound up the Potomac. This is one of the principal fishing rivers in i u POTOMAC. 91 the States, and aloiip^ both its banks are nu- merous fishuifT stations. To describe the great beauty of its scenery, would be very much to repeat a (kstription of what is to be seen on all the great rivers and lakes of America, 1 iiad visited. 1 think it may correctly enough be said that, if any one to whom the scenery of the Thames above London is familiar, were to fancy the contexture of its natural objects very much increased in magnitude, and viewed in an atmosphere of great lustre and tranquil- lity, he might form a tolerable notion of the richness and grandeur of the summer scener\- of an American river. At five p. M. I landed at a wharf sixty miles from Washington, and thence proceeded by stage to Fredericksburgh, over nine miles of road as abominable as can be imagined. For the remaining distance of sixty miles 1 placed myself on the railway, and at half-i)ast eleven reached my destination at Richmond, havinir in fourteen hours travelled one bun- dred miles by railway, sixty by water, and nine by the stage. h I 'II i 1 1 ;t ' u :. :■' I \ i, I' 0^ UUIIMOND. lliclimond, an extremely liandsome town, eontains about lO.OOO iiih;il)ltants, of uliom two-thirds are persons of eolonr, and a jrreat ]M*oi)ortion of these shives. luerv scrranf, man, wfmian, and ehild, is a slave, but to my f^Tcat and agreeable surj)nse I Ibund slavery here possesses none of the horrors I had at home been accustomed to hear connected with ii — for the slaves in \'irginia are well clothed i\n(\ well fed, and kindly treated, and to all ap- pearance contented and happy ; indeed, I should f.ay their condition physically is one of sfreatccm- fort and enjoyment, in comparison with that ofour own manufacturing population, by thou- sands of whom, I cannot doubt, it would, in relation to the necessaries of life, be looked up- on with envy. The men, for the greater part, are strong, muscular, and good-looking ; and of the women, many are handsome, particularly the nursery maids, housemaids, and other domes- tics, Avho, in dress and person, appear as gay, and tasteful, and tidy, as the most buxom of our lasses. \ \ i SLAVERY. 1)3 The term slave sounds harshly in a British ear, and when I was told hy a niee li^ht heart- ed lookinjr u^irl, that she was a shtrr, 1 could not hel}) re^^irdiiinr her with a feeling ot'coui- niiseration ; she, however, seemed to think nothinir of the designation, and 1 am glad to l>elie\e it is, at least in this State, felt in a great measure as but ** a name." What I had been told of masters selling the (itlspring of their slaves, as we would sell lambs, the produce of our ewes, I found to be totally without foundaticm. On the contrary, great attention is paid to the wants and comfort, and also the moral and religious instruction of slave children, and any master or family act- ing differently towards them would be scouted. \Mien it hai)pens, as often it does, that any one owns more sla\ es than he himself has oc- casion to employ, he allows them to serve in different capacities in the employment of other persons, and particularly as domestic servants, in which capacity they receive wages from the employers at the rate of eight or ten dollars a month, one-half of which goes to the master A«- V: M \ fi fj if i I , 1 ■' I : ) l! 94 SLAVERY. who clothes his slaves and otherwise cares for them. In this way it happens that many fa- milies have slave servants not their own, but to whom they pay wages. There may be masters who are tyrannical and cruel to their slaves, but unhappily tyran- ny and cruelty to dependents are not peculiar to slave owners. I believe it might be easy to adduce authenticated instances of the treat- ment of parish apprentices in free England, the atrocity and horribleness of which would draw tears from the eyes of any slave owner in Virginia. Far am I, however, from advocating the continuance of slavery in America. There and everywhere else, even under the most hu- mane treatment, it is a debasement of human nature, admitting of no redeeming quality ; for although a kind master may slacken and make gentle the bonds in which he holds the />r>f/^ of his slave, there is yet a chain that fetters his mind — leaving it under the influence of all the vitiating passions, but placing far beyond 4 SLAVERY. 95 \ its reach every motive to ennobling virtues. For this, freedom alone is the remedy. No right thinking man, therefore, can ap- prove of slavery, and I understand none dis- approve of it more, or with greater sincerity de- sire its abolition than do at this moment many of the slave owners of Virginia and Maryland, al- though a mistaken policy in other states as yet prevents the accompUshment of their wishes. In the meantime it is gratifying to know that in these two States, and as far as I can learn in all others in which slavery is tolerated, the condition of the slave is not peculiarly subject to the inflictions of inhumanity, or liable to any of the atrocious barbarities which in my own country are unsparingly imputed to slave owners, often, I beheve, by persons whose zeal is greater than their knowledge. At Richmond I had a favourable oppor- tunity of continuing my observation of Ameri- can agriculture. I had brought a letter to a Mr ^larx, one of two brothers of great opu- lence and consideration, the one conducting the business of a banker and general merchant. i( i\ I 1, i ('Mr ■ .1 \ •i/i (, i» •f I , ' I i * ' • !,! 1 1 1i I 1 1 ii 1 i I : i m ^ I : I I' 96 MR MARX*S FARM. the other residing on and farming their estate, consisting of 800 acres of rich alluvial soil, on James river, two miles out of Richmond. I was kindly invited by the banker to inspect the farm, and I gladly, along with him, there visited his brother. I found the whole farm under a system of tillage, the crops being wheat, Indian com, and clover, with a considerable breadth of oats. I had observed, from the time I entered Virginia, that oats is a crop much cultivated in that State, although the produce is very poor both in quantity and quality, and in most instances such as our farmers would think not worth being harvested. On Mr Marx's farm, from the superior qua- lity of the soil, the crop of oats was better than any I had seen, but still such as would with us be considered miserable ; and from what I had observed, and understood from Mr Marx, it was evident that the climate of the States is from its heat and drought unfa- vourable to the growth of oats ; for although when the seed is imported from Britain, the 'I MODE OF FARMING. 97 first crop is pretty fair, yet after that it gra- dually degenerates, and accordingly the general weight of oats here does not exceed 28 or 30 lb. per imperial bushel, a weight of grain which would not be marketable in our country. I was sorry that of Mr Marx*s mode of hus- bandry I could not approve much more than of what I had remarked elsewhere. His crops were no doubt richer and more luxuriant than any I had seen, but for this it appeared to me he was mainly indebted to a superiority of soil and climate ; and as an in- stance of his advantage in this respect I may mention that I saw upon his farm 100 acres of wheat now quite ripe, and intended to be reaped next day, the 23d of June. He keeps little or no stock of any descrip- tion, and magnificent fields of clover were destined to be ploughed in as manure for wheat. This clover if given to stock in the yard would, I need hardly notice, have served to convert his straw into manure, then all ly- ing about and going to waste, or partially sold in the town of Richmond, whence no com- I If. K li; « I r 'I ?! I U! 1 i ■til t' il1 ►* ^ 1, ' H f 1 1 't !j i V M / 1 98 MODE OF FARMING. pensating return in the shape of manure is brought to the farm. The consequence of this system has been to pinch the land to such a degree, that this alluvial and naturally most fertile soil, capa- ble under judicious management of carrv'ing crops of I should say fifty bushels of wheat per acre, produces no more than from twenty-five to thirty. At the same time I should notice a singu- lar fact alluded to by Mr Marx, and which indeed I had remarked before, but omitted to mention, as being general over the States, that more than a bushel, or a bushel and one-fourth of wheat per acre is never sown, and to this practice I think may in some measure be as- cribed the lightness of their crops. Another circumstance no doubt contribut- ing to the same efffect, is the great heat of the sun, the thermometer at this season commonly ranging in the shade from 85° to 95°, a height of temperature which may give a hurtful pre- maturity to the crops of wheat. From these different causes — stinting the tl the \ MODE OF FARMING. 90 soil of manure, deficiency in the quantity of seed, and in intenseness of atmospheric heat — it no doubt arises that land of the greatest ap- parent fertility produces crops short in the ear, and seldom weighing more than (iO lb. per bushel British measure ; and that the wheat fields of the States do not show those fine waving crops we are accustomed to see in Britain. Mules are chiefly used for agricultural pur- poses, both here and in Maryland ; they are large strong animals, seemingly from Maltese asses, and, I understand, endure the heat of the climate much better than horses. From the period of the year at which I vi- sited Virginia, I had not a very good oppor- tunity of forming a judgment of the manner in which field work is performed. I learnt sufficient, however, to convince me not only that it is done in an old-fashioned and ineffi- cient mode, but that the Virginia landowner would find his account in bringing from a good district in England or Scotland, a person prac- tically conversant with grain and stock farm- *' 'ItL 'J m ♦ lis Iv. I, I, I ^:^f kT» IV ^ 1 .1 r h 3 : llil' It; 100 CHANGE OF SYSTEM. ing, and placing his agricultural concerns un- der his direction. By this means such a farm as that of Mr Marx might soon be advanced in productiveness to an amount greatly beyond the salary of such a manager, and an improved and advantageous practice of husbandry would spread itself and take the place of the defec- tive and comparatively profitless system now followed in the States. I was glad to find Mr Marx not obstinate- ly wedded to old modes ; for in the discus- sions on agricultural subjects I had with him and his brother after dinner at their country house, I was able so far to convince him of the benefit he would reap from a change of system, that he resolved to give a fair trial to what I suggested, and instead of ploughing in his lux- uriant crops of clover, to use them in soiling his horses and cattle, to cart out the manure to be so obtained for his wheat, and to en- crease his allowance of seed to four bushels an acre, the usual quantity given by British farm- ers, I can have no doubt of the favourable re- u SPRING WHEAT. 101 suit of this experiment, more especially as regards the encrease of seed, having been in- formed by him that from their alternate frosts and rains in winter, the wheat plants are very liable to be thrown out, a circumstance which renders it, with them, unsafe to sow wheat after September, or consequently following Indian corn, which does not ripen till October. This appeared to me an obvious additional reason for thicker sowing. I conceive also that Mr Marx should find spring wheat an advantageous crop. I am aware that summer follows winter so rapidly here, as to leave but little interval for spring work, but spring corn to a certain extent is ne- vertheless cultivated ; and if the wheat land were prepared and the manure well p^A.>ughed in before winter, there should not I think be any difficulty in sowing and harrowing the seed as soon as winter departs. Throwing out the plants by frost would be thus avoided, and the excellence of the climate would secure the seasonable perfecting of the spring sown crop. Mr Marx enjoys a great advantage in hav- hi '\' h \^ U Vl i'i .f ■: n Hi 1'* S i' ij • -in < I* hi !; { I u r •1 102 COTTON MILL. inff in his neighbourhood extensive flour mills where he finds a ready market for his wheat, Virginia flour being in high estimation all over the States. My time being limited I had it not in my power to examine any other farm in this quar- ter, although I was told that, forty or fifty miles up the James river, there are to be seen many fine farms on a large scale ; in fact I might easily have passed a month in pursuing agricultural enquiries in this State. In returning to Richmond I visited an ex- tensive cotton mill on James river, at which both white and black children are employed in- discriminately, and they all appeared healthy, clean, and comfortable, and as far as I could judge the concern seemed to be well conducted. After having satisfied myself with the sights of Richmond — its commanding situation on the banks of James river ; its State house on the rising ground to which the city extends ; its bridges of singular construction ; its theatre and court-house ; its wharves, canal, and large basin in the centre of the town ; and above WASHINGTON. 103 all its statue of Washington of the most chaste design and elegant workmanship, — I took my departure at six o'clock a. m. on the 24th of June, for Washington, and arrived there about four afternoon. Owing to the sitting of Congress, W^ashington was much crowded, but I was fortunate in placing myself comfortably at the lodging house of Mrs Hamilton in Pennsylvania Avenue, which I shall when opportunity serves cordially re- commend to any of my friends who may have occasion to visit Washington. Mrs Hamilton is of Scotch extraction, and her daughter, a very interesting young lady, seems to have a strong partiality for everything connected with Scotland, and regarding it put many questions to me, which my amor patrice was gratified in hearing and answering. Next morning I called on Mr Greig of Ca- nandaigua, who kindly took me to the Ca- pitol, a noble edifice of the most elegant pro- portions and workmanship, containing the two houses or chambers of the legislature, with the courts of law and the offices belonging to each, , IT It i\ H I ' ■■■■■1 V t «' ■'■ i I ?: . f F .1 4 ill I. - H ,:i (• .ji Mi .1 i.l I 5 'Mi ti '■ 104 SENATE. and adorned exteriorly with domes and stately columns, and interiorly with many valuable paintings and statues, among them, of course, a portrait and statue of the illustrious Wash- ington. I heard some speeches in the House of Re- presentatives on the M*Leod affair ; the ora- tors delivered themselves fluently and clearly, and with considerable eloquence, and from what I heard, I should set them down as speakers superior to many who make a figure in our House of Commons. After having been also in the Senate, I was taken by Mr Greig to wait upon the Presi- dent of the United States, Mr Tyler, who rose from the office of Vice-President by the unlooked for death of General Harrison. The President resides in a handsome house, pro- vided by the nation, commanding a fine view of the Potomac river. Mr Tyler is a man of slender figure, of middle age, plainly dressed, and of a keen intelHgent countenance ; and I must say, speaking literally, that he received me " very graciously.** MOUNT VERNON. 105 Finding I was only seventeen miles from Mount Vernon, once the residence and now the resting-place of the great Washington, 1 felt it would be a reproach to return home without visiting his tomb. Accordingly on the morning of the 28th of June, I left Wa- shington by the steamer, and after a sail of seven miles, disembarked at Alexandria, a town of considerable importance, and from thence with a party of strangers, on the same errand with myself, proceeded in a stage for Mount A^ernon, a distance of ten miles. The first five miles led through a fine cul- tivated country, and I there saw, for the first time, a field of wheat in dooks ; the crop ap- peared to be hght. The remaining five miles were entirely through a copse forest ; the soil light and sandy, and the road as usual abo- minable. Mount Vernon is a house of moderate size, of the description of a gentleman's country house of the old English style. It is now in- habited by the widow of Judge Washington, nephew of the General, and strangers are not ;.• ',' li li ,U \\\ f { ii ♦ il ( il. H ■ \ r i *i i^i"! M I ■ I I I, 1 III ^f lOG Washington's tomb. admitted to view the interior. The place ap- pears to he completely neglected, and the on- ly thing worthy of observation is a small gar- den with a few orange and lemon trees which were planted by the hand of Washington. That Washington latterly turned his mind to agriculture and the improvement of his landed estate, appears from his correspondence with Sir John Sinclair, but of any improve- ments he actually accomplished no vestige re- mains ; the land has been allowed to return to a state of wild nature, and is now a mere copse forest. The remains of Washington and of his wi- dow are contained in Htor.i coffins or sarcopha- guses, deposited vkXc by side in an arched mausoleum, and inscriptions on them tell that he died in 1799, at the age of sixty-seven, and she in 1802, at the age of seventy-one. Standing by the tomb of Washington, it is with a feeling of profound veneration, that one, even of the country over which he so signally triumphed, looks back to his history — to the generosity of his nature — the energy of his REGARD TO HIS MEMORY. 107 mind— the vastness of his undertaking — the arduous struggle he maintained — the result which crowned it and immortahzed his name ; and perhaps, more than all, the rare magnani- mity with which at last, after having establish- ed the independence, and become the gover- nor ofa great naticm, he voluntarily relinquish- ed power and retired into private life. It is no wonder then, we find that it is with the most ardent devotion Americans regard his memory, and that monuments in honour of it are made to adorn their cities, and his por- traits and statues their public halls and pri- vate buildings. On iny return to "Washington about six o'clock, I called on my friend Mr Greig to take leave, and after I had been with him for an hour or two, we parted with a lasting sense of his kindness on my part, and with an assur- ance from him of a continuance of friendship, with which I could not but feel highly gratified. { 4 'f. 1 1 ; 108 BALTIMORE. ii, \i u ^ ' 1? H ! ;' '^ t. i l^r ' CHAPTER XIIL Departure from Washington — Country between it and Philadelpliia — Arrival there — Head's Mansion-House — Mr Cope — Drive with him to the country — Visit to Mr SheafF's farm — Superiority of his management — Crops secured in barns — Objections to that mode — Excellence of his barns — Garden and orchards — His place for sale — Mr and Mrs Tyson — Water-works — Penitentiary — Gerard's College — Chinese museum — Mr Cadwallader's fast-trotters — Secretary of Anti- quarian Society — Draft of Deed of Independence — Departure from Philadelphia. Ju7ie 1841. On the 27th of June at six a. m. I left Washington — at nine arrived at Baltimore, and after breakfast set out for Philadelphia, distant ninety miles. For the first sixty miles we passed through a poor sandy country chiefly in copse. In- deed as in America the railways are generally conducted through the flattest and least va- ? APPEARANCE OF COUNTRY. 109 luable land, they do not always afford to tra- vellers afavourable view of the country; and al- though in the present case another line passes through a district which is highly cultivated, I learnt this too late for my purpose. I had often been told that the finest coun- try in all the States is that which widely sur- rounds Philadelphia, and my belief of this was now agreeably confirmed, for certainly nothing could exceed in richness or be imagined finer than the country we traversed the remaining part of our way from Baltimore. The land is of exceeding fertility, almost entirely in mea- dow of beautiful verdure, laid out in fields of about 100 acres, here neatly enclosed with post and rail, there with luxuriant hedges, while numerous elegant mansions, smart vil- las, and fine trees plentifully scattered as in the great English parks, complete the picture. Such was the country through which we pas- sed for thirty miles, up to the city of Phila- delphia. The stock grazing here was in point of con- dition of a superior kind, and included many \ I 1^ '"^T^ ?y ill. Id 1 , \ 110 PHILADELPHIA. large heavy bullocks ; but blood or pedigree seemed to have met with no attention, the animals being apparently of various breeds, some of them resembling the Lancashire. We arrived at Philadelphia about three o'clock, and as recommended by Mr Greig, I took up my qu rters at " Head's Mansion House," where I found all the comforts of a first-rate hotel — Head himself a good re- semblance of the " John Bull" landlord, fond of sporting ; his house conducted in the English style — frequented by good society — and free from the usual nuisance of a public bar. He and three sons, strapping young fellows who assist him, are sedulous in atten- tion to his guests, and strangers visiting Phi- ladelphia need desire no better cheer or ac- commodation than is to be found in Head's " Mansion House." I had brought letters of introduction to se- veral families, chiefly of the Society of Friends, and after I had partaken of a good dinner, and some good port wine — the latter by the by rather a rarity in the States — I called with a i I 'i U } " SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. Ill letter from Joseph John Gurney, on Friend T. P. Cope, a leading merchant in Philadel- phia. As the great-great-grandson and lineal de- scendant of ** the Apologist," I found my ap- pearance in the great Quaker city hailed as a sort of event, and welcomed with kindness and hospitality, and nowhere more cordially than in the family of Friend Cope in whom I was happy to meet a person much looked up to by all classes, for his integrity, kind-heartedness and benevolence. He is now a man of seven- ty — has been eminently successful in the world — is of frank and easy manners, and pos- sessing extensive information, has the rare talent of communicating it mingled with amus- ing anecdote — altogether he is the most cheer- ful of the cheerful — a noble instance of a well spent life. His spouse, dressed more in the primitive simplicity of the Quakers, than any one I had yet seen in the States, evinces much of the kindness and affabiUty peculiar to females of that persuasion. Friend Cope no sooner barnt that my chief n I tl:i ■H! I ! lii t 1' r U V. ; ! . I ' K 1; , ft f ■ 1 1 5; I ti 112 DRIVE TO COUNTRY. object was to see the country, than he ordered his phaeton and drove me out a circuit of ten or twelve miles by the Schuylkill river, over a portion of country which for richness is, to say the least, equal to the finest parts of Lin- colnshire. It consists of alluvial soil chiefly in meadow covered with bullocks, but partly in tillage, bearing wheat and Indian corn, and partly also devoted to the culture of vege- tables for the supply of Philadelphia. The average value of such land I understood to be about 250 dollars or L. 50 per acre. After a delightful drive, I returned to Friend Cope*s, where I spent the evening. Next morning, the 28th, after breakfast, in consequence of an appointment he had kindly made for me, I accompanied him on a visit to the farm of a Mr SheafF, about fourteen miles from the city. We again passed over a charming country, and through a town called Germantown, five miles in length, but the houses, which gene- rally have gardens in firont, very straggling ; hi MR SHEAFF S FARM. 113 I and about one o'clock we drove up to Mr SheafPs mansion. He very readily and obligingly undertook to show me his farm. It consists of ^00 acres, and I at once discovered from the aj)- pearance of the land that he manages in a su- perior style. His crops are wheat, rye, Indian corn, oats, potatoes and clover, with a small portion of pasturage, all cultivated in a master- ly manner, and the land particularly clean. Mr Bloomfield, one of the Earl of Leices- ter's principal tenants, and, of course, a crack farmer, who visited here three or four years ago, was greatly taken with Mr SheafPs agri- cultural operations, and declared that his farm exhibited, in his opinion, the only instance of anything approaching a regular English sys- tem of husbandry he had met with in the States. IVIr SheafTs crops of wheat are now ready to be mowed, and although their appearance is very fine, he tells me he seldom averages more than thirty bushels per acre ; that over the whole of K .1 lift ' ' Ji^.'^ 114 INDIAN CORN. ^■1 \ I ^ A| i the States the average is not greater, and that the minimum is as low as fifteen bushels. In my observations on Mr Marx's farm near Richmond, I have suggested probable causes and remedies for this apparent defi- ciency of produce in the American wheat crops. The objections do not altogether ap- ])ly to Mr Sheafi's management, because with him I witnessed the great rarity of a mound of from 300 to 400 tons of excellent manure, in itself a proof of his superior practice ; but I have reason to doubt whether even he allows his land a sufficiency of manure — that import- ant article in wheat husbandry — and whether also his wheat crops might not be rendered more productive by an increase of the allow- ance of seed. His crop of Indian com was to me an object of peculiar interest j planted in rows in the us- ual manner, the land on which it grows has been kept as clean as any garden ; it rises to the height of eight or nine feet, and the hotter the weather the more rapid its growth, Friend Cope having informed me that he has watch- WINTERING STOCK. 115 I ed and measured the progress of the Indian com plants, and found in the very hottest weather that they make shoots of three and four inches in twenty-four hours. Indian corn ground into meal and mixed with cut clover-hay, is used for stall-feeding cat- tle, and I understand with great efficacy. The cultivation of that corn supersedes here the use of green crops as food for stock ; but it seems a question meriting the consideration of the American farmer whether the culture of tur- nips, and also of potatoes more extensively than is practised — both, of course, being stor- ed before winter — should not be adopted as fa- cilitating the means of converting straw into manure. Not having had experience of an American winter, I may not presume to determine whe- ther stock may here be kept loose in a yard communicating with open sheds, and there sup- pUed with turnips, or potatoes, or other green food, and with plenty of fodder and litter, ac- cording to what in Scotland is practised with great advantage j but if this may be done, and >. ,^'' u h I ' ■ t U <({ » 1 ■'I ■ * 1 ' ■4 hf' i 1 : ^ ^ I 1^ J.I I 1 I ! ■''1 I f • . ! ' » . r ■V I! ■ I ;« t 1 ; \f 116 HAY HARVEST. I can see no impracticability in it, it is obvi- ous it would give the States farmer a command of* manure within his farm equal to his occa- sions. At all events, there should certainly be no difficulty in tying up the whole of his young stock, or stock not put up for fattening, in close sheds, and there treating them in the manner mentioned — thus not only keeping them much better than is consistent with the existing cruel mode of treating them during winter, but also making them, so to speak, 7na- 7iufacturers of much valuable manure. Besides, I should say the occasional use of turnips or potatoes or other succulent food, al- ternately with the meal of Indian corn, and cut clover-hay, would be beneficial in exciting and keeping alive the appetite of the stall-fed cattle, and of consequence accelerating their fattening. Mr Sheaffis now in the midst of harv^esting his hay which in some of his fields consists entirely of clover ; in others a mixture of clover and Timothy-grass, which he tells me is much prized as food for horses. I should I m A, ;, , CLIMATE. 117 ■» N ^ > think an admixture of rye-j^rass and some of the other approved hay grasses, would be found still an improvement. Between this country and ours the difference of climate is very striking — here, in two days after it is cut, the clover crop is in a safe state for being carted home and stored in the barn ; with us the precariousness of hay harvest, not only in Scotland, but in the better climate of England, is too well-known ; here no descrip- tion of crop, grain or hay, is ever stacked ; all is at once stored in large barns ; with us, if such a practice were attempted, the buildings, in all probability, would very soon be burnt down by the spontaneous combustion of the contained mass. But although in the States, the climate ad- mits of this mode of securing the crops in barns, I should not approve of it even there, as be- sides various other disadvantages, it must create waste and confusion in thrashing, par- ticularly where thrashing-mills are used, which however it is surprising to see is but rarely the '\ \ I V i !■ \ \j < U .!l5i l< * 1'^ ^'i i 118 RICK-YARD. case in the States, notwithstanding the com- plaint of the high price of labour. The British farmer takes a pride in the ar- ray of his rick-yard, the number and symme- try and arrangement of his corn-stacks being signs of his merit ; and this matter, trifling as it may appear, enters influentially into that emulation among farmers, to which much of our advancement in agricultural science is owing. But the rick-yard is further of utility in en- abling the farmer to keep an exact account of the produce of each particular field on his farm, so as to test the comparative fertility of each ; or the quality and value of the seed with which it was sown ; or the efficacy of different ma- nures, or of distinct modes of culture. For these purposes he has a map of his rick-yard, on which the sites of the stacks are numbered, with reference to entries in his farm-book of everything he desires to record as to the ori- gin, the contents, and the disposal of each stack. These are matters of importance to a farmer who has any desire to know ivhat \ ■h RICK-YARD. 119 com- , he is doiiig, but tliey are beyond the reach of any one who huddles his crops higgledy-pig- gledy in a great barn. I do not conceive that there is anything in the climate of America to prevent the secur- ing of either hay or corn crops in stacks. An inspection of the rick- yard of any good farmer in England or Scotland, and more particularly perhaps in Northumberland, Berwickshire or East Lothian, would be sufficient to remove every doubt of the practicability of keeping corn and hay in stacks with perfect safety ; and if any American farmer w^ould engage a man from any one of these localities, to stack his crops, he might depend upon its being done in such a manner as to resist any rains or storms that would not penetrate or demolish his barns. Mr Sheaif has two barns, each of large di- mensions and very handsome. In one of them are contained his stables and feeding stalls, in the latter of which he can tie up nine- ty head of cattle to be fattened. This part of the building is particularly well arranged ; it is sixteen feet wide, having a stall, a large *V^: I I . t* I' i' n i* ! :l ' 5W! 1 i I N i if ) 1 1 f I I* > -1 *!« I if I ! 120 (iAUDKNS. manger and a hay-rack for each animal ; it is paved with wood, and having* just heen white- washed, appears as neat and clean as any gen- tleman's stahle. The only stock I saw here were a few dairy cows, of no distinct breed ; but Mr Sheaff says he has grazing at some distance a herd of short- horns which he describes as first-rate. We were however so oppressed with heat, the ther- mometer standing at 95° in the shade, that 7io one of the parhj was inclined to undertake the walk to their pastures. Mr SheaiF has a garden and several fine or- chards ; in speaking of which, I may notice that making out a garden in the States, occa- sions no expense in comparison with what a gar- den costs with us ; no walls or forcing houses are required, as grapes, peaches, and every de- scription of fruit ripen here on standards in the open air. The Americans however, probably just from the very facility of creating them, do not seem to take much interest or pleasure in their gardens, and Mr Sheaff*s was the best I had seen. PUK i: OF LAND. V2\ it IS We adjournefl tf) dinnerat three o'eloek, and I was introduced to Mrs Slieaffandtourdaugliters, all very aofreeahle ladies, and a son, a proniis- injif vounir man who now takes the chief man- aufenient of the farm, was also ju'esent. Mr SheafF wishes to dispose of this property for which he asks 7.5,0(M) dollars, heing at the rate of about L..5() per acre. The mansion-house is lar^e and commodious, commandino- a fine view over a rich country, and the grounds round the mansion are laid out with taste, and neatly keptc The land is in a higli state of cultivation, the effect of good management ; and upon the whole Mr Sheaff's is a nice com- pact small property, with every convenience for a family ; but the soil is not naturally ex- cellent, and if it were not treated, as it has been, in a judicious manner, it might soon de- cline. \Miether the price asked be over or mider the value, I will not take upon me to say, but I may mention that Mr Sheaff informs me that he is able to dispose of 100 tons of hay annually, the return for which defrays all out- \ < ( '•if.'. '(I ■I % ff I' 7 : ■; "ii« ' y I ;1! i^i ^i 1;: . ,' I 1^22 PHILADELPHIA. lays on the farm, the rest of the crops sold, as well as what is cleared by stock, going for profit. We took leave of that gentleman with on my part a feeling of obligation for his polite attention, and returned to Philadelphia. I spent the evening at Friend Cope's, and there met his daughter and her husband Mr Tyson, a gentleman of the legal profession — he a very pleasant man, and she possessing all the lively humour and amiable qualities of her worthy father. Part of the 29tli I devoted to calling and delivering letters of introduction I had brought with me, but I found several of the Friends had left town for the summer, and that others were not at home. The rest of the day was spent in walking through and viewing the city, and in the evening I received from Mr George Cadwal- lader, son ofGeneralCadwallader, to whom I had a letter from George Barclay — a note in- viting me to dine with him next day. Mr Cadwallader having fixed next morning, f . M r ', : T ^^M' PENITENTIARY. 1^3 ^ ; the 80th, for showing me vsome of the sights of Philadelphia, called accordingly, tnd we drove first to the water-works, a stupendous achievement of art and labour, by which a great body of water from the Schuylkill river is forced by the power of three immense wheels, driven by the current, to the summit of a hill overtopping the highest houses, and is there received into three large reservoirs, out of which, by means of pipes, it is plentifully dis- tributed over the cit)', at a moderate charge to the inhabitants. The sight of this gigantic work so indicative of great ingenuity and en- terprize filled me with astonishment. We next drove to the Penitentiary or State- prison, a great and admirable establishment, containing separate cells and airing-yards for 500 prisoners, arranged so as to be all within view from a hall in the centre, but so also that one prisoner is not within sight of hearing of another. The principle of this establishment is soli- tary confinement, and every prisoner is sup plied with work such as he can perform, and if l;*V ,1 'I \ i / 4 r i :: MA :'m 124 PHILADELPHIA. ignorant of a trade is tauq-ht one. No one sentenced to a shorter imprisonment than two years is received here, and although the sen- tence may be for hfe, imprisonment, the go- vernor tells me, is seldom continued in any case beyond ten years. Every prisoner on his arrival is conducted blindfold to his cell, from vrhich, or the airing- yai-d attached to it, he never emerges till his sentence is fulfilled ; he never sees the face of another prisoner, and no one but officers of the establishment is ever allowed to see bin". When his appointed term of imprisonment terminates, he is furnished with a sum of mo- ney, part of his own earnings in prison, to en- able him to follow an honest calling, and hav- ing been kept in solitary confinement, all along unseen bv any f»ne, if he now chooses to re- move to where he »vas previously unknown, the secret of his imprisonment may lie in his own breast. Some such provision is a great desideratum in our own prison-system, according to which, however much a criminal may have reformed T t' girard's college. 125 in his confinement, and however desirous to pursue a virtuous course when it is ended, lie finds on his return to the world, that he car- ries along with him an indelible stigma which proves a bar to his exercise of honest industry, and leaves him no choice but a return to his former vicious habits. We next visited Girard's College, a magni- ficent marble edifice not yet completed, wliidi in dimensions will surpass the College of Edin- burgh, and in splendour of architecture will, it is said, equal any building in the world. 'Ilie founder was a Mr Girard, a Frenchman, who from obscurity and poverty, rose to be a great banker in Philadelphia, and bequeathed a for- tune of about a million and a half Sterling, for the erection and endowment of this College. It is about eight years since the building of it was commenced, and some years may yet be required for its completion. Some rather whimsical conditions disqualifying certain de- scriptions of persons from being appointed pro- fessors, are expressed in the founder's will, but so ample is the endowment of the institution, , -I* :) 14 i' ^,^ >'') H' It r I !| ' I i 1^26 PHILADELPHIA. that eminent men of science and literature will no doubt be found ready to become the teachers in it. From Girard's College we went to what is called the Chinese Museum — a very remark- able collection of curiosities, comprehending birds, quadrupeds, shells, and other subjects of natural history, peculiar to China, with full- length figures in wax, said to be correct like* nesses of some of the Imperial family and emi- nent characters of that country. The proprie- tor of this museum had been long resident in China, and having become a favourite with his celestial Majesty, was allowed to make this collection — a sort of privilege which had never before been granted to any harharian. After having visited various other public works and objects of interest, I proceeded at five o'clock to dinner at Mr Cadwallader's, where there was an agreeable party. That gentlemen possesses a large landed estate in Maryland ; is a great sportsman, a crack shot, and owns two of the fastest trotting horses in the States, or perhaps in any country — one of I ' ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. vzn \ \ them can do the mile in two minutes thirty seconds. After dinner Mr Cadvvallader sent me in his carriage to Mr Tyson's, where I met Mr Cope and other Friends, and passed the even- ing. Next morning, July 1st, I breakfasted with the Secretary of the Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia— a singular personage now near- ly ninety years of age, yet hale and strong in body, and entire and vigorous in intellect ; he is an enthusiast in antiquarian research, and showed me many documents upon which great value is placed—particularly the original draft of the Deed of Independence in 177t>, with the corrections, erasures, and additions that were made upon it, in the course of its mo- mentous discussion. I regretted that I was not sufficiently versed in antiquarian lore, ful- ly to enjoy what to many a one would have proved a rich treat. I tliis day took leave of Philadelphia, the metropolis of Pennsylvania, a country which only 200 years ago— a short period in the his- V, 1 V ■ I I, s^s MHi ?,' 1 > \ i t > i r>, 1^28 PHILADELPHIA. tory of nations — was, in its forest state, taken possession of by Europeans — not by the force of war, but by peaceful negociation and agree- ment with its indigenous occupiers ; it now appears one of the fairest portions of the earth, rich in everything that pertains to civihzed Hfe, and for nothing more remarkable than this great and beautiful city, in its many benevo- lent institutions proclaiming the philantliropy of its founder William Perai, and in its neat- ness, order, and decorum, owning the influ- ence of that excellent Society of which he was « a distinguished member. In leaving Philadelphia, I should be defi- cient in gratitude were I not to ackno\\'ledge that to the kind friends I found there, and par- ticularly to T. P. Cope and his family, I feel myself under obligations for their attentions, which never can be erased from mv remem- brance. NEW YORK. V29 \ V CHAPTER XIV. lloturn to New York through East Jersey— Anniversary of American Inde])endence — Exemplary behaviour of the assemblage — Jubilee suddenly terminated by a tx,>rritie thunderstorm — Visit to Glover Farm New Jersey — Departure from New York — Arrival at Bos- ton — Dinner on board Britannia Steamer, and pre- sentation of plate to Captain C'lcland— Concluding observations on tiio United States— Departure from. Boston— Return to Liverpool— Unprecedented rapi- ditv of the vovage. Jul}/ 1841. In travelling by railway from Philadel- phia to New York, I passed through East Jersey, a hght and sandy soil, but well culti- vated according to the usual American system. At twelve at night I reached New York, and put up at an excellent house, the Globe, in Broadway. While in New York, on this occasion, 1 had t 1 ': ' I n k ^\ ,1 'I !i h (I I « « l< 1 1 I' 1-3 It 'i I \ I- , til !. r ;l til 130 NEW YORK. an opportunity of witnessing the celebration of the 4 th of July, the birth-day of American Independence. The anniversary happened this year to fall on a Sunday, and the festivities were therefore postponed till the Monday, but yet on the evening of Saturday, partial demonstrations of joy by groups of people on the streets, an- nounced the coming jubilee. At an early hour on Monday it burst forth in all the " pomp and circumstance" with which public rejoicings in a great city are usually manifested. For the time, business appeared to have been laid aside in every quar- ter, and countless multitudes of all classes, ci- tizens of New York and inhabitants of the ru- ral districts for many miles around, thronged the streets from morning to night, eager in mutual gratulation, and having their gladden- ed spirits still more enlivened by the ringing of bells, the flying of colours, the roaring of cannon, and the more dulcet sounds of music issuing from numerous bands stationed at dif- ferent places, or accompanying processions to ANNIVEUSAIIY OF INDEPENDENCE. 131 or from meetings at which orations were made in honour of tiic day. I walked much about beholding the animat- ed scene, with no other inconvenience than the difficulty of threading my way through so ■ dense an assemblage, and I think it deserving of particular remark, that in this congregated mass of many tens of thousands, I saw no per- son intoxicated, witnessed no quarrelling or disorder, nor heard an angry expression direct- ed from one to another. Whether this arose from the exhilarating nature of the occasion, disposing every mind to none but the more kindly feelings, or was a consequence of the temperament of the Ameri- can people, distinguishing them from those of countries in which drunkenness and outrage are the too certain attendants on such conven- tions, I do not pretend to determine ; but I am very sure that in my own country, a pro- miscuous congregation of the people, much less numerous than what I this day saw in New York, would not readily pass over with- i.i I'; I t .1 I < Hi,; 'I I' i/i r^ •I I '\ V32 NEW YORK. out many quarrels and broken heads, or jjro- bably more serious occurrences. It had been announced that in the evenincr, according to custom, grand displays of fire- works were to be exhibited at different places of amusement, and about ten o'clock, the people, still not sensibly diminished in numbers, were moving anxiously towards the expected exhi- bitions, when a terrible thimderstorm burst over the city, and suddenly terminated the day's proceedings. It was full moon, and the street lamps had not been lit. In a moment the city was en- veloped in a cloud of such intense darkness, that, walking home from where I had been dininff, I should hardlv ha\ e found my way but for those incessant flashes of the most vivid lightning that ushered in continuous peals of deafening thunder. The rain then descended in torrents, the streets were instantaneously deserted, and thus, by a terrific convulsion of nature, was closed, in New York, the sixty- third anniversary of American Independence. I remained here until tlie 11th, during i«! NEW JEllSKY. [Sfi which time nothing farther occurred deserv- ing notice, except that I one day crossed over to New Jersey, with a view to a purchase lor mv daughter, of a farm thirty miles in the in- terior, which I understood was for sale. It is called Glover Farm, having formerly belonged to a Colonel (jlover, but is now the property of a Mr Grieve, formerly a Fifeshire former and cattle-dealer, whom I had often met in Scotland, and who on my appearance now at his house, betrayed as much surprise as if I had dropped from the clouds, I found an excellent stone and brick built house, containing a hall, two large public rooms, and eight or ten bed-chambers— situate on an eminence with a neat garden in front— and more resembling a gentleman's house m Scotland than any I had remarked in this coun- try. The property consists of 169 acres of arable land, and 99 in wood— the soil light and gravelly, and by no means in good order. The crops were light and consisted of wheat, Indian corn, oats, and clover, with thirty acres in meadow. A few dairy cows was all the V. , \ S ; n ISt NEW YOUK. , f I :1^ ',.'1 ' I ,. stock on the farm. On the whole the place was desirable enough, having a smallclear river within a quarter of a mile of tlie house, well supplied with trout, and two ponds stocked with fish, and there being on the estate, as I was informed, plenty of quail, woodcock, snipe, and other game. The distance from Newark is six miles, and Newark is distant by the rail- way twenty-four miles from Jersey city on the river side opposite to New York, and the neigh- bourhood of extensive lead mines, Mr Grieve told me, affords him a ready market for farm produce. But 13,000 dollars, the price de- manded, I considered above the value of the property, which only three years ago was pur- chased for 10,000. Having passed ten days at New York much to my satisfaction, and chiefly with my rela- tives, Messrs George and Anthony Barclay, who had proved my sheet anchor, and with- out whose kind interposition I should have been indeed a stranger in the land, I returned by steamer to Stonnington, and from thence by railway to Boston, where I arrived on the >■ '. '^ ♦< nosTox. la r> de- morning of the 15tli, exactly ten weeks from the day on which I landed there from Liver- pool. I found the Britannia Steamer now at Bos- ton, and was heartily welcomed by Captain Cleland and Lieutenant Roberts. The same (lay I attended a dinner on board and wit- nessed the presentation to the Captain of a piece of plate to which, along with my fellow passengers from Liverpool, I had cheerfully subscribed, as an acknowledgment of our sense of his kind and polite attention, and the sea- manship and discipline displayed by him on a voyage for the greater part so extremely ^ jis- terous as that which in April and May we performed with him to Hahfax. '* > I Iv I' Now on the eve of bidding farewell to Ame- rica, I must express the high gratification I have derived from my visit to that great, ris- ing, and most interesting country, the ad- vancement of which in power and riches, is, MM Ml 136 AGRICULTURE. i1»" k u with reference to the period that has inter- vened since it ranked as an independent state, Oi' even looking back to the very dawn of its civihzation, perhaps unparalleled in the his- tory of nations. It has not been my province :• speak of its extensive commerce, or its growing manufac- tures. Its agriculture was the chief object of my attention, and in that I have seen an im- measurable source of wealth, naturally attract- ing much of the capital and a vast proportion of its own population, and affording also an alluring invitation to the inhabitants of other countries, and more especially the British farmer. That there is much room for improvement in the practice of American agriculture, I have endeavoured in some respects to point out ; and it is an important and encouraging consi- deration, that the defects calling for remedy in a great measure proceed from the excellence of the soil and climate, which, operating so spontaneously in production, have as yet left in abeyance those exertions which, as is exem- BRITISH HUSBANDRY. vr/ plified in other countries, a less fertile soil and a more ungenial climate, would have drawn forth, it having heen well expresse^l by a cele- brated agricultural writer, that where nature is bountiful, man is too apt to he indolent. If I might presume to address, and could imagine my advice would reach, the landed proprietors of the States, I would impress upon their attention the advantages to be derived from an observance of the modes of husbandry which, with the aids of science, and after long experience, have been established in Britain, both as regards the cultivation of land and the breeding and rearing of stock.* This is a matter of more concernment to American farmers than many of them seem aware of, for, although from the great natural richness of their soil, and, in the general case, its recent subjection to culture, it may as yet exhibit but few signs of exhaustion, it cannot * Vide Ui'povts of Counties of England and Scotland drawn np tW the r>oard of A-ricultnre ; also " Code of Ajrricidture.- and other valuable a^^ ricultural works by Jsir John Sinclair. 138 FOREST LAND. . I m i ■: i V be supposed that, under a system of over-crop- ping, or as in Scotland it is emphatically termed a acourg'ni^ sjjsfc?)/, it Avill not at length give way, and when its impoverishment once talves place, they may be assured it will be a matter verv difficult, or it mav be im~ practicable, to restore it to anything like ori- ginal fertility. This ^bser^■ation more particularly ajjplies to land which has ■- n reclaimed from forest. Alluvial soil by deeper and deeper ploughing may be kept in a productive state for a longer time, and when it sickens, as sicken it must, i'rom constant working without feeding, it may [)erhaps be revived by stinmlating manures, or by being laid to rest for s sufficient time un- der grass. Even in this case, pre% ention be- ing better than cure, it wer<^ unwind' to dete- riorate tli^ soil by overcroppntg when the means of preserving its fertility are at hand. Cut as to land cleared frorri forest, the pro- ductiveness of it seems to d^^p^-nd entirely on a covering of veg*itableta»^, which, in its forest state, had, for perhais tliousands of years, been 11!,', ■,!'¥]! rmr. FOREST LAND. 1S9 forming and accumulating on its surface, and of which the fertihty is so great, that but little labour and no manure is required to make it bear, year after year, abundant crops of grain. Every successive crop, however, abstracts a portion of the vegetative principle the soil con- tains, and in a certain time, longer or shorter, according to the thickness of the covering, it will be entirely deprived of its vivifying pow- ers, and reduced to a caput mortuvm. Whe- ther after this, the land may be of any use, will depend on the quality of the subsoil, and how- ever naturally rich the subsoil may be, it will before it will carry crops of grain have to be fertilized by being brought to the surface and fed with proper manure. How much better then must it be, by a right mode of cultiva- tion, to maintain the present valuable surface soil in its fruitful state. There is not in the States, as there is in Britain, that peculiar feeling of the amor pa- tricp which attaches a man to a particular loca- lity, and probably induces him to use means for establishinsr it as the home of his descen- 's; :{ il 140 MIGRATORY PROPENSITV. / ! f\ I •V i I islil ;'[ d *' dants. In the former country the abnegation of the law of primogeniture in a manner pre- cludes the establishment of fUmUt) estates^ and land is so universally an article of com- merce, that to ask a gentleman to sell his house and land, is just as permissible as it were in England to ask a dealer to sell a horse. Hence, perhaps, arose a migratory propen- sity, observable in the generality of persons engaged in the business of agriculture, and hence the difficulty of reconciling them to meliorating modes of husbandry involving fixedness of residence. The States, many of them argue, are a wide field, and there is in them plenty of land to be reclaimed. It will therefore be long ere it be necessary to take heed how soils are managed. When one farm ceases to be profitably productive, another may be cleared, and economising the fructifying quality of the soil is therefore a matter not yet worth consideration. In short, a profit which is inunedidte, is the profit which most of them seek after, and consequently an expen- diture on land, which is to be productive of a |H f'^i^ivi^ i DETERIORATION OF LAND. Ill permanent but only gradual return, is repuo^- nant to their habits. To those who are actuated by such views, it were probably vain to remark, that although the States are indeed "a wide field," the encrease of* population there is astonishingly rapid — that the clearing of* the forests has already extended so far as to excite in some quarters an apprehen- sion of a dearth of timber — and that there is reason to think a great many years may not elapse before all the reclaimable land shall have been brought into cultivation. With a view to the public interests of the States, it seems, therefore, a matter of serious importance, that the destruction of land by ir- remediable impoverishment should be prevent- ed. How far this might be accomplished by the establishment of institutions in the differ- ent States, having for their object the enani- rage merit of approved modes of hiisbandn/, I may not presume to say, but I may refer to the " Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland," as an instance of the immense ad- vantages which a country mav derive from a U2 IMI'IIOVED in SBANDIIY. \hr-'' H -i I i li ! ■ Ml 'H ;»: : r. I: 4 in ■ I' I general association of its leading men, encou- raging by their own example, and rewarding by liberal premiums, improvements in the various branches of rural economA\ More re- markable testimony to the benefits diffused by that Society, could not have been borne, than has been afforded by its having been taken as a model for England, in an association lately established, and now in operation in that country. But although it is not difficult to show that an alteration of the practice of husbandry in the States, is called for by a regard to the pub- lic advantage, the improvements I would sug- gest for the adoption of the American farmer, are such as I conceive w ould 7iot dinunislt bti' mediate profit, but, on the contrary, matei'kd- ly encrease it. The principal error in American cultivation is the frequent repetition of culmiferous crops, without the application of a sufficiency of ma- nure to compensate for the matter they abstract fi'om the soil. The arable land in those parts of the States yf[ IMPROVED HUSBANDRY. 143 the that visited by me, is in general a rich friable loam, or a rich vegetable mould, in both cases such as, in Scotland, would be deemed peculiarly adapted for green crops of all descriptions. On such land, therefore, may successfully be followed a system of convertible husbandry, based on a rotation which an experienced far- mer will have no difficulty in adapting to his peculiar soil, and so arranged that the severity of grain crops may be modified or counteracted by the alternation of grass and green crops in tlieir proper order. Under such a system the soil would be nourished and supported, by ma- nure used for the green crops, and the green crops, such as turnips, potatoes, mangel-wurzel, would be consumed in winter by stock proper- ly foddered and Uttered, and thus manure in sufficient quantity, would every year be manu- factured—the land would be kept in good tilth— stock of greater value would be reared —and upon the whole, the receipts of the far- mer would be encreased in amount with little or no additional outlay. ^1 (I I n ■ I Ml i t 'rf 'hi 1: m r If ' !i 1 H tONVEUTIBLE IIUSBAXDIIY. This is not a prediction rested on mere theory ; for at a period not yet beyond memory, before the introduction of convertible husband- ry in Scotland, it was nothing uncommon to see the farmer's stock so attenuated bv the dearth and insufficiency of winter food, as to be almost unable to walk to their pastures in spring. But with convertible husbandry came the cultivation of turnips and other green crops, before unknown. By the use of such green crops, the straw came to be converted into va- luable manure ; the soil was rendered greatly more productive ; and now, at the end of winter, the stock of a Scotch farmer is not the mere skin and bone of former times, but in the best condition, or, if such has been the purpose, ready for the butcher. I have already made such observations on the descriptions of American stock I had opportuni- ties of inspecting, as occurred to me at the mo- ment, and I would here remark that in the man- agement of that branch of farming, there is in the States, a want of attention to two things of essential importance — Isfy the selection of fc*' BUEKDS OF CATTLE. 11.5 suitable breeds, and keeping them pure — ajid, 2r//7/, the provision of shelter for stock in winter. With regard to breed, where the distance to market is not considerable, or where fat cattle may be carrin/ to market, I should think short-horns the most suitable stock for a States* farmer, as that breed feeds kindly and to a great weight, and is of a hardy constitu- tion, and as the soil of the States is amply cal- culated to rear it to perfection. But of whatever breed he makes choice, he should be particular as to its purity, both in the original purchase, and by endeavouring to preserve it from mixture with other breeds. Or if from any circumstance he finds a cross advisable or unavoidable, he should by all means shun hreedhig from the cro^s, other- wise he will soon render his stock wholly mongrel and comparatively w^orthless, which indeed I observed is the case with regard to the greater part of the American stock I ex- amined. On the other hand there is a disad- vantage in breeding long injlimiiies, and this N . U6 WANT OF LEASES. L If ' I- ' U may easily be avoided iiy occasional exchanges, between neighbours having stock similar in breed but not related. These I conceive are fixed rules everywhere, in the proper manage- ment of stock. But no breed of cattle can possibly thrive, if not sheltered from inclement weather, and therefore the practice of exposing stock in open fields, to the rigour of a North American winter, must be condemned as beyond mea- sure incongruous, the disadvantages by loss of manure and injury to the cattle, which arise from it being incalculable. Further as indispensable to the introduction of tenants from Britain, I would to proprietors who do not farm their own land, but commit its cultivation partly or wholly to others, reite- rate my recommendation of the adoption of a judicious system of leasing. As far as I could perceive, the common de- scription of rural tenantry in America, are a sort of contractors, who agree to plough and crop a portion of land by the year, and to de- CONTRACTORS. 117 liver In name of rent, a certain portion of the crop in hulk. Under this system the land is robbed of the straw which ouccht to be converted into ma- nure, and eonseqiiently, year by year, must be- eome more and more deteriorated ; and at last finding it has been nearly worked out, and rendered no longer capable of making him a due return for his trouble, the contractor leaves it, and in the wide range of the States, seeks and readily finds another lot, to be ploughed and cropped and impoverished in its turn. That this system is an improvident one is very obvious, and it is equally so that the evil consequences inseparable from it, might be averted by an arrangement of the land into proper sized farms, of from 200 to .500 acres, according to the means of tenants — erecting upon them suitable buildings both for the ac- commodation of the tenants and for housing their stock — and granting leases for a term of years sufficient for ensuring a return of the I. h 'n {;' f ''IT i I : : !i «ii I. ft I. ''' 1. 148 WANT or LKASES. capital which the tenants nii^ht lay out in the improvement of the soil. I had the satisfaction, in one instance, of convincing an extensive landowner, Mr Henry Barclay near Red- 1 look, of the advantage to be derived from granting leases ; and I hope to hear that he has carried his purpose of adopting that system into execution. The encouragement which his locality temptingly holds out to enteri)rizing farmers, I have al- ready explained. But although I succeeded in making but one convert among the landed proprietors, I had an opportunity of ascertaining that the sort of tenantry I have described, are them- selves (piite sensible of the disadvantage of their j)rcsent tenure, and would be found ready to embrace the system of leases I recommend. It is to such a system that in Scotland is mainly owing those improvements which in the last sixty years have raised it to eminence in scientific agriculture, and it cannot be doubted that its adoption would encrease the ADVANTAGKS OF LEASIiS. IMJ in the ice, of Henry age to I hope lose of The )tingly ive al- ng' but .'tors, I lat the them- :age of 1 ready nmend. land is hich in linence not be !ase the value of land and advance the character of agri- culture in America. Besides, an important benefit arising from the granting of leases is that farms are for the greater part tenanted by men reared from in- fancy to affricultiu'c — who study it as a pro- fession, and pursue it with the skill and energy necessary to success. Britain thus possesses a numerous race who for agricultural know- ledge, patriotic feeling, and moral conduct, are nowhere surpassed— who are the pride and glory and decidedly the best bulwarks of their countr}^ Under this system of leasing British farmers would flock to the States, and by the ai)plica- tion of their skill and capital, not only enrich themselves, but set an example that would disseminate itself and eventually prove valua- ble to the country. And I do not hesitate to give it as my decic^ed opinion, that if the land- ed proprietors of the States could be induced to adopt that system, farmers emigrating from Britain, would do better to become their ten- ! il II', Iv If I 150 PUIICHASING LAST). '/ a i i I '■: ants, than in the first instance to purchase land. Where, however, the British farmer is pos- sessed of capital sufficient for the purchase, arid also the stocking' and culfii'(ifi:i ii/ -^1 V>2 PRICE OF LABOUR. 'n. • i sheep, in all tliing-s but the shearing of them, which is done by contract. The individual I found in charge of a flock of that number was an English shepherd, and the only complaint he seemed to have was that there was occa- sionally superadded to his task, a call to assist at farm work. In this way the real price of labour in America, u brought nearer its price in Britain, than at first sight appears j and accordingly, by the information I obtained, the expense of raising an acre of wheat in the free States, is no more than about I^. 3 of our money, which is considerably less than the same expense, ex- clusive of rent, in any part of Britain. It is also to be considered that to the price he pays for labour, the British former has to add taxes and rates far exceeding any imposts directly or indirectly affecting land in Ameri- ca, and greatly outbalancing any advantage he can have from any difference in the rate of wa£!fes. * In connection with this part of the subject it may be noticed that it a{)j)cars by a Report lately delivered to .M DRAINAGE. 153 There is one circumstance which renders cultivation in America an agreeable task, when we look to the obstacles to it which often oc- cur in Britain, and that is the absence of land- springs. T did not observe in the States a single field in which a drain had been formed or was required, nor, with exceptions not worth mentioning, any land in the smallest degree infested with boulder stones. There is thus in the soil of an American farm no super- aburdant moisture to be got rid of, and after the land has been cleared of timber, nothing to impede the ploug' It may not be deemed foreign to my ])ur- pose, in 'recommending a preference for the States to my emigrating countrymen, to de- vote a few words to the condition of Ameri- can society. I had long heard much of the impertinent curiosity, rudeness, vulgarity, and selfishness of the people of the States, but instead of any the House of Commons that m five years, from 18:34 to 1830, the average price of wheat was at New \ork L. ^• Os. lOd. per quarter, and m England L. '2, Us. • il '!* iv ,Iv t \5\ MANKLRS. I i 1: > !' extraordinary signs of these repulsive qualities, I found good breeding, politeness, frank hos- pitality, and every generous feeling prevailing amoniyst them, in as crreat a deg-ree and with a^s few exceptions as at home. Ill the cities I saw none of the open dis- j)lays of depravity, which disfigure our large towns, and in all my journeying 1 never saw the face of a policeman — never met a beggar or any one in the garb of mendicity — never heard uttered an oath or imprecation — and never witnessed an instance of intoxication but one, and that I regret to sav was furnished by a Scotsman. I observed when at Albany, that the Americans are attentive to their reli- gious duties, and this opinion has been con- firmed by a further acquaintance with them. One does not meet here with any preten- sion to the high pisltion bred in courts and ])ervading their atmospheres, but exclude this from the comparison, and, between the States and iMigland, there will be found in private so- ciety, such a resemblance of manners as for the moment makes a Briton forii'ct he is not in PEOPLE. 1 - r' I },is own countr5'-or if that shall be called tn his miml, it will probably be by a difference onlv in the personal appearance of the natives of the two countries. In rural districts this chssimilarity in ente- rior appearance is not so striklno; as in the >i- ties. But in the latter the men generally are more sallow, and care-worn, and less robust than Englishmen — and there also, in the ..reater number of females, there is a very ob- vious appearance of languor and delicacy oi frame, while the bloom and vivacity of coun- tenance, the elastic gait and rounded form of an English beautv, are hardly to be met with. These cUstinctive quaUties are in America the effects of climate, heightened in the ease of fe- males by the most exemplary domestic haliits, and consequent sedentariness. It cannot perhaps he said, that hi Dritain there is anv deficiency of chivalrous bearing towards the fair sex, but I remarked of Ame- rica that this sort of feeling passes through all ranks more obviously than 1 bad met with it at home. Every man here, rich or poor, seems P 156 EQUALITY. ' i. i : 1 1 'I 1 Iff t i » on all occasions sedulously to give place and precedence to females, and the meanest of them are exempt, or I might rather say de- barred, from those masculine or laborious tasks which are commonly enough assigned the sex, or assumed by them, in our country. For in- stance, a woman employed at work in the fields is nowhere to be seen, and although this with us might be thought a refinement, it is at least an amiable one. Before setting foot on the republican soil of America, one supposes he is to hear broached there no sentiment that does not comport with a veneration for that perfect eqiuilifjj, upon which the social compact in that country theo- retically is based ; but he has not long mixed in American society ere he discovers, in many quarters, a strong aristocratic feeling — in some the pride of learning, in many the pride of riches, and in not a few even the pride of fa- mily. This feeling is easy to be perceived in the portion of the States I visited, and I under- .stand is found much stronger in the more south- ;,,*>. vat DISTTNCTIOX OF RASMUS. 157 em states. One day, and that perhaps at no jrreat distance, it is hkely to end in an open and acknowledged distinction of ranks, iiichid- mg every gradation of precedence Worn tlie liumble " labourer" up to the man of quality and title. I had formed this impression very soon af- ter my arrival in America, and a few words, having some reference to the state of society, which the President did me the honour to ad- dress to me when at Washington, have not had the effect of effacing it. In the praise which, on the whole, truth has compelled me to bestow on the American States, I do not forget that their greatness is an emanation from my own covmtry, and that^ while she on the one hand uiay be proud of her offspring, they on the other hand have rea- son to be proud of their origin, 'lliis I be- lieve is the feeling of every well constructed mind in both countries, nnd deejAy is it to he regretted that groveUing pn^sions are ever al- lowed to impair that feeling, or to put in jeo- pardy the bonds of mutual friendship, in which v\ A ij> .-ll lo8 CONCLUSION'. a proper sense of mutual interests ought un- ceasingly to unite them. On Saturday the 17th of July at eleven a.m. I embarked in the Britannia for Old England, and arrived at Liverpool at seven p. m. on the '^29th, after a passage of twelve days from Bos- ton, and only nine days twenty hours from Halifax. On my taking leave of Captain Cleland he jocosely addressed me in these words :— *' You have now crossed the Atlantic in shorter time than ever it was crossed since the Atlantic was the Atlantic, — and ?/ou may tack that to the rest of i/oiw feata'' APPENDIX. f1» .ti u A P P E N D 1 X. DINNER TO CAPTAIN BARCLAY (il I KV. AT STONEIIANKN'. On Friday the 6th July 1838, a Public Dinner was given to Captain Robert Barclay Allaudhk of Ury, in a large granary attached to the Glenury Di^til- lery, by about two hundred of the (ientry and Parniers of the ]Mearns and adjacent counties. The chau- was tilled by John Carnegie, Esq. of Redhall. The ( nm- piers were — Mr Clarland of Cairnton ; Mr Thoni of Uras ; Mr Hector of Fernicflat ; and Mr Scott, Kirk- town of Benholm. Among the gentlemen on each side of the chair, besides the distinguished guest, we observ- ed the Right Honourable Viscount Arbuthnott ; Sir Thomas Burnett of Leys, Bart. ; Sir John Stuart Forbes of Fettercairn, Bart. ; the Honourable the Master (;f Ar- buthnott ; William Innes, Esq. of Raemoir ; ■ O IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ks- ii H I I.I 11.25 US ■M 12.0 Itt HA '/ Photografiiic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WUSTH.N.Y. 14SM (716)S72-4S03 ^ V ,v <^ 4s ^ ^' <^ o f e^ 1C2 APPENDIX. Iniios, Esq. younger thereof ; Robert Duff, Esq. of I-'et- teresso ; G. Silver, Esq. of Netlierley, Convener of the County ; Captain Chcape of Strathtyrum ; Henry Lums- den, Esq. of Tilwhilly ; Mr Lumsden, yr. thereof ; Ak'X- ander Gibbon, Esq. of Johnston ; Lewis Cronibie, Esq. of Kirkhill ; Captahi Scott, U.N. ; J. B. M'Conibie, Esq. of Jellybrands ; W. M'Combie, Esq. of Easter Skene ; ]Mr Sheriff EuUerton ; Taylor, Esq. of Cushnie ; Innes, Esq. Aberdeen ; Mr Shand, advocate, do. ; Alexander Iladden, Esq. do.; Captain Scott, K.N. ; Mr lilaikie, advocate ; Mr Alexander (iordon, advocate ; Mr Gordon of xManar ; Mr Mackenzie, yr. of Glack ; Captain Skene of Lethenty ; Mr Chalmers of VVestburn ; l)r John Campbell ; Mr Peter, Factor to the Earl of Kintore ; Mr Monro of Berryhill ; Mr Robertson of Ilaughhead ; Mr Tindal, Procurator Fiscal of Kincardine- shire ; Mr Christian, Chief Magistrate of Stonehaven ; Dr Thomson ; INIr James Brebner, advocate ; Mr Bur- ness, banker, Stonehaven ; Mr Kinnear and INIr Smart, solicitors, do. ; Mr Valentine, Bognuiir ; Mr Anderson, l*itcarry ; Mr Napier, corn merchant ; Dr Fettes ; Mr David Barclay, North Water Bridge, Montrose, &c. &c. The Hall was tastefully decorated with evergreens and flowers. Behind the chair were the Royal Arms and those of Captain Barclay. The dinner having been concluded, the Chairman stat- ed that he had received letters of apology from some gentlemen who were prevented by business and other APPENDIX. las causes from attoiidiiijr. He at the same time congratu- lated the company ui)on the numerous and rospectable assemblage who had met to do honour to their distingjiisli- ed gfuest. Before the first toast was proposed, several ladies, among whom were Miss Barclay of Ury, Mrs and Miss Innes of Kaemoir, &C. entered the room, and were grect- cd with loud applause. The Chairman then rose, and gave the first toast — " The Queen" — which was drunk with all the honours. (Air — God save the Queen.) " The Queen Dowager, and the rest of the Royal Fa- mily." (Air — Of a noble race was Shenkin.) " Lord Hill and the Army." (Air — British (ircna- diers.) " Lord Minto and the Navy." (Air — Rule Britan- nia.) The Cfiairman then rose and called for a special and overflowing bumper. It was now his grateful duty to propose the toast of the evening ; and, in the first place, in the name of himself and the other farmers present, he must return their united and cordial thanks to their dis- tinguished guest for the readiness with which he had re- sponded to their desire of meeting him here on this occa- sion. (Cheers.) To none were his valuable services better known than to them — his patriotic character — his kindness as a landlord — his genuine goodness of heart. (Loud cheers.) He would not detain them by dwelling A Wi Ari'KNDIX. It upon what thoy know so Wfll. He might also allude to Captain Harclay as the rp|>rcsentativo of an ancient and honourabh; 'aousc, and one who, apart altogether from his success as a farmer, had, by the brilliant incidents in his career, acquired for himself a name more widely celebrat- tnl than tliat of any other gentleman in Britain. (Cheers.) But he would now consider him only as the proprietor of Ury. It was as a resident landlord — as an agriculturist — that they were met to honour him ; as one, who, shed- ding the influence of his example through the country, and treadijig in the steps of his immediate ancestor, had contributed to raise the agriculture of the country to that Stat*,' which had rendered Scotland the best cultivated country in the world. (Loud cheers.) But if they ow- ed much to Captain Barclay as a farmer, they owed still more to him as a breeder of live stock, llegardless of expense, he had introduced into the country a breed of cuttle which was unmatched in Scotland, and unsurpass- ed elsewhere. By crossing the short-homed or Durham breed with the breed of the country, he had greatly im- proved upon both ; and by his annual sales at Ury, he had widely disseminated a most splendid herd of cattle, lie had also introduced the valuable breed of Leicester sbeop. The introduction of steam navigation so exten- sively had, by ojiening up the markets, enabled us fully to appreciate the benefit derived from the introduction of a stock which was as valuable at one year old, in flesh and wool, as the common breed at full age. He would 3 la ' v< APPENDIX. \i\5 not lonjror detain them, hut jjropoge the health of *' Cap- taiii Barclay of Ury." The toast was drunk with all the honours. (Air — Kind Hobin Iocs me.) C-aptain Hauclay rose amidst loud cheers, and sai«l. — Mr Chairman and Genthmon — Unaccustomed as I ain to address a large j)ublic assembly, I should feel it sulTi- c'ieatly cmbarrassinff to do so even on any ordinary occa- sion. You may judge, then, how utterly imjjossible it is for me, even were I gifted with the command of lan- guage and eloquence of a Peel or a Brougham, to ex- press, in anything like adequate terms, the feelings which at this moment pervade my mind. You have conferred upon me the greatest honour which, in my opinion, a country gentleman can receive — the spontaneous ex|)res- sion of approbation of his conduct, by the practical far- mers, cordially joined by the landed proprietors and other kind friends. (lentlemen, I should be paying but a poor compliment to your judgment, if I did not admit that I am aware that this mark of your respect has been caused by your feeling that, by my pursuits and exer- tions as an agriculturist, I have been the means of doing the country some good service. (Cheers.) If I am right in this conjecture, the fondest ivish of my heart has been obtxiined. (Loud clicrrs.) From my earliest in- fancy my mind was turned to tXgi'iculture ; but, in this pursuit, the path was made easy, by the energy, talent, and perseverance of a father. Forty-one years have now passed away since he departed this Ufe, and there are % i l(i() APPENDIX. i!' but few remainlnf^ who recollect him, and still fewer who witnessed his exertions. In the year 17(»1, he succeeded to the estate of dry by the death of my p-ranflfather. At that period aj^riculture was at a very low ebb. My grandfather, although a most resj)ectable man, had no turn for improvement, nor had any of his predecessors. Indeed, the pursuit of agriculture was generally despised through the country. But my father seems to have been a heaven-born improver ; for such was his enthusiasm, that a year before his father's death, he carried on his back, all the way from Aberdeen, a bundle of young trees, which he planted in the den of Ury with his own hand, sorely to the vexation of the old gentleman, who complained that the protecting of the plants annoyed the IMJople's sheep. (Cheers and laughter.) Soon after this my father went to Norfolk, then the great agricultural school of the kingdom, where he served a regular ap- prenticeship to the business, and brought home with him not only the most improved imjdements of husbandry, but also a number of Norfolk jdoughmen. (Cheers.) At that time the tenantry were little better than the boors of Germany and Uussia, and the lairds were more inclined to break each other's heads than to break up the treasures of the earth. (Laughter.) Seeing, then, that preaching doctrines was of no avail without putting them into prac- tical operation, he took into his own hands a large sur- face of about 2000 acres. At that time the estate of Ury was a complete waste, consisthig of bogs, baulks, APPENDIX. Ifi7 and rigs, everywhere intersected with cairns of stones and moorland. For twenty years he toiled most indefatigably ; and during all that time he was never known to be in bed after five o'clock in the morning, winter or summer. Jle was the first man who sowed a turnip in a field, or artifi- cial grasses, north of the Frith of Forth. During this period he thoroughly improved 2000 acres, reclaimed from moor 800, and planted from 1200 to 1500 acres chiefly with forest trees. Gradually his operations be- gan to attract attention, and be followed by the proprie- tors and tenantry around, until at last that spirit of im- provement burst forth, which has placed the agriculture of this part of the country, and Scotland generally, in the high state of excellence in which we now find it. (Cheers.) You thus see that my way was made comparatively easy, and I had only to perfect and fill up a great outline which lu'.d been drawn for me. My father proceeded on a dif- ierent principle from most other improvers. He com- menced at the far end, for he used to say that " a tired man would struggle hard to reach home." The conse- quence of this was, that on my accession I found the most neglected part of the estate to be that near the ^Mansion House. 1 said, " this shall never be ;" and I have now the satisfaction of saying that the estate of Ury is one of the most highly improved and beautified estates in the country. (Cheers.) My next consideration was, how to turn the means of improvement I possessed to most ad- vantage. About the year 1822, 1 int. oduced the breed H)8 APPENDIX. > 2 i of Leicostor slioop and Durham catth'. They have heon eminently successful, and the improvement which has heen effected by crossing these with the native breed of the country, it is unnecessary for me to dilate upon, as tfou are the best judges. (Loud cheers.) I hail this meeting as a tribute of regard to the memory of my fa- ther, and also as an omen of the high estimation in which agriculture is held by all classes of persons through the country ; for there are here assembled not only country gentlemen and practical farmers, but also those conneot- »'d with the great trading and manufacturing interests. (Cheers.) There is one other subject which 1 feel it right to touch upon. You are all aware that a tew months ago, it was more than probable, I should have iK-en called upon to fill a high and important situation in a distant part of the world. The history of that affair is this. In 1835, a company of persons received a grant of land in New Holland, extending to no le!»s than 3()0,(KK> square miles, for the purpose of founding a colony. This colony was established on different principles from ;'.iiy other, inasmuch as neither slave nor convict labour was allowed, but the whole labour was performed by free la- bourers and voluntary emigrants. The Commissioners for the management of this colony first appointed as CJo- vernor, Captain Hindmarsh of the Royal Navy ; but it was soon found that, although a gallant officer, he was per- fectly incapable of taking charge of an infant agricultu- ral colony. Accordingly, about Christmas last, he was ( •^^^•mt fm APrENDIX. 1(31) This recalled. Some of my friends ajjplied to me to accept of the situation. I went to London, where several of niv friemls interested themselves greatly in the matter, part tieidarly. I may mention, Dr (.'roinbie of I'hesdo. 1 found there, that although the Commissioners had nomi- nally the patronage, the aj)pointment was really in the gift of the Colonial Secretary. My friends made no in- terest whatever with the government ; hut on this part of the business I shall not toiich, lest I sliould draw on any- think like political discussion. J shall merely say, tha- after all the arrangements appeared to have been con- cluded, an invisible hand suddenly che( kniated the whole concern. I had, however, on that occasion, the satisfac- tion cf receiving the most flattering testimonials from some of the highest and noblest in the land — from the Earl of Leicester (better known as the celebrated Mr Coke of Norfolk), the Duke of Hichmond, the Earl of Aberdeen, and the Viscount of Arbuthnott. The Earl of Leicester's letter to me says — " I can hardly conceive any person so eminently qualified to take charge of an infant agricultural colony as you are." These sentiments are now corroborated by this expression of your approba- tion. (Loud cheers.) No doubt it woidd have cost me a severe pang to have left my native land, if not for ever, at all events for a considerable number of years ; but I felt that I had a grand field of enterj)rise before me — country twice as large as the British empire, with the finest soil and climate in the world. I also bore in mind 170 APPENDIX. ' A '/ t ^ 1 that I would there have it in my power to be of use to ray friends in this country. There is noi' the same opening here for employment that there was forty yeairs ago. Many farmers also, with large families, find it difficult to put them out in the world. I had the agreeable feeling that I should have had the opportunity of lending them my best assistance. (Loud cheers.) I should certainly have done so to the utmost of my power. (Continued cheering.) Gentlemen, the recollection of a dinner may pass away, but the remembrance of this meeting shall never pass froir. my mind, nor from the view of those who may succeed me. The proceedings of this day will no doubt appear in the public prints. I shall take care to have such account framed and glazed, and hung up in the Hall of Ury, as a proud memorial of the good opinion of the farmers of the country, and of my kind friends around me. (Loud and long-continued cheering.) Dinners are often given as a mark of approbation of particular politi- cal sentiments, and for other reasons, but I am not aware that one like this has ever been given in this country. (Cheers.) I shall not longer detain you — I feel that I have encroached too much upon your time already (No, no) ; but it was impossible for me not to attempt to give some expression to the overflowings of a grateful mind. (Captain Barclay sat down amidst loud cheering.) The Chairman rose and again called for three distinct roiuids of cheers for Captain Barclay, which were given in the most enthusiastic manner. m APPENDIX. 171 ^ The C'liAiHM AN said ho had now to propose the health of a nobU' \'iscouut, vshoni he was proud and happy to si ♦• with them on this occasion-^-one who was an omanu lu to the peerage, and in every resjKJCt a perfect model of a comitry gentleman. He alluded to the noble Lord on his right, the Lord Lieutenant of the County. In no comity had her Majesty a more worthy representative, or one held in greater or better-merited esteem — a feeling which he was assured would be evinced by the reception given to this toast. He proposed the health of the " Right Honourable Viscount Arbuthnott." The health wms drunk with loud applause. (Air — The Ueel o' tlu- Mearns.) Viscount AuBUTiixoTT returned thanks. He felt very proud of the compliment which they had paid him, but at the same time he felt that he did not deserve tlic warm eulogium which his friend the Chairman had passed upon him. It had given him great pleasure to join i'l paying this just tribute of respect and gratitude to Mr Barclay. He would yield to no man in his feeling of re- spect and admiration for his character. (Cheers.) Tlie ladies having now left the room, amid loud cheering, Viscount Ahbuthnott rose and said, he understood thev had been honoured by the presence of an interesting lady, who had just left them. He would now propose the health of " Miss Barclay," Drunk with all the ho- nours. (Air — My Love she's but a Lassie yet.) Sir Thomas Blunett said he had been allowed by 17« Ai»ri:NDix M • the Chairman to propose a toast. It was impossihio to suppose, in such a nunu'rous company as this, that they shouhl he ajrreed upon every suhj«'ct ; hut there was one g-ood feelinff i)erva«linjr them all, th.at of doin^ honour to their pnest, and he was sure no other feeling would be allowed to appear. lie woidd propose the health of the Member for the County, " (Jeneral Arbuthnott." They would ail njrn'e that no man could discharge his duties in a more straightforward, honest, and conscientious manner. Drunk with all the honours. (Air — Chorus from Massaniello.) Viscount Arbuthnott returned thanks. No man woidd be more gratified to have been present on this oc- casion than (jcner.il Arbuthnott. He begged to thank the company and JSir Thomas Humett for the kind man- ner in which they had Baronet present, whos(! patriotic character was well known thronjfh the conntry at lar^^e. I Ic was always found at the head of every preat undertaking' for the p^ood of the count rj'. There was one preat national association, with which his name was intimately connected, the Ilij^hland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, of which he was a most zealous office-bearer, lie begged to propose " Sir John Forbes, and the Highland Society of Scotland.'" (Great applause.) (Air — Saw ye Johnny comin'.) Sir J. S. FoKUKs said, he was sure if Mr Barclay laboured muler a feelin;,'' of cnd)arrassment in addressing them, they would give him (Sir J. V.) credit for feeling doubly embarrassed on this occasion. He was much in- debted to his friend, the Chairman, for the kind manner in which he had proposed his health, and to the com- pany, for the way in which they had received it. The terms in which he had been spoken of, were, he was con- scious, much more laudatory than his merits at all war- ranted. But, fortunately, his friend had furnished him with the outlet and loophole, by which to escape from his embarrassment, by connecting his name with the Highland Society of Scotland, of which ho was treasurer. He certainly had used his utmost exertions to forward the great object for which that Society was instituted — the support of agriculture. He had endeavoured zeal- ously and conscientiously to do his duty. They wen; 5 174 APPENDIX. »11 aware of the benefits which that Societv had confer- red. It had been the means of spreading a spirit of im- provement and enterprise through the country. They all remembered the circumstances which had led to the origination of the Society. The father of their guest was the one who had first prompted the friends of agri- culture in Scotland to commence a system which had done so much good. He was happy to say that the Society's prospects of usefulness were improving every year. The results of their Shows at Glasgow, Inverness, and Aberdeen, held out such j)romiscs of support as led to a reasonable expectation that the resources and useful- ness of the Society would increase tenfold. He was hap- py to say, that at a general meeting in Edinburgh, on Monday next, there was a list of 172 candidates for ad- mission to be balloted from. (Cheers.) In conclusion, he begged to return them his best thanks. Viscount Arbutiinotp proposed the health of " Sir Thomas Burnett," for whom, notwithstanding the diflfer- ence of opinion between them on some subjects, he en- tertained every respect. (Air — My boy. Tammy.) Sir Thomas Burnett said he was at a loss for words to express his sense of the kindness of the Noble Lord and the meeting. Nothing could give him greater satisfaction than to be present at a meeting of this kind, where every feeling of hostility was buried, and they were all united in one object. The Chairman proposed the Sheriffs of the County, \ APPENDIX. 175 by whom justice' was administered, in the most able, im- partial, and successful manner — " Sheriffs Douglas and FuUerton." (Air — Malbrook.) Sheriff Fulleutos returned thanks. jVIr Innes of Uaemoir said, that in the demonstration which they had now the pleasure of making, it was na- tural for them to think of the other members of Mr Barclay's family. He begged to propose the health of " Mr and Mrs Gurney." He know them well, and valued them highly ; and he knew that they cherished the warmest feelings towards this part of the country. (Cheers.) (Air — Auld lang syne.) Captain Barclay begged to return his kindest thanks for the way they had drunk the health of his sister and her husband. He would take care to make it known to them, and he knew that nothing could aflbrd them greater pleasure. Though fate had placehip then said, that although then; was ;i proverbial expression which spoke of " the little men of the Meams," yet the tenantry of the County would yield to none in respecta- bility and intelligence. lie proposed '' Prosperity to the Tenantry of the Meams." (Air — The lea rig.) Mr C» A II LAND returned thanks, and said they felt very proud of having the company of so many of their proprietors to assist in offering a small mark of respect to a distinguished agriculturist. Mr LuMSDEN of Tilwhilly in terms of high eulogy APPENDIX. 17: proposed '< The Croupiers and Stewards." (Air — There's three guid fellows ayont yon ^\^'n.) Mr IIkctok returned thanks. Captain liAucLAY proposed the health of " Lord Panmure," a nobleman universally known and esteemed over the whole kinjrdom. lie had enjoyed his acquaintance for more than thirty years, and although their opinions on some subjects differed widely, yet that had never occa- sioned a moment's interruption to their fric^ndship. His Lordship would have been present on this occasion, but for an accident which he had met with while dispensin^r his usual hospitalities durinfr the Trinity Muir J'air. They knew that, on that occasion, he always ke))t an open house — the last was the forty-sixth anniversary on which he ddonc! so. C'a[)tain Barclay then rcat. a letter from Lord I*annuire, exi)ressinf>- his regret at his necessary absence, and deprecatinpr the allowing- of j)olitical difler- cnces to interfere on such occasions. His Lordship's health was drunk with loud cheers. (Air — Up and War them a' Willie.) The CiiAiUMAv, after some observations on the im- provement introduced into the agriculture of the country by means of bone manure, steam navigation, and tile draining, said it had b«'en matter of deej) regret, that hitherto tile draining had been little practised among them, althouo-b it was the only effectual means of improv- ing moss iuid moor land. He was happy to say, how- ever, that tills want was now in the w.iy of Ix'ing supplied. 178 Al'I'i:xi;fX. Thanks to the energy of Sir John Forbes — they had now two brick kilns erected for the manufacture of tiles, which were likely to pay the projectors, as well as to confer a most important boon on the country. He con- cluded by proposing " The Plough." (Air — Speed the I'lough.) Sir Thomas Burnett gave *' Mr lladden and the Manufacturing Interest." (Air — The Rock and the Wee Pickle Tow.) Mr Hector ])roposcd " Mr Windsor," who had ex- erted himself strongly to assist the Committee to make their arrangements. (Air — O'er the Water to Charlie.) The Chairman gave " Prosperity to the lloyal Glen- ui*y Distillery." He eulogised Mr Barclay as a benefactor to agriculture, is a magistrate, as a kind master, whose servants had grown grey in his service — (loud cheers) — and now they were indebted to him for this distillery, which not only afforded the best market for their barley, but aUo, as they could testify at this moment, a most de- licious and powerful beverage. If her Majesty could only have tasted the produce of her own distillery at Glen- ury, she would undoubtedly have forsworn thin pota- tions, and addicted herself to strong waters. (Laughter.) They were told, on good authority, that the juice of the grape rejoiced the heart of man ; the same might have been said of th^ barley bree. (Cheers.) (Air — Willie brew'd a peck o" Maut.) CaptaiJi Barclay returned thanks for the high com- APPENDIX. 179 plimcnt that had been paid him, and for the honour done to the partners of the (Plenary Distillery. That distil- lery in some measure derived its origin from a suggestion of his own. I le contemplated the advantage that it would be for the fanners to have a ready market for their bar- ley. The distillery had now b?en fourteen or iifteen vears in existence, and amidst several vicissitudes, it had still been able to keep its foothig, and it was at present equal or superior to most distilleries in Scotland. It was his wish and desire, if it could be done without disadvan- tage, that the farmers in this neighbourhood should have the preference in getting clear of their grain. The con- sumi)t was now on a large scale, and amounted to about ten thousand quarters a-year, which nuist be a material benefit to the neighbouring coimtry. The spirit itself had given the greatest satisfaction, and the trade, he had no doubt, would now go on flourishingly and successfully. (Cheers.) The CiiAiRMAK gave " The Master of Arbuthnott," who was residing among them as a country gentleman, and was treading in the footsteps of his noble ftither. Might he long walk in the path he had selected. (Air The bonnie House of Airlie.) Viscount Arbuthnott returned thanks in the name of his sou, who had by this time left the company. Captain F.auci.av, in \ery feeling and api)ropriat<' terms, gave " The Memory of the Duke of Gordon," a nobleman who had not left his lik,. hi the kingdom. 180 APPENDIX. Drunk in solcm silence. (Air — The Flowers of the Fo- rest.) Sir John Forbes proposed the health of a most de- serving class of men, " The Cottars and Ploughmen of the Mearns," who were rising in the estimation of the country, in proportion as new improvements were intro- duced. (Air — Sweet Home.) The C'li AIRMAN gave " The Church of Scotland." (Air — This is just mine ain house.) Mr Inxf.s of Kaemoir proposed " The Roof-tree of Fetteresso." (Air — My boy Tammy.) Mr Hadden proposed the health of " His Grace the Duke of l{ichmond." (Air — Good old English Gen- tleman.) Mr Garland gave " The Grain Merchants of the District," who were all honest men, and whose money was as sure as an order on the bank. (Air — Corn lligs.) ]Mr James Naimer of Stonehaven returned thanks. The Chairman gave " The Strangers." (Air — Blue Bonnets ovt>r tlie Border.) Captain Ciieape returaed thanks. Mr TiioM of Uras gave " The Bar of Stonehaven and Mr Monro." (Air— Malbrook.) Mr Monro rotunicd thanks. The Chairman bogged to propose a toast to the *' Banking Interests." The tune was, when banks were first established in Scotland, that so ignorant were the people, that none but Englishmen would take shares, and ! i Ari'LNDlX. IM Enjflishnu'ii only j^ot situations in tluiu. Hut now h u.- pora mutantnr ft nas inntinntw in i//i.> ; (inc-jitiuinl notes arc as pU'iitifal as hlackhcrrics (lauuhtrr ) ; iuid ilu- l'Lnf>-lish arc fain to takt- a leaf out of our hook luid to l)orro\v the Scotch system — that c\( clh .if s\-1cin which is one of the most hcncticial features in o\ii- conmicnial economy, and which has so lavidy contrihiited to rai-e our nation to tlie lii^^h rank wliich it now liohU. Mr l?ri one man still alive, who recollected when there wa- hut one thatched house hi Ardnthie. or the Newtown of Slone- haven. The jdan of it had been laid down hy h\< fi.tlu r. and it wa- now the most re;.':ular little town in Scotland, conrainhi;/ three thousand inhahliants. I .i- ri.ther. lhoi!j:h not tlie suju'rior. was truly the fath-r ol' it. ( TUcers.) Several other toast -^ wi're drunk, and ihi' eveniii«; passed with the o-reatest harniov.y ;nid cordiality. Tlie cou.i»any broke uj) befcu'e ten o'clock. 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