leffening ever fince it was known, and is now almoft covered with verdure. In this place a pole of fifty feet has difappeared without finding a bottom: in the water of that pond there have been fish in plenty, which, when the meadow hath been flowed, have appeared there, and when the water hath been drawn off, have been left on the meadow, at which time the ifland fettles to its ufual ftate."*. In the town of Rye there was formerly a frefh pond, covering about one hundred and fifty acres, fituate within ten or fifteen rods of the fea, being feparated from it by a bank of fand. A communication was opened between this pond and the fea, in the year 1719, by which means the fresh water was drawn off, and the place is regularly overflowed by the tide, and yields large crops of falt hay.+ Within this present year, 1791, a canal has been cut through the marfies, which opens an inland navigation from Hampton, through Salisbury, into Merrimack river, for about eight miles. By this paffage loaded boats may be conducted with the utmost eafe and fafety. Another object on the face of this country worthy of obfervation, is the aged and majestic appearance of the foreft trees, of which the moft noble is the maft pine. This tree often grows to the height of one hundred and fifty, and fometimes two hundred feet; it is raight as an arrow, and has no branches but very near the top; it is from twenty to forty inches in diameter at its bafe, and appears like a stately pillar adorned with a verdant capital in form of a cones Interfperfed among thefe are the common forest trees of various kinds, whofe height is generally about fixty or eighty feet. In fwamps, and near rivers, there is a thick growth of underwood, which renders travelling difficult: on high land it is not fo troublesome ; and on dry plains it is quite inconfiderable. Amidst these wild and rugged fcenes, it is pleafing to obferve the luxuriant fportings of nature: trees are feen growing on a naked rock; their roots either penetrate fome of its crevices, or run over its furface and fhoot into the ground. When a tree is contiguous to a small rock, its bark will frequently inclófe and cover it. Branches of different trees, but of the fame fpecies, foinetimes intertwine and even ingraft themfelves fo as to grow together in one. On some trees are found large protuberant warts, capable of being formed into bowls, which are very tough and durable. On rocks, as well as on trees, we find varieties of mofs; it fometimes affumes a grotesque appearance, *MS. letter of the Rev. Stephen Peabody. appearance, hanging in tufts like long hair from the branches, or inclofing the trunks, or fpreading over rocks like a carpet, and extending from one rock to another. It is obferved that mofs is thickest on the north fides of trees. By this mark the favages know their courfe in cloudy weather, and many of our hunters have learned of them to travel without a compass. SOIL, PRODUCTIONS, &c. There is a great variety of foil in New-Hampshire: the intervale lands on the large rivers are accounted the most valuable, because they are overflown and recruited every year by the water from the uplands, which brings down a fat flime or fediment of the confiftence of foap. Thefe lands produce every kind of grain in the utmost perfection, but are not fo good for pafture as the uplands of a proper quality. The wide-spreading hills of a moderate elevation, are generally much esteemed as warm and rich; rocky moift land is accounted good for pafture; drained fwamps have a deep mellow foil, and the valleys between hills are generally very productive. In the new and uncultivated parts, the foil is diftinguished by the various kinds of woods which grow upon it; thus: white oak land is hard and ftony, the undergrowth confifting of brakes and fern; this kind of foil will not bear grafs till it has been ploughed and need; but it is good for Indian corn, and must be fubdued by planting before it can be converted into mowing or pafture. The fame may be faid of chefnut land. Pitch pine land is dry and fandy; it will bear corn and rye with ploughing, but is foon worn out, and needs to lie fallow two or three years to recruit. White pine land is alfo light and dry, but has a deeper foil, and is of courfe better; both thefe kinds of land bear brakes and fern; and wherever these grow in large quantities, it is an indication that ploughing is neceffary to prepare the land for grafs. Spruce and hemlock, in the eastern parts of the State, denote a thin, cold foil, which, after much labour in the clearing, will, indeed, bear grafs without ploughing, but the crops are small, and there is a natural tough sward, commonly called a rug, which muft either rot or be burned before any cultivation can be made. But in the western parts, the fpruce and hemlock, with a mixture of birch, denote a moift foil, which is excellent for grafs VOL. II. M When When the white pine and the oil-nut are found in the fame land, it is commonly a deep moist loam, and is accounted very rich and profitable. Beech and maple land is generally esteemed the most easy and advantageous for cultivation, as it is a warm, rich, loamy foil, which eafily takes grafs, corn, and grain without ploughing; and not only bears good crops the first year, but turns immediately to mowing and pasture; that foil which is deepeft and of the darkest colour, is efteemed the best. Black and yellow birch, white afh, elm, and alder, are indications of good foil, deep, rich, and moift, which will admit grafs and grain without ploughing. Red oak and white birch are signs of strong land, and generally the ftrength of land is judged of by the largeness of the trees which it produces. : There are evident figns of a change in the growth on the fame foil in a courfe of time, for which no caufes can be affigned. In fome places, the old standing trees, and the fallen decayed trees, ap. pear to be the fame, whilft the most thriving trees are of a different kind for inftance, the old growth in fome places is red oak, or white afh, whilft the other trees are beech and maple, without any young oak or afh among them. It is probable that the growth is thus changed in many places; the only conclufion which can be drawn from this circumftance, is, that the fame foil is capable of bearing divers kinds of trees; but ftill there is a difference fufficient to denominate the foil from the growth. Several ways of raifing a crop on new land have been practised. The easiest and cheapest method was originally learned of the Indians, who never looked very far forward in their improvements. The method is that of girdling the trees; which is done by making a circular incifion through the bark, and leaving them to die ftanding.This operation is performed in the fummer, and the ground is fowed in Auguft with winter-rye, intermixed with grafs; the next year the trees do not put forth leaves, and the land having yielded a crop, becomes fit for pafture. This method helps poor fettlers a little the first year; but the inconvenience of it is, that if the trees are left standing, they are continually breaking and falling with the wind, which endangers the lives of cattle; and the ground being conftantly encumbered by the falling trees, is lefs fit for mowing; fo that if the labour labour be not effectually done at once, it must be done in a fucceffion. of time. In the intervale land on Connecticut river, wheat often yields forty, and fometimes fifty bufhels to the acre; but in common upland, if it produce twenty bufhels, it is reckoned profitable, though it often falls fhort of that. Indian corn will fometimes average thirty or forty, but it is to be observed that this latter grain does not produce fo largely, nor is the grain fo heavy on new as on the old lands well cultivated. This, however, is owing much to the lateness of the season in which it is planted; if planted as early on the newly burnt land as on the old, it will be nearly as good. Of all grains, winter rye thrives beft on new lands, and Indian corn or barley on the old. Barley does not fucceed well in the new land, nor is flax raised with any advantage, until the land has been cultivated for fome years. The fame may be faid of oats and peas, but all kinds of efculent roots are much larger and sweeter in the virgin foil than in any other. The mode of clearing and cultivating new lands has been much improved within the last thirty years. Forty years ago it was thought impoffible to raise Indian corn without the plough and the hoe. The mode of planting it among the burnt logs, was practi fed with great fuccefs at Gilmantown, about the year 1762, and this eafy method of cultivating foon became univerfal in the new plantations. It is now accounted more profitable for a young man to go upon new, than to remain on the old lands. In the early part of life, every day's labour employed in fubduing the wilderness, lays a foundation for future profit: befides the mode of fubduing new land, there has been no improvement made in the art of husbandry, The feafon of vegetation is fhort, and is almost wholly employed. in preparing, planting, and tilling the land, in cutting and houfing fodder, and gathering in the crops. These labours fucceed invariably, and must be attended to in their proper season; so that little time can be fpared for experiments, if the people in general were difpofed to make them. Indeed, fo fudden is the fucceffion of labours, that upon any irregularity in the weather, they run into one another,. and, if help be scarce, one cannot be completed before the other fuffers for want of being done. Thus hay is often spoiled for want of being cut in feason, when the harvest is plentiful. It is partly from this caufe, partly from the ideas of EQUALITY with which the minds of hufbandmen are early impreffed, and partly from a want of education, that no spirit of improvement is feer among them, but every one purlues the bufinefs of fowing, planting, mowing, and raifing cattle, with unremitting labour and unde yiating uniformity. Very litt uf is made of any manure except barn dung, though marl may be had in many places, with or without digging. The mixing of different ft ata is never attended to, though nature often gives the hint by the rain bringing down fand from a hill on a clay bottom, and the grafs growing there in greater beauty and luxuriance than elfewhere. Dung is feldom fuffered to remain in heap over the fummer, but is taken every fpring from the barn, and either spread over the field and ploughed in, or laid in heaps, and put into the holes where corn and potatoes are planted. Gardens in the country towns are chiefly left to the management of women, the men contenting themfelves with fencing and digging them; and it must be faid, to the honour of the female sex, that the fcanty portion of earth committed to their care, is often made productive of no fmall benefit to their families. As the first inhabitants of New Hampshire came chiefly from the fouth-western counties of England, where cyder, and perry were made in great quantities, they took care to frock their plantations with apple trees and pear trees, which throve well, and grew to a great fize. The first growth is now decayed or perished, but a fucceffion has been preferved, and no good husbandman thinks his farm com. plete without an orchard. Perry is still made in the old towns, bor dering on Pafcataqua river, but in the interior country the apple tree is chiefly cultivated. In many of the townships which have been fettled fince the conqueft of Canada, young orchards bear well, and cyder is yearly becoming more plentiful. Other fruits are not much cultivated; but from the fpecimens which fome gardens produce, there is no doubt but that the cherry, the mulberry, the plum, and the quince, might be multiplied to any degree. The peach does not thrive well, the trees being very fhortlived. The apricot is scarcely known. The white and red currant grow luxuriantly, if properly fituated and cultivated. The barberry, though an exotic, is thoroughly naturalized, and grows fpontaneously in hedges or paftures. It has often been in this State a fubject of complaint, that grain, flax and efculent vegetables, degenerate, This may be afcribed to the feed not being changed, but fown fucceffively on the fame foil, or |