USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume I > Part 41
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One stood for years in the old box-bordered garden at Homogansett Farm, at Wickford, in old Narragansett. Governor Endicott's dial is in the Essex Institute, at Salem; and my forbear, Jacob Fairbanks, had one dated 1650,
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which is now in the rooms of the Dedham Historical Society. Dr. Bowditch, of Boston, had a sun-dial which was thus inscribed :-
"With warning hand I mark Times rapid flight From life's glad morning to its solemn night. And like God's love I also show Theres light above me, by the shade below."
Another garden dial thus gives, "in long, lean letters," its warning word :-
"You'll mend your Ways To-morrow When blooms that budded Flour? Mortall ! Lern to your Sorrow Death may creep with his Arrow And pierce yo'r vitall Marrow Long ere my warning Shadow Can mark that Hour."
These dials are all of heavy metal, usually lead; sometimes with gno- mon of brass. But I have heard of one which was unique; it was cut in box.
At the edge of the farm garden often stood the well-sweep, one of the most picturesque adjuncts of the country dooryard. Its successor, the roofed well with bucket, stone, and chain, and even the homely long-handled pump, had a certain appropriateness as part of the garden furnishings.
So many thoughts crowd upon us in regard to the old garden; one is the age of its flowers. We have no older inhabitants than these garden plants ; they are old settlers. Clumps of flower-de-luce, double buttercups, peonies, yellow day-lilies, are certainly seventy-five years old. Many lilac bushes a century old still bloom in New England, and syringas and flowering currants are as old as the elms and locusts that shade them.
Another pathetic trait of many of the old-time flowers should not be overlooked-their persistent clinging to life after they had been exiled from the trim garden borders where they first saw the chill sun of a New England spring. You see them growing and blooming outside the garden fence, against old stone walls, where their up-torn roots have been thrown to make places for new and more popular favorites. You find them cheerfully spreading, pushing along the foot-paths, turning into vagrants, becoming flaunting weeds. You see them climbing here and there, trying to hide the deserted chimneys of their early homes, or wandering over and hiding the untrodden foot-paths of other days. A vivid imagination can shape many a story of their life in the interval between their first careful planting in colo- nial gardens and their neglected exile to highways and byways, where the poor bits of depauperated earth can grow no more lucrative harvest.
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The sites of colonial houses which are now destroyed, the trend, almost the exact line of old roads, can be traced by the cheerful faces of these garden-strays. The situation of old Fort Nassau, in Pennsylvania, so long a matter of uncertainty, is said to have been definitely determined by the famil- iar garden flowers found growing on one of these disputed sites. It is a tender thought that this indelible mark is left upon the face of our native land through the affection of our forebears for their gardens.
The botany tells us that bouncing-bet has "escaped from cultivation"- she has been thrust out, but unresentfully lives and smiles ; opening her ten- der pinky-opalescent flowers adown the dusty roadsides, and even on barren gravel-beds in railroad cuts. Butter-and-eggs, tansy, chamomile, spiked loose-strife, velvet-leaf, bladder-campion, cypress spurge, live-for-ever, star of Bethlehem, money-vine, -- all have seen better days, but now are flower- tramps. Even the larkspur, beloved of children, the moss-pink, and the grape-hyacinth may sometimes be seen growing in country fields and byways. The homely and cheerful blossoms of the orange-tawny ephemeral lily, and the spotted tiger-lily, whose gaudy colors glow with the warmth of far Cathay-their early home-now make gay many of our roadsides and crowd upon the sweet cinnamon roses of our grandmothers, which also are undaunted garden exiles.
Driving once along a country road, I saw on the edge of a field an expanse of yellow bloom which seemed to be an unfamiliar field-tint. It proved to be a vast bed of coreopsis, self-sown from year to year; and the blackened out- lines of an old cellar wall in its midst showed that in that field once stood a home, once there a garden smiled.
I am always sure when I see bouncing-bet, butter-and-eggs, and tawny lilies growing in a tangle together that in their midst may be found an untrod- den door-stone, a fallen chimney, or a filled-in-well.
Chickory or blue wood was, it is said, brought from England by Governor Bowdoin as food for his sheep. It has spread till its extended presence has been a startling surprise to all English visiting botanists. It hurts no one's fields, for it invades chiefly waste and neglected land-the "dear common flower"-and it has redeemed many a city suburb of vacant lots, many a railroad ash heap from the abomination of desolation.
Whiteweed or ox-eye daisy, a far greater pest than gorse or chickory, has been carried intentionally to many a township by homesick settlers whose descendants today rue the sentiment of their ancestors.
While the vallied garden of our old neighbors was sweet with blossoms, my mother's garden bore a still fresher fragrance-that of green growing things ; of "Posies," lemon-balm, rose geranium, mint, and sage. I always
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associate with it in spring the scent of the strawberry bush, or calycanthus, and in summer of the fraxinella, which, with its tall stem of larkspur-like flowers, its still more graceful seed-vessels and its shining ash-like leaves, grew there in rich profusion and gave forth from leaf, stem, blossom, and seed a pure, a memory-sweet perfume half like lavender, half like anise.
CHAPTER XXXI.
French Traveler Attends First Cattle Show
By a strange coincidence, Jacques Gerard Milbert, an eminent French field naturalist and painter, came to Worcester while the first cattle show was in progress on the Common. Upon his return to France, he included a detailed description of what he saw-and he gave careful study to the vari- ous exhibits and contests-in a book published in Paris in 1828-29, entitled Picturesque Itinerary of the Hudson River and of the Adjacent Parts of North America, which was not well named, for it comprises an account of his experiences in all parts of North America.
A copy of this book has recently come into the possession of the Ameri- can Antiquarian Society. It is very rare and has never before been translated into English. That portion relating to Worcester, including the ride from Springfield, a description of the town, and the stagecoach journey to Boston, has been translated for our history by Robert W. G. Vail, librarian of the Antiquarian Society. It is probably the only eye-witness's description of an early New England cattle show that has ever been printed.
M. Milbert was a distinguished man. He was born in Paris in 1766 and died there in 1840. For many years he was professor in the School of Mines, and the French nation bestowed many honors upon him. Before coming to North America he was a member of a number of expeditions, and wrote several books, some of them for popular reading, others as scientific reports.
In 1815 the French Government sent him to America to collect natural history specimens, several thousands of which he eventually sent back to Paris, among them the first live moose seen in France, which he procured for the Menagerie in the Zoological Gardens of Paris. His travels on this continent covered a period of seven years. His account of his Worcester visit, in October, 1819, follows :
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I left Springfield early in the morning to take the road to Worcester. The country through which I travelled offered a great deal of variety in its appearance as far as Brookfield. To reach the latter place I had to climb hills from which they take a coarse grade of marble used in the manufacture of tomb-stones. Later on I discovered the little village of Leicester located in a valley watered by French River, the sweet name of which awoke in me memories of home. The fresh and limpid waters of that river are bordered by an infinity of native willows which, seen from a little distance, look like the singular pine called the Italian cabbage. But soon, continuing its course through the plain, French River, enriched by the addition of several rivulets which serve as outlets for a number of little lakes, loses its name only to take that of Quinebaug River. The same landscape continued all the way to the attractive, hill-surrounded city of Worcester, located in the midst of a great valley through which flows the Blackstone or river des pierres noires.
Worcester is located near the center of the state of Massachusetts. Its courthouse is built on an eminence, on the Main Street, which is also the principal road to Boston. It is a building which, judging by its exterior, appears to have been erected at two different periods. The older part belongs to a Dutch style of architecture, and the other, much larger and more recent, is in the modern style. All of the separate houses make a good appearance, some of them proclaim a true magnificence. In the midst of a beautiful park, traversed by a winding creek, I noticed a kind of chateau which is very little inferior in exterior charm to the country houses around Paris .* Some little way from the town and in the midst of a valley, at a distance from all other habitations, stands the prison, a vast edifice built of stone and brick.
I arrived at Worcester on the day of the distribution of awards and prizes given, for their encouragement, to the originators of the best processes and to the makers of the best agricultural and industrial products. This truly national festival had attracted a great concourse of the inhabitants of the surrounding country, farmers and manufacturers, and a crowd of buyers and of the curious. As I desired to visit in detail all this exposition, which could give me such a true idea of the progress of American industry, I decided to profit by the fortunate circumstance of my arrival at this oppor- tune moment and so I prolonged my stay at Worcester on this account.
All the manufactured objects were exhibited under large wooden sheds built for the occasion. The cattle and domestic animals were penned in separate enclosures, and the centre, forming a great open space, was reserved for the race course. I noticed, among the industrial products exhibited, very
*This may have been the Salisbury Mansion at Lincoln Square as suggested by the brook which wandered down through meadows from the north, rippled across the grass- grown square, and disappeared in other meadows below.
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well woven materials of cotton, wool and thread, which might almost rival the same articles which the English manufacturers have introduced on a large scale. The cloths of various colors, and especially the blues, appeared per- fectly made and obtained several prizes. It was the same with articles of saddlery, which were for the most part worked with a great deal of elegance and taste. The hardware and tinware was no less distinguished. I was told that this was the second time that crockery ware, earthenware and glassware had shown up with so much advantage. The hosiery appeared to me to be well made, either of cotton or wool, and in the latter case, always of pure merino, principally because there are numerous flocks to supply it abundantly and in excellent quality.
The hats it seemed to me were of good quality ; and I noticed with a great deal of interest the elegantly woven straw hats which now appeared for the first time in the competition, might stand comparison with the second quality of those of Livourne. These hats were made from a "gramen" newly dis- covered by a young lady* from the state of Connecticut ; it is the Paniculatum ubrum which also furnishes an abundant forage of a superior quality.
The sight of this ornament (i. e., straw hats, probably for feminine wear) so widespread among us, suggested to me the idea of acclimatizing in France this precious "gramen," which might create for the women and girls of the poorer sort, a new branch of industry and which they could offer, with a profit which would improve their position, a means of usefully occupying poor children or orphans. I promptly requested some seeds of the plant of Professor Silliman of New Haven, who was kind enough to get them for me. The first shipment of the seeds was sent to the Royal Gardens with necessary instructions for their planting and cultivation. Since then the same professor has sent me a second and larger shipment, which I have divided between Dr. Valentin of Nancy and Messieurs Eyries, lawyers, of Havre, who indicated to me their wish to grow the plant. So, I dare to hope that my vow to establish this new branch of industry will not be long delayed in its realization.
After having passed in review all the products of the manufacturing industry, I directed my steps to the enclosure where the cattle were classified. There I noticed first the steers of various colors and breeds, the horns of
*The young woman referred to by M. Milbert was Miss Sophia Woodhouse of Wethersfield, Connecticut, to whom a patent was issued in 1821 for a new material for bonnets, which was the stalk, above the upper joint, of our common redtop grass, from which she plaited "Leghorn hats." The London Society of Arts gave her a prize of twenty guineas, and one of her hats was worn by the wife of President John Quincy Adams, who is said to have taken great pride in it. But to Betsy Metcalf of Providence, Rhode Island, is generally accorded the honor of establishing the straw hat industry in America. The raw material commonly used for making the hats in Worcester County was rye straw.
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some of them equalling in length those of the oxen of Italy and Romagna ; this variety of armor being entirely absent in others. I saw a small bull bring much more than others which were giants of their kind, but the mus- cular frame of the former and his enormous neck and shoulders, evidence of his prodigious strength, gave him an incontestable superiority over his rivals. Ordinary sheep, crossed with the pure breed, appeared to me to be in very fine condition. The hogs had been, for most part, crossed with breeds imported from Otihati. But what attracted the notice of the largest number of the curious and interested were the various droves of harness and saddle horses, offered for sale, or destined to compete for the prize on the race course. These races, in which the younger horses compete, were about to take place and the prizes were carried off by two mounts which I was assured were crosses between the Arab and Norman breeds. These horses had very elegant bodies, medium sized necks and shoulders, slender legs and flashing eyes.
The Americans, like the English, are very great horse fanciers, and, among the Americans, the Virginians carry that passion to its highest degree. They follow all the races, and undertake long journeys for the sole purpose of going to uphold, by sizeable wagers, the reputation of this or that race horse. They hazard in these bets sums whch make the fortunes of many of these individuals, and they often buy the winner at an exorbitant price. Then, if the winner is a stallion, they take him through the various states for the purpose of the propagation of the species, and, in that case, he becomes the means of providing an excellent income to his owner. His arrival is announced in the newspapers as if he were a person of the greatest impor- tance or an ambassador, and everybody runs in a crowd to visit him. I have many times had occasion to see some of these conquerors which they were taking in this way from city to city, and, among others, a famous stallion named Eclipse.
The Worcester general exposition lasts for three days. Besides this fair, which is the most important, there are several others in various towns of the same state. These solemn distributions of prizes, the great crowds of people which they attract, the stir and activity which they occasion, form in a way a phenomenon in the character and habits of this essentially phlegmatic nation. The American, on these occasions, loses all his apathy, and assumes the appearance of a lively and spirited people. On all sides you may see eager people on foot, on horseback, in carriages, and in wagons, who push hastily forward to enjoy the spectacle of these tumultuous holidays.
I have been told that, independent of these great industrial expositions, instituted periodically in the various United States, there exist many others, less important, recurring more frequently, often even each season, and at
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which they offer to the consumers both fruits and vegetables, remarkable for their size or their superior quality, or even new attempts at grafting, a per- fection of cultivation to which they have given a great deal of attention in this country.
They follow a similar and no less curious method of offering the early crops of forage raised on sandy lands and salt marshes. This hay, tied in compact bundles, square in shape, is packed symmetrically on wagons which are richly decorated with flags. So arranged, this singular parade, preceded by musicians and followed by a crowd of people, gets under way and marches about the town with pomp and solemnity.
The hay and grain merchants are not the only ones who promenade their merchandise so magnificently. I have many times been a witness of similar processions formed by the corporation of butchers. These artisans, dressed all in dazzling white, mounted on superb coursers, and preceded by a troup of musicians, exhibited throughout the town cattle and even sheep of extra- ordinary size and weight. This custom has a striking analogy with the triumphal march of our fat cattle, but you can note this difference that in America the people in the procession accept no money.
The authorities also give premiums to the owners of the largest cattle and fattest sheep brought to market, and this reward becomes the object of a new public ceremony. As soon as the animals have been slaughtered, skinned and cut up, each quarter, decorated with ribbons, is paraded through the town on the flag-bedecked conveyance, as previously described, and the next day offered for sale in the owner's shops, which are decorated for the occa- sion with festoons and flowers. Rich people, by way of encouragement, lay in their provisions from these prize foods and tavern keepers are eager to buy them in spite of their higher price in order to make of them the object of a lucrative speculation. Indeed, they immediately announce pompously that on such a day, and in such a tavern, a premium dinner will be served, that being the name of the foods which obtained the prizes. As a conse- quence, the boarders and habitues of the tavern hasten to send invitations to their friends, who do not fail to respond to the call, to the end that the fate of the premium food is celebrated by numerous libations of claret and Madeira, which amply repays the host for the increase in expense which he has imposed on himself. Similar invitations are sent out to eat venison or turtle soup, as is done in England on similar occasions ; it is only necessary to remark that in England the turtle is very rare, while it is abundant in America.
This species of ceremony, the purpose of which is the encouragement of agriculture and the industrial arts, is very common in the Union.
THE NEW WACHUSETT COUNTRY CLUB, WEST BOYLSTON
Photo by Paul W. Savage
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There is no trade organization which could not supply an illustration of this custom in some one of the products of its industry. Thus the invention of such an object of art or utility as this and the proven superiority of such an article of manufacture or of such a commodity, is celebrated by a triumph similar to those which we have described. This custom is even extended as far as ship-builders who ride throughout the town mounted on a small rigged and armed vessel which eighteen or twenty horses drag with great difficulty. I even saw promenading thus in New York, on a decorated conveyance and with a great deal of fracas, a mattress called unsinkable, destined for use at sea. A trial of it was made in the bay, in the presence of all the population assembled for the spectacle. Its success was nearly complete, and was rewarded by an exclusive patent for a certain number of years, which was given to the inventor.
After having visited, in the greatest detail, the interesting Worcester exhibition, I went back to the tavern to wait for dinner. In the meanwhile I made the acquaintance of an American who had recognized me as a French- man and who himself had made a long visit to France, during which time he had been a visitor at several of our industrial expositions.
As might be imagined, the conversation turned to the subject which occupied all the attention of the moment, and that we tried to establish com- parisons between the works and the progress of the industries of our two nations ; but that which is most remarkable, is that instead of finding in my interlocutor a jealous and prejudiced antagonist, as I had expected, I found in him, on the contrary, a just appreciation and a sincere admiration of the inventive genius and the exquisite taste of our workmen. It was no longer possible for me to doubt that he had really taken a great interest in these magnificent reviews of our industry, after he had shown me the various reports of the jury of the exhibition, which he had brought back and which he saved preciously as a souvenir of that national solemnity.
After dinner, which the great concourse of travelers and of the curious who had attended the exposition rendered very noisy, I returned to the park where it was held. There my attention was soon attracted by the pompous announcements and the gigantic posters in the midst of which the proprietors of several travelling menageries strove to attract the crowd. These pictures, similar in all respects to those which we see employed in our fairs and annual fetes, represented animals devouring women and children, or fighting among the savages, etc. I noticed that the crowd drifted principally towards the lion, an animal which has for the Americans the merit of a distant origin.
As for me, I preferred to investigate the native animals, and I made a visit to one of the handsomest quadrupeds which lives in North America, and
Wor .- 25
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of which I had previously seen but a single pair. It bears among the Ameri- cans the name of Moose, and forms a variety of the cervus akces, the elk of the countries of Northern Europe.
The moose which I saw at Worcester, and from which I am going to try to give a general description of the species, was as tall as a horse . . . .. (Here follow three and a half pages of description of the moose, which, though new and interesting to the French field naturalist, need hardly detain us here. It is, however, interesting to remember, that the author of this volume was the first person to send a live moose to France, where it was exhibited in the Royal Zoological Gardens at Paris. Milbert won the highest praise from the naturalists of Europe for his great success in collecting American natural history specimens, both living and dead, for the national museums of France.)
Satisfied with my stay at Worcester, during which I had acquired a mass of interesting data and positive knowledge on the prosperous state of agri- culture and of the various manufactures in the State of Massachusetts, I decided to continue my journey to Boston, the most important city of that part of the Union. Accordingly I took the coach for that destination and set out at four o'clock in the morning with seven or eight other passengers. This carriage, newly built, and of the lightest and most elegant design, with four fine and well appointed horses hitched to it, offered yet another illustration of the rapid improvements being introduced into all the branches of public service in this country.
Only a short time before, the only public conveyance known in this coun- try had been cumbersome machines in the form of cages, open on all sides, and having nothing for the protection of the traveler, from the wind and snow of winter and the dust and rain of summer, except the button trimmed leather curtains, generally in a poor state of repair. The floor of that incon- venient carriage was free for all and was always encumbered with a crowd of little trunks which, not being held in place by anything, rolled from side to side between the legs of the passengers. As for the larger trunks and luggage, it was fastened onto the outside of the coach with straps, and so exposed to violent jerks that it was almost always found seriously damaged at the end of the journey. The useful cooperation which has been established between the various stage line proprietors for the speeding up of the service and also between them' and the promoters of steam boat navigation, has hastened the perfection of the service of both, so that in its entirety and in detail this service, so necessary among a people so essentially migatory as the Americans, leaves almost nothing to be desired.
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