USA > New Hampshire > The history of New-Hampshire. Comprehending the events of one complete century and seventy-five years from the discovery of the River Pascataqua to the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety, Vol 3 > Part 8
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Hufbandmen differ in their opinions concerning the advantages of tilling their new land the fecond year. Some fuppofe that mixing and ftiring the earth, does it more good than the crop injures it; others fay, that one crop is fufficient before the land is laid down to grafs ; and that if it be fown with grain and grafs, as foon as it is cleared, the large crops of grafs which follow, will more than com- penfate for one crop of grain. When the feeding with grafs is neglected, the ground becomes moffy and hard, and muft be ploughed before it will re- ceive feed. Land, thus fown, will not produce grafs fo plentifully, as that which is feeded immediately after the fire has run over it. Befides, this neglected land is generally overfpread with cherry-trees, rafp- berry bufhes, and other wild growth; to fubdue which, much additional labor is required. In good land, the firft crops of hay are, on an average, a ton
to an acre. That land which is intended for mow- ing, and which takes the common grafs well at firft, is feldom or never ploughed afterward ; but where clover is fown, it muft be ploughed and feeded every fourth or fifth year ; good land, thus managed, will average two tons of clover to the acre.
In the intervale land on Connecticut river, wheat often yields forty, and fometimes fifty bufhels to the
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acre ; but in common upland, if it produce twenty buthels, it is reckoned profitable, though it often falls fhort of that. Indian corn will fometimes average thirty or forty ; but it is to be obferved 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 latenefs of the feafon 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 fuc- ceed well in the new land ; nor is flax raifed 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 fweeter in the virgin foil, than in any other.
The mode of clearing and cultivating new lands, has been much improved within the laft thirty years. Forty years ago it was thought impoffible to raife Indian corn without the plough and the hoe. The mode of planting it among the burnt logs, was practifed with great fuccefs at Gilman- town, about the year 1762, and this eafy method of culture foon became univerfal in the new planta- tions. 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 labor employed in fubduing the wildernefs, lays a foundation for future profit : Befides the mode of fubduing new land, there has been no improve- ment made in the art of hufbandry. The feafon
of vegetation is fhort, and is almoft wholly employ- ed in preparing, planting and tilling the land, in cutting and houfing fodder, and gathering in the crops. Thefe labors fucceed invariably, and muft
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be attended to in their proper feafon ; fo 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 labors, that upon any ir- regularity in the weather, they run into one another and if help be fcarce, one cannot be completed before the other fuffers for want of being done. Thus hay is often fpoiled for want of being cut in feafon, when the Englifh harveft = plentiful. It is partly from this caufc, partly from the ideas of equality with which the minds of huf bandmen are early impreffed, and partly from a want of education, that no fpirit of improvement is feen among them, but every one purfues the bufi- nefs of fowing, planting, mowing, and raifing cat- tle, with unremitting labor and undeviating uni- formity.
Very little ufe is made of any manure excepting barn dung ; though marl may be had in many places, with or without digging. The mixing of different ftrata, 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 grow- ing there in greater beauty and luxuriance than elfe- where. Dung is feldom fuffered to remain in a heap over the fummer, but is taken every fpring from the barn, and either fpread 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 muft be faid, to the honor of the female fex, that the fcanty portion of earth, committed to their care, is often made productive of no fmall benefit to their families.
As the firft inhabitants of New-Hampfhire came chiefly from the fouthweftern counties of England,
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where cider and perry were made in great quantities, they took care to ftock their plantations with apple trees and pear trees, which throve well, and grew to a great fize. The firft growth is now decayed or perifhed ; but a fucceffion has been preferved, and no good hufbandman thinks his farm complete without an orchard. Perry is ftill made in the old towns, bordering on Pafcataqua river ; but in the in- terior country the apple tree is chiefly cultivated. In many of the townfhips, which have been fettled fince the conqueft of Canada, young orchards bear well, and cider is yearly becoming more plentiful.
Other fruits are not much cultivated, but from the fpecimens which fome gardens produce, there is no doubt 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 Short lived. The apricot is fcarcely known. The white and red currant grow luxuriantly, if properly fituated and cultivated. The barberry, though an exotic, is thoroughly naturalized, and grows fpon- taneoufly in hedges or paftures.
The following remarks are fuggefted by an inge- nious friend :*
'In regard to tree-fruit, we are in too northern a climate to have it of the firft quality, without par- ticular attention. New-York, New-Jerfey, and Penn- fylvania, have it in perfection. As you depart from that tract, either fouthward or northward, it degen- erates. I believe, however, that good fruit might be produced even in New-Hampfhire, with fuitable at- tention. A proof of this is, that fometimes we have it by mere chance. In theorizing on the fubject, three things appear to me particularly neceffary, all which are totally neglected by the generality of our hufbandmen. The first, after procuring thrifty
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* Dr. Samuel Tenney, of Exeter.
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young trees of the beft kinds, and grafting fuch af require it, is, to choofe a fituation for them, where they may have the advantage of a warm rich foil, and be well fheltered from the chilling blatts of the ocean. The fecond, is to keep the trees free from fu- perfluous branches, by a frequent ufe of the prun- ing-hook, and the earth always loofe about their roots. The third, is to defend the trees from infects, partic- ularly thofe which by feeding on the fruit, render it fmall and knotty, as we frequently find apples and pears ; or by depofiting their eggs in the embryo, occafion its falling off before it comes to maturity, as is obfervable in the various kinds of plums. But the moft of our farmers go on the path traced out by their anceftors, and are generally averfe to making experiments, the refult of which is uncer- tain, or to adopting new modes of hufbandry, the advantages of which, are in the finalleft degree prob- lematical. There are few cultivators among us who theorize, and ftill fewer who read.'
It has often been complained that grain, flax, and efculent vegetables, degenerate. This may be af- cribed to the feed not being changed, but fown fuc-' ceffively, on the fame foil, or in the fame neighbour- hood, for too long a time. 'The Siberian wheat, ' for feveral years, produced good crops ; but be- ' coming at length naturalized to the climate, it ' fhared the fate of the common kind of wheat, and ' difappointed the expectations of the farmer. Were ' the feed renewed every five or fix years, by impor -? ' tations from Siberia, it might be cultivated to ad- ' vantage.' It muft be obferved that the Siberian wheat which was fown in New-Hampfhire, about. twelve years ago, was brought hither from England, where it had been fown for feveral preceding years:' Whether an intermediate ftage is favorable to the' tranfplanration of feed from north to fouth, and the
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fuccefs of its cultivation, may be worthy of inquiry. With refpect to plants, which require the whole fea- fon to grow in, it is obferved that ' the removal of ' them from fouth to north ought to be by fhort fta- ges ; in which cafe they accomodate themfelves, by infenfible degrees to the temperature and length ' of the vegetating term, and frequently acquire as ' good a degree of perfection in foreign climes, as in ' their native foil. Such are the refources of nature !' Agriculture is, and always will be, the chief bufi- nefs of the people of New-Hampfhire, if they attend to their true intereft. Every tree which is cut down in the foreft, opens to the fun a new fpot of earth, which with cultivation, will produce food for man and beaft. It is impoffible to conceive what quantities may be produced of beef, pork, mutton, poultry, wheat, rye, Indian corn, barley, pulfe, butter and cheefe, articles which will always find a market. Flax and hemp may alfo be cultivated to great ad- vantage, efpecially on the interval lands of the large rivers. The barley of New-England is much ef- teemed in the middle States, and the demand for it is fo great, as to encourage its cultivation. It is, be- fides, a kind of grain which is not liable to blaft. Hops will grow on almoft any foil ; and the labor' attending them is fo inconfiderable, that there can be no excufe for neglecting the univerfal cultivation of them. The confumption of them, and confe- quently the demand for them as an article of com- merce, is continually increafing.
The firft neat cattle imported from Europe into New-Hampfhire, were fent by Captain John Mafon and his affociates, about the year 1633, to ftock their plantations, and to be employed in drawing lumber. Thefe cattle were of a large breed, and a yellow colour, procured from Denmark. Whilft the bufinefs of getting lumber was the chief employ-
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ment of the people, the breeding of large cattle was more attended to than it is now. Calves were allow ed to run with the cows, and fuck at their pleafure. Men were ambitious to be diftinguifhed by the fize and ftrengthi of their oxen. Bets were frequently laid on the exertions of their ftrength, and the prize was contended for as earneftly as the laurel at the Olympic games. This ardor is not yet wholly ex- tinguifhed in fome places ; but, as hufbandry hath gained ground, lefs attention is paid to the ftrength, and more to the fatnefs of cattle for the market, and calves are deprived of part of their natural food, for the advantage of butter and cheefe.
As the country becomes more and more cleared pafture for cattle increafes, and the number is contin- ually multiplied. From the upper parts of New- Hampfhire, great herds of fat cattle are driven to the Bofton market; whence the beef is exported frefh to Nova-Scotia, and falted to the Weft and Eaft- Indies.
At what time and by whom the borfe was firft im- ported does not appear. No particular care is taken by the people in general, to improve the breed of this majeftic and ufeful animal, and bring it to that perfection of which it is capable. The raifing of colts, is not accounted a profitable part of hufband- ry, as the horfe is but little ufed for draught, and his flefh is of no value. The proportion of horfes to neat cattle, is not more than one to twenty. Few live and die on the plantations where they are bred; fome are exported to the Weft-India Iflands ; but the moft are continually fhifted from one owner to another, by means of a fet of contemptible wretches called horfe-jockies.
Afes have been lately introduced into the coun- try ; the raifing of mules deferves encouragement, as the exportation of them to the Weft-Indies, is more
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profitable than that of horfes, and they may be ufed to advantage in travelling or carrying burdens in the rough and mountainous parts of our wildernefs.
Sheep, goats and fwine, were at firft fent over from England, by the affociates of Laconia. Sheep have greatly multiplied, and are accounted the moft prof- itable ftock which can be raifed on a farm. The breed might be renewed and improved by import- ing from Barbary, the mufflon, which is faid to be the parent ftock of the European, and confequently of the American fheep. Goats are not much propagat- ed, chiefly becaufe it is difficult to .confine them in paftures. Swine are very prolific, and fcarcely a family is without them. During the fummer, they are either fed on the wafte of the dairy and kitchen, or ringed and turned into fields of clover ; or per- mitted to run at large in the woods, where they pick yup, nuts and acorns, or grub the roots of fern ; but after harveft they are fhut up, and fatted on Indian corn. The pork of New-England is not inferior to any in the world.
Domeftic poultry of all kinds, is raifed in great plenty and perfection in New-Hampfhire. In fome of the lower towns they have a large breed of fowls, which were imported from England about twenty years paft ; but this breed is permitted to mix with the common fort, by which means it will, in time, degenerate. The ftock of all domeftic animals, ought frequently to be changed, if we would preferve them unimpaired, or reftore them to their original per- - 1 fection.
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CHAP. X.
Native Animals.
As the animals of this part of Amer- ica have not been accurately examined by natural; ifts, neither a complete defcription, nor even a per fect catalogue, can be expected. 'The greater part are known by vernacular names, and fome of thefe are adopted from the Indians ; but fo varioufly, and often erroneoufly, are thefe names applied, that the information derived from them, is to be received with caution. Formal defcriptions, even thofe which are diffufe, fometimes prove defective, from the want of a knowledge of thofe efential characters by which the arrangement of animals is made. The following catalogue, arranged in the order of Lin- næus, is intended to give a general idea of this branch of our natural hiftory, Some remarks are added, which may elucidate the qualities of fome of the animals, together with the manner of rendering them fubfervient to the purposes of human life, or of guarding ourfelves againft the noxious difpofi- tions with which fome of them are endowed .*
QUADRUPEDS.
Scal ( pbuca vitulina.)
Wolf (canis lupus.) This animal is very common, and very noxious. A bounty of twenty dollars is, by law, paid for his head, and if it were doubled, the breed of fheep would be augmented fufficiently to make up the difference. He is frequently taken
* Those animals which have not been particularly examined, or which in the characters do not appear to accord with the Linnaean description, are distinguished by the note (?) of interrogation. Specific names are given to such as evidently appeared to be a new species, and these names, by the express desire of Dr. CUTLER, are printed in italic capi- tals.
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in log traps, and, to décoy him, the hunters fcent the ground with a drug, of which they affect to make a fecret. Joffelyn tells of another method of deftroy- ing wolves ' by binding four mackarel hooks with ' thread, and wrapping fome wool about them, and ' then dipping them in melted tallow till a ball be
'formed as big as an egg. Thefe balls are fcattered ' by a dead carcafe on which the wolf has once prey- ' ed, and when he returns the next night, the firft thing he ventures upon will be thefe balls of fat.' He alfo fpeaks of two fpecies of wolves, one with a round balled foot, the other with a flat foot ; and of a mongrel between the wolf and the fox, which the Indians ufed as dogs.
Red Fox (canis alopex ?)
Grey Fox (canis -. )
Foxes are generally found in thofe woods which are not remote from houfes. They are commonly taken in fteel traps, but are fometimes dug out of their burrows. Formerly the head of a cod was ufed as a bait for the fox. It was laid in confider- able quantities on the fhady fide of a fence, in a moon light night ; and the gunner placed himfelf in ambufh to fhoot the fox at his approach. The filver grey and crofs ftreaked fox fkins, are account- ed the moft valuable, but the common red fox fkin is in much demand.
Wild Cat ( felix lynx.) Of this fpecies, the moun- tain cat is the largeft ; but the black cat has the moft valuable fkin. Some authors have pretended, that the wild cats of America, are a degenerate breed of the European cat imported hither. This opinion does not coincide with their own hypothe- fis, that the animals of the old world are dwindled in fize, and lefs ferocious fince their tranfportation to the new. It is certain, however, that neither of thefe opinions has any juft foundation.
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Skunk (viverra pulorius.) There is no ftronger or more volatile odour in all nature, than the fub- ftance which this animal ejects when purfued or in danger. The 'diabolical fcent,' as Buffon calls it, does not proceed from 'its urine,' but from a fmall bag which is attached to its fkin, and comes off with it. The flefh is white and fweet, and is, by fome people, relifhed as food. The fat is much efteem- ed as an ointment in pains and fwellings of the joints. Goldfmith fays, that this animal is 'often kept tame about the houfes of the planters in America,' and in the next paragraph, that 'it fteals into farm yards, and kills poultry.' The truth of this latter affertion is often experienced ; but no American is fond of fuch company. The fkunk fometimes bur- rows under our barns, but is always an unwelcome intruder.
Otter (muftela lutra ? ) 'Some of thefe have been tamed, and taught to catch fifh for their owners.
Martin (multela This animal keeps itfelf remote from human habitations. Its fkin is much valued, that of the darkeft fhade is prefered.
Weafel (muftela martes ?)
Ermine (muftela erminea.) This beautiful little ani- mal is red, like a fox in fummer, and white in win- ter. It is diftinguifhed from the common weafel by the tip of its tail, which is always black. It is not common, but fome of this fpecies have been found in New-Hampfhire.
Bear (urfus arctos.) Buffon fpeaks of two fpecies of bears, the brown and the black, and he denies that the latter is carnivorous. The black bear only is known in this part of America, and he is one of the moft noxious animals of our foreft. In the months of Auguft and September, he makes great havoc in the fields of Indian corn, in the new fet- Elements .. He places himfelf between two rows of
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corn, and with his paws breaks down the ftalks of four contiguous hills, bending them toward the centre of the fpace, that the ears may lie near to each other, and then devours them. Pafling in this manner through a field, he deftroys the corn in great quantities. To prevent this, the fields are fometimes guarded, by night; but this method is too tedious to be conftant. Another is, to place a loaded gun, and ftretch a line, connected with the trigger, acrofs the field, fo that the bear in his walk, by preffing againft the line, may draw the trig-
ger, and kill himfelf. This practice has fometimes been attended with fuccefs ; but there is danger that people, who are not apprized of the defign, may, in paffing through a field, kill or wound them- felves ; and in fact this mode of fetting guns, has, in fome inftances, proved fatal. Another way of taking the bear, is by fetting log traps ; but this is uncertain. A good dog is the fafeft defence, if he could be induced to remain by night in the field. In the autumn of fome years, the bears come - down into the old fettlements, and they have been feen in the maritime towns ; but now, their ap- pearance in thefe places, is extremely rare. They are very fond of fweet apples, and will fometimes devour young fwine, but very feldom attack man- kind. An affecting inftance of a child falling a prey to one of them, happened at Moultonborough, in the month of Auguft, 1784. A boy of eight years old, fon of a Mr. Leach, was fent to a pafture, toward the clofe of the day, to put out a horfe, and bring home the cows. His father being in a neigh- bouring field, heard a cry of diftrefs, and running to the fence, faw his child lying on the ground, and a bear ftanding by him. He feized a ftake, "and crept along, with a view to get between the bear and the child. The bear took the child by
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the throat, and drew him into the bufhes. The father purfued till he came up, and aiming a ftroke at the bear, the ftake broke in his hand ; and the bear, leaving his prey, turned upon the parent, who, in the anguith of his foul, was obliged to retreat and call for help. Before any fufficient help could be obtained, the evening was fo far advanced, that a fearch was impracticable. The night was paffed by the family in the utmoft diftrefs. The neigh- bours affembled, and at break of day, renewed the purfuit. The child's hat, and the bridle, which he had dropped, were found, and they tracked his blood about forty rods, when they difcovered the mangled corps. The throat was torn, and one thigh devoured. Whilft they were ftanding round the body, the bear rofe from behind a log. Three guns were fired at the fame inftant, which difpatched him ; and a fire was immediately kindled, in which he was confumed. This was a male bear, of about three years old.
I have met with but one other inftance of the fame kind ; it happened in the year 1731, at a new plan- tation on Suncoock river. A man being at work in a meadow, his fon, of about eight years old, was fent to call him home to dinner. On their return, there being two paths through the woods, the fon going firft, took one, and the father the other. At dinner the child was miffing, and after waiting fome time, the father went to feek him, in the path which it was fuppofed he had taken. To his inexpreflible furprife, a bear ftarted up from among the bufhes, with the bleeding corps between his teeth.
The Racoon (urfus lotor) lives in hollow trees, and fometimes feeds on corn in the fields. Its fleth is excellent food. Its fur is valued next to the beaver for hats. Buffon fays that the racoon is found only - in the fouthern countries of America. It is certain-
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ly found in New-Hampfhire, and in the caftern di- vifion of Maffachufetts.
The Wolverine (urfus lufcus) is a mifchievous ani- mal. He fits on the bough of a tree, near the paths of the deer and the moofe, and jumps on their back, to which he clings by his claws till he has torn a hole in their neck and killed them. He enters the cabins of the Indians in their abfence, and plunders them of eatables. Gyles, in his memoirs, tells a ftory of a wolverine, which, in one of thefe depre- dations, happened to throw a bag of gunpowder in- to the fire, by which means he loft his eyes, and be- came the fport of the Indians at their return.
The Woodchuck (urfi vel muftela Species) is a fmall animal which burrows in the earth. It is generally fat to a proverb, and its flefh is palatable food.
IMole (talpa europea.)
Shrew Moufe ( forex criftatus.) Ground Moufe forex murinus.) Field Moufe ( forex araneus.)
Porcupine (byftrix dorfata.) This animal is dan- gerous to dogs, for on feizing it they are tormented with its quills, which quills are of the fize of pig- con's quills. The Indians dye them of various col- ours, and work them into various figures to adorn their belts, pouches, mockafeens, and birchen difhes. Hare (lepus timidus ?)
'Rabbit (lepus cuniculus.)
: The Beaver (caftor fiber) is one of the moft ufeful as well as fagacious animals of our wildernefs. It is now become fcarce in New-Hampfhire, but the veftiges of its labours are very numerous.
The beaver is not only an amphibious animal, but is faid to form a connecting link between quad- rupeds and fifhes. It delights in ftill water, of which it muft have full and undifturbed poffeffion. The depth of the water muft be fuch as that it muft have
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fufficient room to fwim under the ice. The mak and female, with their young of one year old (call ed by the Indians peoys) form a family which con fift generally of fix. Thefe inhabit one cell ; bus when come to the age of two years ( paylems) the go off and build for themfelves.
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