USA > New York > Kings County > Flatbush > The social history of Flatbush : and manners and customs of the Dutch settlers in Kings county > Part 18
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There were beams across the second story, support- ing poles on which the hay was piled. What great hay- mows they were, choice romping places for the chil- dren ! Just the spot in which to hunt for hens' nests, or from which to jump to the soft bedding of hay thrown down on the lower floor ! And then what bois- terous laughter followed the leap, as the frolicsome lit- tle ones were almost buried by the downward plunge into the fragrant clover hay !
The hens were sure to select places for their nests in the farthest corners of the mow or in the mangers, and many a hatful or apronful of fresh, clean eggs the children would find and carry exultingly into the house, If by mistake they frightened a setting hen from her nest, what a noisy cackling was heard, followed by the unnecessary advice from some of the farm-hands to "let that hen alone !"
The granary was usually boarded off in one corner. Opening the door suddenly, there was apt to be a scam- pering of mice and rats. If the pet dogs of the fam- ily were the companions of the children, chase was given at once. At it they went, scattering the threshed grain upon the floor, tumbling down the wooden grain- shovel and half-bushel measure, leaping over the wheat- bags ready for the mill, and sliding down great heaps of shelled corn, until the mischief was arrested by call- ing off the dogs and closing the doors, leaving these
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hunting-grounds to those more careful hunters, the cats.
The stable for the farmer's horses formed part of the barn ; it was entered by a smaller door at the side. There were several pairs of horses and generally a pair of mules owned by every farmer ; if oxen were kept, there was a stable for their use on the opposite side.
In these huge barns the cereal wealth of the farmer was stored. Reaping and threshing machines were not in use at the time that the land in Flatbush lay in cultivated farms, and the process of separating the wheat and chaff was more tedious than it is now.
The grain to be threshed was spread in a circle upon the barn-floor. It was trodden out by the feet of the horses which were driven round and round upon it, the driver standing in the middle, and his assistants keeping with their wooden forks the grain in its posi- tion, if it happened to be displaced by the horses. Rye was threshed out by the flail, a sound that one never hears now ; then, on many an autumn or winter day, one might hear from the open barn-door the regular thump, thump! thump, thump! of the flail as the farmer and his men threshed out the grain for winter use preparatory to taking it to the mill.
The cobwebs, begrimed with dust, in tattered fes- toons, ornamented with hayseed, hanging from the beams ; the horses, stretching out their long noses from their stalls ; the rough rope harness ; the detached bits of wagons, board seats, tongue, or shaft ; the farming implements, the bags of grain, and beside them the iron-rimmed half-bushel measure; the old knife or broken scythe stuck in the shingled sides of the barn ; the black bucket of tar for the wagon-wheels ; the ac-
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
counts chalked on the doors, and, above all, the sweet smell of hay pervading the place-how these things come back to memory as we recall the old barns in the days when all the village was tilled as farming land !
There are not many of these old barns left ; here and there one may still be found in Flatbush. Even in the outskirts of Brooklyn, where the city has suddenly over- grown an old farm, there are one or two standing. We feel as if they were out of place in the unaccustomed whirl in which they find themselves, for they belong not to the living, busy present, but to a different order of things that can never come back to us from the past.
Near the barn stood the wagon-house of the farmer, in the loft of which were sheltered the wheelbarrow, the grindstone, the plows and harrows, the rakes and hoes. Corn-cribs, filled during the winter with cobs of golden corn, formed the outer compartments of this building. The farm wagons were in the open central space. Even these wagons have changed in form during the last fifty years ; those then in use were wholly without springs and were painted red ; the sides were loose, and could be separated from the rest of the body so as to unload the more easily ; they sloped up both to the front and to the back, but were highest behind. There are none of this style of vehicle in use on the farms at present in Kings County, but the traveler may find them in Hol- land at the present day.
It may be interesting to know the money value of cattle raised by the old Dutch farmers. An old bill of sale, bearing date 1767, having been preserved among other and more valuable papers, its age has now given it a value which it did not once possess. We give it just as it was written :
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Zeven beeste [seven cows]. £25
Vif jong beeste [five young cows]. 12
Vier kalveren [four calves].
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HARVEST-TIME.
Before the invention of labor-saving machines, the time of harvest was one of immense labor to the farmer. The men who were useful with scythe and cradle were all engaged in advance at good wages. The rich golden grain was a beautiful sight, falling before the regular and graceful sweep of the scythe as the mowers ad- vanced in rows, marking their progress by long swathes, while before them, with the slightest ripple of summer breeze, the ripened wheat swayed gently, bending itself like the lengthened undulations of the sea. As the reaper whetted his scythe, and stood resting a moment to wipe the perspiration that stood in beads on his forehead, his red flannel shirt gave the bit of color the artist loves in a picture.
At the bars let down in the lane his coat was thrown ; under a bunch of fresh cut hay to keep it cool stood the pail of drink for the thirsty reapers, and the tin cup. It was watched by the dog that lay beside it, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, panting from the heat, and snapping lazily at the insects that buzzed about his head.
The men turned the hay over with long forks before it was ready for the barn, and after that it was put up in haycocks. If a heavy black cloud loomed up from the western horizon, threatening a shower, then the utmost haste was necessary to secure shelter lest the hay should be wet, and the wagons were driven rapidly to and fro between the barns and the hayfield. The men, with their long forks beside them, rode high on the
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
top of the load. With the help of one man stationed above and one below, the fragrant hay was pitched rap- idly into the mow.
A framework, consisting of four heavy corner posts and a thatched straw roofing, which could be raised or lowered upon these corner posts, was called by the farm- ers a barrack.
One or more of these barracks was in every farm- yard for the straw and hay, and served to relieve the overcrowded barns in seasons of a bountiful harvest. There were also rows of haycocks of salt hay from the meadows, of which every farmer owned a certain share, and which was highly valued. This was harvested in the months of September and October.
In the late autumn long rows of cornstalks were stacked higher than the fences for the use of the cows in the cattle-yard, and the great golden pumpkins which grew between the rows of corn were laid along the sun- ny sides of the corn-crib to ripen.
Thus on all sides there were signs of peace and plen- ty. The returning seasons rarely failed to bring the farmer an abundant return for the labor he had bestowed upon his land. The smooth fields, under the careful cultivation of their respective owners, were never un- duly taxed so as to exhaust their fertility. They were judiciously planted with a view to changing crops, and they were enriched as the experienced eye of the farmer saw what was needed.
Though the life was quiet and unostentatious, yet the farmer had a peaceful, happy home, undisturbed by the cares which to-day make the life of the citizen so full of turmoil and disquiet.
CHAPTER XXIII.
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
THE Dutch travelers who visited Long Island at the time of its settlement, and to whom allusion has al- ready been made, say of the peach-trees that they " were so laden that one might doubt whether there were more leaves or fruit on them."
This statement is corroborated by what the old peo- ple tell us of the enormous quantity of peaches raised even as late as 1776. At that period, and subsequently, peaches were so abundant in Flatbush that they lay un- gathered under the trees. The supply was greater than the demand, and after the animals in the barnyard had been abundantly fed on them, the remainder lay rotting in the sun.
The reverse of this is true at this present time. For some twenty-five years it has been impossible to culti- vate successfully this delicious fruit upon the soil of Flatbush. A worm or some disease attacks the tree, and before they are in full bearing they look as if blight- ed, turn yellow, and die.
The peach-tree continued to grow and bear fruit in some of the adjacent towns long after it had ceased to repay its cultivation in Flatbush.
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
Plums and cherries were once very abundant ; the trees were healthy and the fruit large and fine ; but with these, as with the peach, some disease attacking the tree, they were blighted, and the fruit, if the trees con- tinued in bearing, was poor.
Grapevines were not so generally cultivated as they are at present. The Isabella grape was the variety pre- ferred, as being the most hardy.
Of the small fruits, there were currants, gooseber- ries, strawberries, and raspberries ; but there were none of the large varieties of these plants, such as are now the result of careful selection and cultivation. Mulberry- trees were once abundant, but this very sweet fruit is now rarely seen.
Pears live to a great age on this soil. There were trees standing in 1855 which are known to have been in full bearing in 1776. Pears were formerly as abundant as were peaches, and the trees being more hardy contin- ued longer in bearing.
The first of this delicious fruit which led the contin- uous procession of gradually ripening pears from Au- gust to November was what was called the " sugar pear." This was a small, yellow, sweet pear which ripened just at the close of harvest. It was very nice when first ripe, but apt to become mealy and decay if kept long after being gathered.
Another variety of this pear was called the "sugar- top." These were very nice, being more juicy than the sugar pear and a little larger.
The "bell pear," named from its shape, was a rich, juicy pear, and bore very abundantly.
A pear called " the Engelbert Lott," probably named after the cultivator, was an excellent pear, and bore well.
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FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
The last of the crop was gathered in October or November ; this late variety was called the "pound pear," from its great size. They ripened in the house after being gathered, but were used chiefly for sweet- meats. The Dutch housewife valued these pears, be- cause she could preserve them at her leisure during the winter, as they were not apt to decay even if kept until almost spring. Flavored with orange, lemon, or ginger, they made very nice preserves.
There was a prolific bearer among the pear-trees called the " Cornelis Scooter " (we do not vouch for the correct- ness of the spelling). Every farmer had a number of these trees. The fruit ripened in the early autumn ; they were juicy, but not highly flavored. The children brought them to school in their dinner-baskets, for as long as they lasted they were very abundant, but they could not be kept late in the season.
There were a number of fine apple and pear orchards in the village. Some of these, set out at an early period, have ceased bearing ; but many of the old residents paid great attention to the cultivation of these fruits, and there was not a farm without its choice orchard. Some forty years ago these were in full bearing, and the fruit ripened to greater perfection than it has done for the past thirty years.
Every family had apples enough for winter use and for cider-making. The surplus was sent to the New York market; for at that period the markets were chiefly supplied from the produce of the Middle and Eastern States.
" Bough apples " began to ripen in harvest-time, and they were followed by a regular succession of ripening varieties until, latest of all, the russets were gathered.
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
What beautiful fruit, and how abundant it was in the orchards upon every farm ! Great yellow apples peeped from under the glossy green leaves ; bright red apples shone from beneath gnarled boughs of old trees ; Newtown pippins fell dead ripe upon the stubble of the wheat-field, and swarms of bumble-bees and wasps and golden-winged flies feasted on the ripened and decaying fruit that had burst the mellow rind in falling. There were "sheep apples," in shape like flattened cheeses, that grew in the pasture-lots on low trees just high enough to entice the boys to climb after them ; there were great yellow apples streaked with red, the embroid- ery of the sun ; there were "guelderlengs," beautiful to look upon ; and there were many others, like the fruit in the garden of Eden, "good for food and pleasant to the eyes," but without the ban placed upon the apples in Paradise, for as generously as they yielded, so freely all partook of the enticing fruit. The very shape of those old apple-trees was suggestive of a bountiful Na- ture ; for even where the fruit was high up beyond the reach, the tree stretched downward its sloping limbs as if inviting the children to shake the boughs ; willingly the response came ; plump the fruit fell, sometimes, as if enjoying a practical joke, upon the very heads of the little ones, whose upturned faces were scarcely prepared for the sudden response. The pleasant sound of bees humming among the pink-streaked apple-blossoms in the springtime seemed to find its contrasted quiet under those trees in the autumn, when only the stillness was broken by the fall now and then of the ripened fruit which hid itself under the clover or the nettles, or rolled into the ridges of the plowed ground.
Even when the apple-tree has been blown down, it
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 281
will continue to bear if it has any connection with its root for the supply of sap. Was there ever an old apple orchard that did not have one or more trees in a recum- bent posture, easy and inviting, for the children to climb ? Under such circumstances, it seems almost impossible that they should still blossom and bear fruit, so gnarly and sapless the boughs seem to be ; and yet there are well-authenticated instances of these gnarled, recumbent trees in full bearing for many years.
An old apple-tree in an orchard of Mr. John Lefferts blossomed and bore fruit in 1878, two years after it had fallen to the ground, and was only connected with the root by a small portion of the trunk. What made this case remarkable was the fact that this tree was the last of a large orchard which was full grown in 1776.
The holes in the decaying trunks of fruit-trees from which large limbs have been twisted by sudden gusts have always been favorite resorts of owls, from which through the long summer twilight they hoot in reply to each other, from orchard to orchard. Here also the squirrels love to secrete their winter store of nuts, es- pecially if these orchards be close upon the line of forest from which they secure their food.
There was a severe gale in the year 1821, known as the "September gale," which the old people used to think, we can not say with how much of foundation for the belief, was the cause of the destruction of many of the old orchards. "At least," they would say, "the fruit has never been so abundant since," for in that se- vere and long - remembered storm the salt spray was found upon trees far inland, and the south side of trees turned black. Indirectly it may have had that effect, but, on the whole, we incline to think it a mere coinci-
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
dence, and that there has been a constant and regular decadence in the fruit orchards of Flatbush.
After the apples were gathered and assorted, cider- making was part of the farmer's work. The cider- presses were usually placed along the farm lanes, near the orchards, and every farmer made from one to ten or more barrels of cider. It was in almost daily use on the dinner-table during the winter season, and in the following summer was often diluted with water, sweet- ened, and flavored with nutmeg, as a pleasant drink in warm weather.
It formed the common beverage of the men in the harvest field, and, as it was the pure and unadulterated juice of the apple, without any of the doctoring which it is to be feared it receives from retail dealers of the article at the present day, it was doubtless a wholesome drink.
The vinegar used in the family was this cider in its later stages of fermentation, so that pure " cider vine- gar " was not the doubtful material which often appears now under that name.
Vegetables grew in abundance on the rich soil of Long Island. Asparagus, peas, lettuce, beets, radishes, beans, cabbage, parsnips, sweet-corn, turnips, cucum- bers, squash, pumpkins, and potatoes were to be found in the kitchen garden of every farm. Egg-plant and tomatoes are the only vegetables of comparatively re- cent introduction. Tomatoes first came into use upon the table somewhere about 1840.
Spinach was covered with salt hay, to be cut for table use in the winter. A narrow-leaved variety of dock was used as "greens " when vegetables were scarce. Pursley and dandelion were gathered in the spring
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FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
from the fields by those who had no vegetable gardens. Melons were easily cultivated in localities where there was sandy soil ; they could be purchased at a moderate price through August.
While the revolving seasons brought an abundance of fruit and vegetables to the tables, yet there were times when the farmer was almost without them, for there were then none of the foreign fruits which are now sup- plied by every incoming steamer to complement the period when the native varieties are out of the market. Oranges and pineapples were rare and expensive ; ba- nanas were not to be had ; lemons were not as abun- dant as now. Raisins, dried currants, prunes, and figs were by no means as cheap as they are at present ; white grapes were only purchased for the sick or for special entertainments. All the luxuries which steam naviga- tion brings to the householder to-day formed no part of the bill of fare of the farmer, who fifty years ago was confined to the produce of his own farm.
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CHAPTER XXIV.
GARDENS, WILD FLOWERS, AND WOODS.
THERE is a fashion even in the cultivation of flowers. The greater or less demand for the propagation of dif- ferent plants, or the ready sale for particular varieties, brings certain flowers into prominence at one period which a few years after are neglected for some newer favorite.
There was a time when most exorbitant sums were offered in Holland for the single bulb of a favorite tu- lip. Now tulips hold a comparatively low place in the estimation of the florist.
At one time the beautiful garden lily known as the Annunciation lily was considered a common flower, al- though it held its place by its hardy growth in our gar- dens. Now these lilies, forced from their natural July flowering to bloom at Easter, are cultivated by garden- ers with the greatest care.
New varieties of roses bring large prices, and pre- miums are paid for novelties in all kinds of plants, so that, according to the gardener's estimate, plants are valued not so much because they are beautiful as be- cause they are rare or new.
There are many plants now cultivated in every gar- den which some fifty years ago had not been intro-
GARDENS, WILD FLOWERS, AND WOODS. 285
duced ; some of these were even unknown in our green- houses.
The dahlia was brought into the United States from Mexico. At first it was highly prized as a rich and rare plant; every variety was eagerly sought and propa- gated with care. Forty years ago our gardens were planted with dahlia poles almost as soon as the bulbs had sprouted ; these were anything but ornamental, even when the long stalk stood like a twin growth at the side ; but when the velvety petals began to un- fold, and all the varieties of crimson, scarlet, yellow, and purple unrolled their regal robes, they received un- bounded admiration. At every agricultural fair there was rivalry as to who should exhibit the greatest vari- ety. But the cultivation of this flower no longer claims attention from the florist, and the neglect is not to be regretted, for it was a coarse flower, without odor, and ungraceful in growth upon its straight, stiff stalk.
When the fuchsia was first introduced it was called lady's eardrop, and the elongated, slender shape justi- fied the name by its likeness to the long, pendent ear- rings which were fashionable at that time. They were at first crimson and blue ; cultivation has given us many varieties both as to color and form, but none are as graceful and pretty as those long crimson ones with their blue centers from which the first were propagated.
Many plants are now successfully cultivated in this country which were natives of China or Japan. These, although at present we can scarcely call them new, were not common here some thirty years ago ; among such we can name the camellia Japonica, the pyrus Japo- nica, dielytra, deutzia, wigelia, etc.
All the varieties of beautiful colored leaves-coleus-
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THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF FLATBUSH.
were unknown in the horticulture of fifty years ago in Flatbush. Now they form a very large part of the bril- liant decoration of every garden spot. Whether varie- gated, shaded, or the blending of one or more harmon- izing tints, they are all so beautiful that they form a rich and valuable addition to our flora.
There are many flowers to which protection is given in the winter in the greenhouse that in the summer give variety to our gardens ; these were wholly wanting years ago, for the reason that there were fewer public hothouses and conservatories, and only solitary speci- mens of these plants found their way to the lover of flowers. They were not, as now, for sale in the spring- time at every street-corner. We never saw growing in our gardens some thirty years ago heliotrope, abu- tilon, salvias, begonias, bouvardia, verbenas, calceola- rias, pelargoniums, etc., flowers which now make their summer home in the beds with our native hardy plants.
The wisteria is also a stranger which has come to feel at home with us; its rich clusters were not seen once as they are now, climbing from trellis to window.
The madeira-vine was then unknown. The trum- pet-creeper, matrimony, woodbine, honeysuckle, and climbing roses were the only vines which clustered over the porticoes and clambered up the trellis.
But the memory of the pretty gardens throughout Flatbush rebukes even the intimation that we were without flowers ; and those which we had were quite as diligently cultivated, perhaps more lovingly, than the abundant beds which bloom in such luxuriance around our houses to-day.
We used to have an abundance of what are now called old-fashioned flowers.
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GARDENS, WILD FLOWERS, AND WOODS.
Lilacs, white and purple, bloomed along the hedges. How delicious their perfume, how beautiful their color, how graceful their form! Theirs was no scant and penurious flowering ! They gave so abundantly of their beautiful treasures that, even in the poor man's cottage, one might find great bunches of them on the mantel- piece in the spring-time ; children gathered them un- restricted ; wayside pedestrians leaned over the paling and broke off great stalks unrebuked, for no one thought it stealing. They have been called common, but they are so generous, so beautiful, so fragrant, that they will ever be associated with sweet memories of plea- sant things.
Syringas were also very abundant, and their per- fume filled the air with fragrance in the latter part of May and first of June.
Honeysuckles overhung many a trellis. The green- ish-white snowball, that finally the sun bleached, as it grew into fitness to its name, recalling the drifts of January, had its place among the shrubbery.
Red peonies, huge and florid, thrust themselves for- ward in every corner of the garden ; those more deli- cately tinted did not come to our notice until a later period, when the pink-and-white peony divided the attention which had been given to the earlier and deeply colored specimens of that hardy bulb.
The flower-de-luce, known as the blue flag, and later as the fleur-de-lis, also formed a thicket with its sword-shaped leaves, but the varieties in color which may now be found were then unknown.
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