Agricultural Tour in the United States and Upper Canada, with Miscellaneous Notices (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1842. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER III. Departure from Boston--Country to Stonington--New York--Haarlem--American mode of driving in gigs --Long Island--Staten Island--Inattention to husbandry--Cause of it--Field for enterprising fanners-- Domestic economy in New York--Hospitality--Departure. May 1841. At 4tp. M. of the 8th of May I left Boston for New York, proceeding first by the railway to Stonington in Connecticut, and thence in the steam-boat to New York, where I arrived 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 timber trees having evidently been all cut down NEW YORK. 13 for use. This was invariably the feature of the country, with here and there a patch of fifty 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- ";J portunity of seeing the country between Ston ington and New York. I now found myself in a magnificent city fV containing about 300,000 inhabitants--the i streets spacious, particularly the foot-paths, which appear to be double the width of those even in the more moder n 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 English language in his ears, and a general English 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 I is not the same crowd of carriages, waggons, carts, or other vehicles...