Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1865-03-16
MlistsIlanp.
The Shakers.


about as follows: "a men, 100 women,
and SO children. Farming is their
general business, and the preparation
Of seeds, herbs, extracts, apple-sauce,
bonnets, brooms, grain-cradles and
snow-shovels, their specialties. They
hold about 5000 acres of land here in
solid body, or l6 and 2-3 acres, on an
average, each. They keep some 500
head of domestic animals, have plain,
practical houses, workshops and
barns, and, barring connubial bliss,
are doubtless contented and happy
Through the courtesy of one of their
leaders, we have looked in upon their
homes, partaken of their salt, and
gathered, as we trust, some items of
general interest. The Shakers are a
religious sect, of about a century's
growth, originating form the Quakers
in Manchester, England. They first
came to this country in TIA, number
ing ten persons, and settled at Water
Welt, New York. There the idea of
community of property was first
preached, which has since been adopt
ed by the Shaker families. Self denial
il their cardinal virtue. They believe
in Gods, Christs, heavens and bells
duplicated. They are non-resistants,
participate in no earthly government,
do not marry, live frugally and simply,
and consider idlencss sinful. Those
who differ from them are worlds
people" Their name is derived from
their motions in worship, which exer-
else both soul and body, and consist,
in part, of marches, dances, and sing
ing. Anna Lee, the daughter and
wife of blacksmith, was the author
and founder of the system. Joseph
Meacham, Baptist preacher Of En-
field, CT, was an early convert to this
faith, and improved its practice. Three
missionaries were sent out from Leba-
non, N. Y, which is considered the
parent society, having five hundred
members in 1905, into Ohio and Ken
lucky, and they made proselytes in
those States. There are now eighteen
societies, and about four thousand
members in this country, divided as
follows Four in Massachusetts, one
in Connecticut, two in New Hampshire,
two in Maine, three in New York, four
in Ohio, and two in Kentucky. Each
society has from two to eight house
holds, and averages seven acres Of
land to each member.
The Enfield society was established
in 1875, by eight persons, poor and in
debt. They have grown to their pres
ent form, though sometimes more pros
porous in numbers than now. They |
are obliged to hire farm help more or
less, owing to the scarcity of numbers
The middle or church family here,
which doubtless represents one-fourth
of the population, cultivated last year
forty acres of corn, forty acres of oats, |
twenty acres of rye, besides spring
wheat, vegetables, &c, and cut one
hundred and fifty tons of hay. They
keep about one hundred and fifty head
of cattle, of which twenty-five are
COWS of the native Durham and Alder
ney grades. These animals are most
ly kept at a new barn built in 1854.
1t is 40 by 30 feet in size, with high
and capacious manure cellar under the
whole, and what is remarkable, the
building is trussed up, so that in the
cellar there is neither pillar nor post
The building stands on the side of q
hill, the main driveway is in the attic,
and the hay is pitched down into bays
on either side. Under the barn floor,
and connecting with it by scuttles. is
the feeding floor, and some eight feet
lower are the cattle, while under all is
a cellar at least twelve feet in height.
Here are manufactured some 500 loads
of manure annually. The walls of the
cellar are of stone, quarried under the
building.
The Shakers pride themselves on
their stock, and justly. They "get the
best" and breed only from thorough
bred males. They feed well, but care
fully avoid waste. The first thing in
the morning the cows have one or two
fodderings of hay, then roots sprink-
led with dry meal, then they are wa
tered, then have hay and stocks, then
roots and meal as before, and lastly
hay. Their young stock is kept in
shielded yards, and is divided accord
ing to age and quality. They all have
wide managers and generally rack
behind, 30 that every spire Of hay is
saved.
Their horses are generally very
good. We saw fine bay breeding
mare and four of her colts of various
ages. Three were Ashlands," and
oil sorrel, and the youngest a bay
Hamilton FLY. The Shakers eat no
pork, but raise few hogs for the Gen
tiles. The Shakers are posted on veg
etable raising. We learned that i'm
ported radish seed was considered
best /; also, home grown red and yell
low onion seed. Two-thirds of the
crop will be solutions if foreign seed
are used. The onion maggot began
70 operate in Vermont and New
Hampshire 10 or Is years ago, and
has gradually extended to this locali-
ty. Their remedy, which is certainly
effective, is half barrel of saltpetre,
one barrel of ashes, and one barrel
phosphate mixed per acre, sown upon
the young crop. They SOW onions in
drills IA inches apart, with French ru-
ia bagas between, and use four pounds
Of onion seed to the acre. The rene
dy for the striped squash bug is birt b
charcoal dust. A better remedy, sug.
gested by gentleman Of much expo
rience in the agricultural trade in this
city, is air Stacked lime and yellow
snuff in equal parts. Put it into
sieve and rap it gently when the dew
is on the plant and the bugs will leave