New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-08-02
STATEN ISLAND INTERIOR.

| Its |. Condition Of Rarms-Ktnd
Of Crops Grswn-Character Of Soil
Value Of Land, and How IL IL Wasted
| Want Of Manure, and How 10 may be
Obtained Buichers' OHai-Hew 10 IL
Converted into Gunao-The Trip
Lessons by tho Wsyside.
Perhaps the reader of this article has often
sailed down the beautiful bay Of NewYort and through
the narrow channel which is guarded upon the LEFT hand
by that great fortress called Fort Hamilton standing
upon prominent point Of Long Island, and upon the
right hand by Fort Richmond the guns Of which look
down from the hills Of Staten Island into the very holds
Of the vessels sailing by. and close under the walls OF
that fortress Of historic fame which looms mp out Of
the water midway the channel and ia known as Fort
Lafayette Perhaps too be has sailed on the other sdo
down the still narrower channel which divides Staten
Island from NevJersey and he sailed has looked up
and seen the hillsidas dotted with beautiful cottages
and the hill tops crowned with residences Of greater
paatiai pretensons Perhaps too he has sighed as he
said To himself "0h If thu coast so pleasant To the
eye then the interior OF this blessed green isle must be
full of beauty." And so 1t Is. Perhaps there is no
suburb OF great city the world more favored BY
nature. Nowhere else there more besutfal drives
through woods and valleys nowhere else more ex'
Qutc and varied landscapes OF city and town. OF sea
and country than to which side the eye
may turn from the hill tops OF Staten Island But this
lovely region is STILL for the most part in the hands Of
rura population. which has possessed II nom genera
ton to generation. which, notwithstanding Ito proIim
iy 10 great city. has admitted but little innovation
aud less Improvement Our business now Is With it,
agricultural condition.
wish could picture to country readers the beauty
lsS~ Vol hav hat mart NJ "a n
the city Is dotted thckly with vessels at anchor
that moving boat steer carefully to glide safely
between them. on Castle Garden hes large emigrani
ship Just arrived with its living freight little further
out are two monstrous Government steamers. their
black hus looming up out Of the water mile two
further over toward Bedioe's Island the turret and
chimney OF monitor are above the water the hull
below only showing small black streak upon tie surface
Another great black steamer Just arrived from New
Orleans loaded with heroes 10 coming up the bay.
dcsen little tug boats in sight, Of them Juggling
along great ships up to the wharves out TO ses;
with pair Of canal boat loaded with grain. going
over to those immense warehouses east Of Governors
Island which We are now passing. That three story
round brick building upon It's extremity Cas-
tie William. II built one OF tho defensss Of
New.York." 1t would be sbont efectual for that
purpose horse hair to check the speed Of runaway
horse.
We stop at Quarantine Landing. the nrst upon the
east sdo Of Staten Island and discharge part Of
crowd upon the wharf just below the great cotton ware
houses where the cotton stored which Sherman found
ard confscated at Savannah A little below We land
again. ard still further at Vanderbts Land
Ing Seen closely this shore not inviting. Ills dis
leads enchsntmen the view for then the great
wsalthy.ooking mansions upon the hills form tie
prominent points In the picture and thus hide the dirty
shantes and rum holes In the village along this shore
A single track railroad runs from vsnderbits Land
ing TO Tottenvile, fifteen miles south.vesward
You pass through large tracts Of woodland and
over considerable areas Of sw.mpy ground; you see
where hundreds Of Of forest have boen recently
cut because tie railroad has enabled tho owners TO
transport the wood to market You may wonder to
80 much unimprovcd land You will not wonder when
you see that Whist is called improved utterly unworthy
Of the name. II the world has class Of more unim
proving farmers than the Of those TO be found In
the interior OF Staten Island they have not fallen under
my notice. II 10 truly surprising to 500 strong. pro-
ductvc soil and its Inhabitants within easy hours
ride Of Nsw.York City. exactly In the condition ex
hibited hundred years ago. In this an somewhat
mistaken for then the land possessed Of ito native
fertility and grew it, crops without manure. The at.
tempt do In the year 1865 exhibits state Of igno.
rance unsurpassed in any farming community in the
country.
| Although cannot speak personally OF the actual ap-
pearance Of tho interior Of the Island quite far back
a. hundred years ago yet have full faith to believe
that many farms exhibit change. There the
same little old low wooden farm houses the lack
OF barns for want Of which the hay Is stored in old
Dutch barracks-one OF which never owned BY an
improving farmerthe kind Of crops Of corn rye
oats and grass, and few old scattered. scrubby
chards, with little small fruits cultivated in the
garden the family, as OF yore. dragging through tho
woods and folds after wild backberriea and altogether
exhibiting state Of agriculture truly primitive. AL
most tho only innovation that saw upon dtime
toms was that Of the moving machine upon here and
there farm. few and far between.
While around my own homo In Westchester County
but few fields Of grass left uncut, fad in the in
tarior OF tho Island only here and there field has been
moved 1t probably because the farmers adhere to
tho time notion Of letting tho grass become thor
ougbv ripeued before II Is harvested. recolloct
.eeir but one field that gave evidence OF being thor
oughIv manurpd. This estimated a. yielding fully
thres TINS YER acre. Numerous other fields OF the same
ouslty Of soil which might have been equally pro-
duciye would scarcely yield onefourth that quantity.
Some on. fields showed mserably unprohtable crops.
and IN the asys ride saw but two or three fields OF
really handsome corn With few exceptions the whole
mode o. farming both 10 crops and manner OF pro-
ducng tho appears far better suited to the interior
Of Peuuy aria than to the interior o! Staten Island.