The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1877-07-18

| elsewhere for the last two davs We passed
several So called villages in this day's Journey
but they were meager ones indeed; two Of
| three houses within as many hundred wards
| Of each other constituted 4 village here,
These people seem to have very poor ap.
| probation Of distance, mile seems to mean
about the distance one would walk AZ a. or
binary gait in about half an hour. One 81
these simple minded--but / believe honest
| hearted told us there il great diff
| ference between measured mile and milo
according 10 their standard. Their miles, he
said, were great deal the longer. And 80
we found them. And any one who crosses
this SANDY belt viii find the miles ais recorded
BY the natives. very long indeed There is
much difficulty in following road that leads
the most directly from one place 10 another.
Whether these roads have been laid out by a
survey we do not know. but that they have
been we doubt. Thew are not fenced. Of
course. Much of the time the beaten way is
only wide enough to let the team and wagon
through; sometimes, almost as far as we can
see, the track is straight and hemmed In to
the very r1ts--which are indeed deep--with
pine trees and undergrowtb, presenting a
scene very peculiar and not a little pleasing.
In fact this region abounds in pleasant pros
poets. Sometimes the forests. formed Of
pines of uniform height, strewing the soil
with a rich and elastic Garnet. lit up by the
light peculiarly modified by passing through
the fine boughs, is really enchanting. And
then again a stream gracefully and smoothly
sweeping over its pebbly bed with scarcely
ripple upon its surface and without murmur.
meandering quietly amid this forest Of pine.
is beautiful to behold. and suggestive to con.
template. Oh this old wilderness Of pines
is school rich in those elements that ia best
fitted to develop tho soul of man and to lead
him in his thoughts ont from himself to con.
template those things more grand that relate
to space and time to lead him out from those
miserable notions into which We are al, so
prone to descend, into broader a more
peaceful and vet an energetic nbilantbropy
O.! why do we not spend more time in visit
ing the solitudes They are rich IN those
things that tend to spread us out. to make Ms
broader in our views of life and It's ;mnnrt.
ant concerns. and to lift us up out Of that
narrowness enoendered bv traffic and trade
and the transaction Of business in dense So
cieties. show us that to live for ones self
alone. or even for ones family aloha ID u,;sa,v
and tends only to hem in it's votaries from
those things which the Divine Architect has
arranged to please us. to educate us and mako
us happy.
The laurei [Kofe.ia tafJoiiaJ of Botanists
that forms SO large a part Of the upderorowth
here deserves some notice. Near Toms River
it is short--about two feet hieh--not very
liant but as we Journey toward the north
west it becomes larger. more abundant. and
the flowers are more attractive. Near the
northern limits OF this belt of sand and pine
it attains q height of from four to six feet,
and in many places forms a thicket SO dense
ON his hands and knes. These thickets are
now covered with the gay flowers peculiar to
this plant. Among these flowers here and
there are seen the glossy, bright green leaves
of tho plant; forming scene most beautiful
to behold. At a short distance away the
whole thicket looks as If it is covered over
with an unbroken sheet of the eayest calico.
From this circumstance 1t takes its name, the
calico bush.
Rngoes- Saturday, 6 o'clock, p. M. We
have arrived home. We left camp upon
Cream Ridge about Z A. M. The roads were
very wet, but as far as we could Judge, the
travelling was as good as it was before the
rain.
We visited, in this vicinity, the mari pits OF
William Bryan. These are extensive excaya-
tions, made for the purpose of obtaining that
valuable fertilizer known as mari. The ap-
pearance of this material is somewhat pecu-
liar. AS seen in the pit, it forms stratum
almost black, with shade Of green, overlsid
by yelowish red sand some six to ten feet
deep. Between these layers the line of de-
narration is very bold, SO that the termina-
ton of the yellowish red sand is very abrupt.
As pressed and rolled between the fingers this
mari seems gritty, --somewhat sand like. In
fact 1t is composed Of grains of very fine green