Connecticut western news., 1878-08-29
THE PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH.
PEOPLE WHOSE INDUSTRY HAS ATTRACT ED MUCH ATTENTION.

1 AN INTERESTING SKETCH OF A NOTEI
 PEOPLE WHOSE INDUSTRY HAS ATTRACT ED MUCH ATTENTION.
 A newspaper correspondent, writing oi the Pennsylvania Dutch farmers, says :- Although nearly two centuries have elapsed since the Mennonists and DuEkers emigrated to this country, then descendants still adhere to the manners and customs of their ancestors, and dc not become Americanized as do most foreigners. Dutch is the language spoken in all of the families, and many adults born in this country do not un- derstand the English language. This is explained by the fact that they rarely associate with any persons except those of their own sect. Their language is a corruption of the German language is known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and is not ineligible to European German. It is common to find colored persons, who have been raised among them, who
 talk Dutch huently. They labor early and late. It is not unusual during the harvest season, for them to work from 3 @. m. to 8 p. m., and such work as spreading lime, or husking corn, is fre- quently done at night after hard day s work. They refuse to attend market unless it is held before sunrise, calcu- lating to do full days work after re- turning home. Seventy-fve per cent. of the farms are worked by their owners, the members of the family performing all the labor. The harvest season is one of great activity. The farmers wives and daughters, bare-footed and wearing short gowns, frequently assistin gathering the crops. Five meals are eaten daily. Breakfast is taken on rising, and at nine o'clock smack, " or lunch is carried to the fields by the girls. Dinner is eaten at 12 o'clock, at 4 p. m. another ''snack" is taken in the fields, and at dusk supper is eaten. The provision furnished is of the very best and of great abundance.
 The farms are small, and would be considered mere patch in some parts of the Union. have known persons to grow rich on sixty acres, and 100 acres is considered a fair-sized farm. To find a farm containing more than 200 acres is something rare. They are as rule well watered, and are laid off in fields about ten acres in extent, and are farmed with as much care as is given in some parts of the country to vegetable garden. The soil is very productive and no fertilizers are used except barn-yard manure and ime-many of the farms having lime stone quarries on them. A rotation of crops is the system pursued, and each field bears crop each year. The yield is equal to the best Western lands. The wheat crop of the present season is inn mense. In the Columbia section the average acreage is not less than thirty five bushels. Some farmers boast of forty-five. It is being rapidly sold at from 90 cents to $10O per bushel. There is no cereal or vegetable suited to the climate that cannot be proftably grown. Wheat, Indian corn, oats, rye, buck wheat, timothy, hay and clover are the principal crops, and of late years tobacco has been very extensively raised. Great attention is given to the breeding of horses (which, as 8 rule, are the only stock worked on the farm), milch COWS and beef cattle. The country is partic- ularly noted for it's fine breed of draught horses, and the cattle are all stall-fed and groomed. Little attention is given to the raising of fruit. Markets being of easy access, everything raised or grown can be turned to advantage. The rais- ing of poultry is extensive and the pro- duction of eggs enormous. Many fami- lies pay their store bills in eggs alone, and storekeepers have informed me that at the end of the year when they "settle up, they are frequently in their custom ers' debt. Their butter brings the high est market price.
 The Improvements are of the most sub- stantial and permanent kind. The dwell ling houses are generally constructed of stone, two and half stories in height, and are very commodious, having spa cious kitchens and very fine cellars. The barns are mostly what are known as bank barns, and are really elegant structures, frequently costing more than the dwell ling houses. They have the most ample accommodations for the stock, and for the housing of the entire yield of the farm in their spacious mows and bins. The post and rail fence is most in use. Land sells at from $75 to $500 per acre, and $500 is frequently paid for small we'll improved tracts in choice localities.