Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1882-11-30
a FLOATING FARM.

speaking ABOUT paying Taxes, saiu
a man who had perhaps been perform
ing that pleasant duty, " reminds me Of
an old fellow, sort Of hermit,
who lived where 1 did in small
town in New Hampshire, and II he
wasn't the out-and-outest chap for
avoiding the demands Of the State, then
I'm mistaken
"Why didn't they sen him out?''
"Because they couldn't get hold Of
the property. No, it wasn't air castles,
and he didn't live in balloon, but on
solid property, and every time the tax
collector came around in New Hamp-
shire Ezra and his property were in
Massachusetts,"
"Oh, see. He had the State line
on wheels, and showed it about to
suit"
"Not exactly, but he had his property
fixed SO that he could shift it anywhere
he wanted. 1t was nothing more MOI
less than floating island made up Of
bog and stuff, and for a good many
years it blew about the pond, until
finally the old chap put up hut on it.
kept a COW, chickens and ducks, and
had regular floating farm. But one
day he heard the assessor was coming,
so he cast off the moorings that he had
rugged to the island, and before the
next day the wind had carried him
over the State line that ran through
the pond into Massachusetts,, and when
the collector went out in skiff the
old bog-skipper, as they called him, act
ually threatened to have him arrested
for trying to collect the taxes of a
neighbor State. He anchored the island
on the Massachusetts, side until the
seleetmen got after him there and fol
several years he lodged back and forth,
and didn't pay cent on his four acres.
But finally they put up job on him,
and two assessors, one from each
State, went out in sldffs, theisland being
anchored in the middle Of the lake. The
old man said he was ready to pay, only
he wanted it just right. as he lived in
both States-the house was in one
State and the barn in the other. The
collectors got so mixed up trying to
straighten it that believe they had to
take it into court. Anyway, I don't
think the old mans taxes are square
yet"
GA similar case might happen at
another place in New England" said
one of the group of listeners. On Lake
Menomenouk there is an island that
for a long time was called the mystic
rious island. 1t belonged to the town
of Winchendon, Mass, contained about
six acres, and was covered with trees
thirty feet or more high. Some Of the
people declared that they had seen the
island move years ago, but they were
generally laughed at until one morning
they found it gone, and now it is, OF
was short time ago, over the State
line in New Hampshire, nearly three
miles from where it first stood. 1t was
originally bog held together by roots,
and the water had gradually under
mined it, until good, sharp breeze took
the trees as sails and away it went.
MANY lakes have similar islands,
even in streams affected by tide. They
are found anchored by roots, rising and
falling with the water, and swinging
by their vegetable cables. Some Of the
European lakes have such islands that
are used for pasturage, and they often
carry the island population to great
distances.
During the great food in the Mis-
sissippi in 1874, vast floating islands
were formed in the river and carried
far out into the Gulf stream. One
that vessel ran into 800 miles from
the delta was over an acre in extent,
and populated with great variety Of
snakes, frogs and turtles, besides a
number Of land animals that had
sought protection there from the rising
waters. only to be swept out to sea-
The geographical distribution Of life,
it will be seen, depends much on these
floating islands fact proved by com
pairing the inhabitants of islands miles
apart. Several years ago large snake
was picked up off the Bermuda islands
clinging to a floating island that with
out doubt had come from the Amazon.
Miles Of cordage float out of the great
river in the same way, carrying seeds
and even animals far around the cir
cult Of the Atlantic. The same is true
Of the Ganges. Great RATS, populated
with animals from the interior, have
been found by vessels over 200 miles
from the mouth of the river.
"The great mass Of seaweed, occu-
pying an area of many thousand square
miles in the Atlantic, better known as
the Sargasso sea, is vast island in
habited by fauna entirely different
from that Of the surrounding waters,
and all the animals are in some way
peculiarly adapted Or modified to their
surroundings. Similar tracts occur in
various parts Of the world, often 50
thick that the passage Of vessels
through them is seriously impeded."
"Well, / declare" said the first
cvaolyar ss+hny, old Ezro,e dnatin o. farm