Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-03-08
FARMS AND GARDENS
As They May Be Found Within the
Limits Of Gotham.
Spots in fhe Metropolis Where Ma.
;ure Stilt Liugers-New York's
Settlement OF Market Car
dencrs-SEanIyt town.


lAntSflcan 2grlcultlIl1st
There are many lanes on the maps Of the
city Of New York, bat the only thing rural
about them IS their names There ara, how
ever, IL this city Of wonderful contrasts of
The mlserles and splendors of modern life,
certain spots in which nature still fingers,
Our city farms are not nearly as numerous
now as twenty Years ago. But there are
some left vet, even in the heart of the CITY,
and within the far-reaching limits OF
Gotham thousands OF acres still return their
yearly crops in produce instead of rents.
There are Old farms ard peaceful pastures,
ana among them people who lead pleasant
rural lives, enviroael by the turbulent null
utude that uursues fortune with a feyerish
Jury, III factories and stores and the great
marts OF commerce and speculation. People
who are not New Workers picture the metrop-
CHS as one monumental mass Of brick, and
stone. and iron, with enough timber thrown
In here and there TO make a roaring fire
once in while. They know that there are
some parks, great and small. among these
rows Of houses, but there, as far as they
know, the touch of nature which brigh;ens
and puriies the city, ends
Among the rocky undulations of Manhat-
taIv lie, agriculture stifl holds its own.
There Is quite an extensive settlement of
hlaIAet gardeners on the west side of the
city, between Central park ard North river.
There are farmers here who i've in the same
houses and till the same soil their grand
fathers lived in and tillei nearly a century
ago. lhe Improvement in the city has made
their land worth as much a foot as it once
was worth an acre. The cid farmhouse at
Aanbattanville, the district above Central
psrG and near the Hudson river. was built
q HnDFrai I-aaF-S .rln Tn, l.,
on, a Washington Heights. the upper end OF
Manhattan island, is Snider's lane, :. country
road around the side Of hill with a great
row OF tenement houses and French fats at
one end Of it, and cornfeIi st the other.
" Ithln quarter Of a nlile Of Snider's lane
the lie OF the metruI o.is bustleS and seethes.
Prom Its highest point you can see tbs
myriad gas lamps and the electric lights of
the city gieam and fash at night. Yet for
ran mile or so along It's peaceful length,
yoG may wander IN solitude, and forget,
amid the rustic Of leaves, and the songs of
birds, that there is such place as New
York
Washington Heights is full of hooks where
metropolitan dweller may be surrounded
by quiet rural life. The denizens of certain
sections OF Harlem can look out of their win
dows IN summer, and imagine themselves in
the country, until the jingiing street cars, or
the ciaRkIng elevated trains, dissipate the
pleasant fancy. Beyond the Harlem river.
and still within the city limits, which extend
for four miles and take in the village of
Fordham, perched ON its wooded hills, New |
York exhibits a strange alienation of CITY !
and country. a couple Of minutes walk from |
High Bridge, in full sight of its crowded |
picnic gardens, overlooking tie Harlem |
rillal J, ,.Iay -,
houses along the road, a solitary little lane |
leads to farm as solitary, and out of the |
way among its orchard trees, as if it was in
the BERKSHIRE hills. The family who occupy
this farm. have lived here since the com
mencement Of the present century.
Jerome avenue is one of the liyeliest
thoroIghfares in New York 1t leads from
the harlem river 10 the famous Jerome ParI,
race course, near Fordham Yet there are
scores OF farms whose lanes lead out into the |
busting street. One Of these farms is quite fa |
nous Tor sheep, and on others blooded horses !
and cattle are raised. One of the loyeliest
lanes In the city is along Jerome avenue.
ieadlng over the Fordham hills towards the
Old city OF EunkerS. In fremont, nearer the
city, IN Aorr.sauia and Mott Haven, you find
the country elbowing the city. Below the
Harlem river, where land is more valuable
tie city farmer cultivates vegetable crous
On the other side he grows larger produce
The gardeners south Of the Harlem ara not
as a rule, the owners of the land They COM
monty hold it on long leases from old estates,
and as the leases expire, the owners oust !
tie tenants and build at once. In cons,-
quence Of this, You ill often find an enor
nous French fiat towering alongside OF a |
picturesque little cottage, or a rude shanty.
IheIe Is one spot where a vast fat occupies !
each A.rner Of a block, and between the tx,
Is an Old farm house, shaded by huge elm
trees, and with its narrow strip Of land GOV ,
cred with h0t-beis, running through the /,
block from street to street ,
Apart from the real city FARMS there ar, I
whole blocks OF waste land, so rocky as to BE- q
useless for the cGldvator, on which the '
tamOus squatteTS OF the metropolis have built |
lp that curious community known far and
Tide as Shantytown-a collection Of hui
quilt In the rudest and cheapest way, chiefly
# odds and ends Of lumber Its dwellers are s
abOring men, carriers and the like, humble.
,ut useful toiiers. The principal industry OF 1
Shantytown Is goat breeding, and since
cats milk has become a fashionable beyer- {
ge, the bulk Of Nsw Nork's supply comes
rom here. With the great activity in buiId c
ug, however, ShGntyUywn is steadily and
urely becoming thins OF the past.
One OF the most curious Of our city farms,