The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-01-15

cause the barns were all used for
the storage of the tobacco crop, for
which this valley is also famous.
Farther on, the road winds in
and out among the New England
hills-naked, barren. rocky and re-
pellant.
The fences are of stone and the
supply is illimitable, and, as
looked out on these lines of fences
made of rough round stone which a
sheep could walk over anywhere
should think, | wandered what
they were built for anyhow, as
have not seen a sheep or COW, a
| pig or q chicken, in New England.
1>lfll 1hefNHnst h6<6 them, and the
presumption is that they are all
kept in barns in winter. Looking
over these hills, naked or scantily
covered with rocks and scrub-oaks,
| was reminded of Sheridan's de-
scription of.the Va ley of Virginia.
after his visit in ga, when he said:
eff a crow flies over the Valley
now it will have to carry its sup
plies along with it," | was also
reminded of Reeds description of
the soil cultivated by the poor (?)
farmers in the west, when he de-
clared that if they had such soil in
New England they would sell it by
the bushel.
Judging from the general aspect
of the country, / should suppose
that crow in New England now,
would require supply train, and
that few bushels of good river
bottom or prairie soil, would not
be despised by the farmers here,
and yet these people are thrifty.
At New Haven fruit and sand
wich young man boarded the train
with the sole purpose of minister
ing to the wants of the inner man.
| invested a dimes worth, securing
a package of grapes. The top
branch was sweet, juicy and deli
cious, but when | went for more,
change came over the spirit of my
dreams, for the rest of the grapes
were spoiled-no good.
AS got up to throw them out of
the car, | remarked that these Con-
necticut Yankees knew how to do
some other thing besides making
wooden nutmegs.
The man in the front seat smiled
sblandly, as though he might know
Just then the rrult vender who
had missed getting off the train
came along, and on being advised
that my grapes had turned out
badly, he insisted on my taking
another package in lieu of the dis
carded one, which | did, and with
the same result--a bunch of good
grapes on top and the paper filled
with bad ones.
These trains are not as fast as
the B. & O. or p. r.. r. trains. /
left New York at IL and arrived at
Gardner at 7:45. Gardner is
town of 5000 inhabitants, who do
nothing but make chairs for the
rest of the world to sit on.
The Messrs. Haywood Bros. &
Co., employ 1900 hands in their
chair factories, and there are some
eight or ten other concerns employ
ing in the aggregate, an equal num-
Der of men; all engaged in the
manufacture of chairs. 1t is a
thrifty looking place with handsome
residences, fine hotels and church
es, and everything looking as neat
and tidy as new pin. Its water
supply is lake of pure cold spring
water. Now, here in this black
forbidden looking country, is an
object lesson of what enterprise and
perseverance may accomplish.
Mr.. Haywood, who gave me this
information, stated that his father
started the business in 1926. Now
they are working 1,200 hands at
Gardner, 700 in Chicago where
they have branch factory, and |
was told by other parties that they
have a factory in Canada.
l asked Mr.. Haywood why ii
would not pay him to 60 where
timber is plenty and save tho
heavy freight charges. His ans
wer was that his plant is estab'
lished here, and he has his labor
ers trained to the work, and that
he could not depend on getting tho
class Of work done which they re-
quire, only under their immediate
personal supervision.
They buy lumber in West Nir.
ginia and freight it 700 miles, pay
ing "a cents per hundred pounds