Year: 1869

private aggFandiEemsnt.z si5o1 FOGsY.


CORRESPONDENCE.


NEw BosrON, Berkshire Co.. Mass.


1dl aao fsiia August 9th, 1853.


.ED1rOR JoURNAL.-As I sit writing, fin
it almost necessary to consult my slmspas
to see if it is really August or whether


have been indulging in one of Rip Va
WiDkle's maps, while time rolled On int
Decsmbsrs Il would seem literally Tx
hesping Goals of FIRE on'one,s head, TO clos
doors and windows and build srousing 6r
in the stove, in August; yet that is jus
what have been doing aud yet the ther
mOmeter shows that batter would remain
quiet anywhere in the room; But out o
doors the standing grain and fields Of uncu
grass show that December has not yet beel
admitted; YET for the past few days th
weather has been cold and those that wef,
out before sunriss found quite heavy frOstB
The verdict of the people upon the Weathel
is that it is remarkable and caused by th'
eclipse, which by shs way called out every
body with their telescopes Of smoked glass
and causing many curious eyes to be up,
turned that we're not accustomed to look il
that direction. Nearly everybody went II
every other bOdy's house to see If Il wal
nearer total there than at heme. s'a 'ai


The weather is the chief topic of convsr.
sation. There have been few warm days
and the season has been uniformly wet
nearly all the thuader storms lasting week
aud then almost invariably clear away
cloudy. making it aimOstimpossiblsto make
hay while the sun shines. Quite contrast
to what it was last year at this time, when
1t seemed as if the very mountains would
melt with fersent heat.


Crops in this locality are generally good
Oats were never better, and in most places
ready to cut. Corn owing to the weather is
backward and the crop pr6mises to be small
Many farmers on the mountains are not hall
through haying. The general complaint il





scarcity of help. The harvest seems TO be
plenty, but the laborers are few, and IN al
most every field are to be seen women and
children assisting in gathering the (which
until cut, is rapidly decreasing both in
quantity and value Most of the grass is
cut with the scythe, the land among these
Berkshire hills is to uneven and stoney TO
admit Mowers and Rsapors-they would
need to be constructed with knives like sois-
sors to cut the grass any where near the
ground. In the mountainous districts the
land is heavily timbered and used chiefly
for grazing. The farmers realize their prin-
cipal income from their daries and sugar
orchards.


To the people living here the country is a
little uneven and billy, but to a stranger it
is exceeding rough and mountainous The
traveller picks his way along the winding
road up the hillside, and, reaching the top,
fiDds himselfat the foot Of another, gaining
the summit Of this, he plunges down the
other side only to find another huge noun
tain looming up before him. The travelling
public have access to two modes of travel;
one is on foot and the other by stage. For
speed and safety would choose the former,
but for comfort (if such thing there be in a
stage coachl the latter is preferable. In the
early days the roads were built on the prin-
cipls that The shortest way across is the
quickest way home, and were generally
built up and down the steepest part Of the
mountains and passing over the. highest
point, but the people have since learned that
a logger way around Is an, easier if not a
quicker reute, and the roads now wind
around, instead of passing straight up and
down the side Of the mountains. ,.,,.. H.,


New Boston is a quiet New England vii
lage snugly nestled in fertile valley, sur
rounded on either side by high mountains
which protect it from the fierce winds Of
winter and cool the hot breath of summer
making it glad spot smOng the mountains.
Standing on the top of the mountain which
rises abruptly OIL the east, the eye sweeps
over the entire valley, which from, appear
snce would seem to have been scOoped out
and the village dropped into the BASIN Thus
made the nearest Railroad depot is twelve
miles distant. The stage. coach is both Rail
Road and telegraph, and its going out and
coming in are the two great eveuts of the
day. o,r r..r -.r


Throughout the entire State, from the
Hub to its boundaries, the PrOhibitcry Law
is the all absorbing theme, and where two-or
three are gathered together, there Prohibi-
tion is sure to be discussed. 1t is quite q
general opinion that the law is an expert
ment likely to prove a failure. A large
class who indirectly oppose it are those who
are loud in preaching temperance and total
abstenanee, and yet are frightened at the
thought Of taking legal measures to prevent
the selling of liquors. The Democracy of
course denOunce it as party intrigue and
are already reaching for it to use as political
capital in the coming elections. Itmsy be
surmised that 1t would not be eonsonant With
the habits and policy OF the party to be ele-
Vated to the necessity Of drinking pure
liquor, which is a provision of the law that
all liquors must be obtained from the State
Commissioner, and must be pure. 1


i asas s-1 g. iB.P.