Page:The plains of Long Island.djvu/3

 THE PLAINS OF LONG ISLAND.

[From the Transactions of the New York State Agricultural Society, 1859.]

The subject of the waste lands of Long Island has, for several years, engaged my earnest attention. Curiosity first induced me to visit the region, that I might examine with my own eyes, a territory which seemed to be consigned by public sentiment to desolation, and to be regarded as valueless for the purposes of husbandry. I was unable to perceive any sufficient reason why even a barren desert of sands, so contiguous to the best market on the continent, could not be profitably cultivated. I was naturally forced to contrast such an aspect in our own country, with the efforts of Flemish industry, which could wrest from the dominion of the ocean a naked sand beach, and convert it into the garden of Europe. The parallel was not grateful to my national pride. More than one careful examination of this district, in reference to its geological structure, agricultural capabilities, and local advantages, have confirmed the original impression, that no natural impediments exist, to the successful culture of these plains. A strange and inscrutable popular delusion seems to prevail very generally on this subject. Hereditary opinions seem to have taken singular possession of the public mind. These opinions have been probably adopted and been cherished without reflection, and without examination of facts, which are everywhere disclosed on the island. Historians of Long Island have assumed the same conclusions, and in asserting and diffusing them, have exerted a most injurious influence upon private interests and general progress. So decided have been these views, that until recent intelligent investigation had changed the policy, portions of these lands were deemed so utterly worthless, as not to be considered worthy of being placed on the grand list.

I might distrust the propriety of a stranger meddling with this local question, were it not that my views have been so fully sustained and fortified by the decided, opinions of General Dix, expressed in his recent admirable address before the State Society. I have no possible interest in these lands, and can therefore speak with more freedom and impartiality. The facts and results upon which are based my convictions, I have collected with great care and vigilence, as well by personal investigations as from conversations with intelligent gentlemen, who are familiar with the subject. Among the numerous persons to whom I am under obligations, I may particularly refer to the Rev. E. M. Johnson, of Brooklyn, whose clear memory, in a green and vigorous age, enables him to trace the progress of