The owner told us he had 160
acres, which he bought, partly cleared, seventeen years ago, for ten
dollars an acre. He had, a year ago, refused twenty dollars an acre for
it, intending to make it worth fifty; and during his occupation he had
brought up a large family in comfort and independence upon it, and
saved money. The crop of oats he was now clearing was a poor one, he
said,--only forty-five bushels per acre.
"Arrived at Ogdensburgh, on the American side of the river, I spent
some time, while waiting the arrival of the train bearing Boston and
other eastern passengers, in going through the extensive and commodious
depot of the Northern Railway. The works are not quite completed. They
will cover an area of some forty acres, and comprise warehouses for the
stowage of corn and other produce, a fine passenger shed, and large
engine-houses and sheds for cars. The quantity of corn and flour stored
here in the fall is very large. Last year it was 80,000 barrels.
Unfortunately, however, for the railways, the rate for conveyance of
these staples is brought down by the competition of the steamers to a
very low point; the charge from Toronto to Montreal being but one
shilling per barrel of 218 lbs., or a farthing per ton per mile.
"Opposite Ogdensburgh is the village of Prescott, remarkable as the
scene of a deadly conflict during the rebellion, the traces of which it
still exhibits, in dismantled houses, and a windmill in ruins.
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