A Tour through North America by Patrick Shirreff

_Journey from Geneva to Lewistown-Land offered for Sale-Canandaigua-Genesee Country-Variations of Temperature-Agricultural Notices-American and Scotch notions of Reverted Wheat-Genesee Flats-Mr Wadesworth-Avon-Wood Bridges-Girdling Trees-Falls of the Genesee-Rochester-Ridge Road-Face of the Country._

We left Geneva in the morning by a stage-coach, and after travelling through a country of clay soil, badly farmed, but bearing excellent wheat crops, arrived at Canandaigua. Having a letter to a Scotch gentleman residing there, I discovered him by his national appearance when riding on the street. I was gratified at visiting him, and in viewing his new house and fine garden, one of the rarest sights in America. The necessity of proceeding with the object of my tour, prevented me sharing his sincere hospitality, and I returned to Blossom's Hotel, and dined in an excellent room of large dimensions. In the afternoon we walked four miles in the direction of Mills, to view some lands for sale, and found the soil and wheat crops on the road generally good. For fine cleared land $25 per acre was asked; and a person accosted me on the road and offered his farm of 100 acres, and his father's of the same extent, with suitable offices, at $28 per acre. Almost every farmer in the eastern States who has a family, or is in straitened circumstances, is willing to sell his land and move to the western States, where he can obtain soil of equal quality, and in a finer climate, at a twentieth part of the price; and foreigners, who are easily known, and supposed to be in search of land, are constantly asked to purchase farms.