personal ad:
A marriageable young lady would be an inducement for Fred. She must have a great deal of common sense, self-control, affection, earnestness, housekeeping-on-a-small-income abilities, capability of silence, capability of speech, comprehension of what is incomprehensible to others, sympathy, ... small visibility, docility, a broad pelvis, faith, quick antagonism, self-respect, infinite capabilities & longings, power of abstraction, some skepticism, power over appetite, power of seeing a certain distance into a millstone, charity, enthusiasm, self-annihilation, truth, Dr. Taylorâs vitus of night, no superior, fondness for sausages, clams, pork & old dressing gowns; all things must be under control of reason; beauty & wealth no object & no objection. If you have such a person mention the time of leaving of the early train.
âFred is finally rather hard up,â John concluded. âHe wonât be content with less than infinityâwhile he himself is only finite and a farmer.â John was still talking about his brotherâs love life, though this last comment carries hints about other possible sources of dissatisfaction.
John didnât have nearly such a lengthy list of romantic requirements. While visiting Tosomock Farm, he got to know Mary Perkins, and they began to court. They even went so far as to read Modern Painters by John
Ruskin. Reading together constituted quite an act of intimacy during this era. And Modern Painters , with its fevered discourse on beauty and the passion of artists, was the kind of work that could really cause oneâs heart to race and palms to sweat.
Â
While Olmsted remained romantically unsettled, he appeared to have finally found his way to a career. Olmsted really took to Tosomock Farm. He fell into the rhythm. Spring marched toward fall; planting gave way to harvest; 1848 flowed into 1849. A farmerâs life was full of rigor, but rewarding, too.
He was forever tinkering with the mix of crops in response to changes in the market. When New York City was flooded with peaches, he made a decision to switch to pears. He began cultivating different varieties. Many of these pears, such as Anjou, were of Gallic origin. Olmsted spoke of them incessantly, and John grew irritated by the parade of foreign names. âWe hear nothing but Hog-French continually,â noted John. âI hope we shall reap the benefit thoâ at some future time.â
John got to eat pears, all right, and also plums, raspberries, and everything else his brother chose to grow. Olmsted launched a nursery business, too. He ordered thousands of fruit trees and planted the saplings. This made sense: He could sell fruit trees, and his customers could bear the risk of finding a market for the produce. The nursery served to diversify his business, making him less susceptible to the swings in the prices of crops.
Olmsted labored hard. Where heâd been slothful at times during his teen years, he was developing a formidable work ethicâfirst aboard the Ronaldson , now on the farmâand he wasnât averse to putting in long hours when necessary. He wasnât responsible only for himself. Depending on the season, Olmsted supervised as many as eight hired men. He introduced systems and order to Tosomock Farm. Each morning, he presented the foreman of his crew with a list spelling out the exact time that various tasks should be performed. At the close of each day, the men were required to return all the farm implements to their appointed places.
Olmsted had a genuine talent for this work. The neighboring farmers took note. In 1849, a new organization was formed on Staten Island
called the Richmond County Agricultural Society. Olmsted was chosen to act as corresponding secretary. As one of his first acts, Olmsted wrote a lengthy document spelling out the benefits of the new organization and urging others to join. The document was titled âAppeal to the Citizens of
A marriageable young lady would be an inducement for Fred. She must have a great deal of common sense, self-control, affection, earnestness, housekeeping-on-a-small-income abilities, capability of silence, capability of speech, comprehension of what is incomprehensible to others, sympathy, ... small visibility, docility, a broad pelvis, faith, quick antagonism, self-respect, infinite capabilities & longings, power of abstraction, some skepticism, power over appetite, power of seeing a certain distance into a millstone, charity, enthusiasm, self-annihilation, truth, Dr. Taylorâs vitus of night, no superior, fondness for sausages, clams, pork & old dressing gowns; all things must be under control of reason; beauty & wealth no object & no objection. If you have such a person mention the time of leaving of the early train.
âFred is finally rather hard up,â John concluded. âHe wonât be content with less than infinityâwhile he himself is only finite and a farmer.â John was still talking about his brotherâs love life, though this last comment carries hints about other possible sources of dissatisfaction.
John didnât have nearly such a lengthy list of romantic requirements. While visiting Tosomock Farm, he got to know Mary Perkins, and they began to court. They even went so far as to read Modern Painters by John
Ruskin. Reading together constituted quite an act of intimacy during this era. And Modern Painters , with its fevered discourse on beauty and the passion of artists, was the kind of work that could really cause oneâs heart to race and palms to sweat.
Â
While Olmsted remained romantically unsettled, he appeared to have finally found his way to a career. Olmsted really took to Tosomock Farm. He fell into the rhythm. Spring marched toward fall; planting gave way to harvest; 1848 flowed into 1849. A farmerâs life was full of rigor, but rewarding, too.
He was forever tinkering with the mix of crops in response to changes in the market. When New York City was flooded with peaches, he made a decision to switch to pears. He began cultivating different varieties. Many of these pears, such as Anjou, were of Gallic origin. Olmsted spoke of them incessantly, and John grew irritated by the parade of foreign names. âWe hear nothing but Hog-French continually,â noted John. âI hope we shall reap the benefit thoâ at some future time.â
John got to eat pears, all right, and also plums, raspberries, and everything else his brother chose to grow. Olmsted launched a nursery business, too. He ordered thousands of fruit trees and planted the saplings. This made sense: He could sell fruit trees, and his customers could bear the risk of finding a market for the produce. The nursery served to diversify his business, making him less susceptible to the swings in the prices of crops.
Olmsted labored hard. Where heâd been slothful at times during his teen years, he was developing a formidable work ethicâfirst aboard the Ronaldson , now on the farmâand he wasnât averse to putting in long hours when necessary. He wasnât responsible only for himself. Depending on the season, Olmsted supervised as many as eight hired men. He introduced systems and order to Tosomock Farm. Each morning, he presented the foreman of his crew with a list spelling out the exact time that various tasks should be performed. At the close of each day, the men were required to return all the farm implements to their appointed places.
Olmsted had a genuine talent for this work. The neighboring farmers took note. In 1849, a new organization was formed on Staten Island
called the Richmond County Agricultural Society. Olmsted was chosen to act as corresponding secretary. As one of his first acts, Olmsted wrote a lengthy document spelling out the benefits of the new organization and urging others to join. The document was titled âAppeal to the Citizens of
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