The Merrimack River: its source and its tributaries. Embracing a history of manufactures, and of the towns along its course; their geography, topography, and products, with a description of the magnificent natural scenery about its upper waters./ By J. W. Meader.

ITS SOUPCE AIND ITS TPlIBUTA7IIES.
pany necessary to accommodate the anticipated rapid increase of population as fast as it should be required for this purpose. Accordingly it was decided to define the north line of Lowell, the east line
of Union, and the south line of.Ilanover Streets, and that the
territory thus bounded should at once be brought into market. It
may seem a little singular that this street of elegant public and
private building,s was, only thirty years at-go, a dense wilderness;
that the Lowell Street of to-day- perhlaps the finest in the cityrequired, in its opening to Union, nearly a week, and an immense
amount of lalor in cutting and removing the forest. The land thus
bounded was then cleared, burned over, laid out, and sold at auction,
October 24, 1838. Every lot was sold; and it may be interesting
to those +who have subsequently bought land of the company, and
made themselves a home in MIanchester, to know some of the prices
then obtained. The lot on the north-west corner of Elm and Hanover Streets brought fifteen cents and a half per foot; corresponding
corner, Elm and Amherst, twenty-six and a half; Elm and Lowell,
eighteen and a half; Chestnut and Amherst, nine cents. The next
sale, October 1839, the lot at the southwest corner of Elm and IhIanover sold for forty-two and a half cents per foot. The lot at the northwest corner of Elm and Amherst was sold the present year (1868),
at four dollars per foot.
In three months thereafter ( January, 1839 ) the first dwelling-house
was erected, it being the same now standing at the north-west corner
of C'lestnut and Concord Streets. Hiaving completed some of the mills,
together with boarding-houses for the accommodation of the operatives, while at the same time the building of dwellings and stores
in the public streets was rapidly progressing, and the manufacture of
cotton on an extensive scale was proving a decided success, the company turned their attention to the production of delaines, a
business hitherto unknown in this country. For this purpose they
commenced operations in the mill at Hooksett, where the new fabric
was made; and so far the experiment was a success; but the imperfect
knowledge of the art of printing and the totally inadequate machinery for the purpose effectually hampered their prog,ress. The best
method of printing worsted goods practised or known at that time
was the old system of block printing, and as this was imperfect and
slow, the goods were sold as they came from the loom to an enter
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