ABSTRACT
The Calvin and Emma Beer letter of December 1893, written from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, to England, refers in detail to the world’s fair in Chicago, and observes American farming in the area, noting with surprise that the Americans do not have to spread manure on their fields, because the fields are already so rich, ‘the earth is black as your hat’. Also, there are graphic accounts of how the Depression of that year – the worst to date – was affecting the local economy.
