[400] commenced so soon, and has been prosecuted so diligently, that all traces of this full artery have, in many sections, wholly disappeared; but we truly hope that the solid stone bridge, built by the Hon. Peter C. Brooks, to span it, and which has been for a quarter of a century a most picturesque object in the distance, will be allowed to remain in memoriam,--a gravestone to mark where the highway of waters lies buried. Two “single locks” were found necessary in Medford,--one on the north bank of Mystic River, almost contiguous to the Lowell Railroad track, in West Medford; and the other near the entrance of Medford Turnpike. This last was a “side lock,” used for transferring ship-timber from the canal to the river. There were benefits and pleasures incidental to the current of these waters through Medford which after-generations must lose. Dry and sandy soils, contiguous to the canal, became signally fertile by its irrigations and filterings; hedges and shrubbery on its sides became doubly beautiful. It furnished soft water to hundreds of families; it tempted the laborer and the boys to enjoy the luxury of a bath; it invited the young of both sexes to sit and angle for perch and bream; and it presented to the skater the smoothest ice between its sheltering banks.
Retail prices current in Medford.
| Tea (green), per lb. | $0.60-0.70 |
| Tea (black), per lb. | 0.40-0.45 |
| Coffee (Java), per lb. | 0.16 |
| Sugar (white), per lb. | 0.09 |
| Sugar (brown), per lb. | 0.08 |
| Molasses, per gal. | 0.37 |
| Butter, per lb. | 0.25 |
| Milk, per qt. | 0.05 |
| Vinegar, per gal. | 0.14 |
| Salt, per bushel | 0.50 |
| Eggs, per dozen | 0.15 |
| Flour, per barrel | 8.00 |
| Corn (northern), per bushel | 0.85 |
| Corn (southern), per bushel | 0.80 |
| Rye (northern), per bushel | 1.00 |
| Oats (northern), per bushel | $0.50 |
| Rice, per lb. | 0.05 |
| Potatoes, per bushel | 0.40-0.50 |
| Turnips, per bushel | 0.30 |
| Onions, per bushel | 0.75 |
| Beets, per bushel | 0.50 |
| Apples, per barrel | 2.00 |
| Beef, per lb. | 0.10-0.20 |
| Pork, per lb. | 0.10 |
| Veal, per lb. | 0.10 |
| Mutton, per lb. | 0.10 |
| Turkeys per lb. | 0.12 |
| Chickens, per lb. | 0.12 |
| Ducks per lb. | 0.15 |
| Soap (soft), per barrel | 4.00 |
| Soap (bar), per lb. | 0.08 |
| Iron, per cwt. | 6.00 |
| Steel, per cwt. | 10.00-12.00 |
| Sole-leather, per lb. | 0.25 |
| English hay, per ton | 20.00 |
| Wood (oak), per cord | 8.00 |
| Wood (pine), per cord | 5.00 |
| Charcoal, per basket | 0.33 |
| Anthracite coal, per ton | 7.00 |
