SOLON ROBINSON, 1851 471 



plow as some of the northern grass-growing farmers do, 

 ten or twelve inches deep. If Georgia farmers will so pre- 

 pare such land and seed it to grass and then spread, every 

 year, over the surface, a coat of straw or coarse manure, 

 to serve both as a shade and fertiliser, it is my opinion 

 they can stop the transit of some of the bales of Con- 

 necticut hay, which annually find their way up this road, 

 200 or 300 miles into the interior of one of the best states 

 in the Union. 



Madison. — This is a lively, fine county town, 60 miles 

 below Atlanta, on the railroad, containing about a dozen 

 stores, good court house, tolerable fair hotel, and a gen- 

 eral appearance of somebody alive having been about 

 there within the last century. But that which gives it 

 the most lively and interesting appearance, is what the 

 town should be most proud of — the several large schools. 

 Here are two seminaries for girls, containing nearly 300 

 just in that joyous period of life known as the teens. 

 These two schools are under the patronage of the Meth- 

 odist and Baptist churches, the leading sects of the coun- 

 try, and both are constantly exercising a rivalry which 

 results in great benefit to the whole country. 



Among the citizens of Madison are many wealthy 

 planters, some of whom own plantations in the western 

 states, but prefer this lovely healthy spot for a residence. 



It is surprising to see how little attention is paid to 

 growing good fruit in this part of Georgia, where the soil 

 and climate seem so well adapted to its production. Only 

 a few farmers seem to feel an interest in trying to im- 

 prove their orchards. One of the few is General Jessup,^ 

 who has a fine cottage a couple of miles out of town, 

 where he is making efforts to have one of the best or- 

 chards the country is capable of producing. The land is 



' Brigadier General Thomas S. Jesup, an officer of the United 

 States Army who rendered important service during the Creek 

 Indian troubles in 1836. Knight, Lucian Lamar, Georgia's Land- 

 marks, Memorials and Legends, 2:1028-29 (Atlanta, 1914); Heit- 

 man, Francis B. (comp.), Historical Register . . . of the United 

 States Army, 1789-1903, vol. 1:573; vol. 2:26 (Washington, D. C, 

 1903). 



