ARTHUR YOUNG November 1, 1787. 



Another trait of Washington s character, one which en 

 deared him to many of his countrymen at that time, is illus 

 trated in the following letter. He had been away from home 

 for four months presiding over the famous Constitutional 

 Convention of 1787, which had been in session from May 

 14th, until September 17th. To have presided over the fa 

 mous Convention which was to give our country a fresh start 

 upon a firmer footing was one of the greatest honors that 

 could have come to an American citizen at that time ; and yet, 

 with his unfailing modesty, Washington merely says : &quot; An 

 absence of more than four months from home, will be the best 

 apology I can make for my silence till this time.&quot; How many 

 men could have desisted from making some reference, however 

 indirectly, to an undertaking which obviously had been very 

 vital to the country s welfare, and which was destined to give 

 him more honor than he already had received. Such is the 

 measure of a truly great man. 



This letter also contains a concise statement of the system 

 of crop rotation used by the farmers along the Potomac at 

 that time, and a report of the current prices received for farm 

 products in Mount Vernon. 



With his usual open-mindness, Washington wants to try 

 out a new kind of &quot; mill for separating the grain from the 

 heads of corn &quot; (wheat). 1 It was one of the earliest forms of 

 threshers devised in England. 



i When Washington means what we now call corn he refers to it as 

 &quot;maize,&quot; or &quot;Indian corn.&quot; 



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