The Agricultural Papers of George Washington 83 



cold, and is the same distance by land and water, with good 

 roads and the best navigation, to and from the Federal City, 

 Alexandria, and Georgetown; distant from the first, twelve, 

 from the second, nine, and from the last, sixteen miles. The 

 Federal City, in the year 1800, will become the seat of the 

 general government of the United States. It is increasing 

 fast in buildings, and rising into consequence; and will, I 

 have no doubt, from the advantages given to it by nature, 

 and its proximity to a rich interior country, and the West 

 ern territory, become the emporium of the United States. 



The soil of the tract, of which I am speaking, is a good 

 loam, more inclined however to clay than sand. From use, 

 and I might add, abuse, it is become more and more con 

 solidated, and of course heavier to work. The greater part 

 is a greyish clay ; some part is a dark mould ; a very little is 

 inclined to sand ; and scarcely any to stone. A husbandman s 

 wish would not lay the farms more level than they are; and 

 yet some of the fields, but in no great degree, are washed into 

 gullies, from which all of them have not as yet been re 

 covered. 



This river, which encompasses the land the distance above- 

 mentioned, is well supplied with various kinds of fish at all 

 seasons of the year; and, in the spring, with the greatest 

 profusion of shad, herrings, bass, carp, perch, sturgeon, &c. 

 Several valuable fisheries appertain to the estate; the whole 

 shore, in short, is one entire fishery. 



There are, as you will perceive by the plan, four farms 

 besides that at the mansion-house; these four contain three 

 thousand two hundred and sixty acres of cultivable land, 

 to which some hundreds more adjoining, as may be seen, 

 might be added, if a greater quantity should be required ; but 

 as they were never designed for, so neither can it be said 

 that they are calculated to suit, tenants of either the first, 



