VIRGINIA. 



829 



at the falls of James river, containing 16,000 inha- 

 bitants ; Norfolk, on Elizabeth river, which flows 

 into Hampton roads, population in 1840, 20,163; 

 Petersburg and Fredericksburg, at the falls of the 

 Appomattox and Rappahannock rivers, the first 

 containing 8300, and the last 3400 inhabitants ; 

 Lynchburg, on James river, 120 miles above the 

 falls, population 4 157 ; and Wheeling, on the Ohio, 

 which, though only the fourth in size and popula- 

 tion, containing 5000 inhabitants, is, perhaps, the 

 most flourishing town in the state. Besides these, 

 Winchester, Shepherdstown, Martinsburg, Staun- 

 ton, Lexington and Fincastle, in the valley, and 

 Charlestown and Abingdon, in the trans- Alleghany 

 district, deserve to be noticed. Williamsbiirg, in 

 the eastern section, and the ancient seat of govern- 

 ment, is on the decline ; but Charlottesville, where 

 the state university is situated, has rapidly improved 

 within a few years. The principal rivers flowing 

 into the Chesapeake bay are the Potomac, Rappa- 

 hannock, York and James, all of which are large 

 and navigable. The Shenandoah traces its quiet 

 course down the valley, at the base of the Blue 

 ridge, and unites with the Potomac at Harper's 

 Ferry. The Roanoke rises in the mountains, and, 

 passing into North Carolina, empties its waters 

 into Albemarle sound ; and the Great Kenawha 

 and Monongahela are both tributaries to the Ohio. 

 Besides these, there are numerous streams which 

 intersect the country in every direction, and which 

 render it inferior to few in the facilities of water 

 communication. The Chesapeake bay, one of the 

 finest on the continent, extends 190 miles, from its 

 entrance, through the states of Virginia and Mary- 

 land. It is from seven to twenty miles broad, and 

 generally nine fathoms deep. 



The scenery of Virginia is in general highly pic- 

 turesque. The James river valley offers, at many 

 points in the bold outline of its hills, and its broad 

 and fertile lowlands, images which remind the 

 traveller of the rich scenery of the Loire and the 

 Garonne ; and the mountains of the state are strik- 

 ingly distinguished, not only by an ever-varying 

 succession of hill and vale, but by the beauty of 

 their covering, their cheerful growth of oak, chest- 

 nut and lynn, contrasting advantageously with that 

 of the mountainous districts of the Northern and 

 Eastern States. The curiosities of Virginia form, 

 to the traveller, objects of still more interest than 

 its scenery. Among them may be enumerated the 

 passage of the Potomac through the Blue ridge, 

 and that of the James river through the same moun- 

 tain; the cliffs of New river, which present, for a 

 distance of twenty miles, a succession of sublime 

 scenery, rivalled, only by that of the Niagara, be- 

 tween the falls and Queenstown ; the celebrated 

 natural rock-bridge formed by some great convul- 

 sion of nature, which appears to have rent a moun- 

 tain asunder by a mighty chasm, and joined it at the 

 top by a mass of rock ; the Warm and Hot springs ; 

 the Burning springs of Kenawha; and the exten- 

 sive and beautiful caverns in the limestone districts 

 of the state. The most noted cataract in the state 

 is that of the Falling spring, in the county of Al- 

 leghany. About a mile below its source, it has a 

 perpendicular descent of 200 feet, down a precipice 

 of calcareous rock. Before it reaches the bottom, it 

 is almost converted into vapour, and the tempera- 

 ture is much reduced. The stream unites with 

 Jackson's river, about two miles below the cataract. 

 The lake in Giles county presents the curious spec- 

 tacle of a beautiful sheet of water, a mile and a half 



in circumference, and a hundred fathoms deep, on 

 the summit of a lofty mountain. This lake is 

 3700 feet above the level of the ocean. 

 The agriculture of this state is various, but, for 

 the most part, badly conducted. The old practice 

 of clearing and cultivating land every year until 

 exhausted, then turning it out to recover from its 

 own resources, still continues in many places. In 

 others, the three- shift system prevails; that, is, 1. 

 a crop of Indian corn ; 2. wheat, rye or oats ; 3. 

 the year of rest, as it is called, in which the spon- 

 taneous vegetation furnishes a scanty subsistence 

 to stock ; after which the soil is again subjected 

 to the scourging process of cropping, while little 

 attention is paid to the application of manures, or 

 the culture of artificial grasses. On both sides of 

 the Blue ridge, maize, or Indian corn, wheat, rye, 

 oats and buckwheat are the principal grain crops. 

 Tobacco is extensively cultivated in Eastern Vir- 

 ginia, but sparingly in the Valley, and that chiefly 

 in its southern portion. The grass-seeds common 

 to both regions are red clover (trifolium pratense), 

 orchard grass (dactylis glomerata), timothy (phleum 

 pratense) and herd-grass (alopecurus pratensis'), the 

 two former on dry, the latter on moist soils. In 

 the eastern and southern districts, cotton is planted 

 to some extent. On the shores of the Chesapeake, 

 barley and the castor-oil bean (ricinus communis) 

 are cultivated ; and, on some of the best lands 

 above tide-water, hemp is raised to advantage. 

 The trans-Alleghany country, being exceedingly 

 mountainous and remote from market, is chiefly 

 devoted to the raising of live stock. Very little 

 more grain is raised than is necessary to supply the 

 country itself, and the travellers and stock-drovers 

 who pass through it. The climate and soil being 

 favourable, the pastures are excellent. The green- 

 sward (poa viridis) and white clover (trifolium 

 repens) spring up spontaneously wherever the tim- 

 ber is removed or deadened, and, on rich ground, 

 are very luxuriant. Of the profits of agriculture 

 in Virginia, it is difficult to speak with precision. 

 In very many instances, it yields a bare subsistence 

 to the cultivator; in others, a net income of two 

 or three per cent. But, where the land is in good 

 heart, the convertible husbandry practised, and 

 wheat and tobacco are the chief products, there is 

 no doubt that, with slave labour, a profit of from 

 six to eight per cent, may be annually derived from 

 the capital iiivested. For this result, however, 

 great activity and attention are necessary on the 

 part of the owner. Lands in the Valley, where 

 there are comparatively few slaves, sell higher than 

 on the eastern side of the Blue ridge ; and the gen- 

 eral appearance of the country is more prosperous, 

 although the soil is, for the most part, inferior ; 

 the climate decidedly so ; running streams less fre- 

 quent ; and communication with markets more dif- 

 ficult and expensive. In 1831, according to official 

 returns, 44,529 hogsheads of tobacco were delivered 

 from the several warehouses in the state for export 

 and manufacture ; and, during the year which ended 

 in June, 1832, upwards of 544,000 barrels of flour 

 passed the various inspections. The quantity of 

 flour inspected is, however, a very uncertain index 

 to the total product. Some of the Virginia flour, 

 and especially the Richmond brand, has acquired 

 great celebrity in South America and elsewhere. 

 Most of the vegetable productions found in the 

 Middle and some of the Southern States are 

 common also to Virginia. West of the Alle- 

 ghany, the sugar maple grows in abundance 



