EUTOPIAN VIRGINIA 129 



trees, some so large that the leaves thereof have by 

 Frenchmen beene esteemed worth 51. in which the 

 indigenall and naturall Worme hath beene found as 

 bigge as Wallnuts." Williams recalls that Virginia 

 "is parallell with China, and the happiest Countries 

 of the East and Westerne World in scituation," and 

 it is "comparable to Persia." It is little wonder, 

 then, that he should foresee that the colony was 

 destined to be one of the greatest silk -producing 

 countries of the world, particularly as the experiment 

 had not yet been fully tried. 



But Williams was not alone in these fertile prophe- 

 cies of Virginia. The writings of most of his contem- 

 poraries, touching the climate and natural resources of 

 this new land, can be compared to nothing else than 

 the burning pictures which have been painted of our 

 Pacific coast within our own time. Nothing was im- 

 possible in Virginia and the adjoining lands to the 

 southward. Here, in Virginia, the sugar-cane, cotton, 

 indigo, ginger, rice and pepper, may grow alongside 

 "all the Spiceryes of the Phillippines"; corn (grain) 

 will yield two or three harvests in the season ; there 

 are riches in copper and iron ore, "with great proba- 

 bility of a Golden Mine" ; the native fruits " are various 

 and delicate"; the fishes "for number and tast com- 

 parable to any other" ; the beasts are many, of excel- 

 lent flesh, "the Hides of divers usefull, and the Furres 

 extraordinary rich"; in short, as Williams thinks of it, 

 "Virginia duly considered for exactnesse of temperature, 

 goodnesse of soyle, variety of Staples, and capability of 

 receiving what ever is produced in any other part of 

 the World, gives the right hand of preheminence to no 

 Province under Heaven."- 



