222 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



MRS. Anderson's present op sii^k cloth, 



AND GENERAL WASHINGTON'S LETTER OF 

 THANKS. 



The original of the rollovving letter was long 

 preserved and highly valued in the family of the 

 lady to whom it was addressed ; but when an at- 

 tempt was made to obtain a copy of it for our pub- 

 lication, neither original nor copy could be found 

 in Gloucester county. Recently,' we understood 

 that such a letter, in the hand-writing of General 

 Washington, was in the museum of the medical 

 department of the University of Pennsylvania; 

 and, at our request, a copy of it was written and 

 sent to us, by P. Hulme, esq. of Philadelphia. 

 It is doutless a duplicate of the letter of which we 

 had been before in pursuit, and kept by the writer, 

 as was his general usage. 



We had before heard, from the tradition in the 

 family, what seems to be confirmed by the words 

 of this letter, that Mrs. Anderson's pattern of silk 

 of her own production and manufacture was the 

 first gift that President Washington had permit- 

 ted himself to receive ; and by thus making it an 

 exception to his general and most praiseworthy 

 rule, that the value of his complimentary accept- 

 ance was greatly enhanced. Presidents of latter 

 days have no such strait-laced notions in regard to 

 accepting presents. 



The autograph letter from which the following 

 copy was made, as appears from its endorsement, 

 was presented, in 1830, by John Auijustine Wash- 

 ington, of Mount Vernon, to Dr. W. E. Horner. 

 —Ed. F. R. 



to mrs. anderson, 



OF GLOUCESTER COUNTy, VIRGINIA. 



Philadelphia, July 20th, 1794. 



Madam, 



Not befcre the 8th instant had I the honor to 

 receive your favor of the 17th of May, accompa- 

 nied with a piece of silk of your own manufacture. 



Contrary as it is to an established maxim of 

 mine, not to accppt a present from any one, yet, 

 considering this as a mark of your peculiar atten- 

 tion to me, and as a striking evidence of" what our 

 climate, aided by industry, is capable of yielding, 

 I receive, and thank you (or this effort of your 

 skill. 



I shall have it made up, and will wear it as a 

 memento of your politeness : having the honor to 

 be your most obedient and obliged humble servant, 

 G. VVashington. 



SOIL and climate of FRANCE. 



From tlie Edinburgh Encyclopedia. 



The soil of France varies much in different pans 

 of the kincrdom ; but it may be remarked, that 

 there is scarcely any kind of soil in it, which in 



England could be called a clay soil. The soils 

 may be classed as follows : 



I. Fat loam, of different degrees of tenacity. 

 The northern district of this soil extends ov^r the 

 provinces of Flanders, Artois, Picardy, Norman- 

 dy, and the Isle of France. On the coast, it may 

 be said to extend from Dunkirk to Carentum in 

 Normandy. From thence to Couniances, the 

 land is chiefly poor and stony, and continues so, 

 though with some variations, to Brest. In a 

 line a little to the south of the coa?t before Caen, 

 [ the first considerable change of soil from Calais is 

 seen. In Normandy, on the side of Alengon, rich 

 loams on a calcareous bottom are met with. From 

 Dunkirk to Nemours is less than 180 miles in a 

 right line ; from Soissons to Carentan is another 

 riijht line of about 200 miles; fi-om Eu, on the 

 coast of Normandy, to Charlres, is 100 miles. 

 The breadth of this rich district in some places, 

 especially about Caen, &c. is not considerable, 

 yet the whole will be (bund to contain not a trifiing 

 proportion of the kiniidom. The Itirtile plains of 

 Flanders and of Artois, are perhaps the richest 

 parts of this valuable soil, which here consists of 

 deep friable mould, rather inclining to clay than 

 sand, on a calcareous bottom, bearing evident 

 marks of having once been covered by the sea. 

 From Paris to nearCambray, by ilie road of Sois- 

 sons, this loam is more sandy, but equally valua- 

 ble and fertile. i\bout Meaux, there is as fine 

 soil as can possibly exist. It consists of an almost 

 impalpable powder, and of admirable texture and 

 friability. In some places it is 18 feet deep, rest- 

 ing on a stratum of white marl. The lina (rom 

 Paris ihroufxh Picardy is inferior; but all the ara- 

 ble part of Normandy, which Hps within the limits 

 above described, is a rich, friable, sandy loam, in 

 some places of a reddish color, and very deep. 

 The calcareous loams are of much greater extent 

 than the loams which have been described. To 

 the east, they stretch across Champagne. From 

 Meiz to Nancy, all is calcareous, but not chalk. 

 In the southern parts of Alsace, limestone land 

 abounds. Immense districts of Dauphiny and 

 Provence consist of the same kind of soil. Indeed, 

 the chalk district extends east to about St. Mene- 

 hnuld, and south to Nemours and Montargis, or 

 even farther, for it reaches Auxerre in another di- 

 rection. There is also much calcareous loara in 

 Angoumois, Poitou, and through Tourraine to the 

 Loire. Most of the course of this river is calca- 

 reous. The chalk district, therefore, may be 

 regarded as stretching not less than 200 miles east 

 and west, and about as much, but more irregular- 

 ly, north and south. The next considerable dis- 

 trict of fertile soil is the plain of the Garonne. 

 Through all this plain, v/herever the soil is found 

 excellent, it consists usually of a deep, mellow, 

 friable, sandy loam, sufficiently moist, and in 

 many places calcareous. The plain of the Ga- 

 ronne is entered about Creissensac, in passing to 

 the south from the Limosin. Its fertility increa- 

 ses all the way to Toulouse, where it is uncom- 

 monly rich. Its richness, however, diminishes as 

 we approach the Pyrenees. The breadth of this 

 plain is every where inconsiderable. Another 

 tract of rich soil is found in the vale, which stretch- 

 es from Narbonne to Bezieres, Montpellier, and 

 Nismes; but its fertility is inferior to those that 

 have been previously described. The soil of the 

 Lower Poitou resembles that of (he richest parts 



