SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE .... VIRGINIA .... NEW-YORK. 43 



last, j'ou called your Convention of " the first 

 Statesmen of Virginia, the most distixiguislied 

 Fanners of the State," together, as forcibly 

 stated by Mr. Minor, "to engender a general 

 and univcr.sal spirit of improvement, and to 

 bring its influence to bear not only on the pecu- 

 liar interests of the Fanners, but on all the great 

 and vital interests of the Commonwealth." May 

 tlie result be, in the words of the strong Ad- 

 dress elicited on that occasion, " the coiTCCtion 

 of defective sy.stems of husbandly, the intro- 

 duction of improved breeds of cattle and of the 

 best and cheapest implements of Agriculture, 

 and the general diifusion of valuable, interest- 

 ing and profitable inforviation, where ignor- 

 ance, indifference or obstinacy now retard the 

 progress of improvement." 



On looking back at what we have \sTitten, 

 we find it will be necessary to postpone to die 

 next number the reflections suggested by a view 

 of the case as already set forth ; and if we were 

 sure that tlic able men who have taken it in 

 hand would not look back, we would not dare 

 suggest remedies in the presence of physicians 

 so much more eminent and skillful. As it is, -we 

 shall continue in the next number of The Farm- 

 ers' Library an oxpositionof such views ashave 

 occurred to ns, but we shall do it with a stronger 

 feeling of justification, and hope of escaping all 

 charge of presumption, by throwing what we 

 have to say in the form of a letter in reply to one 

 just received from Mr. Affleck, an agriculturist 

 of the first order of intelligence and public spirit, 

 in Mississippi, who gives us the glad tidings 

 that tliere, too, " the first important step has been 

 taken." In the meantime, we will only pre- 

 mise further, that we apprehend the reme- 

 dies proposed do not go to the root of the dis- 

 ease — that they vvill prove palliatives rather than 

 cures. It is not, as it seems to u.s, improved 

 breeds of animals, or improved implements, that 

 Virginia needs. The existence and the where- 

 abouts of both of these are knovini, and he who 

 has means can have no difficulty in procuring 

 thc-m. The disease lies much deeper. But yve 

 have already appropriated more space than we 

 could liave done with propriety, were it not, as 

 before intimated, that whatever observations ap- 

 ply to the industrial resources of Virginia, are 

 in a great measure applicable to all the grain 

 growing States South and West of the Dela- 

 ware. 



Thus far had we written with a running pen, 

 when tlie po.<t-boy lays on our table a lettt^r, from 

 which we at once make an extract, illustrative 

 of all we have said about the advantages which 

 Virginia offers to immigrants. These lands are 

 in a county already settled and eminently 

 healthy, -with every .social comfort within reach 

 and die means of independent living so abund- 

 ant on the spot, as scarcely to leave an excuse 



to any reasonable man for any outlay except for 

 tea and coffee. Sugar, it is presumed, may be 

 extracted from the maple on the spot ; and from 

 personal observation many years ago, we can 

 pronounce it no exaggeration to call it a land 

 literally flowing in milk and hortiy. The 

 letter is from a gentleman at Fredericksburg, 

 of the highest respectability : 



" Fbedericksbuhg, (Va.) June 18, 1845. 

 " Dear Sir : I own a veiy considerable quan- 

 tity of land in the Western counties of Virgi- 

 nia, much selected %vith an eye to advantages 

 that I thought the systems of iutemal improve- 

 ments (.slowly in progress in Virginia) would 

 make desirable, as well for its locality as for its 

 capacity to produce grain and grass. I have sev- 

 eral small tracts united, making about 9,000 to 

 10,000 acres in the county of Fayette, about half 

 way between Charleston, the county seat of 

 I Kanawha county, and Lewisburg, the countj' 

 seat of Greenbrier county. The great improve- 

 ment connecting the Ohio river and Richmond, 

 Va., paisses through this land by a turnpike 

 But another mode of improvement is contem- 

 plated, but whedier it will be effected time will 

 prove. I have about 10,000 acres in the county 

 of Lewi.s, Va.. throueh which the turnpike fi-om 

 Staunton to Parkersburg. on the Ohio, passes. 

 These lands are very fertile and heavily tim- 

 bered with oaks, poplar, beech^ sugar-tree, elm 

 and hickorj'. 



•' I shofeld be glad to procure substantial oc- 

 cupants on these lands, and would give a long 

 credit, widi one-fourth part of the purchase mo 

 ney paid in hand — and for the residue, say from 

 one to ten years time. This land will be in 

 price, from from one dollar and fifty cents to 

 four dollars per acre. 



" I have other good lands, perhaps richer than 

 die foregoing, in small detached tracts, from 150 

 to 1000 acre.« — rolling, rich land, finely watered 

 and remarkably healthy." 



The extract is made merely to show one of 

 the thousand opportunides that exist for eligible 

 settlement in the Old Dominion. But besides 

 natural advantages, much depends, in such 

 cases, on the policy of the Stales that offer 

 them. ! 



But below we give another letter, just at 

 hand : 



O.V THE COMMO.N' SCHOOL SYSTEM OF KEW-YORK. 



We lose no time in giving the following very 

 obliging letter, from the enhghtened and efficient 

 Deputy Superintendent of the Common Schools 

 of New -York. We entirely concur in his views 

 as to the expediency and practicability of mak- 

 ing these schools die blessed instnimcnts of 

 raising Agriculture to its just predominance in 

 the list of intellectual pur.suits. Nor do we at 

 all despair of seeing such counsels a-s his ulti- 

 mately per^'ading the whole region of country 

 South of the Delaware, to which these remarks 

 are more particularly directed. 



Until opportunity offers for a fuller resumi of 

 the valuable documents accompanj-ing Mr. Ran- 

 dall's letter, we can only take room now to state, 



