advantages of its navigation a,s well as tlie 

 market of Lynchburg. Its soil, as well as that 

 of Nf.t.so.v connty, still to the eastward, is ad- 

 mirably adapted to tlie growth of all tlie crops 

 I have named. Botli of these counties have 

 immense natiu'al ^vater•power facilities. Their 

 mountain streams, if properly applied, would 

 be sufficient to propel the machinery of tlie 

 whole Union. The ranges for stock here, too, 

 are extensive, and the beautiful rich mountain 

 sides interspei-sed widi farm-houses, some of 

 them even elegant mansions, betoken an inde- 

 pendence among the inhabitants that is often 

 found in such situations. Many of the moun- 

 tains to their very summits are covered witli the 

 richest verdure, not " eternal snows," like those 

 of Oregon, as described by ti'avelers. The James 

 River Canal affords an outlet for tlie products of 

 these counties as well as tho.?e of the countj'^ of 

 Albemarle, which has also the advantage of the 

 navigation of the Rivanna River. Boats ascend 

 this river above the town of Charlottesville, 

 near which is MonticeUo, tlie seat of Mr. Jeffer- 

 son, as well as the University of the State. 

 Charlottesville is a place of considerable size, 

 with the finest societj-, and the highly cultivated 

 land^ in its neighborhood remind i^any Virgin- 

 ians more of a number of large, rich gardens, 

 than the farms to which they are accustomed. 

 Agriculture here has been long pursued sys- 

 tematically, and I believe this county can boast 

 of one of the very olde.st Agricultural Societies 

 in the State. Some of its more distinguished 

 sons are still the friends of the Society, and, 

 among others. Dr. Frank Carr, Hon. Wm. C. 

 EiVES andTnos. J. Randolph, Esq. deserve to 

 be remembered by the patrons of Agriculture, 

 for their efficiency and zeal. Lands in this 

 county rate higher generally than in some of 

 the other coimties, and it has faciMties in tlie 

 way of roads, rivers, colleges, &c. that no 

 counties Ea-st or We.st of the mountains can lay 

 claim to. There are in the county t\vo Cotton 

 Factories, eniploj-ing a number of hands. 



The county of Orange, tlie residence of the 

 late Govenior Barbour, and of his brother the 

 Judge, lies on the waters of the Rappahannock . 

 Its market is Fredericksburg and Richmond. 

 The court-hQU.se is not far distant from Gordons- 

 \i)le, at which point the Louisa Railroad termi- 

 nates, and ^vhich intersects with the Richmond, 

 Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. The 

 land of this county is verj- productive in all the 

 crops that are growni successfully in Eastern 

 Virginia. Lj-ing, as it does, off the spurrs of 

 the mountains, and gently undulating, it is tilled 

 v/ith less labor than many of our iiigli lands. 

 Near as it is to the town of Fredericksburg, it 

 has all die advantages of a tide-water country, 

 while it is remarkably free from diseases. 



The counties of Madison and Greene, ad- 

 (387) 



joining those of Rockingham and Page on the 

 West side of the Blue Ridge, in the Valley, 

 abound in lands resembling those of the otlicr 

 counties already named. Many of the farms 

 are in the highest state of improvement, and 

 those upon the Robinson and Rapid Ann riv- 

 ers, and the smaller streams, are not surpas.sed 

 by the best farms of the other counties. Wheat, 

 corn, oats, tobacco, and other crops, are culti- 

 vated most successfully. Here, too, are abund- 

 ant ranges, and the ■wonder is that sheep-hu.s- 

 bandry is not introduced. These counties are 

 watered by streams which flow into the Rappa- 

 hannock and supply the v^'ater-jjower for nu- 

 merous flouring-mills on an extensive scale. — 

 The town of Fredericksburg, on this river, Ls 

 distant some .50 miles, up to which the river is 

 navigable for steamboats, and where, also, the 

 Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Rail- 

 road crosses, temiinating in a northerly direc- 

 tion, on the Potomac River. The facilities for 

 travel. North or South, as well as for the trans- 

 portation of produce, are, therefore, veiy great. 

 Good lands in all the counties named are abund- 

 ant and cheap ; they hold out inducements to 

 settlers and promise advantages that, m many 

 respects, are unequaled. 



I might give you particulars in regard to many- 

 farms within my knowledge, but time will not 

 allow me to do so. There are many that may 

 be purchased on such terms as cannot fail to suit 

 those inclined to make such investments. In 

 the county of Bedford, in the neighborhood in 

 ^^•hich I reside, there is one contauiing 7 or 800 

 acres, that may be purchased on a credit (and it 

 may be divided into some three, four, or more 

 fanns) of one, two and three years, the purchase 

 money being well secured, a: .910 per acre. It 

 is well watered on one eiitu-e side by a stream 

 perhaps throe times as large as the Tyber in thi.s 

 cit}-. There are many of the finest springs in 

 various parts of the land, and it is intersected by 

 numerous small stream.s, called, in Eastern Vir- 

 ginia, branches. 



I have thus endeavored to give you an outline 

 of some of the features of our countrj- ; but, ha.st- 

 ily written as it is, it is very imperfect. I trust 

 your efforts to call public attention to the lands 

 of Virginia will not be without a good effect. — 

 Evcrj- portion of the Old Commonwealth is de- 

 serving of the efforts ^vhich a few arc making 

 to place her in the scale she is entitled, by her 

 position and her advantages, to occupy. 

 I am, very respcctfuUv, 



W. L. GOGGIN. 



Guano. — This is said, in the " Floriste' Journal," to 

 have killed all the plants in pots to which it was ap- 

 plied diy, mixed with the soil at the time of potting. 

 But, would it haro injured them had it been made 

 into a compost three months before the time of pot- 

 ting, and exposed to tho weather all the time J 



[London Gardeners' Chronicle. 



