182 



^t)c immci's iHontl)ln biMtor. 



the practicubility of the Fourier syslcm of associa- 

 tion, in ihc present iinpeifect stiile of society : 

 bill 1 do believe in :iilvisiiig unci assisting eucli 

 other— in protitiiij; by each other's experience and 

 in approxinnilinw us thst ami as near as pussilile 

 to such u svsteni. N. COLBY. 



For the F.Tnncr'a Monthly \'i3itnr. 



Meteorological Journal kept at Concord 



by A. CHANDLER. 



Re.m.»rk3.— Ncv. 2ii, began to rain in the night, 

 and continued through the Ibrenoon ; amount, 

 5j8th of Hti inch.— I€th, liglit snow began at 8 

 o cioci<, A. M., and H'ontiniie;] lliroM;!;h tlie dav 

 and evening.— 11th, llpgaii to snow lishilv at 2 

 P.M., and continued thionjih the aftenioonbrisk- 

 ly, and evening lightly, inaliing about ."> inches. 

 Tlie ground has been frozen three or four inches 

 deep, and the ponds of still water sufficiently for 

 boys to skate upon for a week or more past.— 

 13th, snow scpi.ill from 8 to 9 o'clock, A. M.— 

 16th, lijiht fine snow in the night; forenoon iislit 

 or drizzling rain; P. M. very fbggy._17ti), A.~M. 

 very foggy ; cleared off about noon ; in the after- 

 noon tho fog of the forenoon appeared to be 

 rising ii[) in the atmosphere and formed into cir- 

 rus clouds, of which there were great numbers, 

 those in the zenith lying in long light streaks 

 from north to sonili, anti rolling before a very 

 light west wind.— 19tli, there was in the raiii 

 gage this morning 1 inch and 8-lOlh of water 

 that has fallen in snove and rain since the lOih 

 inst. 



To advise the ignorant, relieve the needy and 

 •orafort the afflicted, are acts approved of Heaven, 



The Virginia Fanner. 



Always cntbiisia.'Jlic on the subject of Agricul- 

 ture where iinproveiiieiit and increa.'ed produc- 

 tion are the topics of conversation, it has become 

 more natural to tho editor of the Visitor to in- 

 quire about these matters than abotit the events 

 whicli move the politicians of the day. We 

 never mei-t with an intelligent man familiar to 

 any part of the country thatwc have not viewed 

 personally where we do not turn from all other 

 subjecls to pratifv the Yankee privilege of in- 

 quiring what the land produces— how it produ- 

 ces in comparison of former times — whether the 

 condition of its farms is growing better or worse 

 —whether the business oT farming i.s a profitable 

 pursuit— why it is profital.le— why the owners of 

 farms become ilisconteiiied atul wish to abandon 

 them or are obliged to leave them. &c. ifcc. We 

 had heard years ago that the valley of the She- 

 nandoah between the J5!ue Ridge and the higher 

 and more foi-midable ridge oi' the Alleglmtiies, 

 e.vtending soulli to nearly across the whole width 

 of Virginia, was one of the most beautiful farm- 

 ing sections of the United States. A conversa- 

 tion uith the Rev. O. B. Brown, a Baptist clergy- 

 tiian of the city of Washington, elicited informa- 

 tion which at the lime WH'i highly interesting to 

 us. We found liim possessed of that sameeu- 

 thusiasm for agricultural and rural pmsuits which 

 grows out of the conviction that all oiu- prospects 

 of prosjierous ihrivlng wealth depend on this 

 pursuit alone: in this conviction he had himself 

 pmchased a farm in the Valley of about 2.50 

 acres at the price of 36 dollars "the acre, which 

 under a lew years impiovement had grown lo 

 the value of .50 dollars the acre in the pr;i-e of- 

 tered. At our urgent solicitation he b'-.s given us 

 in writing the following descripljop. of TuJeyries 

 the ne.xt iiirtn adjacent to liis o\\ n : ' 



Description of Tnleyries, the Farm of Col. Jo- 

 seph Tuley, iu Virginia. 



Dkar Sir:— Your iiiteresting paper has aflbrd- 

 ed much protitaM.s entertainment. .\o subject 

 so happily couj'oiiies pleasure with utility, :is that 

 of as^viculi.'.-ire. It furnishes a topic for conver- 

 sation which subdues the angry passions of our 

 nature, and hushes into peace the turbulent storm 

 of political rancor and parly malevolence. That 

 branch which we call Horticulture, Has the em- 

 ployineiit of man in Parailise, and es.sentiul to 

 the perfection of his (ilicity w bile his nature was 

 yet uucontarninated with sin. No vocation in 

 life is .so well adapted to both innocence and hap- 

 [liness, as agriculture. 



You are aware, that in Virginia, the most hon- 

 orable vocation in society is'^that of the fanner. 

 Wa.<liinglou,Jefterson, .Madison and Monroe were 

 practical farmers. Each of them could guide 

 the pliiuuh, handle the hoe, and niMiil rails uith 

 his own hands. Our present Ciiief Magistrate, 

 and mo.st of the conspicuou.s statesmen of the 

 present generation belonging to that Slate, are 

 agricuhurists; and in Virginia it is a profession 

 which never liiils to elevate a man of honorable 

 deportment to the highest walk.-; in society. 



The counties in Virginia ;iie not divided into 

 townships as in the Northern Sliites; and to de- 

 fine ihe, location of citizens, it is necessary to 

 give to each farm or |lautatioii,a name, as Mount 

 Vernon, ihe setit of Washington ; though in the 

 county of Fairlii.^, it -.vas twenty miles" from the 

 court house: .Monticello, in Albemarle; and 

 Montpelier, iu Orange, So Ihe farm of our mu- 

 tujil frictid, Col. Joseph Tuley, is called TuUyrits. 

 It lies in what is called the Valley of the Shenan- 

 doah ; a fertile tract of country between tho Blue 

 Ridge and North Mountain, through which the 

 Shenandoah river flows. Jt is situated in Chirk 

 county, aliout ten miles south of Winchester, and 

 about si.xty miles west of Washington Cily. 



Col. Tuley is reputed lo be Ihe lest fanner in 

 that region ; and the heautiliil appearance of all 

 bis fields and foiests justifies the award. His 

 farm contains about a thoitsaud acres, lying prin- 

 cipally in an oblong reclanglc, about u" mile and 

 a half in length, and more than a mile in breadth, 

 bounded on their sides by public roads. It is 

 neither chaniji.usn nor mountainous; but gently 

 undulating, suflicienlly so to give beauty to the 

 eye and benefit lo the cultivator. It is generally 

 skirted with forest, amounting to about two buii- 

 dred acres, having a luxuriant growth of black 

 oak and hickory, with occasionally a white oak 

 and a vvRluut, and but seldom a red oak, 



His dwelling liouse is giliinted upon Ihe most 

 elevated part of the farm, yeiwilh the accliviiy 

 so gentle that no iiicoiiveiiience is experienced iii 

 approaching it. It is built of birch, two stories 

 high, besides a b,isement rifiiig five feet above 

 Ihe surface of Ihe earth, and nti oli.<ervatory up- 

 on Ihe top of tho building. 4t pre.>ientsa front to 

 the east of .«oulh-etiBt of si.vty feet ; and to the 

 south-west of seventy-five (ee"t. !t has a ."lately 

 marble porlico in the front, about thirty-five fee! 

 in length, projecting seventeen feet, and twenly- 

 eight fect^ in height, pupporled by Corinthian 

 pillars. From this portico, about five himdred 

 acres of the farm can be seen; and iVom ihe 

 observatory, every field and forest is surveyed. 

 Within the walls of this sp:iciuus building, and 

 upon its south western part, a S|iace of thirty 

 tiict by sixleen and twenty feet in height is oc- 

 cupied as a green house, aiid warmed during the 

 winter by a furnace underneath, which is eoii- 

 siantly difchaigiiig into it a strong current of 

 heated air. This green bouse contains a great 

 variety of exotic plants and flowers,which through 

 all seasons of the year are ?preadiiig their heaii- 

 tifiil foliage to please the eye; and to gratify the 

 sense, they are perpetually shedding the niosl 

 delecUihle perfumes. Here are seen the ro.'ie of 

 Sharon and ihe lily of the valley in their native 

 dress as imported from Syria; the orange and 

 the lemon trees loaded perpetually wilti fruits in 

 their various stages, from the opening blossom to 

 the full rijie orange and lemon. The bulrush of 

 the Nile, such as ibrined the aik in whicii the 

 ilitant Moses was preserved, and the rich flowers 

 among which it grew, togetlier with plants from 

 every ipiarler of tlie world, are all flourishing 

 here. 



The yard iu which this magnificent mansion 

 stands contains fourteen acres. Its rear h skirted 

 « ith a grove of lofty oaks, bene;ith which is a 

 rich covering of gras.s. The yard in front of the 

 house is laid oflF in great taste with spacious 

 walks bonlered with beds of flo\\er8 in every 

 variety, and .shaded w ith trees and shrubs of al- 

 most every species fiom all parts of the world, 

 presenting to the botanist an nin])le field for 

 study ; and to the lover of nature an agreeable 

 promenade among her richest luxuries. Its en- 

 trance is through an arched gate, with a brick 

 jiorter's lodge on each side of the gates. Tha 

 extensive range of the Blue Ridge mountains in 

 front of the bouse, the neare.^t part of the base 

 of which is four miles distant, forms the appear- 

 ance of a vast amiihitheatre, and gives ineffable 

 siibliniily and beauty to the scene. 



In sight of the house and about three btinlred 

 yards distant froiu it is a large [ituk, in whicli 

 are nine or ten Elks of the large Alissouri breed, 

 and about fifty of the most beautiful Fallow Deer, 

 The sporting of these lively animals, their fleel- 

 ness, and their remarkable agility, are delightful 

 to look upon ; and the flesh of tbetleer furnishes 

 a venison repast very superior both in richness 

 and in flavor lo any wild veni.»;o!i that I have ever 

 seen. 



About a quarter of a mile from the mansion, 

 and in full view, is a stone house covered «ith a 

 while wash, forty feet square, w ith a broad passage 

 through the ceutieaud four rooms upon thefloor. 

 This is called the quarters ; and is the dwelling 

 of the greater part of the laborers who cultivate 

 the farm. In the centre of the passage is a cook- 

 ing stove siifficienily capacious lo cook all the 

 food, and at the same lime to bake all the bread 

 necessary for their consumption. There aro 

 several other smaller buildings called lodges, oc- 

 cupied by such as are married and therefore pre- 

 fer to live in families. 



The garden, which is seperate from the yard, 

 is an enclosure ol three acres, abouuding with 

 large strawberry beds of no less than fourteen 

 different kinds of strawberries, besides raspber- 

 ries, goo.seberries, cuiianis, grapes, and all other 

 kinds of luxurious friiil in suppruhundnni e, iu 

 addition to every kind of vegetal.le for lable pur- 

 poses. He has a large apple orchard, a great 

 abundance of all kinds of jieaches from the ear- 

 liest to the latest, and of the richest flavor, be- 

 sides pears, cherries, damsons, plumb.s, qiiinces, 

 apricots, and indeed ail the fruits which the cli- 

 mate is capable of producing. 



The laud is a strong limestone soil. The 

 whole country w.as once a prairie ; but since civ- 

 ilized man began to turn up the sod, a heavy 

 growth of forest hae covsred thone parts whicli 



