THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



VOL.. I. 



siiKSiBisa^snDa gwsri2 a©QQ«» 



NO. 1. 



EDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. $5 PER ANNUM. T. W. WHITE, PRINTER. 



General Description of Virginia. 



From the Encyclopaedia Americana. 



Virginia, one of the thirteen original states of 

 the American Union, is situated between 36° Sr 

 and 400 39^ N. lat. and 6° 35^ W. and 1« 48^ E. 

 Ion. from Washington city. It is bounded on the 

 north and north-east by Pennsylvania and Mary- 

 land, east by Maryland and the Atlantic, south by 

 North Carolina and Tennessee, and west by Ken- 

 tucky and the Ohio river, or state of Ohio. Ac- 

 cording to Mr. Boyes's map, published by state 

 authority, its mean length, from east to west, is 355 

 miles ; its mean breadth, from north to south, 185 

 miles ; and its horizontal area, 65,624 square miles. 



Civil Divisions, &c. The state is divided into 

 one hundred and ten counties, whereof sixty-five 

 are situated on the east, and forty -live on the w est 

 of the Blue ridge mountains. Adopting the classi- 

 fication under the new constitution, these two great 

 sections may be further subdivided into, 1. the 

 district extending from the sea-coast to the head 

 of tide-water, comprehending thirty-six counties 

 and three towns entitled to representation, to wit, 

 Accomack, &c. &c. 2. the territory stretching 

 from the head of tide-water tQ the Blue ridge, con- 

 taining twenty -nine counties, Albemarle,. &c. &c. 

 3. the valley district, embracing fifteen counties, 

 between the Blue ridge and Alleghany, Augiista, 

 &c. &c. 4. the trans-AUeghany counties, thirty in 

 number, viz. Brooke, &c. &c. The principal towns 

 are Richmond, the seat of government, delight- 

 fully situated at the falls of James river, contain- 

 ing 16,000 inhabitants; Norfolk, on Elizabeth 

 river, which flows into Hampton roads, population 

 in 1830,9816; Petersburg and Fredericksburg, at 

 the falls of the Appomattox and Rappahannock 

 rivers, the first containing 8300, and the last 3400 

 inhabitants; Lynchburg, on James river, 120 

 miles above the falls, population 4157; and Wheel- 

 ing, on the Ohio, which, tliough only tlie fourth in 

 size and population, containing 5000 inhabitants, 

 is, perhaps, the most flourisliing town in the stale. 

 Besides these, Winchester, Sheplierdstown, Mar- 

 tinsburg, Staunton, Lexington and Fincastle, in 

 the valley, and Charlestown and Abingdon, in the 

 trans-AUeghany district, deserve to be noticed. 

 Williamsburg, in the eastern section, and the an- 

 cient seat of government, is on the decline ; but 

 Charlottesville, where the stale university is situ- 

 ated, lias rapidly improved witliin a few years. — 

 The principal rivers flowing into the Chesapeake 

 bay are the Potomac, Rappahannock, York and 

 James, all of which are large and navigable. The 

 Shenandoali traces its quiet course down tlie val- 

 ley, at tlie base of the Blue ridge, and unites v>ith 

 the Potomac at Harper's Ferry. The Roanoke 

 rises in the mountains, and, passing into North 

 Carolina, empties its waters into Albemarle sound ; 

 and the Great Kcnawha and Monongahcla are 

 both tributaries to the Ohio. Besides these, there 

 are numei'ous streams whicli intersect the country 

 in every direction, and which render it interior to 

 few in the facilities of water communication. The 

 Vol, 1,-1, 



Chesapeake bay, one of the finest on the conti- 

 nent, extends 190 miles, from its entrance, through 

 the states of Virginia and Maryland. It is from 

 seven to twenty miles broad, and generally nine 

 fatlioms deep. 



JTace of the Country. The mountains of this 

 state commence about 180 miles from the sea- 

 coast, and run nearly parallel Avith it, in a south- 

 west direction, disposed in ridges one behind ano- 

 ther. The first continuous c-liain, derives, from 

 its deep blue color, the name by which it is dis- 

 tinguished. Tlie North mountains are from twenty 

 to tliirty miles farther w est ; and these are suc- 

 ceeded by the Great Appalachian or Alleghany 

 range, which divides the eastern and western wa- 

 ters, and Avhich Mr. Jefferson calls the spine of 

 the country. The Appalachian system spreads 

 into its Avidest base in Virginia, and, comprehend- 

 ing its various lateral ridges, occupies a superficies 

 of nearly a hundred miles in breadth. Tlie whole 

 of this breadth, hoAvever, is not actually covered 

 by mountains, but embraces many picturesque, 

 salubrious and fertile valleys. The highest points 

 of the Blue ridge are the peaks of Otter, which 

 are seen at a great distance. One of them is re- 

 markable for its symmetry, being cone-shaped, 

 and terminating in a limestone cube, whose upper 

 surface is barely sufficient to contain a dozen per- 

 sons. It has been supposed that these beautiful 

 peaks are the highest in the state, computed from 

 the base; but the White Top peak of the Iron 

 mountain, near the North Carolina line, is now 

 believed to be still more elevated. The different 

 portions of the state are strikingly distinguished 

 from each other in their appearance. The tide- 

 water, or eastern section, is, in general, low, level, 

 sandy and unproductive, and parts of it exhibit 

 almost as desolate an aspect as the pine barrens of 

 Jersey. Above the falls of the rivers, the outlines 

 of the country are bolder and more picturesque, 

 and the soil, if not generally productive, is in most 

 cases capable of improvement. The alluvial lands, 

 or river and creek bottoms of this section, are very 

 fine ; and those of the James river will compare 

 witli any in the world for fertility. The valley 

 between the Blue ridge and Alleghany contains a 

 considerable proportion of mountainous and sterile 

 country ; but no part of tlie common AveaUh pre- 

 sents larger tracts of fertile and well-cultivated 

 land. West of the Alleghany, a large part of the 

 country must for ever continue in primitive forest. 

 It is generallj^ mountainous and broken, inter- 

 spersed w-ith fertile valleys, and occasionally pre- 

 senting rich bodies of limestone land. 



Geology and Mineralogy. Tracing a line from 

 the mouth of Potomac creek, by the Bowling 

 Green, and forks of the Pa,munkey, to Richmond, 

 thence through Petersburg and Hicksford to the 

 Roanoke near Weldon, we embrace, between it 

 and the ocean, only tertiary and alluvial forma- 

 tions. These contain oxides of iron, shells and 

 marl, bones of sharks, whales and other fish, car- 

 bonated wood, and the remains of vegetables. — - 

 Thence fo fho Blue ridge, the formation may be 



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