FARMERS' REGISTER— DESCRIPTION OF VIRGINIA. 



traveller, objects of still more interest than its sce- 

 nery. Among them may be enumerated the pas- 

 sage of the Potomac through the Blue ridge, so 

 happily described by Mr. Jefferson, and that of the 

 James river through the same mountain ; the cliffs 

 of New river, which present, for a distance of 

 twenty miles, a succession of sublime scenery, 

 rivalled, in our country, only by that of the Ni- 

 agara, between the fiUIs and Queenstown; the 

 celebrated natural bridge, " the most sublime of 

 nature's works;" the Warm and Hot springs, 

 noticed under the preceding head; the Burning 

 springs of Kenav/ha, and the extensive and beau- 

 tiful caverns in the limestone districts of the state. 

 Among these last is one of surpassing interest and 

 beauty : it is denominated Wej'er's cave, from its 

 discoverer, and is situated in the county of Au";us- 

 ta, near the little village of Port Republic. The 

 description given by Goldsmith of the grotto of 

 Antiparos, seems almost literally to apply to this 

 interesting work of nature, v/hich presents, for a 

 distance of half a mile, a series of apartments, 

 some of them of great extent and majestic height, 

 incrusted with crystals, and glittering Vvith the 

 most beautiful stalactites. We feel, in traversing 

 them, as if we were visiting one of those enchanted 

 palaces, in which the knights of chivalry were 

 spell-bound, or gazino* on one of the scenes so 

 vividly portrayed in the Arabian tales. A cave 

 on Jackson's river, near Covington, is said to be 

 much more extensive and intricate, though per- 

 haps not so beautiful, as that just mentioned. — 

 There is also a natural bridge in the south-west 

 part of the state, which bears no comparison, in 

 grace of proportion, or grandeur of effect, to the 

 one in Rockbridge. In Hampshire county there 

 is an ice mountain, whicJi is very remarkable. On 

 its north-west side, the surfiice is covered by loose 

 rocks, which being removed to tiie depth of about 

 three feet, presents an abundance of ice at all sea- 

 sons of the year. The most noted cataract in the 

 state is that of the falling spring, in the county of 

 Alleghany. The stream is of sufficient volume, 

 a few yards from its source, to turn a mill-wheel; 

 and about a mile belov/ it has a perpendicular de- 

 scent of 200 feet, down a precipice of calcareous 

 rock. Before it reaches the bottom, it is almost 

 converted into vapour, and the temperature is 

 much reduced. The stream unites v/ith Jackson's 

 river, about two miles below the cataract. The 

 lake in Giles county not havuig been embraced in 

 any written account of the state, deserves to be 

 noticed. It presents the curious spectacle of a 

 beautiful sheet of water, a mile and a half in cir- 

 cumference, and a hundred fathoms deep, on the 

 summit of a lofty mountain. Some of the aged 

 people in the neighborhood remember when its 

 bottom was a spot of marshy ground, covered with 

 oak and pine, and much frequented by deer and 

 elk, in pursuit, as was supposed, of salt. In pro- 

 cess of time, a small pond was formed in the cen- 

 tre, increasing slowly at first, until a stream, which 

 had its source high in tlie mountain, suddenly 

 ceased to flow. AfterAvards, the lake rose rapidly, 

 and, covering the higlicst trees, finally ascended 

 to the mountain top, ■\vhere it overflows at a single 

 point below the genci-al level. The \vater is not 

 saline, as is generally supposed, but pure and pota- 

 ble. It abounds in lizards, but no fish have been 

 discovered. The idea whicli prevails of its alter- 

 nate rise and fall is erroneous. This lake is 3700 



feet above the level of the ocean. Lake Drum- 

 mond, in the Dismal Swamp, is about seven miles 

 in extent, and about twenty -four feet above tide- 

 water. Its waters are cool, strongly tinged with 

 juniper, and pleasant and Avholesome to drink. If 

 our limits allowed, the ebbing and flowing springs 

 of Washington county, and Cow-pasture valley, 

 the carved or calico rock of Kenawlia, and various 

 other curiosities in the state, would merit particu- 

 lar description. 



Internal improvements. The Virginians are 

 said to be privileged to have bad roads. Sup- 

 posing such a privilege to exist, they have certainly 

 availed themselves of it largely. In none of the 

 Atlantic states, in proportion to their extent and 

 population, has so little been done to improve the 

 common highways of the country. To improve- 

 ments of a higher class, tlie people and their public 

 agents have not been indifferent. Two highly 

 valuable canals have been constructed, and are 

 now in successful operation. One of these, the 

 Dismal Swamp Canal, is twenty-two and a half 

 miles long by sixty feet wide, and seven feet deep, 

 and connects the navigable waters of the Chesa- 

 peake bay Avith those of Albemarle sound. The 

 other, the James river canal, extends from Rich- 

 mond, about thirty miles up the James river val- 

 ley. This work is among the best executed of 

 our country, and will probably be extended, in a 

 few years, to Lynchburg, and perhaps to the foot 

 of tlie Alleghany, whence a rail-road of 140 miles 

 in length Avould connect the canal Avith steam-boat 

 navigation on the KenaAvha. Besides these, there 

 are several otlier canals of less extent. Among 

 them are the Blue ridge canal, about seven miles 

 long and thirty-feet Avide, overcoming a fall of one 

 hundred feet in the river ; the Roanoke canal, a 

 work of the same extent, around the falls of the 

 Roanoke; and the Appomattox and Rappahan- 

 nock canals, similai* Avorks near Petersburg and 

 Fredericksburg. Rail-roads, though of but late 

 introduction in the United States, have attracted 

 considerable attention in Virginia. One of these 

 has been lately executed near Richmond, the re- 

 sults of Avhich are more brilliant, in proportion to 

 its extent, tlian those of any similar Avork in the 

 Union. It is about thirteen miles long, and con- 

 nects the coal mines of Chesterfield Avith tide- 

 Avater. The Avhole capital invested in it, includ- 

 ing cars for transportation, stables and horses, was 

 % 150,000. The trade on it is already fifty thou- 

 sand tons per annum, and the receipts for trans- 

 portation during the present year Avill, it is under- 

 stood, be about ^''^0,000. Tlie stock is, of course, 

 largely above par. A second rail-road, of greater 

 extent, is now in active jjrogress betAveen JPeters- 

 burg and tJie Roanoke. It Avill be sixty miles 

 long, and Avill connect, Avhen completed, the Roa- 

 noke navigation Avith the toAvn of Petersburg. — 

 The first thirty-five miles of this improvement 

 Avill be in operation in the course of the present 

 year, (1832) and the Avhole Avork Avill be com- 

 pleted by the beginning of 1834. Other rail-roads 

 are proposed, and Avill probably soon be executed. 

 In 1816, the legislature created a " fund for inter- 

 nal improvement," the capital of Avhich, in 1831, 

 amounted to .<^' 1,500,000, and the revenue of the 

 year to about ,^90,000. Out of the annual in- 

 come, the state contributes, in aid of valuable im- 

 provements, two-fifths of ihe capital stock, leaving 

 the residue to individual subscription. The great 



