V«!a Xtti. ^6. iSt 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



357 



fluce from a cross of this liorse upon the Roanoke 

 stock will be very desirable. I saw a letter from 

 John VVickham, Esq., of Richmond, whose 

 opinion is considered high authority in Virginia, 

 in which he says, " Claret's blood I think to be 

 the very best in the country ; through his sire. Par- 

 tisan, tlie sire of his dam, he has a double cross of 

 Old Prunella, the Duke of Grafton's famous mare, by 

 whose produce he is said to have made £100,000 ; 

 her stock is preferred to that of any other English 

 mare, and I think Chateau Margaux and Claret 

 are the only imported horses that are of her blood." 

 Mr Randolph was a great advocate for working 

 all his horses and breed mares, and I think it cor- 

 rect, particularly where those who are employed 

 can be depended upon. Six mares were harness- 

 ed to a wagon which $2400 would not pur- 

 chase. 



I must say one word regarding the residence of 

 this distinguished man. After leaving the public 

 road to the ferry, the approach to the house is 

 through a dense forest nearly a mile, when you come 

 at once to a gate, within thirty yards of which are 

 two cottages ; one low, studded with a rough piaz- 

 '/.a in front, paved widi pebbles ; about 40 feet 

 long, by perhaps 20 feet wide, divided in the cen- 

 tre, and connected by a door ; a chimney at each 

 end. Doors opposite eacli other in one room, 

 (well suited to this clunate.) In the inner room 

 was his bed ; all the necessary articles of plain 

 ancient furniture ; several family portraits hung in 

 various parts of the room, and small engravings 

 of some distinguished men who were active under 

 the early administration of our government. One 

 I recognized as the late Timothy Pickering, and 

 one I suj)posed to be the late Hon. Rufus King. 

 But the books, embracing all subjects, in all lan- 

 guages, and all bindings, from the most smiple to 

 tlie richest, seemed to fill every crevice of the 



rooms. I am not cap;.lile, nor could quires of 

 paper contain a description. I opened some doz- 

 ens or so, and, I believe, in all saw either notes in 

 margin or on small pieces of paper. There would 

 be no trouble in cutting leaves, (a.s is often the 

 case ui large libraries,) in this, I do not even at- 

 tempt to enumerate the number, but I saw on the 

 back of one volume No. 13843. The other cot- 

 tage, which appeared to be on a more recent con- 

 struction, was higher and more elegant in appear- 

 ance ; the chimney in the centre, opposite which 

 on one side, an entrance ])oi-ch ; on the other side 

 one of corresponding size, vvitli windows which 

 look out upon the forest, and from which I saw 

 within 100 yards a small mound, with two rough 

 stones, one at each end, where are interred his re- 

 mains — he having selected the spot, and had the 

 stones drawn there long before his decease. This 

 cottage also has two rooms, and was used in en- 

 tertaining his friends, the one as a dining room, 

 the other a parlor ; the mantel-pieces marble, and 

 furniture of richest kind ; splendid engravings and 

 more splendid books, maps, &c. His old body 

 servant, Essex, 80 years old, polite as a Chester- 

 field, and active as a lad of 14, together with his 

 sou John, who with Juba accompanied their mas- 

 ter to Russia, are now in charge. Essex always 

 had orders to eutertam liis master's friends if they 

 called in his absence ; and his memory was so 

 good, he always recollected those he had once 

 seen. But I must hasten to annex a list, taken 

 from the newspapers, of 20 horses which are this 

 season in various sections of this state. Having 

 merely the advertisements to refer to, I no doubt 

 omit many that are very superior. 



The five last eimmerated now belong to the es- 

 tate of Mr Randolph. Gascoigne is beautiful, and 

 a great favorite. 



Your obedient servant, B. P. 



Coal Trade of Pennsylvania. — The vast 

 increase of this trade, within a few years, renders 

 all authentic details relating to it a subject of gen- 

 eral interest : and in proof of thi,^ increase, it is 

 only necessary to state, that in the year, 1820, 

 no more than 365 tons of anthracite coal 

 found their way to the market from the Lehigh 

 mines, while in 1834 the quantity sold amounted 

 to 374,222 tons, of which 106,.500 were from the 

 Lehigh, 224,242 from the Schuylkill, and 43,700 

 from the Lackavvana mines ; the Schuylkill mines 

 having been opened for the market for the first 

 time in the year 1825, and the Lackawana in 

 1829. 



The Lehigh Company employ on the Lehigh 

 Canal and the Delaware 275 boats, and others are 

 employed by individuals. On the Morris Canal, 

 there are 250 boats employed in this trade. The 

 number of vessels laden with coal at Philadelphia 

 and Bristol in 1834, was 469. The amount of 

 Lehigh coal shipped coastwise during the same 

 year was 32,154 tons, of which 14,006 tons were 

 shipped from Newark. 



The number and description of vessels cleared 

 fi-om the river Schuylkill, laden with coal, during 

 the year 1834, were as follows: 72 brigs, 1122 

 fcchooners, and 420 sloops. The amount of ton- 

 nage of the boats employed in the transportation of 

 coal from the Lehigh mines, is 22,150 tons ; on 

 the Schuylkill, 24,733. 



The value of improvetnents and property con- 

 nected with and arising from the anthracite coal 

 trade of Pennsylvania in the three great coal fields 

 is estimated by a committee of the Legislature of 

 that State as follows, viz : rail roads and canals 

 made by companies and individuals, including part 

 of the State canals four hundred cigety-nine 

 miles, 9,750,93742 ; collieries, boats, cars, &c. 

 1,270,280 ; capital invested in coal lands, 4,900,000 ; 

 mining capital, 480,000 ; value of towns in the 

 coals fields, 3,376,000 ; making an aggregate of 

 $19,176,217 42; to which may be added the value 

 of storehouses, wharves, landings, &c. in Phila- 

 delphia, New York and odicr places, together with 

 the value of vessels and capital employed in ship- 

 puig coal. 



The bituminous coal lands in Peimsylvania are 

 supposed by the same Committee to comprehend 

 an extent of 21,000 square miles, and the anthra- 

 cite of 975 square miles. Since the opening of 

 the anthracite coal trade in 1820, its average 

 annual increase has been 33 per cent. The Com- 

 mittee believe that it will continue during the next 

 ten years to increase in the same ratio ; in which 

 case, the consuinption in 1843 will be 10,510,980 

 W21S, the value of which, at $5 per ton, will be 

 $62,544,450. Supposing tho increase not to exceed 

 one half of tho above estimate, the trade of that 

 year, in the article of coal alone, will amount in 

 value to twenty-six millionsdoUars. — Boston Daily 

 Advertiser. 



Cdt Potatoes Rot on Dung. — As a corrob- 

 oration of what I have stated, 1 may mention, 

 that a neighbor,. Mr Seeds, has three fields of po- 

 tatoes,, one-half of which has failed. He men- 

 tioned his loss to me, and on examining the crop, 

 we found all the sets which had been placed with 

 their cut surfaces on the dung, rotten, while the 

 most forward and vigorous plants had the round 

 uncut side next the dung. — Transactions of High- 

 land Society. 



