VIII 
VIRGINIA 
Virginia was the first of the States to adopt a luxuri- 
ous mode of living. Its early men and women, so recently 
English, were not many of them of the strictly Puritan 
type, but rather the ease and pleasure loving class, and 
shortly their fertile plantations, developed by countless 
slaves, yielded rich results, and Virginia, followed soon 
by the neighboring States, became famous for homes and 
gardens on an extensive scale. 
One of the earliest and best of these estates was Mount 
Vernon, so well preserved and yet so familiar as not to 
need an introduction or even a space in this book. Bran- 
don, Westover, Shirley, Berkeley, Castle Hill, and others 
on tlie River James, as well as some of the splendid places 
in the “hill country,” have been renovated in recent years 
and should be considered among the treasures of America. 
Mr. William du Pont is the fortunate present owner of 
Montpelier, the home of President Madison, in Orange 
County, and situated between Charlottesville and Rich- 
mond. This splendid garden was planned by Mr. Mad- 
ison soon after 1794. To quote Mr. Capen:* “On the plan 
*“ Country Homes of Famous Americans.” 
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