LETTERS FROM THE SOUTH.-NO. 11. 
305 
population with which she commenced an inde¬ 
pendent existence, and Pennsylvania has more than 
quadrupled her numbers, Virginia, with a territory 
more ample, and internal resources far superior to 
either, has failed even to double her population, 
and has fallen in this respect from the first to the 
fourth or fifth State in the Union. 
To the practical statesman and political econo¬ 
mist these facts present a most interesting problem 
for solution; and whatever may be the future des¬ 
tiny of this ancient commonwealth, the causes, 
proximate or remote, which have thus operated in 
paralysing her energies and crippling her advance¬ 
ment, should be faithfully and thoroughly investi¬ 
gated, and the results communicated for the benefit 
of all who feel an interest in the progress of civili¬ 
zation. My present intention is -to speak of Vir¬ 
ginia as she is ; not as she has been, or might have 
been, under other and different circumstances from 
those in which she is now placed and although I 
may find it necessary in the course of my remarks 
to institute a comparison between her present con¬ 
dition and that of those of her sister-States who en¬ 
tered on their political career at the same time, and 
under far less favorable auspices, I trust I shall do 
so in a spirit of kindness, and with no desire to ex¬ 
cite any other than the most friendly feelings of 
social and political rivalry, between portions of the 
same great and united family, bound together by the 
strongest ties of interest and mutual regard, travel¬ 
ling the same common road—partakers of the same 
common destiny—and enjoying the same noble in¬ 
heritance. 
A residence of less than a single year in this por¬ 
tion of the Union may seem inadequate to a fair 
comprehension and a just exposition of its condition ; 
but it will be borne in mind that the first impressions 
are not unfrequently the best and most accurate; 
that an impartial and unprejudiced observer is not 
seldom in a condition to take a more comprehensive 
view and to form a better appreciation of events, 
their probable causes and effects, and the bearing 
which they may have on the present and future, 
than those more immediately interested in their oc 
currences, and actively participating ill their results; 
and that the record of these impressions, and the 
frank, friendly, and at the same time dispassionate 
expression of views and opinions thus involuntarily 
imbibed and honestly entertained, while it cannot 
injure the cause of truth, may add somewhat to the 
stock of existing knowledge, and at all events, it is 
to be hoped, excite inquiry and reflection, even if it 
should fail to lead to more beneficial consequences. 
I am free to confess, in the outset, that when, 
and as often as I reflect upon the genial, healthful, 
and lovely climate of Virginia, its transparent and 
cloudless skies, its refreshing breezes, its abundant 
and exhaustless foliage, its comparative exemption 
from wintry frosts and storms, its unrivalled facili¬ 
ties for markets, its fertile and varied soil, capable 
of producing nearly every species of crops demand¬ 
ed by the diversified wants of modem civilization, 
luxury, and refinement, and in quantities unsur¬ 
passed, at least, if not unequalled in any other por¬ 
tion of the Union—its inexhaustible mines of coal, 
iron, copper, and other valuable minerals and metals 
—its noble streams, bays, and harbors—its lofty 
range of mountains—and its territorial advantages. 
with reference as well to the seat of the general 
government as to the adjoining States—when I 
take into consideration all these circumstances, I 
am utterly at a loss to account upon any satisfac¬ 
tory principles for the dearth of population, the 
comparative absence of capital and enterprise, the 
neglect, often amounting to absolute waste of the 
land, the cheap rate at which it is held, and 
more than all, the indifference with which, until 
very recently, the inducements thus held out to im¬ 
migration from other States and countries have 
been regarded. It was not without an accurate and 
thorough knowledge of the condition and capabili¬ 
ties of this favored region, in an agricultural point 
of view, that her greatest son, the immortal Wash¬ 
ington, in a letter to Sir John Sinclair, described it 
as “ the Garden of America.” Nor was it without 
the spirit of prophecy that he added these memo¬ 
rable predictions : “Notwithstanding these obsta¬ 
cles [the embarrassments arising from defective 
naturalization laws, and the prevalence of slavery], 
and although I may incur the charge of partiality 
in hazarding such an opinion at this time, I do not 
hesitate to 'pronounce that the lands on the waters of 
the Potomac, wilt, in a few years, be in greater de¬ 
mand, and in higher estimatioif, than in any other 
part of the United States,” A New-Yorker. 
LETTERS FROM THE SOUTH.—No. II. 
One word in passing before I proceed on my route. 
There is one source of economy that might be prac¬ 
tised by many of our Southern planters, with 
little trouble or inconvenience to themselves, and 
with a large aggregate profit. The wool and pelts 
from sheep, and hides from cattle slaughtered oil 
the plantation, are seldom saved through a large 
section of the county; when, if the wool were 
washed, sheared, and packed, and the skins properly 
dried, all would command a good market at the 
nearest shipping port. When the weather is cool, 
the hides will cure sufficiently by being suspended 
in a free circulation of air ; or if hot, then mb salt, 
or a good coating of wood-ashes on the flesh-side, 
or roll them up in salt and forward to market. 
From 5 to 20 head of cattle, and 20 to 100 sheep, 
are or should be annually slaughtered on every 
plantation, and the amount that might be thus 
saved, would support a good school in every 
well settled district in the country. 
In Louisiana I found an enterprising Yankee 
from the old Key-stone State, buying up whatever 
wool there was to be sold among the planters, and 
when their hands were too busy to attend to shear¬ 
ing their flocks, he kindly lent a hand, sometimes 
taking half and sometimes the whole for the opera 
tion. These and other small items may seem in¬ 
considerable in comparison with the cane and cot¬ 
ton crops, but when saved without expense, they 
are equally worthy, attention to the amount of 
product. 
The highly cultivated banks of the Mississippi, 
which extend from 60 miles below to nearly 200 
above New Orleans, on both sides of the river, be¬ 
gin to hold but a divided empire with the original 
forest, some 40 or 50 miles below the mouth of Red 
River. This comes nearly up to latitude 31°, and 
approximates to the extreme northern limits to 
which the culture of the cane has hitherto attained. 
