LIST OF TIIE BIRDS OF COBIIAM, VIRGINIA. 
BY WILLIAM C. RIVES, JR., M. I). 
Cobham is a station on the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail¬ 
way, eighty-three miles northwest of Richmond—much 
nearer in a direct line—and one hundred and three miles 
southwest of Washington, on the eastern edge of Albemarle 
o 7 o 
County. Its height above the sea is four hundred and one 
feet. Immediately to the north, the country is of a rolling- 
character, gradually increasing in elevation until, at a dis¬ 
tance of four miles, it reaches the base of the Southwest 
Mountains, of which the highest attains an altitude of 
between seventeen hundred and eighteen hundred feet. 
To the south of the railway rises a line of low hills and 
beyond these the country is comparatively level and thickly 
wooded. 
The country generally is well watered by streams 
flowing into a small branch of the Rivanna River. The 
soil is fertile, especially along the water courses ; towards 
the Southwest Mountains it consists largely of the tena¬ 
cious red clay which abounds in the Piedmont region of 
Virginia. 
The principal crops are Wheat, Oats and Indian Corn. 
Formerly Tobacco was also raised, and at present the vine 
is cultivated with considerable success. 
The climate is temperate and healthful, though warm in 
summer. 
The woods, which are extensive, consist largely of 
Chestnut, different varieties of Oak and Hickory, and 
Yellow Pine, and besides these are found the Black Gum, 
Persimmon, Dogwood, American Holly, Beech, Fringe 
Tree (Chionanthus Virgin ica ), and many other kinds of 
trees. 
