Fredericksburg, on the south side of the Rappahannock river, one hundred and fifty miles from its mouth, is sixty-two miles from Richmond and fifty-six from Washington city. Its population in 1860 was 5,023. Being near the falls of the Rappahannock, it has a valuable water-power.

Alexandria, six miles from Washington city, on the opposite side of the Potomac river, possesses great natural advantages, having a good harbor, accessible to ships of large size, and being connected by a canal and two railroads with the rich counties of Loudon and Fauquier, and with the valley of the Shenandoah. An extension of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal to Alexandria has made this port an eligible depot for the Cumberland coal trade, which has become an interest of vast importance, owing to the peculiar fitness of this coal for generating steam. The population of Alexandria was in 1840, 8,459; in 1850, 8,752; and 1860, 12,654; of whom 9,851 were white, 1,417 free colored, and 1,386 slaves. In most of the counties throughout the tide-water region of Virginia there was, before the present war, a great extent of waste land that had been impoverished by injudicious cultivation in corn and tobacco.

The practice of ploughing only three or four inches deep, and raising tobacco and corn, or corn and oats every year, without sowing grass seed or allowing fallow, must be injurious even to the best lands, and is ruinous to those of average fertility. It is remarkable that this result generally follows in all slaveholding countries, owing doubtless to the negligent and unthrifty habits which always attend that unrighteous practice.

It seems to be a law of nature that the land must have its Sabbaths, or if not permitted to rest from tillage will lose its fertility. The provision in the Mosaic code that the Israelites should abstain from agriculture every seventh year was probably intended to prevent the soil from being exhausted by excessive cultivation. Moses, describing the calamities that would ensue from the infraction of his laws, says: "Then shall the land enjoy her Sabbaths; as long as it lieth desolate it shall rest, because it did not rest in your Sabbaths when ye dwelt upon it."-Levit. xxvi, 35.

A large portion of the land in eastern Virginia now lies desolate, having been brought to that condition by the scourge of civil war, resulting from disobedience to the Divine law and disregard to the first principles of civil liberty;

It is about twenty-five years since the impoverished lands of Fairfax and of some other counties in eastern Virginia began to attract the attention of capitalists and agriculturists from the free States.

It was stated in the year 1845 that about one hundred and twenty families from the northern States had then settled in Fairfax county, and had purchased 24,000 acres of land, at a cost of about $180,000. These settlers, by their industry and skill, not only fertilized and beautified their own estates, but imparted to their neighbors a portion of their indomitable energy, and caused a spirit of improvement to spread around them. In a few years the price of land advanced twenty-five to one hundred per cent., or an average, probably, of fifty per cent. From that date until near the opening of the rebellion the immigration from the north to the tide-water region of Virginia continued, and the beneficial results were obvious to all. But the march of improvement has been ruthlessly arrested, the hand of violence has driven most of those peaceful settlers from their homes, and many of their farms are now desolate.

The following tables, compiled from the United States census of 1860, exhibit the population, area, and staple products of Virginia at that date. In addition to these staples there were produced upwards of 12,000 bales of ginned cotton of 400 pounds each. In this culture Essex county stands first, producing 4,600 bales, and Southampton second, producing 2,563 bales.

Population of the tide-water region in Virginia, according to the United States
census of 1860.

Chesterfield.

106,999

154, 973

3,263, 370

399, 767

133, 350

366, 130

101, 138

1,399, 568

8, 607

68, 073

Fairfax.

2,439, 173

Gloucester.

84, 690

269, 403

115, 916

3,866, 075

371, 443

Greenville

49, 318

2, 001, 234

263, 225

155, 409

66,540

100, 436

29, 100

14, 391

163, 166

Isle of Wight

James City

1,531,290

King George.

1, 011, 340

King and Queen.

70, 753

42, 743

1,933, 469

203, 691

18,573

135, 052

King William.

2, 030

2,305

21, 163

2,454, 708

1, 165

30, 024

Lancaster.

107,357

2,568, 250

Prince William.

Princess Anne

97, 353

76, 746

2,373, 100

318, 445

54, 069

188, 270

96, 489

3,529

53, 799

1,082, 056

Warwick.

126, 088

1, 601, 905

Westmoreland..

359, 821

406, 250

405, 979

York.

76, 100

55, 415

592, 040

1,931, 680

43,607

28,030

219, 364

130, 560

125, 890

39, 697

1, 167, 320

342, 315

124, 627

19, 091

11, 425

38, 334

38,875

19,645

7,315

Total.

. 157, 421

31, 265

15, 245

71, 800

2,660

43, 643

3,497

2,698, 873

40, 442

888

3, 009, 347 77, 906, 005

34, 849

9,379, 215

3, 137, 221

11, 536, 636

2, 138, 853 16,650, 831

273, 070

1, 620, 980 63, 043 2,872, 530

THE PIEDMONT REGION.

The Piedmont region of Virginia extends from the head of tide to the Blue Ridge, and derives its name from its situation at the "foot of the mountain." Its lower section is generally undulating, while the upper section is hilly, and through the greater part of its length has a range of mountains east of the Blue Ridge, and lying parallel with it, at an average distance of about fifteen miles, which are known under various names, as the Catoctin, in Loudon; the Bull Run mountain, in Fauquier; the Southwest and the Green mountains, in Albemarle; and the Buffalo Ridge, in Amherst.

The Blue Ridge, in Loudon county, rises to an elevation of from 300 to 700 feet above its base, or from 1,000 to 1,400 feet above tide-water. Further south it is in some places higher; and at one of the Peaks of Otter, in Bedford county, the altitude is estimated at 4,200 feet above the plain, and 5,307 feet above the ocean.

The Catoctin mountain, in Loudon county, ranges from 350 to 730 feet elevation above the level of tide-water.

The primordial formation of rocks begins near the head of tide. On the Potomac gneiss is found in large masses, extending some miles below the falls. At Occoquan, near the head of tide, both gneiss and granite are abundant, and on the James river, a few miles above Richmond, a beautiful white granite is found. The drift formation covers most of the gneiss except on the margin of streams, where it has been removed. As we advance some distance above tide-water the rocks come to the surface; and from their disintegration the soil has been formed, which depends for its fertility, in a great measure, on the character of the strata from which it has been produced. The disintegration of the rocks which are scattered in fragments over the surface is still going on, by the instrumentality of air and moisture, changes of temperature, and the action of acids generated by vegetation.

It is remarked by Liebig that "thousands of years have been necessary to convert stones and rocks into the soil of arable land, and thousands of years more will be required for their complete reduction; that is, for the complete exhaustion of their alkalies."

Professor Rodgers, in one of his reports to the legislature of Virginia, says that any line drawn across the State at right angles to the head of tide-water would present the same general appearance; there would be variations, as a member of the series in one line might thin out, or be wanting on another line, yet the same general features would prevail.

In the region extending from the Blue Ridge to the head of tide there is a great variety of rocks, among which are granite, trap, gneiss, mica-slate, hornblende-slate, clay-slate, sandstone, limestone, and epidote. "In this region there are some belts of fine soil, formed from rocks composed largely of feldspar and hornblende. There are other sections in which the soils are composed of the ruins of gneiss and granite. These soils are sandy and less valuable. Again, there are localities in which the soil has originated from rocks composed chiefly of quartz, with small quantities of mica or feldspar, or both. Such regions are hopelessly deficient in some most important elements of mineral fertility."

There is a belt of red land extending from the Potomac, through a part of each of the counties of Loudon, Fairfax, Prince William, Fauquier, Culpeper, and Orange, which, with judicious cultivation, may be made very productive. It is known as the red sandstone formation.

Professor W. B. Rogers, in his report to the legislature of Virginia in 1840, describes it under the head of the secondary formation in the northern district. He says:

* Professor J. L. Campbell. Southern Planter, Vol. XX, No. 7.

"The general form of this area is that of a prolonged triangle, extending in a direction from S.SW. to N.NE., having its apex at the southern extremity, and gradually expanding until it reaches the Potomac. Measured from a point on the Potomac between the mouths of Goose creek and Broad run. its length is about 80 miles. Its greatest breadth, as measured near the Potomac, and parallel to the road leading from Leesburg to Dranesville, is about 15 miles. This, in round numbers, gives 600 square miles for the area of this region."

The rocks, in a transverse line, beginning a little east of Dranesville, and extending to the Catoctin mountain, near Leesburg, are described in the following order, viz: red sandstone, red shale, greenstone, trap, reddish slate, and conglomerate composed of limestone pebbles.

The conglomerate marble, or breccia, is found in abundance at the eastern base of the Catoctin, from Leesburg to the Point of Rocks, and extends into Maryland. Of this variegated marble were formed the beautiful columns in the old Representatives' chamber of the Capitol at Washington. The soil on which this rock is found is very productive and valuable.

A large bed of compact red oxide of iron lies at the eastern base of the Catoctin mountain, near the Potomac river. A furnace was formerly in blast near the Point of Rocks for the reduction of this ore, and considerable quantities of it have been transported to a distance to supply other furnaces.* Copper ore is also found in the eastern part of Loudon, near the Potomac, and a few years ago was mined with success.

In the valley of Loudon, between the Catoctin mountain and the Blue Ridge, the soil is formed from gneiss, clay-slate, hornblende, greenstone, and quartz. The happy combination of these materials produces a most excellent and durable soil, containing, in fair proportions, alumina, silex, potash, lime, and other fertilizing minerals. Clover and plaster have been very successfully employed in improving its natural fertility, and when it is partially exhausted by excessive tillage, rest alone will restore it. Few counties are so well watered as this. Springs of soft water gush out in every direction, and almost every field is supplied with running water.

The census returns show the productiveness of the Piedmont region, and especially of those counties which lie immediately at the foot of the Blue Ridge; but there is no doubt that it might be made to yield far heavier crops by more thorough farming and the use of fertilizers.

In the northern portion of this region wheat, Indian corn, and hay are the staple productions. Some rye and oats are produced, but very little tobacco. Sheep husbandry is pursued to some extent; many horses are bred; and the grazing of cattle is a most important and productive branch of business. In the middle and southern part of the Piedmont region tobacco is a staple product, together with Indian corn, wheat, and oats.

The culture of tobacco is chiefly pursued in those counties where slaves are most numerous; and, being accompanied by the usual concomitants of slave labor, unskilfulness and negligence, it has exhausted the soil in many localities. It may, however, be readily renovated by judicious management.

In order to compare the results of grain-growing and tobacco-planting, take Loudon county, which produces more wheat and corn than any other county in the State, and Halifax, which stands first in the production of tobacco.

The area of Loudon is 296,142 acres, and the cash value of the land by the census of 1860 was $10,508,211, being $35 82 per acre. The area of Halifax is 474,465 acres, and the cash value of the land was at the same time $6,922,479, being $14 59 per acre. The white population of Loudon was, by the same census, 15,021; free colored, 1,252; and slaves, 5,501. The white population of Halifax was 11,060; free colored, 563; and slaves, 14,897.

The most populous and productive part of Loudon county lies between the Blue Ridge and the Catoctin mountain, extending from the Potomac about twenty miles south. It was settled originally by Pennsylvanians, many of

* Memoir of Loudon County, by Yardley Taylor.