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sea-ports. A great portion of Loudon county has been purchased by farmers from Pensylvania or New Jersey.

The Loudon farmer often sells his lands at twenty-five or thirty-five dollars per acre, and purchases others equally good in Prince William, Stafford, or Franquier counties, where they are worked by negroes, for one third less than the former.

The lands at some distance from the Potomac and Rappahanoc rivers, produce oak, gum, and other forest trees, which thrive best in a clayey soil. Where sands prevail, pine and red cedar grow. The latter is employed for posts or wattled fencing. The soil which had been exhausted by tobacco is now covered with black cattle, which are fed on red clover, or Indian corn. The soil is generally rich, but the country is unhealthy. The land-holders, in the sickly season, fly to the hilly regions, leaving their houses and plantations to overseers and slaves.

The waters abound with a variety of fish and excellent oysters.

The lands of Fairfax County, within a few miles from Alexandria, sell from ten to twenty dollars per acre, and some highlyimproved spots at thirty dollars. They are

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cultivated in the old Virginia fashion. After showers of rain, followed by a warm sun, vegetation is uncommonly rapid. Farmers say, that Indian corn has been found to shoot up seven inches in twenty-four hours, and the pumpkin-stem eighteen; that they can hear the corn grow, which, in one sense, may be true, as the envelopement of the grain bursts with a crackling noise.

ANNALOSTAN ISLAND.

Annalostan Island, the seat of General Mason, is situated in the river Potomac, opposite Georgetown, and contains nearly seventy acres. A flat boat, of a rude construction, awkwardly impelled by an oar, placed near each extremity, affords a safe conveyance between the island and the main land, a distance of about two hundred yards. The profits of the ferry are rented by General Mason for the sum of seven hundred dollars a year. Before the erection of the Potomac bridge, it yielded more than double this

amount. On one side, the island is now connected with the main land by an artificial mound, or causeway, which was raised at the expense of the government, for the purpose of stopping the current on this side of the island, and thereby increasing the depth of the water in the Georgetown Channel. This current, in 1784, was considerably deepened by the passage of an immense quantity of ice, that forced itself down after a sudden thaw, and carried with it large masses of the muddy bottom. The Georgetown Channel has been but little deepened by the erection of this causeway. Mr. Custis proposed to open a passage for vessels by means of floodgates: he observes, that there were formerly from fifteen to twenty-six feet of water in this channel. Near the close of the year 1810, it was proposed to confine the current by mechanical means, and to remove the soft bottom by increasing the velocity of the water. For this purpose, the corporation of Georgetown entered into a contract with the proprietor of this plan, engaging to pay the sum of eight thousand dollars for its execution, with the guarantee of its duration for the space of two years. If, at the expiration

of this time, there remained fifteen feet depth of water from the Eastern branch to Georgetown, they were to receive an additional sum of two thousand dollars; otherwise, to expend from their own funds, for other necessary labours, a sum not exceeding three thousand dollars.

Annalostan Island is evidently of modern formation. In searching for water, a mass of trees was discovered at the depth of fifteen feet. General Mason instructed a workman (Bryan Duffy) to cut through them. After having removed several of large dimensions, he threw aside his axe, swearing by J-s "that he now met huge ones with their tops upwards." In other places, water was found at the depth of twenty-five or thirty feet. The highest eminence, on which the house stands, is fifty feet above the level of the river. The common tide rises to the height of three feet. I can never forget how delighted I was with my first visit to this island. The amiable ladies whom I had the pleasure to accompany, left their carriage at Georgetown, and we walked to the mansionhouse under a delicious shade. The blossoms of the cherry, apple, and peach trees, of the

hawthorn and aromatic shrubs, filled the air with their fragrance. We found Mrs. M. at home, in the midst of her family, composed of nine children. Twin boys, of a healthy mien, and so like each other as scarcely to be distinguished, were tumbling on the carpet of the saloon, full of joy and merriment. Mrs. M. has so youthful an appearance, that a stranger might readily suppose her to be the sister of her daughter rather than her mother.

The house, of a simple and neat form, is situated near that side of the island which commands a view of the Potomac, the President's House, Capitol, and other buildings. The garden, the sides of which are washed by the waters of the river, is ornamented with a variety of trees and shrubs, and, in the midst, there is a lawn covered with a beautiful verdure.

In July, 1811, Mrs. M. gave a rural dance to the friends and acquaintance of her son, at the eve of his departure for France. Though the weather had been excessively warm during the day, in the evening there was a delicious breeze. The young people danced on the lawn, Tea, coffee, cakes, fresh and pre

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