The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-03-31
viSlt to-a Vst6ran TurAfo --0ome-
thing about his Horses-A rfHdicasioa Of land
--Hs health, G:-A Wjrd aboa9 Frogs.
CORRESPONDENTS or rHE RlcHnosp DAILY DnpArcH.]


lcoRREsPoSpENcE Or TIE RIcHMosp DAILY DgspArcH.
i ASHLAND, March %, 1859.
Il Mn. EDfron: I had the pleasure, day or tw,
since, 10 company with several gentlemen, to visi
Major boswell, at bis beautiful residence, Bull
field, In Hanover. This veteran turtle succeeds
to the position OF the late VIZ. II. JOHNSON. Hc II
undoubtedly now the Napoleon ofthe TurI Here,
ceived as In his whoe-souled and hospitabIe style
We felt a. once perfectly at ease, and assured that
We could confer no greater pleasure on our hosI
than to spend week with him. "That D egotsmy .
say you; but you neither know the Major nor US
At all events, such was the genial nature Of his
entertainment, that we are certain we could In no
way better promote our pleasure than by
thus prOonging our scjourn The Majors resi-
dence has an air Of comfort and repose az we'll 81
beauty. From graceful hill which it crowns. il
overlooks the widespread aud fertile plain below
watersd by Little river. In this plain, is his pri.
vate race course, where are trained those superb
horses who have been the victo.s ia 90 MANY ex.
citing contests. This track Is one of the finest In
the United States. It is indeed A doubIe trsck
consisting of two broad roads-one Just inside the
| other-one little over a mile, the other about a
| mile 10 extent. For evenness, and the perfect
order in which this beautiful track is kept it GER.
| tainly has no superior.
| We arrived just too late to see the afternoon
training; but we had an opportunity of seeing the
remnant Of the Majors stable, q good part of
| which is now at the South, and am glad to see
has Just retrieved Its fame, which was some what
dimmed through the faithIessn sness of the trainer
at Charleston. We saw Slasher, that noble horse.
| who has enrolled his name among the first of the
day for speed and bottom. Lucy HaraB was the
object of general praise for the beauty and SYM
metry of her figure, and her bright aud gay expres-
| sion. She has taken purse in q smart contest,
aud looks as though she is destined to take many
| more. Ercieqaer, one OF the most beautiful
horses of his day, by Revenue, QUO Of the famed
Nina seemed the very pride of the turf. more
active and game looking animal have never seen
He is destined to a brilliant fame among the ce-
tebrities of horse kiad Other beautiful thorough
breds we're exhibited to the guests, including some
promising colts; but not the least interesting was
| the favorite Nina, now retired from the turf-of
| which she was once queen to become the mother
| of family of distinguished descendants. She is
now in the most promising condition, and will
| soon add to her line another inheritor of her
| blood, if not her fame
| OF course a knowing one will perceive, from
this horse-talk of mine, that am ignorant on the
| subject. My reading about the horse has been
limited to Jobs description of the war horse, aud
| Shakspeare's portrait of Adonis hunter. 1t Is
true there are no better authorities: but alto-
gether lack the practical study of this noble COM
panion of man, and rather better animal than
be, (don't you think? in the stable and the field.
A little study at Bulltield-and there could be no
| more agreeable school-with such authorities,
| would enable one to understand and appreciate
| him perfectly There, everything relating to the
borse is in applepie order and condecopre.haden
| style! The equine cottages, on each side of a
spacious lane, are roomy and dry, and every horse
| is groomed 10 the most careful manner. The
good effects of education and training were ap-
| parent in their behavior, which admirably
| genteel and well-bred. Their preparation for re.
firing to repose for the night, excited the special
| wonder of more than one of us; and the influence
| Of music upon the thorough breds, and the man
| ner in which they yielded obedience to their
| grooms, as they whistlea plaintve stave two,
| was most remarkable. This scene prompted a
| philosophising spectator to exclaim, "there are
moro thugs in Heaven aud Earth than are
dreamt of in our philosophy" This is fact,
| which ninety nine out of hundred, who 60 to
Bullfied will find out
We departed from the Majors near dark, in spite
of his earnest entreaties to spend the night, and
after a rapid and deligh tful ride on hand car
were set down at Ashland.
| But of Ashlaud-a word. A playful epistIe ot
m inc some time since, describing it after the
great rain which poured out of the wide open win.
dows of III aven, has ugSested some extravagani
ideas of the place. True, it was deluged, sud 90
was almost every other place-not excepting
Petersburg, Manchester and Chester. Bu. l will
venture to say that none were sooner relieved
from inuudation. Before noon of the day of thai
| memorable food, a solitary wild goose, who wan,
ders over the lawn and cries in vain for his com.
pauions, could hardly fnd water enough for foot
bathl Let other towns boast as they may,-I can
say that Ashland can dive deeper aud come up
drier than any other place in Virginia
| Ashland is indeed somewhat fat. You will
nd fiat places even on top the Aleghanies. 1t ID
the highest place between Fredericksburg and
| Richmond, and looks down on those humber
places, from it's exaltatioa. The grounds, though
level, are every where enough incliued for drain.
| age, with the help of bitches or sewers, such az
| the most undulating city is compelled to have
The soil is porous aud absorbs water rapidly. II
| is therefore a dry place.
| Ashland is one OF the healthiest of places. The
| air is pure and the water pure and soft Doctor.
| have little to do. They turn their attention to
| sport, to relieve the tednm of time uuoccupied
| A fox hunt comes in occasionally, and now and
then nocturnal ramble after coon or possum ia
| no. esteemed beneath professional dignity
| The place in the green tree few years
snce and the stumps which cover large portion
| of the open land show how very recently the
forest has fallen before the axe. The scene alrea.
dy presented, is an earnest of the improvement
yet to come aud which will make the tom one of
the prettiest in the State while it will af
ford most beneficial and agreeable plce OF res
| treat for citizens of Richmond. The backgrounds
are looking very fresh and green, and I'd flowers
are beginning to bloom. In a few weeks he trees
D will put on their summer dress, and hea the
| scene will be lovely.
should not forget to mention that Asland is
8 fine place for children. They grow raply and
enjoy the very best health.
| Indeed. they are indigenous to the soil al bloom
spontaneously 1t would be remarkable &C.
b counts being true,) should connubia joyAere be-
deprived of "aGgel in the house,. aud irry lit.
tie voices The land is not as rich as thaluyial
Q bottoms of the Mississippi; but these essings
a amply compensate those who dwell Their tn-and
0 thus does Providence benefcently distnute it's
tavors
The "slsshes'-and do not include ts town
in this phrase; for the hand of cvizatiosni art
= has retired them much beyond its liAs-the
''Slashes," say, are melodous with the bices of
the spring crop Of frogs. AS multitudilns, dis
8 cordant and prevalent over ail other soIls and
yoicss combined, as the clamours of Z frogs
of the Siashes, beg leave to say that ley are
. faint and feeble compared with The ddening,
4 stunning aud bewilderiDg uproar of the Ramps
: and marshes of the Carolinas. Let snyne 20
| doxcn there and he auditor of the frog ar
day and he will return to the Siashes with Blight,
+ and think be enjoys sweet calm, disturbt only
BY gentle voices
am not familiar with the natural ktory
of the frog; but it seems to me remarkabMthat
ont of the myriads of frogs now singing the
ponds there are none larger than June 8s.-
: | They are moreover perfect frogs; and as tH
. not preceded by tadpoles, the question ara are
I they different race from those whose d u aps
pearance is in the character of tadpole. eain
: are they children OF the mammoth kndh as
"bloody nouns;' or "blood an ouHs?" If tn are
how is it that their parents have not yet bar.
ed2 Perhaps they so large and embed&
, deep In the mud that they get up with di4nlty
and require warmer weather to wake tho 1t
/ | would be really relief from the treble Itbs of
the froglings to hear the regular jug of runfrom
some "basso profundo" of the ponds. By ii way
. how came his song to be styled the '.jug ofsm ?'
1t is q slander, and was probably sugged by
some cynical topper as sarcasm npon teetalers;
for the frog is a teetotaier. Lie lives In yer
1t lie the chosen elenlen in which he luxuri and
. conducts oil the economy of his existens and
the idea that he loathes it and cries for ru.s an
umitigated Islander on never failing az uns
changing teetotalsrl So much for frogstbose
, hind legs, by the way, fried, are the greAst OF
deicacies-much better than chicken ursf the
, Yankee name of "Spring chicken," or an eher.
If you don't believe me, ask Zstele. F1hers
more how is ii that tho frog generally aGs as
, though he had frog in his throat? Shal in-
vite you to breakfast of frog legs in July
RI Excuse this space devoted to frogs But I4rge
You not to treat contemporary an animal bich
} makes such noise In the world and wh4 by
4Esop has bsen elevated to classic notoriet&
yILL8R.
The THREE MILE RACE At MoBiLE.-The nj i'm.
portant race of the wek at MobiIe-the thr41nile
! raee-eame oil on the 4th inst, over the sno-
! lia course. 1t was won by Hepnie Fsrrow 1.-TWO
atraight mile heata, beating Nicholas and Akul