The day book. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1857-1867, 1865-10-16
OUR BACK COUNTRY.

apeake Canal alone opens up BACK COUNTRY,
equal in extent to Massachusetts, Vermont
and New Hampshire combined. This asser-
ton may be doubted prina .facie, but let the
sceptic take the trouble to examine the map,
as we have, and he will find it as we assert
Through this Improvement, we are brought in
direct steam communication with the Whole of
Eastern North Carolina; and twenty of the
most prolific counties in the Union are thus
made portion of the BACK COUNTRY of Nor
folk. These counties are Currituck, Camden,
Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan, Gates, Hert-
ford, BERTHE, Northampton, Halifax, Martin,
Washington Tyrrel, Hyde, Beaufort, Craven,
Carteret, Jones, Edgecombe and Pitt While
Currituck, Core. Croatan, and Albemarle
Sounds are converted into highways for the
commerce of Norfolk, and connect us with
the following rivers, to which we have append
ed the number of miles they are navigable
from their mouths, viz: North Landing River
twenty-five miles, North West River twenty
miles, Little Blackwater fifteen, North River
twenty-five, Pasquotank fifty, Little River
twenty-five, Perquimaus thirty, Scuppernong
fifty, Chowan sixty, Meherrin twenty, Black
water forty,N Nottoway twenty Roanoke one
hundred and forty-fve, Cashie fifty Alligator
ninety, Neuse one hundred, Pamplico one
hundred, Tar ninety, Trent eighty, and the
Pungo sixty. Showing over one thousand
miles Of river navigation to which can
be added nearly as much more for the
Sounds. The fact is that there are about
eighteen hundred miles of inland steam nayi-
CATION opened to our merchants by this one
Improvement. These rivers and sounds affordi
net work of steam communication with, and
irrigate one of the most fertile and productive
sections in the known world, which of itself
forms one of the richest and most inviting
BACK COUNTRIES that any city in the coun-
try can boast of 9si sf tai
In 1860, before the canal was opcuea aud
when the contractors and even the Canal
Company, We're doing all they could to keep
the trade cut of the'sway.sof their operations.
and when there were no steamers on the
sounds or rivers, and instead of an effort to
push the trade, an effort to keep it back, the
the following articles were brought through
the canal, to this city, in the three months
ending 31st Dec Of that year: bales of cot
ton, 6,957; bushels Of corn, 100000; barrels
of naval stores, 3,744 bushels of peas, 1866
bushels of wheat, 10, 1916; feet Of timber,
690,455; shingles, 7,280,57 slaves, 638 781
together with a thousand other articles of
which we have no record. Since that time
the canal has been completed and of course
the effect will be TO stimulate production and
as the extent of country developed is SO i'm
nense, there is, probably, no estimating the
vast amount of produce that will ultimately
pour itself, like golden stream, into the
warehouses OF our merchants; iffthey mM
only make the necessary effort to secure it.
But, while this canal can be made equal to a
gold mine to this city, it will be well to bear
IN mind that 1t will hot prove thus Of itself.
Other eyes are turned III the direction of these
golden harvcsts; other cities have manifested
a desire to share this trade, and unless our
merchants are up and ADDING the enterprise
of other places will step forward and grasp
the tempting prize
OF the latent agricultural capacities of the
whole country referred to, and drained by the
rivers we have mentioned, it may truly be
said that there is scarcely in the world, a
similar extent of territory, which embraces SO
much that is intrinsically valuable and strik-
ingly advantageous. This territory embraces
nearly ten millions of acres of land. the
greater portion of which is the most fertile in
the union: and when its agricultural capaci-
ties are fully developed, as they will'be unde
the stimulating influence of the Albermarle and
Chesapeake Canal, it will prove a region of pro-
ductiveness without parallel on this CONT
nent; and source of immense wealth to our
merchants, if they will only exert themselves
in time to secure it, Hundreds of acres in
single body have for decade after decade pro-
duced from fifty to one hundred bushels of
corn per acre and are almost equally produce
tive in wheat and other cereals Cotton also
is one of the prominent staples of this section
We have no statistics to refer to which can
give lis the quantity produced, but by refer
ence to the report of the Board of Trade of
this city, for the year 1860, we find that one
OF these counties produced six thousand bales,