Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1865-07-11
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THE VALLEY OF VIRGINIA

ss Z. n THE VALLEY OEa FlKdi2slA
~. Inv on VIRGINIA. June a30.-I grass
.,osa -ss,l] an]v wheat. and the want of fences an
mors landscape, what very
ena country thisyWould be. The besom b! OF
1lr Mar has swept over all. this beautiful region,
and the South seems at last Io have secured
That ssgrace beyond the reach !, OF art.-the
nresence Of ruins, hitherto "a feature e3 Almost
Exclusively Of Europe. and - Asia me :, eYi,
dance noW.is to have "a rum 20 the Ialhliy '.-
and what an aristocratie society we are q,
Here's the y irginias alley as, It now looks
old hospitable houses emboWeIeal In t trees, sur,
ponnded BY fields entirely, without ienolng
Where wheat used TO clodthe the meSuoMs' oI
.aat aa9h;no mo Int grass, grass, grass. The Whole
naa of nature IS clothed with dense, luzurlant
iaoe whore the cattle and horses roam at their
g,;M III. There are no laws for keeping up stock,
and bannv IS the husbandman who has hume
roms rrl COWS. They 60 out IN the morning ana
rotnrn ,o afeyening with udders dlstended from
his neighbor' feldssz5 a>g ls5 aa a.
4The great problem Of the moment is the
sfaf1sof the irrepressible negro, Forced, by
vacancy of the stomach to do something, they
nroceed to do as little as possible, and to secure
as a1Y much il return as they can. They demand
from sl5 to $25 a. month and board, and per
farm farm one fourth of the. duty which they un-
dertake. Further still, the hirer is plainly
notified in. many ways, that even this much
.ssehelp, 9 is.a favor 3.s s.
There IS in this region, and believe through
outtVirpinia Ian honest determination to accept
thingsas they are, and conform to the laws as
GOOD Citizens Of the Unitea2States- 1T met IN IN
q Similar spirit, the people OF the South will
not only return to their allegiance, onpaper,
hit viii come to, regard the government as
theirG tand5 yield 1t the hearty sup
mort which the interests OF the country demand. .
I note that the; tenant system is coming into
vogue This is absolutely necessary at this
moment from the scarcity OF negroes. The me
lower valley has SO long been the i1' theatre at e OF
war. and so often in military possession OF the
Federal forces, that the slave population mas
nearly Disappeared. They. ran of, early In the
struggle, and those persons who were: regarded
as the most unfortunate from the extent OF
their. losses are; now considered the lucklest.
They had not theeburdenso ofsrsupportlng an
idle population Of negroes, which others did,
looking to the fu 4ure to repay them. sAll arc
now alike, and in spite of the desolate appear
ance of the country, believe it is the general
conviction that the absence of the servants is
a very great saving to the masters.
The system hereabouts is to rent one, two
or three felds-!ffrom fifty to one hundred acres
each-to some Industrious Worklngman who
has two or three horses, and some stout sons,
under age. The overseer's house is vacant,
and this is occupied BY the tenant, He rents
on shares, one.half, or one third as the case
may be, to the proprietor, With his. horses
he can run a good plough, his boys hoe corn
and help in everything, and the land yields its
increase, to be fairly apportloned between the
owner and the cultivator. This system is
believed to pay better in every point Of view,
than cultiyationby slave labor, with the con-
tingent expenses accompanying It. .Hs -
Another item ilt b is raising stock. The splen
did crop of grass over the whole country,
produced BY three or four years of war, and
want Of cultivation, renders this highly
profitable Cattle raising requires no labor;
a boy can look after q thousand. ~ 80.
What the South wants to; day is an organl-
)zation of the hiring system. This is important,
as, domestic servants are absolutely ecessary,
and this necessity places thepower OF demand
ing exorbitant wages IN the hands OF the ne.
groes a3es efs 80 s. go !" & e s4 - j.
AN ENGLISH CURE FOR DRUNKENNESS. -
There is a prescription in use in England, Tor
the cure Of drunkenness, by which, thousands
are said to have been assisted in recovering
themselves Thereceipt came into notoriety
through the efforts of John 2Mige Hall, ssthe'
commander of the Great Eastern Steamship,
The receipt by which so many drunkards have
been assisted to reform, is as follows: sulpate
OF OF iron, five: grains; 1aagnesia,. ten grains
peppermint. water. eleven drachms; spirit iritt-c OF
nutmeg, one drachm twice a day; This pre- pre-
paratlon acts asa tonic and stimnlant, and SO
partially supplies the place Of the accustomed
liquor, and prevents that absolute physical and