Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1866-11-19
What Virginia Offers to the Emigrant.
;fFrom the Norfolk Old Dominion, I

The emigrant coming to this country in
search Of home, is attracted by the natural
resources Of some special locality. The next,
and not less important consideration is mar
ket for his produce. 1t follows then that
wherever the natural resources are the best,
and markets near at hand the inducements to
enigrants are necessarily the greatest. Old
Virginia has surface of 81, 1852 square miles
nearly forty millions Of acres of laLd-three
millions more than England and Wales; is
larger than twelve kingdoms the size Of Sax
ony; and is as densely populated as France
would contain upwards Of ten millions Of souls,
while she has in reality only about million and
a half Notwithstanding the fact that she is
one of the Oldest States in the Union, she is
today the best home in America for the in
dustrial masses Of the world. Her mineral
wealth is without comparison. 1t includes
gold, copper, lead, plumbago, saltpetre, iron,
coal, petroleum, salt, gypsum, porcelain clay,
granite, slate stone, and the finest qualities Of
clay, etc. OF copper, lead, iron, coal, petro
leum and salt she possesses vast fields These
mines of wealth invite the industry and enter
prise Of the Old as we'll as of the New World,
more particularly because Of their contiguous
ness to both railroad and water transportation,
and nearness to the Atlantic markets, and be-
cause of the immense water power interspersed
conveniently to drive the million wheels of me-
chanica industry. .f.ssa;.,...r..,, 5a.,g
The nearness to great markets for the bulky
productions Of the soil is another advantage
offered, which cannot be found in the Western
States Corn raised in many parts OF Illinois
will not bear transportation to the great mar
kets, and is burned for fuel. All the heavier
products of the soil are useless for the want: OF
markets. Hay, oats, potatoes, and numerous
other products, easily and cheaply raised, are
entirely useless in the far West, beyond the
immediate wants Of the producer Nhen corn
is worth ten cents per bushel in Southern lii
one dollar in Virginia, from the simple taco Of
its nearness to market. This principle applies
to all farm products, with the same compara-
live results. Baltimore, Philadelphia, New
York, and all the cities on the Atlantic coast
are m market towns m for the farm products of Vir
ginia, with the cheapest kind of transportation
always at hand. From this difference alone
the nearness to market and the cost Of transpor-
tation as compared with the Mississippi val
ey,-we argue that one acre of land in. Vir-
sinia is worth five anywhere on the upper Mis-
sssippi; hence the inducements offered by
Virginia to emigrants in minerals and nearness
10 market are vastly superior to any that can
be offered by the West.
The soil of Virginia, taking everything into
consideration, will compare faVorably with any
on the continent.
The Eastern portion, bordering on the Ches-
apeake, is perhaps as kind as any in the world,
and is not only productive, but susceptible of
almost infinite Improvement Sand, mixed
with decomposed vegetable matter, and in a
state of nature very rich-with strong clay
subsoil-composes the soil Of the Uplands Of
Eastern Virginia. There are portions, how
ever, in which loam is intermixed. But there
are thousands of acres of rich, alluvial soil,
awaiting the energy and enterprise Of tho cmi-
grant, to bring it into high state ofcultivation
A great deal has been said, by different
Srters about the worn out lands of Virginia.
It is true, very many of our cultivated lands
have been sadly robbed of their productive quail
tiles; but it should be remembered that, where
there are ten acres of this worn-out soil, there
areone hundred that are rich and productive;
and even the worn out lands can easily be
made as productive as any in the world. Like
all farming lands, they need feeding; and when
veil fed, will produce better average crops
than any other section in the United States.
We base this assertion upon the. fact, that
our soils are naturallysrich and productive, aud
That our geographical position is such that
crops never suffer from5the extreme heat and
brought Of the South, nor the late and early
fCSts Of the North. w s-,sal
Then, again, our climate is admitted to be
me healthiest in the United States, if not an
!ae world. There are abundant comparative
saitlstlcs extant, which go5to prove, the truth
" Tbs argument. So, let the emigrant look
stthls H subject in whateverligtt he may, with
.1 %e iacts before him, he must como to the, con,
euslon that .sthe natural resources, mineral
wealth, productiveness, Kindness Of soil, water
! ReWer, abundance and cbeapnesst of fuel, In
Ss,.rginla, are superior to those of any ether
elate IN the Union. III - i: &