Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1871-11-01
Letter from DauYillc. Va.

Cores puHuGncc Ol Tue hlcAall'lrla NaZcllc.
DlyvIILE, Va, Oct 3o-For some days
past there has been general tluttrrlng in, and
general huttering out, of country dumselS
All this CONJUNCTION was caused by the ''BOrdcr
Agricultural Fair being in progress at this
place. The fair Tor as il is pronounced in the
dialect of this section. The Far) is great in
sttution: it takes lace annually. and serves to
break, most rtfcctualiy, the unnotony Of Dan
vile life The fair ground is the Mecca OF
many young firginials aud North CarolinanS
of 10th S.xcs Here they are permitted to
meet and exchange greetings; and many are
the matches that are made up on the fair
ground. The ground is situated south Of the
town. on the bank of the Dan river; it is well
laid off. finely >ituatcl and presents il neat APP
pearance The prominent features Of the fair
this season We're, the presentation of tlag to
the Danville Grays by the ladies of Danvlllc,
horse racing. tournament, general fun and no
Gus! to flirting and cnurl!ng. Some Cherokee
Indians were expected but did not arrive. The
militia presented fine appearance, and the
flag given hy the fair ladies wls Il most bcautl-
fully gotten up affair. The address was deliver
cl bv Cot. lico. CahcIl. The number Of
horses WAS smaller than that Of last year. The
best time made WAS two. tDrtynine
The knights at the tournament rode long
and well, and received the smiles Of many Of
our beauties. who were pcrchcd gracefully up
on the tops I'll their pa carriages. Nnbndy
sid off and everything went on well. The fair
this Year was not So good rs the one last
year. The average Of fancy and needle work WAS
poor Several kinds Of sewing machines Were
exhibited and displayed by >killiul operators,
but the Wheeler 4 Wilson seemed 10 be the
general ttvuritr We noticed some fine iurni.
turc. also some fine saddles, etc. Some oHGhs.
tobacco presses. fruit trees. amt Il stump cX
tractor, were exhibited. Some specimens Of
preserves wines. etc. presented. We're i!n.
looking and Were most crriItablc to the >klIltul
lanlS that put them UP. There were over IL
hundred specimens of leaf tobacco. This is our
great FORTE aud in this particular our planters
tried 10 out vic each other in excellence. The
tobacco WIS of splendid quality finely curc.l he
ins the exact color nf the blonde lrc>>cS of
some of our girls Indeed the planters sccncI
to ioulc and r;lrr>s the bright leaves with ~
much arlor and vcncratinn Is :. lover would
the long locks Of hs golden haired mistress
This is il pleasant fancy not to say a poctical
ore, but it is soon broken by the hu>ky voice
of rough lunkng pancrat your elbow. cjacu,
larin@, this here tobacco will make fine kvrrS
and wrappers.
The poultry department WIS slim. and had
but few REPRESENTATIVES Of the icathrrcd tribe.
We noticed Il game rooster or two. some ban
taln< and Il pair Of tnrIprn looking miu>cpvy
ducks "unly this and nothing mnrc' in all
about one dozen aud halt: There We're some
hlowlcd Cattle present. The horses Were few
and unmlorlant \ lew good hogs. >pllIc OF the
long nose or peach orchard stock. put III III
appearance.
like uncle Horace Greeley. rs to what We
know about farming" but We venture to say
that in point of agriculture. our Fairfax, Lou
duuu ana Alexandria farmers greatly >jrpa>S
these ''Bortlcr Knights of the Plough, omit
ting rs Il matter Of course, the great product
of this portion ut the State, tobacco: of the cul
turc Of which plant our Northern Virginia
farmers know absolutely nothing. 1t ap-
pears that our pitiSylvania farmers and
planters do not plough deep enough. -
Time and again have We watched the sturdy
farmers Of Loudoun, with their powerful
horses hitched to Il plough that a man
could hardly swln@, tearing up the ground on
the mountain side. And we have noticed
plpughing in this county, and in our humble
judgment the claws Of an old turkey gobier
drawn over the ground by his tail would pro
ducC a. much effect. Another great draw back
to Agriculture III our State, and more cspccl'
ally in this portion OF it, Is the la'ncntahlc fact
that our young men Ito not like hard work
more than other people do. They all want
to be shop keepers. To measure tape and chat
with the ladies over the counter, Scems to bc
high ambition. Alas! that it should
be 50. We all remember what Washington
said in regard to Agriculture, that it Was the
most hcaIthtul. most useful, and most noble
employment of man. but our young gentlemen
seem to think differently. and decline unncccs
SariIy to harden their hands by CONTRACTION with
the plough handles. The array Of glrIlsh beauty
I'VE will not say female or feminine beauty, for
the use of the word in this sense. is in dl-
rect violation to the mandates of certain wo-
man rights lcaIcr<.) was good! We have
seen better and perhaps worse. The ladies'
managed to enjoy themselves, and things went
on we'll How many matches We're made or how
many hearts broken. We have not been informed.
Yours, FRITZ.