George Washington: Farmer   By: Paul Leland Haworth

BEING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS HOME LIFE AND AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES

By

PAUL LELAND HAWORTH

Author of THE PATH OF GLORY, RECONSTRUCTION AND UNION, AMERICA IN FERMENT, ETC.

WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS, FACSIMILIES OF PRIVATE PAPERS, AND A MAP OF WASHINGTON'S ESTATE DRAWN BY HIMSELF

1915

[Illustration: By permission of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association Mount Vernon Stable Built in 1733 Showing also the Powell Coach]

"The aim of the farmers in this country (if they can be called farmers) is, not to make the most they can from the land, which is or has been cheap, but the most of the labour, which is dear; the consequence of which has been, much ground has been scratched over and none cultivated or improved as it ought to have been: whereas a farmer in England, where land is dear, and labour cheap, finds it his interest to improve and cultivate highly, that he may reap large crops from a small quantity of ground."

Washington to Arthur Young, December 5, 1791.

PREFACE

The story of George Washington's public career has been many times told in books of varying worth, but there is one important aspect of his private life that has never received the attention it deserves. The present book is an attempt to supply this deficiency.

I desire to acknowledge gratefully the assistance I have received from Messrs. Gaillard Hunt and John C. Fitzpatrick of the Library of Congress, Mr. Hubert B. Fuller lately of Washington and now of Cleveland, Colonel Harrison H. Dodge and other officials of the Mount Vernon Association, and from the work of Paul Leicester Ford, Worthington C. Ford and John M. Toner.

Above all, in common with my countrymen, I am indebted to heroic Ann Pamelia Cunningham, to whose devoted labor, despite ill health and manifold discouragements, the preservation of Mount Vernon is due. To her we should be grateful for a shrine that has not its counterpart in the world a holy place that no man can visit without experiencing an uplift of heart and soul that makes him a better American.

PAUL LELAND HAWORTH.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I A MAN IN LOVE WITH THE SOIL. II BUILDING AN ESTATE. III VIRGINIA AGRICULTURE IN WASHINGTON'S DAY. IV WASHINGTON'S PROBLEM. V THE STUDENT OF AGRICULTURE. VI A FARMER'S RECORDS AND OTHER PAPERS. VII AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. VIII CONSERVING THE SOIL. IX THE STOCKMAN. X THE HORTICULTURIST AND LANDSCAPE GARDENER. XI WHITE SERVANTS AND OVERSEERS. XII BLACK SLAVES. XIII THE FARMER'S WIFE. XIV A FARMER'S AMUSEMENTS. XV A CRITICAL VISITOR AT MOUNT VERNON. XVI PROFIT AND LOSS. XVII ODDS AND ENDS. XVIII THE VALE OF SUNSET.

INDEX.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Mount Vernon Stable, Built in 1733, Showing also the Powell Coach.

Mount Vernon, Showing Kitchen to the Left and Covered Way Leading to It.

The Washington Family.

Driveway from the Lodge Gate.

The Porter's Lodge.

One of the Artificial Mounds. The Tree Upon It Was Set Out by Mrs. Grover Cleveland.

The Seed House. Beyond Lay the Vegetable Garden.

The Mount Vernon Kitchen (restored).

Map of Mount Vernon Drawn by Washington and Sent by Him to Arthur Young in 1793.

Gully on a Field of Union Farm, Showing Susceptibility to Erosion.

Looking Across Part of Dogue Run Farm to "Woodlawn," the Home of Nelly Custis Lewis.

First Page of Washington's Digest of Duhamel's Husbandry.

Dogue Run Below the Site of the Mill.

On the Road to the Mill and Pohick Church.

Part of Washington's Plan for His Sixteen Sided Barn.

Bill of Lading for "Royal Gift".

Experimental Plot, with Servants' Quarters (restored) in Background.

West Front of Mansion House, Showing Bowling Green and Part of Serpentine Drive.

First Page of the Diary for 1760.

Part of a Manager's Weekly Report.

The Butler's House and Magnolia Set Out by Washington the Year of His Death.

Spinning House Last Building to the Right.