History and Comprehensive Description of Loudoun County, Virginia Part 12

Of the 100 counties in Virginia, Loudoun ranked third in corn acreage in 1899, reporting 46,248 acres, and, the same year, headed the list in the production of corn with 1,538,860 bushels, an excess of 350,830 bushels over its nearest compet.i.tor, Fauquier county, which had planted in corn 981 more acres.

Loudoun ranked third in wheat area in 1899, Augusta taking the lead in area as well as in production. The next three counties in the order of production were Rockingham, Shenandoah, and _Loudoun_, the product of the last-named being 447,660 bushels. The same order prevailed in 1890.

_Oats, Rye, and Buckwheat._

The area reported under oats in 1900 was 765 acres and the product 13,070 bushels. In 1890, 4,504 acres were planted in this crop and produced 69,380 bushels. No barley was reported in 1899.

The reported area under rye in 1900 was 597 acres and the yield 5,560 bushels. The preceding census reported 1,830 acres and a product of 13,137 bushels.

Loudoun reported but two acres of buckwheat under cultivation in 1899, as against 232 acres in 1879. The yield at the last census was only 12 bushels, and in 1879, 2,338 bushels.

_Hay and Forage Crops._

The total area in clover in 1899 was 1,555 acres and the yield 1,598 tons. Loudoun reported only 2 acres planted in alfalfa or Lucern and a corresponding number of tons. The total area sown in millet and Hungarian gra.s.ses was 70 acres and the product 86 tons. Twelve thousand four hundred and ninety-five acres were planted in other tame and cultivated gra.s.ses in 1899, and 11,364 tons cut therefrom. The princ.i.p.al gra.s.s included under this designation is timothy. In grains cut green for hay Loudoun reported 1,342 acres under cultivation in 1899 and a product of 1,503 tons.

The reported acreage in forage crops in 1899 was 867 and the product 2,473 tons. The princ.i.p.al crops included under this head are corn and sorghum cane cut green for forage. The production of Loudoun exceeded the tonnage of every other county in the State. The report of the tonnage of the cornstalks cut where the crop had been allowed to mature for the grain was 21,614 tons.

_Miscellaneous Crops, Etc._

Four hundred and eighty-four acres planted in miscellaneous crops in 1900 produced 33,312 bushels.

Seven hundred and twenty-nine acres were devoted to miscellaneous vegetables (exclusive of Irish and sweet potatoes, and onions), and the product valued at $41,136.

From the 11 acres devoted to sorghum cane, 7 tons were sold and 789 gallons of syrup produced.

The number of square feet of land under gla.s.s used for agricultural purposes June 1, 1900, was 48,310.

_Orchard Fruits, Etc._

The reported value of the orchard products of 1899 was $51,363.

The following table shows the number of each cla.s.s of orchard trees of bearing age, June 1, 1900, with products by bushels:

----------------------------+-----------+---------------- | Number of | Number of Trees. | trees. | bushels grown.

----------------------------+-----------+---------------- Apple | 83,027 | 195,406 Peach and Nectarine | 22,446 | 3,900 Pear | 4,983 | 2,828 Cherry | 4,179 | 3,930 Plum | 1,589 | 534 Apricot | 117 | 30 Uncla.s.sified orchard fruits | 42 | 20 ----------------------------+-----------+----------------

The farms of Loudoun produced in 1899 2,304 barrels of cider, 388 barrels of vinegar, and 13,530 pounds of dried and evaporated fruits.

_Small Fruits, Etc._

The total value of small fruits was $3,574, the number of acres under cultivation 40, and the product 62,280 quarts.

There were in Loudoun June 1, 1900, 9,742 grapevines of bearing age.

They produced in 1899, 171,921 pounds of grapes, from part of which yield were made 766 gallons of wine.

The number of pecan, Persian or English walnut and other nut trees of bearing age reported was 35.

_Flowers, Ornamental Plants, Etc._

The total area devoted to flowers and ornamental plants for commercial purposes in 1899 was eight acres, the amount of sales therefrom $15,400, and the square feet of gla.s.s surface reported by florists'

establishments 53,300. Of Virginia counties Loudoun ranked fourth in amount of sales and third in area of gla.s.s surface.

The total area devoted to nursery products in 1899 was 10-1/4 acres and the amount of sales therefrom $2,225.

FARM LABOR AND FERTILIZERS.

LABOR.

The scarcity of efficient labor is one of the most serious troubles with which the farmers of this County have to cope. In the northern portion the labor is princ.i.p.ally white, while in the southern part there is a greater proportion of the negro race.

Some farmers employ men by the month, paying from $15 to $18 and board, but at a distance from centers of population this transient labor is hard to secure, and even fancy wages sometimes fail to attract a sufficient supply. In other cases a laborer and his family are allowed to live on the farm, and he is paid by the day for such work as is required of him, the usual wage being 75 cents or $1, with the opportunity of working throughout a considerable part of the year.

The laborer usually pays a small rent for his cottage, but is allowed a piece of ground free for a garden. Where the farms are small the greater part of the work is done by the farmer and his family, and the situation is less difficult; but with the large farms it is often impossible to secure sufficient labor, especially during harvesting.

The total and average expenditures for labor on farms in 1899, including the value of the board furnished, was $292,150, an average of $149.97 per farm and 93 cents per acre.

FERTILIZERS.

Commercial fertilizers are used extensively throughout Loudoun. These consist chiefly of phosphatic fertilizers, although some nitrogenous mixtures are used. Barnyard and green manures are employed to a considerable extent. Lime is applied freely to many of the soils. It is brought into the area in cars, hauled from there to the farms by wagon, and thrown in small piles over the land, the usual application being twenty-five or thirty bushels to the acre. It is almost always put on the land in the fall, and after becoming thoroughly slaked by air and rain, is spread over the land as evenly as possible.

Applications are made every fifth or sixth year. Where farms are situated at considerable distances from the railroads but little lime is used on account of the difficulty of transportation.

The total amount expended for fertilizers in 1900 was $107,490, an average of $55.18 per farm and 34 cents per acre and amounted to 3.8 per cent of the total value of the products. In 1879, only one other county in the State, i. e., Norfolk, spent as much for the enrichment of its soils. The amount expended for fertilizers in that year was $133,349.

EDUCATION AND RELIGION.

_Education_.

Few of the early settlers of Loudoun enjoyed any other advantages of education than a few months' attendance at primary schools as they existed in Virginia previous to the Revolution. But these advantages had been so well improved that nearly all of them were able to read and write a legible hand, and had acquired sufficient knowledge of arithmetic for the transaction of ordinary business. They were, in general, men of strong and penetrating minds and, clearly perceiving the numerous advantages which education confers, they early directed their attention to the establishment of schools. But for many years there were obstacles in addition to those incident to all new settlements, which prevented much being done for the cause of education. The controversies in which they were involved and the war of the Revolution employed nearly all their thoughts and all their energies previous to the State's admission into the Federal Union.

Of the real efficiency of the Colonial schools of Loudoun but little can be learned. Teachers, as a rule, were on a par with their surroundings. If they could read, write and cipher to the "single rule of three" their educational qualifications were deemed sufficient.

They generally canva.s.sed the neighborhood with a subscription paper, forming the schools themselves and furnishing the few necessary books.

The rates were from $1 to $2.50 per scholar by the month, and lower when the schoolmaster "boarded around." But he was most likely to succeed in forming a school who contracted to take his pay in produce.

Few schools were taught by women in Colonial times and female teachers were still rare until a comparatively recent period.

The salaries of regularly appointed tutors varied according to the nature of the schools and the ability of the district to meet the expense.

After the Revolution, with increasing prosperity, came a spirit of general improvement and a new interest in the cause of education.

The present condition of education in Loudoun is hopeful, public instruction being now popular with all cla.s.ses. Intelligence is more generally diffused than at any previous period of the County's history, and happily, the progress of moral education has, on the whole, fully kept pace with intellectual culture. Our boys and girls are reared in a home atmosphere of purity, of active thought, and intelligent cultivation; all their powers are keenly stimulated by local and national prosperity and unrestricted freedom in all honest endeavor.