Now for the Conveniency of Husbandry, I know a certain Gentleman, who employs a great Number of Negroes in clearing Plantations, and planting Corn and Tobacco, as usual, with this Intention, viz. When these Negroes shall have cleared the Land, planted Hedges, and built Barns and Farm-Houses gradually in a few Years, without any Hindrance to their Crops, then he proposed to let these Farms with a Stock of Cattle, &c. ready upon them for a small Rent and Fines, to such poor, honest, skilful Farmers, as he can procure to come and take them, either upon long Lease or for Lives; and remove his Negroes upon fresh Land to prepare more Farms. 'Tis Pity but this Project was frequently practised, for thereby good Estates might be raised in Families; many an unfortunate Family might retrieve their bad Circumstances, and find Employment and great Benefit; and all this carried on with the same Opportunity of Profit from Tobacco, as other Gentlemen Planters have; nay better, in that the Hands would be still tending fresh Ground.
As for Liquors, they might make as good Malt-Drink, and as cheap there as any where else; and for Cyder I think it surpasses even Herefordshire it self, for Plenty and Fairness of Fruit, the Trees thriving and producing wonderfully, yielding a strong and good tasted Cyder, when well made and managed, especially if kept in good Vaults. From Peaches is distilled an excellent Spirit in very great Plenty, very difficult to be distinguished (when well made) from Citron Water. This they call Persico, which with many other Spirits might be made there to turn to a very good Account, and produced in great Quantities from their numerous large Orchards of Apples and Peaches. Hogs, horned Cattle, and Sheep thrive and encrease there mightily; and Salt and Casks being very cheap, vast Advantage might be made more than is, by raising of great Stocks, and salting up Beef and Pork for victualling of Ships, and supplying the West-Indies and other Places with Provisions, which they might afford to do very cheap, did some of the additional Part of the Servants before-mentioned make it their Business to tend Flocks and Herds, and provide better and more Food for them in the Winter, than what they now usually have. As for the Advantage of Woollen Manufactures, that is so well known, that I shall say nothing in that Respect, only that there is in Virginia as good Wool as the finest in England; and I doubt not but with good Management the Climate will produce as fine as any in Spain, since the Sheep in both Places are of British Original; and in my Opinion it would be a great Advantage (instead of Detriment) to have fine Wool enough of our own to work up, without being beholden to Spain for it; especially if we consider that it might either be sent Home to be wrought in Britain, or else we might send over Numbers of our superfluous Cloth-workers to make it up there into the same Sorts of Goods, as they make in England, which would be much the cheapest way; and then these Goods should be imported to the Clothiers here, who undoubtedly would have Call enough for what they can make in Virginia and at Home; for if they see Occasion they need not encrease the Quantity, but only make Use of Plantation Wool raised by Britons, instead of Spanish Wool; and the Decrease of our Exports to Spain might sufficiently be balanced (if not upon Account of employing Numbers of our own People, yet) by many other Ways. Neither can I see any Harm in it, if the carrying on Woollen Manufactures in Virginia by English People that want Employment, the Quantity of Woollen Goods were thereby encreased; especially such as are for Home Consumption, and the Use of the Plantations; for then Rich and Poor would have their Cloths much cheaper; and if the Draper gained less by his Countrymen, it might be contrived that he should gain more by Strangers abroad in other Parts of the World.
More might be said as to the Manufactures of Hemp and Flax, than what I have mentioned of Wool, because we are in a great Measure obliged for these to foreign Nations, who in Case of War might pinch us prodigiously more than they do; more particularly to the great Expence and Inconveniency of our Shipping, the Glory and Bulwark of the British Nations. Here we have enough of good Land lying waste; and at Home we have People lying idle sufficient to supply us from Virginia, with Ropes, Cables, and Canvas for our Ships of War and Merchandize, with Linens for wearing and for houshold Use, were Projects set on Foot, and rightly carried on for so useful and advantageous Undertakings.
Besides this, there is Pitch and Tar enough, which with careful Management might be made as good, and afforded as cheap, or cheaper, than any from other Places.
Then as for Oak no Country has finer nor more Plenty; which though it will not last long enough for Houses, yet it will for Shipping: Witness the New England Ships built of the same Sort of Wood; and as for Deal Planks here may be as good as any; and I question if Gottenburgh, or any other Part of Europe can afford us better Pines for Masts and Yards (especially for Merchants Use) than what grow in Virginia in several Places in very great Plenty; so that many Ships might be built there, which would employ Numbers of Shipwrights from Great Britain, and would stand the Merchants in a great deal less Expence, than if they were built at Home: Nay, we might even build Ships for several other Nations, and make them turn to a very good Account, without any Risk of doing Damage to our publick Safety or Interest.
As for Wine, in all Parts of the Country Grapes grow wild and thrive extreamly, but at present they are almost only Food for the Birds; few Attempts having been made for the Cultivation of them and making Wines, except that of Colonel Robert Beverley, which was thus: He having read, seen, studied, and enquired much concerning the Nature of Vintages, reduced his Knowledge to Practice for his better Experience and Certainty, in planting a small Vineyard; and having great Prospect that this would answer his Purpose, he bragged much of it in Publick; but being bantered by several Gentlemen, he proposed to give each of them a Guinea down, if they would give him Ten, if he made a certain Number of Gallons of pure Wine that Vintage; they accepted the Proposals, and he distributed (I think) one hundred Guineas, made the Wine according to the Terms agreed upon, and won his Wager; which Money he afterwards employed in planting more and greater Vineyards, from which he made good Quantities of Wine, and would have brought it to very high Perfection, had he lived some Years longer.
His whole Family, even his Negroes drank scarce any thing but the small Wines, and the Strong is of a good Body and Flavour; the Red that I have often drank to me seems to have the Taste of Claret and the Strength of Red Port. Not only red Grapes, but also white ones of all Sorts from Europe produce and grow there to Admiration; an Instance of which may be seen at Colonel William Robinson's upon Rappahannock River, who has planted out Abundance; and I don't question but he and other Gentlemen there will follow Mr. Beverley's Pattern; which if brought to Perfection might tend to an extraordinary good Account, and not only prove profitable to the Planter, but also advantageous to Britain, even if we could but make small Quantities of Wine there; but much more beneficial would it be if there could be made Abundance, as in all Probability there might be, since the Climate and the Soil seem so extreamly well adapted for that Purpose; especially up towards the Hills and Mountains, which at present lye waste. Would it not be very advantageous to our Nations if we could not only raise much Wine for our own Use, but also sell great Quantities to our Neighbours? And I know of but two trifling Obstacles in the way; the one is, that the Clusters of Grapes rarely ripen together, which might be remedied by picking them at different Times; the other is, that the Birds devour Abundance; but this might be prevented by Nets, Guns, Priapus, and several other Contrivances. This would employ great Numbers of People, has upon Trial been proved to answer Expectation, and might bring vast Profit to the Planter, to the Merchant, and to the Crown.
To encourage this, I know some that intend to let Land for a small Acknowledgment in Wine. Much the same might be said of Silk, which long ago has been made there, and is known by Experience to answer the Expectation of the Silk Men. For Mulberries of all Sorts thrive there to Admiration, and the Heat of the Summer has been found to agree with the Nature of the Silk-Worm extreamly well; so that the only Reason that I know, why the Gentlemen formerly concerned in making of Silk in Virginia drop'd their Proceedings, was the great Profit that Tobacco brought them in in those Days; which being raised there only, turned then to an extraordinary Advantage, much better than any other Project; but now when so much Tobacco is made, and the Gain so much less than formerly, I can't imagine why the Silk Trade is not there revived; which I am very positive would turn to a very great Account, if carried on by good Managers. To this Nature seems to invite us; for upon the Leaves of the Chinckapin (which seem somewhat like Mulberry Leaves) I have frequently found a very large Worm not much unlike the Silk-Worm, only much bigger.
If the Manufacture of Silk was carried on in Virginia, every Body knows what Profit it must bring to make Silk of the Produce of our own Dominions, in great Plenty, and at cheaper Rates than we can have it from Asia.
Besides, we may observe that the great Numbers of People employed in this Manufacture, for the most Part, might be the young, the aged, and the disabled, who could not work at any thing that required hard Labour or much Stirring.