Danbury Times

THINGS IN KENTUCKY.

From Dr. Humphrey's Correspondence in the Philadelphia North American.

As you leave Frankfort, you soon find yourself entering the skirt of that fine rolling section of country, having Lexington for its centre, which is pronounced by all to be the most beautiful section of the State, and of which it would be difficult to speak in terms of too high admiration. Should I find any thing superior to it in Illinois, or Missouri, I shall not fail to confess it, but for the present, I must in justice say, that I have never seen such majestic and luxuriant woodland pasture, or rather parks, in any country. They cover at least one third part of the whole surface of several counties. which is just undulating enough to give it the highest beauty; and extends, it is said, nearly thirty miles around Lexington.

It is impossible for me to do anything like justice to these primitive and towering forests. The sycamore, the white and black ash, the tulip or poplar, the white and black walnut, the oak and the sugar maple, attain to a prodigious size, and many of them rise to the height of one hundred and fifty feet. In their natural state, they are too thickly set for pasturage, or for the highest beauty. It is where one-half or two-thirds of the trees are cleared away, leaving the noblest and finest, that you have them in their greatest majesty and perfection. It is then these vast pleasure grounds are covered with a velvet-like and nutritious grass, called blue grass; and though it will not fatten so many Durham cattle, as if the trees were not there. the difference, including the dry season, is not very great, and I am sure that infinitely more is gained in taste, comfort, and beauty, that is lost in dollars and cents.

Every one who goes to England, speaks with admiration, and justly too, of the noble parks and shaded lawns of that country ; but they do not compare, at all, either in extent, or magnificence, to what nature has done for this part of Kentucky. It only requires a moderate share of labor and taste, to present to the eye of the delighted traveller, hundreds of thousands of acres of surpassing beauty and majesty. I have said nothing of the vast corn fields, which I saw on the way, of early and rich promise ; nor on the rye and barley, which are sure and plentiful crops in and about Lexington; because I fear they destroy multitudes by being converted into a deadly poison. But I will take occasion here to say, that we at the east, have no idea how easily sixty or seventy bushels of corn can be raised to the acre. When once the land is well fitted and planted, the light horse plough does almost all the rest.

Lexington is one of the finest towns in Kentucky, and contains about five thousand inhabitants. Many of the private dwellings have a noble mansion-like appearance, which is heightened by their deep court yards and spacious gardens. The main building of Transylvania University is a handsome edifice and stands upon a gentle and charming elevation. For several years the classical department has languished; but the medical school is represented as very flourishing.

But after all, Lexington is not half so handsome and neat a town as I wish it was, or as with the wealth and taste of the people, it would be easy to make it. There are a great many old and unsightly wooden buildings of various sorts, which ought to give place to new brick tenements. The more wealthy citizens are planting themselves down, one after another, in the parks of the vicinity, and turning their attention more and more to the importation and raising of cattle. Finer animals of the choicest foreign and domestic breeds, cannot, I presume, be found in the United States. The present high prices make the business of raising stock exceedingly profitable. To say nothing of taking $2000 for a cow, which has lately been done in one instance, from three to five hundred dollars for a calf, and so on in proportion, must soon make those who have got the start in the business rich.