It was in 1803 that Thomas Jefferson writing to a friend said, “The county of Loudoun had been so exhausted and wasted by bad husbandry, that it began to depopulate, the inhabitants going southwardly in search of better lands—it is now become one of the most productive counties of the State of Virginia and the price given for the lands is multiplied manifold.” This was the result of the LOUDOUN SYSTEM of agriculture we have heard so much about. When Alexander Binns (no Quaker) published his little “A Treatise on Practical Farming” in 1803, the County found out what the Friends knew all along: that ground should lie in grass and clover in rotation with the corn and wheat then grown, and what’s more, that lime was a must to get the most out of the grass and clover. Israel Janney on a trip to Chester County, Pennsylvania, had brought down some crushed limestone in his saddlebags and tried it out on some oats. The oats flourished and so did the clover which Israel grew and sold to his neighbors a quart at a time to try to get them started on this grand forage plant. Binns tried all kinds of lime and plaster, he even bought a ton of Israel Janey’s lime and some of his clover seed, but the real service he did was to experiment and publish his results. The peace testimony of Friends was constantly appearing in the minutes. Members were “spoken to” for attendance at muster; were “delt with” for purchasing substitutes and paying the muster tax. At first the Revolutionary War affected the Fairfax Meeting but little, however, before it was over some fifteen members had been disowned for joining the army. George Washington summed up the general attitude towards the Quakers then in his famous, “Leave the Friends alone for you cannot induce them to swear or fight for or against us. They are harmless, peaceful and industrious people who will produce bread and meat, and if they will not sell it to us, we will take it, if we need it; we need bread and meat as much as we need soldiers.” During the Civil War soldiers of both sides were quartered in the Waterford Meeting House. When meeting was going on they stepped outside and some even came to meeting and as one writer said, “When they (the Southern soldiers) first came to Waterford they seemed to entertain a strong animosity against Friends—but becoming better acquainted, some of the soldiers acknowledged (that) Friends delt with them more fairly than any they had met on their march from the South, and their prejudices were removed.” It did seem strange to Friends to hold meetings with swords hanging along the walls. A very original account of captivity during _The War_ is given by William Williams. He and Robert J. Hollingsworth were imprisoned in Richmond for two Southerners likewise treated by the Federals. After much travel and hard work on the part of wife Mary and Friends the two were released, though not before suffering many real hardships.