Editing Mount Vernon (section)

==== Agriculture and enterprise ====
[[File:Junius Brutus Stearns - George Washington as Farmer at Mount Vernon.jpg|thumb|Washington out on the plantation, with Mount Vernon in the background, an 1851 portrait by [[Junius Brutus Stearns]]]]
[[File:Gwash map02.jpg|thumb|An 1891 map of the estate drawn by George Washington]]
[[File:RedDevonCowMountVernon.jpg|alt=[[American Milking Devon|Red Devon]] Heritage Breed Cow|thumb|A [[American Milking Devon|Red Devon bull]] at Mount Vernon]]
George Washington expanded the estate by purchasing surrounding parcels of land beginning in the late 1750s and was still adding to the estate into the 1780s, including the [[River Farm]] estate.<ref name="Growth ">{{cite web|url=http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/maps/mtvernon/growth.html |title=The Growth of Mount Vernon 1754–1786 |publisher=The Papers of George Washington |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215140849/http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/maps/mtvernon/growth.html |archive-date=15 December 2008 }}</ref> From 1759 until the Revolutionary War, Washington, who at the time aspired to become a prominent agriculturist, had five separate farms as part of his estate. He took a scientific approach to farming and kept extensive and meticulous records of both labor and results.

In a letter dated 20 September 1765, Washington writes about receiving poor returns for his tobacco production:

{{blockquote|quote=Can it be otherwise than a little mortifying then to find, that we, who raise none but Sweetscented Tobacco, and endeavour I may venture to add, to be careful in the management of it, however we fail in the execution, and who by a close and fixed corrispondance with you, contribute so largely to the dispatch of your Ships in this Country {{sic|shoud}} meet with such unprofitable returns?<ref name="Fitzpatrick">{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/mgw500003/ |title=George Washington to Robert Cary & Company, September 20, 1765, Account Book 1 |access-date=6 March 2009 |work=The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. John C. Fitzpatrick, Editor. |publisher=The George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741–1799 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622060250/https://www.loc.gov/item/mgw500003/ |archive-date=22 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

In the same letter he asks about the prices of [[flax]] and [[hemp]], with a view to their production:

{{blockquote|quote=In order thereto you woud do me a singular favour in advising of the general price one might expect for good Hemp in your Port watered and prepared according to Act of Parliament, with an estimate of the freight, and all other Incident charges pr. Tonn that I may form some Idea of the profits resulting from the growth. I should be very glad to know at the sametime how rough and undressd Flax has generally, and may probably sell; for this year I have made an Essay in both, and altho I suffer pretty considerably by the attempt, owing principally to the severity of the {{sic|Drougth}}, and my inexperience in the management I am not altogether discouraged from a further prosecution of the Scheme provided I find the Sales with you are not clogd with too much difficulty and expence.}}

The tobacco market declined, and many [[Planter class|planters]] in [[Northern Virginia]] converted to mixed crops. By 1766, Washington ceased growing tobacco at Mount Vernon and replaced the crop with wheat, corn, and other grains. Besides hemp and flax, he experimented with 60 other crops including cotton and silk. He also derived income from a [[gristmill]] which produced cornmeal and flour for export and also ground neighbors' grain for fees. Washington similarly sold the services of the estate's looms and blacksmith.

Washington built and operated a small [[George Washington's Fishery|fishing fleet]], permitting Mount Vernon to export fish. Washington practiced the selective breeding of sheep in an effort to produce better quality wool. He was not as invested in animal husbandry as he was in cropping experiments, which were elaborate and included complex field rotations, [[nitrogen fixing]] crops and a range of soil amendments.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803296886/|title=The Five-Ton Life|last=Subak|first=Susan|year=2018|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|pages=47–50|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401230928/https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803296886/|archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The Washington household consumed a wider range of protein sources than was typical for the Chesapeake population of his day, which consumed a great deal of beef.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803296886/|title=The Five-Ton Life|last=Subak|first=Susan|year=2018|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|pages=32–40|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401230928/https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803296886/|archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

The new crops were less labor-intensive than tobacco; hence, the estate had a surplus of slaves. But Washington refused to break up families for sale. Washington began to hire skilled [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]] from Europe to train the redundant slaves for service on and off the estate.<ref name="chernow2010">{{cite book | title=[[Washington: A Life]] | publisher=The Penguin Press |author=Chernow, Ron | author-link=Ron Chernow | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-101-44418-4}}</ref>
Following his service in the war, Washington returned to Mount Vernon and in 1785–1786 spent a great deal of effort improving the [[landscaping]] of the estate. It is estimated that during his two terms as President of the United States (1789–1797), Washington spent a total of 434 days in residence at Mount Vernon. After his presidency, Washington tended to repairs to the buildings, socializing, and further gardening. In 1797, farm manager James Anderson, a recent [[Scotland|Scottish]] immigrant, suggested the establishment of a [[whisky]] distillery,<ref>{{Cite web |title=James Anderson |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/james-anderson/ |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |language=en}}</ref> which proved to be the estate's most profitable business venture over the decade of its operation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Whiskey Production |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/whiskey-production/ |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |language=en}}</ref>