ight be called corresponding fluctuations of
population between the above-named periods.

A decrease then in the population of any of these districts is
obviously due, in a large measure, to the partial or total failure of
the crops which causes the migration of a portion of the population to
large cities or other parts of the country. If the failure occurs
immediately preceding a census, the decrease shown will, of course, be
large.

As another contributing cause, it can be positively stated that the
disfavor in which agriculture is held by the young men of Loudoun, who
seek less arduous and more lucrative employment in the great cities of
the East, is, in part, responsible, if not for the depletion,
certainly for the stagnation of the county's population.

The white population of Loudoun County in 1880, 1890, and 1900 was as
follows:

_Census._ _Population._

1880 16,391
1890 16,696--305 increase.
1900 16,079--617 decrease.

The negro population of Loudoun County for the same periods was:

_Census._ _Population._

1880 7,243
1890 6,578--665 decrease.
1900 5,869--709 decrease.

The figures show that the negro population has steadily decreased,
while the white population increased from 1880 to 1890, and decreased
from 1890 to 1900. The proportion of decrease for the negroes was much
greater than for the whites. As the occupations of the negroes are
almost entirely farming and domestic services, crop failures
necessarily cause migration to other localities, and as Washington and
Baltimore are not far distant and offer higher wages and sometimes
more attractive occupations, there can be no doubt that the decrease
is principally due to the migration to those cities.

INDUSTRIES.

Agriculture, in many of its important branches, is by far Loudoun's
leading industry, and is being annually benefited by the application
of new methods in cultivation and harvesting. The farmers are thrifty
and happy and many of them prosperous.

During the Civil War agriculture received a serious set-back, as the
County was devastated by the contending armies, but by hard work and
intelligent management of the people the section has again been put
upon a prosperous footing.

The agricultural methods in use throughout the County are very
uniform, notwithstanding the fact that there are a comparatively large
number of soil types in the area.

A system of general farmi