power, in ye way of Barter for other Land--for Negroes ... or in short--for
any thing else ... but for money I cannot, I want the means." Again, in
1782, he wrote, "Inform Mr. Dulany,... that I look upon £2000 to be a
great price for his land; that my wishes to obtain it do not proceed from
its intrinsic value, but from the motives I have candidly assigned in my
other letter. That to indulge this fancy, (for in truth there is more
fancy than judgment in it) I have submitted, or am willing to submit, to
the disadvantage of borrowing as large a sum as I think this Land is
worth, in order to come at it"

By thus purchasing whenever an opportunity occurred, the property was
increased from the twenty-five hundred acres which had come into
Washington's possession by inheritance to an estate exceeding eight
thousand acres, of which over thirty-two hundred were actually under
cultivation during the latter part of its owner's life.

To manage so vast a tract, the property was subdivided into several
tracts, called "Mansion House Farm," "River Farm," "Union Farm," "Muddy
Hole Farm," and "Dogue Run Farm," each having an overseer to manage it,
and each being operated as a separate plantation, though a general
overseer controlled the whole, and each farm derived common benefit from
the property as a whole. "On Saturday in the afternoon, every week,
reports are made by all his overseers, and registered in books kept for
the purpose," and these accounts were so schemed as to show how every
negro's and laborer's time had been employed during the whole week, what
crops had been planted or gathered, what increase or loss of stock had
occurred, and every other detail of farm-work. During Washington's
absences from Mount Vernon his chief overseer sent him these reports, as
well as wrote himself, and weekly the manager received in return long
letters of instruction, sometimes to the length of sixteen pages, which