BANCROFT LIBRARY THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EIGHTY YEARS' PROGRESS OP THE UNITED STATES: A FAMILY RECORD OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY, ENERGY AND ENTERPRISE: SHOWING THE VARIOUS CHANNELS OF INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION THROUGH WHICH THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES HAVE ARISEN FROM A BRITISH COLONY TO THEIR PRESENT NATIONAL IMPORTANCE; GIVING, IN AN HISTORICAL FORM, THE VAST IMPROVEMENTS MADE IN AGRICULTURE, CULTIVATION OF COTTON, SUGAR, COMMERCE, TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION, STEAM ENGINE, MANUFACTURE OF COTTON, WOOLEN, SILK, PAPER, FIRE-ARMS, CUTLERY, HATS, CARRIAGES AND COACHES, PLATED WARE, LEATHER, BOOTS AND SHOES, CLOCKS AND WATCHES, PINS, REFINED SUGAR, GLASS, INDIA RUBBER, FISHING BUSINESS, FUR AND FUR TRADE, HUMANITARIAN INSTITUTIONS, ETC., ETC. WITH A LARGE AMOUNT OF STATISTICAL INFORMATION, SHOWING THE COMPARATIVE PROGRESS OF THE DIFFERENT STATES WITH EACH OTHER, AND, TO SOME EXTENT, THIS COUNTRY WITH OTHER NATIONS. BY EMINENT LITERARY MEN, WHO HAVE MADE THE SUBJECTS OF WHICH THEY HAVE WRITTEN THEIR SPECIAL STUDY. EXTENSIVELY EMBELLISHED WITH STEEL AND ELECTROTYPE PLATE ENGRAVINGS, EXECUTED BY THE FIRST ARTISTS IN THE COUNTRY, ILLUSTRATING THE PROGRESS OF THE VARIOUS INTERESTS TREATED OF. BY A.GrKNTS ONLY. HARTFORD, CONN.: PUBLISHED BY L. STEBBINS. 1868. THE BEARER rf^ Six _. HP HIS Bill entitles tlie A B?3fep "to Tecc.'ive SIX SPANISH MILLED DO LLAKS , .OT^tVye thereof in .. ^..JVEB,- according t ^Resolution of COA/i GRESS pMis THIS ENGRAVING SHOWS THE BEST 0f in to 0f % g THB FANCY TITLE PAGE ENGRAVED BY THE NEW YORK BANK NOTE COMPANY, 50 WALL STREET, N. Y., SHOWS THE PERFECTION TO WHICH THE ART HAS ATTAINED. THIS IS ONLY A PAIR SAMPLE OP THE GREAT IMPROVEMENT IN NEARLY EVERY BRANCH OP INDUSTRY. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty- six, BY L. STEBBINS, In the office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. BANCROFT LIBRARY SUBJECTS AND AUTHORS. PROGRESS IN AGRICULTURE: Giving an account of the early settlement of this country, with the attendant hardships and privations ; early modes of cultivating the soil ; rapid advance of settlements ; im- provements in Agricultural Implements ; in breeds of Stock, as Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Swine, Poultry, and Bees; Cultivation of Wheat, Corn, Rye, Buckwheat, Barley, Po- tatoes ; various kinds of Grasses ; Hops, Flax, Hemp, Tobacco, Silk, Fruits, &c. ; the Lumber Business, together with a large amount of statistical matter. By CHAKLES L. FLINT, Secretary Massachusetts Board of Agriculture Author of "Grasses" "Forage Plants" "Milch Cows and Dairy Farming" c&c., &c. CULTIVATION OF COTTON: Its importance in Commerce, Cheap Lands, Labor, &c., &c. By PROF. C. F. MoCAY, late of Columbia College, 8. C. STEAM ENGINE ] Its invention, various improvements, manufacture, and uses, with reference to its influence upon the industry of the country, in its application to manufactures. By J. C. MERRIAM, Editor and Proprietor of the " American Engineer" COMMERCE AND TRADE, Colonial Trade, Imperial Restriction, Emancipation of Inhabitants, Changed Interest, Manufactures, Course of Trade, Speculation, Revulsion, Bankrupt Law, English Free Trade, Revolution in France, Farmers, Gold, Ships, Tonnage, Navigation Laws, &c. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION, Including Common Roads, Turnpikes, M'Adam, Plank, and Railroads, River and Ocean Steamers ; giving a history of their origin, progress, and influence upon the growth, of the country ; their extent, construction, cost, &c. IV SUBJECTS AND AUTHORS. MANUFACTURES Of Cotton, Woollen, Paper, Leather ; Boots and Shoes, Fire- Arms, Cutlery, Carriages and Coaches, Clocks and Watches, Electro-plated Ware, Pins, Refined Sugars, Silk, Fire- Proof Safes, Bank-Locks, Glass, India-Rubber, Sewing Machines, Musical Instruments : showing the various improvements made by machinery and other means of manufacture, the extent of operations and value of productions, 3 Famine in Ireland 153 French Silks in Tricolors 154 CONTENTS. Gold discovered at Capt. Sutter's Fort. 154 Nine millions Gold received from California in 1850 154 Exportation of Gold depreciating 154 Six hundred million dollars of Gold receiv- ed from California from 1850 to 1860 155 Emigrants bring in $251,805,400 Gold from 1850 to 1860 155 Five hundred million dollars expended in land operations from 1850 to 1860 155 Failure of Corn crops in Europe 155 Table of Exports and Imports from 1851 to 1860 156 Wheat crop of 1850 equal to 22,000,0'00 barrels flour 156 Exports of Agriculture from 1850 to 1856 156 Table of Exports for periods of ten years.. 157 The area of Great Britain 157 Lands sold and given for public works 157 Quantities of Corn and Pork exported to Great Britain from 1840 to 1858 158 Imports of Cotton from India 158 Internal production of wares 159 Value of Manufactures and Agricultural productions 159 The firms in business in 1857 159 Exchanges at the Clearing House, New York 160 Growth of the U. S 160 Ships Tonnage Navigation Laws 161 Two ships to do the work of one 161 Vessels built in the several Provinces in 1171 163 Bounties on Fisheries 162 Tables showing tonnage of Shipping from 1789 to 1858 163 Cotton as Freighting. 163 Measure of tonnage 163 Effect of Mexican and English wars in China on trade 163 Favorable treaty between the United States and China 164 Caleb Gushing robbed of his Baggage on his way home from China vid Mexico. . . 164 British and French Expedition from Varna to the Crimea 164 First arrival of a Steamer from England . . 164 Table showing the different Lines of Steam- ers between Europe and U. S 164 Table showing the number and names of Ocean Steamers lost 165 Growth of Steam service in the interior . . 165 Keel-boats on the Ohio River 165 First sea-going Brig built on the Ohio River 165 First Steamboat built for the Ohio River. . . 165 Territory drained by the Ohio 166 Opening of Erie Canal in 1825 166 Table showing the number, kinds, &c., of Vessels navigating the Lakes in 1858. . . 166 Losses of Screw Propellers from 1848 to 1856 166 Lake Cities, their rapid growth 166 Lopez Propeller 167 Ship-building at the Lake ports for Liver- pool 167 Ship-building, Clipper model 167 Tonnage owned in U. S. in 1860 168 Table of National Exports from 1800 to 1860 168 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. EARLY ROADS, POST ROADS, &c 17 1 Gen. Washington as an Engineer 173 Stock of Dismal Swamp Canal 173 Statistics of Mail Service from 1791 to 1859. 174 Country Roads 175 Charcoal do 176 Plank do 176 Turnpike do 176 Macadam do 176 Roads in Ohio 177 Cumberland Road 177 COASTERS, STEAMBOATS, CANALS 178 Sloop experiment 178 Fulton's Steamer Clermont 179 The first Steamer Hell Gate 179 Progressive speed of Steamers from 1811 to I860 iso Flat Boats on the Mississippi 181 First Steamboat on the Ohio ] 8 L Time of passage from New Orleans to St. Louis reduced from 120 to 3 days 183 Increase of Steam Tonnage on the Western Rivers from 1842 to 1860 183 Ground broken for the Erie Canal 184 Early Canal Projects 185 Loss of Water in Canals by leakage 186 Transportation from Buffalo to New York, $100 per Tun 186 Increase of Steam Tonnage on the Lakes from 1841 to 1860 187 Opening of Lumber Trade of Western New York 188 List of Ohio Canals iss John Q. Adams and Charles Carroll 'turn first earth for Canals 1 8 9 List of Important Canals 190 CONTENTS. Total receipts from New York Canals 190 EARLY RAILROADS, LAND GRANTS, &o 191 First Railroad in the United States 192 Massachusetts "Western Railroad 193 Process of Railroad Building 195 Cost per mile of Running Locomotives 196 Earnings of New York Central Railroad from 1853 to 1859 198 Erie Railroad chartered 201 Receipts and Expenditures of Erie Railroad. 202 Pennsylvania, Baltimore and Ohio Railroads. 203 Georgia Railroads 205 Illinois Central Railroad. 205 Land Department of Illinois Central Railroad 207 Table showing the Land Grants to the sev- eral States 207 Railroads from Maine to Louisiana, with the names of different Corporations 208 Michigan Railroads 208 Missouri Railroads 209 RAILROADS OF THE UNITED STATES PROJECTED. 209 Length and miles completed, with the Capital paid in and Funded Debt 209 Miles of Canals and Railroads for transporta- tion of Coal 220 Miles of Railroad in use for transportation of Cotton, with number Bales of Cotton 220 Railroads entering Chicago 221 Tonnage of the five great East and "West Transportation Lines 221 New York and Philadelphia Stages 222 City Railroads 223 Number miles of Railroads in the world, with the cost per mile in each country. 224 STEAM. HISTORY OP THE STEAM ENGINE 227 First Steam Engines in America 227 Robert Fulton, Oliver Evans, "Watt 228 Horse Power of Steam Engines 228 High and Low Pressure 229 First adoption of the Crank for the Steam Engine 229 English and American Steamers 232 Description of the Steam Engine 233 STEAMBOATS 234 John Fitch 234 Steamboats on the Ohio River 239 Steamboats on the Lakes 239 The Propeller 240 The Adriatic 241 First use of Coal for Steamers 241 Explosion of the Boiler of Steamboat "Wash- ington 242 Tonnage of Steam Vessels of United States.. 243 LOCOMOTIVES 243 First experiments 244 First Locomotive built in America 245 Export of Locomotives 246 Cost of Locomotives 247 Great speed of a Locomotive 249 Tune saved in England by Railroad Travel- ling in comparison with Stages 250 Dummy Engines 250 STATIONARY ENGINE 252 Rotary Engine 253 Corliss Engine 254 Portable Engine 255 Steam Saw Mills ... 256 Description of Steam 256 Brooklyn Water "Works Engine 258 STEAM PUMPS 258 Fire Engines 259 MISCELLANEOUS 263 Use of Steam in Farming 264 Steam in Manufacturing 266 CONCLUSION 268 Caloric Engines 270 Experiments of United States Government on the Expansion of Steam 272 COTTON MANUFACTURES. ORIGIN HAND-WORK INVENTIONS 274 Hand Carding 275 The first Spinning Jenny 275 First Carding Machine 276 First Power Loom 276 First Calico Printing in England 276 The American Invention of Mr. Perkins. ... 277 Early Importations of Cotton into Great Bri- tain 277 Dates of Important Inventions in Cotton Ma- chinery 277 MANUFACTURE IN AMERICA 280 First Cotton Mills in Rhode Island 280 The number of Cotton Mills in 1809 281 The first Mill in the world combining all branches of Cotton Manufacture, establish- ed in Waltham, Mass 282 The beginning of Lowell 282 Statistical Table of Cotton Mills in 1831 . 283 do do do 1850 285 INVENTIONS, MODE OF MANUFACTURE, PRINTING, &C 286 The meaning of Staple as applied to Cotton.. 286 Description of Calico Printing 288 Statistics of Cotton Manufacture in the United States, from 1809 to 1860 290 CONTENTS. PAPER: ITS MANUFACTURE. MATERIALS PROGRESS 291 First Paper Mill in Massachusetts 292 Importations of Rags into the United States from 1846 to 1857 292 Rags consumed in the United States, Great Britain and France 293 Mummy Wrappers used for Paper 293 Water Mark 294 INVENTIONS MANUPACTUBE 295 Fourdrinier Machine. 295 Names and Dimensions of Paper 296 Description of Manufacture 296 Statistics of Manufacture 298 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. CARDING WEAVING FELTING 300 Value .of Manufactures from 1810 to 1850. . 300 Machines for making Cards 301 Manufacture of Worsted 301 Dyeing Cloths , 304 Felting 305 Carpets 306 Quantity of Carpeting made in Massachusetts and New York in 1855 308 CLOTHING TRADE 309 Statistics for 1850 309 Large Manufactories . . 310 Statistics of Woollen Manufactures in 1850 ..311 Manufactures of Massachusetts, New York and Maine 312 Imports of Cloths 312 Imports of Wool, total consumption 313 Shoddy, description of 313 LEATHER. TANNING BOOTS AND SHOES 316 Leather Manufacture in 1850 316 Different kinds of Hidea 317 Disposition of Hides brought into New York. 318 Description of Tanning. 319 Time required for Tanning different Hides.. . 322 Number and value of Boots and Shoes man- ufactured in Massachusetts. 324 Pegging Machines , 325 Statistics of Leather Trade of New York for 1855 326 FIRE-ARMS. COLT'S REVOLVERS 328 The Match-lock and Flint-lock 328 Colt's Inventions. . .331 PACK Colt's Fire- Arms at the World's Fair 331 Colt's Manufactory 332 Sharpe's Rifle and Pistol 332 Stafford and Whitney Arms 333 United States Armories 334 Dahlgren Gun 335 Comparative Strength of Iron and Bronze ... 335 Process of Casting 335 Method of Proving 336 Naval Warfare 337 Large Gun for Harbor Defence 337 The Floyd Gun 337 Powder used 338 CUTLERY. UNITED STATES INDUSTRY AXES 339 European System 339 Shears at Seven Cents per dozen 340 Table Cutlery manufactured in the United States by Machinery 340 Grinding and Polishing 340 Butcher and Shoe Knives, Forks 341 Axe Manufacture 341 Statistics of Cutlery and Edge Tools for 1850 . 342 FURS AND FUR TRADE. Trade with the Indians 343 Hudson's Bay Company 343 John Jacob Astor in Fur trade 344 Exports of Furfor 1850 345 List of Prices of various Furs 346 Prices of different kinds per set 347 Felting of Fur 347 HATS. EARLY HISTORY IMPROVEMENTS 348 The London Hatters 348 Early Fashions 348 Hat Business in New York 349 Monopoly of Machinery 349 Silk Hats 350 Finishing 350 INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES. Introductory Remarks 353 BUILDINGS AND BUILDING MATERIALS 353 Number and value of Dwellings in the United States in 1 798 and 1850 354 Dwellings as per population 354 Supposed value of B'rM'njrs in 1H70 355 Improvement*, Fixtures 355 CONTENTS. XI 11 PAGE Lumber Business 356 Machinery used in Building 357 Lumber Trade East, West and South 351 Brick Making 358 Lime 358 Stone 359 Ship Building 359 Statistics of House and Ship Building 360 CARRIAGES AND COACHES 360 New York Omnibus 1 360 Kinds of Timber used. 361 Description of Messrs. G. & D. Cook & Co.'s Manufactory. 361 Carriage and Car Manufactories in New York 362 Express Wagons 367 Statistics for 1850 368 CLOCKS AND WATCHES 368 Alfred the Great uses Candles as Time-pieces 368 Connecticut Clocks 369 Terry, Thomas, Jerome, and others 369 Barnum in the Clock Business 370 Exportation of Clocks 370 Roxbury Watch Factory 370 Watches made by Machinery at Waltham.. . 371 ELECTRO- PLATING 372 Description of the Process 372 FISHERIES 377 Venice founded by Fishermen 378 Holland and England, do 378 Yankee Fishermen 378 Fishing Bounties 378 Cod, Mackerel, Herring and Halibut Fishing 378 Oyster Trade 384 Whale Fishery 385 Seal Fishery 385 Statistics of Fishing Trade 386 ICE 386 Use of Ice by the Ancients 386 General uses of Ice 387 Massachusetts in the Ice Trade 387 Exports of Ice 388 Gathering Ice in Houses , 388 Use of Ice in the East Indies Incident re- lated by Edward Everett 389 PINS 389 Pin Manufacture in State Prisons 390 Pin Machines 390 Manufactory at Waterbury 390 EEFINED SUGAR 3 91 Consumption of Sugar per head of popula- tion in United States, Great Britain, France, and Germany _ 391 Beet Sugar in France 392 Introduction of Machinery 392 Annual Value of Candies 392 SILK ' 393 Early Culture of Silk in America 393 Morus Multicaulis Speculation 394 Imports of Raw Silk 395 FIRE-PROOF SAFES AND SAFE LOCKS. 395 First Imports of Safes 396 Spontaneous Combustion of a Safe 396 Wilder's, Marvin's, and other Safes 397 Bank Locks at the World's Fair 398 GLASS MANUFACTURE 393 Various uses of Glass 398 Glass of remote antiquity 399 Early manufacturing in England 399 First Glass Works in America 399 Materials for Glass 400 Description of Manufacture 401 American Inventions for Grinding Glass .... 403 Silvering Glass 404 Enamelled Glass 405 INDIA-RUBBER AND ITS MANUFACTURE 406 Countries producing it, gathering, &c 406 Goodyear's experiments 410 Belting and Hose Manufacture 411 Rubber Car Springs 411 Statistics of the Trade 412 SEWING MACHINES 413 Elias Howe, Jun., Lock-stitch 413 Three classes of Machines 414 Mr. Wilson's improvement 419 Description of Wheeler and Wilson's Machine 419 Singer & Co.'s Machines, description of their Manufactory 421 Grover & Baker Machines 424 Finkle & Lyon's Machines 425 Number Machines made under Howe's patent 426 Comparison between Hand and Machine Sew- ing 426 Various uses of Machines, Statistics. &c 428 Comparative Statistics of Great Britain and the United States 430 MILLS 431 Product of Flour and Grist Mills 431 Number of Flour Mills in 1840 and 1850 . . . 432 Descriptions of Mills 432 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. , . 434 HUMANITARIAN AND CORRECTIVE INSTI- TUTIONS. Prisons and Prison Discipline 435 Auburn Prisons 436 The Silent System 437 Great Britain and Germany, Prisons in 438 XIV CONTEXTS. PAGE Massachusetts, Prisons in 438 Hospitals for the Insane 440 Efforts of the Friends in Pennsylvania 441 Statistics of Hospitals in the United States . 444 BELIEF OF THE POOR 445 Statistical Tables 447 Hospitals 449 Statistical Table 450 Pauperism in the City and County of New York Statistical Table 451 Dispensaries 452 PAGB Statistical Table 453 Nurseries and Foundling Hospitals 454 Homes and Asylums for the Aged and Infirm 454 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 1, ON the Mississippi, .... (Steel plate.) 2, Fancy Title, (Steel plate.) 3, Continental Bills, 2 4, The Beginning, 17 5, The Aborigines, 18 6, Farming Tools of 1790, 28 7, Farming Tools of 1860, 29 8, Excelsior Mower, 33 9, Wheeler's Patent Reaper, 34 10, Landing at Jamestown, . (Steel plate,) 37 11, Milch Cow, 43 12, Short-horn Bull, 43 13, Jenny, Devon Cow, 44 14, Devon Bull, Tecumseh, 45 15, Ayrshire Bull, 46 16, Petersham Morgan, 55 17, Trotting Childers, 56 18, Cotswold Sheep, 57 19, Improved Kentucky South Downs, . . 58 20, Southern Pine-woods Hog, 61 21, Western Beech-nut Hog, 61 22, Improved Suffolk, 61 23, Improved Essex, 62 24, Berkshire Hog, 62 25, The Pasture, (Steel plate,) 83 26, Cotton cleaning by hand, 112 27, Cotton Gin, 112 28, Picking Cotton, 125 29, Gathering Sugar Cane, 126 30, Commerce, . . $ t J31 31, Clipper Ship, 149 32, Wall street, (Steel Plate,) 159 33, Bridle Path, !71 34, Stage Coach, iyi 35, Canal, 171 36, Railroad, 171 37, Captain Bunker's Sloop, (Steel plate,) 180 38, Flat Boat on the Mississippi, 182 39, Mississippi River Steamer, 182 40, First Locomotive on Mohawk Valley Road, 194 41, Hudson River Steamboat, 194 42, Emigrating at the present time, .... 198 43, Emigrating in 1805, 199 44, Second experimental Boat of J. Fitch, 226 45, The first Steamboat ever built to car- ry passengers, 226 46, The first Propeller ever built, 235 47, Oliver Evans' Orkuter Amphibolus, . . 235 48, The machinery of Fulton's first boat, 236 49, The North River, off Claremont, .... 236 50, The Adriatic, 237 51, Amoskeag Locomotive works, 247 52, Silsby's Fire Engine, 261 53, Caloric Engine, 262 54, Hand Loom, 278 55, Power Loom, 278 56, Spinning by hand 279 57, Mule Spinner, 279 58, Hand Carding, 299 59, Colt's Sporting Rifle, 329 60, Colt's Military Rifle, 329 61, Colt's new Model Revolver, 329 62, Colt's Revolving Pistol with Carbine Breech attached, 329 63, Colt's Holster Pistol, 329 64, Colt's Revolving Shot Gun, 330 65, Colt's Military or Revolving Rifle, ... 330 66, Iron-clads and Monitors, (Steel platej) . 338 xvl LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 67, View of Chickering & Sons' Piano Forte Manufactory, 352 68, Wagons of 1810, 363 69, Wagons of 1820, 363 70, Wagons of 1825, 363 71, First Elliptic Spring Wagon, 363 72, Jagger, 363 73, Gazelle, 863 74, English Pheaton, 364 75, Box Jump Seat, 364 76, World's Fair Buggy, 364 77, Eureka Jump Seat, 364 78, Child's Seat Drop Front, 364 79, Crescent City, 364 80, Lawrence Brett, 364 81, Loop Calash, 364 82, Doctor's Phaeton, 365 83, Full Top Cabriolet, 365 84, Champion, 365 85, Prince of Wales, 365 86, Dayton Brett, 365 87, City Coupe, 365 88, Brewster Calash Coach, 365 89, Coup Rockaway, 365 90, Premium Top, 366 91, View of G. & D. Cook, & Co's Works, 366 92, Castors, 373 93, Cake Dish, 373 94, Oyster Dish, 373 95, Toast Fork, 373 96, Meat Dish, 374 97, Cups, 374 98, Goblets, 374 99, Tea Set, 375 100, Dish Covers, 375 101, Coffee Pot, 375 102, Urn, 375 103, Tea Set and Tray, 376 104, Spoon and Fork Case, 376 105, Whale Fishery, 379 106, Cod Fishery, 380 107, The Great Callender Machine, 407 108, Ficus Elastica, Rubber Plant, 407 109, Cutting Rubber, 407 110, Machine for Washing Rubber, 408 lll v India Rubber Grinding Mill, 408 112, Past, 413 113, Present, 413 114, Lock Stitch, 413 115, Wheeler & Wilson's Sewing Machine ready for work, 415 116, Front View, 415 117, View with Cloth Plate removed, .... 415 118, Section IV, showing Lock Stitch, ... 416 119, Section V, 416 120, Section VI, 416 121, Cloth Plate reversed, 416 122, Feed Bar, 416 123, Hemmer, 416 124, Singer's Sewing Machine No. 2, .... 417 125, Family Machine 417 126, Transverse Shuttle Machine, 417 127, Machine in Cabinet Case, 417 128, Hand Sewing by Candle Light, 418 129, Finkle & Lybn's Family Sewing Ma- chine, 418 130, Large Manufacturing Machine, 418 131, Medium Machine, 418 132, The Chain Stitch, 424 133, The Shuttle and Lock Stitch, 424 134, View of Grover & Baker's Warehouse, 427 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. I SUPPOSE it will be conceded that agri- culture is the largest and most important in- terest of this country. It is my purpose to trace its progress from the time of the es- tablishment of the first settlements upon these shores, but more especially during the last hundred years. If I mistake not, a sketch of its history will be found to possess much that is interesting, useful, and in- structive. It is not necessary to dwell upon the con- dition of America at the time when it was first settled by Europeans. The charac- ter and the objects of the men who proposed to establish a home here, are already familiar to the mind of every intelligent person. They left countries which were considerably advanced in civilization, and better cultivated, probably, than any others, at that time, on the globe, with the exception, possibly, of the Chinese empire. They came to settle down in circumstances wholly new to them, with a climate and soil nnlike any which they bad known before. They were to begin life anew, as it were, where their previous ex- perience could afford them little or no aid, in a wilderness which was to be subdued by their own hands, in the midst of a thousand obstacles. With the exception of some extensive tracts of prairie, chiefly confined to the great west, then wholly unknown and inaccessible, there was no large extent of territory which was not covered with the primeval forest, though here and there a partially cultivated opening occurred, which was, or had been, occupied by the Indians. They were, there- fore, to start anew; to acquire, painfully 2 and laboriously, that practical knowledge of their new situation, for the details of which no previous training could have fitted them. When we consider the hardships they had to encounter, especially that portion of them who had to endure, year after year, the rigor of a northern winter, we cannot wonder that their progress in farming was slow. It is true, the different colonies, as they were originally established, had a somewhat different experience. The winters of Vir- ginia were less severe than those of New England. The settlers on the James river suffered less, probably, than those further north, but all had to undergo many priva- tions which are unknown to an old and im- proved country. All were surrounded by a howling wilderness, by savage men, by wild beasts ready to prey upon their live stock, or destroy their crops. In these re- spects the circumstances of the settlers in all parts of the country were nearly the same. Let us look, for a moment, at the condition of things in the Plymouth colony, and we can gather therefrom a pretty correct idea of that in the other settlements. For many months after the arrival of the pilgrims at Plymouth, they had no beasts of burden, and when at last a few cows were brought over, they were poorly fed on the coarse wild grasses, and they often died from ex- posure and want of proper food, or fell a prey to the wolves or the Indians. Owing to the difficulties and expense of importa- tion, the price was so high as to put them beyond the reach of many, even in moder- ate circumstances. In the colony of the Massachusetts Bay, a red calf soon came to 20 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. be cheaper than a black one, on account of the greater liability to be mistaken for a deer and killed by the wolves. When cows were so high as to sell, in 1636, at from twenty-five to thirty pounds sterling, and oxen at forty pounds a pair, a quart of new milk could be bought for a penny, and four eggs at the same price. It is important to bear in mind that the cattle of that day, even in England, were not to be compared with the beautiful ani- mals now to be seen there. The ox of that day was small, ill-shaped, and in every way inferior to the ox of the present time. The sheep has, since then, been improved to an equal, or even greater extent, both in form and size, and in the fineness and value of its wool. The draught-horse, so service- able on the farm, long the pride of London, and now, to an almost equal extent, of most qf our large cities, was not then known. It is difficult to appreciate fully the changes which the increased attention to agriculture has effected in our domestic animals, even within the last half century. But when we consider that no attention whatever was paid to the culture of the grasses ; that very few, if any, of the vegeta- bles, now extensively cultivated as food for stock, were then introduced there ; that the introduction of red clover into England did 'not take place till 1633 ; of sainfoin, not till 1651; of yellow clover, not till 1659; and of white, or Dutch clover, not till the year 1700; and that the form, size, and perfec- tion of animals depend largely upon a full supply of food and good care when young, we shall cease to wonder, when we are told by the highest authority, that during the early part of the last century the average gross weight of the neat cattle brought for sale to the Smithfield market was not over three hundred and seventy pounds, and that of sheep, twenty-eight pounds; while the average ATeight of the former is now over eight hundred pounds, and of the latter, over eighty pounds. It is a fact worthy of note in this con- nection, as it throws much light upon the early farming in this country, that the ex- tensive and practical cultivation of the nat- ural grasses originated here ; or, at least, was introduced here long before it was into England. The necessities of our rigorous climate, indeed, compeJled attention to this branch of husbandry very soon after the set- tlement, while the climate of England ad- mitted a greater degree of reliance on the wild luxuriance of nature. The cattle that first arrived, in 1624, were kept through the long winters on poor and miserable swale hay, or more frequently on the salt hay cut from the marshes, and death from starvation and exposure was no uncom- mon occurrence, the farmer sometimes los- ing his entire herd. The treatment of an- imals now as they were treated during the whole, or nearly the whole, of the first century of the colony, would subject the owner to prosecution for cruelty. This treatment was, in part, no doubt, owing to the poverty of the settlers, but more, proba- bly, to the ideas and practices in which they had been early trained in a different climate. Besides, on account of the high price of cattle at that period, and the risks to which they were exposed, it is not probable that the settlers selected the best specimens then to be found in England. There is no evi- dence that they were at all particular in this respect. Nor was the difficulty of procur- ing agricultural implements the least of the obstacles to the successful pursuit of farm- ing. A few, no doubt, were brought over, from time to time, from the mother coun- try, but all could not obtain them in this way ; while the only metal to be had was made of bog ore, very brittle, and liable to break and put a stop to a day's work. Most were made of wood, and those imported were extremely rude in construction, being very heavy and unwieldy, and having compar- atively little fitness for the purpose for which they were designed. The process of casting steel was not discovered till the middle of the last century, and then it Avas kept a secret in Sheffield for some years. The number and variety of implements have been infinitely increased, as we shall see, even within the last half century, to meet the wants of a more advanced state of ag- riculture, to which, indeed, these mechanical improvements have, in their turn, largely contributed. Indian corn, pumpkins, squashes, potatoes, and tobacco, were plants which few of the early colonists had ever seen previous to their arrival here, but necessity taught them their value, and they were not slow in adopting the Indian methods of cultivating them. As the general cultivation among the colo- nies continued much the same for many years, with slight modifications, on the in- troduction of the European implements, it AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 21 may not be inappropriate to turn our atten- tion, for a moment, to the agriculture of the natives. Most of the hard work among the Indians, it is well known, fell to the lot of the women, with the assistance, sometimes, of the old men and little boys. Among their thankless tasks was that of farming, which they carried on to an extent quite re- markable, when we consider the rudeness of the implements with which they had to work, and the circumstances in which they were placed. They had no art of manufac- turing metal, and, of course, could have no suitable contrivances for tilling the ground. Their cultivation was not so rude, however, as one would naturally suppose. They made a kind of hoe by tying the shoulder-blade of a moose, bear, or deer, to a stick or pole, and managed to do much of the work with that. The land, when selected, was cleared by keeping up a fire around the foot of each tree till its bark was so burned that it would die. Then they planted their corn. When a tree fell, it 'was burned into pieces of such length that they could be rolled into a heap and burned to ashes. In this way, by degrees, a piece covered Avith wood was wholly cleared. An industrious woman could burn off as many dry, fallen logs in a day as a strong man could, at that time, cut with an axe in two or three. They used a stone axe, made much in the same manner as the hoe above described, to scrape the charred surface of the logs and hasten the burning. This mode of clearing was pretty common among the natives in different parts of the country. Sometimes the tree was first girdled with the axe and thus killed, allowed to become dry, and then burned by kindling a fire around it, as above described. Several of these stone axes, of different sizes, are now in my possession. The Indians taught the settlers to select the finest ears of corn for seed, to plant it at a proper time, to weed it, and to hill it. They "were accustomed to dig small holes four feet apart, with a clumsy instrument resembling the one described, which was made, not unfrequently, of a large clam- shell. Those living in the vicinity of the sea-shore put into each hole a horse-shoe crab or two, or a fish, upon which they dropped four, and sometimes six kernels of corn, and covered it with the implement with which they had dug the hole. The use of fish in the hill as a fertilizer was common, also, in the interior. Beans were planted with the corn after it had come up, and grew up supported by it. Great attention was paid to the protection of their crops from Aveeds, while the porn Avas carefully guarded from destruction by insects and birds. To prevent loss by the latter, a small \vatch-house was erected in the midst of a field of corn, in Avhich one of the family, often the eldest child, slept, and early in the morning rose to Avatch the birds. It Avas their universal custom to hill the corn, often from one to two feet high, for its sup- port, and spots are often seen at the present day which were evidently cultivated by them. The colonists very generally imitated this custom, and it has been continued doAvn to our own times in many parts of the coun- try. The men planted and cured their tobac- co, which was, ordinarily, the only plant they Avorked upon, the Avomeu managing all the rest. This brief sketch of the farming of the Indians would not be complete without an allusion to their mode of storing grain for their Avinter supply. Large holes Avere dug in the earth, and the sides carefully lined Avith bark ; this Avas also the work of the Avomen. The corn and the beans, after being dried in the sun, or on rocks or flakes over a fire, were throAvn into these holes, and then they Avere covered up level with the surface of the ground. They Avere thus pre- served, if necessary, through the Avinter. These excavated barns Avere carefully con- cealed by the women from their lazy hus- bands and sons, lest they should discover and eat up their contents ; yet, with all the care they could take, the hogs of the colo- nists often unhinged their barn-doors, and helped themselves to the golden treasure. History says that one of these Indian barns Avas discovered by the pilgrims at Truro, at a time when their store of provisions Avas so reduced as to contain but five kernels of corn to each individual. They sometimes made additional provis- ion for Avinter by means of large boxes of Avicker-work, or bags or sacks of hemp, which Avere filled and kept in the wigwam for the more immediate wants of the family. They had, of course, little or no occasion to cut grass, though it grew in abundance along the marshes and the rivers, and in places which had been cleared for cultivation. It was of a coarse quality, and served the colo- 22 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. nists a good turn till they resorted to the cultivation of better. We may imagine the surprise of the na- tives at the first sight of a plough. They could not understand so complicated a ma- chine. They wanted to see it work; and when it tore up more ground in a day than they, with their clam-shells, could scrape up in a month, and they saw the colter and the share to he of iron, they told the ploughman if he was not the devil himself, he was very much like him. The first sight of a ship, it is recorded, had excited their wonder even to a greater extent. To them it was a floating island ; its masts were nothing but trees ; its sails were clouds ; its discharge of guns was thunder and lightning ; but as soon as the thunder and lightning ceased, they pushed off their canoes to go and pick strawberries on the island ! This cursory glance at the early surround- ' ings of the settlers of the country, will en- able us the better to comprehend the diffi- culties in the way of making rapid progress. When poor and miserable cattle, poor and miserable implements, poor and miserable ideas of farming were the best of every thing they had, we can well imagine that little was done which was not forced upon them by the pressure of necessity. Their wants were too many, and required too vigorous exer- tions to provide what was indispensable, to admit of their spending time to experiment or seek out new principles to be applied to practical farming. As long as new lands could be had almost for the asking, it was not to be expected that they would till them very thoroughly. The soil was rich in mould the accumulation of ages and did not require very careful cultivation to se- cure an abundant return. But years of con- stant cropping exhausted its productiveness, when other lands were taken to subject to the same process. The farmer raised wheat year after year on the same land, till the soil became too poor, and then he planted corn ; and when it would no longer grow corn, he sowed barley, or rye, and so on to beans. Agriculture, so far as any real improve- ment was concerned, was, therefore, natural- ly enough, in a state of extreme depression for more than a century and a half after the establishment of colonies in various parts of the country. There were few intelligent cul- tivators previous to the Revolution, and there was no spirit of inquiry to give a charm to farm labor. It was performed as an evil which must be endured from stern necessity. Hard work was the order of the day. The forests were to be cleared, the buildings for shelter erected, the stone walls to be laid, and little time or inclination was left for the " humanities" of life. The inhabitants of country towns, a hun- dred years ago, most of whom were, of course, engaged in tilling the soil, seldom visited even their neighboring towns, and many a farmer and farmer's son did not leave his own township from one year's end to an- other. The liberalizing influence of social intercourse was unknown and unappreciated, unless the village tavern and the frequent glass might be considered as forming an ex- ception, while it afforded an opportunity, of which most men availed themselves, of form- ing new acquaintances and talking over the stale gossip of the neighborhood, or indulg- ing in the ribald jest. People for some miles around turned out to a "raising," as the erection of a frame building was termed, and a merry time it was, where the flip and the cider flowed like water. On a more limited scale, the " husk- ings" brought together, also, a pretty large neighborhood, when the same favorite drinks did much to enliven a long autumn evening, the whole being followed by a sumptuous re- past of pumpkin pies, etc., continued into the small hours of the night. Then the "spii,- ning bees" afforded a time for talk, and song, and riddle. Election day often, however, brought the people from a greater distance. No butcher drove up to the farmer's door, with his ever fresh supply of meats, to give va- riety to the daily and homely fare ; no ba- ker, with his jingling bells, travelled his rounds on stated days to relieve the monot- ony of the housewife's toil. Salted meats were the almost universal food from autumn till spring, and often from spring till autumn, though now and then a sheep or a lamb fell a victim to the necessity for change. No cottons, no calicoes, no ging- hams, no linens, no flannels loaded the counters of the village store, to be had at a sixpence, or a ninepence, or a quarter a yard. The farmer, and the farmer's family, wore homespun, and the spinning-wheel and the huge timber loom were a part of nearly every household furniture, and their noise was rarely silenced. If linens were wanted, the flax was sown, and weeded, and pulled, and rotted, and broken, and swingled for all AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 23 of which processes nearly a year was re- quired before the fibre was ready for spin- ning, and bleaching on the grass, and making and wearing. If woollens, the sheep were sheared, and the wool dyed and got in read- iness, and months were often required before it could be got into shape for wearing. Courtships were, therefore, of longer dura- tion than many of them now-a-days, and two years was about as soon as the betrothed farmer's daughter could get ready to go to keeping house. Not unfrequently the flax had to be sown as the preliminary step, and to pass through all its forms of transition in- to cloth and garments. With our present facilities for manufacturing by machinery every conceivable variety of fabric, and that, too, in the shortest space of time, it is impossible to appreciate fully the state of things among all classes of society a century ago. Even the old processes of curing and preparing flax, and the variety of fabrics made from it, have undergone an entire change. Processes which then required many months to complete, are now wholly avoided by the more perfect and economical ones at present known and in constant use. Owing to the imperfect provision for schools for the great body of the people, the boy was trained up to a narrow routine of labor, as his fathers had been for a century before. He often affected to despise all in- telligent cultivation of the soil, and not only scrupulously followed the beaten track, but was intolerant of all innovation, simply be- cause it was innovation. Very few of the rural population of that day saw a newspa- per or a journal of any kind. There were not, probably, a dozen published in the whole country a century ago. There was not one in New England at the beginning of the last century, and but four in' 1*7 50, and these had an extremely small circulation be- yond the limits of the metropolis. Obstinate adherence to prejudice of any kind is now generally regarded as a mark of ignorance or stupidity. A century ago, the reverse was the case. In many a small country town a greater degree of intelli- gence except on the part of the parson and the doctor than was possessed by his neigh- bors, brought down upon the possessor the ridicule of the whole community. If he ventured to make experiments, to strike out new paths of practice and adopt new modes of culture; or' if he did not plant just as many acres of corn as his fathers did, and :hat, too, in "the old of the moon;" if he did not sow just as much rye to the acre, use the same number of oxen to plough, and yet in his crops on the same day ; or if he did not hoe as many times as his father and tiis grandfather did if, in fine, he did not wear the same kind of homespun dress and adopt the same religious views and preju- dices, he was shunned in company by the old and young, and looked upon as a vision- ary. He knew nothing of a rotation of crops. The use and value of manures were little regarded. Even so late as within the memory of men still living, the barn was sometimes removed to get it out of the way of heaps of manure by which it was sur- rounded, because the owner would not go to the expense of removing these accumula- tions and put them upon his fields. The swine were generally allowed to run at large; the cattle were seldom or never housed at night during the summer and fall months ; the potato patch often came up to the very door, and the litter of the yard seldom left much to admire in the general appearance of things about the barn or the house. Farmers thought it necessary to let their cattle run at large very late in the fall, and to stand exposed to the severest colds of a win- ter's day, " to toughen." It was the com- mon opinion in the Virginia colony, that housing and milking cows in the winter would kill them. Orchards had been plant- ed in many parts of the country, but the fruit was, as a general thing, of an inferior quality, and used chiefly for the purpose of making cider. This is no picture drawn from the imagi- nation. It is strictly and literally true of the farming of the country as a whole, a century ago, though it should be remarked that a slightly modified state of things ex- isted in localities widely distant. But with some differences in detail, it will be found to be consonant with historical facts. It would be extremely interesting, were it in our power, to support, by accurate sta- tistics, this general view of the condition of farming during the last century, but, unfor- tunately, no reliable statistics were taken till the year 1790, and then, chiefly to ascertain the number of the population, with special reference to the distribution of the represen- tation, or the political power of the several states. We are, therefore, wholly destitute of statistical information of the products of farming industry during the last century ; 24 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. nor was it till the fourth decennial census, in j 1820, that the population was divided ac- cording to industrial pursuits, so that we have no means of ascertaining even the | number engaged in the occupation of farm- ing. We only know that the general esti- mate of the population at the time of the Revolution, which fixed it at three millions, was considerably too high. The occurrence of the Revolution, and the period immediately succeeding, very natu- rally brought men of all pursuits and from all parts of the country more frequently and closely together, and gave all classes, and fanners among the rest, a more general knowledge of what was passing in the world around them. Intercommunication became more easy and frequent, and had its influence upon the masses of the people. In the latter part of the last century many left the sea- board and removed to the interior to avoid the inconvenience arising from the difficul- ties between this and the mother country, and for other reasons ; more attention began to be paid to agriculture. Emigration from the cast began to set toward the so-called inexhaustible west, which at that time meant central or western New York. Up to this point our survey of the con- dition of agriculture has necessarily been general. Tso one branch of farming had made any marked and perceptible progress. It has been said that a good strong man could have carried all the implements in use on the farm, except the cart and old clumsy harrow, upon his shoulders, fifty years ago, and we know that many a year occurred when grain, and even hay, had to be imported from England to keep the people and the cattle from starvation. Hereafter, it will be more convenient to trace the progress of the different branches of farm industry, and the means brought to bear in the development and improvement of agriculture, in a more distinct and separate manner, in order that we may get a clearer idea of the relative progress and influence of each. And first, of the origin and growth of ASSOCIATED AND LEGISLATIVE EFFORT. One of the characteristic features of the farming of the present day, is the extent to which associated effort is brought to bear upon all its details, by way of exhibitions, premiums, clubs for discussion, and the pub- lication of reports for wide and gratuitous distribution. This enormous power of mind upon mind, by means of association or social intercourse, is of comparatively recent ori- gin in this country. It can scarcely date back to the beginning of the present centu- ry, though the necessity of it had, even then, become impressed upon the minds of patriotic and public-spirited men. On the 20th of July, 1794, Washington, then president of the United States, ad- dressed a letter to Sir John Sinclair, in Avhich he says : " It will be some time, I fear, before an agricultural society, with congressional aid, will be established in this country. AYe must walk, as other countries have, before we can run ; smaller societies must prepare the way for greater; but, with the lights before us, I hope we shall not be so slow in maturation as older nations have been. An attempt, as you will perceive by the enclosed outlines of a plan, is making to establish a state society in Pennsylvania for agricultural improvements. If it succeeds, it will be a step in the ladder ; at present, it is too much in embryo to decide upon the result." And again, in his annual address on the 7th De- cember, 1796, when he met for the last time the two houses of Congress, he said : "It will not be doubted that, with reference to either individual or national welfare, agricul- ture is of primary importance. In propor- tion as nations advance in population, and other circumstances of maturity, this truth becomes more apparent, and renders the cul- tivation of the soil more and more an object of public patronage. Institutions for pro- moting it grow up, supported by the public purse; and to what object can it be dedica- ted with greater propriety ? Among the means which have been employed to this end, none have been attended with greater success than the establishment of boards, composed of proper characters, charged witli collecting and diffusing information, and en- abled, by premiums and small pecuniary aids, to encourage and assist a spirit of dis- covery and improvement. "This species of establishment contrib- utes doubly to the increase of improvement, by stimulating to enterprise and experiment, and by drawing to a common centre the re- sults, everywhere, of individual skill arid ob- servation, and spreading them thence over the whole nation. Experience, accordingly, has shown that they are very cheap instru- ments of immense national benefit." Some few individuals, even before this date, had felt the necessity for some such ac- AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 25 tion as would lead to the development of the agricultural resources of the country, and as the result, the South Carolina Agri- cultural Society had been established in 1784, and still exists. The Philadelphia Society for the Improvement of Agriculture was formed in the same year, or the year after, followed by a similar association in New York in 1791, which was incorporated in 1793. The Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture was incorporated in 1792, and soon after commenced the publi- cation of a series of papers known as the Agricultural Repository, which, for sound good sense and judicious suggestion, chal- lenges comparison with any similar series ever published. It should be stated, how- ever, that the prime movers in the formation of these societies were not men actually en- gaged in farming, though many of them were owners of fine estates. The mass of farmers were not, as yet, fully prepared for this pro- gressive effort, and all the agricultural teach- ings of educated and scientific men prove un- availing, unless the people themselves, the actual tillers of the soil, are prepared to re- ceive and profit by their teachings. Many years elapsed after these early efforts were made, before the habit of reading became sufficiently common among the masses of practical farmers to justify the expectation that any general benefit would arise from the annual publication of the transactions of these societies. There was little or no disposition in the community to examine the subject, and they failed to excite any spirit of emulation in the public mind. The improvements pro- posed fell almost dead upon the people, who rejected " book farming" as impertinent and useless, and knew as little of the chemistry of agriculture as of the problems of astron- omy. A quarter of a century, however, ef- fected some change, and in 1816 the Massa- chusetts society held its first exhibition, at Brighton, at which a list of premiums was offered, and a ploughing match instituted, not so much with the object of improving the plough as to try the strength and docil- ity of the oxen. But the plough-maker hap- pened to be there, and to have his eyes open; and since that day, an amount of knowledge has been brought to bear upon this implement sufficient to bring it very near perfection. The first national society established with this specific object in view, is believed to have been the Columbian Agricultural So- ciety for the Promotion of Rural and Do- mestic Economy, organized at a convention held in Georgetown, D. C., on the 28th No- vember, 1809 ; and the first agricultural ex- hibition in this country was, probably, one held by that society in Georgetown, on the 10th of May, 1810, when large premiums were offered for the encouragement of sheep raising, etc. In the October following, in the same year, Elkanah Watson exhibited three merino sheep under the great elm tree in Pittsfield, Mass., which was the germ of the Berkshire County Agricultural Society, whose regular exhibitions began the year following, and are believed to have been the first county exhibitions ever instituted in this country. To show the feeling with re- gard to what was, at that time, considered an innovation, in a strictly farming community, the projector of that society encountered the opposition and ridicule of all classes of so- ciety, from the moment the proposition was made. It was viewed by many with con- tempt. Gradually, however, the feelings of the people were enlisted in its favor, premi- ums were offered and awarded, and a large concourse, from all parts of the county, in- creasing rapidly from year to year, showed clearly that something had reached the heart of the community. But though this was the first county exhi- bition, so far as I am informed, it was not the first county society that was formed. The Kennebec Agricultural Society was in- stituted at Augusta in 1800 and incorpora- ted in 1801, being the second society incor- porated within the limits of Massachusetts, to which Maine, at that time, belonged. A voluntary association of the Middlesex hus- bandmen had also been formed in 1794, and incorporated in 1803, under the name of the Western Society of Middlesex Husband- men. These were some of the early efforts in this direction, and though they, like other similar attempts, met with some opposition on the part of the very class they were intended to benefit, the increasing intelligence of the people very soon enabled them to live it down. Now we have more than a thousand similar associations, all striving, by the offer of premiums, and by bringing together the best products of the farm and the garden, to en- courage improvement and stimulate enter- prise. Almost every state in the Union has its state society, and almost every county, 26 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. and, in some of the states, every county, has its county organization. And what is the result ? It is well known that by far the largest and most valuable part of our practical knowledge is that which is got in our intercourse with our fellow men, with those who are engaged in the same pursuits and have the same interests as ourselves. The farmer has, therefore, gained, and is gaining a vast amount of information, much of which he can apply to advantage on his farm. Emerging from his naturally iso- lated position, he has become a more social being. More frequent contact with others, by way of competition, has stimulated men- tal activity. Contrast him now with his father on the same farm half a century ago, and see if there is not some improvement that can be traced to the social influences of the agricultural clubs and societies. In addition to these societies, most, if not all of which are encouraged by the several states in a substantial manner, there exist, in some of the states, boards of agriculture, or- ganized as departments of the state govern- ment, and having a general supervision of the societies, receiving their official returns, and publishing an abstract of the most valu- able papers presented, for general distribu- tion. I do not think it is claiming too much for the agricultural societies throughout the country, to say that the general spirit of in- quiry in relation to farm improvements, and much of the enterprise manifested by farm- ers of the present day, is due to their efforts. The most impartial judgment would, in fact, go much further than this, and say that a large proportion of the actual improvement that has been made in farm stock, farm im- plements, and farm products, may be traced, directly or indirectly, to the influence of the agricultural associations of the country. To appreciate this influence it is only nec- essary to consider the immense facilities which a well-conducted exhibition gives, not only to the agricultural mechanic for mak- ing known the nature and value of his im- provements, but to the farmer for becoming acquainted with them. Many an invention would have slumbered in oblivion, or enjoy- ed only a limited and local fame, had it not been for the multitudes brought together at the state, county, and town fairs, which, it will thus be seen, furnish a most admirable medium of communication, both to the me- chanic and the farmer, making it for the in- terest of both to attend and avail themselves of the facilities offered them. Thus a great public interest is served, notwithstanding the individual mechanic or inventor may have his own interest chiefly at heart. And what is true with regard to agricul- tural implements, is true to nearly an equal extent of every thing else brought for exhibi- tion to the fairs of the societies. A fanner sees fruits that he knew nothing of, and could not obtain otherwise. He knows who presented them, secures the same for his own farm, and within five years can present as good samples himself. He sees animals brought to a degree of perfection of which he had never, perhaps, conceived. Thought is excited. He asks himself whether they are more profitable than his own ; procures them, perhaps, and thus an improved stock is disseminated over the country to take the place of that which is inferior, but which costs the individual nearly or quite as much to keep as that more valuable and profitable. I need not enlarge upon this point. Enough has been said, I think, to show that the modern system of associated effort is a most decided progressive movement ; but let us trace out more in detail some of its re- sults. And first, in the multiplication and improvement of FARM IMPLEMENTS. There is, perhaps, no branch of farm econ- omy in which the progress of improvement has been so apparent and unquestionable, as that made in the implements of agriculture during the last half century. It might al- most be said that progress in agriculture it- self may be measured by an increased de- mand for new and better implements, as the advance in civilization is shown by a greater demand for comforts and luxuries by the people. There Avas a time, as we have seen, in the history of American farming, when labor was cheap, when strong limbs and the power of endurance were the requisites chiefly sought for in the hired man, and when his labor was paid for as so much brute, physi- cal force. Intelligent labor, skill, and thought found higher rewards in other call- ings, and the practical fanner was thought to be sufficiently well informed if he was able to hold plough, to mow, to sow, and to reap. The labor the physical force neces- sary to carry on the operations of the farm could be obtained very easily in those days, AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 27 and it was natural that farmers should be satisfied with the limited variety of imple- ments then in use. The isolated position in which they were placed, their limited op- portunities for travel and observation, the difficulties, in fact, of getting about among people engaged in the same pursuits, all helped to strengthen prejudice arid foster a repugnance to try new and unused imple- ments, or to strike out into new fields of ex- periments. Besides these obstacles in the way of improvement, the progress then made in the various branches of mechanics was extremely limited, and the adoption of new and improved implements must follow, of course, in the wake of mechanical invention. The few rude and imperfect implements in use at an early day were, for the most part, of home manufacture, or made by the neighboring blacksmith, who had a thousand other things to make at the same time. There was little idea of a division of labor. Jack at all trades was good at none. As early as 1617, some ploughs were set to work in the Virginia plantation, but in that year the governor complained to the company that the colony " did suffer for want of skilful husbandmen, and means to set their ploughs on work ; having as good ground as any man can desire, and about forty bulls and oxen, but they wanted men to bring them to labor, and iron for the ploughs, and harness for the cattle. Some thirty or forty acres we had sown with one plough, but it stood so long on the ground before it was reaped, it was most shaken, and the rest spoiled with the cattle and rats in the barn." This complaint had some effect, for, in 1648, a cotemporary resident says: " \Ve have now going near .upon a hundred and fifty ploughs," and they were drawn by oxen. It is recorded that in 1637 there were but thirty-seven ploughs in the colony of Massa- chusetts Bay. Twelve years after the land- ing of the pilgrims, the farmers about Bos- ton had no ploughs, and were compelled to break up the bushes and prepare for cultiva- tion with their hands, and with rude and clumsy hoes or mattocks. It was the cus- tom, in that part of the country, even to a much later period, for any one owning a plough to go about and do the ploughing for the inhabitants over a considerable extent of territory. A town often paid a bounty to any one who would buy and keep a plough in repair for the purpose of going about to work in this way. The massive old wooden plough required a strong and well- fed team to move it through the soil, a heavy, muscular man to press it into the ground, another to hold, and another to drive. We may judge, therefore, of the economy of the work it performed. What was true of the early period of the settlement, was true, to nearly an equal extent, for a hundred and fifty years, so far as the implements and the processes of farming are concerned. All these last were traditional, handed down from sire to son, and adhered to in the strictest manner. The implements consisted almost wholly of the plough, the spade," a clumsy wooden fork, and now and then a harrow. I have in my possession two of these wooden forks, made, and in use, at least a hundred and fifty years ago, in the Massachusetts colony. They were regarded as curious for their antiquity in the youth of the grandfather of the donor, who died some years ago, upward of ninety years of age. That would date them back nearly two centuries, perhaps. At this time, the ploughs used among the French settlers in Illinois were made of wood, with a small point of iron tied up- on the wood with straps of raw-hide. The beams rested on an axle and small wooden wheels, the whole drawn by oxen yoked to the ploughs by the horns, by means of a straight yoke attached by raw leather straps, with a pole extended from the yoke back to the axle. The plough was very large and clumsy, and no small one was used by them to plough among the corn till after the war of 1812. The carts they used had not a particle of iron about them. During the last century, the old " Carey plough" was more extensively used in the Atlantic states than any other pattern, though the particular form of this instrument varied almost as much as the number of small man- ufacturers or blacksmiths who made it. The Carey plough had a clumsy wrought iron share, a land-side and standard made of wood, a wooden mould-board, often plated over, in a rough manner, with pieces of old saw-plates, tin, or sheet iron. The handles were upright, and were held by two pins ; a powerful man was required to hold it, and double the strength of team now com- monly used in doing the same kind of work. The "bar-side plough," or the "bull plough," was also used to some extent. A flat bar formed the land-side, and a big 30 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. clump of iron, shaped a little like the half of a lance head, served as a point, into the upper part of which a kind of colter was fastened. The mould-board was wooden, and fitted to the irons in the most bungling manner. The action might be illustrated by holding a sharp-pointed shovel back up, and thrusting it through the ground. In the southern states, the "shovel plough" was in general use down to a very recent date, and is, indeed, to some extent, at the present day. It was made of a rough- hewn stick for a beam, with another stick framed in, upon the end of which a piece of iron, shaped somewhat like a shovel, sharp- pointed, was fastened. The two rough han- dles were nailed or pinned on to the sides of the beam, having a wooden prop, with a draft iron, or a raw-hide loop, at the forward end of the beam Generally speaking, it might be said that the ploughs used in this country a century ago, were not very unlike those used by the old Romans before the Christian era, and by some of the people of southern Europe even at the present day. They were not unfre- quently nor inaptly termed the "hog plough," on account, probably, of their pro- pensity to root into and out of the ground. And in describing the plough, an adequate idea of all other kinds of farm implements the variety, as we have seen, being extreme- ly small is clearly enough conveyed. These old-fashioned wooden ploughs continued, with little or no improvement, till after the beginning of the present century. By far the greater part of the draught of the plough, or strength of team required, is due to friction in the soil. The cutting, raising, and turning over of the turf add compara- tively little to the draught, though, it is true, the friction itself is somewhat increased by the weight of the plough, and this weight is, of course, increased by the weight of the furrow-slice as it is lifted from its bed. Hence, the draught of the plough is but slight- ly increased by an increase of speed, since the friction is not increased, but remains nearly the same on the bottom of the fur- row, on the land-side, and between the fur- row-slice and the mould-board, whether the motion be fast or slow. Modern improve- ments have aimed, therefore, to overcome the friction and resistance by an improv- ed construction of the mould-board and by the use of better materials, for it is now well established, by practical exper- iment, that the draught depends less on the weight of the plough itself, than on its con- struction. The draught does not increase in proportion to an increase of weight, and hence, though some still object to the mod- ern plough, as compared with the models in use fifty years ago, on account of their being heavier, yet it is a common remark that the draught is easier, and they require much less strength of team to do the same, or a far better work. The excessive friction of the old-fashioned bull plough was the great objection to it. It was constructed awkwardly enough, in the first place, but the form of the mould-board was especially defective, and this it was that required such great strength of team. It did pretty fair work, no doubt, on light and easy soils, but the share and the mould-board were so attached, as to make the wedge too blunt, which, of course, made the friction excessive. It broke and crumbled the fur- row-slice, in places, and was not calculated to turn a flat furrow. But the action of the old plough was not uniform, some furrows being set too much on the edge, while oth- ers were laid quite flat. It was not its weight so much as its form that needed im- provement. Its construction not being based on such principles as to make it of easy draught, it was more difficult to hold, more easily thrown out of the ground, and required constant watchfulness on the part of the ploughman. It was difficult to culti- vate to any depth without the help of one or two men to ride on the beam to " hold down." The mould-board was frequently shod with iron, as we have seen, to diminish the friction and prevent wear ; but it was in strips, and uneven, and the desired effect was not always produced. It is not too much to say that the changes and modifications made in the mould-board within the last forty years, have effected such improvements as to enable the farmer to do a much greater amount of better work, with far less expenditure of strength, and to reap larger crops as the result, while the original cost of the implement is less than it former- ly was. The saving to the country from these improvements alone, within the last twenty-five years, has been estimated at no less than $10,000,000 a year in the work of. teams, and $1,000,000 in the cost of ploughs, while the aggregate of the crops has been increased by many millions of bushels. These improvements in the form of the AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 31 mould-board will be understood, when we consider that one side of the furrow-slice, as soon as it is cut, begins to rise gradually, till, as the plough advances, it is turned en- tirely over. The mould-board should be so constructed as to offer the least possible re- sistance as it moves along, and to run as far as possible without clogging, to which the old plough was especially liable, the lines of its mould-board being concave, in- stead of convex or straight, according to the rules more recently laid down requiring the " board to be composed of straight lines in the direction of its length, with continually increasing angles to the line of the furrow ; and these last lines are severally straight, convex, and concave." Ransome, after the most mature study of this implement, says : " Although no one form of mould-board will, or can be applicable to every variety of soil and circumstance, there is no description of soil for which a perfect mould-board may not be made by this rule in some of its mod- ifications." Such was the condition of things with re- gard to this, and most other farm imple- ments, at the close of the last and beginning of the present century, or till within the last forty or 'fifty years. The first patent for a cast iron plough in this country, is believed to have been that of Charles Newbold, of Burlington, N. J., in 1797. This patent combined the mould- board, share, and land-side, all cast together. It was so great and manifest an improvement on the old wooden plough, that Peacock, in his patent of 1807, paid the original inven- tor of the plough of 1797 the sum of 500 for the privilege of copying some parts of it. A cast iron mould-board had been invent- ed in Scotland, it is proper to remark, as early as 1740, by James Small, but he still continued to use the wrought iron share, cast iron not being used in its construction till 1785. Small established a plough man- ufactory in 1 763, and becoming familiar with the manufacture of cast iron, not long after- ward, he conceived the idea of making pat- terns of the principal parts of the plough. But whether the American inventor had a knowledge of the existence of these ploughs is not known. Such was the extreme importance of this implement, as to command the attention of scientific men in studying to improve its form and construction, and, in 1798, Thomas Jefferson applied himself to the task, and wrote a treatise on the form of the mould- board, discussing it on scientific principles, calculating mathematically its exact form and size, and especially its curvature, with a view to lessen its friction. I have seen his orig- inal manuscript of this essay, containing his drawings, etc., now in the possession of a jrentleman of Boston. Since his time, such an amount of scientific and practical skill has been brought to bear upon this imple- ment, as to leave little to suggest. But it should be stated that the successive improve- ments were not readily adopted by the mass of farmers. Their introduction was far slower than that of an improved implement would be at the present time, though the prejudice against the use of new inventions has not yet wholly disappeared. Many a farmer, clinging to the old wooden plough, asserted that cast iron poisoned the ground, and spoilt the crops. _ Still, the modern styles gradually gained ground, as real im- provements always will. In one respect we have especially improved, and that is the adaptation of our ploughs to the different kinds of soil on which they are to be used. When attention was first directed to the im- provement of this implement during the lat- ter part of the last century, the principles of ploughing were not so well understood as at the present day. The work was neither so carefully done nor so critically examined, and, consequently, the want of different forms of the plough adapted to the varieties of surface and of soil was not so much felt as now, when nearly every farmer sees that he cannot produce directly opposite effects with the same implement. In another respect, also, custom has changed as much as the forms of the plough itself, for while a half century ago it was made by the blacksmith in nearly every small town in the country, it is now made in large establishments by those Avho devote themselves exclusively to the business, and these establishments have gradually diminished in number, while the aggregate number of ploughs has largely in- creased. In the single state of Massachu- setts, for example, there were, in 1845, no less than seventy-three plough manufacto- ries, making annually 61,334 ploughs and other agricultural implements, while in 1855 there were but twenty-two plough manufac- tories, making 152,686 ploughs, valued at $707,175.86. Up to the year 1855 there had been no less than three hundred and seventy-two patents issued from the Patent 32 AGRICULTURE IN CHE UNITED STATES. Office at Washington, for changes and im- provements on this implement. . I need not dwell upon the wonderful per- formances of the steam plough, the practical and successful operation of which is one of the proudest triumphs of modern agricul- tural mechanics and engineering. I need not dwell on the vastly increased facilities it will give for developing the resources of the west, through whose almost boundless prai- ries it will run unobstructed, like a thing of life. The harrow naturally follows the plough, and is equally indispensable. It has, prob- ably undergone fewer changes and modifica- tions, if we except those made within the last ten years, than any other of our farm implements, most of the forms of the modern harrow in use bearing a lose resem- blance to those of the ancients, as illustrated on medals and sculptures. The old harrow, and that used by our fathers till within the memory of men still living, was made of wood, of simple bars and cross-bars furnish- ed with teeth. More recently the material used has been of iron, with teeth commonly pointed with steel, and this has partly obvi- ated the objections made to this implement on account of its great weight, which re- quired too slow a motion on the part of the team. A light, sharp-toothed harrow, moved quickly over the ground, accomplishes far the best work in preparing the soil for the reception of seed. So important is it that j this implement should be rapidly moved, that the work of the same implement, drawn sluggishly over the ground, or moved more rapidly, differs very widely in its results. A certain amount of weight is very important, it is true, and this weight differs according to circumstances ; but it is desirable to have it in the most compact form. The recent improvements, by which a complete rotatory motion is secured, together with a certain degree of flexibility gained by pieces of framework hinged together so that any part of the implement can be lifted or moved without disturbing the operation of the rest, seem to leave little to desire in respect to this important farm implement. This is a case, as well as that of the plough, of most decided improvement in an implement of very ancient date, handed down to us, in fact, from remote antiquity. As specimens of important labor-saving implements of modern invention and con- 1 struction, we may mention a large class known as horse-hoes, grubbers, cultivators, drills, seed-sowers, and others of like char- acter. The seed-sowers and drills scatter the seed more uniformly than it could pos- sibly be done by hand ; dropping also, when it is desired, any concentrated or pulverized manure, and covering the rows. All the implements named, of which there is an infinite variety of forms, are most marked and decided improvements on manual labor, which was required by our forefathers for the same processes. Another large class of implements, among the most important of modern inventions, are the various kinds of harvesters, particu- larly the reapers and the mowers. Many of our grain crops, like wheat, bar- ley, and oats, come to maturity at nearly the same time. Wheat is liable to sprout in moist weather, and barley to become dis- colored if allowed to stand too long. The work of harvesting by the old method was; necessarily slow and protracted. Previous to the introduction of the reaper, very large quantities of our most valuable grain were annually lost, owing to the impossibility of harvesting it properly and at the proper time. It is not, therefore, too much to say, that the successful introduction of the reaper into our grain fields has added many millions of dollars to the value of our an- nual harvest, not only by enabling us to se- cure the whole product, but also by making it possible for the farmer to increase the area of his cultivated fields, with a certainty of being able to gather in his whole crop. The sickle, which was in common use for harvesting the grain crop till the introduc- tion of the cradle, and, in fact, till a very recent date, was undoubtedly as old as Tubal Cain. No one who has hael a practical ex- perience of its use, bending over in the most painful position from " early morn till dewy * eve," can fail to appreciate the immense sav- ing of human muscle, and of slow and wearisome hand labor, by the introduction and use of the reaper. It would have been an astonishing evidence of stupidity on the part of the ancients, who relied mainly on wheat and the other smaller grains, had they not tried, at least, to replace the sickle by something better. This they did, for it is recorded that the farmers of Gaul used a simple reaper, not long after the time of Christ. Pliny asserts that the in- habitants of that countrv fixed a series of AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 35 knives into the tail-end of a cart, and this being propelled through the grain, clipped off the ears or heads, and thus it was har- vested. Many efforts were made in England and Scotland, at the beginning of the present century, to accomplish the same result, but with no great success. In the year 1833, Schnebley, of Maryland, obtained a patent on a machine for reaping grain ; but that of Obed Hussey, of Baltimore, patented in the same year, has not only been successfully and somewhat extensively used from that time to this, in the western states, but has furnished the basis for the most successful models in this country, among the most noted of which are those of McCormick, of Virginia, and Manny & Atkins, of Illinois. The American reaping machines have been brought to a high state of perfection within the last ten years. They have already a world-wide reputation. Their superiority is generally acknowledged, and the credit of having for the first time made the prin- ciples applicable to such machinery prac- tically useful, undoubtedly belongs to our own ingenious mechanics. Five years ago the American machines were brought to trial at the exhibition at Paris, in competition with the world. This trial took place in a field of oats about forty miles from the city, each ma- chine having about one acre to cut. Three machines were entered for the first trial, one American, one English, and a third from Algiers, all at the same time raking as well as cutting. The American machine did its work in twenty-two minutes, the English in sixty-six, and the Algerian in seventy-two. At a subsequent trial on the same piece, when three other machines were entered, of American, English, and French manufacture, respectively, the American machine cut its acre in twenty-two minutes, while the two others failed. The successful competitor on this occasion, " did its work in the most ex- quisite manner," says a French journal, " not leaving a single stalk ungathered, and it discharged the grain in the most perfect shape, as if placed by hand, for the binders. It finished its piece most gloriously." The contest was finally Harrowed down to three machines, all American. Two ma- chines were afterward converted from reap- ers into mowers, one making the change in one minute, the other in twenty. Both performed their task to the astonishment 3 and satisfaction of a large concourse of spec- tators, and the judges themselves could not restrain their enthusiasm, but cried out "Good, good, well done," Avhile the people hurrahed for the American reaper, crying out, " That's the machine, that's the ma- chine !" " All the laurels," says the report of a French agricultural journal, " we are free to confess, have been gloriously won by Americans, and this achievement cannot be looked upon with indifference, as it plainly foreshadows the ultimate destiny of the new world !" And so with the mowing machines. The hay crop of the country cannot be estimated at less than a hundred millions of dollars a year. It must be gathered at a season Avhen labor is to be obtained with difficulty, and at even higher than the usual price of wages, and when the weather is often fickle and precarious, generally oppressively hot, making the task doubly irksome and un- healthy. But besides this, many acres of grass on our ordinary farms ripen at about the same time, which, if allowed to stand too long, will decrease in quantity and value of hay which might otherwise have been made from it. By the use of the mowing machine it can be secured and saved most quickly, easily, and cheaply. Mowing is, at best, one of the severest of the labors of the farm, notwithstanding the efforts of poets and other writers to make us believe it is all fun. It calls into play nearly every voluntary muscle in the body, requiring not only the more frequent and regular movements of these muscles, but, on account of the twisting motion of the body, an unusually great exertion of muscular power. Nor does it require any small amount of skill to become a good mower, since it is proverbial that, unless the boy becomes accustomed to the scythe, and learns while young, he can never become a skilful mower. It is not at all surprising, therefore, that mechanical ingenuity should have been directed to shorten and lighten this severe operation. The first mowing machine which met with any success in this country, is believed to have been that of William Manning, of New Jersey, patented in 1831, and which met with a limited success more than twenty years ago. In 1834 appeared the Ambler patent, simple in its construction, with a cutter bar of wrought iron, and a single smooth-edged knife, operated by means of a 36 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. crank which gave it a vibratory motion. It was used in 1835 and 1836. A few other efforts were made about that time, and met with some slight success, but it was not till a recent date that the machine was con- structed in a manner to give a confident hope of its ultimate and complete success. That hope has been fully realized, and the mower is one of the grandest agricultural inventions of modern times. Like all other inventions, it was adopted by the farmer with his usual caution, but its triumph has been so complete, that^ its utility and its economy are almost universally admitted, and the number manufactured, and the sales , to farmers, have been immense, and are even now rapidly increasing every year. As an evidence of this, McCormick is reported to have sold no less than four thousand of his reapers to the fanners around Chicago, for the single harvest of 1860, and other manu- facturers have no doubt met with similar encouragement. Contrast also the slow process of raking hay by the common hand rake, with the rapid and easy method of gathering it with the horse rake, accomplishing with great ease to a single man who drives, the labor of at least ten men with the old hand rake. With a common revolving rake, from twenty to twenty-five acres a day may be gathered up, and sixteen acres a day have been raked with the simplest form. What a security on the approach of a storm, when the farmer would be comparatively helpless with nothing but the common rake to rely on ! But what shall we say of the modern threshing machine as compared with the flail ? Who does not well remember its familiar sound, and that beautiful description of Cowper " Thump after thump resounds the constant flail, That seems to swing uncertain, and yet falls Full on the destined ear"? Only think of the difference in the results. At the trial of threshing-machines at the Paris exhibition, the victory was won by an American machine, and during the opera- tion, to ascertain the comparative rapidity of threshing, six men were engaged in threshing with flails, who in one hour threshed sixty litres of wheat. In the same time Pitt's American machine threshed 740 litres, Clayton's English " 410 " Duvoir'a French " " 250 " Pinet's " " " 150 " and a French journal, in speaking of the trial, said : " This American machine liter- ally devoured the sheaves of wheat. The eye cannot follow the work which is effect- ed between the entrance of the sheaves and the end of the operation. It is one of the greatest results which it is possible to at- tain. The impression which this spectacle produced on the Arab chiefs was profound." At the great fair in New York, in 1853, a machine was exhibited which not only threshed and winnowed the wheat, but meas- ured it, placed it in bags ready for the market, and recorded accurately the number of bush- els, and all by one continuous operation. These vast and acknowledged improve- ments in harvesting and threshing grain will be seen to be of the utmost importance, when it is considered that we annually raise about two hundred millions of bushels of wheat, and of rye, barley, and oats over one hundred millions, and that the resources of the country may be developed, by the use of machinery, to an extent far beyond the reach of present calculation. The reaper, the thresher, and the mower are types of the ever restless and progress- ive spirit of the age. They point out to us a glorious future, in which they will accom- plish for us and for our country triumphs grander than the triumphs of arms, for they will develop the means of supporting the millions of human beings which the imple- ments of war can only destroy. Could the learned Malthus who proclaim- ed the gloomy theory that war, famine, and pestilence were checks, designed by an all- wise Being to keep down the increase of population to a level with the means of sus- tenance now rise up from his sleep of death and see the population of England more than doubled since his day, and that of this country multiplied many times, while the people are better fed, and better clothed," with less labor and less suffering, with the possibility of a famine wholly and forever removed, he might change his shameful doctrine, and adopt a more cheerful and hopeful view of the providence of God. With an immense multiplication of the hu- man species in all civilized countries which have been devoted to the arts of peace and the development of their material resources, a bountiful Father has sent us a superabun- dance of food, instead of famine, and has taught us to rely on the exhaustless bounty of the fruitful earth, and upon his beneficent AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 37 promise that seed time and harvest shall never fail to supply the daily wants of his children. But with all the progress which we have made in improving the implements of the farm, we have not reached perfection. No bound is set to human ingenuity, and further means may yet be devised to shorten labor and increase the products of the soil. We cannot hope, nor is it desirable, to avoid labor. This is not the object of im- proved machinery ; but to make labor more attractive, agreeable, and productive ; to bring into subjection the rude forces of nature, and make them do our bidding and increase our stores ; to redeem thousands of acres now lying waste from wildness and des- olation, and to make our country the gran- ary of the world these are triumphs we may hope to gain from the introduction and use of improved machinery, and in this view the subject commends itself to the attention of the highest intellect, and opens a field for the labors of the noblest philanthropy. PROGRESS IN THE RAISING OF STOCK. Allusion has already been made, incident- ally, to the character of the cattle from which the early importations into this country must, for the most part, have been drawn. The first animals that arrived in any part of the present territory of the United States were probably those taken to the colony on the James river, in Virginia, previous to the year 1609, the exact date of their arrival not being known. Several cows are known to have been carried there in 1610, and dur- ing the following year, 1611, no less than one hundred head arrived there from abroad. It is probable that those first introduced there were brought over by the earliest ad- venturers, and others came from the West Indies. It is well known that some of their cattle came from Ireland. Those from the West Indies were the descendants of cattle brought to America by Columbus in his second voyage, in 1493. I have seen it as- serted that so important was it considered that the cattle introduced into the' infant colony should be preserved and allowed to increase, that an order was issued forbidding the killing of domestic animals of any kind, on pain of death to the principal, burning of the hand and cropping the ears of the accessory, and a sound whipping of twenty- four hours for the concealer of a knowledge of the facts. Such encouragement being given to the raising of stock, it is not sui 1 - prising to find the number of cattle in Vir- ginia in 1620 amounting to about five hun- dred head; and in 1639, to thirty thousand ; while from the fact that in 1648 the number had been reduced to twenty thousand, we may infer that the restrictions on killing them had been removed. Many also had been sent to New England. The first cattle that were introduced into the Plymouth colony, and undoubtedly the earliest brought into New England, arrived at Plymouth, in the ship Charity, in 1624. They were imported by Governor Winslow for the colony, and consisted of three heifers and a bull. A division of the stock, which appears to have been held in common, was made in 1627, when one or two are described as black, black and white, others brindle ; an evidence that there was no uniformity of color. These animals were to remain in the hands of individuals receiving them for ten years, they to have the produce, while the old stock was still to be owned by the col- ony in common. Twelve cows were sent to Cape Ann in 1626, and in 1629 thirty more, while in 1630 about a hundred animals were imported for the "governor and company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England." These cattle were kept at Salem. In the meantime, the first importation was made into New York from Holland by the Dutch West India Company, and the foundation laid for a valuable race of ani- mals. The number in all introduced was one hundred and three, consisting of horses and cattle for breeding. The company fur- nished each tenant with four cows, four horses, some sheep and pigs, for the term of six years, when the number of animals re- ceived was to be returned, their increase being left in the hands of each farmer. Then the cattle belonging to the company were distributed among those who were un- able to buy stock. And so, for the settlements along the Delaware, cattle were introduced by the Swedish West India Company in 1627. It will be seen, therefore, that before the close of the year 1630, the number of homed cattle in all the colonies must have risen, by natural increase and by the importations above named, to several thousands. And then, in 1631, 1632, and 1633, sev- eral importations were made into what ia now New Hampshire, by Captain John Mason, who, with Gorges, procured the 38 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. patent of large tracts of land in the vicinity of Piscataqua river, and immediately formed settlements there. The prime object of Mason was to carry on the manufacture of potash, and for this purpose he employed the Danes ; and it was in his voyages to and from Denmark that he procured many Dan- ish cattle, chiefly for the purposes of draught. They Avere, undoubtedly, considerably larger than the average of the cattle of England at that day, of a uniformly light yellow color, and made very fine oxen for labor. They soon became widely diffused over the whole region, and are said to have remained, with a great degree of purity of blood, or little intermixture, down to the year 1 820. Traces of them can be found even at the present day. They were, no doubt, large and coarse animals, and well adapted to endure the severity of the climate and the hardships to which they were subjected in the lumbering- operations of that new colony. They, un- questionably, did much to lay the foundation of the " native" stock of New England, over which they spread in the course of a very few years, and became mixed with the cattle imported into Salem and Plymouth, and probably, to some extent, with the Dutch cattle already alluded to ; perhaps, also, with the black cattle of Spain and Wales, and subsequently with the long-horns and the short-horns, most or all of which crosses were accidental, or the result of individual convenience or other local circumstances. From them the working oxen of New Eng- land derive much of their character and reputation for strength, hardihood, quick- ness, and docility. Now we find the sources from which the native cattle of this country sprang. The early importations into Virginia were origi- nally derived, mainly, probably, from Eng- land ; some were from the black cattle of Spain, though the importation of 1611 probably came from England ; the cattle of the Plymouth colony came from the coast of Devonshire ; those brought into New York from the island of Texel, on the coast of Holland, and were mostly, without doubt, the black and white Dutch cattle ; those on the Delaware were brought from Sweden ; those in New Hampshire were the large, yellow Danish cattle ; and as the earlier im- portations were the most extensive that were made for many years, these various stocks were crossed, and thus formed the original stock of the country. There is sufficient evidence to show that they were interchanged between the colo- nies to some extent, at an early day. Some of the Virginia cattle were early sent to New England, while others found their way to Virginia through Pennsylvania, so that the mixture was great and inevitable. Of the mode of keeping cattle in the Virginia colony, Glover, a cotemporary, in the His- torical Register, says : " All the inhabitants give their cattle in winter is only the husks of their Indian corn, unless it be some of them that have a little wheat straw, neither do they give them any more of these than will serve to keep them alive ; by reason whereof they venture into the marshy grounds and swamps for food, where very in any are lost." And Clayton, another equally high authority, says, "that they neither housed nor milked their cows in winter, having a notion that it would Mil them.' 1 '' And still another, a Swedish traveller, Kalm, more recently, 1749, in speaking of the James river colony, says: "They make scarce any manure for their corn fields, but when one piece of ground has been exhausted by continual cropping, they clear and cultivate another piece of fresh land, and when that is exhausted proceed to a third. Their cat- tle are allowed to wander through the woods and uncultivated grounds, where they are half starved, having long ago extirpated almost all the annual grasses by cropping them too eai'ly in the spring, before they had time to form their flowers or to shed their seeds." The poorness of pasturage and want of food had caused the cattle to diminish in size from one generation to another, till they had become stunted and small, and were not improperly termed " lit- tle runts," or "natives." In color, the natives, as already indicated, are exceedingly various. Crosses of the Den- marks with the Spanish and Welsh would naturally have made a dark brindlc ; crosses of the Denmarks and the Devons often made a lighter or yellowish brindle ; while the more recent importations of Jerseys and short-horns have generally produced a beau- tifully spotted progeny. The prejudice in favor of deep red, which was long the fa- vorite color of New England, is fast giving way to more variegated colors. In the year 1553, some Portuguese had taken cattle to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, while in 1604, a Frenchman had in- troduced the small French cattle into Acadia, AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 39 from whence, in 1608, they were carried, to Canada, and from there several animals were taken into what is now known as the "American Bottom," in Illinois, in 1682, where they increased rapidly. The first cattle imported into Carolina were obtained in England in 1670, and we find that the Indians on the Red River in Louisiana had cattle as early as 1690. The first importa- tion into Georgia was made, so far as we are informed, in 1732, followed by others in 1735. In 1750 the keeping of stock had assumed some importance in certain localities, par- ticularly in the older eastern settlements, where it had become comparatively safe from molestation, for it is known that some large farmers in Rhode Island kept as many as one hundred cows and upward, and the sale of thirteen thousand pounds of cheese from one farm is recorded, and in one case seventy-three cows produced ten thousand pounds of butter in five months, or an aver- age of very nearly a pound a day to a cow, which, for that length of time, must be re- garded as a good yield. It will be borne in mind that up to this time, and in fact for nearly half a century later, no well-directed efforts at improve- ment had been made even in England ; but at that time some localities there possessed classes or races of animals peculiar to them- selves, whose merits had begun to attract attention, though there was no general in- terest in the subject before the days of Bakewell, who " sat in the huge chimney corner of a log kitchen, hung round with the finest joints of his dried oxen, preserved as specimens of proportions ; a tall, stout, broad-shouldered man, of brown, red com- plexion, clad in a brown, loose coat and scarlet waistcoat, leather breeches, and top boots," and demonstrated what could be done by attention to true physiological laws in the breeding of cattle. The choice of breeds and obtaining good crosses were nowhere thought of previous to his time. In fact, before the cultivation of the natural and artificial grasses and the introduction of the turnip and other root crops, the farmer had comparatively little control over the frames of his cattle. He was obliged to give them such food as he had, or rather they were obliged to take such as they could get, which, on a vast majority of the farms, both of England and the American provinces, at that time, was what would now be considered pretty hard fare. Hard seasons and the want of winter feeding and shelter were obstacles vastly more difficult to overcome then than now. Those who should, " during the space of one year, keep the greatest weight of horned cattle," got the premiums offered by the London Society of Arts, rather than those who should exhibit the greatest degree of improvement in their animals. But with the increase and abundance of good food, the tide of improvement set in, and size began to be the grand aim of the earlier graziers, and the production of enormous monstrosities was the result. Now Bake- well, a man of remarkable sagacity and close observation, steps in and establishes a new system of animal development. With him mere size was no object. He wanted to build up a breed which should give the greatest amount of saleable beef for the amount of food consumed, having the best parts bearing a larger proportion to the offal than what was usually found. Small- ness of bone, and tendency to fatten and mature early, he thought indispensable in cattle bred for the shambles. Up to his day, both in England and America, it had been customary to keep oxen till they were seven or eight years old, before they were fatted for the butcher. He travelled over England, Ireland, and Holland to find ani- mals adapted to his purposes. " The old notion was," says Arthur Young, "that where you had large bones there was plenty of room to lay the flesh on. This, Mr. Bake- well has proved to be a mistake. He asserts the smaller the bones, the truer will be the make of the beast, the quicker she will fatten, and her weight will have a larger proportion of valuable meat." The greatest physiologists have shown, upon the highest scientific principles, that the formation of a large bony system is the result of defective nutrition. Other breeders, stimulated in part by Bakewell's efforts, and the wide and honora- ble reputation he achieved, immediately en- tered the field of competition, and Chaplin became the champion of the Lincolnshire sheep, as Bakewell of the Leicesters ; and the brothers Charles and Robert Colling direct- ed their efforts to improving the short-horns, as Bakewell the long-horns ; while the Duke of Bedford, Quartly, and others, not to be outdone, espoused the claims of the Devons, and Benjamin Tomkins those of the Here- 40 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. fords. So successful were these enterprising breeders, both in preserving purity of blood in their stock, and in extending the reputa- tion of their several herds, that at Charles Colling's sale on the llth of October, 1810, Comet was bid off at 1,000 guineas, or |5,000, and many other animals about as high in proportion ; the forty-eight head sold, including considerable young stock, bringing no less than $35,579. The cow Lily, sired by Comet, brought 410 guineas, or $2,050; the bull Petrarch, also by Comet, sold for 365 guineas, or $1,825, and the calf Cecil for 130 guineas, or $650. There were seventeen cows, eleven bulls, seven bull calves, seven heifers, and five heifer calves, for which this successful breeder received an average of $741 a head. That sale, and that of Robert Colling in 1818, that of Lord Spencer in 1846, that of the Bates, or Kirkleavington herd in 1850, that of Lord Ducie two years later, and some still more recent and extensive sales, are the marked eras in the history of the short-horns in England, and it was through these sales, and the universal enthusiasm awakened by them, that the short-horns have become more widely spread over Great Britain, and more generally fashionable than any other breed. Tomkins began with the Herefords in a small way about the year 1766, and at his decease in 1819, his whole herd, consisting of fifty-two animals, including twenty-two steers, and varying" in age from calves to two-year-olds and upward, was sold at auc- tion, and brought an aggregate of $23,368, or over $445 a head ; one bull sold to Lord Talbot for $2,943, while several cows brought from $1,000 to $1,200 a head. Both these breeds are celebrated for early maturity. Either of them may be prepared for market at two or three years of age, far better than the old style of cattle could be at five, six, and seven years, and be of nearly equal weights. I have mentioned these facts to show how it was that the average weight o:'. cattle sold in the Smithfield market in- creased from 370 pounds in 1710, to over 800 pounds at the present time. A select committee of the House of Commons, in a report printed in 1795, after a full investiga- tion, stated that since the year 1732, their neat cattle had, on an average, increased in weight and size at least one-fourth, or twenty-five per cent., which would fix the average weight in 1795 at about 462 pounds. The average age had formerly been over five years. In 1830, owing, in a large measure, to the enthusiasm which had been created, commencing first by the efforts of indi- viduals, and radiating out through tie com- munity in every direction, the average weight had increased to 656 pounds, an in- crease, in twenty-five years, of more than forty per cent, in weight, while the average age had been reduced to four years instead of five. What a contrast ! A saving of one whole year's consumption of forage, and an increase of forty per cent, in the profitable results, in the course of a quarter of a cen- tury ! But since then the average age has been still further reduced, and the average weight a good deal increased. Such being the striking results in England, it is not surprising that when an interest was awakened in the improvement of our agriculture, a desire was felt by intelligent breeders to avail themselves of the advan- tages which had already been gained abroad. Importations began, and a more systematic course of breeding was adopted ; at first, by a very limited number of enterprising far- mers, till, within the last twenty years, that number has rapidly increased, and the re- sults have become more marked and percep- tible. It may be remarked in passing, that two modes of improvement were open to the farmer and breeder, either of which, appar- ently, promised good results. The first was to select from among our native cattle the most perfect animals not known or sus- pected to belong or to be related to any of the well-established breeds, and to use them as breeders. This mode of improvement is simple enough if adopted and carried on with animals of any known race or breed, and, indeed, it is the only course of improve- ment , which preserves the purity of blood. This was chiefly the course adopted in Eng- land by Bakewell with the long-horns, by the Collings and others with the short-horns, by Tomkins, Price, and others, with the Herefords, and by the Duke of Bedford and others with the Devons. Had they resorted to any other, they would have run the risk of a total failure and ruin of those valuable races. Their object was not to build up a new breed by crossing, so much as to im- prove and perfect the races, already valuable, which were to be found in particular localities or counties, which gave them their name. But our circumstances were entirely dif- ferent. We had no race and no breed of AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 41 cattle among us. The term race, properly understood, applies only to animals of the same species, possessing, besides the general characteristics of that species, other charac- teristics, which they owe to the influence of soil, climate, nourishment, and habits of life to which they have long been subjected by man, and which they transmit with certainty to their progeny, and it is essential that they should have possessed these characteristics from a time to which " the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." The term breed, on the other hand, applies to a family of animals built up by a long series of care- ful breeding, till certain desired character- istics become fixed, capable, and sure of being transmitted. As might be supposed, the characteristics and peculiarities of races are more inherent, more fixed and strongly marked than those of families, or breeds built up artificially. But in general the characteristics of both races and breeds are so permanent, and so well marked, that if an individual supposed to belong to any one of them were to produce an offspring not possessing them or possessing them only in part, with others not belonging to the race or breed, it would be just ground for suspecting a want of purity of blood. This being the acknowledged, and only proper sense and use of these terms, it fol- lows that no grade animals, and no animals not possessing fixed peculiarities or charac- teristics which they share with all other ani- mals of the class of which they are a type, and which they are capable of transmitting with certainty to their descendants, can be recognized by breeders as belonging to any one distinct race, breed, or family. The term " native," or " scrub," is applied to a vast majority of our American cattle, which, though born on the soil, and thus in one sense natives, do not constitute a breed, race, or family. They do not possess char- acteristics peculiar to them all, which they transmit with any certainty to their off- spring, either of form, size, color, milking, or working properties. It does not follow, to be sure, that because an animal is made up of a mixture of blood, almost to infinity, he may not be, as an individual animal, and for specific purposes, one of the best of the spe- cies ; and for particular purposes individual animals might be selected from among those commonly called "natives" in New England, and "scrubs" at the south and west,equal, and perhaps superior, to any among the families produced by the most skilful breeding, not- withstanding the fact that they have sprung from a great variety of cattle procured at different times on the continent of Europe, in England, and in the Spanish West Indies, brought together without any regard to fixed principles of breeding, but from individual convenience, and by accident ; but it is true that our native cattle possess neither the size, the symmetry, nor the early maturity of the short-horns ; they do not, as a general thing, possess the fineness of bone, the beauty of form and color, nor the activity of the Dev- ons or the Herefords ; nor do they possess that uniform goodness and quantity of milk of the Ayrshires, nor the surpassing richness of milk of the Jerseys ; but above all they do not possess the power of transmitting the many good qualities, which they often pos- sess in an extraordinary degree, to their off- spring, which is a characteristic of all well- established breeds. Now, to build up a breed, or family, on such a foundation, in the mode already indi- cated, requires great 'experience in selection, a quick and sure eye, and judgment of the true points in stock, a mind eminently un- prejudiced, and a patience and perseverance perfectly indefatigable and untiring. It is absolutely necessary, also, to pay special at- tention to the calves thus produced to fur- nish them at all times, summer and winter, with an abundant supply of nutritious food, and to regulate it according to their growth. Few men could be found either capable or willing to undertake the herculean task of building up a new breed in that way from grade stock. A prominent and almost insu- perable objection would meet them at the very outset, that it would require a long se- ries of years longer than the natural life of most men to arrive at any very satisfac- tory results, from the fact that no two ani- mals, made up, as our " native" cattle are, of such a variety of elements and crosses, could be found sufficiently alike to produce their kind. The principle that like produces like is perfectly true, and in the well-known breeds it is not difficult to find two animals that will be sure to transmit their own char- acteristics to their offspring ; but with two animals which cannot be classed with any breed, the defects of an ill-bred ancestry will be liable to appear through several genera- tions to thwart and disappoint the expecta- tions of the breeder. The second method is more feasible, and 42 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. that is, to select animals from races already improved and well-nigh perfected, to cross with our cattle, selecting such animals from the well-established breeds as are best calcu- lated for the special purposes for which we want them. If our object is to improve stock for the dairy, taking such only as be- long to a race distinguished for dairy qual- ities ; or, if resort must be had to other breeds less remarkable for such qualities, such only as have descended from large and generous milkers. We ought to be able to rely with some confidence upon getting the qualities which we seek. Milking or dairy qualities do not belong to any one breed or race exclusively, though, as they depend mainly on structure and temperament, which are hereditary to a considerable extent, they are, themselves, transmissible. In almost every breed we can find individual milkers which greatly surpass the average of the cows of the same family, and from such, many suppose good crosses may be expected without much regard to other circumstances. It is not accidental good qualities that we want, so much as those which are surely transmissible. We do not want to breed from an animal a cow for instance that is an exception to the rule of her race or fam- ily. A good calf from her would be, to a great extent, the result of chance. We cannot expect nature to go out of her course, to give us a good animal, if we violate her known laws as developed by our knowledge of physiological structure. Such are a few of the considerations which, no doubt, led the early importers of the modern improved foreign stock to make an effort on our native and grade cattle. What has been the result ? It can be clearly shown that there has been a large increase in the number of the cattle of the country. Of that there could, of course, be no ques- tion, since this increase would naturally fol- low from an addition of new territory and the more perfect development of the agricul- tural resources of the country. But I think it can be clearly shown, also, that there has been a positive improvement in the intrinsic qualities of the common stock of the coun- try as a whole. I am far from detracting from the merits of our native cattle. They are far better than could have been expected from the loose manner in which they were "made up." Many of them have great merit, and individual animals are to be found among them, as already remarked, which would be hard to beat by any pure bred an- imals. As working oxen, the native cattle of New England are unsurpassed by any in the known world, and they have the reputa- tion of being so, both in other parts of this country and in Europe, where their qualities are known. But they have their defects, and it is useless to blind our eyes to them. I expect, therefore, to be able to show that some actual progress has been effected upon the common stock of the country. But to what is this progress owing ? Is it merely that which is due to better keeping, both summer and winter? I have already intimated that the treatment the cattle of the country received during the most of the last century was far from being calculated to improve them, scarcely, even, to keep them on foot. Even so late as 1841, Mr. Colman asserted that the general treatment of cows at that time, in New England, would not be an inapt subject of presentment by a grand jury. I was cognizant of the manner in which the stock was kept in many a coun- try town at that time, and I am strongly in- clined to agree with him ; and, judging from the well-known anxiety of those who enter milch cows now for premiums at the fairs, to show that their yield has been enormous, and that they have lived upon little or noth- ing, one would suppose their keeping was not much improved, even yet. But, as compared with the last century and the earlier part of this, there has been a vast improvement in the shelter, mode of feeding, and the general treatment, and this has, of course, had its effect in increasing their milking qualities and their appearance. But, apart from this, there can be little doubt, I think, that there has been a positive improvement in our stock as a whole ; that is, the general average of the stock of New England is better than it was forty or fifty years ago. There were individual animals then, among the native or common stock of the country, whose yield of milk was quite remarkable, and would be, at the present day, and among the best stock of the present time ; but we cannot, and ought not to rea- son from individuals, but from the general average stock of the country. These remarks have special reference to the stock kept in the eastern and older sections of the country those parts where the herds are small, and kept not so much for raising for beef as for their other prod- ucts, as milk, butter, cheese, and labor. MILCH COW. Engraved for C. L. Flint's " Treatise on Milch Cou s und Dairy Fanning. SHORT-HORN BULL. DOUBLE DUKE. Owned by the Harvest Club, Springfield, Mass. From Film's Sixth Anmu.l Report. 3*. 3 o t> 8 fcg o> v 6 | . fe" T3 C S p ^ o 3 03 oi O 2 a K ? s ^ er 5 .. 9 ^ S- ^7* O C3 ^cj 85 "3 3 o O < 3- o AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 47 In the great west, where the cattle are, and have for some years, been kept to supply the stalls in our eastern markets, and where, after all, as compared with other sections and other objects, early maturity and a ten- dency to fatten are of transcendant impor- tance, no one could be so blind to the facts as to deny that there has been a vast and most gratifying progress even in the intrinsic qualities of the stock. Every car-load of those splendid Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois cattle shows this in a manner not to be mistaken. Compare them with the class of animals formerly, and even now in some sections, to be found at the west, and more commonly at the east, and mark the con- trast. The one is thrifty, grows rapidly, fats easy, and is ready at a very early age for the market, while from an eighth to a quarter part of the cost of labor and of keeping, which must be incurred every year in rais- ing such a class of animals as the other, is wholly lost from misapplication. In 1850, there were 18,378,907 head of cattle in the United States, of which over six millions (6,385,094) were milch cows, nearly two millions (1,700,744) were work- ing oxen, and ten millions (10,293,069) other cattle, not including horses, sheep, or swine ; and the value of animals slaugh- tered amounted to the vast sum of more than one hundred and eleven millions of dollars ($111,703,142). Now if by the keeping of better stock we add to their value and the profit derived from them, without in- creasing the cost, Ave make, of course, an absolute gain on the receipts from the same amounfof capital invested. A distinguished breeder places this in a clear light as fol- lows : " Suppose that the eighteen millions of neat cattle now in the United States, by the infusion of better breeds among them generally, should, in their earlier maturity and increased product of milk and flesh, with an equal consumption of food, and by a moderately increased amount of care, pro- duce an additional profit of one-fifth, or only twenty per cent. certainly a moderate es- timate the annual value of such improve- ment will be that which is derived from an additional invested capital of thirty millions of dollars ; a vast sum in the aggregate of our agricultural wealth." This is a true statement now, and it applied with still greater force when the spirit of improvement began. But to return to the importation of modern improved stock from abroad for the specific purpose of improving the stock of this country. In the year 1783, three gen- tlemen of Baltimore Messrs. GofF, Ringold, and Patton sent to England for superior cattle ; and, in 1785, a bull from this impor- tation was taken to Kentucky, followed, not long after, by another lot of the same im- portation. A half-breed bull was taken to the same section about the year 1804, and is said to have greatly improved the stock of that state. Some of the cattle of that early importation were commonly called the " milk breed," and others the " beef breed." For a long time they went by the name of the " Patton stock." The beef breed were, probably, long-horns large, coarse, and rough animals, but slow in maturing. The others are said to have been short-horns. Others were also taken from Virginia to Kentucky, but none of them were, probably, pure bloods, although the Patton stock gained a wide and deserved reputation. In 1817, Colonel Sanders,- of Kentucky, sent for twelve head of the best that could be found in England. Six of them were short-horns, or Teeswaters. Two of these short-horns were also imported for Kentucky in 1818. These various importations, com- mencing with the first high-bred animals taken to the west in 1 785, were the pioneers; and though the pedigree of some of them could not be given, they not only infused superior blood into the stock of that region, but excited a spirit of emulation among the farmers there which had an exceedingly salutary effect. There is little doubt that some of the best cattle in southern Ohio owe their origin to the early imported ani- mals of Kentucky. A few short-horns were brought into Westchester county, New York, as early as 1792 and 1796. They were kept pure for some years, but finally became scattered, leaving their descendants in that section to this day. Other importations into New York were made as early as 1816 and 1822. In July, 1818, a short-horn bull, widely known as " Coelebs," and a heifer, " Flora," were im- ported into Massachusetts by Mr. Coolidge, and sold, in 1820, to Colonel Samuel Jaqucs, of Somerville. From " Ccelebs," by select- ing superior native cows, Colonel Jaques succeeded in raising a fine milking stock, long known as the " Creampots." " Flora " had fourteen calves between 1819 and 1833, ten of which were by " Coelebs." The same 48 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. year (1818), also, Grorham Parsons, of Brighton, Massachusetts, imported a pure breed short-horn bull, called " Fortunatus," or u llolderness," and his descendants were widely disseminated through New England. Another short-horn bull was brought into Massachusetts by Theodore Lyman, of Bos- ton, from whence he was shortly after sent M Maine; and, in 1825, Mr. W. Pierce, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, imported a ^celebrated short-horn, " Nelson," and the cow " Symmetry," the parents of the great ox " Americus," so large as to be taken about on exhibition, for which purpose he was afterward taken to England. It was also in 1818 that Stephen Wil- liams, of Northboro', Mass., imported the famous bull " Young Denton," the sire of many very excellent grade animals, the heifers proving fine milkers. Many other fine short-horns were taken into Massachu- setts after the year 1820, but though they left some superior grades, they were not ap- preciated by the farmers generally, and at- tention was gradually directed to other breeds. New England, as a whole, is not the place for short-horns. They do better on more luxuriant pastures. Besides, they are not well adapted to the wants of the small dairy farmer, especially since the modern improvements of this justly cele- brated breed have taken all the milk out of them. For a region better adapted to rais- ing beef, and on naturally rich feed, they arc unsurpassed for beauty and symmetry of form, for size and early maturity, and con- sequently for the profits they yield to the breeder and the grazier. In 1824, Mr. Powell, of Philadelphia, com- menced the importation of short-horns, and continued to breed them with great enter- prise and success for many years. He had frequent sales, some of his stock going into Kentucky, others to Ohio, and elsewhere. But the great impulse given to the im- portation of short-horns, was the formation of the Ohio Company for Importing English Cattle, in 1834. The sum of $9,200 was subscribed in shares of $100 each, and agents sent abroad, who returned with nineteen head, selected from the herds of celebrated breeders, arriving in October of that year. They were kept together under the care of an agent, and the number was increased by other importations till 1836, when they were sold at public auction and scattered extensively over Ohio. A dividend of $280 per share was immediately declared on the ninety-two shares, amounting to $25,760. The following year they made another ex- tensive importation, which sold rapidly and well. Immense benefits have resulted from these efforts. The sketch given above of some of the earlier importations of short-horns, has been somewhat extended for the purpose of show- ing the gradually increasing and extending interest and enterprise in breeding, but since 1840, importations of this magnificent breed have so far multiplied, that it would be out of place to attempt to follow them. The cream of the finest and most celebrated herds in England has been taken to this country, without regard to cost. Fabulous prices have been asked, and five and six thousand dollars for a single animal have, in some cases, been paid, to which was added the cost of transportation. So successful, indeed, have the more recent efforts been, that England has sent over here to buy short-horns from us ; and so admirably adapted to stock raising is the climate of Kentucky, that this fine breed has been improved there to such an extent, that very few of the last 150 cows selected from among the best in England, could win the prizes from those born and bred on our native soil. These superior animals are not all held in the hands of a few. They are within the reach of thrifty farmers, who are now awake to the profit of raising cattle that will make as much beef at two or three years old, as a native at double that age. It is proper to refer very briefly to the efforts made at various times to introduce and experiment with the other well-estab- lished English breeds, and the success which has attended these efforts. In 1817, the Hon. Henry Clay, of Ken- tucky, made an attempt to introduce the Herefords into that state, by the purchase of two bulls and two heifers, at a cost of 105, or about $500. This Avas the first well authenticated importation of this breed of any note. The Herefords belong to the class of middle-horned cattle, and were in- digenous to certain districts of England, where they were known as far back as tra- dition extends. They have undergone con- siderable changes within the last hundred years, commencing with the efforts of Tom- kins, already alluded to not however, by means of crosses with other races, but by careful and judicious selections. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 49 In point of symmetry and beauty of form, the well-bred Herefords may be classed with the improved short-horns, arriving, per- haps, a little slower at maturity, though re- markably inclined to take on fat. They never attain to such weights, but they gen- erally arrive at the Smithfield market at two or three years old, and so highly is their beautifully marbled beef esteemed, that it is eagerly sought by the butchers at a small advance, pound for pound, over the short-horn. Weighing less than the short- horns, they yield a larger weight of tallow, which is one reason of the preference for them. The short-horn produces more beef at the same age than the Hereford, but con- sumes more food in proportion. They have never been bred for milking or dairy qualities, and no farmer would think of resorting to them for that purpose. In 1824, Admiral Coffin, of the royal navy, presented the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, a Hereford bull and heifer, bred by Sir J. G. Cottrel from the Tomkins stock. The bull was kept by the Hon. J. C. Bates, of Northampton, Mass., and left a numerous progeny, which was very highly esteemed in that neighborhood. The largest importation into this country was that of Messrs. Corning and Sotham, of Al- bany, N. Y., in 1 840, consisting of five bulls and seventeen cows and heifers. Other im- portations of the same breed were added to this herd in subsequent years. The Hon. L. A. Dowley, of Boston, imported several animals of the same breed in 1852, apart of which were kept for some time on the State Farm at Westboro', Mass., and were after- ward sold to Mr. John Merryman, of Bal- timore Co., Md., who has one of the largest and finest herds of Herefords in the country. It will be readily seen from the character- istics of the race, as stated above, that they would be ill adapted to the wants of New England farmers as a general thing. They are profitable for the grazier ; though, in a country of extreme fertility, like many parts of the west, and capable of bringing the short-horns to their highest development and perfection, they might not, on the whole, be able to compete successfully with them. The importation of Devons into this country has been more numerous. Indeed, there are some who assert that the native cattle of New England owe their origin chiefly to the Devons, since the cattle first brought into the Plymouth colony are pretty well known to have been shipped on the Devonshire coast. But that they were any thing like the modern Devons there is little evidence ; they certainly have very few of the highest characteristics of that race left. The general impression has arisen mainly from the fact that many of the native cattle of New England are red, and that is the favorite color. However this may be, the improved North Devon is a very different animal from any that could, at that day, have been procured on the coast of Devonshire, or, in fact, any- where else. This race dates further back than its history goes. It has long been bred for beef, and for the working qualities of its oxen, which, perhaps, excel all other races in quickness, docility, and beauty, and the ease with which they are matched. But as milkers the North Devon cows do not ex- cel, nor indeed do they equal, some of the other breeds. Some years ago a valuable importation was made by Mr. Patterson, of Baltimore, Md., who has bred them with special refer- ence to developing their milking qualities, and now they would be remarkable as dairy stock as compared with any other pure breed, but they are very different animals from the common modern improved Devons, the dairy qualities of which have been very much disregarded. The North Devons were also imported by the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, and were kept together for some time, and then disposed of. So far as size is concerned, they are better adapted to New England farms than either the short-horns or the Herefords, while the form and color are so beautiful as to make them admired by many. But the milking qualities having been to a considerable extent bred out of them, especially those more recently im- ported, we have little to gain by preferring them over our native stock. They are good for beef, for which purpose they are chiefly raised in their native country, but the pro- duction of beef throughout most of the older sections of the country is an entirely secon- dary object. They are good for labor, on ac- count of their quickness and ease of motion, but New England has equally good working oxen in its natives. They give rich milk, but the Jerseys give richer. The Ayrshires and the Jerseys are, and have for a long time been bred with special reference to the dairy. The former, though 50 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. a comparatively recent breed, were early im- ported into this country, and, I think, have, as a whole, proved very satisfactory, partic- ularly as giving valuable crosses with our common stock. Grade Ayrshires are among the best animals for the use of small and dairy farms, and the cross-breds are, for all practical purposes, equal to the pure breds. One of the cows originally imported by John P. Gushing, of Massachusetts, gave in one year 3,864 quarts of milk, beer measure, being an average of over ten quarts a day for the year ; and the first Ayrshire cow im- ported by the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, in 1837, yielded sixteen pounds of butter a week for several weeks in succession on grass-feed only. Our climate is not so favorable to the production of milk as that of England and Scotland. No cow, imported after having arrived at maturity, could be expected to yield as much under the same circumstances, as one bred on the spot where the trial is made, and per- fectly acclimated. The Ayrshire cow gen- erally gives a larger return of milk for the food consumed than a cow of any other breed. Within the last ten years the Jerseys have been extensively imported into this country by the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, and by many in- dividuals in New England, New York, and Maryland. They have their place among us, but it is not on the majority of our farms. They give richer milk, and that with greater uniformity, than any other known breed, but the quantity is usually small, which would not do for the milk dairyman. They are usually small in body, and rather large consumers. On a dairy farm devoted exclusively to the making of butter, an infusion of Jersey blood is highly desirable. One or two Jerseys in a herd of twenty will often make a perceptible differ- ence in the quantity and richness of butter. For gentlemen in the vicinity of cities, who keep but one or two cows to supply their own table, they are also especially adapted. They have consequently multiplied rapid- ly in the vicinity of cities on the Atlantic seaboard. In 1853 there were, for instance, but about seventy-five pure-bred Jerseys in Massachusetts; now they number several hundred, while the grades are innumerable, many of them proving to be very fine. The influence which the introduction of superior foreign stock has exerted, has not been confined to their own intrinsic merits, nor to the actual improvement which they have effected by means of crossing upon the common stock of the country. It has led to better treatment of native stock, partly by increasing, to some extent, the interest in cattle and the knowledge of their wants and requirements, and partly from the fact that there was a general disposition among the mass of farmers to say that if the natives were kept as well, they would outstrip the fancy stock. But still the improvement in the common stock of the eastern and middle states, or those portions devoted to the dairy and other stock interests than the raising of beef, over and above what can be ascribed to better treatment, has been small compared with what it has been in those states de- voted more exclusively to grazing. During the past ten or twelve years, for example, the live stock of Ohio has increased in valuation according to the official returns made to the state auditor more than two hundred per cent., while, in the same time, no class of stock has increased in numbers one hundred per cent. A part of this, to be sure, may be fairly ascribed to an increased demand for stock, and a consequent higher value, but there can be no question that intrinsically better animals have superseded the inferior native stock to a considerable extent. The number of horned cattle in that state, in 1836, was 372,866, valued at $2,982,928. In 1846 the number had increased to 920,- 995 head, and the valuation to $7,527,123. In 1850 the number was 1,103,811, and the valuation $11, 3 15, 5 60. In 1857 the number was 1,655, 41 5, and the valuation was $2 1,662,- 223. The ratio of increase in value has been greatly accelerated since the means of commu- nication by railway have so greatly increased the facilities for information. When the first great importation and sale was made, in 1834-6-7, it was not accessible to the mass of cattle breeders, and acquired more of a local than a general reputation. W'hat is true of Ohio is true to nearly an equal, if not even greater extent of most of the other western states. While speaking of the different objects for which cattle are kept in various parts of the country, it may be interesting to com- pute the actual products, per cow, in butter and cheese in the several sections. Accord- ing to the census of 1850, the average num- ber of pounds of butter produced per cow, per annum, in the various states, was as follows : AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. Ibs. per cow Florida 5 Texas 10 Georgia 13 South Carolina. ..15 North Carolina. ..18 Alabama 18 Arkansas 19 Mississippi 20 Tennessee 33 Missouri 34 Virginia 34 Rhode Island 34 Kentucky 39 Louisiana 41 Illinois 42 Ibs. per cow. Maryland 43 Indiana 45 Iowa 47 Delaware 50 Wisconsin 56 Massachusetts 62 Ohio 63 Maine 69 Michigan 70 New Hampshire.. 73 Connecticut 75 Pennsylvania. . . .75 New Jersey 79 Vermont 83 New York 85 Some of the states, like New York, for in- stance, sell vast quantities of milk in its natural state, and yet the quantity of butter per cow will be found to be large compared with those states where cattle are kept more especially for beef. To conclude that the stock of Kentucky, Illinois, or Ohio is infe- rior to that of New York because the yield of butter per cow is inferior, would be pre- mature. The objects for which the stock of those states is kept are different, and for the purposes of grazing, the cattle of the western states may be far better adapted than any other would be. Let us now see what is the amount of cheese annually produced per cow in the several states. In some of them it appears to be infinitesimally small. The list stands as follows, beginning with a hundredth part of a pound : lb?. per cow Louisiana 01 South Carolina. . .02 Maryland 04 Alabama 13 Georgia 14 Delaware 16 Florida 24 Arkansas 30 Texas 40 North Carolina . . .43 Tennessee 70 Kentucky 88 Missouri 89 Virginia 1.37 , Ibs. per cow. Indiana 2.25 Illinois 4.00 Iowa 4.00 Wisconsin 6.00 Mississippi 10.00 Rhode Island. ..11.00 Maine 18.00 New Jersey 30.00 New Hampshire.31.00 Ohio 36.00 New York 53.00 Massachusetts. ..54.00 Vermont 59.00 Connecticut 62.00 Vermont produced more cheese than all other states put together except New York, Ohio, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and that, too, from 146,128 cows. The total number of pounds of cheese produced in the United States, as shown in the census of 1850, was 105,535,- 219, or about four and a half pounds to each individual of the whole population. The export for that year was 10,361,189 pounds, which left for consumption in this country, not far from four pounds for each individual. If we suppose the consumption to be equal in all the states, it would appear that only seven of the states produce their own cheese ; these are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Ohio. If now we consider the proportion of the number of cows kept in the various states to the population, it will throw addi- tional light on the mode and object of keep- ing stock ; for while, in many of the states, the products in milk, butter, and cheese are husbanded with the greatest care, the farms are comparatively small, and the number of cows an individual can keep and manage is limited, in others a large number are kept and allowed to roam over the heavy and luxuri- ant pastures, to grow and fatten, no account whatever being made of their dairy prod- ucts. The number of cows per individual was as follows, stated in decimals : Maine New Hampshire. . Vermont Massachusetts. ... Rhode Island. . . . Connecticut New York New Jersey Delaware Maryland Virginia North Carolina. . . South Carolina . . . Georgia. ........ .22 Alabama 29 .29 Florida 83 .46 Mississippi 35 .13 Louisiana 20 .13 Texas 1.01 .23 Kentucky 25 .30 Tennessee 24 .24 Arkansas 44 .21 Missouri 33 .14 Ohio 27 .22 Indiana 28 .25 Illinois 34 .28 Iowa 24 .36 Wisconsin 21 The products from stock might be stated in another interesting point of view as fol- lows : The northern states, comprising New England, New York, New Jersey, and Penn- sylvania, with 166,358 sq. miles, and a popu- lation of 8,626,852, keeping 2,058,604 milch cows, produced, according to the last census, 251,593,899 pounds of butter and cheese, valued at $25,159,389. They kept, also, 494,280 oxen, and 1,834,297 other cattle, not, of course, including horses, sheep, or swine. At the same time the western states, com- prising Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, California, Minnesota, and the territories, with an area of 1,918,216 sq. miles and a population of 4,900,369, had 1,363,253 milch cows, and manufactured 98,266,884 pounds of butter and cheese, valued at $9,826,688. They had also 341,- 883 oxen, and 2,236,056 other cattle. The southern states, comprising Delaware, Mary- 52 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. land, Virginia, North and South Caro- lina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Ken- tucky, and Missouri, with 851,448 sq. miles and a population of 9,664,656, had 2,963,- 237 milch cows, and manufactured 68,634,- 224 pounds of butter and cheese, valued at $6,863,422. They also had 2,835,358 oxen, and 5,632,717 other cattle. These aggre- gates are computed by Mr. Kettell, the au- thor of a valuable treatise on Southern Wealth and Northern Profits, New York, 1860, and they show that, contrary to the opinion quite prevalent in some of the northern states, the south is largely en- gaged in raising and keeping stock, an in- terest which might, indeed, be very greatly extended, owing to the unrivalled advan- tages of climate. It is unfortunate that the number of milch cows and oxen was not given in the census of 1840. We have, consequently, no accu- rate details with regard to the increase of particular classes of stock ; but we know that the rate of increase during that decade was about twenty per cent. The aggregate number of neat cattle was given in 1840 at 14,971,586, and in 1850 at 17,778,907. The amount of butter produced in 1850 was 313,266,962 pounds, and that of cheese 105,535,219 pounds; neither of which were given in 1 840 as separate items. We had, in 1850, about two millions of working oxen, or more accurately, 1,700,744; and of other cattle, 16,078,163. The amount in- vested in neat stock, it will thus be seen, cannot be less than two hundred millions of dollars at the present time. A -branch of farming involving so vast an amount of capital cannot be considered of small importance. Its development is worthy to command the highest intelligence and the most consummate skill, and its rewards are ample and encouraging. HORSES. That the horses in this country have un- dergone a vast change and improvement dur- ing the last century or, rather, during the last half century there can be no reasonable doubt in the mind of any one who will take the trouble to investigate the history of this animal. A simple, though complete change of the principal uses to which horses are put, would naturally have produced a change in the horses themselves, without any well- directed effort at breeding. For, as we have seen in our previous sketch of the condition of things during the last century, which con- tinued with slight local modifications even into the present century, the chief means of carrying on our inland business, including a vast amount of heavy transportation, was the horse. The roads were in a most wretched condition, compared with the ad- mirable roads of the present day, except, of course, those in the more thickly settled por- tions around the larger centres of popula- tion. They were seldom built of any thing but the natural soil thrown up from the sides, and often not this. The forest was felled, and the ground left for many a thousand miles without the precaution of making any side ditches at all, and over such a pathway the freight of a great part of the country was to be moved, in wagons made so as to be capable of the hardest usage. Over such roads light carriages would have been com- paratively useless, and a speed now seen every day, would have been unsafe for them. The mail contracts over a very large part of the country were made at a speed lower than four and five miles an hour, and heavily loaded teams, and heavy mail and passen- ger coaches, kept the roads for a considera- ble part of the year in a state not calculated to encourage fast driving. The farmer had to haul his produce often long distances to market, and needed a heavy kind of horse. Now he has a market almost at his very door. The long line of lumbering teams is rarely seen. The old mail coach has little left to do. As many horses are now re- quired, and even more than before, but their work is very different. The vast improve- ments in agricultural implements have also lightened the labors of the horse. Our wagons are of lighter construction, our ploughs run easier, our lands are freer from rocks and stumps, and quick, hardy horses _ often take the place of oxen, and of the larger, heavier, and much slower horses of half a century ago. The farmer or the country gentleman who is accustomed to ride in the cars at the rate of thirty or forty miles an hour, would not be satisfied to step out of them and have to travel at the rate of five or six miles an hour. So that the purposes for which horses are now wanted are, as a general thing, very dif- ferent from what they used to be. Speed, which was formerly little required, is now considered an indispensable requisite in a good horse, and though our horses are made AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 63 up, as we shall see, of almost, if not quite as great a variety of blood, and with as little regard to the true principles of breeding, as our native cattle, yet they are, in many re- spects, distinct from all other horses. They possess, in many sections of the country, a surpassing degree of speed and power of endurance, the result, in part, of the-altered condition of things, and greatly, also, of more attention to breeding and training. The first horses taken from Europe to the western continent, were brought over by Columbus in his second voyage, in 1493, and the first introduced into any part of the territory now comprised within the United States, were brought over and landed in Florida by Cabega de Vaca, in 1527. These numbered forty-two, but all perished for some cause or other soon after their arrival. The horses found wild on the plains of Texas and the western prairies are, probably, descendants of the fine Spanish horses aban- doned by De Soto on the failure of his expe- dition and the return of his disheartened ad- venturers. In 1604, a French lawyer, M. L'Escarbot, brought over horses to Acadia, and from there the French, who extended their settlements into Canada in 1608, took the horses which, probably, laid the founda- tion of what are now known as Canadian ponies, having, no doubt, lost much of their original size by the severity of the climate and limited summer forage. Though degen- erated in size, they still show traces of Nor- man blood, from which they probably sprang. In 1609 six mares and a horse were taken to the settlement at Jamestown, in Virginia, and in 1657 the exportation of horses from that colony was strictly prohibited. In 1629-30 horses were introduced into the colony of the Massachusetts Bay by Higgin- son. These were brought from Leicester- shire, in England. The Dutch West India Company had imported horses from Flan- ders, probably, into New York, in 1625, and it is thought by some that the Conestogas derive their origin from this source. The French, who settled in Illinois in 1682, had many Canadian horses, which were allowed to run on the extensive "ranges" in their vicinity. Thus we see, in part, the varied sources from which the native horses of this country came. To these were added, from time to time, in the middle and southern states, more or less of thorough-bred, or racing stock, which essentially modified the stock with which it became mixed. The horses of New England, especially of Yermont and Massachusetts, have been used chiefly as roadsters and for general utility. They pos- sess the most admirable qualities of power, speed, and endurance, -and, for quick work and travel on the road, they are unsurpassed by any horses in the world. Low, in his "History of Domestic Animals," says of the people of this country : " They prefer the trot to the paces more admired in the old continent, and, having directed attention to the conformation which consists with this character, the fastest trotting horses in the world are to be found in the United States." Among the changes which have been effected within the last fifty years in the horses of New England, on which the high encomium given by Prof. Low is chiefly based, none, certainly, have been more mark- ed than the increase of speed. Fast trotting was scarcely known in the time of the old "Justin Morgan," nor was the speed of the horse considered of any special money value till the invention of the modern light buggy and the improvement of the roads, already alluded to. This quality has now become essential to the convenience and comfort of nearly all classes of society. Most people want a horse to go off easily at the rate of eight, ten, or twelve miles an hour, and the horses that do it are now very common, whereas formerly, they were only the very rare exception to the general rate of speed. A demand very soon creates a supply, and the farmer who breeds horses knows his own interest well enough to study the tastes of the community, and to breed accordingly. In point of speed, therefore, there can be no question that a very great increase has been attained by careful breeding, particularly within the last twenty years. In other points some improvement has been made, such as general good qualities of style, ac- tion, temper, form, constitution, and endur- ance. The aggregate money value has been greatly increased, because the number ot fast horses and the general average of in- trinsic good qualities in horses has been in- creased, and these command their value. But, perhaps, the tendency has been to con- gregate the best horses in the cities arid large towns, and to draw them from the country. Few farmers want to keep a horse for farm and general purposes, that will bring from two or three to five hundred dol- lars. 54 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. Two distinct varieties of horses are now, and have for the last few years been favorites for the road. Neither of these can have any pretensions to the claim of being a distinct race, though they have both become distinct families, well known, under their respective names. The peculiarities of both are so well marked, as not to deceive the practised eye. Of these, the Morgan has been alluded to, as deriving its name from the owner of the founder of the family, or the old " Justin Morgan," foaled in West Springfield, Mass., in 1793. The sire of this remarkable stal- lion is supposed to have been " True Briton," a half thorough-bred. The old "Justin Morgan" soon went to Vermont, 1795, and there laid the foundation of the Morgans of that state, producing the celebrated " Bul- rush," " Woodbury," and ", Sherman " Mor- gans, all of which added vastly to the wealth of the breeders and farmers of that section. The descendants of these horses have been spread far and wide. The " Justin Morgan " was a small horse, only about fourteen hands high, and weighing only about nine hundred and fifty pounds. The Morgan horse of the present day is of somewhat larger size, and usually varies from nine hundred and fifty to ten hundred and fifty pounds. He is re- markable for compactness of form, strength, and docility ; and for the infinite variety of purposes for which the New England horses are wanted, is probably unsurpassed. He is much sought after for use on the road, and in omnibuses, hacks, and lighter carriages. The other family, also widely known, not only in New England, but throughout the country, is the Black Hawk. The foun- der of this family was a horse of that name, celebrated for transmitting his qualities to his offspring, as well as for his great speed as a trotter. He was kept in Vermont till his death in 1856, at the age of twenty-three years. As roadsters, the Black Hawks are often very excellent, possessing a high and nervous style of action, an elastic step, and a symmetrical and muscular form. It is not too much to say that those two classes of horses have added many millions of dollars to the value of the horses of this country. They infused a new spirit into the business of breeding in New England, and had an effect on the enterprise of the farming com- munity, similar to that which the introduc- tion of short-horns had on the general im- provement of the stock of the western states. The style of horse which has been most imported and bred in the southern states, especially in Maryland and Virginia, is quite different. The cavaliers cultivated and en- couraged the sports of the turf, and the thorough-bred was early introduced, and bred with much enterprise. Good saddle horses, which in New England are compara- tively rare, are very common at the south, Avhere the manly and healthful exercise of horseback-riding has for a long time been almost universally practised, both as a pas- time and a common mode of travelling. The interest in breeding thorough-bred horses has been kept up in Kentucky, also, and some of the most renowned running horses of this country hail from that state. There is a difference of opinion among good judges of horses, as to whether the cross of the thorough-bred horse on the common horse of the country would effect any improvement when viewed from the stand-point of general utility. For special purposes, as for the production of good sad- dle horses, the value of this cross would, no doubt, be conceded. But the gait most highly prized and most desirable for gen- eral utility is the trot, and the mechanical structure best adapted to trotting and run- ning is quite different. At the same time it must be admitted, I think, that some of our best trotters have had strong infusions of thorough-bred blood. Some say, how- ever, that the form of the thorough-bred has been changed, and so far as compactness, muscle, and endurance are concerned, degen- erated. This is an opinion merely, which would apply with greater force to the gen- eral average of thorough-breds or racers in England than in this country. The experi- ment is undergoing full and fair trial in New England at the present time. The Conestoga is a large and very heavy breed of horses, often met with in the mid- dle states, and used mostly for the purposes of slow draught in the drays of our large towns and cities. But while it is evident that the intrinsic value of our American horses has been vast- ly improved, their aggregate number has also been greatly increased during the last fifty years. Unfortunately, the census of 1840 did not take an account of horses by themselves, and we cannot tell, with exact- ness, the ratio of increase from that time to 1850, when the number of horses, exclu- sive of those of large cities and large towns, which were not returned, was 4,336,719. g I fi AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 59 The number of horses, mules, and asses, in 1840, was 4,335,669, while the aggregate number of these classes in 1850 was 4,896,- 050, that of mules and asses being 559,331. Why the number of horses owned in the many large cities of the country, and consti- tuting no small item of the national wealth, was not included in the returns, I am not fully informed. From the numbers stated above, it appears that there is about one horse to every five persons in the United States. New York had one horse to seven inhabitants ; Pennsylvania one to six and six-sixteenths ; Ohio one to four ; Kentucky one to three free inhabitants. In Ohio and the new states of the north-west, the increase in the number of horses kept pace with that of the population. In the other states, owing partly, probably, to the multiplication of railroads, the increase was in a somewhat slower proportion. The number of horses in the United States is more than three times as large as in Great Britain. The south, by the last census, had 2,044,- 377 horses; the west had 1,220,703; and the north had 1,073,639. SHEEP. Another branch of farming which has been subject to more or less vicissitude, is that of sheep husbandry. The first sheep imported into this country were, probably, those taken into Virginia in 1609. They came from England, and thrived so well that in 1648 they had increased to three thousand. About the year 1625, some sheep were introduced into New York by the Dutch West India Company. These came from Holland, and, together with others which ar- rived in 1630, proved to be too much of a temptation to dogs and wolves, for it is stated that in 1643 there were not more than sixteen sheep in the Avhole colony. Sheep were brought into the Plymouth colony, and that of the Massachusetts Bay, very soon after the settlement. They were kept on the islands in Boston harbor as early as 1633, and in 1635 the number of sheep in the New Hampshire settlement, near Portsmouth, was ninety-two. In 1652 the number of sheep in and around Boston had largely increased, since there were four hundred in Charlestown. In 1660 they were introduced upon the island of Nantucket, and the raising of wool grew up to be of some importance there. Sheep husbandry, in the earlier history of the country, was carried on very differently, for the most part, from what it has been more recently. There were few extensive flocks, but in the days of homespun it was very common for the farmer to keep a num- ber sufficient for home consumption. In fact, it was almost a matter of necessity. But the old native sheep was a coarse, long- legged, and unprofitable animal. The first fine-woolled sheep introduced into the coun- try were those brought from Spain by Mr. Wm. Foster, of Boston, in 1793. He speaks of them as follows : " In April, 1793, on returning from Cadiz, where I had been passing several years, I brought out an original painting, by Mu- rillo, and three merino sheep two ewes and a ram the export of which, at that time, was severely prohibited, and attended with much difficulty and risk. We had a long passage seventy-five days and the sheep were in a dying condition. Fortu- nately, there was on board a Frenchman, that had been with the Spanish shepherds, who cured them by administering injections. Being about to leave this country for France, soon after my arrival in Boston, I presented these sheep to Mr. Andrew Craigie, of Cam- bridge, who, not knowing their value at that time, ' simply ate them,' as he told me years after, when I met him at an auction, buying a merino ram for $1,000." Another small importation of merinos was made in 1802, and again in 1809 or 1810, abo'ut which time a complete merino fever ran through the whole farming community, which had its day, and then subsided. The embargo of 1808 led many to turn their attention to wool growing, and fine wool soon rose to the high price of $1.50 and $2.00 a pound. In "l 809-10, no less than 3,650 merinos were imported and dis- tributed throughout the United States. The importance of these early importations can hardly be overestimated. They furnished our woollen manufactories with the raw ma- terial at a time when it would have been ex- tremely difficult to obtain it from abroad. In the ten years from 1840 to 1850, the sheep of the United States increased two and a half millions, and numbered about twenty-two millions, or more accurately, 21,723,220. But in New England there was a remark- able falling off from 3,811,307 in 1840, to 2,164,452 in 1850, making a loss of forty- five per cent., while in the five sea-board 60 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl- vania, Delaware, and Maryland, the decrease was twenty-two per cent. The increase was chiefly in the southern and western states. The production of wool steadily increased, for in 1840 we raised 35,802,114 pounds, valued at $11,345,318; in 1850 we raised 52,516,959 pounds, worth $15,755,088; and in 1855 we raised 61,560,379 pounds, worth $23,392,944, being a gain of forty-six per cent. But as some evidence of improve- ment, it may be stated that the average weight of fleece increased from 1.84 pounds in 1840, to 2.43 in 1850. Since the opening of the great railway lines to the west, two prominent causes have operated to diminish the number of sheep, and attention to this branch of farming, in New England. One was, that previous to that time, we had rushed into fine wools, or merino sheep, almost worthless for the mar- ket. When, therefore, the competition of the great west was let in upon us, with the facilities for transporting wool, we had little left but a parcel of carcasses worth about as much as so many cats. , Massachusetts cannot and ought not to attempt to raise wool, which can be brought from Ohio, and in fact from the extreme west, or from Texas, at about a cent a pound freight. And so, instead of changing the breed, and raising the south-downs, or the cotswold, or some other adapted to the mar- ket, the farmer discarded sheep altogether, thinking they didn't pay, and the kind of sheep he had did not. Another reason was the extreme annoy- ance of dogs, which would often destroy the profit of a whole year in a single night. We are not, therefore, surprised to find that the number of sheep in Massachusetts de- clined from 378,226 in 1840, to 188,651 in 1850, and to 145,215 in 1855. This last evil has now been remedied in some of the eastern states, Massachusetts taking the lead, by a law designed for the protection of sheep against dogs, which offers great induce- ments for entering again upon the business of sheep raising, and many are now availing themselves of it. Growing mutton and lamb for the market at any thing like the present high prices of those articles in the eastern market, is one of the most profitable, and at the same time agreeable branches of farm- ing. Our provision markets must be sup- plied from a nearer source than the prairies of the west; and in this particular the eastern farmer need fear no competition. And the same holds good to a great extent along the Atlantic coast, or in the vicinity of the great markets. In the meantime the capacities and the adaptation of the climate of the south for the raising of wool are being more and more appreciated, and that section is growing more wool. It has been shown by the expe- rience of the last ten years, that by proper attention to breeding, the hilly portions even of the extreme south may be profita- bly devoted to the production of wool. At the World's Fair at London, in 1851, the fleece that commanded the highest premium for the fineness and beauty of staple, was grown in Tennessee. Germany, Spain, Sax- ony, and Silesia were there in strong and honorable competition. " Nature," says the owner of the premium fleece, " gave me the advantage in climate, but the noble lords and wealthy princes of Europe did not know it, neither did my own countrymen know it, until we met in the Crystal Palace of Lon- don, before a million of spectators. While their flocks were housed six months in the year, to shelter them from the snow of a high latitude, and were fed from the grana- ries and stock-yards, mine were roaming over the green pastures of Tennessee,warmed by the genial influence of a summer sun ; the fleece thus softened and rendered oily by the warmth and green food, producing a fine, even fibre." So that whether it be north or south, east or west, sheep are, on the whole, the most valuable of the domestic animals kept on our farms, on account of their small cost and large returns, especially since they are well known to improve the land on which they graze. The total product of wool in the United States, as shown by the census of 1850, was 52,516,959 pounds. The amount had increased in nineteen years, or from 1832, only 5,599,633 pounds, and that, too, with a high duty on wool ranging from four cents a pound, and forty per cent, ad valo- rem, to thirty per cent, ad valorem. But in Great Britain the production was 275- 000,000 pounds an increase in twenty-two years, with a duty to protect and encourage the wool-grower, of 163,376,271 pounds. The value of wool imported into this coun- try in 1850 was $1,681,691, while the value of this article exported that year was &'2,- 778, so that the excess of value of imported over that exported was $1,658,913, all of 80UTHEEN PINE WOODS HOG. WESTERN BEECH JTUT HOG. IMPROVED SUFFOLK. IMPROVED ESSES. BERKSHIRE HOG. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 63 which might, and ought to have been saved to the country. But while we imported so large an amount of foreign wool, the value of woollen manufactured articles imported was no less than $16,259,649. The value of such articles exported by us was only $171,- 300, leaving an excess of imported woollen articles, of the enormous sum of $16,088,- 349. Putting this and that together,we find the value of raw and manufactured wool im- ported in 1850 over that exported, $17,747,- 262. The value of raw wool manufactured in New England in 1850 was $16,055,233, and the number of pounds used was 43,1 18,- 059. Probably the census of 1860 will show a very considerable improvement over that of 1850. The immense facilities for wool-growing in Texas, and some other localities, were not sufficiently known to be appreciated ten years ago. Let us see where the wool we did raise in 1850 was actually produced. The south, including Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, Ken- tucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas, comprising an area of 851,448 sq. miles and a population of 9,664,656, raised 6,821,871 sheep, and 12,797,829 pounds of wool, valued at $3,- 839,348. The west, comprising Ohio, Michigan, Il- linois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, California, Minnesota, and the territories, having an area of 1,918,216 sq. miles and a population of 4,- 900,369, had 7,396,331 sheep, and produced 17,675,129 pounds of wool, valued at $5,- 302,538. The north, comprising New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, an area of 166,358 sq. miles and a population of 8,626,852 souls, had 7,505,018 sheep, and raised 21,972,082 pounds of wool, valued at 16,591,624. To conclude, therefore, we have made some decided progress, both in the numbers and in the intrinsic value of our flocks. The number of skilful breeders is increasing, and the different sections of the country un- derstand better the capacity and adaptation of their own localities for the production of mutton and lambs for the market, or the growing of wool for the manufacturer. SWINE, AND THE PORK BUSINESS. Few animals are so susceptible of change and improvement in the hands of the skilful breeder as the hog. This animal comes to maturity in so much less time than the horse or the cow, and increases with so much greater rapidity, as to offer larger induce- ments to improve and perfect it. Ferdinand de Soto probably brought the first swine into this country, in 1538. These came from Cuba, and were landed in Flor- ida. They were probably descended from some brought over by Columbus in 1493. The Portuguese, it is well known, brought swine into Nova Scotia and Newfoundland as early as 1553, where they rapidly multi- plied. The London Company imported swine in- to Virginia in 1609. They increased so fast, that in 1627 the colony was in danger of being overrun with them, while the In- dians fed on pork from the hogs that had become wild from running at large in the woods. Meantime, they were introduced into the Plymouth colony in 1624, by Gov. Winslow, and into New Netherlands now New York in 1625, by the Dutch West India Com- pany. In all the colonies, as well as in the French settlements in Illinois, they were al- lowed to run at large with considerable free- dom, and fed on mast, though it was soon found that pork fed on Indian corn was much sweeter than that mast-fed. It is not probable that any special atten- tion was paid to breeding, with reference to improving this animal, till near the close of the last century. The first improvements effected that excited any considerable inter- est, seem to have been produced by a pair of pigs sent from Woburn Abbey by the Duke of Bedford to General Washington. Parkinson, the Englishman to whom they were entrusted for delivery to the general, was dishonest enough to sell them on his ar- rival in this country. They were long known as the Woburn, and, in some sections, as the Bedford hog, and were originated by a for- tunate cross of the Chinese and the large English hog. There is no doubt they were splendid animals, with many fine points, small bones, deep, round barrel, short legs, feeding easily, and maturing early, and often weighing at a year or a year and a half old, from four to seven hundred pounds, with light offal, and the first quality of flesh. They were mostly white somewhat spotted. They were very common at one time in Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia, and were bred somewhat exten- sively by Gen. Ridgeley, of Hampton a fine 64 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. country seat in Baltimore county, Md. who sent a pair of them to Col. Timothy Pick- ering, of Hamilton, Mass., who bred them till they became quite noted over a wide ex- tent of country. They are now extinct. It is worthy of remark that the Byfield breed originated in the same way, by a cross of the Chinese and the common hog, bred by Gorham Parsons, in Byfield, Mass. This breed became famous, and was very much sought after for many years, and is even now found in Ohio. Previous to the introduction of the Wo- burn hog, the classes of swine that had pre- vailed in the eastern and middle states were coarse, long-legged, large-boned, slab-sided, and flab- eared, an unprofitable and an un- sightly be"ast, better calculated for subsoiling than for filling a pork barrel. An effort had been made to improve them, about fifty years ago, and before the valuable breeds above alluded to had become generally known, by the introduction of an animal commonly called, at that time, the grass-fed hog, which appeared about the time of the introduction of merino sheep, and were often sneered at as the "merino hog." Chancellor Livingston took very great pains to disseminate them, if, indeed, he did not originally import them. They are said to have been an exceedingly well-formed beast, with small heads, round bodies, compact and well made, legs short and small-boned, spotted in color, with a kind of dusky white on a black ground. As they were looked upon as an innovation, they had to encoun- ter the force of public sentiment, but their intrinsic good qualities finally prevailed, and they became popular. Since that period the introduction of many varieties of superior hogs, both from Europe and Asia, has effected a very marked im- provement in the common hog of the present day, though it has been a too frequent prac- tice to breed indiscriminately. A pure breed, like the Suffolk, the Berkshire, or the Essex, may be used to cross for a specific purpose, but the pure breed ought again and constantly to be resorted to, or the re- sult will be likely to be unsatisfactory. It requires great skill and judgment to breed judiciously, and it ought to be made a spe- cial branch of farming to a greater extent than it usually is, in order to insure the preservation and perpetuation of purity of blood. It is well settled that neither the eastern nor the middle states can compete success- fully with the west in the raising of swine and the production of pork on a large scale. The cost of grain in those sections of the country would prevent it. A limited num- ber of hogs can be kept to advantage in a section of small farms, sufficient to consume and thus economize the refuse of the dairy and other farm products, that would other* wise be liable to waste, but beyond this, the keeping of swine is not only not profitable, but an absolute bill of expense. But in Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and other states where corn can be raised with little labor, and in unlimited quantities, the cost of pork is trifling compared with the keeping of swine in the eastern states. The raising and packing of pork has, there- fore, very naturally grown up in the western states, and vast quantities are exported from there every year, including pigs on foot, by railway, slaughtered and sent off in the whole carcass, and in hams, shoulders, and sides, smoked, and in the shape of barrelled pickled pork. The native hogs of the west that is, the descendants of those taken there by the earlier settlers, and common there till within a very recent period were admirably calcula- ted for the primitive condition of civiliza- tion in which they were placed. They were well calculated to shirk for themselves, as they had to do, and became as fleet as the deer, while their strength of head, neck, and tusks enabled them to fight any wild beast of the forest, and withstand any extent of ex- posure to the weather. They were diamet- rically opposite in every prominent good quality to the improved swine of the present day. Instead of speed and fleetness of foot, the farmer wants sluggishness in his hogs ; instead of coarse, rawny bones, he wants fine, small-boned animals ; and instead of a thick, hard coat, he wants a fine head, thin coat, ready fattening qualities, and general thriftiness. And so the Suffolks became the favorites, and produced many most excellent crosses with the old natives. In other parts of Ohio, where improvement has taken place, the Byfield, the Chester County, the Berkshire, the China, the Irish Grazier, or some other of the many excellent improved breeds have been introduced, and effected a great and perceptible change. The western farmer wants greater size than he finds in the pure Suffolk or the pure bred Essex, but he also wants most of the excellent AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 65 qualities which a cross of these breeds on the large and coarser natives produces. It is a somewhat singular fact, that accord- ing to the last census, the number of swine kept in the United States exceeds that of sheep by nearly ten millions ; that of the former being over thirty millions, or 30,354,- 213, while that of the latter was 21,723,220. In point of numbers, Tennessee takes the lead of all the states, having no less than 3,104,800, while her number of sheep was only 811,591. Kentucky, at the same time, had 2,891,163 swine, and 1,102,091 sheep. Indiana is ahead of Ohio in the number of swine, the former having 2,263,776, to 1,- 964,770 in the latter. The geographical distribution of the aggregate number of swine in the country was as follows : The south, embracing the states mentioned on a previous page, had 20,808,948; the west had 6,874,996, and the north had 2,670,- 469. But no one, with a simple knowledge of the aggregate number of swine, would form an adequate idea of the enormous extent to which the business of raising and packing pork for exportation has grown up within the last few years, and it is important to look at the statistics of this business, espe- cially as it is carried on at the west. And as Cincinnati is the largest pork market in the United States, and indeed in the world, not even excepting Cork and Belfast, it will be interesting to state in brief the manner in which the business is conducted there, from which the mode of management in the other large cities of the west may be ob- tained. The following facts are gathered chiefly from statistics published by Mr. Cist, of Cincinnati. The slaughter houses are in the outskirts of the city, fifty by one hundred and thirty feet each in extent, the frames boarded up with movable lattice-work at the sides, ordi- narily kept open to admit the air, but shut during intense cold, so that the hogs may not be frozen so stiff as not to be cut up to advantage. Each establishment employs as many as one hundred hands, selected for their strength and activity. The hogs being confined in adjoining pens, are driven, about twenty at a time, up an inclined bridge, opening into a square room at the top just large enough to hold them. As soon as the door is closed, a man enters from an inside door, and with a ham- mer weighing about two pounds, fixed to a long handle, knocks each hog down by a single blow between the eyes. In the mean- time, a second adjoining apartment is being filled with as many more. A couple of men seize the stunned hogs, and drag them through the inside door to the bleeding plat- form. Here each gets a cut in the throat with a sharp-pointed knife, and the blood falls through the lattice floor. After bleed- ing a minute or two, they are slid off this platform into the scalding-vat, about twenty feet long, six feet wide, and three feet deep, kept full of water heated by steam, the tem- perature being easily regulated. As the hogs are slid into one end of this vat, they are pushed along slowly by men standing on each side with short poles, turning them over so as to get a uniform scalding, and moving them onward so that each will reach the other end of the vat in about two min- utes from the time it entered. Ten hogs are usually passing through this scalding process at the same time, being constantly received in at one end, and taken out at the other, where there is a contrivance for lifting them out of the water two at a time, by one man opera- ting a lever which raises them to the scrap- ing table, five feet wide and twenty-five feet long, with eight or nine men on each side, and usually as many hogs on it at the same time, each pair of men performing a sepa- rate part of the work of removing the bris- tles and hair; the first two take off only those bristles which are worth saving for the brush makers, taking only a double handful from the back of each hog, which are depos- ited in a box or barrel close at hand. The hog slides on to the next two, who with scrap- ers remove the hair from one side, then turn it over to the next two, who scrape the other side ; the next scrape the head and legs ; the next shave one side with sharp knives ; the next shave the other ; the next do the same to the head and legs. Each pair of men have to do their part of the work in twelve seconds, or at the rate of five hogs a minute, for three or four hours at a time ! When the hog arrives at the end of this table, all shaved smooth, another pair of men put in a gambril stick and swing the hog off on the wheel, which is about ten feet in diameter, revolving on a perpendicular shaft extending from the floor to the ceiling, the height of the wheel being about six feet from the floor. Around its outer edge are placed eight large hooks, about four feet apart, on which the hogs are hung to be dressed. 66 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. As soon as the hog is swung from the ta- ble to one of these hooks, the wheel turns one-eighth of its circuit, and brings the next hook to the table, and carries the hog a dis- tance of four feet, where a couple of men dash it with clean cold water and scrape it down with knives to remove any loose hair or dirt that it may have brought along off the table. Then it moves again and carries the hog four feet further, where another man cuts it open in a single second and removes the larger intestines, or such as have no fat on them worth saving, and throws them out at an open doorway at his side ; another move of four feet carries it to another man, who lifts out the rest of the intestines, the heart, liver, etc., and throws them upon a large table behind him, where four or five men are engaged in separating the fat and other valuable parts; another move and a man dashes a bucket of clean water inside and washes off all the filth and blood. This completes the cleaning, and each man has to do his part of the work in just twelve sec- onds, as there are only five hogs hanging on the wheel at the same time, and this number are removed and as many more added every minute. The number of men inside, not in- cluding the drivers outside, is fifty, so that each man in effect kills and dresses a hog every ten minutes of working time, or forty in a day. At the last move of the wheel a strong fellow shoulders the hog, and another removes the gambril stick, and backs it off to the other part of the house, where it is hung up for twenty-four hours, to cool, on hooks, in rows on each side of the beams just over a man's head, where there is space and hooks for 2,000 hogs, or a full day's work at killing. The next day they are taken off by teams to the packing houses. The hauling of the hogs from the slaughter to the packing houses is of itself a great busi- ness, keeping more than fifty of the largest class of wagons employed, each loading from sixty to one hundred and ten hogs at a load. They are unloaded and piled up near the scales in rows as high as possible. Another set of hands is engaged in carrying them to the scales, where they are weighed singly. From the scales they are taken to the blocks, where the head and feet are first struck off with such precision that no blow requires to be repeated. The hog is then divided into three parts, separating the ham and shoulder ends from the middle, when these are again divided into single hams, shoulders, and sides. The leaf lard is then torn out, and every piece distributed with the exactness and regularity of machinery to its appro- priate pile. The tenderloins about two pounds to a hog are sold to the sausage makers. The shoulders and hams thus cut, undergo further trimming to get them into shape, and are sorted for their appropriate markets. When lard is high, the packer trims so close as sometimes to make the en- tire shoulder into lard. If the pork is in- tended to be shipped off in bulk, or to be smoked, it is piled in great masses and cov- ered with fine salt, at the rate of fifty pounds of salt to two hundred pounds of meat. If otherwise, the pork is packed in barrels with coarse and fine salt. The different classes of cured pork are made up of different sizes and conditions of hogs ; the finest and fattest make clear and mess pork, and the rest, prime pork or ba- con. According to the inspection laws, clear pork is to be put up of the sides, with the ribs out, and none but the largest class of hogs can receive this brand. Mess pork is made up of all sides, with two rumps to the barrel. Pork of lighter weights may pass as prime. The shoulders, two joles, and sides enough to fill up the barrel constitute prime pork. The mess pork is used for the commercial marine and the United States navy. The prime is usually packed, also, for ship use and the southern markets ; while the clear pork goes out to the cod and mackerel fish- eries. Bulk pork is intended either for im- mediate use or smoking. That for immedi- ate use is sent off in flat boats to the lower Mississippi ; but the great mass is sent to the smoking houses, each of which can cure from 175,000 to 500,000 pounds at a time. The bacon is sold to the iron manufactur- ing regions of Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Ohio, the fisheries of North Carolina, Mary^ land, and Virginia, and to the coast, or Mis- sissippi region above New Orleans. Of 500,000 hogs cut up, the produce will be about 180,000 barrels of pork, 25,- 000,000 pounds of bacon, and 16,500,000 pounds of lard. The lard is shipped for the Havana market, where it is extensively used for cooking, and takes the place of butter to a great extent. Large quantities of it are also shipped to England and France. One establishment is devoted to the put- ting up of hams and the trying out of grease from the rest of the hog, and its operations AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 67 reach from thirty-five to forty thousand hogs in one season. The entire carcasses, except the hams, are put into large tanks, and sub- jected to steaming at the rate of seventy pounds to the square inch, which reduces the whole to the same consistency, and every bone to powder. The fat is drawn off by cocks, and the rest taken off for manure. The great masses of heads, ribs, back-bones, feet, and other trimmings cut up at different pork houses, are subjected to the same pro- cess, to extract every particle of grease. This concern turned out, in one season, 3,600,000 pounds of lard, five-sixths of which was No. 1. It is refined as well as steamed by the process, and comes out of extreme purity and beauty. Six hundred hogs a day pass through these tanks. Be- sides, there are a large number of lard oil factories in Cincinnati thirty or forty, at least which do an immense business. One of them has manufactured into lard oil and stearine, 140,000 pounds a month all the year round. 11,000,000 pounds of lard were run into lard oil in one year, making 24,000 barrels of lard oil, of forty or forty- two gallons each, which was sent to the Atlantic cities to be used as such, or in the adulteration of sperm oil ; much of it, also, being sent to France to be used in the adul- teration of olive oil, the cost of which it very much reduces. The skill of French chemists enables them to incorporate from 65 to 70 per cent, of this miserable lard oil with that of the olive. Then the star candle factories take the stearine, subject it to hydraulic pressure, and are prepared to manufacture 30,000 pounds of star candles a day. More than 3,000,000 of pounds of this stearine have been made in one year into star candles and soap in these factories. Then the soap manufactories take up the offal, try out the grease, and make 100,000 pounds of ordinary soap a week, to say nothing of an immense quantity of finer soap, soft soap, etc. The glue factory uses up the hoofs of the hogs. Then come the bristle dressing establishments, employ- ing a hundred hands preparing bristles for the eastern markets. Then come the prus- siate of potash establishments, using up the hair part of the hoofs and other offal, making vast quantities of prussiate of potash for the use of the print factories of New England, where it is wanted for coloring purposes, while the blood of the hog is manufactured into Prussian blue. Thus every part of the hog is economized, no part being lost. The following table shows the number of hogs packed in Cincinnati each year for twenty-seven years : 1833 85,000 1847 250,000 1834 123,000 1848 475,000 1835 162,000 1849 410,000 1836 123,000 1850 393,000 1837 103,000 1851 334,000 1838 182,000 1852 352,000 1839 190,000 1853 361,000 1840 95,000 1854 421,000 1841 160,000 1855 356,786 1842 220,000 1856 405,396 1843 250,000 1857 344,512 1844 240,000 1858 446,677 1845 196,000 1859 382,826 1846 205,000 1860 But in addition to this, there are very- many other points where the business is car- ried on extensively, but in a similar manner to that described above. The magnitude of this business will ap- pear more striking and important when it is considered what a vast amount of labor it requires and creates, furnishing employment to thousands, at a season when their regular work, in many cases, would naturally cease. Think of the coopers, not only in and around the large cities, but all over a great section of country, making lard kegs, pork barrels, and bacon hogsheads in winter, many of them working their farms in summer. Then the vast number who must be busy in getting out staves, and hoop-poles, and headings, which is also winter work. All these various occu- pations, including the more immediate op- erations of slaughtering and packing in the city of Cincinnati alone, give work proba- bly to at least ten thousand men, who, if it were not for the pork business, would be earning comparatively little during fully one- third of the year. And this in and around one city, and the adjacent country towns. But, as already intimated, other states are largely engaged in the same pursuits, as the following table, showing the number of hogs killed and packed during the last two years previous to the present, will indicate : No. of hogs killed in 1857-8. ISSS^. Ohio 610,060 624,109 Kentucky 372,609 377,117 Indiana 441,885 407,636 Illinois 463,577 596,136 Missouri 176,386 155,774 Tennessee 42,875 65,172 Iowa 85,583 158,217 "Wisconsin 16,000 32,702 2,208,975 2,416,863 68 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. An increase of over 10^ per cent., or in all, of 22 7,888 hogs packed. In the above statistics of stock of va- rious kinds, no account has been taken of the enormous increase of domestic animals of all kinds in California during the last ten years, which will be found to be vastly greater than most people have any idea of. The number of milch cows in that state, at the present time, is but little short of three hundred thousand, or about one to every two inhabitants, while the increase of horses, oxen, sheep, and swine has been equally as- tonishing. When it is considered that the state is scarcely yet eleven years old, and that its agricultural resources are almost wholly undeveloped as compared with its capacities for improvement and production, some idea may be formed of the aggregate agricultural wealth which it is destined to add to the country. We have thus alluded briefly to the vari- ous classes of live stock in the United States, and shown its progressively increasing value, and we find the sum total of all classes to be nearly five hundred and fifty millions of dollars ($544,180,516), while the value of slaughtered animals was about one hundred and twelve millions, or more accurately $111,- 703,142. If to this we should add the value of farm implements and machinery, and that of the farms themselves, we find the whole investment to amount to about four billions of dollars, or $3,962,353,395, in the year 1850, while local or state statistics, and the previous ratio of increase, would indicate a large increase upon that sum for the present time ; and the question naturally arises, what is the annual income from this vast capital invested in farming, and the labor which is a necessary incident to it ? Let us refer to the leading products for a satisfactory reply : PRODUCTS OF THE SOIL. In a range of latitude extending almost from the tropics to the regions of frost and snow, we should naturally expect to find a great variety of climate, and the products more especially adapted to it. And such is the case. The products of our agriculture are infinitely varied, and all the great staples form a most important part in promoting the national prosperity. But if, among them all, one can be said to hold pre-eminence over the rest, the palm must be yielded to the golden corn, rearing its imperial form and tasselled banner high over all its compeers, and founding its claim to royalty, as the prince of cereals, by the universality of its uses and its intrinsic importance to mankind. Its flexibility of organization is truly wonderful; for while it grows best on moist, rich soils, and with great heats, there are va- rieties of it which can be raised at the height of more than eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. The warmest regions of the torrid zone produce it in abundance, while the short summers of Canada have varieties adapted to them which arrive at maturity with almost the same certainty as those under a hotter sun and a longer season. INDIAN CORN, therefore, as being the great staple crop of the country, demands our first attention. This plant is of American origin. It was found in cultivation among the aborigines of the country at the time of its disoovery by Columbus. It is referred to by the old- est historians of Peru. It has been found growing wild in various parts of Central America, and Humboldt, who must be re- garded as the most eminent authority, says : "It is no longer doubted among botanists that Maize, or Turkish corn, is a true American grain, and that the old continent received it from the new." It is well known that Indian corn entered, in some form or other, into the mythology and the religious ceremonies of the Indians, both of North and South America? long before they were disturbed by the appear- ance and approach of civilization. School- craft mentions an interesting allegory of the Ojibwas, which has since been clothed with an unusual fascination by the graceful lan- guage of Longfellow. A young man went out into the woods to fast, at the period of life when youth is ex- changed for manhood. He built a lodge of boughs in a secluded place, and painted his face of a sombre hue. By day he amused himself in walking about, looking at the va- rious shrubs and wild plants, and at night he lay down in his bower, from which, being open, he could look up into the sky. He sought a gift from the Master of Life, and he hoped it would be something to benefit his race. On the third day he became too weak to leave the lodge, and as he lay gazing upward he saw a spirit come down in the shape of a beautiful young man, dressed in green, and having green plumes on his head, who told AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 69 him to arise and wrestle with him, as this was the only way in which he could obtain his wishes. He did so, and found his strength renewed by the effort. This visit and the trial of wrestling were repeated for four days, the youth feeling at each trial that, although his bodily strength declined, a moral and supernatural energy was impart- ed, which promised him the final victory. On the third day his celestial visitor spoke to him. " To-morrow," said he, " will be the seventh day of your fast, and the last time I shall wrestle with you. You will triumph over me and gain your wishes. As soon as you have thrown me down, strip off my clothes and bury me on the spot, in soft, fresh earth. When you have done this, leave me, but come occasionally to visit the place, to keep the weeds from growing. Once or twice cover me with fresh earth." He then departed, but returned the next day, and, as he had predicted, was thrown down. The young man punctually obeyed his instructions in every particular, and soon had the pleasure of seeing the green plumes of liis sky visitor shooting up through the ground. He carefully weeded the earth, and kept it fresh and soft, and in due time was gratified at beholding the mature plant, bending with its golden fruit, and gracefully waving its green leaves and yellow tassels in the wind. He then invited his parents to the spot to behold the new plant. " It is Mondamin," replied his father, " it is the spirits' grain." Tradition says they imme- diately prepared a feast, and invited their friends to partake of it ; and that this is the origin of Indian corn. However this may be, we know that the first attempt by the English to cultivate it within the present limits of the United States, was made on James river, in Virginia, 1608 or 1609. They adopted the mode of culture in practice by the Indians, as given on a preceding page. A year or two after, it is said they cultivated in all as many as thirty acres. The pilgrims found it in culti- vation by the Indians around Plymouth, and immediately began its cultivation, manuring it with alewives. As early as 1621, Gov. Winslow visited the Nemasket Indians, at Middleboro', Mass., who fed him on mazium. The cultivation of this important grain was, then, fairly begun at the very first settle- ment of the country, and it has been con- tinued with slio-ht modification, but con- o ' stantly extending and increasing in its ag- gregate product, down to the present time. It is a remarkable fact shown by a compari- son of the censuses of 1840 and 1850, that the product largely increased during the ten years, in nearly every state of the Union, and in no state did it retrograde. In New England it increased 50 per cent, in that time, and its increase since has been quite as great, if not even greater, than previous to 1850. Among the earlier exports of the country we find frequent mention of the number of bushels of Indian corn, showing that a con- siderable surplus was produced in many lo- calities a century ago. Thus, the amount ex- ported from South Carolina in 1748 was 39,308 bushels, and in 1754, 16,428 bush- els. The amount shipped from Savannah in 1655 was 600 bushels, and in 1770, 13,598 bushels. And so North Carolina exported no less than 61, 580 bushels as early as 1753. Virginia for several years previous to the Rev- olution exported 600,000 bushels a year, and from the port of Norfolk alone, 341,- 984 bushels in the year 1791 ; while in 1795 the amount from that port reached 442,075 bushels. At the same time the amount sent from City Point, Virginia, in 1791 was 21,- 180 bushels, including meal, and in 1795, 33,358 bushels. The amount shipped from Philadelphia in 1752 was 90,740 bushels, and in 1767 there were exported from there 60,206 bushels. In 1771 it reached 259,441 bushels, and in 1796 it amounted to 179,094 bushels, in ad- dition to 223,064 barrels of Indian meal'. There were 2,510 bushels shipped from Portsmouth, N. H., in 1776; and in 1777, 1,915 bushels ; which amount increased in 1778 to 5,306 bushels; while in 1779, the export amounted to 3-,097. The export of this grain from the same place was 6,711 bushels in 1780, and 5,587 bushels in 1781. But previous to the first-mentioned date (1776), this grain was on several occasions imported into Portsmouth, and up the Pis- cataqua river, to the extent, in 1765, of 6,498 bushels, owing, probably, to a severe drought in the year previous, and the spring of 1765, which seriously affected the corn crop. And again, in 1769 the import to that section amounted to 4,097 bushels, followed in 1770 by 16,587 bushels. During that year there was a " very melancholy dry time," in July and August ; a drought of such se- verity that there was little prospect of corn. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. The worms had done much injury in the spring, and a " very uncommon sort of worm, called the canker worm, ate the corn and grass all as they went, above ground, which cut short the crops in many places." And again, in 1772 the pastures all dried up, and there was very little corn, and all kinds of grain suffered very much ; so that the amount of corn imported into Portsmouth and vi- cinity was 4,096 bushels in that year. But the total amount of Indian corn ex- ported from the colonies in 1770 was 578,- 349 bushels. In 1 791 it amounted to 2,064,- 936 bushels, including 351,695 bushels of Indian meal. In 1800 the aggregate num- ber of bushels exported was 2,032,435, in- cluding 338,108 bushels of meal ; while in 1810 the export of this grain was only 140,- 996 bushels, of which 86,744 bushels were in the form of Indian meal. The product of Indian corn, as may be gathered from the amount exported, had never reached any thing like the figures which it has attained within the last thirty years. This was not owing merely to the fact that the avenues to the great west were pot then opened though, of course, they have vastly multiplied the market facilities for this and other products but chiefly to the fact that the real advantages of cultiva- ting this as a staple or reliable crop, were not then appreciated as they are now. Add to this the fact that it was comparatively little used as human food in any part of Europe, and we have a reason sufficient to account for the fact that the product was comparatively small. The inland farmer had no market for it, the cost of transportation of so bulky a product prevented him from teaming it to any great distance, and the lo- cal demand was so limited that there was no object in raising much more than was abso- lutely needed for home consumption. In the year 1816 the crop of Indian corn was very generally cut off throughout the north- ern states by frequent and severe frosts, so that as a cultivated crop it fell into disrepute in many sections, and was cultivated less for some years, by individual farmers, till its in- trinsic importance as a sure and reliable crop brought it gradually into favor. At the time it was first included in the United States cen- sus, in 1 840, the aggregate yield of the coun- try was 377,531,875, or nearly four hundred millions bushels. In 1850 it had reached within a fraction of six hundred millions, *>eing returned as 592,071,104, occupying 31,000,000 of acres. The value of this enormous crop was $296,034,552. This was a gain of 57 per cent., or 214,539,- 229 bushels, while the increase of popula- tion during the same period was only 35 per cent. According to the estimate ofc the secretary of the treasury, the crop off Indian corn in 1855 was between seven and eight hundred millions, or nearly double that of 1840. But this estimate was entirely too low, the crop being the largest and best that year that had ever been raised in the coun- try, and amounting, at least, to 1,000,000,000 bushels, and its value, at a low estimate, was $400,000,000. We see, therefore, on reference to the census, that this crop formed about three- sixteenths of the whole agricultural product of the country in 1850, and that the propor- tion of improved land devoted to corn was .333, while the number of bushels to each person in the country was 25.53.* From the amounts of corn stated above, as raised in 1840 and in 1850, it will be seen that we had a very large surplus over and above what we needed for home consump- tion ; though it must be evident that vast quantities are, and must be required to feed to the large number of cattle and swine, which we have seen are annually prepared for the shambles. It appears from official statistics that the exportation of Indian corn has rapidly increased since 1820, when it amounted to only 607,277 bushels, valued at 8261,099, and 131,669 barrels of Indian meal, valued at $345,180, making an aggre- gate of $616,279. In 1830-1 the number of bushels of corn exported from the coun- try was 571,312, valued at $396,617, and 207,604 barrels of Indian meal, valued at $595,434. In 1840-1 the number of bush- els of corn exported was 535,727, valued at $312,954, with 232,284 barrels of me'a!, worth $682,457. But in 1845-6 the amount rose to 1,826,- 068 bushels, valued at $1,186,663 ; and from that in 1846-7 to 16,326,050 bushels of corn, worth $14,395,212. The next year, 1847-8, it reached nearly six millions of bushels ; and in 1848-9 to upward of thirteen millions, valued at $7,966,369. * France produced in 1826 but 17,280,000 bush- els, while in 1847 she produced 33,400,000 bush- els being an increase of nearly 100 per cent, in twenty years. Russia produced 16,000,000 of bushels in 1850. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 71 The amount of Indian corn and Indian meal exported from the country from 1851 to 1858 may be seen as follows : 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, Bush, of corn. 3,426,811 2,627,075 2,274,909 7,768,816 7,807,585 10,292,280 5,505,318 4,766,145 Value. $1,762,549 1,540,225 1,374,077 6,074,277 6,961,571 7,622,565 5,184,666 3,259,039 Bbls. of In- dian meal. 203.622 181,'l05 212,118 257,403 267,208 293,607 267,504 237,637 Value. $622,866 574,380 709,974 1,002,976 1,237,122 1,175,688 957,791 877,692 The amount of exports is, of course, reg- ulated very much by foreign demand. If breadstuff's are scarce in Europe and prices high, they are immediately shipped from this country to take advantage of the mar- ket. If the reverse is the case, and prices are low, our surplus is kept at home. It is but a few years since the foreign demand for breadstuff's began to any extent. Now and then would occur a year of unusual scarcity, to be sure, but it was rare to find any exten- sive demand year after year for our surplus products. The increase of population be- yond the point of capacity to produce, in Great Britain and the continent of Europe, now gives the bread question an importance paramount to all others with the European statesman, and it is having and will have a powerful influence on our agriculture. Con- sumption has overtaken production got be- yond it, in fact, in some of the countries of Europe and henceforth importation must supply an ever increasing demand, since, however much the agricultural production of western Europe may increase by the im- proving condition of its agriculture, it can- not hereafter keep up with the natural in- crease of population, which, at the present time, in Great Britain, is at the rate of a thousand per day. This crowding popula- tion will appear in its true light, in an agri- cultural point of view, when it is considered that if the United States and its territories were as thickly populated as Great Britain, they would contain about 750,000,000 of people, a number nearly equal to the whole population of the globe. The year 1824, it is asserted by some, was the turning point at which consumption overtook and exceeded production in Eng- land. Since that time the agricultural pro- duction of Great Britain has been vastly in- creased by the improvement of agriculture and live stock ; but great and perceptible as improvement has been, it has not, and can- not fully supply its overgrown population. The famine in Ireland in 1847, causing the loss of half a million of lives by starvation, and the political revolution which soon fol- lowed on the continent in 1848, growing out, to a great extent, of a short supply of food, are fresh in the minds of every one. Now this surplus of population and the consequent permanent demand for the pro- ductions of our soil are of comparatively recent date, and we have hardly, even yet, begun to realize their importance and the in- fluence which they are hereafter to exert in developing the resources of our soil. It was only a century ago (1756) when D'Anque- ville, a political economist of France, said : " England could grow corn enough in one year to supply herself for four." Now, though she has, at least, three times as much land under cultivation as then, and though the yield of her products to the acre has been more than doubled, yet she imports food in the shape of corn, wheat, oats, meal, and flour to the extent of more than 45,- 000,000, or $225,000,000. Now, though western Europe has been supplied, to a large extent, from Russia and other parts of the world, it is becoming more and more evident that it has got to look more and more to this country for its supplies, and this fact is recognized by many of the leading journals and statesmen of Europe, as, for instance, the Mark Lane Gazette, which says : " One fact is clear, that it is to western America that we must, in future, look far the largest amount of cereal produce." It was fortunate, therefore, for the pros- perity of the country, and especially for the prosperity of its agriculture, constituting by far the largest and most important interest, that just about the time when a more exten- sive demand for its surplus products grew up in Europe, the means were provided for throwing this surplus into good markets. After the triumphant termination of the war of the Revolution, the importance of developing the material resources of the country impressed itself upon the minds of far-seeing statesmen. Washington himself projected a canal, extending up the Potomac, to connect the great west then compara- tively uninhabited with the Atlantic coast, and though the enterprise was premature, and the requisite capital could not, at that time, be procured, it shows the grand con- ception of his noble mind, and that he fore- saw the vast importance which the agricul- AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. ture of that great country was destined to assume. But that state of things could not always remain in a country rapidly recover- ing from the stagnation of a long protracted struggle for independence, and the events of a second war showed most clearly the ne- cessity of increased facilities of intercommu- nication. Then we had no canals to speak of, and no good roads. The great extent of sea coast, the magnificent bays, and the mighty rivers which intersected the country were the chief means of industrial inter- course, and these could be blockaded, crush- ing our commerce and bankrupting individ- uals, to the serious injury of the whole coun- try. Then DeWitt Clinton conceived the project of connecting the waters of the Hudson with those of Lake Erie, by a canal so vast in extent as to strike everybody with astonishment. President Madison went so far as to express the opinion that it could not be accomplished, even with the treasures of the whole federal government. But Clin- ton persisted, and in 1825, eight years from the time it was begun, a canal of three hun- dred miles in extent, costing over $9,000,000, bore the produce of the west to the New York market. The success of this grand enterprise stim- ulated other improvements of a similar char- acter, and opened up sources of wealth, the mere enumeration of which would appear to be fabulous. Railroads soon followed, anni- hilating distance, as it were, and bringing the growing centres of trade into close com- munication. We now have nearly 30,000 miles of railroads, forming a complete net- work all over the country. At the time of the Revolution, the great state of Ohio was a wild forest that had rarely been penetrated by any white man, except, perhaps, the ad- venturous hunter. In 1800 she had but lit- tle over 40,000 inhabitants. Now railroads connect her many large and prosperous cities and her innumerable villages, and take the produce of her fertile farms to the sea- board markets. These means of communication are of so recent date, Uhat any prediction of their ulti- mate results in developing the agricultural resources of these states would be prema- ture. Indeed, the capacity for the produc- tion of human food, which is still compara- tively undeveloped in that section, can hard- ly be estimated. The progress within the last twenty years has been so rapid and unprec- edente^, as to appear altogether marvellous. But Indian corn, though by far the most important product, is not the only great sta- ple production of the country, and we turn our attention to WHEAT. The wheat crop of the country is scarcely less important than that of Indian corn, and, in some respects, it is even more important. This, like the other grains, was cultivated in this country at a very early date, having been sown by Gosnold, on the Elizabeth Islands, on the southern coast of Massachu- setts, as early as 1602, at the time he first explored that coast. In 1611 it seems to have been first cultivated in Virginia, and so much did it commend itself to the early set- tlers, that in 1648, if history is to be relied on, there were several hundred acres in that colony. It soon fell into disrepute, howev- er, as a staple crop, for the cultivation of tobacco was found to pay better, and for more than a hundred years it was compara- tively little cultivated. Premiums were offered to encourage its culture, but they were not sufficient to check the growing at- tention to tobacco. It is certain that wheat had been cultiva- ted by the Dutch colony of the New Neth- erlands, for it is recorded that samples of this grain were taken to Holland in 1626, to show what could be done in the new coun- try. It is not certain that it was cultivated in the Plymouth colony immediately upon its settlement, though it is highly probable that not more than a year or two would have been allowed to pass before so important a plant would have received its due attention. In 1629, wheat and other grains for seed were ordered from England, and in 1631 there arrived a vessel with thirty-four hogs- heads of wheat flour. The culture of wheat was undoubtedly commenced almost simultaneously with the settlement of the country, but it seems never to have attracted any very great attention for more than a century, Indian corn and potatoes being more relied upon for subsist- ence. It was never raised in New England, in early times, with so much success as it has been during the present century. As early as 1663, it was found to be very sub- ject to blast and mildew. Early in July of that year, "the best wheat," says an old manuscript diary that I have consulted, " as also some other grain, was blasted in many AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 73 places, so that whole acres were not worth reaping. We have had much drought the last summer (1662), and excess of wet sev- eral other springs, but this of blasting is the first so general and remarkable that I yet heard of in New England." But this blasting is frequently " heard of afterward, for the very next year (1664) the wheat was very generally blasted, " and in sundry towns scarce any left." And the blast returned again in 1665 and 1666 with great severity. This explains why it never became a prominent crop in New England. There never was a time in the history of this section of the country when it was a sure and reliable crop, unless it be the present, with our improved modes of culture, our better knowledge of proper modes of tillage, deep ploughing, and thorough drainage. I have no patience to read the cant which is constantly paraded in the papers of this and other countries about the exhausted soils of New England. How often do we see it stated that they are "run out," that .they won't bear wheat, and the return of the census of 1850 is compared with that of 1840 to show an enormous falling off, as if it were owing to the fact that it is impossible to grow wheat. It is not so. As good crops can be and are grown in Massachusetts now as there ever were. It is as safe a crop now as it ever was, and as profitable. But " the census shows a falling off," is constantly sounded over the country, till people are led to believe it cannot be raised on account of the impoverished condition of the soil. The census does show a decline of this crop in New England between 1840 and 1850, and a large one. But the wheat crop was injured in 1849 that being the year on which the statistics of the crops of 1850 are returned to a degree wholly unprecedented, not only in New England, but in several of the largest wheat-growing states. The returns, therefore, made in June, 1850, do not cor- rectly indicate the usual quantity of grain grown in the United States. Nor will the census of 1860 give anything like an ade- quate idea of the magnificent crop of wheat produced in that year (1860) throughout the northern, middle, and western states. But wheat is subject to many losses by in- sects, rust, smut, frost, drought, storms, and other casualties, as well as poverty of the soil. In some recent years it has been very greatly damaged in central and western New York, and in Ohio, by the wheat fly; in other years, the weevil. When the former, the wheat fly, makes its appearance, there is no known remedy but to discontinue the culture of wheat in that locality till it dis- appears. After a time, the culture of wheat may be resumed with a reasonable hope of freedom from this pest. This is one reason of the little attention, comparatively, paid to the culture of this crop in New England for the last few years. The farmers in many localities are resuming its culture again. I know many and many a magnificent field of wheat in Massachusetts this year (1860), that will average twenty-five, thirty, and thirty-five bushels to the acre, of as full and fair a kernel as ever grew ; and many an acre in Massachusetts has averaged over forty bushels this year. It is the opinion of many practical farmers that they can raise thirty- five bushels of wheat as easy as fifty bushels of corn to the acre. But the census of 1860 will not return the full crop. There were other reasons for the falling off than the impoverishment of the soil. A part of these have been alluded to, and are to be found in the comparative uncertainty of the crop ; but a more direct and important cause was the opening of direct railroad communication, and the cheap freight sys- tem, with the west. The farmer could pro- duce other crops for the market which paid well, and it was better for him to buy flour than to raise it. He could not compete with the west in raising wheat, but he could in raising milk for the market, in raising fruit which finds a ready sale at his door in raising vegetables, which the multiplica- tion of manufacturing villages in his neigh- borhood created a demand for. And so his industry was merely turned into another channel for a time, and very wisely too. During the last century considerable quantities of wheat were raised along the Hudson and the Mohawk, and in New Jer- sey and Pennsylvania ; and, as we have seen in the case of Indian corn, the exports were somewhat respectable in years of scarcity in Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, and the West Indies, even previous to 172 3. In 1750 New Jersey took the lead of all the colonies in growing wheat. The amount of flour exported from New York in 1749-50, was 6,721 tons, besides many bushels of grain ; in 1756 it was 80,000 barrels. The amount exported from New Jersey in 1751 was 6,424 barrels. The amount shipped from Philadelphia in 1752 74 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. was 125,960 barrels, and 86,500 bushels of wheat. In 1771 the export of flour from that place was 252,744 barrels, and in 1772, 284,827 barrels; in 1784, 201,305 barrels; in 1787, 193,720 barrels; in 1791, 315,785 barrels. Virginia, for some years prior to the Revolution, exported about 800,000 bushels of wheat. The aggregate amount of flour exported from the United States in 1791 was 619,681 barrels, and 1,018,339 bushels of wheat. In 1800 the export amounted to 653,052 barrels, and 26,853 bushels of wheat. In 1810 the export was 798,431 barrels of flour, and 325,024 bush- els of Avheat. Considering the unfavorable season of 1 849, we are not surprised to find that the in- crease of the wheat crop during the ten years from 1840 to 1850 was but 15 per cent It is possible that with a good wheat year in 1849, the rate of increase would have appeared to keep pace with that of In- dian corn. In the eastern states, as we have seen, it declined; in the middle states it was nearly stationary, the increase being little over 15 per cent. The aggregate num- ber of bushels in 1840 was 84,823,272; in 1850 it was 100,485,944. It is quite probable that changes have tak- en place in the soils and productiveness of some sections of the older states, owing to careless and ignorant management. In a new and very sparsely populated country, where each man had to rely mainly upon himself for every thing he had, it could hardly have been otherwise. I am satisfied, however, that a reaction has fairly begun, that more attention is paid to the manage- ment of farms, that more intelligence and skill are brought to bear upon agriculture, which statistics will eventually show. But by far the most extensive and aston- ishing changes, in an agricultural point of view, are those presented to us in the rise and development of the west, whose almost illimitable fields are the wonder and admira- tion of modern times. The " west " is, in- deed, in the understanding of most people, an imaginary and movable line. Fifty or sixty years ago it was understood, in the eastern states, to be somewhere in central or western New York, and the difficulty of reaching it exceeded in magnitude that of visiting the most remote corner of Kansas, now. This line has been moving west with the advance of civilization ever since. It now comprises several of the largest and most prosperous states of the Union, and is destined to rank as the granary of the world. The first foothold that modern agriculture got in this vast field was secured in the same year of the founding of Philadelphia, 1682, when white settlements were made in the southern part of what is known as the "Amer- ican bottom," a tract of country extending for about a hundred miles in length from Alton, twenty miles above St. Louis, down to Chester, at the mouth of the Kaskaskia river by five miles in width. This region lies in Illinois, and forms the eastern border of the Mississippi river. Here, far removed from eastern civilization, a bold and hardy, but honest and peaceable company of French, from Canada, and from France itself, estab- lished the old villages of Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, St. Philip, Cahokia, etc., chiefly for the purpose of opening a fur trade with the Indians. A part, probably at least half, of the settlers, however, finding the soil ex- ceedingly rich, devoted themselves to the cultivation of land, and the country for a con- siderable extent around these villages soon became productive of wheat and other nec- essaries of life. This was the first settlement beyond the Alleghany mountains, and preceded by a whole century the first settlements of Ken- tucky and Tennessee. For a hundred and fifty years those farmers lived in peace and harmony with the natives. They were not, to be sure, very skilful in the art of agricul- ture. It was but rudely pursued at that time in the mother country. The imple- ments used in farming, even in the best cul- tivated regions of Europe, were then ex- tremely rude as compared with those of the present day ; but here, in this remote out- skirt of civilization, they were far more rude and uncouth than those used by fanners who had greater facilities for making them. But notwithstanding this rude and imper- fect culture, so great was the fertility of the virgin soil to which it was entrusted, the wheat grew luxuriantly, and they often had a surplus, useless and comparatively worth- less to them, since the expense of getting it to market exceeded its value when it had arrived there. Who would be expected to make improvements in farming under such circumstances ? With the demand for home consumption supplied with but trifling labor, with no inducements beyond a supply of their own limited wants, they could not be AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 75 expected to exhibit the enterprise and thrift of farmers having greater interests at stake. But they went further, and entertained the same prejudice against any new notion, and repugnance to any change, as that cherished at the same time in the older colonies. The old-established practice was good enough for them, and they clung to it with a tenac- ity worthy of a better cause. The cultivation of Indian corn was not introduced among these early western far- mers till long after they established themselves in that region not, indeed, till after Louisi- ana had become a part of our national ter- ritory ; but then, it took the place of wheat to a considerable extent, it being thought a more reliable crop, while the stalks furnished a more valuable winter fodder for cattle. When once introduced, it was cultivated on the same land year after year, for many years in succession, a practice which was continued in that section till a very recent date. Instead of linens and woollens, which were mostly worn at the same period among the country people at the sea-board, these farmers usually raised a small patch of cot- ton, and made their own garments, often using, also, the skins and furs of wild beasts. These latter became so important, as to be used as the currency in business negotiations, a deer-skin being of the highest kind, and serving as the unit. Thus lived these quiet colonists, without change, and with slight improvements, from one generation to another, poor but inde- pendent, with food enough, cattle and hogs enough, few wants to supply, clinging with inveterate tenacity to old customs, and re- sisting innovations, till the time of the ces- sion of the country east of the Mississippi by France to England, in 1763, at which time the colony was at the height of its prosperity. The horses they raised were the small Canadians, said by some to have been derived from the pure Arabian, and obtained originally through Spain. They were very hardy, more so than the American horses of that time, and were rarely crossed with any other race ; but little or no care was taken of them for more than a hundred years, and they were allowed to run on the range without grain. Their cattle were small, with black horns, derived also from Canada. The French kept large numbers of fowls, usually had excellent gardens, and cultivated some fruit, among which were some valuable varieties of pears and apples. 6 That section of country being conquered and taken from England in the Revolution, not a few of the American soldiers, finding the country so fertile, remained and settled there ; and it is said, that at least three- fourths of the Americans who had settled in Illinois previous to the war of 1812, had served as soldiers in the Revolution. After the Revolution, in fact, numerous settlements were made, till, in 1817, the state was admitted into the Union. After that period, farms and farmers increased more rapidly than they had hitherto done, and the production of wheat and Indian corn rapidly increased. The cradle soon, took the place of the sickle. In 1830 the first successful steam flour mill was erect- ed, and gave a new impulse to the raising of wheat. Up to this time, comparatively few cultivated meadows were to be found, and the wild, coarse grasses of the prairies and river bottoms were chiefly relied upon for winter fodder for horses and cattle. Of course, when cattle are running at large, but little improvement can take place in the breed, and but little had actually been at- tempted in this direction. But now the spirit of improvement began with renewed vigor, and we shall see how rapidly the agri- cultural resources of that great state have been developed within the last quarter of a century. What applies to this particular state, will apply with nearly equal truth to almost the whole of the great north-west. The prog- ress of agriculture in Illinois and the ad- joining states cannot be better illustrated than by referring to the rise and growth of the city of Chicago, which has now become the greatest primary grain depot in the world, its exports being nearly twice as great as those of St. Petersburg, and exceeding those of Galatz and Ibrail combined, by up- ward of five millions of bushels a year. In 1829, Chicago may be said to have had no existence. It was then laid out, and the sale of lots took place in the autumn of that year. In 1840 it contained but 447 inhab- itants. In 1845 its population had grown to 12,088, and in 1850 that number had doub- led, and the population amounted to 28,269. In 1855 i.t had increased to 88,509, and in 1860 to 109,263. The pre-eminence of Chicago as a grain de- pot is due in part to its geographical position, but to a great extent, also, to the great facili- ties for receiving, warehousing, and shipping 76 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. grain. Her immense warehouses are erected on the river and its branches, and railroad tracks run in the rear of them, so that a train of loaded cars may be standing at one end of a large elevating warehouse, and while its load is being raised by elevators at the rate of from 7,000 to 8,000 bushels per hour, at the other end the same grain may be running into vessels, and be on its way to Buffalo, Montreal, or Liverpool within six hours' time. The Illinois Central railroad grain warehouse can discharge twelve cars loaded with grain, and at the same time load two vessels with it, at the rate of 24,000 bushels per hour. It can receive grain from twenty-four cars at once, at the rate of 8,000 bushels per hour. And numerous other immense grain houses can do the same thing. Grain can, therefore, be handled with wonderful dis- patch as well as with cheapness. The warehouse alluded to, that of the Illinois Central railroad, is capable of storing 700,- 000 bushels of grain. It can receive and ship 65,000 bushels in a single day, or it can ship alone 225,000 a day ! But this is only one of the magnificent grain ware- houses, and there are many others, some of which arc of nearly equal capacity, and in the aggregate they are capable of storing 3,395,000 bushels. They can receive and ship 430,000 bushels in ten hours, or they can ship alone 1,340,000 bushels in ten hours, and follow it up the year round. In busy seasons these figures are often doubled by running nights. The amount of capital in grain warehouses alone exceeds three millions of dollars, to say nothing of a large amount of capital in- vested in other incidental means of conduct- ing this immense business. The amount of wheat shipped from Chi< cago in 1853 was 1,680,999 bushels; of In- dian corn, 2,780,253 bushels ; and the amount of oats, 1,748,493 bushels. The amount of wheat shipped from there in 1857 was 10,- 783,292 bushels; of Indian corn, the same year, 6,814,615 bushels; and of oats, 416,- 778 bushels. The shipment of flour has kept constantly increasing. In 1853 it was 131,130 barrels ; in 1854 it was 224,575 bar- rels ; in 1855 it was 320,312 barrels ; in 1856, 410,989 barrels; and in 1857, 489,934 bar- rels. The shipment of all kinds of grain, and flour as grain, in 1854 amounted to 12,902,- 320 bushels; in 1855, to 16,633,813 bush- els; in 1856, to 21,583,291 bushels; and in 1857, to 18,032,678 bushels. In 1860 the shipments are estimated to amount to at least from thirty to forty millions of bush- els. In the first eight months of this year (1860) they amounted to over twenty -one millions ! It is to be considered that the agriculture of the region which feeds the warehouses of Chicago is but yet in its infancy. The re- sources and the capacity for production are still to a very great extent undeveloped. The country is still sparsely settled, compared with the older states, and the operations of agriculture are carried on under great disad- vantages, with a great scarcity of labor, and in many cases a want of capital. The reader will now be able to appreciate, to some extent, the vast importance of the improvements in agricultural implements and machinery, which have already been de- scribed on a preceding page as having been made within the last twenty years. With the implements and processes in use within the memory of most men, it would be im- possible to attain such magnificent results in the way of agricultural produce. There are at the present time, in the city of Chicago, some five or six large manufactories engaged in making and selling agricultural imple- ments and machinery, each employing from one hundred to three hundred hands, besides other large establishments at Rockford, Free- port, Alton, and many other places, employ- ing throughout the state more than ten thou- sand persons. There are at least a dozen reaper and mower manufactories, and other establishments devoted to making threshers, cultivators, ploughs, drills, etc., and the de- mand for these improved machines is rapidly increasing. But Chicago is only one of the great cen- tres for the receipt of agricultural produce directly from the farmer, and St. Louis, Cin- cinnati, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, and many other large points might be mentioned, of nearly equal importance, to say nothing of many of the large grain-dealing cities of the south, like Richmond, for instance. In view of these facts we can realize that agriculture produces, as was estimated in 1854 by the superintendent of the census, more than sixteen hundred millions of dol- lars a year ; and that in the state of New York, where "the assessed vahie of the real estate is eleven hundred millions (1,107,272,- 715) of dollars, notwithstanding the enor- AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 77 mous wealth of the metropolis, the agricul- tural interest pays four-fifths of the taxes." Of the aggregate number of bushels of wheat returned by the census of 1850, and which, as has been intimated, gives an ex- ceedingly inadequate idea of the ordinary produce of this grain, the south, embrac- ing the states mentioned on a preceding page, produced 27,878,815 bushels, valued at $25,090,933; the west produced 41,- 394,545 bushels, valued at $37,255,088 ; and the north produced 30,761,941 bushels, valued at $27,865,746. The crop of wheat of the present year is probably the largest by far ever raised in this country, and will not probably fall short of 230,000,000 of bushels. With the sur- plus of last year still on hand we shall have nearly 70,000,000 of bushels for exportation to foreign countries. What has been said in speaking of the exports of Indian corn, may be said, also, of wheat, that the amount sent abroad is reg- ulated very much by the extent of the de- mand there. The surplus of this grain that is, the amount that can be spared for ship- ment to foreign ports, over and above what is required for home consumption is as elas- tic as India-rubber. If Europe wants our wheat, or our flour, and is compelled to pay good prices, either from a short crop, a dis- turbed state of political affairs, or any other cause, it is impossible to set bounds to our surplus, because the more she wants, the more we have to spare, and the less Europe, or any foreign country wants, the less we have to export. If little wheat is wanted abroad, it is used more freely at home, and the balance is stored for future use. If large quantities of it are required abroad, less will be used at home, the people resorting to In- dian corn and meal to a large extent. The amount of export is, therefore, regulated by the price. If foreign countries are willing, or are compelled to pay for it, we can supply them to any extent under any ordinary circumstances. The export in 1846 was 13,268,175 bushels; in 1847, 12,309,972; in 1848 it reached 26,312,431 bushels, un- der the stimulus of the high prices conse- quent upon famine in Ireland; in 1849 it fell off to 10,366,417, and again, in 1850, to 8,656,982 bushels, when it began to increase again, and amounted in 1851 to 13,948,499, jand in 1852 to 18,680,686 ; in 1853 it was 18,958,993 bushels, and in 1854 no less than 27,000,000! In the statement of the above staple crops, little or no credit is given to the productions of California, which was admitted into the Union oh the 9th of September, 1850. At that time it was not generally thought to rank anywhere as an agricultural state. Its wheat crop was returned, in 1850, at only 17,228 bushels; its Indian corn at only 12,236 bushels; and its other agricultural products in proportion. In 1852 the wheat crop of that state was less than 300,000 bushels, and the imports of flour in 1853 were no less than 500,000 bushels; it sold, at times, as high as fifty dollars a barrel. In 1859 the wheat crop was more than 6,000,- 000 of bushels, while the crop of 1 860 very greatly exceeded that, so that many a ship- load was exported to South America, Aus- tralia, China, and even to New York and Liverpool. The corn crop of California has increased in like manner since 1852, when it amount- ed to only about 60,000 bushels. It was over 1,000,000 bushels in 1860! The bar- ley crop is double now what it was in 1852; and the oats, which then were worth less than $100,000, are worth this year nearly $2,000,000. Then only about a hundred thousand acres were under cultivation in the whole state ; now the number of acres is nearer a million and a half. Then, nobody thought the state would ever be able to raise even its own flour. Now, with less than a fortieth part of her lands under cultivation, she is exporting flour to foreign countries. California could probably support a popula- tion of twenty millions under a full develop- ment of her agricultural resources. PRODUCTION OF OTHER GRAINS. RYE is not, at the present time, so exten- sively used for food as formerly. The amount grown is, therefore, comparatively small. Rye was introduced and cultivated in all the colonies at the earliest periods of their set- tlement, and its meal was mixed with Indian meal for the making of bread, in New Eng- land, as early, certainly, as 1648, and per- haps even as early as 1630, and that custom became very common. The export of this grain has never been very extensive, and since the demand for wheat has been so much increased, its extent of cultivation has diminished rapidly. In 1796, no less than 50,614 barrels of rye meal were exported from Philadelphia, and in 1801 the United States exported 78 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 392,276 bushels of rye. In 1812 the ex- port was only 82,705 bushels. The aggregate product of rye, as returned in the census of 1840, was less than nine- teen millions of bushels, or 18,645,567, and this fell off, in 1850, to 14,188,813 bushels, a decrease of 4,456,744. The use of rye for the purpose of distillation and the man- ufacture of malt liquors is much less now than formerly, and this accounts for the fall- ing off in its cultivation. It is, however, a profitable crop in New England, and a yield of from forty to fifty bushels to the acre is bv no means uncommon, while the straw is in such demand, in many sections, as to en- hance very materially its value as a crop. OATS. The culture of the oat is more ex- tensive than that of rye. It was introduced into the colonies immediately after their set- tlement by Europeans, having been sown by Gosnold, on the Elizabeth Islands, as early as 1602, and cultivated to greater or less ex- tent from that time to the present. But though much more extensively produced than rye, its consumption as food for ani- mals is so great in this country, that it has never formed any considerable article of ex- port, though an average of about 70,000 bushels was shipped for some years previous to 1820. The yield of this crop in 1840 was re- turned as 123,071,341 bushels, and in 1850 it had increased to 146,584,179 bushels, a gain of 23,512,838 bushels. The geographical distribution of this crop was as follows : The south raised 49,891,107 bushels, val- ued at $17,459,035; the west produced 37,122,771 bushels, valued at $12,992,971 ; and the north produced 59,570,301 bushels, valued at $20,817,175. Oats are grown in all the states, but by far the largest yield was in New York and Pennsylvania. The crop of oats for 1860, in New England, was larger and more abundant than was ever be- fore known, unless, possibly, that of 1816 was an exception. It is, probably, at least 30 or 40 per cent, above the average, growing with a luxuriance which was a sub- ject of universal remark among farmers. BARLEY, like the other grains already mentioned, was sown on the first settlement of the colonies, having been first cultivated by Gosnold as early as 1602, on the Eliza- beth Islands, on the Massachusetts coast, and by the settlers at Jamestown, in Virginia, in 1611, where, however, it soon gave way to the more lucrative production of tobacco. Samples of it were sent from the Dutch col- ony at New York in 1626. Good crops of it were raised in the colony of the Massa- chusetts Bay as early as 1630 ; and in 1796 the principal agricultural product of the state of Khode Island Avas barley. But this crop has never gained root to any extent in this country, either as a desir- able product for home consumption or for foreign export. Its chief use has been for malting and distillation. The census of 1840 returned the product of barley as 4,161,504 bushels, and this had increased in 1850 to 5,167,015 bushels, a gain of 1,005,511 bushels. It has doubtless increased some since, but not so as to be- come a crop of any great importance in a national point of view. By far the largest portion of the crop of 1850 was raised in the northern states, which returned no less than 4,166,611 bushels, val- ued at $3,747,650; while the west raised only 842,402, valued at $754,161, and the south but 161,907 bushels, which was val- ued at $145,716. BUCKWHEAT. This grain has never been cultivated to any great extent in this coun- try, though it was introduced into the col- ony at Manhattan Island by the Dutch West India Company, and raised there as early as 1625 or 1626. Its culture was con- tinued by the Dutch to some extent, and they used it as provender for horses. It was also cultivated by the Swedes, who set- tled along the Delaware in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Not being extensively cultivated, it has not, of course, entered much into our com- merce, though it has been shipped, to some extent, in the shape of flour. The quantity returned by the census of 1840 was 7,291,- 743 bushels. This had increased in 1850 to" nearly nine millions, or 8,956,912 bushels, a gain, in the ten years, of 1,665,169 bushels. It is probable that the next census will re- turn the crop of 1859 as upward of eleven millions of bushels, with a value of about $4,500,000. The geographical distribution of the crop of 1850 was very nearly as follows: The south raised 405,357 bushels, valued at $202,678 ; the west raised 1,578,578 bush- els, valued at $789,289; the north raised 6,971,667 bushels, valued at $3,485,833. The cultivation of buckwheat has the eft'ect to cleanse the land, which has been AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. one reason for its increase, while the price it commands makes it a profitable crop. CLOVER AND GRASS SEED. In connection with the smaller grains should be mentioned the production of clover seed, and that of the various grasses, which, in some sections, has become an item of some importance. The census of 1850 returned the amount of clover seed produced as 468,978 bushels. Of this, Pennsylvania raised by far the largest quantity of any one state, and Ohio came next. The amount of grass seed raised was 416,- 83 1 bushels, and in this product New York took the lead of all the states, exceeding the next highest producer, New Jersey, by more than thirty thousand bushels. Of the clover and grass seeds together, the south raised 123,517 bushels, valued at $370,551 ; the west raised 142,764 bushels, valued at $428,292 ; and the northern states raised 619,501 bushels, valued at $1,858,503. THE POTATO. The potato is more universally cultivated in this country than any other crop, except, perhaps, that of Indian corn. At what time it was first introduced, as a cultivated plant, into the American colonies, is not known, but it was, no doubt, soon after the settle- ment. It is mentioned among the seed or- dered for the Plymouth colony, as early, cer- tainly, as 1629, but it was not recognized, probably, as an indispensable crop, till near the middle of the last century, when it ap- pears to have been very widely known and esteemed. As many as 700 bushels were exported from South Carolina in 1747, and in 1796 no less than 9,004 bushels were shipped from Philadelphia. It is well known that the sweet potato was first introduced, and came to be regarded as a delicacy in England, and the allusions to the potato by the earlier English writers who mention this plant, refer to the sweet, and not to the common potato. It has formed a somewhat important arti- cle of export, though by no means to be compared, in this respect, with wheat and Indian corn. We exported in 1821-2 about 129,814 bushels, valued at $45,758. In 1844-5 the export amounted to 274,216 bushels, valued at $122,926, and exportation has continued, to some extent, every year since then. The number of bushels of po- tatoes returned by the census of 1840 was 108,298,060. In 1850, owing to the preva- lence of the disease, it fell off to 104,056,- 044 bushels, of which 38,268,148 bushels were sweet potatoes. The crop may now amount to 125,000,000 bushels. PEASE AND BEANS. Though not entering extensively into the commercial interests of the country, the product of pease and beans is still important, both from its extent and value for home consumption. Beans are said to have been first cultivated by Capt. Gosnold, on the Elizabeth Islands, as early as 1602. They appear to have been cultivated by the Dutch, at Manhattan, in 1644, and about the same time in Virginia. But it is well known that beans were culti- vated by the natives, long before their intro- duction by the whites, and it is probable that pease were, also. In the year 1755, the amount of pease exported from Savannah was 400 bushels, and in 17 70, 601 bushels. The amount ex- ported from Charleston in 1754 was 9,162 bushels. North Carolina exported 10,000 bushels in 1753. The total amount exported annually from the United States for twenty years previous to 1817, was 90,000 bushels, while the beans annually exported during the same period amounted to from thirty to forty thousand bushels. The census of 1850 returned the amount of pease and beans as 9,219,901 bushels. The value of these crops exceeded $16,000,000. THE GRASS AND HAY CROP. Owing to the necessity that exists through- out all the northern portion of the United States to stall-feed the stock from three to six months of the year, the grass and hay crop as- sumes there an importance which it has not in the more southern portions of the country. I have alluded, briefly, on a preceding page, to the fact that, at the time of the early settlement of the colonies, na attention had been paid in the mother country to the cultivation of either the natural or the arti- ficial grasses. Attention to this branch of farming was gradually forced upon the set- tlers of the more northern portions of the country. For want of sufficient and suita- ble winter nourishment, the cattle, which were scarce and expensive, were often found dying of starvation, notwithstanding the efforts made to secure a supply of salt hay from the many marshes in the vicinity of the Plymouth and the Massachusetts, as well as the Dutch and Swedish colonies. 80 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. It was, no doubt, many years before it] became possible, in the nature of things, to provide full supplies for their cattle, and it was not unfrequently the case, even after the culture of grasses was introduced, that the cattle were obliged to browse in the woods in a long and hard struggle for life, owing to the loss of crops by drought and imperfect cultivation. The cultivation of timothy, the most im- portant and valuable of the forage grasses, was not introduced, according to Jared Eliot, who wrote in 1750, till a few years previous to that date, having been found by one Herd, in a swamp near Piscataqua. He propagated it till it was taken to Maryland and Virginia by Timothy Hanson, after whom it is most frequently called. The well-known orchard grass was cultivated as early as the middle of the last century, for we know it was introduced from Virginia into England in 1764, or thereabout. The June, or Kentucky blue grass, was probably indigenous, and sprung up in the pathway of the settlers, as it does now, wherever the footstep of civilization penetrates. But it was not till a recent date that the general culture and improvement of the grasses re- ceived the attention it deserved. The grasses spring up almost spontane- ously in many localities, it is true, other- erwise the settlers would have suffered far more severely than they did. From the time when the great mandate went forth, even before the creation of man, " Let the earth bring forth grass," it has been a law of nature to clothe the earth with verdure as soon as the advance of civilization lets in the light upon the soil by the first clearings of the pioneer settler. The progress made in the cultivation of grasses and the production of hay has been greater within the last half century than ever before. This will appear, especially when we consider the improvement in the means of cultivating and harvesting the crop. The culture of clover had been com- menced, in some parts of the country, pre- vious to that time, but it had not established itself in the farmer's favor to any very great extent, and the indigenous grasses were chiefly relied on, while the seed used in many parts of the country was that which had fallen from the hay-mow, foul, of course, and full of weeds. According to the census of 1840, the hay crop of the United States was 10,248,108 tons. In 1850 it was 13,838,642 tons, an increase of 3,590,533 tons. The hay crop of the present year cannot be less than 1 5,000,000 tons, with a value certainly not less than $150,000,000. To this is to be added the value of the grass crop, which is not less than that of the hay, and we have an annual production of at least $300,000,- 000, an amount nearly equal to all the other agricultural products of the country, except- ing wheat and Indian corn. The production of hay is, to a certain ex- tent, a tax upon the farmer imposed by the severity of climate. In a mild climate and short winters, the necessity for curing hay in any considerable quantities is avoided. Less hay is made, of course, at the south than at the north. The same number and size of cattle would require less artificially prepared fodder in a mild climate than in 3 severe one. Maine, for instance, raised 755,889 tons of hay, and kept 385,115 head of cattle and horses, consuming about two tons a head on an average. Illinois, with 601,952 tons of hay, kept 1,190,264 head of cattle and horses, using but little over half a ton per head ; while Alabama, which made only 32,685 tons of hay, kept 915,911 head of cattle, the proportion being but one ton of hay to thirty head of cattle. There is, it is true, some compensation in this, as in most other things, and that is the extreme difficulty of growing the ordinary natural grasses in a southern latitude, on account of the severe drouths. It is almost impossible to produce a fine, close, permanent turf south of the 39 of latitude, and considerable quantities of cured hay are taken from the northern and eastern ports to most of the southern ports every year. There is, also, another most important compensation in the greater facility afforded by the wintering of cattle for economizing manure, and thus keeping up the fertility of the soil. For example, tobacco culture is said to have impoverished the soil of Vir- ginia. One reason for it was, that keeping comparatively few cattle, and never housing them, but rather " browsing" them from one year's end to another, there was no pos- sibility of saving and making a great quan- tity of manure, Till the introduction of guano, it was extremely difficult to get ma- nure for the tobacco field, and exhaustion was inevitable. In Massachusetts, on the other hand, there is no crop that a wheat or corn crop will follow so well as that of to- AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 81 bacco, for the reason that the grower, know- ing the requirements of the plant, manures it very highly, as he easily can, and the soil, instead of being exhausted from year to year, is actually growing richer. Increasing the hay crop, therefore, notwithstanding its cost, enables the farmer to keep more stock in such a manner as to make more manure, and more manure enables him to keep up the fertility of the land. We are not surprised, therefore, to find the geographical distribution of the crop as returned in 1850 as follows : The north produced 9,473,605 tons, val- ued at $94,736,050; the west produced 3,227,253 tons, valued at $32,272,530; the south produced 1,137,784 tons, valued at 811,377,846. There can be no reasonable doubt that the quality of hay made now, over that usually made in former times in this country, has been improved, to say nothing more of the vastly improved facilities for harvesting it. More correct ideas are entertained of the extent and mode of curing it, and the quality is improved in proportion as a higher knowl- edge is brought to bear upon it. THE CULTURE OF FRUIT. The establishment of state and county agricultural societies, and of stated exhibi- tions, in which the products of the orchard and the garden had a prominent place, in- troduced a new era in the culture of fruit. The early settlers made some attempts to introduce apples and pears, some bringing with them the seeds of these fruits, with the supposition, no doubt, that they should have the like again. The first apples raised in this country were, probably, from trees planted on Gov- ernor's Island, in the harbor of Boston, from which, on the 10th of October, 1639, ten fair pippins were brought, " there being not one apple or pear tree planted in any part of the country, but upon that island." Governor Endicott had on his farm in Salem, now in Danvers, in 1640, the first nursery of young fruit trees that was ever planted in this country ; and it is related that he sold five hundred apple trees for two hundred and fifty acres of land, or at the rate of two trees for an acre a good bargain for the purchaser, if he took good care of his trees. But the cultivation of fruit was extremely rare in the early history of the country. Indeed, it could hardly be said to have been cultivated at all, as a part of the produce of the farm, till a comparatively recent date. At the close of the Revolution, and, in fact, at the end of the last century, it would have been impossible to have found in the whole country the number and varieties of good fruits which might now be found in a single good farming town. There were orchards of seedling apples, and many of them were far better than none, but that is nearly all that can be said for them. They were raised chiefly for the making of cider. Most of the favorite varieties of the present day had then no existence ; and if any very superior apple had existed in any isolated locality, it could not, from the very nature of things, have become generally known and appreciated, for, as we have seen, the bar- riers which separated the rural population of that day were so great as often to leave them in ignorance of what was passing, even in a neighboring town. A seedling equal to the Baldwin apple might have re- mained unknown twenty miles off" from the beginning to the end of the last century. Apples were apples, and all apples were fit to make cider, and that was enough. It was regarded as absurd for any but a young man to set out trees ; and when a man of seventy began to plant an orchard, the idea was so ludicrous as to subject him to the ridicule of the whole neighborhood. But, during the first quarter of the pres- ent century, many large orchards were planted in different parts of the country, still with particular reference to the pro- duction of cider. The fruit crop of the coun- try was of so little importance as not to have been thought worthy of a place in the collec- tion of our national statistics, even so late as 1830; now it amounts to considerably over thirty millions of dollars a year, and is fast growing to be one of the most important products of the country, the annual sales numbering hundreds of thousands of bar- rels. The oldest horticultural society in the United States was founded only about thirty years ago (1829). For some years such asso-* ciations were few and feeble, on account of the want of sufficient public interest in the subject. Fruit of the choice varieties was a luxury which could be enjoyed only by the wealthy. Now there is scarcely a cot- tage in a country town or village which has not its grape vines, or its apple or pear trees. The public no longer ridicule the man who 82 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. plants choice trees, with the hope of enjoy- ing their fruit. Modern science, in this direction, secures speedy returns. The American Pomological Society was established in 1848, and since then kindred societies have been established in several of the states, and are exerting no small degree of influence. It is scarcely twenty-five years since two or three small nurseries in the vicinity of our large cities, occupying not over five hundred acres in the whole coun- try, supplied the wants of the United States and the Canadas. Now there exist more than a thousand nurseries ; and in one county of New York alone that of Mon- roe there are between three and four thousand acres, producing every year more than $500,000 worth of trees ; while there are sold every year, in the whole country, from fifteen to twenty millions of trees, with a value of $5,000,000. It is estimated that the nurseries of Onondaga, and the neighboring counties of New York, contain at this moment at least fifty millions of trees for sale. These figures give but an in- adequate idea of the actual present extent of this great business of the country, but they are sufficient to indicate the wide-spread interest in the cultivation of fruit among the people. It is a gratifying fact that our native fruits are appreciated as they deserve. Of the thirty-six varieties of apples recommended by the American Pomological Society for cultivation, thirty are natives; of the fourteen varieties of plums, ten are natives ; and so are more than half the pears and all of the strawberries. It is not many years since all the strawberries in our markets grew wild and were brought from the fields, when not a single variety had been produced by hybridization in America. Last year a single cultivator in Massachusetts grew them at the rate of 160 bushels per acre, and sold them at the rate of $1,300 per acre ; while others, in Connecticut and other states, did even better than that, from seedling varieties. The fruit crop of Massachusetts was officially returned in 1845 at $744,000; while in 1855 it amounted to $1,300,000; and in 1860 to upward of $2,000,000; and the in- crease in many other parts of the country has been in a similar or even greater propor- tion. In the fall and winter of 1858-59, there were exported from the port of Bos- ton alone no less than 120,000 barrels of apples, mostly Baldwins. The product of fruit for 1860 is larger, by 200 per cent., probably, than it ever was before. The two or three preceding years were com- paratively bad fruit years, and in the mean- time thousands of young trees have come into bearing which never bore before. The crop of 1860 is, therefore, wonderfully large, and of unsurpassed excellence. The climate of the southern states has often been stated to be unfavorable to the growth of our common staple fruits, except peaches, figs, oranges, and the like ; but ex- perience has shown that it is not so. There is one orchard in Mississippi of 15,000 pear trees, another in Georgia of 9,500 ; and in other sections, Avhere the effort has been made, success has almost invariably attended it. It is true, the pomology of the south is in many respects peculiar. The mistake has been in selecting northern varieties, in- stead of seedlings of the south and other native varieties, many of which are found to exist, and to be superior in size, flavor, and beauty, while in keeping qualities they are not inferior to good northern varieties. The south can, therefore, raise apples in large quantities, and of a very high quality, by the selection and proper cultivation of varieties adapted to its soil and climate. The few earnest and intelligent pomologists who have had long experience there, rank the apple as the surest and most reliable of all fruits except the grape. So far, compar- atively little attention has been given to the culture of the apple and the pear by the mass of southern planters ; partly, no doubt, from an impression that such fruits were not suited to that locality; but the experience of the most intelligent horticulturists in that part of the country has, I think, fully established its practicability, especially for the native southern winter varieties. And so of the pear. Very many of the favorite varieties at the north grow and bear well at the south, either as standards or dwarfs, in a deep, mellow, well tilled soil, care being taken to train the top of the tree low and spreading, so as to shield the trunk and the root from the too fierce rays of the sun. And as to the peach, it is at home at the south, and grows in the highest degree of perfection. One grower in that part of the country sends north from seven to ten thousand dollars worth of peaches every year before they are ripe in the middle states. Now if such are known to be the results AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 83 of only ten, fifteen, and twenty years of en- terprise in this branch of rural economy, what may we not anticipate when the vast number of young trees planted in the mid- dle and eastern states within the last five years, come into bearing? If any one is disposed to feel disheartened at the prospect of sales, or fear the market will be glutted, let him take courage in the fact that the de- mand is ever on the increase, not only from the multiplication of consumers, but from the fact that there is a growing conviction that fruit is the most healthful food. The exportation of fruits, particularly of apples, is rapidly increasing. But that the present comparative abundance has not diminished the profits of fruit-growing, the Fruit-Grow- ers' Society of Western New York state through a committee that three white Do- yenne pear-trees, owned by Mr. Phinney, of Canandaigua, one of them small, produce annually from $50 to $60 worth . of fine fruit, while another of the same variety, in the same place, seventy years old, has not failed of a good crop for forty years, and has averaged twenty bushels a year for twenty years, which have been sold on the tree for $60 a year. This one tree has pro- duced for the New York market $3,750 worth of pears. Three large trees of the same kind, owned by another individual, yielded in 1854 eleven barrels, which sold for $m. Then, too, we are to include the luxuriant growth of fruits in California, now becoming celebrated as a fruit-growing region. Five years ago the apple-trees in that state scarcely numbered a hundred thousand; now, in 1860, there are more than a million trees in bearing. Peach-trees then numbered only a hundred and seventy thousand ; now, there are more than a million and a half. Pear- trees have increased in five years from twenty thousand to three hundred thousand ; apri- cots, from four thousand to a hundred and fifty thousand trees ; plums, from ten thou- sand to a hundred and thirty thousand ; and grape vines, from three hundred thousand in 1855, to eight millions in 1860! The num- ber of vines more than doubled in two years from 1856 to 185 8. A popular writer says the growth on the grape-vines the last year would make one long green creeper that would reach from San Francisco clear across the continent, and then over the sea to Eng- land. " Who knows," says he, " but what Englishmen will yet suck their wines from California cellars ? At the rate we are going on, somebody has got a great deal of wine- drinking to do, to use up the California pro- duction of ten years hence. But people must make up their minds, or their palates, to like still wines that are at once fiery and sour, if they intend to patronize California vineyards, and rejoice in the plenty and cheapness of our products; for our grapes insist on being sweeter than the best grapes of which foreign wines are made. They contain 20 per cent, of sugar against 13 11-100 per cent, in foreign-grown specimens, while the proportion of free acid is much, less. As a consequence, there is 15 per cent, of alcohol in our light wine, which is double what is detected in the European light wines, and nearly as much as is con- tained in the stronger ports, sherries, and Madeiras." The value of the grape crop two years ago (1858), amounted to $1,000,- 000, and it amounts now, probably, to over $8,000,000. The culture of the vine in California is very simple, and gives astonishing profits. An acre in ordinary calculation is enough for a thou- sand vines ; and each vine in full bearing will produce a gallon of wine. The average of well-managed vineyards is often much greater, and two or three gallons to a vine is no uncommon product. A good man, with a horse and plough, and at work only about eight days in the year, can tend from eight to ten acres of vines. The grape flourishes in all parts of California, but the counties of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego are, perhaps, the most noted, though the Napa valley, and many other localities, are about equally suited to it. The capabili- ties of the three counties above named, for the production of the grape, are ascertained to be equal to 100,000,000 vines, or more than 100,000,000 gallons of wine a year! About 650 vessels leave the Mediterranean for this country every year, loaded with figs, lemons, oranges, limes, almonds, and the products of the vine, the whole amounting to about seven and a quarter millions of dollars. Time will show that California can easily produce all these products of an oqual quality, and in abundance sufficient to sup- ply the whole country, and still have a sur- plus for her own consumption. That this statement is by no means extravagant, is evident from the fact that the growth of the grape during the last three years surpasses any thing ever known in the most highly 84 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. favored regions of the Rhine, Italy, or France. A pear-grower of Roxbury, Mass., has one acre devoted to this fruit, the oldest trees being about twenty years old, but more than half of them young. From two trees, the Dix and Beurre Diel, he has taken more than one hundred dollars worth a year, and from the whole acre more than a thousand dollars a year. Another prominent pear-or- chardist in Brighton, Mass., commenced operations in 1841 with eight trees on the ground. He has now 1,200 trees, set out in different years, more than half of them since 1854. Since that time he has received from five to six hundred dollars a year for his crop, and says that if he had confined him- self to a judicious selection of varieties, his crop would now bring him over $2,000 a year. These are, of course, special cases, but in" stances of a similar kind might be multiplied almost indefinitely, showing that where good judgment and skill are used, success is com- paratively sure. No other country offers such opportunities to the scientific pomol- ogist, or to the farmer, for the growth of apples and pears, and it is not probable that the supply will reach the demand for many years to come. Nor has the culture of the cranberry, and other smaller fruits, been neglected. The practical cultivation of the cranberry is of very recent date, having commenced on Cape Cod, where several hundred acres of culti- vated plants are now in profitable bearing condition. Its culture is rapidly extending to other parts of the country, where suitable lands exist. The census of 1840, the first to take note of the extent and value of the orchard and garden products of the country, makes the fruit crop of that year, or rather of 1839, to be $7,256,904, in addition to 124,734 gallons of domestic wine. The census of 1850 states the amount of orchard products at $7,723,- 186, and 221,249 gallons of domestic wine, showing an increase of only $466,282 in the value of fruit, and 96,515 gallons of wine. This was thought by some to be too low, but it should be borne in mind that the interest in fruit culture, now so very general and wide- spread, had hardly begun in 1840, and though it rapidly increased, so that young orchards had very greatly multiplied all over the country in 1 850, they had not then come into full bearing. Nor was the manufacture of wine any thing like so extensive as it has since become. The census of 1860 wil\ present us Avith far more gratifying results. It is perfectly proper to ascribe a large proportion of the increase of orchards and fruits, and of the interest manifested in them, Avhich for the last ten years has been wholly without a precedent in this country, to the influence of the agricultural exhibitions, and to the multiplication of the valuable treatises and periodicals on the subject, calling the attention of the people to the vast amounts of money which had been spent yearly in importing grapes, wines, figs, prunes, raisins, currants, and even pears,* from foreign countries, all of which might be raised here equally well, and to the inexhaustible treas- ures which were within the reach of every landholder ; all that was wanting being the proper exertion to develop them. For several years Hovey's Magazine of Horticulture was the only periodical exclusively devoted to the garden and the orchard, and that was confined chiefly to the few who gave their attention especially to fruit culture. Previous to the appearance, in 1845, of Dowuing's "Fruit and Fruit Trees of America," Man- ning's "Book of Fruits" and Renwick's "American Orchardist" were the only popu- lar works which had any considerable circu- lation, the admirable treatises of Coxe, Prince, and a very few others, being confined chiefly to professed horticulturists and nurserymen. Downing's work was, in fact, the first that had a quick and extensive circulation among the people. It appeared just at the time when the want of such a work began to be widely felt ; while he had the immense advantage of the information which had been industriously accumulated by the Massachusetts and the London horticultural societies, and by the labors of some of the most noted horticultu- rists in the country, who had been constant-" ly experimenting and importing new fruits, multiplying seedlings, and improving the nomenclature of varieties. Then appeared Thomas' " American Fruit Culturist," a valuable popular work after Downing's plan, and Cole's " American Fruit Book," a storehouse of valuable information, in such small compass as to come within the easy means of every one. All these works contributed largely to diffuse a more correct * So recently as 1851 a considerable quantity of pears were actually imported from France by the New York confectioners. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 85 taste, and to excite a wide-spread interest in the subject ; and they are entitled to great credit as being, in some measure, the pio- neers in this department. But yet, though many grand results have already been obtained, the science of pomol- ogy is still in its infancy, and far greater results may be confidently expected hereafter. From the progress in the cultivation of fruits, which has been styled by some the poetry of farming, let us turn to the CULTURE OF TOBACCO. No sooner had Columbus landed on the island of Cuba, in 1492, than a gentlemanly chief very politely offered him a cigar. From that day to this the plant has grown rapidly in favor, and from being the solace of the roaming savage of America, it has become a luxury, universal as the habitation of the globe. It has been truly remarked that every country or tribe of human beings has had, from time immemorial, its own peculiar narcotic, either aboriginal or imported, and that the universal instinct of the human race has led, somehow or other, to the universal supply of this want or craving ; as, for in- stance, tobacco in America and its islands ; the thorn apple, cocoa, tobacco, and hemp in South America ; hops and tobacco in Europe ; hemp in Africa ; aminita, opium, betel-nut, and tobacco in Asia ; showing that it is natural for man, after supplying the ne- cessities of life by food, to desire to multiply his enjoyments, intellectual and animal, and for the time to exalt them ; a^nd we cannot ascribe so universal a habit, increasing with the growth of population, to mere whim or fancy for self-indulgence. It is, perhaps, a necessity imposed by nature, and second only to that greater necessity, the satisfaction of the craving of hunger. Certainly, the extent to which it is culti- vated, occupying so large a proportion of the best arable lands of some countries, which are equally adapted to wheat ; its great im- portance in a commercial point of view, and the variety of ways in which it is em- ployed to gratify the senses, present a strik- ing feature in the history of the human race. " Thy quiet spirit lulls the lab'ring brain, Lures back to thought the flights of vacant mirth, Consoles the mourner, soothes the couch of pain, And breathes contentment round the humble hearth ; "While savage warriors, soften'd by thy breath, Unbind the captive hate had doom'd to death." It has steadily pushed its way in the face of every opposition which ridicule, prejudice, legislative prohibition, threats of excommu- nication, and every conceivable persecution could bring against it, simply because nature demanded its use in some form or other. The celebrated Locke took a more rational view, and said, " Bread or tobacco may be neglected, but reason at first recommends their trial, and custom makes them pleasant." But, on the other hand, "the most high and mightie prince," James I., by the grace of God king of Great Britain, " a slave to vices which could not fail to make him an object of disgust," took a different view of the prev- alent practice, and wrote a "Counterblaste to Tobacco," stigmatizing its use as " A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless." Every thing which is really and truly founded in nature and reason, however mysteriously, will ultimately prevail, whoever sets himself up to oppose it ; and the progress of the culture and use of this plant is an instance of it. King James wrote in 1616, and in 1624 Pope Urban VIII. published a decree of ex- communication against all in the church who took snuff; and in 1634 smoking tobacco was prohibited in Russia under penalty of having the nose cut off; and in Transylvania the penalty for growing this plant was a coi fiscation of the farmer's whole property ; and even so recently as 1719 the senate of Stras- burg forbade the cultivation of it, from the fear of its diminishing the culture of corn. But " they manage things better in France," and the far-sighted Richelieu im- posed upon it a duty, very small at first, which continued till 1674, when the govern- ment of Louis XIV. increased the duty, and made the culture and trade in tobacco a monopoly, and granted it to an individual for six years, in consideration of the payment to the government of the large sum of $145,- 000. Inl720the consideration was increased more than 1 00 per cent., and in 1 77 1 it amount- ed to $5,500,000 a year. In 1844 the rev- enue from tobacco alone yielded the French government the enormous sum of $20,000,- 000, and it has since constantly increased on an average from half a million to a million dollars a year. So much for Richelieu ; and it must be admitted, even by the most prej- udiced opponents of tobacco, that this policy was more sensible than $at of his neighbors AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. who mutilated, and some of whom cut off the heads of all smokers. The English first saw it cultivated, and smoked in clay pipes, by the Indians of Vir- ginia, in 1585, and it was probably intro- duced into England by Ealeigh, as early as 1586. In 1615, the gardens, fields, and streets of Jamestown, Virginia, were planted with tobacco, and it became not only the great staple, but, according to Bancroft, the chief currency of the colony, and in 1622 the product was 60,000 pounds. During the next twenty years it doubled, and amounted to 120,000 pounds, and since 1689 the produce of Virginia alone has in- creased to twice as many millions of pounds. The introduction of tobacco culture into the Dutch colony of New York took place as early as 1646, and it sold then at forty cents a pound. The "Company of the West" introduced it into Louisiana in 1718. Previous to the revolutionary war its culture had extended into Maryland, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Louisiana, and nearly all Europe was, at that time, supplied from the Ameri- can colonies. Since that time the cultiva- tion has greatly extended in this country, not only into new states and territories, but in the aggregate amount raised. The quan- tity exported has also very largely increased. The amount consumed in Great Britain alone exceeds 35,000,000 pounds, and that, too,with a duty of about seventy-five cents a pound. The annual export from the colonies for ten years previous to 1709 was 28,868,666 pounds. From 1744 to 1776 the exports of tobacco averaged 40,000,000 pounds a year. The tobacco exported from Vir- ginia in 1758 is said to have been no less than 75,000 hogsheads, and from that tune till the Revolution, the amount averaged 55,000 hogsheads a year. About 30,000 hogsheads were shipped from City Point, in Virginia, in 1791, and in 1795 the amount fell to 9,475 hogsheads. There were export- ed from North Carolina 100 hogsheads in 1753, while from Georgia, in 1722, there were shipped 176,732 hogsheads. South Carolina exported 2,680 hogsheads in 1783, and 4,294 in 1795. The quantity exported from Philadelphia in 1796 was 3,437 hogs- heads. According to the census of 1840, the amount raised in the United States was 219,- 163,319 pounds. The census of 1850 re- turned but 199,752,655 pounds, showing a decrease of 19,410,664 pounds. There has, no doubt, been a considerable increase in its production throughout the country, notwith- standing an apparent falling off as shown by the census. The crop is liable to many cas- ualties to damage by insects, hail, drought, frosts, or an otherwise bad season at harvest- ing so that the product of any one year, like that of 1849, on which the returns of the last census were based, cannot be taken as a fair annual average. So great is the demand for home consumption and for foreign export- ation, that the profits of tobacco are usually very great, operating as a constant stimulus to a more extended culture. Of the amount returned by the last cen- sus, Virginia raised 56,893,218 pounds, and Kentucky 55,501,196 pounds, making, to- gether, more than half of all that was raised in the United States. But since 1849 the use of guano has become far more extensive than it had previously been, and the yield of this ravenous crop on the lands said to have become exhausted from long-continued culture, has been very greatly enlarged in consequence. In the meantime, its cultiva- tion has gradually been extending north- ward, and the produce of Connecticut and Massachusetts has been much increased. The produce, of the latter state has, proba- bly, been more than quadrupled within the last five years. Tobacco is usually called an exhausting crop. This depends very much upon the kind and quantity of manure used. If the mineral constituents taken from the soil, and represented in the ash of the plant, are sup- plied by judicious cultivation, there is little difficulty in cultivating and producing large crops, and it is a common remark of the best farmers along the Connecticut river, that wheat or any other crop will follow tobacco, even better than most other crops, for the reason that the high manuring for tobacco keeps the land in good heart. But the planters in Virginia cultivated it for many years in succession on the same lands, with- out supplying a sufficiency of manure. The land, of course, must feel the loss in time, and the yield, previous to the introduction of guano, had dwindled down in many locali- ties so as not to pay the producer. Every ton of tobacco, perfectly dried, carries off some three or four hundred weight of these most important mineral substances, and it should be the aim of the farmer to supply them liberally, if he expects a liberal reward in an abundant harvest. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. The geographical distribution of the product, the amount of which has already been stated, was nearly as follows : The south raised 185,023,906 pounds, valued at $18,505,390. The west raised 12,358,- 879 pounds, valued at $1,236,886. The north raised 2,383,208 pounds, valued at $238,320. In this connection, it would be a matter of no small interest to ascertain, if possible, the number of hands the cultivation, curing, and the various processes of manufacture give employment to. It is, unquestionably, very large in this country, but the census does not appear to state it. In the city of Hamburg (Q-ermany) alone, this manufac- ture gives employment to upward of 10 r - 000 persons, and it supplies 150,000,000 cigars a year, with a value of $2,000,000 a matter of no small importance. Ham- burg imports from Havana and Manilla about 1 8,000,000 cigars a year ; and, with its own production, the aggregate number is 168,000,000 cigars. 153,000,- 000 of these are exported, and the re- mainder, or 15,000,000, are consumed in that city; giving 40,000 as the daily con- sumption, in a population of 45,000 male adults. The consumption of tobacco in England in 1821, with a population of 21,- 282,960, was no less than 15,598,152 pounds, or 12 ounces per head of the entire popula- tion. In 1831, with a population of 24,- 410,439, the consumption reached 19,533,- 841 pounds, or 13 ounces per head. In 1841, with a population of 27,019,672, the consumption Avas 22,309,360 pounds, or 13i ounces per head. And in 1851, popula- tion 2 7, 452, 692, the consumption of tobacco was 28,062,841 pounds, or 17 ounces per head, showing a steady increase. In France the consumption amounts to I8h ounces per head, nearly half of which is in the form of snuff. The consumption of Denmark, in 1848, amounted to 70 ounces per head, or 4i pounds. In Belgium, it averages at the present time about 73i ounces per head. The average consumption of tobacco by the whole human race of 1,000,000,000, is 70 ounces a head, the quantity consumed being 2,000,000 tons, or 4,480,000,000 pounds. " The annual production of tobacco weighs as much," says a popular writer on this sub- ject, "as the wheat consumed by ten mil- lions of Englishmen ; and its money value is as great as that of all the wheat consumed in Great Britain." But as it is estimated that the earth is capable of supporting a thousand times more people than at present exist, the large consumption of this plant need not alarm those who eschew it, especially as the con- sumption of tea and coffee, thought by some to be equally deleterious, is even greater and more universal. That the lands of Virginia should have become impoverished from long-continued cropping, without a supply of manure, is not a matter of surprise, when we consider the length of time in which that process was going on, and that, instead of consuming the product on the ground, or in the neigh- borhood, it was mostly exported for con- sumption to foreign countries ; but it is not the fact that the soils, now said to be im- poverished, were ever so rich as the prairies and river bottoms of many sections of the west, with which they are so often compared. Still, the tendency of farming in a sparse population is to deterioration, from the very fact that the bulk of farm produce must be sent off the farm in exchange for other com- modities. The most profitable farming, in the long run, is that which combines various kinds of produce, a considerable propor- tion of which must of necessity be con- sumed on the farm itself, or at least near home. Where the population is sparse, and there is no demand at home for farm produce, the farmer is compelled to raise such articles as will bear distant transporta- tion, and follow this course year after year. He cannot, if he would, grow the articles which would be the least exhausting to his land. The Virginia tobacco planter of the last century and the early part of the present, had no means of restoring the fer- tility of his soils by supplying the vast amount of mineral constituents which the constant cropping and removal by transpor- tation took away from his farm. He could not, or would not keep much stock to sup- ply sufficient manure ; and if he kept stock, the winters were mild, and they were never housed and so managed as to produce much manure. Cattle allowed constantly to run at large, and browse in the woods summer and winter, would do little to prevent the deterioration of the soil. It would have been better for the land if the planter had been obliged to cultivate and cut grasses for winter fodder, and then keep up his stock to consume it. The Belgian proverb is everywhere true : " No grass, no cattle ; 88 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. no cattle, no manure ; no manure, no crops." The worst ' effect of a system of exchange of agricultural products with other nations, by which we receive their manufactured goods, which possess great value in propor- tion to their bulk and the raw material con- sumed in them, is that we send off annually to them thousands of tons of the highest fer- tilizing elements, which nature requires should be again returned to the land in the form of manure. But we are sending off $35,000,000 worth of breadstuff's, and other products, like tobacco, in addition, which in themselves must of necessity draw largely upon the fertility of the soil, while we do not pretend to make an adequate return of fertilizing substances to it. Other nations, like England, for instance, importing thirty millions worth of bread- stuffs, have the benefit of their consump- tion, in addition to which they are constantly importing manures of every description. While we are constantly, and without stint, shipping off a continual stream of the most valuable manures concentrated in the form of our cotton, our tobacco, our wheat, and In- dian corn, they, with ceaseless care, are hus- banding the fertility which these naturally carry along with them, and adding vast quantities of guano, bones, phosphates, etc. They reap the harvest in soils growing richer and richer. We may make individual profits, which go, for the most part, into the hands of middle men, and leave our farms to reap the shadow. The inevitable tendency of exchanging the produce of the soil for manufactured articles has always been, and always will be, to im- poverish the nation that does it, unless there is care and forethought enough to import an amount of fertilizing substances equal to what we send away ; and this cannot be. The farmer himself does not want it so. If he sends wheat enough to half feed a foreign mechanic or operative in the city of Sheffield or Manchester, he would infinitely rather sell him enough to feed him in full nearer home ; and it would be better for him and for the nation to have it so. CULTURE OF HOPS. Of the crops which still remain to be men- tioned, and which help make up the ag- gregate of the products of American agricul- ture, that of the hop forms no unimportant item, since, besides the quantity required for export, which, to be sure, is not very large, it enters more or less into the consumption of almost every family in the country. This plant, like many others, dates its in- troduction to this country almost back to its first settlement ; for we read in the records of the colony of the Massachusetts Bay, that " hop rootes" were ordered by the governor and company as early as 1628 or 1629, and though it was for many years cultivated only on a very limited scale for family consump- tion, yet no doubt it has continued as one of the cultivated plants of the country from that day to this. It was introduced and cul- tivated by the Dutch colony of New York as early as 1646, and it is known to have been brought into Virginia previous to 1648. In 1657 its culture was encouraged by legis- lative enactments. At the beginning of the present century, the amount cultivated in New England was extremely limited. Thirty thousand pounds, perhaps, comprised the entire crop of that section, increasing some years to fifty thou- sand. The mode of picking and drying was objectionable and defective. The hops were picked in clusters, with the stems and leaves often thrown in ; while the drying was uni- versally done with wood, and when taken from the kiln they were " brown as a leg of bacon and about as much smoked." The first use of charcoal for drying hops in this country was probably in 1791, when it was tried, only on a very limited scale, at the suggestion of a Scotch brewer, and pro- duced the most beautiful kiln of hops that had ever been dried in America. It was owing to this improvement in the picking and drying that the demand for the article rapidly increased, soon doubled and tripled, and slips or cuttings to form new plantations soon rose to exorbitant prices. It had been the universal custom, previous to that time,- to pack the hops in round bags, without any uniformity in length or size, and they were trodden down with the feet in a rude man- The consequence was that the tops ner. were bruised and broken, causing great loss in the strength and value of the hops by evaporation of the essential juices of the plant, its most valuable properties, to say nothing of the impossibility of packing closely for transportation. The use of square bales was introduced in 1797, or the year after, and the use of screws in packing was then commenced. The superiority of this mode soon became so apparent, that it was gener- ally adopted not long after. Previous to this AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. time, also, difficulties not unfrequently arose between merchants, from the fact that old and refuse hops were found mixed in with the good ones, while no proper distinction was made between the different grades or qualities. Vexatious lawsuits sometimes re- sulted from these circumstances, and the price of good hops was naturally lower than it otherwise would have been. The legisla- ture of Massachusetts, to remedy these evils so far as they existed in that section of the country, created the office of inspector- general of hops in the year 1806. It was the first movement of the kind in the coun- try, and, so far as I am informed, the first of the kind in the world. But there were no precedents for classify- ing hops, and some system was to be adopt- ed. Some hop dealers and many hop grow- ers were opposed to a high standard of in- spection. Many difficulties of a personal nature had to be encountered ; but, owing to the conscientious use of the " first-sort" brand, the hops raised in that part of the country soon became noted as the best by far in the United States. By adopting a high standard of inspection, the growers were soon brought to improve their hops, in order to bring them up to the " first sort," and the facts and character of such an official inspection becoming immediately known in Europe, those who sent orders from there required hops of Massachusetts inspection, and they in consequence commanded a cent or two on a pound more than those of any other state. It is for the interest both of the grower and the dealer that the truth should be stamped on every bale. The profit, of raising hops must, of course, depend largely upon the foreign demand, and as that is extremely fluctuating, the price of this crop is fluctuating and uncertain. The consequence has been a decline in the cultivation, in some sections of the country, while in others it has largely increased. As an instance of the fluctuation of prices and the foreign demand, it may be stated that the exportation in 1849-50 amounted to 1,275,455 pounds, valued at $142,692; while the very next year, 1850-51, it fell off" to 110,360 pounds, valued at $11,636, only. It may be stated, however, that notwith- standing the great fluctuations, the crop in- creased from 1,238,502 pounds in 1840, to 3,497,029 pounds in 1850 ; showing a gain of 2,258,527 pounds. The geographical distribution of this crop, as returned by the last censas, was as fol- lows : The south raised 33,780 pounds, valued at $5,067. The west raised 194,961 pounds, valued at $29,244. The north- raised 3,268,215 pounds, val- ued at $490,232. New England raised 707,- 743 pounds, and New York 2,536,299. Bal- ance raised in other states, 252,987 pounds. The crop of 1855 was estimated by the sec- retary of the treasury as nearly five millions of pounds. CULTURE OF FLAX AND HEMP. Like most of the crops already mentioned, both flax and hemp were introduced into the colonies very soon after the settlement of the country. Flax was taken to Holland from the Dutch settlement of Manhattan Island, or New York, as early as 1626. The gov- ernor and company of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, also ordered both flax and hemp seed in 1628, if not, indeed, as was probably the case, at an earlier date. Hemp was very soon abandoned, as the land was not found strong enough for it. Hemp and flax were raised in Virginia prior to the year 1648, as we read of their be- ing woven and spun there ; and bounties were offered for the culture of hemp in 1651, and of flax in 1657 ; but the culture fell off as soon as the bounties were discontinued. But flax was pretty generally cultivated in small quantities for home consumption, in most parts of the country. It was not only raised, but manufactured at home, and form- ed a most important article in the domestic economy of the days of homespun. In 1 745, some Irish emigrants arrived in Massachu- setts, and established an improved mode of manufacturing linen and other "spinning- work," and they met with some success. Manufactories were established in Salem, Mass., for making sail-cloth, as early as 1790. In 1751 no less than 14,000 pounds of hemp were exported from New Jersey, and the next year, 1752, the amount of flax- seed exported from Philadelphia was 70,- 000 bushels. This amount rose, in 1767, to 84,658 bushels; and in 1771 to 110,- 412 bushels. New York exported 12,528 hogsheads of this seed in the year 1755. The total amount exported from the Ainerir can colonies in 1770 was 312,612 bushels. 90 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. In 1791 the United States exported 292,- 460 bushels of flax-seed; in 1800 the ex- port was 289,684 bushels, and 240,579 bush- els in 1810. The culture of these crops grew up more rapidly at the west, and ex- tensive factories were established for the manufacture of cordage, bagging, etc., in Louisville, Lexington, Frankfort, and other places in Kentucky, as early as 1 810. Hemp, in fact, has become a staple crop in the west. According to the census of 1840, about 97,251 tons of flax and hemp were raised. In 1850 the two products were returned separately as 34,871 tons of hemp, 7,709,- 676 pounds of flax, and 562,312 bushels of flax-seed. The decrease in the aggregate growth of fibre was thus shown to be about 56,000 tons. The total value of both crops does not vary much from five millions of dollars. Of the crop returned in 1850, the distri- bution was as follows : The south raised 34,673 tons of hemp, worth about $3,833,376; and 4,768,198 pounds of flax, worth $476,619. The west raised 150 tons of hemp, and 1,330,859 pounds of flax; worth $133,085. The north raised 443,370 tons of hemp, worth $22,178; and 1,717,4*19 pounds of flax, worth $171,742. THE CULTURE OF SILK. The cultivation and manufacture of silk has never been extensively carried on in this country, though introduced at a very early date as early, in fact, as the first set- tlement of Virginia. James I. showed a de- sire to favor this branch of industry, equalled only by his antipathy to the growth of to- bacco. It did not succeed at first, however, and in 1651 another spasmodic effort was made to revive it, but it was to little effect, and it never prospered there. Silk culture was commenced in Louisiana by the Company of the West, in 17 18. It was introduced into Georgia in 1732. A special act of Parliament was required to keep up the interest in it, in 1749, exempt- ing the producer from paying duties, etc. Connecticut began the raising of silk in 1760, and in 1783 the legislature of that state passed an act, granting a bounty on mulberry trees and the production of silk. About the year 1830 an excitement was got up by interested speculators, which was so adroitly managed that it became general over the country, till it died under the name of the "Morus Multicaulis" fever, in 1845. Even under the encouragement of the gov- ernment, all the raw silk Georgia could ex- port in 1750 was 118 pounds; in 1765 it was only 138 pounds; in 1770, 290 pounds. The census of 1840 returned the amount of silk cocoons at 61,552 pounds; and this quantity had fallen off in 1850 to 10,843 pounds ; being a decrease of 46,789 pounds in ten years. BEE CULTURE. The production of honey and the man- agement of bees receives comparatively lit- tle attention in this country. So little, in- deed, as hardly to be worthy of mention among the products of our nat ; onal agricul- ture ; and yet they form an important item in the domestic economy of many a house- hold, and ought to receive all the attention they deserve. The amount of beeswax and honey re- turned by the census of 1850 was 14,853,- 790 pounds. It is hoped that greater results will appear from this delightful occupation than it is possible at the present time to re- cord. The distribution of the production of honey and wax, as returned by the last cen- sus, was as follows : The southern states, including also Ken- tucky and Missouri, produced 7,964,760 pounds, which were valued at $1,194,714. The western states produced 3,401,078 pounds, valued at $510,140. The northern states produced 3,487,290 pounds, valued at $523,093. POULTRY AND EGGS. The value of the poultry kept in the Unit- ed States, and the production of eggs, con- stitutes a much larger item of our agricul- tural economy than is generally supposed: The value of poultry, according to the census of 1840, was no less than $12,176,170. This sum, great as it appears, has been increased to some twenty-five millions of dollars. The city of New York alone pays about two millions of dollars a year for eggs. And so the other large cities require a supply in propor- tion. The keeping of poultry, therefore, is by no means an insignificant item in the prod- ucts of our agriculture, though for some reason or other the last census failed to take cognizance of it. It may be doubted whether the introduc- AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 91 tion of foreign varieties of fowls effected an improvement in the common stock of the country. The excitement produced by de- signing men may have had the effect to increase the interest and knowledge in this branch of husbandry, which, so far, may be set down as a positive benefit to the country, but further than that, it is difficult to say what benefit resulted from it. For a time, indeed, the number of fowls was very largely increased, but the product of eggs did not increase in proportion. The keeping of poultry, like that of bees, may be set down as among the means of making the farm attractive, in addition to the actual profit which may be derived from keeping a limited number of choice fowls, and the production of eggs for family use. THE LUMBER BUSINESS. The growth and preparation of lumber does not, perhaps, come strictly within the range of what is understood by agricultural products. But the primary operations in- volved are to a large extent undertaken by farmers, as a part of winter's work, and lumber forms no unimportant item in the clearing up and the preparation of land for tillage. It is, therefore, proper enough to allude to it in connection with the progress of our agriculture. Volney represented the surface of this country as one vast forest, diversified, oc- casionally, by cultivated intervals. Since his time the woodman's axe, guided by a ruth- less hand, has reversed the picture to some extent, but still the number and variety of our forest trees abundantly testify the bounty of nature. Originally, indeed, an almost unbroken forest covered a large proportion, not only of this country, but of the whole continent. The Indian tribes were far less populous than is generally supposed; and if we except the prairie lands of the valley of the Missis- sippi, but a small portion of the surface of our present territory was destitute of timber trees. " Then all this youthful paradise around, And all the broad and boundless mainland, lay Cooled by the interminable wood, that frowned O'er mount and vale, where never summer ray Glanced till the strong tornado broke its way Through the gray giants of the sylvan wild ; Yet many a sheltered glade, with blossoms gay, Beneath the showering sky and sunshine mild, Within the shaggy arms of that dark forest smiled." 6 It was stated by Michaux that there were in the United States one hundred and forty species of forest trees which attain a greater height than thirty feet, while in France there were only eighteen of the same de- scription. An English traveller, writing of this country, says : " I was never tired of the forest scenery of America, although I passed through it from day to day. The endless diversity of foliage always prevents it from being monotonous." But the sur- passing beauty which the forests add to our natural scenery is not to be compared with the solid advantages which are derived from the immense variety, as well as the quantity of their timber. The forest scenery of this country be- yond the Alleghany mountains, and from them to the Mississippi river, has been invaded to a less extent than in the older settled portions, and there are still vast tracts remaining uncleared. Trees of gigan- tic height and dimensions, standing in the richest mould, which has been accumulating for ages, and surrounded with a luxuriance of vegetation very rarely seen in the easteiai states, carry the mind back to a period long anterior to the discovery of the country, and fill the beholder with awe by their grandeur. To these forests, as they once stood, over a large portion of the country, we have been indebted for mucli of our growth and pros- perity as a nation ! How much do we not owe to one species of these majestic trees the white pine ? Michaux observed that throughout the northern states, except in the large capitals, seven-tenths of the houses are of wood, of which seven-tenths, three- quarters are of white pine. He might have said nine-tenths were built of wood, ai^d come within the truth, though at the time he visited this country, fifty years ago, many houses had been constructed, to a great ex- tent, of hard wood. The new settlers had to enter and fell the forests, and burn and clear their lands as a preliminary preparation, and thousands of acres were thus brought under culture, the timber being of too little value to pay for saving. It was in vain that statutes were passed a hundred years ago and more, to prevent the cutting of trees suitable for ship timber. Private rights could not be invaded in the colonies, and down the forests came. The value of the forests for timber during the time of limited and scattered population 92 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. was but. little, and it could not be transport- ed to great distances. The lumber business, therefore, did not grow up to any great magnitude and im- portance till a comparatively recent period in any part of the country. Not, in fact, till the great centres of population began to feel new life from our growing commerce, creating a more extensive demand for build- ing purposes, and for ship-building. When this period arrived, after the war of 1812 and the conclusion of peace, the lumber business began to extend itself into Maine and other regions then comparatively un- settled, especially in the vicinity of large streams giving easy access to the sea-board or to lake navigation. The mode of pro- ceeding will be more clearly understood from the following description of the de- tails of operations, prepared by a gentleman residing in the lumber regions of Maine. The logging camp is very much the same in all the more northern sections of the United States, from the timber regions of the St. Johns to the pineries of Wisconsin, and a detail of the winter operations of one will apply, with slight modification, to them all. I may remark, in passing, that I have my- self lived some winters in the immediate vicinity of extensive logging operations in Maine, and, in fact, been engaged in them to some extent, and am familiar with them. When a lumberer has concluded to log on a particular tract, the first step is to go with a part of his hands and select suitable situations for building his camps. In mak- ing this selection, his object is to be near as possible to the best clumps of timber he intends to haul, and to the streams into which he intends to haul it. He then pro- ceeds to build his camps and to cut out and clear out his principal roads The camps are built of logs, being a kind of log-houses. They are made about three feet high on one side, and eight or nine on the other, with a roof slanting one way. The roof is made of shingles split out of green wood and laid upon rafters. The door is made of such boards as can be manufactured out of a log with an axe. Against the tallest side of the camp is built the chimney the back being formed by the wall of the camp, and the sides made of green logs, piled up for jams, about eight feet apart. The chimney seldom rises above the roof of the camp ; though some who are nice in their architectural notions sometimes carry it up two or three feet higher. It is obvious from the con- struction that nothing but the greenness of the timber prevents the camp from being burned up immediately ; yet the great fires that are kept up make but little impression in the course of the winter upon the back or sides of the chimney. A case, however,, happened within a year or two, where r\ camp took fire in the night and was con- sumed, and the lumberers in it burned to death. Probably the shingle roof had be- come dry, in which case a spark would kindle it, and the flames would spread over it in a moment. Parallel to the lower side of the building, and about six feet from it, a stick of timber runs on the ground across the camp. The space between this and the lower wall is appropriated to the bedding, the stick of timber serving to confine it in its place. The bedding consists of a layer of hemlock boughs spread upon the ground, and covered with such old quilts and blank- ets as the tenants can bring away from their homes. The men camp down to- gether, with their heads to the wall and their feet toward the fire. Before going to bed they replenish their fire some two OP more of them being employed in putting on such logs as with their handspikes they can manage to pile into the chimney. As the walls of the building are not very tight, the cool air plays freely around the head of the sleeper, making a difference of temperature between the head and the feet not altogether agreeable to one unused to sleep in camps. A rough bench and table complete the furni- ture of the establishment. A camp very similar, though not so large in dimensions, is built near for the oxen ; on the top of this the hay is piled up, giving warmth while it is convenient for feeding. A large logging concern will require" a number of camps, which will be distributed over the tracts, so as best to accommodate the timber. One camp serves generally for one or two teams. A team, in ordinary logging parlance, expresses, not only the set of four or six oxen that draw the logs, but likewise a gang of men employed to tend them. It takes from three or four to seven or eight men to keep one team employed one man being employed in driving the cat- tle, and the others in cutting down the trees, shaping them into logs, barking them, and cutting and clearing the way to each tree. The number of hands required is inversely AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 93 to the distance the logs are to be hauled ; that is, most hands are required when the distance is shortest, because the oxen, re- turning more frequently, require their loads to be prepared more expeditiously. Having built their camps, or while building them, the main roads are to be cut out. These run from the camps to the landing places, or some stream of sufficient size to float down the logs on the spring freshet. Other roads are cut to other clumps of timber. They are made by cutting and clearing away the un- derbrush, and such trees and old logs as may be in the way, to a sufficient width for the team of oxen, with the bob-sled and timber on it, to pass conveniently. The bob-sled is made to carry one end of the timber only, the other drags upon the ground, and the bark is chipped off, that the log may slip along more easily. The teams proceed to the woods, when the first snows come, with the hands who are not already there, and the supplies. The supplies consist principally of pork and flour for the men, and Indian meal for the oxen ; some beans, tea, and molasses are added. Formerly hogsheads of rum were considered indispensable, and I have before me a bill of supplies for a log- ging concern of three teams in 1827-28, in which I find one hundred and eighty gallons of rum charged ; but of late very few re- spectable lumberers take any spirits with pointed to the office of cook. Salt pork and flour bread constitute the regular routine of the meals, varied sometimes with salt fish or salt beef. Potatoes are used when they can be obtained. Now and then, perhaps, when the snow is deep, they catch a deer, and live on venison. The men are employed through the day in cutting the timber and driving the teams. In the evening some take care of the oxen ; some cut wood for the fire ; then they amuse themselves with stories and singing, or in other ways, until they feel inclined to turn in upon the uni- versal bed. On Sundays the employer claims no control over their time, beyond the tak- ing care of the cattle, the fire, and the cook- ing. On this day they do their washing and mending ; some employ themselves, besides, in seeking timber, and some in hunting partridges, while some remain in the camp and read the Bible. They remain in the woods from the commencement of sledding, some time in December, until some time in March, in the course of which month their labors are usually brought to a close by the snow, it becoming too shallow or too deep. If there are heavy thaws the snow runs off, not leaving enough to make good hauling. If, on the other hand, it gets to be four or five feet deep, the oxen cannot break through it to make the path which it is nec- essary to form in order to get at each in- them, and the logging business is conse- j dividual tree. The men and teams then quently carried on with much more method, economy, and profit. The pork and flour must be of the first quality. Lumberers are seldom content to take any of an inferior sort ; and even now, when flour is twelve dollars a barrel, they are not to be satisfied with the coarser breadstuff's. Hay is pro- cured as near to the camps as possible ; but as most of the timber lands are remote from settlements, it is generally necessary to haul it a considerable distance; and as it must be purchased of the nearest settlers, they are enabled to obtain very high prices. From twelve to twenty dollars per ton is usually paid. When the expense of haul- ing it to the camp is added, the whole cost is frequently as high as thirty dollars a ton, and sometimes much higher. Owners of timber lands at a distance from settlements may make a great saving by clearing up a piece of their land, and raising their own hay. Some one of the hands, who has not so much efficiency in getting timber as skill in kneading bread and frying pork, is ap- leave the woods. Sometimes one or two remain to be at hand when the streams open. I know one who last winter staid by himself in the woods, fifteen or twenty miles from the nearest habitation, for the space of twenty- eight days, during which time he earned $203 by getting in timber with his axe alone, be- ing allowed for it at the same rate per thou- sand that the lumberers were in getting it in with their teams. He found some berths in the banks of the stream, where all that was necessary was to fell the tree so that it should fall directly upon the water, and there cut it into logs to be ready for running. When the streams are opened, and there is sufficient freshet to float the timber, another gang, called "river drivers," takes charge of it. It is their business to start it from the banks, and follow it down the river, clearing off what lodges against rocks, pursuing and bringing back the sticks that run wild among the bushes and trees that cover the low lands adjoining the river, and breaking up, jams that form in narrow or shallow places. 94 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. A jam is caused by obstacles in the river catching some of the sticks, which in their turn catch others coming down ; and so the mass increases until a solid dam is formed, which entirely stops up the river, and pre- vents the further passage of any logs. These jams are most frequently formed at the top of some fall ; and it is often a service that requires much skill and boldness, and is at- tended with much danger, to break them up. The persons who undertake it must go on the mass of logs, work some out with their pick poles, cut some to pieces, attach ropes to others to be hauled out by the hands on shore, and they must be on the alert to watch the moment of the starting of the timber, and exercise all their activity to get clear of it before they are carried off in its tumultuous rush. Some weeks, more or less, according to the distance, spent in this way, bring the timber to the neighborhood of the saw-mills. A short distance from Oldtown, on the Penobscot, there is a boom established, extending across the river, for the purpose of stopping all the logs that come down. It is made by a floating chain of logs, connected by iron links, and sup- ported at suitable distances by solid piers, built in the river ; without this it would be impossible to stop a large part of the logs, and they would be carried on the freshet down the river, and out to sea. The boom is owned by an individual, who derives a large profit from the boomage, which is thirty-five cents per thousand on all logs coming into it. The boom cost the present owner about $40,000. He has offered it for sale for $45,000. It is said the net in- come from it some years is $15,000. Here all the logs that come down the Penobscot are collected in one immense mass, covering many acres, where is intermingled the prop- erty of all the owners of timber lands in all the broad region that is watered by the Penobscot and its branches, from the east line of Canada, above Moosehead Lake, on the one side, to the west line of New Bruns- wick on the other. Here the timber remains till the logs can be sorted out for each owner, rafted together, and floated to the mills or other places below. Rafting is the connecting the logs togeth- er by cordage, which is secured by pins driven into each log, forming them into bands, like the ranks of a regiment. This operation is performed by the owner of the boom. The ownership of the timber is as- certained by the marks which have been chopped into each log before it left the woods, each owner having a mark, or combi- nation of marks, of his own. When the boom is full, only the logs lowest down can be got at ; and the proprietors of other logs must wait weeks, sometimes months, before they can get them out, to their great incon- venience and damage. After the logs are rafted and out of the boom, a great part of them are lodged for convenience in a place called Pen Cove, which is a large and secure basin in the river, about two miles below the boom. From this cove they can be taken out as they are wanted for the mills bekow. While in the boom and at other places on the river, they are liable to great loss from plunderers. The owners or drivers of logs will frequently smuggle all that come in their way, without regard to marks. The owners or conductors of some of the mills on the river are said to be not above encouraging and practising this species of piracy. In- deed, timber in all its stages seems to be a fair object for plunderers, from the petty pilferer who steals into the woods, fells a tree, cuts it into shingles, and carries it out on his back, to the comparatively rich owner of thousands of dollars. When the logs have been sawn at the mills, there is another rafting of the boards, which are floated down the river to Bangor, to be embarked on board the coasters for Boston. In this process they are subject to much injury : first, by the mode of catch- ing them as they come from the mill sluices, the rafters making use of a picaroon, or pole, with a spike in the end of it, which is re- peatedly and unmercifully driven into the boards, taking out, perhaps, a piece at each time ; secondly, by the holes made by the pins driven into the boards in rafting ; and, thirdly, by the rocks, and rapids, and shal- lows in the river, breaking the rafts to pieces and splitting up the boards as they de- scend. These inconveniences will be partly remedied by the railroad now in operation, unless other inconveniences in the use of it should be found to overbalance them. The kinds of timber brought down our rivers are pine, spruce, hemlock, ash, birch, maple, cedar, and hackmatack. Far the greater part of it is pine. The lumberers make about six kinds of pine, though they do not agree exactly in the classification, or in the use of some of the names. The most com- mon division is into pumpkin-pine, timber- AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. pine, sapling, bull-sapling, Norway, and yel- low, or pitch-pine. The pumpkin-pine stands pre-eminent in the estimation of the lumber- ers, because it is the largest tree, and makes fine, large, clear boards. They are soft, and of a yellowish cast. The timber-pine and saplings are the most common. The former is generally preferred, as being larger and more likely to be sound ; yet the sap- lings are said to make the harder and more durable boards. The common sapling grows in low lands, generally very thick, but much of it is apt to be rotten. The bull- sapling is larger and sounder, grows on high land, and is mixed with hard wood. The Norway pine is a much harder kind of tim- ber than the others. It is seldom sawn into boards, though it makes excellent floor- boards ; but it is generally hewn into square timber. I will conclude with some remarks upon the different modes of operating made use of by owners of timber. There are three. One is for the owner to hire his men by the month, procure teams, and furnish them with equipments and supplies. A second is to agree with some one or more individuals to cut and haul the timber, or cut, haul, and run it, at a certain price per thousand feet. The third way is to sell the stumpage out- right '. that is, to sell the timber standing. The first mode is seldom adopted, unless the owner of the timber is likewise a lumberer, and intends to superintend the business him- self. The second mode is very common. It is considered the most saving to the owners, because the lumberer has no inducement to select the best timber, and leave all that is not of the first quality ; to cut down trees and take, and leave others to rot that are not quite so good, but may be worth haul- ing. Its inconveniences are, that, as the object of the lumberer is to get as large a quantity as possible, he will take trees that are not worth so much as the cost of getting them to market, and which, besides being of little value themselves, render the whole lot less saleable by the bad appearance they give it. The owner, too, is subject to all the losses that may happen in running the logs down the river. Very frequently he is obliged to make a contract to have the timber cut and hauled to the landing-places, and another to have it run down ; for the river-drivers are a distinct class from the lumberers. Most of them, indeed, are lum- berers ; yet it is but a small part of the lum- berers that are river- drivers. A great part of the lumberers are farmers, who must be on their farms at the season of driving, and, therefore, cannot undertake any thing but the cutting and hauling. They are paid for the number of thousand feet they deposit at the landing-places ; and the logs being sur- veyed, or scaled, as they are hauled, their object is to get as many thousand feet as possible on the landing-places ; while the river-drivers may be very careless about get- ting them all down, and the owner may nev- er receive the whole quantity he has paid for cutting and hauling. In operating in this mode, the owner usually furnishes the sup- plies, provisions, etc., and the lumberer pro- cures the teams and hires the men. The owner, commonly, does not bind himself to pay before the logs go to market, and he frequently makes a contract for his supplies on the same condition, in which case he has to pay from twenty-five to thirty-three per cent, more for his goods than he would deal- ing on cash or common credit. Sometimes, when there is no freshet, the logs do not go down until the second year ; and then the trader and lumberer both suffer for want of their pay. The third mode is by far the simplest and easiest for the owner. He avoids all trouble of furnishing supplies, of watching the timber on the river, and of looking out for a market. But he must have a man of some capital to deal with, as he furnishes his own teams and supplies, and pays the men, receiving very heavy advances. The purchaser of it has no interest to cut the timber savingly, and he sometimes makes dreadful havoc among the trees, leaving a great deal of valuable stuff on the ground to rot. And if he selects only the best trees in a berth, much of the timber left standing may be lost, because no one will afterward want to go into that berth from which all the best trees have been culled. It is com- mon now to employ a man to pass the win- ter in the camps, living alternately at one or another, for the purpose of scaling the logs, keeping a correct account of them, and see- ing that the timber is cut according to the contract. But, after all, there is almost always found to be a considerable difference between tim- ber cut by the thousand and that which is cut on stumpage. Each mode has its troub- les; but I think that owners at a distance will manage their concerns with least vexa- 96 AGRICUXTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. tion by selling the stumpage, provided that they have honest men to deal with. It might be mentioned in connection with the above interesting statement, that the pri- mary object in the settlement of Maine was to engage in the lumber business. Agricul- ture was originally secondary to that busi- ness, and grew up of necessity, in connection with it. The same may be said of some parts of New Hampshire. Mason and Gorges procured their grant, embracing a large tract above Portsmouth, Dover, etc., for the pur- poses of lumbering and the manufacture of potash. It was common in Maine for a lumberman to work at farming in summer, and cut and haul lumber in the winter. A brief description of lumbering at Green Bay, in the northern part of Wisconsin, will be interesting in this connection. " A logging camp in the winter," says a resident of Green Bay, "is an exhilarating scene. The great trees falling here and there, with a thundering sound; the fine, strong teams moving off to the river with their loads, and hurrying back with empty sleds ; the songs and shouts of the jolly, red- shirted lumbermen ; the majestic forest sce- nery, standing out so handsomely in the clear air of northern winter, make up a pan- orama that is worth going a day's journey to see. Finally, the snow fades out before the spring sun. It goes first from the log- ging road, because there it has been most worn ; and then the lumbermen make ready for the 'running,' and wait impatiently for the breaking up of the stream and the coming of the freshet. If they are a long way up the stream, this is a matter of great anxiety, for, perhaps, the rise will not be sufficient, and their logs will lie over till another year. One firm on the Oconto got logs as high up as ninety miles from the mouth. If the water is high, the logs come down by thousands upon thousands, rushing, clogging up, breaking away again, piling upon each other, and requiring the constant efforts of the drivers to keep them on the go. Sometimes, when an obstruction occurs, a few logs form a 'jam,' and those coming after them, with terrific force, are piled up in rude masses, till one not familiar with it would think the whole enterprise hopelessly ended, for there seems no possibility of ever extri- cating the mass, perhaps, of a thousand logs. But a single man, with an iron-shod hand- spike, goes upon the jam carefully, looking with a practised eye here and there, until he discovers one log which is the key to the whole problem. Prying cautiously, he loos- ens it, and then makes his way as quick as possible to the shore again. The confused mass begins to settle, the head logs start ; and then, all at once, down stream they go once more, with the old speed, like a herd of countless buffaloes stamping along the prairie. The logs reach the mill in April or May, and the sawing commences on the arrival of the ' head of the drive.' " In the absence of accurate statistics, which ought to have been furnished by the last census, it is not possible to give a detailed statement of the full extent of the lumber business of the country ; and hence, any information on the subject must necessarily come far short of giving an adequate idea of its vastness, and of the progress which the last few years have witnessed in its develop ment. But we know that the export of lumber from the United States has risen from $1,822,077 in 1821 to five millions in 1853 ; we know that, during the four years from 1850 to 1853 inclusive, the value of lumber exported was nearly twenty millions of dollars ; we know that the amount of lumber received at Chicago alone in one year (1857) was no less than 459,639,198 feet, besides upward of eighty millions of laths. Chicago, indeed, as a lumber market, stands pre-eminent, and its rise and progress as such is little less remarkable than its growth as a grain market. The banks of the rivers are loaded for several miles with vast piles of lumber, shipped to that city from the extensive pine forests of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Canada; while the capital invested in this trade is immense. The ves- sels alone which are engaged in carrying the lumber which finds its market there, did not cost less than a million and a half; and the number of hands employed in one way and another is not less than ten thousand. Here are some of the receipts of lumber in that city : Lumber. Feet. Shingles. Lath. 1847, 32,118,225 12,148,500 5,655,700 1848, 60,009,250 20,000,000 10,250,109 1849, 73,259,553 39,057,750 19,281,733 1850, 100,364,779 55,423,750 19,809,700 1851, 125,056,437 60,338,250 27,583,475 1852, 147,816,232 77,080,500 19,759,670 1853, 202,101.098 93,483,784 39,133,116 1854, 228,336,783 98,061,250 32,431,550 1855, 306,553,467 158,770,860 46,487,550 1856, 456,673,169 135,876,000 79,235,120 1857, 459,639,198 131,832,250 80,130,000 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. This, it must be borne in mind, is the business, in this particular trade, of only one city. Many other cities and large towns might be named, which, for extent of opera- tions, would compare favorably with it. The city of Boston receives from the southern states lumber to the value of a million of dollars a year, to say nothing of the immense quantities which she receives, also, from the north and east, and from Nova Scotia. In what has been said above, reference has been had exclusively to the procuring of lumber for the purposes of building. The vast amount required for fuel has not been considered, but if that could be taken into account it would form an item of amazing importance, not only as ministering to the comfort of millions of people, but in a com- mercial and business point of view. There was a time, and that quite recently, when serious apprehensions were felt on account of the rapid disappearance of the woodlands of New England and the older northern states, lest they should, at no distant day, fail altogether to furnish a sufficient supply. The multiplication of railroads, and their great consumption of wood, had raised the prices to such an extent that the farmer could not wait for his young woodlands to grow, and thousands of acres were every year cut off to meet this demand. The in- troduction of coal into general use in the cities and large towns, and the resort to that by many of the leading lines of railway, has now relieved us from any cause for alarm, and the forests, even of Massachusetts, are now, it is believed, on the increase. To this is to be added an increasing taste for the cultivation of forest trees, which in time will make a very perceptible improve- ment in the natural scenery of the country. PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURAL LITERATURE. The improvement and increase of the agricultural literature of the country mighl very properly have been treated of in the early part of this chapter, as among the means or the causes of the progress which has been made in the development of our agricultural wealth, to which it has contrib uted nearly as much, perhaps, as the agri cultural societies themselves. I have, how- ever, preferred to reserve it for this position for the reason that it may with equal pro- priety be said to have grown out of a de mand for information incident to the gen- ral spirit of inquiry which the association of effort produced in the public mind, and specially since it has, for the most part, grown up within the last twenty years, or ong subsequent to the formation of many of the agricultural societies. If we except the "Essays on Field Hus- jandry," by the Eev. Jared Eliot, of Connect- icut, prepared as early as the middle of the ast century, and the valuable papers sub- mitted to the Massachusetts, the New York, and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Societies, and published by them about the beginning of the present century, we cannot be said to have had any agricultural literature, till within the memory of many men still living. None, in fact, till within the last twenty or thirty years. The " Essays on Field Husband- ry," considering the time when they were written, were certainly a remarkable contri- bution to the agricultural literature of the country, filled with the most judicious ad- vice, and worthy of republication, both as a part of the history of our agriculture and for their own intrinsic merits. But, as al- ready remarked on a former page, the book was far in advance of the farming commu- nity of that time, and it is not probable that it had many readers. The papers published by the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, commenced as early as 1796, were among the most valuable that have ever appeared in this country. They are embraced in a series of ten octavo volumes, called the " Agricultural Repository," and extend over a period of thirty years, dis- cussing many questions which agricultural chemistry and other kindred sciences have since definitively settled and explained, but containing much useful information on a great variety of subjects connected with practical agriculture. The agricultural li- brary connected with my office is one of the most valuable and extensive in the country, but I regard the " Agricultural Repository" as among the most valuable series in it. The farming community gradually " took to reading." The American Farmer was commenced in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1819, and is believed to have been the first strictly agricultural periodical started in the coun- try. It was sold in 1829 for twenty thou- sand dollars, which, at that time, was a very large price for an agricultural paper. It has been regularly published up to this time, 98 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. and is still in a flourishing condition, with a good circulation. The Agricultural Intelligencer was estab- lished in Boston in 1820, but for some rea- son or other, probably for want of sufficient support, was discontinued, and the New England Farmer was begun in 1822 by Thomas G. Fessenden. This journal, an eight page quarto, was continued with a varying fortune till 1846, when it died, but another of the same name, an octavo monthly and folio weekly, sprang up, and is still in the full tide of success. The New York Farmer was established soon after the New England Farmer, and was continued for several years by Mr. Samuel Fleet, then sold to Mr. D. K. Miner, who engaged the services of Mr. Henry Colman as editor, till the journal died, and is no more. In 1831, Mr. Luther Tucker, one of the oldest agricultural editors of the country, established the Genesee Far- mer, at Rochester, N. Y. At the end of the first year it had but six hundred subscribers. But Mr. Tucker persevered, until, in 1839, the subscription reached 19,000. In the meantime, Judge Buel had estab- lished the Cultivator, at Albany, in 1833, and at his death, in 1839, Mr. Tucker purchased that journal of his heirs, and removed to Albany, uniting the Genesee Farmer and the Cultivator which is still in a very flourishing condition, having exerted a long- continued and wide-spread influence. The place made vacant by the removal of the Genesee Farmer from Rochester was soon filled by the New Genesee Farmer, soon after which the first word of the title was dropped, and as the Genesee Farmer it is still published, and has a wide circulation. The American Agriculturist, established about the year 1842, was continued with some success for some years, till its subscription list became reduced to a few hundreds, when it passed into new hands, felt the infusion of younger blood, and in less than five years the subscription has risen to upward of fifty thousand. The Farmers' Cabinet was published some years in New York city, under the editorship of J. S. Skinner, who first established the American Farmer, at Baltimore. Mr. Skinner, in 1848, started the Plough, Loom, and Anvil, which was continued till quite recently. The Maine Farmer was established about the year 1832, and has exerted a good influence. Many other agricultural journals have been started within the last five or ten years, and have received a generous patron- age from the farming community, among which ought to be mentioned the Rural New Yorker, with a very wide circulation ; the Country Gentleman, published in con- nection with the Cultivator, at Albany; the Ohio Farmer, of very wide influence and large circulation ; the Michigan Farmer, at Detroit ; the Valley Farmer, at St. Louis ; the Wisconsin Farmer, at Madison ; the North- Western Farmer, at Dubuque ; the Southern Planter, at Richmond ; the Cali- fornia Farmer, at Sacramento ; the Home- stead, at Hartford, Connecticut all exceed- ingly valuable and well conducted papers ; the Working Farmer, in New York city, and many others with which I am less famil- iar. There are in the northern and western states more than twenty-five journals, most of which are weekly, devoted almost exclu- sively to agriculture and horticulture, and the aggregate circulation of these is not less than 250,000 copies. There are also in the southern states, some six or eight similar publications devoted to agriculture, whose aggregate circulation is not less than thirty- five thousand copies. These facts are ex- ceedingly important with reference to the present condition of our agriculture, since they indicate a wide-spread spirit of inquiry and intelligence among farmers, which must necessarily have an important influence on the future development of this great in- terest. Besides the large number and wide circu- lation of the journals devoted to agriculture, there is a good demand for agricultural books, and many of the standard works published in Europe have been republished in this country, including Stephens' " Book of the Farm," Thaer's "Principles of Agri- culture," Johnston's " Agricultural Chemis- try," and many other European works of" established reputation. These foreign works were soon followed by American treatises on landscape gardening, fruits, animals, draining, dairy farming, and, in fact, on sub- jects covering the whole ground of farm economy, more or less perfectly. Many of these treatises and republications have had a wide circulation. The " Modern Horse Doctor" has sold to the extent of more than twenty thousand copies, " Youatt and Martin on Cattle" s over ten thousand, "Youatt on the Horse" over twenty-five thousand, and many others in a similar pro- portion. AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 99 In addition to these facilities for informa- tion, many of the states have established township and district libraries, by means of which the choicest works on all subjects are brought within the reach of all, the poor as well as the rich. In these libraries are gen- erally included a fair proportion of agricul- tural works. This system was initiated by New York in 1837, by making an appropriation of two hundred thousand dollars a year for three years, and subsequent annual grants of over fifty thousand dollars. Massachusetts fol- lowed the example of New York in 1839, and more recently Michigan passed a law giving each township the sum of fifty dol- lars annually for this purpose. Indiana adopted the same policy in 1854, and Ohio in 1857, the former appropriating $300,000 for two years, and the latter $80,000 an- nually. Illinois and other western states have also adopted a similar course. These measures are properly regarded as well calculated to diffuse information, and promote not only agricultural improvement, but the general welfare of the community. To this should be added the fact that most states publish annually an abstract of the proceedings of the county agricultural so- cieties for general gratuitous distribution. Many of the states produce volumes of great value. Ohio distributes from twenty to thirty thousand copies. Massachusetts pub- lishes ten thousand copies, and Maine as many more. These various instrumentalities are now in constant activity, and are exerting an immense influence. Allusion should also be made to the establishment, in some of the states, of agri- cultural colleges, where special attention is to be given to the various sciences which bear directly or indirectly upon practical agriculture. Michigan was the first to lead off in this direction ; a liberal endowment was granted by the state. New York, Mary- land, and other states soon followed; but the results of these institutions are not yet at- tained, nor can they at present be fully appreciated, since time only can prove their value and their efficiency. This brief survey of the growth of the facilities for information upon agricultural subjects and the appliances brought to bear upon the instruction of the young farmer, will sufficiently indicate the rapidity of the progress which has been made in this par- ticular direction within the last ten or twenty years, and justify the hope and ex- pectation of the most splendid results in the future. It ought not to be overlooked, in this connection, that there has been a most de- cided progress within the last twenty years in agricultural chemistry and kindred sci- ences. This progress has been made not wholly and strictly by scientific men in our own country, but scientific discoveries in agriculture are the property of the intelli- gent farmer everywhere, and those made abroad have had a material and important influence in promoting the advancement of practical agriculture among us. The labors of Arthur Young and Sir Humphry Davy were exceedingly valuable, but they bear the same relation to more re- cent investigations that the labors of the pioneer in the western forest do to those of the sons who till the soil and reap the har- vests for which the father had prepared the way. The former did more than any other man to stir up the agricultural mind of his country. The latter was the first to give principles to practice, and he announced the new philosophy in these words : " Vegetables derive their component principles which are, for the most part, hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen either from the at- mosphere by which they are surrounded, or from the soil in which they grow. The proc- ess of vegetation appears to depend upon the perpetual assimilation of various) substan- ces to the organs of the plant, in conse- quence of the exertion of their living and of their chemical affinities." The conversion of inorganic bodies into gases, and the assimilation of gases by or- ganic structures, formed the basis for a new starting point, and had never before been an- nounced. Carbonic acid had been discov- ered by Black in 1752. Dr. Rutherford called attention to nitrogen in 1772, and Priestley discovered oxygen in 1774, and ob- tained it from the leaves of plants; and when Davy appeared with a series of inves- tigations more intimately connected with, agriculture, the properties of air and water had not long been known. But little prog- ress had been made in vegetable anatomy. Most of all that is known with regard to the organs of plants their mode of growth by food taken from the air, from water, from manure, and from the soil by transmuting processes of wonderful delicacy has been discovered within the last fifty years. Since 100 AGRICULTURE ITT THE UNITED STATES. Davy's time, the processes of chemical anal- ysis have been vastly improved, and abstract chemistry itself has grown up to a science of inestimable importance, which it had not in his day. The accumulation of scientific fects is the work of time, and it was not till 1840 that Liebig prepared his report on the progress of agriculture for the British Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Science, and opened a new world of thought and study, awakened the attention of practical farmers to the importance of applying the results of chemical investigations, and, in some re- spects, essentially modified the practice of all civilized countries. Liebig said, in his "Organic Chemistry," that " to manure an acre of land with forty pounds of bone dust, is sufficient to supply three crops of wheat, clover, potatoes, turnips, etc., with phosphates, but the form in which they are restored to the soil does not appear to be a matter of indifference. For the more finely the bones are reduced to powder, and the more intimately they are mixed with the soil, the more easily they are assimilated. The most easy and practical mode of effecting their division is to pour over the bones, in the state of fine powder, half of their weight of sulphuric acid, diluted with three or four parts of water." The leading idea in this and other propositions of Liebig opened the way for the whole system of artificial manur- ing, which has extended so far in modern times. Previous to that time, the farmer had confined himself to the use either of a compost of animal and vegetable materials, or of other simple substitutes, as ashes, salt, soot, or something of the kind ; but not in accordance with any fixed principles derived from reasoning or the results of observation, but simply because experience had shown them to be beneficial. Liebig's idea was that sulphuric acid, the vitriol of commerce, would make the neutral phosphate of lime soluble, and give it a powerful action in the soil. For the subsequent discovery and use of mineral phosphates we are indebted to the same source, the development and appli- cation of the views first advanced by Liebig. Immediately after the announcement of his propositions, experiments were instituted with such satisfactory results that manufac- tories were established in England, and the importation of bones from Germany, the United States, and South America, became of great importance to commerce as well as to agriculture ; while the earnest researches of scientific men soon discovered the most ap- proved formulas for the manufacture of su- perphosphate of lime, and other concentra- ted artificial manures. The best methods of preparing these substances were thus made known both by scientific and practical men. The advantage of these discoveries cannot be disputed, for though the farmer may be liable to be deceived in the purchase of a particular kind of superphosphate, yet there is no longer any doubt of its great value as a fertilizer, when properly made ; while its introduction rendered substances previously of little worth, easily and quickly available for the nourishment of plants, and hence very valuable. It was these investigations that made known the value of guano as a fertilizer. This substance has come into use since the year 1840, when twenty casks were landed in England, where it was soon found to be a most valuable manure. So great was the confidence immediately inspired in its value as a means of increasing the products and renovating the soil of the country, that the very next year, 1841, seven vessels were em- ployed to convey 1,733 tons from the Chin- cha Islands to England, and the number in- creased in 1842 to forty-one British and three foreign vessels, and the amount im- ported to 13,094 tons. Before the close of 1844, no less than 29,000 tons were import- ed into that country from the coast of Peru, to say nothing of the many thousand tons which came from the Ichaboe and other guano islands at that time discovered. In 1855, no less than 210,000 tons were sold in England, being an increase of twenty per cent, on the consumption of 1854, which was at least twenty per cent, over that of 1853. From 1841, the date of the extraction of guano, to any extent, from the Chincha Islands, to the end of 1856, the quantity removed from those islands alone reached the enormous figure of two millions of tons, and the aggregate amount of sales in that time was $100,263,519. From the com- mencement of 1851 to the end of 1858, there were imported into the United States and used, no less than 673,412 tons. As a means of renovating many of the tobacco and cotton worn lands of the southern states, guano must be regarded as a valuable addi- tion to the sources of fertility made known by modern science. A thousand other facts might be mention- ed to show that science has done much for AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 101 agriculture, and that there has been no small degree of progress already made, while in- vestigation and experiment are, at the pres- ent time, being pushed with such vigor as to promise far more valuable and tangible results in future. THE PROSPECTS OF AGRICULTURE IN THIS COUNTRY. Having given some of the features of ag- ricultural progress in the preceding pages, it is proper to say, in conclusion, that the pres- ent is but the dawn of a new era an era of improvements of which we cannot yet form an adequate conception. The scientific discoveries, the mechanical inventions, the general spirit of inquiry, and the wide-spread intelligence which have been alluded to, in- dicate that a greater application of the mind to the labors of the hand distinguishes the present generation over all preceding times in a manner which those only can appre- ciate who will look back and consider the past the slow growth of new ideas and new practices, the struggles with prejudice, ignorance, the want of markets, and the want of means, all of which contributed to depress American agriculture fifty years ago, and to keep it at a point wretchedly low, compared even with what it is at the present time. We have seen not only the calling, but the men who live by it gradu- ally rising in dignity, in self-respect, and the respect of mankind. It is an imperative law of society that educated mind and educated labor will take its position above uneducated ; in proportion as the farmer of to-day is bet- ter educated and more intelligent than the farmer of half a century ago, the former would naturally stand above the latter in the general estimation of the community. But in many other respects the farmer of the pres- ent day is far in advance of his forefathers. His labor is easier, and his mental activity is consequently greater. The same amount of manual labor produces more, and the farmer has time for the culture of the mind and the social virtues, as well as the farm, and agri- culture holds a position of pre-eminence un- known at any former period. These changes we have seen in our own day, and we know that a higher develop- ment of our agricultural wealth must go hand in hand with an increase of population, if there were no other stimulus to its growth. Now, if we consider the immense area of the United States, and the facilities for the ex- pansion of our population, the mind itself is incapable of fixing limits to the increase of this grand interest, already involving a great- er amount of the wealth of the country than any other, producing annually to the value of more than sixteen hundred millions of dollars, and capable of a hundred-fold great- er development than that which it has al- ready attained. The original area of the country was but 820,680 sq. miles, till the purchase of Lou- isiana, in 1803, brought an addition of 899,- 579 more, and the acquisition of Florida, in 1819, an addition of 66,900 square miles. The annexation of Texas gave us 318,000, and that of Oregon 308,052, to which is to be added the territory acquired by the treaty with Mexico, of 522,955 square miles, and we have at the present time the vast ex- tent of nearly three millions of square miles, or 2,936,166. It is expected that the census of 1860 will show that the population is somewhat over thirty millions; possibly it may be thirty-three millions. The annual increase since 1790 has 'been four times as great as that of Russia, six times as great as that of Great Britain, nine times as great as that of Austria, and ten times as great as that of France ; and if the ratio of increase in our population from 1840 to 1850 should con- tinue to 1890, we shall have a population of one hundred and seven millions. The density of population in 1850 was less than eight persons to the square mile, or, more ac- curately, 7.90. That of the New England states was less than forty-two (41.94) to the square mile. That of the middle states was about fifty-eight (57.79),while Texas and Cal- ifornia had less than one to the square mile. If we had the density of population to be found in Spain, it would give us two hun- dred* millions ; if that of France, it would give us five hundred millions ; if that of Belgium (402), it would give us eleven hun- dred and eighty millions. The area of the Pacific slope of this country is 786,002 square miles, or 26.09 per cent, of the whole territory of the Unit- ed States. The area of the Atlantic slope, proper, is 514,416 square miles, a ratio of only 17.52 to the whole. The area of the gulf region is 325,537 square miles, or 11.09 per cent, of the whole; that of the northern lake region is 112,649 square miles, or only 3.83 per cent., while that of the Mississippi valley and the region water- 102 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. ed and drained by its tributaries is 1,217,- 562 square miles, or 41.47 per cent, of the whole, or more than two-fifths of our na- tional territory. The number of farms and plantations in the United States in 1850 was 1,449,075, and the number of acres of improved land in farms, 113,032,614. In 1860 there were over two millions of farms, and the number of acres of improved land was 163,261,389. The unimproved land in farms, in 1850, was 180,528,800 acres, and this had increased, by the taking up of new lands in 1860, to 246,508,244 acres. The cash value of farms, in 1850 amounting to $3,271,575,420, had risen in 1860 to $6,650,872,507 ; or, in other words, while the farming lands had increased fifty per cent, in average, their value, from the greater density of popula- tion, and improved methods of cultivation, had doubled. The domestic animals of the farm num- bered as follows at the dates specified ; the last column being estimated by the Agricul- tural Department : June, 1850. June, 1860. Jan., 1866. Horses 4,336,719 Asses and Mules 559,331 Milch Cows 6,885,094 Working Oxen 1,700, 694 Other Cattle 10,293.069 Sheep 21,723,220 Swine 30,354,213 6,115,458 6,691,220 1,129.553 1,054,387 8,728.862 ) 2,240,075 V 26,935,616 14,671,400 j 23,317,756 41,253,652 82,555,267 28,845,003 The value of all the live stock in 1850 was reckoned at $544,180,516. In 1860 it had a little more than doubled, being $1,107,490,216. In January, 1866, their value had nearly doubled again, though, owing to the extraordinary demand of the war, their numbers had not greatly increased, except sheep, which had risen from twenty- three millions to forty-one millions. The estimated value of the live stock of the country in January, 1866, according to data furnished by the Agricultural Department, was $2,171,283,799. The value of the crops of any particular year are ascertained with difficulty and only approximately. In 1866, those of twenty- two of the northern states were reported by the Agricultural Department as having been, in 1863, $955,764,322 ; in 1864, $1,504,- 543,690; and in 1865, $1,047,360,167. During these years the crops of the south- ern states were greatly disturbed by the war, and comparatively little of their great staples cotton, rice, and sugar were plant- ed. The aggregate value of the crops of an average year for the whole country will cer- tainly not fall below $2,000,000,000. The agricultural productions of the Pacific slope, though differing somewhat from those of the Atlantic states, are fast rivalling them in proportionate value. The long dry sea- son, while it prohibits some crops, is favor- able to others, and, by the very general intro- duction of irrigation, the production of wheat, of a peculiar but highly nutritious character, of the grape and other fruits, and of immense root crops, is already surpassing that of the farming lands of the east. The vintage of California already supplies a large portion of the wine consumed in the United States, and its wheat is largely exported. The state is also devoting great attention to silk culture. Texas and the western portion of the Gulf region, on the other hand, proves to be the finest grazing country in the world, and its millions of cattle and sheep will ere long supply the markets of the continent. With a variety of climate which enables its agri- culturists to cultivate all the productions of the temperate, and most of those of the semi-tropical zone, there is a boundless future of prosperity for the agriculturist of the United States to look forward to, and he may well hope and expect that his country will, at no distant day, furnish to the world in rich profusion whatever of the products of agriculture they may need. COTTON CULTURE. CHAPTER I. ABUNDANCE OP LAND HIGH WAGES OF LABOR DEPENDENT ON COTTON AND GOLD. THE high prices of lahor in our country, and the large profits of capital, have been re- marked from the earliest period of our his- tory. Adam Smith, in his "Wealth of Na- tions," proposed an explanation of these two peculiarities, and there is no doubt that his keen insight discovered their true cause in the abundance and cheapness of good laud. The large products of our rich virgin soil, purchased from the Indians at a mere nominal price, enabled the farmer to offer high wages to the laborer, and large interest to the capitalist. The owner of the land, who was generally a laborer himself, paid no rent, and had made but a small outlay to purchase his farm, so that nearly the whole of his product was the reward of labor. If he could find a poor man who had not means enough to purchase and stock a farm, he could afford to offer him high wages, because he would be himself more than paid by his increased products. These high wages soon enabled the hired laborer to become a land- proprietor himself, and both were then com- petitors in the market for all the labor that could be hired. This competition forced the rate of wages as high as their abundant crops authorized them to pay. The artisans of the towns were tempted from their shops by the large reward offered for their labor in the country ; and the few who remained at their trades asked high prices for their work. These they readily obtained, for their only competitors were across the sea. three thou- sand miles distant, with slow and irregular communication, so that the foreign mechanics could not force those who were here to reduce their prices to the standard of the old world. Thus, in the town and the country, in mechanical as well as agri- cultural labor, a high rate of wages was kept up by the abundance and cheapness of good land. As capital is an aid to labor, by enlarging its products, the rate of interest is high where labor is productive. The distrust of capitalists who were separated from us by the wide Atlantic, and their ignorance of our pursuits, and means, and credit, prevented them from entering into competition with the capitalists here, so that they easily ob- tained all the borrower was able to pay. This was a very high rate, because the money was of great advantage. Whether the farmer borrowed it to buy more lands, or ploughs, or stock, or the mechanic to en- large his powers of production by new ma- chines, or tools, or materials, both were able to pay a large per-centage, on account of the profits of their increased business. Thus cheap, rich lands not only advanced the rate of wages, but of interest also. This explanation was satisfactory during all the period of our colonial history. It was still plausible after the war of Indepen- dence, for, although our population had ad- vanced into the interior, and the price of lands along the sea-board had risen so that the products of the soil were charged, before they could be exported, with rent or with the cost of inland transportation, leaving a smaller portion of the proceeds for the share of the laborer, the wars in Europe con- nected with the French Revolution increased the demand for breadstuffs, and maintained them at high prices. Our neutral position gave us the carrying trade between the bel- ligerents, and this required a large number of American ships. These being built of timber procured from our abundant forests, brought large returns to the laborer. The trees that were felled and converted into ship-timber cost nothing, or but a trifle ; so that the whole value of the timber consisted of wages only, and the cost of transporta- tion to the sea-port. As this distance was short, nearly the whole was wages. exp NOTE. It is not supposed people will indorse some of the sentiments advanced in this Article they ore such ns should lie peeled from a Southern source. Professor McCay is one of the most able writers of the South ; is not a politician, so lar ns we know, and lias pro.lnred a very instructive and valuable Article, it being written before the war. will ever remain one of the n\o<< impartial and faithful descriptions of the Cotton interest, and exposition of the views of the people of the Fouth, on the system of labor unde.r which the great staple is cultivated, to be found on record. We think it will he perused witli much interest by the general reader. Publisher. 104 COTTON CULTURE. Thus, even to the war of 1812, our rich, cheap lands were the source of our pros- perity, and the explanation proposed by Dr. Smith for the high rate of wages and of in- terest prevailing here was still satisfactory. But when peace was restored, in 1815, and the immense armies of the different states of Europe were returned to their homes to become producers instead of consumers ; when the several countries encouraged their own shipping and their own farmers by re- storing their usual prohibitions and restric- tions, the advantages we possessed before the war were very much lessened. Our country had by this time become more popu- lous. Lands along the sea-board had risen in price ; the people had penetrated the inte- rior ; the distant transportation had become a heavy burden to the producer ; and thus, at the very same time that the European de- mand was lessened, and the price depressed, our ability to supply the demand with profit was decreased. The money value of our products was diminished, and the laborer's share in this value was at the same time less- ened. The usefulness of our cheap lands was decreased, and their advantages were less and less experienced. If we come down to recent times, our ad- vantages have not improved. Our country has become larger. The region of cheap land is beyond the Alleghanies. We must take a journey of a thousand miles from New York, crossing the Ohio and the Wabash, passing Indiana and Illinois, before we reach the country of cheap lands. The grain that is brought down the Hudson from Albany has been carried more than three hundred miles, in the Erie canal, from Buffalo, and more than a thousand, by vessels on the lakes, from Chicago, and thither from the interior of Illinois by railroad. There the land on which it was produced is worth ten, twenty, fifty dollars per acre. Now, however cheap the transportation by railroad and on ' the lakes, the canal, and the river, the freight must be a large per-centage of the sales at New York. The rent of land in Illinois is also to be deducted, leaving but a small bal- ance to be finally paid the laborer who has produced it. We must go hundreds of miles further to reach the region of cheap land, and then the increased cost of transportation will neutralize the advantage of procuring land at a dollar and a quarter per acre. Now, will the cheap lands of Iowa, and Wisconsin, and Nebraska, explain our high rates of wages ? In colonial times the prod- uct was made along the Atlantic, and nearly the whole price at Philadelphia went to the laborer. Now, a large per-centage must be deducted for the two thousand miles' carriage by land, lake, canal, and river, and the la- borer's share is small. The truth is, the pioneer is poorly paid ; he is struggling hard for a mere pittance. His receipts are small, and he can give but a small price for the hireling he employs to assist him on his farm. He is no longer the cause of high wages through the whole breadth of the land. His influence and empire have ceased. Besides, our country has increased in population so largely, that the foreign de- mand for flour and other products of our lands will not pay for a tithe of our neces- sary wants, which must be supplied from abroad. Our people have increased in wealth, and their wants for wines, and silks, and other luxuries, cannot be paid for by the export of flour and grain, and the products of our for- ests. If, besides agricultural productions, we are forced to export manufactures to pay for our foreign supplies, the price of labor, which is the main element in the cost of manufactures, must at once fall to the Euro- pean standard. If, then, we had cheap lands even on the Atlantic, we could not pay for our present large supplies of foreign goods, so that these could not maintain our high rates for wages and interest; much less are they able to do it when they are thousands of miles from the coast. A reference to the history of our foreign commerce will illustrate the principles we have been referring to. When our general government was first formed, our population was less than four millions ; of these ninety- five per cent, were along the Atlantic slope, their average distance from the coast being less than a hundred miles. Our average do- mestic exports for the five years from 1790 to 1 Y94, were less than twenty-two millions of dollars. Of these, flour alone averaged more than 800,000 barrels, and wheat more than 1,200,000 bushels; making a value of more than six millions of dollars. Other products of the farm and the forest made up nearly the whole of the balance. Now when lands were cheap, and near to the seaports ; when the forests bordering on the coast Avere not yet thinned or cut down, the laborer had a rich and abundant harvest, and high wages could be maintained by our cheap lands. ABUNDANCE OF LAND WAGES OF LABOR DEPENDENT ON COTTON AND GOLD. 105 Ten years later, our population had risen to five millions, of which ninety per cent, yet occupied the Atlantic slope. Our domestic exports had risen to forty millions for the five years after 1800 ; and of these, flour alone amounted to eight millions and a half, its average price being $8.40, and the number of barrels exceeding a million. The demand for our agricultural products was now large and the price high ; so that the imports could yet be paid for by the products of our lands and our forests. These were still near the coast, and nearly all their proceeds be- longed to the labor that produced them. In 1810 our population had increased to 7,000,000, of which 80 per cent, were on this side of the Alleghanies. For the next two years which preceded the war, our ex- ports of domestic produce reached $43,- 000,000, of which flour constituted one- fourth, the number of barrels exceeding 1,1 00,000, and the average price being 89.66. Other products of our lands, yet cheap and near the coast, made up a large portion of the means we used to pay for our foreign supplies, and up to this time it may be justly said that high wages were sustained by the abundance of our fertile lands. But what a change in 1820. The people had increased to 10,000,000, 40 per cent, of whom had their homes across the mountains. Our exports of domestic produce were over $50,000,000, and the whole demand for flour did not average, for the five years after 1820, 1,000,000 barrels, and that at only $5.68 per barrel. While the products of our lands had to be brought much further to market, the amount demanded for foreign countries, and the prices they gave for them, had declined. It was the same with the products of the forest. For the ten years after the war they were less than for the ten years before. The first were much nearer the sea, and for the last we gave more labor and received less money. The efficiency of cheap lands to pay for our imports was gone, and their power to keep up prices de- parted also. If we come down to 1 8 5 0, our population had reached 2 3,000,000, of whom only 54 per cent, were along the Atlantic. The centre of the ag- ricultural population had receded from the sea- board and crossed the mountains. The grain produced along the coast was all wanted at home. New England did not produce her own supplies. The city of New York contained a half million of people, who could not be fed by the surplus of the empire state. The coal and iron districts of Pennsylvania had become better markets for grain and flour than Philadelphia. Populous cities had risen in the west, and all these intercepted the supplies of. food that were to be sent abroad for the purchase of our imports. The only flour that could be exported had to be carried from five to fifteen hundred miles. The foreign demand was no greater than it had been fifty years before, and our exports only reached 1,000,000 of barrels, while $163,000,000 were needed to pay for our imports. The other products of the west were small, and so were those of the forest. It is evident, therefore, that cheap lands could no longer furnish the supplies to pay for our imports, much less could they keep up the price of labor above the foreign standard. The advantages furnished by nature in the early history of our country had ceased, and we were thrown on other resources, to keep up the prosperity and progress of our people. But this prosperity has not ceased. There has been no step backward in our career. The high prices of labor and of capital have been sustained, and the onward progress of our country, in power, wealth, and greatness, has never received the slight- est check. That labor is still higher than in Europe, is abundantly evident. We import a large amount of cotton goods ; the importer pays the expenses of transportation across the sea, and a duty of 24 per cent, at the custom- house, and yet sells his goods at the same price with the American manufacturer who has bought his raw material at a lower price than the foreign producer. There is no ex- planation of this possible, except that labor and capital are higher in this country than in Europe. The iron ore of Pennsylvania is as good and abundant as in England ; fuel and limestone are as cheap, and as near to the beds of ore ; but the English iron is not only imported under heavy duties, but carried into the interior, and sold in the very neighborhood of the American furnaces. These two manufactures have long been favored by the protection of government. Under the device of specific duties and minimums, the tariff for a while amount- ed to a prohibition on many of these goods. On all it was very large and bur- densome. The manufacturers have had time and opportunity to learn and introduce 106 COTTON CULTURE. all the improvements, and skill, and knowl- edge that would facilitate and cheapen their production ; they have had enterprise, and capital, and energy to manage and direct them ; and there is no possible explanation of the continued import of these articles to the amount of millions and tens of millions of dollars every year, unless labor and capi- tal were dearer here than in England. Perhaps a more striking proof that wages are higher here than in Europe may be found in the immense emigration into the United States from foreign countries. The principal motive of these emigrants is to improve their condition. The Irish laborers who rejoiced in the old country at having meat once a week, are here able to place it on their tables three times a day ; to whet their appetites with as much whiskey as they may wish; to enjoy comforts and luxuries they never dreamed of abroad; and to send back to the parents, and brothers, and sisters they left behind, millions of dollars every year, that they also may come here and partici- pate in the same prosperity. The Germans bid adieu to their homes and fatherland that they love so well, and come over by tens of thousands to buy land, and build fine barns, and lay up treasures for old age or for their children ; while in their own country they would have been poor and humble peasants all their lives. This high price of wages is of the utmost importance. It is the source of our rapid increase in wealth and greatness, and the exact measure of our prosperity. It belongs not merely to the day laborer who works with his hands, but to the artisan who has skill, and to the man of talent who has brains. The superintendent and the master manufacturer, as well as the weaver, receive high wages ; the captain of the ship as well as the sailor ; the merchant as well as his porter ; and as industry, enterprise, and tal- ent earn higher rewards here than in any other country, the workman is inspired with new zeal, his aims and aspirations are raised, wealth accumulates with greater rapidity, and every thing that makes a coun- try prosperous and powerful is developed with a quicker growth. If, then, it is a fact that wages are higher here than in Europe ; if this is a fact of the utmost importance to the prosperity and greatness of our country, the question recurs, How is this high rate of wages sustained ? If not by cheap lands, what other advantage have we ? the gift of nature or our own arrangement, by which we are able to have an active commerce with all the world, and a free interchange of commodities with every country, and yet to sustain a higher price for labor and capital than the other nations with whom we trade ? The only way to keep up the rates of wages and of money higher than in Europe, is to produce some articles here that are in large demand abroad, for which we have peculiar advantages, so that we can make them cheaper than other countries, in spite of our high price for labor and our high interest for money. Such an article we have in cotton. It is of prime necessity, and in large demand abroad, because it furnishes the cheapest ma- terial for clothing, and for other purposes of civilized life ; it is produced here under such favorable circumstances that we can supply this demand at a fair profit to ourselves ; this profitable production being sustained by the favorable circumstances of our soil and cli- mate, and by the use of cheap labor in the midst of a country where labor is dear. The large demand for cotton in other coun- tries enables us to pay for the imports that we must have, and also for others that we ourselves might supply, were it not that our high rates for labor and capital permit the foreign producers to undersell us in our own market, after paying heavy duties at the sea- ports, and the cost of transportation across the Atlantic. It is easy to follow out the course of operations by which these effects are pro- duced : the planter produces the cotton which is sold abroad, and buys the foreign supplies of the north, the south, and the west. The north carries the cotton to the foreign country, and brings back the returns. She delivers to the south her share, and pays for the balance in manufactures. After supplying herself, she buys food from the west with the remainder. The manufactures of Europe being loaded with the expenses of transport across the seas, and with duties paid to the general government, the northern manufacturer can keep the prices for his goods up to the im- porting limit, and these the south is able to pay, because of the profit on her great staple, and the monopoly she has of the European market. Thus are the high prices of labor sustain- ed, and the foreign supplies of the country ABUNDANCE OF LAND WAGES OF LABOR DEPENDENT ON COTTON AND GOLD. 107 paid for by the export of cotton, whose cost of production does not depend on the high paid labor of the country, but on the cheap labor of the negro slave. During the last ten years the gold of Cal- ifornia has had precisely the same effect, and its operations have been in every respect similar. The demand abroad for gold is of course unlimited ; the cheap and profitable production of it here depends on the abun- dant gifts of nature. The eastern manu- facturers sell their high-priced products to the miners, who are prevented from obtain- ing them cheaper by the distance from Europe, and the duties of the custom-house, and are able to pay for them by the abundant rewards they receive from their own labor. In this case nature, without any aid, makes the production profitable ; in the other nature is aided by the domestic institutions of the south. But the effects are in both cases identical. These two articles are assisted by rice and tobacco, which are in almost every respect similar to cotton. The demand abroad is not so great, and our advantages in their cultivation over the other producers for the European market are not so marked and de- cided. They are, however, real, and they may properly be regarded as aids to cotton and gold in producing the effect. The propriety and correctness of this ex- planation of our high prices is not affected by the fact that we also export some manu- factures. This is done in spite of their high prices, because they are carried, not to Eng- land and France, but to Mexico, South America, and the West Indies, where our proximity and trade give us some advantages over the European manufacturer. A few cotton goods are carried to China ; these are coarse, so that the superior cheapness of the raw material here partly compensates for the superior cost of manufacturing. This ad- vantage is aided by the influence of fashion, habit, and accident ; by the superior adapted- ness of our goods to their wants at the com- mencement of the export, and the good will and good name that were then secured ; and by various other inducements which often lead to the purchase of higher-priced com- modities even in a free and open market. Some few manufactures are even carried to England, France, and Germany, on ac- count of the temporary superiority of our workmen, or of new improvements in the mode of manufacture not yet introduced 7 abroad, or of new inventions, or discoveries, or patents. The whole amount of these being small, and due to real advantages we have here, or to accident, or fashion, or taste, or prejudice, do not form any objection to the explanation we have proposed, that high prices are maintained in our country chiefly by cotton. So also with agricultural products ; we ex- port some of these to the markets on our own continent, where we have many advan- tages over the European producer. In some of these, as in the flour to Brazil, these are very considerable. Our import of coffee is large, and our exports in return are very small, and consequently freights are low. We produce a kind of wheat in our southern climate manufactured into flour, which will not readily sour in the voyage across the equator. These two reasons secure a large demand for the brand of southern mills. And there are many other circumstances that induce a few shipments without refer- ence to price, so that even the small influence of our agricultural exports in sustaining prices is not due entirely to cheap lands, but to position, accident, advantages of climate, and other things of this kind. If we refer to our commercial statistics, it will be seen how small a ratio our manufac- tures and the products of our cheap lands bear to the whole exports. In 1850 the cotton, rice, and tobacco exported were worth eighty-five millions of dollars, and formed sixty-three per cent, of the whole value; the flour, grain, cheese, butter, lard, tallow, beef, pork, naval stores, and many other animal and agricultural products were less than twenty-four millions, and constitut- ed only eighteen per cent, of the domestic exports; while the manufactures of every kind, including those of cotton, were only fifteen millions, forming but eleven per cent, of the exports. For 1859, the last year of our published returns, the value of cotton, rice, tobacco, and gold was $245,000,000, or seventy-three per cent, of the whole value ; all the products of animals and of the field, forty-two millions, or thirteen per cent, of all ; and manufactures of every kind (in- cluding eight millions of cotton goods) thirty millions of dollars, or nine per cent, of the whole exports. Of cotton alone the exports were $161,000,000. We repeat, then, that it is cotton almost entirely that keeps up the price of labor and capital in this country above the rates 108 COTTON CULTURE. of every other part of the world : that it is aided in this by the gold of California and the rice and tobacco of the Southern states, and, to a very small and insignificant extent, by our cheap lands and abundant forests ; that cotton brings about this result because it is in large demand in foreign coun- tries, being the cheapest article of clothing ; because our planters produce it in large amounts, and at great profit to themselves ; and because we have almost a monopoly of the foreign market, on account of our ability to produce a cheaper and better article than any other country in either of the four quar- ters of the globe. This cheapness is secured by the advantage of our soil and climate, and by the aid of cheap labor, which does not come into competition with the other labor of the country so as to depress the general standard of wages. To establish the first of these propositions, we have only to refer to the history of the cotton manufacture of Europe and America, and especially of England, as found in an- other chapter. CHAPTER II. PRODUCTION AND PRICES OF COTTON. COTTON has been employed as a material for clothing from the earliest times, and at the beginning of the eighteenth century nearly two millions of pounds were imported into England to supply their spinning wheels and looms, and to be used for the other pur- poses to which it was applied. In 1*751 the imports rose to 2,976,610 pounds, in 1764 they were 3,870,392 pounds, and in 1781 they had increased to 5,198,778. At this period they took a sudden rise, and in the next five years increased to nineteen millions, and in the next five to twenty-nine millions of pounds, thus making a more rapid progress in five years than in the preceding hun- dred. The cause of this rapid advance was the introduction of machinery for the spinning of cotton. This reduced the price and in- creased the demand, and led to the exclu- sion of linen, silk, and wool, and the substi- tution of cotton in .their place. As early as 1738 Wyatt had taken out a patent for the spinning of cotton by machin- ery. He was assisted by Paul, who after- ward took out a patent for carding the cot- ton by machinery. But so complex and imperfect were the details of this machinery of Wyatt and Paul that these projects failed. The principle was discovered, but important practical improvements were wanting before it could be made successful. In 1769, Arkwright took out a patent for his water-frame and throstle, and in 17 70, Hargreaves invented his spinning-jenny, both of which were on the same principle as Wyatt's machine, but led to a very differ- ent result. Between 1770 and 1780 these machines were fairly tested, and in the next ten years they were rapidly introduced. The patent of Arkwright was broken down in the courts of law in 1785, by the perse- vering opposition of those who had wrong- fully Appropriated his discoveries ; and the expiration of the other patents in a short time opened the whole manufacture to the free use of the people. In 1800 the imports of cotton had risen to fifty-six millions, an increase of eleven fold in twenty years. In the first eighty years of the eighteenth cen- tury the increase had been one hundred and fifty per cent. ; in the last twenty years it had been a thousand. These improvements of Arkwright and Hargreaves were not the end and perfection of the inventions for spinning. These ma- chines were not adapted for the finer num- bers, and in 1779 Samuel Crompton invent- ed the mule, which combined the excellen- ces of the two former inventions. No pat- ent was taken out for it, and it was worked for a while in secret. But the high prices Crompton obtained^for his yarn soon attract- ed such attention that he could no longer keep it concealed. For number forty, he received three dollars and a half a pound ; and for number sixty, six dollars. These prices were commanded by the superiority of his yarn, and the mule was, therefore, a great improvement on the old machines. At first the invention was quite imperfect, but it was soon improved and brought nearly to its present perfection. In the course of ten years it was everywhere intro- duced. Under its influence the demand for labor rapidly increased. The next important invention was the power-loom, first proposed and patented by Cartwright. The patent was issued in 1787, but all efforts failed to introduce it success- fully until after the beginning of the present centuiy. The improvements in dressing the warp, which were indispensable to the sue- PRODUCTION AND PRICES OF COTTON. 109 cess of the power-loom, were made in 1803. In 1813 there were twenty-four hundred of these in use in England. In 1820 these had increased to fifty-five thousand, and in 1833 to a hundred thousand. The steam engine of Watt was not less important to the manufacture of cotton than these improvements in spinning and weav- ing. The water power of England was lim- ited, irregular, and entirely insufficient for the numerous machines that were soon in- troduced, and the new motive power was especially adapted to their work. Being cheap on account of the abundance of coal, regular in its operations so as to give a uni- form stroke to the loom, not liable to in- terruptions and strikes as human labor had been, it has contributed very much to the progress of the cotton manufacture. Watt's first patent was taken out in 1769, but it was not until 1785 that steam was applied to the driving of a cotton mill. In 1800 there were thirty engines employed at Man- chester, and in 1859 the number in the whole kingdom had risen to twenty-two hundred. Under the influence of these improve- ments, the progress in the manufacture of cotton has been of the most rapid descrip- tion. It was under the influence of those great inventions that the importations of cotton rose in twenty years from 1781 to 1801 from five to fifty-six millions of pounds, and the English exports of cottons from two mill- ions of dollars to twenty-seven millions. In all this time the price of the raw material rather advanced than decreased. Accord- ing to Tooke's "History of Prices," the range for different qualities of West India and Surinam from 1780 to 1785 was from 13 pence per pound to 40 ; while from 1795 to 1800 it was from 15 to 55 pence. But the cost of yarns was very different. In 1786 and 1787 the price of No. 100 was nine and a half dollars a pound; in 1790, seven and a half dollars; in 1795, four dol- lars and three quarters; and in 1800, two dollars and thirty-five cents. We thus see that the effect of the intro- duction of machinery was to give an im- mense increase to the consumption of cot- ton, a large reduction in the price of cotton goods, and a substitution of cotton for wool, silk, and flax, and an increase in the demand for labor. The improvements which were made after 1800 were not less important than those which preceded it. The importations into England increased from 1800 to 1810 more than a hundred per cent., being from fifty- six to one hundred and thirty-two millions of pounds. The American war interrupted the progress in the next decade, but in 1820 it had risen to one hundred and fifty-two millions. For the next ten years the rate of progress was nearly a hundred per cent., the amount in 1830 being two hundred and sixty-four millions. In 1840 the amount was five hundred and seventeen millions, the increase being nearly a hundred per cent. In 1850 the imports were six hun- dred and sixty-nine millions ; and in 1859 they were eleven hundred and eighty-one millions. In 1860 the amount received from the United States alone reached the enormous sum of eleven hundred millions, to which the East Indies have made an addi- tion of two hundred more, and other coun- tries nearly a hundred, making a total of fourteen hundred millions of pounds. This increase since 1780, when machinery was first successfully applied to the spinning of cotton, has been two hundred and eighty fold. Since 1800 the increase has been twenty-five times ; since 1820 twelve times ; and since 1840, three times. During the year 1858 the value of England's manufac- tured cottons was four hundred and thirty millions, and in 1859 four hundred and eighty millions of dollars. At the same time the manufacture has been growing rapidly in every other country. The abundance of coal in England, the cheap- ness of iron and machinery, and the low rate of interest on capital, as well as the enter- prise, industry, and skill of her people, have placed her before other countries ; but their progress has been rapid, and their demand for cotton large and increasing. From 1820 to 1840 the French imports of cotton rose from forty- four to one hundred and four millions of pounds, and in 1855 to one hundred and sixty-eight millions. And the recent abolition of the duty on raw cottons has made the increase still more rapid. In some other countries of Europe, the progress has been greater than in France. The comparative magnitude of the manufactures of other countries than England may be seen by our exports in 1860. To England, we sent 2,669,000 bales ; to France, 589,000 ; and to the rest of Europe, 515,000. The average of 1839 and 1840, when compared no COTTON CULTURE. with the average of 1859 and 1860, is as fol- lows : 1839-40. Bales. Great Britain 1,022,000 The Continent 453,000 The United States. 336,000 1859-60. Increase Bales. per cent. 2,344,000 130 1,069,000 136 953,000 154 140 Total 1,811,000 4,366,000 As England exports much of the cotton she receives, and all obtain more or less from other countries than the United States, the comparative importance of other coun- tries will be best seen by the consumption of all kinds of cotton. The weekly consump- tion for the years 1855 and 1856 was as fol- lows : 1855. 1856. Bales. Bales. Great Britain 37,384 43,518 On the Continent 26,554 27,524 The United States... 14,822 15,768 In the United States, the increase in the consumption has been more rapid than in any other country : Average from 1826 to 1830, 127,000 bales. " 1831 " 1835, 195,000 " 1836 " 1840, 275,000 " 1841 " 1845, 363,000 " 1846 " 1850, 539,000 " 1851 " 1855, 686,000 " 1856 " 1860, 818,000 This large increase in the manufacture of cotton has been accompanied with a decline in the cost of the raw material, and a still greater decline in the cost of manufactured goods. The price of American cotton, from 1800 to 1820, averaged twenty-two cents per pound; from 1820 to 1840, thirteen cents; and from 1840 to 1860, only ten cents. In the same time the improvements in machin- ery, and in the art of manufacturing, and in the skill of the workmen, have reduced the price of yarns, and prints, and muslins, and every product of the loom in a much greater ratio. For number 100, the price of yarn in 1786 was nine dollars and a half; in 1796, four dollars and three quarters; in 1806, one dollar and seventy-two cents; in 1812, one dollar and twenty-seven cents; in 1830, eighty cents; and in 1854, fifty-eight cents. In the lower numbers the decrease has been nearly as krge. In all kinds of cotton goods the decrease in price is made manifest by the change in the official and declared values of the exports of Great Britain. The offi- cial is a fixed nominal price for every article exported, and the declared is the real value. The former may therefore be regarded as representing quantities, and the latter values. Now the official and declared values of all kinds of goods for 1814 were $88,000,000 and $100,000,000 1824 ' 151,000,000 92,000,000 1833 ' 232,000,000 92,000,000 1840 ' 366,000,000 123,000,000 1850 ' 569,000,000 141,000,000 1858 ' 846,000,000 214,000,000 These numbers show that while the amount has increased nearly tenfold, the value has only doubled, and that therefore the goods are five times cheaper now than in 1814. We have now followed the cotton manu- facture from its rise, a century since, down to the present time. Its immense magnitude in every country of Europe, its rapid prog- ress, its exclusion of other materials for cloth- ing, and the great decrease in the price of manufactured goods, are established facts which show how large and how intense is the foreign demand for our cotton. This is the first proposition we proposed to consider in our explanation of the high prices of labor and capital in our country, and we now pass on to the second, that the production of cot- ton is very profitable to the American planters. In proof of this, we shall show that the cultivation of cotton has attracted labor and capital from other pursuits in the cotton states, until it has concentrated almost their whole productive power upon this single ar- ticle ; that it has drawn wealth and labor from other sections of the country to be de- voted to it, when other employments were inviting their attention ; and that these and other facts demonstrate the profitableness of this culture. The cotton plant of Europe is a native of India, whence it spread very slowly fato China and Persia, Africa and Europe. But cotton is a native of this continent, and was diffused here everywhere before the arrival of the Europeans. It was found by Colum- bus in Cuba, on his first voyage, in 1492, and by Cortes in Mexico, and Magellan in Brazil, on their first visit to those countries in 1519. Pizarro saw it in Peru in 1532, and Cabega de Vaca in California in 1536. In both divisions of the continent it had spread as far north and as far south as the climate would permit. All the three kinds of cotton were growing here : the herbaceous, or annual ; the shrub, which lives three or four years ; and the tree, which lasts for PRODUCTION AND PRICES OF COTTON. Ill twenty years. It is only the annual which is now cultivated in the United States. Dur- ing our colonial history, it was introduced here from the West Indies and from the Mediterranean, and was extensively culti- vated in gardens and small patches for do- mestic .use from New Jersey to Georgia. A few bags were exported before the Revolu- tion ; but so little was produced, that a ship- ment of eight bales from Charleston, in 1784, was seized by the custom-house authorities in England, on the ground that so large an amount could not have been grown in the United States. As it was cultivated to ad- vantage in the West Indies, near to our coast, many attempts were made to extend its culture here. Some seeds were brought from the Bahamas, and successfully culti- vated along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, soon after the war of independence. This was carefully improved from year to year, by selecting the seed of the finest plants, by the application of the most suit- able manures, and by choosing the best lo- calities for its cultivation, until the fine, silky variety, known as the sea island cotton, was naturalized in our country, and brought to the greatest perfection of staple. The seed is easily separated from the lint by passing it between rollers, which push back the seed and permit the cotton to pass through. This is a tedious work, but the length and fine- ness of the fibre secured so high a price for the product, that the cultivation has con- tinued profitable from its first introduction to the present time. It is mixed with the best wool or with silk, or is used by itself for the manufacture of the finest fabrics, and commands a very high price in the market, two, three, or four times more than the short staple cotton. Our country has a monopoly of it; for neither in Egypt, Pernambuco, or the Isle of Bourbon, where the best cottons are grown, can they produce a staple of the same length and fineness. Sometimes a dollar a pound is paid for it ; and even higher prices have been offered for favorite crops. The cultivation of this variety is limited to the islands along the coast and a narrow belt near the sea, though in Florida it may be grown in any part of the peninsula. When planted in the uplands it degenerates quickly and is less productive. The whole value of this crop is now from eight to ten millions of dollars, and varies but little from year to year. For the last three years the crop has averaged 47,000 bales, and for the three preceding, 43,000 bales. The variety of cotton that is planted in the interior is the native Mexican species. It adheres closely to the seed, and cannot be separated by the common roller gin. When first cul- tivated it was separated by hand, but this operation was slow and tedious, and limited the cultivation for the purposes of com- merce. In 1791 the whole exports of the United States of all kinds of cotton were only 189,316 pounds which is less than the product of many of our single planta- tions at the present time. In 1792 it was four hundred and nineteen bags, weighing 138,328 pounds; and in 1793 it was 487,- 600 pounds. At this period it took a sud- den start upward, and rose in 1794 to 1,601,- 000, and in 1795 to more than six millions of pounds. The cause of this sudden increase was the invention, by Whitney, of the saw gin. This ingenious gentleman was a native of Massachusetts, and had come to Georgia as a private tutor in 1792. While residing as a guest in the family of Mrs. General Greene, near Savannah, he was informed by some of her visitors from the upper country, where the short-staple cotton was cultivated, of the great desirableness of a machine for separat- ing the cotton from the seed. To his in- ventive turn of mind, this suggestion was enough to attract his attention. He obtained some of the seed cotton from Savannah, and soon devised the saw gin. At first he used bent wires or teeth, like those of the com- mon card, but much larger and stronger, and these were placed in rows on a revolv- ing cylinder. The cotton was separated from this cylinder by a frame of parallel wires. As the cylinder revolved, the teeth extending through the wire frame caught the cotton and drew it through the grating, but the seeds being too large to pass be- tween the wires, were separated from the lint. The teeth being found too weak to pull the cotton from the seed without being bent or broken, he substituted a circular saw in their place. The teeth of the saws being large, and shaped like the beak of a bird, had more strength and were equally efficient. Behind the saw-cylinder,brushes were arranged to remove the cotton from the saws, and thus the object was accom- plished. When he had completed his gin, entirely by the labor of his own hands, he invited some farmers to see it tried, and all were satisfied with its work. It differed es- PRODUCTION AND PRICES OF COTTON. 113 sentially from the roller gin introduced from the Bahamas, and invented there by Joseph Eve, the son of a Pennsylvania loyalist, and afterward a resident of Georgia. The roller gin had also teeth and a wire frame, and the revolving teeth caught the cotton through the wire frame, but they only delivered it to the rollers which separated the cotton from the seed. In the saw gin the teeth and the wire did the work of separation. Though Eve's was like Whitney's, and may have suggested it, they were on different principles. The one was suited for the sea island, and the other for the upland. Before Whitney could take out his patent, many of his gins were constructed by the farmers and put to work. His patent was issued in 1793, and having obtained the co- operation of Miller, who furnished the capi- tal, they undertook the manufacture of the gins for sale, and the ginning of cotton by the pound for the planters, and the purchase of the seed cotton, that they might clean it themselves. Although these plans required large capital, Whitney was poor, and Miller had but small means when this project was undertaken. In 1794, when they were pre- paring several machines for sale, Whitney was taken sick, and his workmen were pros- trated by the fevers of the climate. These difficulties prevented the construction of many gins by the patentees ; and as the want of them was great, and the machinery very simple, many were built by common mechanics, and thus extensively introduced. In 1 795 Whitney's shop arid all his machines were destroyed by fire, and this was another hindrance to the sale of the patented gin, and another incentive to those who were tres- passing on his rights. To put a stop to these infringements of their patent, suits were instituted by Miller and Whitney. But the patent law had just been passed by Congress, and the general government was little known or respected. The juries were composed of men who were all interested in breaking the patent. The gin makers had strong interests prompting them to resist the suits. Witnesses were found who testi- fied that they had seen the gin in Europe, where it was used for making lint ! The suits were postponed and delayed by the in- genuity of lawyers, and as the United States courts only met at long intervals, these delays were the more serious. Under these difficulties, the patentees often failed in their suits, or obtained but small damages, or were engaged in long, vexatious, and expen- sive litigation, so that the courts became an expense to them instead of a protection. The gins were everywhere introduced, with or without the patent-right. This was the case both in Georgia and South Carolina ; but the delay and failure of the suits in Georgia induced the patentees to propose to the legislature of South Carolina to sell the right for that state for $100,000. An offer of $50,000 was made them and accepted, and this was nearly all that was ever re- ceived by the inventors. Whitney, unlike Arkwright, only received barren honors for his great invention ; for even the purchase money of South Carolina was expended in the prosecution of the suits he had insti- tuted against the trespassers on his rights. The introduction of Whitney's gin acted like magic on the planting of cotton. In eight years, from 1792 to 1800, the exports of the United States increased more than a hundred-fold. The value rose from $30,000 to $3,000,000, and the amount from 138,000 Ibs. to 18,000,000. The whole of this was wanted in England, and the rapid increase in the demand there that followed the general introduction of Arkwright's inventions pre- vented any decline in price. The population of South Carolina and Georgia, where all of this cotton was raised, was only 507,000 in 1800; so that the amount was $6 to each individual, including the young and the old. This was not enough to purchase the manu- factures and the foreign supplies they needed ; rice and tobacco being both added to cotton in the exports of Charleston and Savannah. Those of rice alone were larger than cotton, and the production of tobacco was considera- ble. The immigrants from Virginia and North Carolina brought this cultivation with them, and it formed a large part of the trade at the sea-port towns at this early period. But it was soon to disappear, under the progress of cotton. In the next ten years, from 1801 to 1810, the production increased more than five- fold, from 1 8,000,000 to 93,000,000 of pounds and the value from $3,000,000 to $15,000,000. As the population had only increased 30 per cent, in these ten years, and as the exports of rice had risen from 94,000 to 119,000 tierces, the great change was in the transfer of labor from tobacco to cotton. The ex- ports of cotton and rice in 1810 were more than $30 to each person, white and black, young and old, male and female ; an amount which sufficiently indicates that nearly the 114 COTTON CULTURE. whole available labor was devoted to these two staples. In the next decade the cultivation was in- terrupted by the war of 1812, and the ex- ports only rose to 128,000,000 in 1820. But the high prices that followed the war stimu- lated the production to the utmost possible limit. Tobacco was no longer cultivated as an article of export. Rice was still planted in the swamp lands along the coast, because they were not well suited for cotton and be- cause rice was itself a very profitable crop. Emigrants flocked from Virginia to engage in the culture of cotton ; new lands were purchased from the Indians ; more laborers were brought from Virginia to work in the cotton fields ; and every hand that could be spared from other employments, white or colored, was appropriated to this one culture. In consequence of this transfer of labor, the exports rose in the next decade, from 1820 to 1830, more than 100 per cent., from 128,000,- 000 to 298,000,000 pounds. For the next ten years the impulse to the cultivation of cotton was greater than ever. It was impossible for the cotton states to transfer any more of their labor to the cul- ture. Some of their population was needed in the towns and cities to attend to the sale and shipment of their cotton, some to provide supplies for the planters, and a few were en- gaged in those mechanical pursuits which are absolutely indispensable, even in an agri- cultural country receiving its manufactures from distant places; but all the rest were engaged in the production of cotton. The planter raised enough corn to feed his stock, and provide bread for his family ; he sup- plied generally his own meat, but for the most part his flour was brought from the north or west, and the towns were supplied with pork and flour from the same source. All his labor was appropriated to cotton, because it was more profitable than any other crop. All his profits from year to year were devoted to buying more negroes, that he might enlarge his cultivation of the one great staple of the south. The emigrants from Virginia, and North Carolina, and Tennessee, though at their first arrival they might pre- fer to plant tobacco or wheat, soon transferred all their hands to cotton. The lawyer, and the doctor, and the school-master, as soon as they earned any money, bought land and negroes, and became planters. The preacher who married an heiress or a rich widow, be- came the owner of a plantation. The merchant who wished to retire from the per- plexities of business, and take his ease in the country, passed his old age in watching the cotton plant spring up from the fresh-ploughed ground, spread its leaves to the gentle show- ers of spring, stretch its long branches to the summer's sun, open its red blossoms, to be fol- lowed by the abundant fruit which showed their white treasures to the autumn sky, gladdening his heart with the abundant re- wards of his labor. All the labor, all the capital, all the increase of population and wealth by immigration from more northern climates, all the accumulations of every trade, or business, or pursuit were devoted to this one cultivation ; and though it had seemed impossible in 1830 to increase the cultivation to any considerable degree, the production rose in 1840 to 744,000,000 pounds, or six times the product of 1 820. During the next decade this favorite cul- ture received a slight check. The increase in the demand, though outrunning every other business, had been overtaken by the still more rapid increase in the supply. Prices declined, and the capital of the country had an opportunity to look around for other employments. It readily found them in the construction of railroads, the erection of cotton factories for coarse goods, the production of the corn, and meat, and flour for the towns and cities, the cul- tivation of the sugar cane, and in those other mechanical and manufacturing pursuits which are the first enterprises of an agricultural people. The south had other employments to which she might have turned her attention with advantage. She had fine shipping timber, and in great abundance, but she did not increase her shipping, because high as wages and interest are at the north, they are, still higher at the south, and the competition between the two sections is so easy in ship- ping, that she could not engage in shipping even her own products, as long as other more profitable pursuits keep up the rate of labor and capital to their present high limits. The low prices of cotton from 1840 to 1850 did not, therefore, divert capital to shipping. The tonnage of Charleston averaged 50,000 tons from 1800 to 1810, nearly 40,000 from 1810 to 1820; 22,000 from 1832 to 1840, and 23,000 from 1840 to 1848. The culture of rice was susceptible of very slight increase, because the only land suit- able for its cultivation is the low, swampy PRODUCTION AND PRICES OF COTTON. 115 district along the sea, where the crop can be covered with water. From early times this valuable grain had been raised in all favorable localities, and, though a very profitable crop, no increase was practicable. From 1789 to 1798 the exports of the United States averaged 107,000 tierces; from 1799 to 1808 they were 82,000; and from 1809 to 1818 the average was 87,000. From 1820 to 1829 the whole crop, including the shipments to the north and the exports, averaged 120,- 000 tierces; from 1830 to 1839 they were 148,000; and from 1840 to 1848 the average was 162,000. These figures show little or no transfer of capital to this production, and the reason is that the lands suited to its cul- tivation are limited. For the year 1858 they were 173,000 tierces, showing the same steady, unchangeable condition of this culture down to the present time. But although the cultivation of rice could not be increased, and the northern shipping was too easy a competitor with the southern, there were many employments in which the south could engage, before she would reduce the wages and profits down to the northern standard. Tanneries, forges, foundries, the making of shoes, buckets, hardware, furni- ture, clothing, machinery, and every manu- facture where the bulk or the weight is con- siderable, can be profitably pursued. The negroes make good carpenters, shoemakers, tanners, workers in iron, and there is no em- ployment pursued at the north to which their labor cannot be profitably devoted. Of all these employments thus attracting her attention, the principal of those which she selected in the depression of 1840 were the construction of railroads, the culture of wheat, the manufacture of coarse cottons, and the planting of the sugar cane. These railroads have nearly all been profit- able. It may seem strange to those who have only heard of Harlem, and Erie, and New Haven, and Hudson River railroads, to be told that every railway of the cotton states has been profitable. The country is sparsely settled, and it cannot be from pas- sengers. They have but little through freight to Tennessee and North Carolina, and it cannot be from the transit of goods. Their only product is cotton, and it is this that pays. Not only does the great staple enrich those who make it, but all who handle it and carry it. It is like the fabled Midas, and turns all things into gold. Wheat, also, has been a profitable culture, because it is mainly consumed at home, and the price is usually the cost of flour in New York added to the cost of transportation. Even when fine seasons and a large crop en- able the farmer to export some of his flour, the early harvest permits him to send it to New York before the new wheat of the north and west can be offered in the market, and thus secure to himself a high price. So have the cotton factories generally been profitable. All that have been managed skil- fully and faithfully have paid good dividends, and several have made fortunes for their owners. The oldest mill in the southern states, near Athens, Georgia, has been profit- able from the start, more than thirty years since. Those at Graniteville and Roswell, favored with water power and wise manage- ment, have paid large and regular dividends. The one at Macon, though driven by steam, has been alike successful. Many of the others have done well, though the machinery has to be brought from the north, and the expense of labor and superintendence is high. A few have failed from frauds and dishonesty in the projectors or managers, some from carelessness and neglect of their duties by those to whom they were entrust- ed, and some from ignorance and impru- dence. But always when well managed they have succeeded. They make the coarse os- naburgs and heavy shirting for the negroes, and the coarser numbers of yarn for the country looms of the planters. Many of them send their yarns to Philadelphia and New York, and dispose in this way of their surplus production. A few are working on finer unbleached cloth, and they are also doing well. So, also, has some capital been devoted to sugar. The beautiful lands along the lower Mississippi have been appropriated to this crop. Under the protection of the tariffs of 1824 and 1828 the culture was started, and from 1835 to 1840 the production averaged seventy millions of pounds, worth over four millions of dollars. The low prices of cotton about this time encouraged the producers, and the amount for the next five years averaged one hundred and twenty-five millions of pounds, worth six millions of dollars. In the next five years the product rose to two hundred and eleven millions, valued at ten millions of dollars. From 1850 to 1855 the production still further increased, the amount being three hundred and forty-seven millions, and the value fifteen 116 COTTON CULTURE. millions. In the last five years partly from the disastrous season of 1856, which not only ruined the crop for that year, but de- stroyed the plants for the next, and partly to the high price of cotton, which has diverted some of the lands to this culture the average has only been two hundred and sixty-three millions; but the value of this decreased crop has been higher than ever, having reached seventeen millions of dollars. To these and a few other new enterprises, the accumulating labor and capital of the cotton states have been diverted since the disastrous fall of prices in 1837. But the culture of cotton still went on, and with giant strides, too. The planters were more economical at home, raised more corn and bacon, so as to lessen their purchases from the west and from North Carolina; but, as the price of lands and negroes declined, the inducements to raise cotton were nearly as great as before. The average exports for the five years from 1836 to 1840 were five ^undred and twenty-four millions; for the next five, the average was six hundred and eighty-eight millions ; and for the next five, seven hundred and eleven millions. Here was an average increase much faster than the natural increase of the population, show- ing that, in spite of the diversion of labor and capital to new pursuits, emigrants were still arriving from North Carolina and Vir- ginia, and transfers were still being made from the tobacco and wheat fields of Virginia to the cotton lands of the south. After 1850 prices improved, and in the next five years the average exports rose to one billion and twenty-five millions of pounds, making an increase in the average produc- tion of nearly fifty per cent, in five years. For the five succeeding years the exports have not been completed at the treasury de- partment, and the number of bales may be taken to measure the increase of production. From 1850 to 1855 the average crop was 2,882,000 bales, and from 1855 to 1860 it was 3,628,000, an increase which is twice as great as the natural increase of the popu- lation, indicating the continuance of the transfers of laborers to the cotton planta- tions. And never before has the planting been more profitable than in the last few years. The price has not been so high as in 1819, or 1825, or 1836, when the planters were almost bewildered at the rates offered them for their crops ; but by improved methods of cultivation, and greater facilities of reach- ing the market, their real earnings have been greater than ever. Higher prices have been given for land and for negroes than even in 1836. The wages of hired servants have been larger than ever ; and the planters have been everywhere rich, prosperous, and happy. The immigration into the cotton states, and the purchase of negroes from Missouri, Kentucky, and Virginia, are made manifest by the changes of population. The natural increase of the people of the whole country is less than thirty per cent, for ten years, after deducting the emigrants from Europe and the inhabitants of our purchased territo- ries. Before 1820 it exceeded a little this ratio; but from 1830 to 1840 it was less, and from 1840 to 1850 not over twenty -five per cent. Now the population of the eight cotton states, from South Carolina to Texas, increased in the first decade of the present century fifty per cent'., in the second decade fifty-five per cent., in the third fifty per cent., in the fourth fifty-one per cent., and in the fifth forty-one per cent. Thus, in all this period of fifty years, the real increase has been ^nearly double that of the natural ; or, more exactly, in every ten years twenty per cent, of the existing population has been added from the more northern states. CHAPTER III. MONOPOLY OF THE MARKET-SLAVE LABOR COTTON EXCHANGED FOR MANUFAC- TURES. THE history that has now been given of the great increase in the production of cot- ton ; of the entire devotion of the labor of . the cotton states to this single culture, even to the neglect in some places of the corn, flour, and meat necessary for the wants of their immediate neighborhood ; of the large increase of the population in these states ; of the increasing prices of land and negroes ; of the investment of nearly the whole of the annual accumulations of the people in enlarg- ing this one production, when others that are really profitable, for which they have advantages in soil, or in climate, or in posi- tion, are rejected is an irresistible accumu- lation of proof of the second proposition that we proposed to consider: that the American planters are able to produce large amounts MONOPOLY SLAVE LABOR EXCHANGE FOR MANUFACTURES. 117 of cotton at great profit to themselves ; and we will pass now to the third proposition : that we have almost a monopoly of the for- eign market, on account of our ability to pro- duce a better and cheaper article than any other country in the world. We have already adverted to the superi- ority of our sea island variety. It is the best cotton in the Liverpool market, and com- mands the highest price. It has not been produced in larger quantities, because the localities where it can be cultivated are few. But for the amount we make there is no competition. The average value of our ex- ports of this kind was $6,000,000 from 1805 to 1815, including the years of the war and the embargo; $10,000,000 in the next ten years ; $10,000,000 in the next; $'7,000,000 in the next ; and $9,000,000 in the last, from 1845 to 1855. For 1859 the amount was 13,713,000 pounds. It is evident from these figures, that the production of sea-island cot- ton is stationary. When we began the production of cotton, the supplies of Great Britain were furnished by the Levant and by America. Of the twenty- three millions received in 1787, seven were from the West Indies, six from Turkey, and ten from the Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese col- onies of South America. None was received from the United States or Egypt, which are now the principal sources of supply. The first imports from the East Indies were in 1 798, and from Egypt in 1823. When the demand in- creased, by the application of machinery to the manufacture, we very soon assumed the first rank in the production and supply of cotton. By the year 1800 the receipts from our coun- try equalled those of any other, and in some of the years before the war of 1812 we sur- passed all other countries taken together. After the war of 1812 we immediately re- sumed the chief place as producers for the European market. In the five years from 1816 to 1820 the average weekly consump- tion in Great Britain of the different kinds of cotton was 3,800 bales of American, 2,200 from Brazil, 1,100 from the East Indies, and 700 from the West Indies ; and as our bags were the heaviest, the 3,800 American were more than the 4,000 from other coun- tries. In the next five years Egyptian made its appearance in the market, and the aver- age was 6,400 bales of American, 2,600 from Brazil, 200 from Egypt, 1,000 from India, and 600 from the West Indies. The decline of the West Indies, which was the only cot- ton similar to ours, had already begun, and from 1826 to 1830 the decline continued. The average consumption of American was 9,200 bales, 2,400 from Brazil, 700 from Egypt, 700 from India, and only 400 from the West Indies, so that ours was more than two-thirds of the whole. In the next five years the American rose to 13,000, the West Indian declined to 200, and the others had but a slight increase ; ours being three-fourths of the whole. From this time forward the United States supplied about eighty per cent, of the whole consumption of England, and also of the rest of Europe. In the last year (1859) the number of bales consumed in Great Britain and on the continent was 700,000, of which the American was eighty per cent, the West Indian one, the Brazilian three, the Egyptian four, and the East Indian twelve. And this ratio has been nearly the same for the last twenty years. The ratio of the supply from Egypt has increased a little faster than from America; while that from the West Indies has almost disappeared. Since the rise in the price of coffee, on ac- count of the stoppage of the slave trade in Brazil, her exports have been stationary or declining. The imports from the East Indies have increased, but their comparative gain on American has been very small. In the eight years from 1840 to 1847, 'the iiverage importation into England of American cot- ton was 468,000,000 pounds, and of East Indian 75,000,000 ; while for the next eight years, from 1 848 to 1 855, the former averaged 644,000,000 and the latter 1 1 5,000,000. The first ratio was 16 and the last 18. Since 1855 the ratio has slightly increased. For the last two years it has declined. The supplies furnished by the several countries are not, however, rivals of each other. Our sea island is the finest and dearest. The Egyptian and Brazilian are next, and are used for the finer fabrics. Ours is suited for all the common yarns, uniting strength of fibre with smoothness and length of staple. The Indian comes last in price, is coarse, short stapled, and badly cleaned. It is mixed with American in the factories, and used for the coarser goods. Thus there is little or no competition be- tween the different cottons. They are each used for their particular class of manufac- tures. The Indian would be of little use without ours to mix with it, so that an in- crease in the supply would require an in- 118 COTTON CULTURE. crease of American to be worked with it. The dearness of the Egyptian and South American, which are about fifty per cent, higher than ours, prevents them from being substituted in its place. In a paper read before the Society of Arts, J. B. Smith, Esq., member for Stock- port, says: " It will be seen, therefore, that while we require for the purposes of our manufacture a limited quantity of the sea island and short-staple qualities of raw cotton, we need and can consume an almost unlimited supply of the medium-staple,orllnited States quality. In this fact lies our real difficulty ; for while several quarters of the world supply the first sort, and India could supply enormous quantities of the short-staple sort, the United States of America alone have hitherto pro- duced the second and most necessary kind." " The finest long cotton in the world is called the 'sea island.' It is grown on the low-lying lands and small islands on the coast of Georgia. The quantity is small, and the price very high. It is used mostly for muslin thread, and the very finest num- bers of yarn say 100's and upward ; and price, in fact, is of little moment to the manufacturers who purchase it. It usually sells at about two shillings per pound. A quality much resembling it, and almost, if not quite as good, has been grown, as a sample article, in Australia, But of this de- nomination of cotton the consumption is very small. Another species long, strong, fine, and yellowish is grown in Egypt, and imported in considerable quantities. An in- ferior quality coarse, harsh, bright in color, but strong is imported from Brazil, and a very small quantity from the West Indies. Doubtless, if the price were adequate, and the demand here very great and^ steady, the supply from many of these quarters might be largely augmented. But it is not of this sort that we need any considerable increase, nor could we afford the price which probably alone would remunerate the grower. " 2. Our great consumption and demand is for the soft, white, silky, moderately long cotton of America the quality usually call- ed ' uplands,' ' bowed Georgia,' and ' New Orleans.' This used to be sold at prices varying from 3d. to 6d. per pound (it is now from 6d. to 8d.). It can be consumed in any quantity; for it is available not only ior weft, but for warp, except for the finer numbers. We need and consume nine bags of this cotton for one bag of all others put together. " 3. It is the insufficient supply, or the high- er price of this cotton, that has driven our manufacturers upon the short-stapled native article of India, commonly called Surat. If the price of the two were equal, scarcely a bag of Surat would be employed. When the price of American cotton rises, owing to an inadequate supply, that of East India cotton follows it at a considerable interval the usual ratio being two to three and the im- port of the latter is greatly stimulated. It is always grown in India in large quantities, and, with improved means of communication and more careful preparation, might be sup- plied in time, in indefinite and probably ample quantities. <" But it is its quality that is in fault ; and, as far as the past is a guide, it would seem incurably in fault. Many at- tempts to amend the character of this cotton have been made. American planters and American ' saw gins ' have been sent over, and American seed has been planted ; and the result has been a sensible amelioration in cleanliness and color, and some slight in- crease in length of fibre, but scarcely any change in specific character. The dry, fuzzy, woolly characteristics remain. Sometimes the first year's samples nearly resemble the American article, but the resemblance never becomes permanent. Hitherto (we believe we are correct in stating), either from the peculiarity of the soil or of the climate, or, as some say, from adulteration by the air- borne pollen of the inferior native plant, the improved and altered character of the cotton has never been kept up." " The point we have to bear in mind, then, is this : our desideratum is not simply more cotton, but more cotton of the same character and price as that now imported from the States. If India were to send us two mill- ions of bales of Surat cotton per annum, the desideratum would not be supplied, and our perilous problem would still be unsolved. We should be almost as dependent on America as ever." These observations of a practical manu- facturer bring out conclusively this truth, that for the uses to which our cotton is ap- plied we are without competition. The long- stapled is too dear, and the short too coarse, fuzzy, weak, and rough to be substituted for ours. It thus appears that we have a monopoly MONOPOLY SLAVE LABOR EXCHANGE FOR MANUFACTURES. 119 of the European market, because we furnish a cheaper and better article for the same price. And this excellence is due to our soil raid climate, and to the cheapness of the labor by which cotton is cultivated. The soil is everywhere favorable for cotton in our southern states. Where it is rich enough to produce any thing it will produce cotton. The climate is our main peculiarity. Although we are so near the equator that we have six months of the summer, and some- times more, without a frost that will kill so tender a plant as cotton, we have in all that time a succession of rain, and sunshine, and dews, and clouds, such as belong to temperate latitudes. The weather is hot enough for cotton, and yet rainy and showery, so as to keep the growth of the plant vigorous, and bring to perfection a succession of fruit on the stalks from July to November. The first pickings begin as early as July at some places, everywhere in August, and . during the whole of September and October new blossoms are appearing, new bolls forming, and new pods opening their silky product for the hands of the cultivator. Even after the frost has stopped the growth of the plant and stripped it of its leaves, the bolls still open, and the fields are whitened with a suc- cession of fruit, until January arrives and warns the planter to prepare for another crop. This succession of rain and sunshine does not occur in India, which, after the United States, produces the principal part of the European supplies. And this is the reason that the American variety of the cotton plant will not grow there, or soon degen- erates to the coarse, rough, short-stapled article which is native to the country. Another advantage we have over India is the length and cost of the voyage. It is worth two and a half or three cents a pound to transport cotton from our sea-ports to Liv- erpool. The distance from India to England being twice as great, and the voyage more than twice as long, freights and other ex- penses must increase in a like ratio ; and as the best qualities of Bombay and Surat are worth, even now, when prices are high in England, only eight or nine cents, it is evi- dent that almost nothing is left for the interior producer, especially for the inferior qualities. We can produce cotton with profit at much lower rates than we now name. A decline to the Indian planter is ruinous, because freights are stationary, and all, or nearly all the proceeds in England will be consumed in the transportation. Probably, however, the greatest advantage we have over the Indian producers is in the cheapness of our labor. It is true that wages are very low in India, but the labor is also inefficient. We have the cheapest and most efficient labor in the world. The African slave in the southern states is well fed with good and substantial food, that gives him strength, endurance, and health. He is well clad in winter, and well lodged, to protect him from the inclemencies of the season. He is cheerful, able to work, and he works faithfully. As the whole cost of this labor to the state is made up of the simplest necessaries of life, the support of the young, and the old, and the feeble, it is evident that the south has the cheapest la- bor that is possible. It was the doctrine of Malthus, that in every country there is a constant tendency to reduce the wages of labor down to the mere support of the la- borer. That limit, however approximated to elsewhere, has never been reached but in the south. The slave is supplied with all he wants of meal, and with as much meat as is needed for his health and strength. This meal is prepared in many ways, and makes a most palatable bread. His master generally feeds on it in preference to flour. He has a gar- den, where he can raise potatoes, cabbages, collards, greens, turnips, beans, and such, other vegetables as the taste and industry of the family may desire. He has clothing cheap, it is true, but warm and substantial. There is a separate dwelling for each fami- ly, and an unlimited supply of fuel ijpr tfie winter. The old, who are unable to labor in the field, find some slight work about the house the men in the garden, the women in the care of young children whose mothers are out on the usual plantation work. The sick are carefully attended to by regular physicians and good nursing. All this is essential to the health and strength of the laborer, and to his efficiency on the plantation. The humanity and sym- pathy of the master, who has often been reared by some of his slaves, are sufficient to secure their comfort ; but if these should be wanting, there is an inexorable law se- curing the necessary wants of the servant. With less meat, or with insufficient food, the slave is unfitted for regular work. With less clothing, he is liable to sickness and 120 COTTON CULTURE. disease. Without attention and nursing in sickness, Ms life is endangered, and his ser- vices lost to his master. These demands, united with the influences of humanity and sympathy, secure him the necessaries and some of the comforts of life. Another element of the cheapness of this labor is that nothing is wasted in vicious in- dulgences. In other countries, a large part of the wages of labor is expended in strong drink; but the most stringent laws are every- where passed against selling spirits to slaves ; the Maine liquor law is enforced with the most severe penalties, and with the utmost certainty of conviction for the guilty. Much time is lost in free countries in holi- days and shows ; in idleness and neglect of work; in seeking employment; in change from one place to another; but all this is saved in the south, for there are no idle hands about the plantation, and, excepting the week between Christmas and New Year's day, when there is a general holiday, there is no lost time, except from sickness, in any part of the year. The children are all put at work at eleven or twelve years of age, as soon as they are able to guide a plough or pick cotton in the fields. The women and men are both ef- ficient workers, and the division of labor is so complete that the children of many moth- ers are watched over and cared for by one, and the cooking for many families attended to by a single cook. This system of labor is thus the cheapest possible. The corn and the meat being, in most cases, raised on the plantation, and not burdened with the cost of transportation, are supplied at the cheapest prices ; the work is all light and easy, so that women and boys, as well as men, can engage in it efficiently. Every thing is arranged so that labor is se- cured at the lowest possible rate. Some philanthropists, indeed, object to the system on this account : that the slave ob- tains no wages. But he has food and cloth- ing, a house and fire, proper attention when sick, and support in old age. His children are taken care of, and every necessary want supplied. For an idle and improvident race like the negro, these are more than wages. They are more than his industry would se- cure. He would not earn as much for him- self were he free, as he now receives from his master ; and these earnings would be wasted in drink, or in excessive indulgences, or in dress, or in luxuries, leaving for himself and his family times of want and suffering, with nothing laid up for sickness and old age. Now he is industrious and temperate, and receives the necessaries of life in return; then he would be lazy, and wasteful, and des- titute. As industry and temperance are great virtues, and the necessaries of life at all seasons and times, in sickness and health, in youth and old age are a great boon to the laboring poor; and as want, and suffering, and neglect when sick or aged are great and real evils, philanthropy surely wastes its sympathy on the slave when it complains that he is denied his wages. The culture of cotton is specially suited for slave labor, because of its giving full employ- ment for the whole year. January is devoted to fitting up the fences, clearing off the decayed trees that have fallen in the fields, and put- ting in order the cultivators and all the imple- ments of the farm. The ploughs are also started, and some of the ground broken up for spring planting. February is the main time for ploughing, and in the more southern part of the cotton country, corn is planted in this month. In latitude 31 the time for corn is the 20th of February ; above this line it gradually becomes later. About a month after the corn, cotton is planted. In every locality it is desired to have the cotton up as soon as the fear of frost is gone. The season for planting begins as early as the 15th of March in the most southern lati- tudes, is delayed to the 1st of April at the parallel of 32, to the 15th in latitude 34, and later still above this line. As the fceed are planted close together in drills, the hands pass along the rows and chop down the weakest and smallest plants, leaving them in bunches, fifteen to twenty inches apart. The ploughs follow or precede the hoes, both bej ing necessary to kill the grass and soften the ground about the plants. The hoes follow again, and thin out the bunches to one or two stalks, and finally they are reduced to one, the rest having perished from the cut- worm or insects, or the blows of the plough and the hoe. For two or three months this hoeing and ploughing, to soften the ground and destroy the grass, gives full employment to the hands. The corn has also to be treated in the same way, and the work is continued on both until the summer has come and the fruit begins to appear on the cotton. There is a little leisure now to the hands before the picking is begun, and this gives time to har- vest the wheat that has been sown ; to cut MONOPOLY SLAVE LABOR--EXCHANGE FOR MANUFACTURES. 121 the oats, and gather the fodder from the corn. This work fills up the time until the picking begins. At first, but few of the pods are open. The hands pass between the rows which are from three to four feet wide on the poor lands, and from six to seven on the richest and as the branches stretch out so as to reach each other, they each gather from two rows as they pass through the field. By September the fields are white with the opening cotton, and every hand, young and old, male and female, that can be of any ser- vice, is busied in gathering the cotton, lest the rain should come and beat it out, and scatter it on the ground. In October this picking continues undiminished. At the close of this month, frost usually appears, and stops the growth of the plant and kills the leaves, but the pods keep opening, and new cotton offering itself to the hands until De- cember. The fields are picked over twice or three times if the season is favorable and the crop large, and five or six times if the opening cotton does not hurry the planter. The gathered cotton has now to be sunned, and dried, and ginned, and packed, and de- livered at the nearest railway station or river landing, or sold in the neighboring town. Thus is the year completed with unremitting toil, from Christmas to Christmas. The distribution of labor between the white and black races, so that the former shall have the selection of the products and of the place of labor, of the seeds and the mode of cultivation, and of all the plans and management of the plantation, is another great aid to the Cheapness and the efficiency of the labor. Some political economists have supposed that free is cheaper than slave labor; but though there are pursuits where the watch- fulness, foresight, intelligence, and energy of a free man will make his labor so much more productive than that of a slave as to pay the superior cost of his support, it is certain that the want of these qualities in the slave is but a slight drawback to the value of his labor in the production of cotton. The work is so regular, and simple, and easy, that the free man performs it no better than the slave, and as the direction, and management, and skill are in the master, the work is well directed, and wisely managed. The slave works enough, though he does not work as hard as some free men. In fact, it is very doubtful if a free white man, impelled by necessity or the desire of accumulation, would be more efficient in the cotton field than the slave. Certain it is that in the south, where the hot sun breeds disease, and the malarious air brings fevers, the white freeman could not produce as much as the slave, much less could he labor as cheaply. His expenditures being more, his wife and children not working at all, or but little, his waste of time and money in vicious prac- tices and holidays, would require larger wages, and for these he has nothing more to give than the slave. The slaves marry and are given in mar- riage as regularly and religiously as the white peasants of any country ; and though the marriage has not a legal sanction, it has the religious and moral. They are kept to- gether with their families far more than the white people. On many plantations there are one or two hundred negroes, all de- scended from three or four families ; while the children of the first master have been scattered from Maine to Texas. They have regularly improved since first introduced from Africa, and are now improving, from year to year, in intelligence, in moral culture, in intellectual development, in appearance, in habits, in comfort ; and they are as cheer- ful and faithful, as devoted to the interests of their master, as attached to him and his family, as if they were free hired servants, receiving regular wages. There is no men- dicity, no need for poor-houses, asylums, hospitals; for the master's house is the asylum of the slaves ; his wife and his daughters their nurses, and his own doctor their physician. Such a set of laborers, able and willing to work, contented and happy, with every want supplied, and yet costing the master the least possible sum needed for their health and their strength, fur- nish the cheapest and most efficient labor possible. As the south sends nothing to the north that can be produced there, there is no con- flict between the labor of the north and the south. There is no competition, no tendency to equalization in wages, no interference the one with the other. They are, in fact, mutual helps to each other, as town and country, as man and wife, as the limbs, and the head, and the heart of the human body. The high wages at the north cannot be reduced by the labor of the slave. Instead of re- duction, it causes an increase. His cheap toil is for their advantage. His labors, under the hot tropical sun, are for the benefit of 122 COTTON CULTURE. every mechanic, and artisan, and workman, that now fears the competition of the north- ern free black. As a slave he benefits them, as a free man he would be in their way. We have one more point to mention to complete the explanation we suggest of our high prices, and this is the operation of the tariff. By a tax at the sea-ports on any article -imported, its price is so raised that the American producer of the same kind of goods is enabled to raise his price. This advance enables him to pay higher rates to his workmen, and to the capitalist, and to all concerned in the manufacture. But it prevents, also, the exportation of his goods, because they are too high for the foreign market. Being thus unable to pay for the supplies he must have from abroad, the cotton planter comes to his aid with a prod- uct much wanted abroad, and raised here under favorable circumstances of soil and climate, and with a cheap kind of labor that does not compete with the labor of the man- ufacturer. This will pay for the foreign sup- plies of both, and the planter buys them, and takes in return the high-priced manu- factures. Thus high prices are sustained, at the expense, indeed, of the planter, but to the great advantage and prosperity of the north and the west. We have now considered the several points of the explanation we proposed for our high prices, that in cotton we have an article of great profit to the planters, produced by cheap labor, although the other labor of the country is dear; in large and intense de- mand in Europe and all parts of the world, because it furnishes the cheapest material for clothing, for the production of which there is no competitor with us, as we have almost a monopoly pf the market ; and that by means of this export we pay for our foreign sup- plies, and by our tariff raise the price of the imports to our own high limit, and thus sus- tain the rates of labor and capital, and secure the prosperity of our country. High prices for labor on iron, on cotton and woollen manufactures, and on all the articles we import from abroad, we could not have without a tariff; this tariff could not be maintained without an export of some product, furnished by nature or made with cheap labor, in intense demand abroad ; for otherwise it would be impossible to pay for our imports. Cotton furnishes the desired article, and thus makes prices high both for labor and money, since the rates for the one and the other closely correspond at all times and in all countries. Precisely the same set of operations has been going on in California for the past ten years. . Nature there, as here, furnishes a product which pays well to those who ob- tain it ; the gift of nature there being in the mines, and here in the soil and climate. The miner there and the cultivator here are well paid for their labor. Both productions are in intense demand abroad ; and both unite in enabling us to pay for our foreign impor- tations, without reducing to the foreign limit the wages of labor and the interest of capital that supply these products. It may, perhaps, be proper to confirm the propositions we have been considering by inquiring into the course of our domestic trade. If the true explanation has been given of the anomaly of high prices prevail- ing in a country engaged in a large com- merce with the rest of the world, we will find large transfers to the south of manufac- tures from the north, and of agricultural products from the west ; because cotton be- ing very profitable to the planter, and nearly all the labor of the south being appropriated to this culture, the northern manufacturer will supply all his wants of every kind in which labor is the chief element, and the western farmer will supply him with all those articles of food that are of easy trans- portation. In fact, we find in the south that any article of necessity, comfort, or luxury comes from the north. If we enter the dwellings, or the shops, or the stores of the cotton states, they tell all the same story every thing comes from the north. As I rose from my bed this morning and surveyed the furniture of my chamber, I found nothing made at home. The bed- stead, netting, and canopy; the coverlet, sheets, and ticking ; the bureau, wardrobe, washstand, and crib ; the tables, chairs, mir- rors, curtains, carpet, bell-wire, and tassel ; the medicine chest, and all its bottles, and mix- tures, and quack preparations ; all the per- fumery, and cosmetics, and jewelry, and brushes, and powders ; every article of dress, or clothing, or ornament ; even the white- wash on the Avails, and the paint on the wood-work, and the glass in the windows were from the north. As I came from the chamber to the library, I found no change. The book-case, curtains, carpet, pictures, tables, sofas, paper, ink-stand, pen, and ink were from the north. There was a northern MONOPOLY SLAVE LABOR EXCHANGE FOR MANUFACTURES. 123 grate for northern coal; a marble mantel from the north, with vases and photographs ; flobe and statuary from the same source, opened the book-cases, and run my eye over the shelves, to see if any could be found with a southern imprimatur ; but though some had on them the names of southern authors, it was a long while before I found a southern publishing house. There was " Beulah," but it had not Mobile on its title- page ; Dr. Thornwell's " Truth," but it was not published in Columbia ; the " Laws of, Georgia," but they were printed in New York ; " Cobb on Slavery," but it claimed to be from Philadelphia ; Stevens' " History of Georgia," but it came from Appleton's, on Broadway ; " White's Statistics" had Savan- nah on its title-page, but I suspected this was a counterfeit stamp, and that it had not been printed in the south ; Judge O'Neall's " Historical Sketches of Carolina" claimed to be from Charleston, and this was the first genuine southern print I found in my library. A more diligent search discovered others, but they were few and far between. As I went to the breakfast-room, the exclusion of the south was not so complete. The side- board, and its glass and silver were from the north, but it had on it a handsome pitcher from our own kaolin; the window-shades, clock, tables, chairs, and crumb-cloth were from the same source ; but there was a lounge manufactured here. Albert gave me my coffee in a northern cup, on a northern waiter, sweetened with Stuart's sugar, but the cream was from home ; Ziney brought in hot waffles on a northern plate, but the corn, and flour, and eggs of which they were made were produced here; the water was handed in a northern tumbler, and cooled with Bos- ton ice, but the water-cooler had on it a do- mestic stamp ; the butter was southern, though hardened in a New England refriger- ator ; the cantelopes were raised here, though the salt and pepper which seasoned them were not ; the hot biscuits were from south- ern flour, but the yeast-powders with which they were raised were from New York; the beef-steak was from our own market, but the tongue had been brought a thousand miles from home ; the clabber was fresh from our own dairy, but the cheese was from New Jersey ; the white, hot, smoking hominy was a domestic product, but the dish in which it was served was not ; the bread was from our town bakery, but the ham was from Cin- cinnati ; the knives, and forks, and spoons, 8 and caster, and vinegar, and oil, and mustard were from the north, but the catsup was made here ; the fish were from Savannah, but they had been brought up by a north- ern locomotive, running on English rails ; the walls and doors were covered with paint manufactured at the north, but the floor was of Georgia pine ; the locks, and keys, and andirons, and shovel, and tongs, and hearth- broom, and rug, and oil-cloth, and table- linen, and napkins were not made here, but |the morning newspaper was printed on paper made at home, out of southern rags, and by southern labor. After breakfast Albert drove me down town in a northern buggy, behind a northern horse, with northern harness, and reins, and whip. I stopped at a furniture shop, and asked how much of their stock was made here ; and they said about fifty dollars in a thousand,the southern work being principally of pine ; I asked at a book store the same question, and they told me, including law books and the reports of our supreme court, perhaps one dollar in a hundred ; I asked at a tin shop, and they said their stoves, and gas fixtures, and lamps, and japanned work, and block tin were from the north, but that their tin ware was made in their own shop, though out of English plate and with northern solder ; I enquired at a shoe shop, and they told me they had several hands employed on customers' work, but the great proportion of their sales were from Boston ; I stopped at the paper warehouse, and was sure now that I had found a shop with home-made products, but they told me they only manu- factured wrapping paper, and supplied the newspaper offices, but their card, and post, and letter paper was from the north ; I drove to the cotton mills, and here found a genuine home manufacture, but their machinery, and looms, and spools, and oil were from the same northern hive, whose products swarm over every part of our country. The south are an agricultural people, de- voted to the production of cotton, because it is more profitable than any other employ- ment, and they are able and willing to buy their supplies from the north, because it is their interest to do so. Their labor is em- ployed according to the irresistible laws of trade in the most remunerating pursuit, and they can afford to buy the manufactures they want, because they can be furnished cheaper than they can make them. They might tan their own leather, make their 124 COTTON CULTURE. own shoes, weave their own cottons and woollens, put together their own clothing, brew their own ale, distil their own grain, press their own wine, reduce, cast, and refine their iron, mine their coal, build their car- riages, print their books, polish their marble, and manufacture their own furniture, and china, and hardware, and carpets, and cloth- ing ; but they find it their interest to buy them, and appropriate their labor to the f rowing of cotton, and the raising of those eavy agricultural products that cannot beP brought here cheaply, and the manufacture of the coarser and cheaper goods on which the cost of transportation is large. The war, of course, made a great change in the production and marketing of cotton, and the expectation that England and France, the great foreign customers for the staple, would interfere, or form an alliance with the states in insurrection, in order to secure their supply, proved futile. The greater part of the crop of 1860 was brought into market; but of that of 1 861, which was nearly as large, was withheld, in consequence of the blockade of the ports, to such an extent that only 120,752 cwt., or about 30,000 bales, hardly- more than one-sixtieth of the quantity sent the preceding year, was sent to Great Britain, and the entire export to Europe did not reach 50,000 bales, notwithstanding the imperfec- tion of the blockade. Of this quantity about 12,000 bales were shipped from New York. The crop of 1862 was small, orders having been given to plant corn instead of cotton to a large extent; and so stringent was the blockade that Great Britain received but about 11,500 bales of American cotton from blockade runners and all other sources, and the entire export from opened ports, including some re-exportation, was but 28,000 bales. Large quantities of cotton were burned during this and the succeeding year, part of it by the insurgents, to keep it from falling into the hands of the Union army, and part by the Union soldiers, because it was the property of the so-called Confederate govern- ment. In 1864 only 27,000 bales, mostly of the crop of 1863, were exported, and the work of destruction went on. The crop of 1863 and that of 1864 must have been very small, and the export of 1864 was only 16,500 bales. At the close of the war there was a very considerable amount, perhaps no'c less than 1,200,000 bales, on hand of the- crops since 1861, which had been stored in out-of-the-way places, much of it awaiting a safe opportunity to ship. Much of this came into market, and was mostly consumed by the American manufactories, which had been short of material for nearly three years. The crop of 1865 was larger than those of the preceding years ; but was not all of it gathered in good condition. The export of cotton to Great Britain, in the first seven months of 1866, amounted to 1,017,856 bales, being nearly one-half of all received in that country from all sources. The crop for 1866 will probably not fall short of two millions of bales, southern Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and southern Virginia raising con- siderable amounts each year since 1862. It is obvious, however, that cotton can never attain again the supremacy as a crop for ex- port which it held before the war. In favor- able years, as much, and perhaps more, may be raised than ever before ; for the better cul- ture and more frugal habits of free labor will give a better yield to the acre than the slovenly and wasteful culture by slave labor ; but when the crop shall have attained to or surpassed its old amounts, a much larger portion of it will be consumed in our own country, and very considerable quantities in the region where it is grown, in the manufacture of goods for home consumption. Other crops and products have also, during the war, found a market abroad which they will not readily relinquish ; and the export of cereals, and of beef, pork, butter, cheese, tobacco, and hops, will henceforth in the aggregate largely exceed the export of cotton. PICKING COTTON. The season cf cotton picking commences in the latter part of July, and continues without intermis- sion to the Christmas holidays. The work is not heavy, but becomes tedious from its sameness. The field hands are each supplied with & basket and bag. The basket is left at the head of the " cotton- rows;" the bag is suspended from the "picker's" neck by a strap, and is used to hold the cotton as it is taken from the boll. "When the bag 13 tilled it is emptied into the basket, and this routine is continued through the day. Each hand picks from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds of " seed cot- ton" each day, though some negroes of extraordinary ability go beyond this amount. If the weather bo very fine, the cotton is carried from the field direct to the packing-house ; but generally it is first spread out on scaffolds, where it is left to dry, and picked clean of any '' trash" that may bo perceived mixed up with the cotton. Among the most characteristic scenes of plantation life is tho returning of the hands at nightfall from the field, with their well-filled baskets of cotton upon their heads. Falling unconsciously "into line," the stoutest leading the way, they move along in the dim twi- light of a winter day, with the quietness of spirits rather than human beings. Harper's Maga&ine. GATHERING THE CANE. And now may be seen the field-hands, armed with huge knives, entering the harvest field. The cane is in the perfection of its beauty, and snaps and rattles its wiry -textured leaves as if they were ribbons, and towers over the head of the overseer as he rides between the rows on his good-sized horse. Sud- denly, you perceive an unusual motion among the foliage a crackling noise, a blow and the long row* of growing vegetation are broken, and every moment it disappears under the operation of the knife. The oane is stripped by the negroes of its leaves, decapitated of its unripe joints, and cut off frcm the root with a rapidity of execution that is almost marvellous. The stalks lie scattered along on the ground, soon to be gathered up and placed in the cane-wagons, which with their four gigantic mule-teams Iiavc just come rattling on to the scene of action with a noise and manner that would do honor to a park of Hying artillery. We have already alluded to the fact that the sugar crop has to be gathered in Louisiana within ninety days, or else it will be destroyed by the cold ; as a consequence, from the moment the first blow is struck, every thing is inspired with energy. The teams, the neg-oes, the vegetation, the very air, in fact, that has been for months dragging out a quiescent existence, as if the only object of life was to conFuire time, now start as if touched by fire. The negro becomes supple, the mules throw up their hesids and paw the earth with impatience, the sluggish air frolics in swift currents and threatening storms, while the once silent sugar house is open, windows and doors. The carrier shed is full of children and women, the tall chimneys are belching out smoke, and the huge engine, as if waking from a benumbing nap, lias stretched out its long arms, given one long-drawn respiration, and is alive. Harper's Magazine. SUGAR-CULTIVATION AND CONSUMPTION. THE cultivation of cane sugar in the United States has become of considerable importance only in the last ten years. While it has in that time occupied an increasing proportion of the attention of the planters of Texas and Louisiana, it has rather de- clined in other portions of the Southern states. The cane itself is more nearly asso- ciated with Indian corn in the general char- acter of its climatic requirements than any other staple. It differs from corn in this re- spect only in degree, each condition, or the principal condition of temperature, at least, being required in similar, but greater tropi- cal excess for the period of its growth. In the southern parts of the United States the great heat of summer gives this plant a range it attains in no other country of the same mean annual temperature ; and it is restrained only by the limit of its safe endurance of the winter. The cane may be cultivated east of the high plains and deserts of Texas, and south of 34 north latitude. The area now occupied by the cane is quite limited, a part of Texas, the lower parishes of Louisi- ana, a portion of Florida, in the latitude of Tallahassee to Cedar Keys, and the Atlantic coast of Georgia, comprising its extent. The considerable capital required to conduct the culture makes it a larger interest than might be inferred from this limited extent of area. The cane was first introduced into Louis- iana in 1751, and the first plantation was established by Mr. Dubreul in 1758, a little more than a century since. The progress was not rapid, however, until 1794, when the revolution of St. Domingo drove some few Frenchmen to fly for refuge from their burning houses and their frantic pursuers on board American vessels, with such of their faithful slaves as would follow them. When there, they naturally turned their hopes to Louisiana, where they might find a home for themselves and their servants among kindred French. To these unhap- py men Louisiana owes the introduction of the Creole cane, a small yellow kind, which only was then grown in the French islands. About the same period the cane culture was introduced into Georgia. There had been there growing and flourishing from the time of the first settlement of the country by General Oglethorpe, luxurious orange trees. As similar trees in Louisiana had been de- stroyed by the frost, while those in Georgia flourished uninjured, the idea was suggested to an enterprising planter that if under such circumstances cane would grow in Louisiana it would also grow in Georgia. In 1805 he procured 100 plants of the Otaheite cane that had been sent by Lieutenant Bligh from Otaheite. These 100 canes multiplied to 2000, and from these most of the plantations in Georgia and Florida were propagated. The question of labor in the English West Indies was then sufficiently discussed to in- duce many planters to leave Jamaica for new settlements, and many were attracted to Georgia by the luxuriant growth of the cane. The price of sugar was then, under the embargo, about ten cents per pound, and many plantations were established. The canes spread up the Altamaha, the Oconec, and the Ocmulgee, and luxuriated in the fine lands of Florida and Georgia to a dis- tance of 150 miles from sea. Nevertheless, the manufacture was not many years after mostly abandoned in that region on a large scale or for export, but it is still conducted to a considerable extent for plantation and home use. It did not there pay so well as rice or cotton, since the product per acre was less than half what it had risen to be in Louisiana. In the rich lands of that state and Texas the product per acre is 2400 pounds against 1000 pounds even in the richest river lands of Georgia. There are five kinds of cane in use by the planters of Louisiana, viz., the Bourbon, which has large eyes, a dark purple color, and is very hardy; the green ribbon is of a bright yellow color, with delicate green stripes ; the 128 SUGAR CULTIVATION AND CONSUMPTION. eye is small, elongated, and delicate in its structure ; the red ribbon has purple stripes of an inch or less in width, and can resist light frost ; the Otakeite has large joints, does not grow high, and has a comparative- ly thin skin, and is easily affected by the frost, yet its juice is rich and abundant ; the Creole cane yields a superior kind of sugar, but it has been less used than the Bourbon on account of its less hardy na- ture. It is now getting more into favor again. These are the varieties mostly used in Louisiana. The mode of culture is simple and allied to that of Indian corn. The canes are propagated by cuttings, and these are planted in the fall, seldom as early as Octo- ber, since the planters have no time until the grinding season is over. The riper por- tion of the stalk is generally used for cane seed ; others cut the cane in the middle and use the green tops for planting. The land is well ploughed, harrowed, and marked off in rows three to five and even eight feet apart. As the cane must reach its full growth in nine months, a good distance apart is thought necessary to promote ac- cess of the sun and the circulation of air. A double-mould-board plough follows the mark- er, opening a clear furrow for planting. In the furrow the canes are laid straight in such a manner that the eyes may freely throw out their shoots. They are covered from four to six inches. The young plants are culti- vated much as Indian corn, in rows. The planting is done in some parts of Louisiana once in three years. The first year it is call- ed "plant cane," and the subsequent growths are called rattoons. But sometimes, as on the prairies of Attakapas and Opelousas and the higher northern range of its cultiva- tion, it requires to be replanted every year. Within the tropics, as in the West Indies and elsewhere, the rattoons frequently con- tinue to yield abundantly for twelve, fifteen, and even twenty-four years from the same roots. In Louisiana in the fourth year the land is put in corn and peas. After the corn is gathered the stalks and peas are ploughed in, and the land is ready for cane again. In Louisiana the cane never ripens, and therefore is allowed to grow as long as it can be done with safety from frost. In the latter part of October, they commence by saving their seed, that is, by cutting the cane they need for planting, and securing it by placing it in mats, so called, on the ground, say twenty feet by forty, resting it on an embankment, with the buts on the ground at an angle of about twenty degrees, and leaving a mass of tops on the surface, a foot deep and forming a perfect protection from frost. Next they commence taking off the crops. Every negro has at all times in his posses- sion a cane knife, like a butcher's cleaver, and kept very sharp. With the back of the knife he knocks off the dry leaves, and cuts off the stalk as of no value where the leaves are green. Should a frost come whilst they are making sugar, the work is stopped, and all hands are employed winnowing the cane in the fields, as a fermentation commences immediately, if it is allowed to stand. The cane is as certain as any large crop we have. When the cane is gathered it is prepared for the mill. These are some twelve feet from the ground, in order that the juice may flow from the rollers into the juice boxes, and from them into the kettles. The mills are composed of three iron rollers from twenty-five to twenty-eight inches in diameter, and from four to five and a half feet long. There are a great number of in- ventions that have been patented within a few years. The cane carrier is an endless belt, fifty to ninety feet long, formed of chains, with slats inserted and placed at an angle of thirty to thirty-five degrees to the ground. The lower end is about two feet from the ground. On this the canes are spread evenly, and by its revolution they are carried up to the rollers which ex- press their juice as they pass through. The juice thus obtained is collected in large res- ervoirs, to go through a process of boiling which has been greatly varied by improve- ments upon the old Creole plan. The juice, by boiling and evaporation, is reduced to the state of muscovado, which is placed in hogs- heads with holes bored in the bottom, to permit the molasses to pass off. In the course of the boiling, lime is added in pre- pared portions to " defecate" the sugar, and the juice is bleached by passing through a filter of bone-black. Very many inventions have been patented for kettles, vacuum pans, etc., to facilitate the boiling process, and others to promote the discharge of the mo- lasses. One of these is by centrifugal force. The sugar is placed in a cylinder of iron net- work, which, revolving with great rapidity, imparts to the molasses a centrifugal motion that drains it from the sugar through the net, when it is collected in proper vessels. SUGAR CULTIVATION AND CONSUMPTION. 129 The introduction of bisulphate of lime of late years has added greatly to the quantity of sugar that may be obtained from a given quantity of cane, and also to its quality. The quantity of sugar produced on an acre varies from 500 Ibs. to 3000 Ibs. ; the average may be 1000 Ibs. A well-cultivated planta- tion in Louisiana produces 2400 Ibs. sugar and 2000 Ibs. or 160 gallons molasses per acre. Some mills will turn out 1000 gal- lons juice per hour, twenty hours in a day, giving ten hogsheads of sugar, or 12,000 Ibs. and 20 bbls. molasses, or 800 gallons, 12 Ibs. to the gallon. The expenses and products of a plantation in Louisiana have been given as follows in official documents : Household expenses Overseer's salary 400 Food and clothing 15 working hands at $30 450 " " 15 old hands and chil- dren, $15 ; 225 Eepairs, 1 per cent, on capital ($40,000). . . 600 $2675 50 hhds. sugar at 4 cents per Ib $2500 25 " " " 3 " " 862 25 " " " 2 " " 575 4000 galls, molasses, 10 cents 400 4137 Balance $1462 There are many other products raised by the hands besides sugar. Thus there are in Louisiana 200,000 hands, and these produced in 1859, 362,296 hhds. of sugar, worth with the molasses $31,399,241 ; and in addition they raised 6,327,882 bushels of corn, or 31 bushels per head ; and 4,91 1,680 Ibs. of rice, or 24i Ibs. per head. There are in Louisiana 1298 sugar houses, 987 worked by steam and 31 1 by horse power. The hogshead of sugar is a very variable measure, but the average weight, by the best authorities, is 1150 Ibs. With the progress of the country, a great dependence has been had upon Louisiana for a supply of sugar. In 1815, the banks of the Mississippi gave 10,000,000 Ibs., and in 1818, 25,000,000 Ibs. In 1858, it had risen to 414,796,000 Ibs. The census of 1850 gave the quantity of cane sugar raised in the United States as follows : Lbs. South Carolina 671,000 Georgia 1,642,000 Florida 2,750,000 Alabama 8,242,000 Mississippi 388,000 Kentucky: 284,000 Tennessee 248,000 Texas 7,351,000 Louisiana 226,201,000 Total 247,577,000 These figures show that already in 1850 the manufacture of cane sugar had concen- trated in Louisiana, but had become impor- tant in Texas. The production of sugar va- ries greatly from year to year as affected by the season. In 1853, the product in Louis- iana rose to 495,156,000 Ibs., in 1856 it fell to 81,373,000 Ibs., and in 1858 it had recov- ered to 414,796,000 Ibs. This fluctuation has an important influence upon the ex- changes of the country, since when the Louisiana crop fails, the price of sugar rises very high and the importation from abroad becomes excessive. The following table will show the quantity of sugar consumed in the United States, and whence it is derived : Year. 1801, 1811, 1821, 1831, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, 1845, 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, CONSUMPTION OP SUGAR IN THE UNITED STATES. Total in Lbs. per Cts. tons. head, per Ib Imported. 21,376 24,791 26,672 44,178 65,601 69,474 28,854 83,801 88,336 44^974 98,410 104,214 103,121 160,210 201,493 196,558 200,610 150,854 192,607 255,292 241,765 244,758 239,034 296,950 Louisiana. 4,000 14,000 35,000 38,000 39,200 64,360 44,400 45,000 83,028 71,040 107,000 99,180 144,600 120,331 118,659 172,379 234,444 185,145 123,468 39,000 143,734 192,150 118,331 28,791 40,672 79,178 103,601 108,674 93,214 128,201 133,336 128,002 169,450 211,214 202,301 304,810 321,824 315,217 372,989 385,298 377,752 378,760 280.765 388,492 431,184 415,281 15 3i 3* 14i 4* 22J 20| 29^ 30 29 30 34 3* 3t 3* 3* 33f 4t 31 30 6i The small crop of Louisiana in 1856, in- duced a rise in prices that brought a large quantity of foreign into the country. The consumption per head seems to have been sustained at the higher prices. The con- sumption per head is larger than in other countries. The ratio for the same year has been as follows : France, 9 Ibs. per head ; Great Britain, 28h Ibs. per head; and in the United States, 31 Ibs. per head. This French consumption includes cane and beet-root su- gar. The United States figures embrace only the cane. The maple sugar made would, with molasses, swell the total figures for 1860 to 464,673 tons; as thus cane sugar, 415,281 tons; molasses refined, 60,000 hhds., giving 13,392 tons sugar; of maple sugar 28,000 tons. California consumption, 8000 tons. 130 SUGAR CULTIVATION AND CONSUMPTION. The weight of the Louisiana sugar hhds. i taken at 1,150 Ibs. for the crop of 1860, and the total crop for that year, or that which commenced in 1860, was 302,205 hhds., weighing 347,535,750 Ibs. The number ol sugar houses worked by steam is 1,090, and by horse power 283. The product of mo- lasses was 25,516,699 gallons. MAPLE SUGAR. It is but a few years since the highest reach of art in this manufacture produced only a fine muscovado-like sugar ; but now, by improved processes, specimens are annu- ally exhibited at the fairs, vicing with the most beautiful loaf sugar. By the improved mode the sap is boiled in a potash or caul- dron kettle to a thick syrup, which is strain- ed when warm. It is then allowed to stand twenty-four hours, and is then poured off. To clarify a quantity of 50 Ibs., a mixture of one quart of milk, one ounce of saleratus, and two whites of eggs well mixed, is boiled into the sugar until it has become thick. For draining, a tube is employed fifteen inches square at the top, and coming to a point at the bottom. The sugar is put in cold and the bottom tapped, while the top is covered with a wet flannel cloth of two or three thicknesses. The quantity of maple sugar made per annum cannot be ascertained with as much accuracy as that of the cane, and the esti- mates of the dealers are founded upon the returns of the census of 1860, which were as follows : UNITED STATES MAPLE SUGAR PRODUCTIONS. Lbs. Maine 306,742 New Hampshire 2,255,012 Vermont 9,819,939 Massachusetts 1,006,078 Rhode Island .... Connecticut 44,259 New York 10,816,458 New Jersey. 3,455 Pennsylvania 2,768,965 Maryland. District of Columbia.. . Virginia North Carolina South Carolina. Georgia Alabama. Texas Arkansas Tennessee. Kentucky Missouri 63,281 937,643 30,845 205 991 543 69 3,097 117,359 380.941 142,430 Illinois 131,751 Indiana 1,515,594 Ohio 3,323,942 Michigan 2,988,018 Wisconsin 1,584,406 Iowa 248,951 Minnesota 370,94t Kansas and Nebraska. . 1,864 Total 38,863,884 Besides this amount of sugar, 1,944,594 gallons of maple molasses were reported in the census of 1860. In 1863, 1864, and 1865, the great advance in the price of cane sugar led to a very considerable increase in the production of maple sugar and syrup. Probably not less than 30,000 tons were manufactured in 1&64. A great deal is made, as of cane sugar in Georgia, for home use ; it does not come upon the market, but prevents, to a certain extent, a demand that would exist without it. SORGHUM SYRUP AND SUGAR. The production of a syrup from the juice of the stalks of the sorgho and imphee, two plants of the maize family, as a substitute for molasses, was first attempted to any con- siderable extent during the decade, 1 8-50- 1860. Efforts were also made to produce a sugar from this syrup ; but with only mode- rate success, as it did not crystallize readily, being more analogous to grape sugar, or glu- cose, than to cane sugar in its character. In 1860, the production reported was 7,235,- 025 gallons, and this was doubtless much below the actual production, as many far- mers made from fifty to a hundred gallons, which they did not report. During the war, ;he high price of sugar and molasses greatly stimulated the production of this syrup, :>oth at the north and at the south. The annual yield in 1863, 1864, and 1865, could iardly have been less than fifty or sixty millions of gallons. SUGAR FROM OTHER SOURCES. Experiments on a large scale, and resulting n a good degree of success, have been made 'or producing sugar from the white sugar 3eet of France, in Illinois. The amount thus produced in the past two ;years, 1865 and L866, cannot be definitely stated, but must amount to several hundred tons, and it is ikely to increase. Sugar and molasses are also produced at Buffalo and some other points from corn, by a chemical process. This is probably glucose, or grape sugar. COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER I. COLONIAL TRADE IMPERIAL RESTRIC- TIONSEMANCIPATION OF INHABITANTS. THE history of the commerce and trade of a people is a record of their industry and productive powers, since all trade is but an interchange of the products of labor, and wealth but an accumulation of those products beyond the necessary annual consumption, and wear and tear from use. In the United States, since the date of their settlement, the development of trade and the accumula- tion of property have been more rapid than in any other country. This has been the case, chiefly, for five leading reasons : 1. The ample supply of fertile land free to the culti- vator. 2. The persevering and intelligent industry of the people, combined with an inventive genius that has constantly smooth- ed the way of labor by devising the means of producing greater results with the same manual force. 3. The rapid increase of the numbers of the people, not only by reason of the healthiness of the climate and the general morality of their habits, but also in consequence of the great immigration from abroad, induced by the desire of the most enterprising Europeans to avail themselves of the benefits of our institutions. The stream of natural births in excess of deaths has mingled with the broad current of immigra- tion to swell the numbers in a surprising ratio. 4. The accumulation of capital ap- plicable to reproductive industries, as well through the frugal habits of the people, who have consumed far less than they have pro- duced, as by the influx of capital from abroad, not only in the hands of immigrants, but for investments, that will yield larger revenue to European holders than they can there obtain. And, fifth, and perhaps more important than all, the control that the peo- ple have kept of their own funds. They have had no absolute rulers or dynasties to involve them in devastating wars, destroying wantonly what was not exhausted in military expenses, and leaving the people deprived of their all. On this continent comparatively nothing has been wasted in strife, while count- less sums have been swallowed by Europe in offerings to the god of war. Thus, indus- trious and frugal habits, abundance of fertile land, morality of character, and freedom of institutions, have combined, with fertility of invention in machinery, and means of com- munication, to build up a nation that attracts the cream of the European people and their capital these elements, in fifty years of un- disturbed peace, produce an example of the highest national happiness. It is true that some other nations have more aggregate wealth, but that in the United States is more equally divided among the people. These causes have operated to a greater or less extent since the settlement of the country, but with increasing force as the present cen- tury has advanced. We may illustrate by a few figures, showing the general state of affairs at three periods, viz.: in 1700, eighty years after the time of first settlement; secondly, the time of separation from the mother country; and thirdly, the date of the census of 1850 : Annual Assessed wealth. Population, agricultural Manufactures. products. 1700, 262,000 1790, 3,929,872 $150,000,000 479,293,268 1S50, 28,191,876 1,070,000,000 $1,019,000,000 2,275,730.124 I860. 81,429,891 $9,318,292,265 In nearly two hundred years up to 1790, the population had increased to less than 4,000,000, including the blacks; and the taxable valuation to $479,293,263, including the land. In the succeeding sixty years the population rose sixfold, and the taxable property fivefold. Of that population, over 5,000,000 immigrated into this country. The white population, however, increased by census 16,800,000 persons: of these, 11,600,000 were the native increase in sixty years; hence, nearly 50 per cent, of the in- crease was from immigration. The great COLONIAL TRADE IMPERIAL RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION OF INHABITANTS. 133 increase in manufactures, of which none had been allowed under the imperial govern- ment, is very remarkable. It indicates only the force with which industry acted as soon as the inhibition of the mother country was removed. The population for 1860 is the current estimate. The valuation is, how- ever, the official state returns, and shows an amazing result nearly fourfold, in ten years ! The early settlers in all the colonies had to depend mostly upon agricultural products, first for their own maintenance, and then as a means of procuring, by a sale of the sur- plus, those manufactured articles which, under the rigorous rule of the mother country, they were not allowed to produce themselves. The early policy of the imperial government was to make the colonies a source of profit to the mother country, and this was sought by restraining the colonists from any pur- suit that came in conflict with the industry of the mother country, and to confine them to the production of such articles as she stood most in need of. Those articles they were allowed to sell only to the mother country, and were to buy what they stood in need of only of her. Under those gen- eral restrictions the colonists, with little capital, and a barren soil at the north, were to prosper as they could. Their genius and restless energy, however, stood them in stead. But they were compelled to encounter new restrictions at every turn. The provinces were in some cases grants to individuals, and in others to companies. This involved, of course, their own government. But soon the Crown claimed the right of confirming the governor. They were forbidden to coin money, to sell lands to any but British subjects, to cut down pine-trees on any pretence, to send wool to any place out of the king's dominions, to export any produce except in English vessels, of which the master and three-fourths of the crew were English. Thus every new progress of the colonies, even in settling and working the land, was followed by a new restraint. But when they began to manufacture, new anxieties seized the home government. Early in the eighteenth century an act of parliament forbade the manufacture of hats; and Massachusetts Bay gave offence by undertaking the manufacture of paper. New York incurred displeasure by taxing slaves imported from Africa, five ounces of silver each ; and the ire of the government was further aroused by the re- bellious disposition that prompted the New England people to work up their own wool and flax into home-spun goods. They also attempted to start banks, which parliament prohibited; and they forbade the manufac- ture of iron beyond the state of pig, and in- terdicted foreign-built vessels from the colo- nial trade. In spite of all these continually multiplying vexations, the colonists contrived to find something to do, and the fact that they did so kept the home government con- tinually upon the " anxious seat." A par- liamentary committee was finally appointed to look into the manner in which those colonists employed their time, and the com- mittee of parliament reported as follows: " The governor of Massachusetts Bay in- formed us that in some parts of this province the inhabitants worked up their wool and flax into an ordinary coarse cloth for their own use, but did not export any. That the greatest part of the woollen and linen cloth- ing worn in this province was imported from Great Britain, and sometimes from Ireland; but, considering the excessive price of labor in New England, the merchants could afford what was imported cheaper than what was made in that country. That there were also a few hat-makers in the maritime towns; and that the greater part of the leather used in that country was manufactured among themselves. That there had been for many years some iron works in that province, which had afforded the people iron for some of their necessary occasions; but that the iron im- ported from Great Britain was esteemed much the best, and wholly used by the ship- ping. And that the iron works of that province were not able to supply the twen- tieth part of what was necessary for the use of the country. They had no manufactures in the province of New York that deserved mentioning; their trade consisted chiefly in furs, whalebone, oil, pitch, tar, and provi- sions. No manufactures in New Jersey that deserve mentioning, their trade being chiefly in provisions shipped from New York and Pennsylvania. The chief trade of Pennsyl- vania lay in the exportation of provisions and lumber, no manufactures being estab- lished, and their clothing and utensils for their houses being all imported from Great Britain. By further advices from New Hampshire, the woollen manufacture appears to have decreased, the common lands, on which the sheep used to feed, being now appropriated, and the people almost wholly clothed with woollen from Great Britain. 134 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. The manufacture of flax into linen, some coarser, some finer, daily increased by the great resort of people from Ireland thither, who are well skilled in that business; and the chief trade of this province continued, as for many years past, in the exportation of naval stores, lumber, and fish. By later ac- counts from Massachusetts Bay, in New Eng- land, the assembly have voted a bounty of 30s. for every piece of duck or canvas made in the province. Some other manufactures are carried on there, as brown Hollands for women's wear, which lessens the importation of calicos, and some other sorts of East India goods. They also make some small quan- tities of cloth made of linen and cotton, for ordinary shirting and sheeting. By a paper- mill set up three years ago, they make to the value of 200 sterling yearly. There are also several forges for making bar-iron, and some furnaces for cast-iron or hollow ware, and one sitting-mill, and a manufactory of nails. The governor writes concerning the woollen manufacture, that the country people, who used formerly to make most of their clothing out of their own wool, do not now make a third part of what they wear, but are mostly clothed with British manu- factures. The same governor (Belcher), by some of his letters of an older date, in an- swer to our annual queries, writes, that there are some few copper mines in this province, but so far distant from water-carriage, and the ore so poor, that it is not worth the digging. The surveyor-general of his Maj- esty's woods writes, that they have in New England six furnaces and nineteen forges for making iron, and that in this province many ships are built for the French and Spaniards in return for rum, molasses, wines, and silks, which they truck there by connivance. Great quantities of hats are made in New England, of which the company of hatters of London have likewise lately complained to us, that great quantities of those hats are exported to Spain, Portugal, and our West India islands. They also make all sorts of iron work for shipping. There are several still- houses and sugar-bakers established in New England. By later advices from New York, there are no manufactures there that can affect those of Great Britain. There is yearly imported into New York a very large quan- tity of the woollen manufactures of this king- dom for their clothing, which they would be rendered incapable to pay for, and would be reduced to the necessity of making for them- selves, if they were prohibited from receiv- ing from the foreign sugar colonies the money, rum, sugar, molasses, cocoa, indigo, cotton, wool, etc., which they at present take in return for provisions, horses, and lumber, the produce of that province and of New Jersey, of which he affirms, the British sugar colonies do not take off above one-half. But the company of hatters of London have since informed us, that hats are manufac- tured in great quantities in this province. By the last letters from the deputy-governor of Pennsylvania, he does not know of any trade carried on in that province that can be injurious to this kingdom. They do not ex- port any woollen or linen manufactures, all that they make, which are of a coarser sort, being for their own use. We are further informed that in this province are built many brigantines and small sloops, which they sell to the West Indies. The governor of Rhode Island informs us, in answer to our queries, that there are iron mines there, but not a fourth part iron enough to" serve their own use ; but he takes no notice of any sort of manufacture set up there. No return from the governor of Connecticut ; but we find, by some accounts, that the produce of this col- ony is timber, boards, all sorts of English grain, hemp, flax, sheep, black cattle, swine, horses, goats, and tobacco ; that they export horses and lumber to the West Indies, and receive in return sugar, salt, molasses, and rum. We likewise find that their manufac- tures are very inconsiderable, the people there being generally employed in tillage, some few in tanning, shoemaking, and other handicrafts; others in the building, and joiners', tailors', and smiths' work, without which they could not subsist." The old northern colonies in America had, it is well known, very few articles fit for the British market, and yet they every year took off large quantities of merchandise from Great Britain, for which they made payments with tolerable regularity. Although they could not, like the Spanish colonists, dig the money out of their own soil, yet they found means to make a great part of their remittances in gold and silver dug out of the Spanish mines. This they effected by being general carriers, and by a circuitous commerce carried on in small vessels, chiefly with the foreign West India settlements, to which they carried lum- ber of all sorts, fish of an inferior quality, beef, pork, butter, horses, poultry and other live stock, an inferior kind of tobacco, corn, COLONIAL TRADE IMPERIAL RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION OF INHABITANTS. flour, bread, cider, and even apples, cab- bages, onions, etc., and also vessels built at a small expense, the materials being almost all within themselves; for which they re- ceived in return silver and gold, some of which remained as current coin among them- selves, but the greatest part was remitted home to Britain, and, together with bills of exchange, generally remitted to London, for the proceeds of their best fish, sold in the Roman Catholic countries of Europe, served to pay for the goods they received from the mother country. This trade united all the advantages which the wisest and most phil- anthropic philosopher, or the most enlight- ened legislator, could wish to derive from commerce. It gave bread to the industrious in North America by carrying off' their lum- ber, which must otherwise rot on their hands, and their fish, great part of which without it would be absolutely unsaleable, together with their spare produce, and stock of every kind. It furnished the West India planters with those articles without which the. operations of their plantations must be at a stand, and it produced a fund for employing a great number of industrious manufacturers in Great Britain : thus taking off the superfluities, providing for the necessities, and promoting the happiness of all concerned. This trade, however, was almost entirely ruined by the rigorous execution of the orders against smuggling and the collection of the duties in hard silver, which soon drained the country of any little real money circulating in it. And, as if government had intended to pre- vent the colonists from having even the shadow of money, another act was passed in a few days after that for the new duties, de- claring that no paper bills to be henceforth issued should be made a legal tender in pay- ment, and enjoining those in circulation to be sunk (that is, paid off in hard money) at the limited time. That vast quantities of goods were imported, in direct violation of the letter and spirit of the law and of the commercial system of the mother country, there is no doubt. But it could not well be otherwise in a country so remote from the government to which it professed allegiance, and possessing an extent of coast which no chain of revenue cruisers that could be sup- ported by government would be sufficient to guard with any kind of effect. The soil of the New England provinces scarcely furnish- ed provisions sufficient to support the in- habitants. Their industry had therefore been chiefly directed to the sea to fishing, nav- igation, and the various branches of business subservient to them. The cod, salmon, mack- erel, sturgeon, and other species offish which frequented the coasts and rivers in prodig- ious shoals, afforded employment to great numbers in taking, curing, and packing them. The New Englandcrs also frequented the banks and coasts of Newfoundland, and the fishing grounds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as far as the coasts of Labrador. Besides their own fishing, they procured from the Newfoundland fishermen a part of the fish, taken by them in exchange for rum of their own manufacture, and other articles of Amer- ican and West India produce. The follow- ing record of rum exported from the colonies now forming the United States (chiefly from New England) to the provinces of Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Newfoundland, affords a specimen of the extent of that trade during a few years preceding the revolution : 1770. 1771. 1772. 1773. West India rum, gallons 52,712 36,873 47,7.36 50.716 American rum, " 590,748 550,514 520,525 608,0--5 643,460 587,387 568,261 658,741 The fish, after being sorted in the harbors, were shipped off to the countries for which each quality was best adapted. The best were carried to the southern parts of Europe, and the proceeds were generally remitted to Great Britain in bills of exchange to pay for the goods they had occasion for. A small quan- tity of the best fish was also sent to Britain, and the inferior sorts were destined to give a relish to the plantains and yams which constituted the principal part of the food of the negro slaves in the West Indies. After the peace of 1763, the whale fishery increas- ed in the seas between the New England coasts and Labrador, in consequence of the encouragement given to it by the great re- duction of the duties on the oil and whale fins, so much, that instead of eighty or ninety sloops, which had gone upon the whale fishery, they employed 160 in that business before the year 1775, and the other branches of their fishery increased in the same pro- portion. In addition to the commerce sup- ported by the produce of their fisheries, they drove a very profitable circuitous carrying trade, which greatly enriched them, and supplied most of the money in circulation. Besides building vessels for the service of their own commerce, they built great num- bers, but of no very good quality of wood or workmanship, for sale; and from the 136 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. molasses, which they brought in great quan- tities from the West Indies (chiefly from the French islands), they distilled rum, which, though much inferior to that of the West Indies, was very acceptable to the Indians, who readily received it in exchange for their furs and peltry. They also found a great sale for it among the fishermen; consider- able quantities of it were shipped to Africa, and exchanged for slaves, or sold to the resident European slave merchants for gold dust, ivory, woods, wax, and gums. The candles made of spermaceti, furnished by the whale fishery, formed also an article of ex- port to the amount of three or four hundred thousand pounds weight in a year, besides what were consumed upon the continent. Their exports to Great Britain consisted chiefly of fish-oil, whalebone (or fins), masts and other spars, to which were added several raw materials for manufactures collected in their circuitous trading voyages, and a bal- ance paid in foreign gold and silver coins. In short, their earnest application to fisheries and the carrying trade, together with their unremitting attention to the most minute article which could be made to yield a profit, obtained them the appellation of the Dutch- men of America. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware have a much better soil than that of the New England provinces, and they then, as now, produced corn and cattle of all kinds in great abun- dance, and also hemp, flax, and lumber; to which may be added iron, potashes, and pearl- ashes. Their exports were corn of all kinds, flour and bread in great quantities, salted provisions of all sorts, live stock, including horses, horned cattle, hogs and sheep, and all kinds of poultry in great numbers, flax and hemp, boards, scantling, staves, shingles, and wooden houses framed and ready to fit up, iron in pigs and bars, and vessels, supe- rior in workmanship to those of New Eng- land. Their chief markets for these com- modities were the British and foreign West Indies, Spain, Portugal, the Western islands, Madeira and the Canary islands, whence they carried home the produce of each country and bullion. Great Britain and Ireland re- ceived from them iron, hemp, flax, feed, some lumber, and skins and furs, the prod- uce of their trade with the Indians, together with some articles of their imports from other provinces and from foreign countries, which were raw materials for British manufactures and bullion. Maryland and Virginia almost from their first settlement made tobacco the principal object of their culture, and it long continued to constitute the most valuable export of British America ; but the quantity of tobacco was diminishing in these provinces for many years before the revolution, owing to the soil being exhausted by it, and the planters had turned much of their tobacco land to the cultivation of wheat and other grain. Their tobacco could by law be ex- ported only to Great Britain ; but their corn, flour, lumber, etc., were carried to the West Indies and elsewhere. North Carolina pro- duced also some tobacco, and it furnished pitch, tar, and turpentine, of which about 130,000 barrels were annually exported, whereof the greatest part came to Britain. The following accounts, copied from those of the custom-house, for the year nearly preceding the revolution, show the exports of the then colonies of America: AN ACCOUNT OF THE VALUE, IN STERLING MONEY, OF THE EXPORTS OF THE SEVERAL PROVINCES UNDERMENTIONED, IN THE YEAR 1770. Total. . s. d. 550,089 19 '2 231,906 1 7 2,531 16 5 410,756 16 1 991,401 18 6 569,584 17 3 96,169 19 4 Total 1,531,516 8 6 552,93711 2 747,910 3 7 20,277 19 1 2,852,441 8 4 The exports of North Carolina to the West corn, peas, etc. But its foreign trade was Indies consisted mostly of salt pork, Indian very trifling in proportion to its great extent, To Great Britain. To South of Europe. . s. d. . B. d. To West Indies. . s. d. To Africa. . s. d. New Hampshire "] [464 5 40,431 8 4 96 11 8 Massachusetts 1 Rhode Island J 142,775 12 9 < 76,702 1,440 4 11 123,394 65,206 13 6 2 9,801 9 7,814 19 10 8 Connecticut J 2,567 4 5 79,395 T 6 New York 113,382 6 8 50,885 13 66 324 1 >7 5 1 313 2 6 New Jersey 2J531 16 5 Pennsylvania. .... 28,112 6 9 203,952 11 11 178,331 7 8 560 9 9 Maryland ) Virginia C 759,961 5 - 66,555 73,635 11 11 3 4 22,303 68,946 9 9 2 1 North Carolina ) South Carolina ) 405,014 la 1 - 3,238 72,881 3 7 9 3 27J944 59,814 1 11 9 6 71 619 15 10 4 Georgia 82,270 2 3 614 2 13,285 15 1 COLONIAL TRADE IMPERIAL RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION OF INHABITANTS. 137 and even to the quantity of its productions, and was mostly in the hands of the merchants of the adjacent provinces of Virginia and South Carolina, and of the New Englanders. In South Carolina and Georgia rice and in- digo were the staple articles. The former grows on the marshy grounds near the coast, and the latter on the dry soil of the inland country. The planters had for some time applied themselves to the culture of tobacco ; it was not until later that the cultivation of cotton was introduced. They made then considerable quantities of lumber. Their exports consisted of these articles; and the merchants of Charleston also shipped some skins obtained by trade with the neighboring Indians, and part of the produce of North Carolina. The chief dependence of the colonies for the means of turning their industry to ac- count, was thus apparently the West India trade. Every interest in England had been protected at the expense of the colonies, and the united restrictions had resulted in a larger West India trade. The government now came in to protect itself, and, to raise a rev- enue, laid a heavy tax upon the West India trade in 1764. The burdens of the colonists were getting rather too many and heavy, and the people more and more disposed to question the utility of a connection which was enforced avowedly that the colonists might be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the service of the mother country. The first movement jn view of the fact that the cutting off of their trade would prevent them from buying of the mother country, was to enter into an association to abstain from British goods, and to manufacture for themselves. Then commenced an active struggle. Surveyors- general were sent to America, stamp duties levied, and all the stamped paper sent out from England was burnt up by the colonists as soon as it arrived. The merchants enter- ed into an agreement to import no more goods from Great Britain, and a manufac- turing society was established. Woollen factoring became the rage, and so far was it carried, that resolutions were passed not to eat lamb, and not to patronise any butcher who killed lambs. They resolved to send no more tobacco to England. These reso- lutions caused a great revulsion in England among those who could get no remittance and those who had made goods for the Amer- ican market. The government felt the force of this pressure, and the stamp act was re- pealed; but, at the same time, the moral effect of the repeal was destroyed by the declaration that the acts of parliament bound the colonies. Then followed more duties, more regulations, more resistance, increasing anger on both sides, until, in the year 1775, parliament prohibited all trade with Amer- ica, and the united colonies opened their ports to all nations. During the war which ensued, the business of the country of course suffered ; but a very extensive illegal trade was carried on by some of the high officers of the English government, who, under li-; censes granted to carry stores and provisions for the army, cleared vessels for Boston, Halifax, or Quebec, with liberty to go to any other port, and sent cargoes of general mer- chandise for sale at great profits. These events closed colonial trade. The high profits to be derived from the sale of goods and produce during the war were too tempting to permit trade altogether to cease, notwithstanding the acts of Congress. Lord Sheffield states that one ship in par- ticular cleared from London for New York, but went directly to Boston, where her cargo sold at 270 per cent, profit. Many cargoes were paid for in cash before they left Eng- land, on account of the risk. The cities in the United States in the power of the British were crowded with the faithful; at the same time the surrounding back country did not sympathise with them, and, as a consequence, provisions were very scarce and high. This gave rise to a clandestine trade, by which a vessel would be loaded with produce and sent to a particular spot, where, through con- nivance, she would be " captured," and her cargo sold as a prize, at very high prices, to the profit of both captors and owners. Amer- ican produce also found its way to Europe. With the year 1783 came peace, and with it a new era opened in the world's commerce. Britain had always treated the colonies as having no rights, and she was now required to treat with them as equals, not only in a political and commercial sense, but as rivals on the ocean, which she had hitherto affected to rule. The United States were then in by no means a prosperous condition. Their com- merce had been ruined by the war ; the few manufactures which had been forced into being during the difficulties had to encoun- ter ruinous competition from imports with the return of peace ; the country was flooded with depreciated paper money, of which over 133 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. $360,000,000 had been issued. The states were in debt $20,000,000, and the federal government $42,000,375 ; specie had mostly disappeared from circulation, and the country was without a mint, or a regular system of finance. Private credit was greatly impaired. The collection of debts had been suspended during the war, and with the return of peace the courts were filled with suits ; while the markets were flooded with goods beyond the power of purchase. The several states exercised the power of issuing paper money, and making it a legal tender for debts, and each exercised the right of imposing duties upon imports and exports. All these evils were producing the most disastrous results, and in Massachusetts an open insurrection, known as Shays's rebellion, threatened not only the peace* of that state, but the exist- ence of the Union, which, indeed, was very feeble under the confederation. In Septem- ber, 1787, the present constitution was finally adopted, and the work of construction commenced. The leading measures adopted did not come fully into operation until 1791, when the custom-houses, the mint, the bank, the post-office, commercial treaties, and du- ties on imports, with the restrictions upon the states as to levying duties, coining money, making paper a legal tender, and minor regulations, were put in force. The power granted to Congress by the new constitution, of levying duties upon goods imported into the country, met the exigencies of the case. The states had been repeatedly and vigorously called upon to pro- vide the means of meeting the public debt and expenses, and it was urged upon them that independent means granted to it was the only way by which the federal govern- ment could sustain its position. This power, with that to levy direct taxes, was finally obtained by Congress under the constitution of 1787. In the meantime the exports of the country were actively resumed with the cessation of hostilities. There were, how- ever, no means of knowing the actual state of trade until the adoption of the regulations under the constitution of 1791. The trade was, however, very active. The desire to trade on both sides was great ; and no sooner was peace declared, than the king by proc- lamation removed all legal restraints upon intercourse with the United States, dispens- ing for a limited time with a manifest, certifi- cate, or other legal document on the arrival of any vessel belonging to the United States in Great Britain. American vessels generally were placed upon the footing of colonial ves- sels. Although there were no United States official returns, the English custom-house returns show the trade between the two countries for that period as follows : 1784, 1785, 1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790, Exports to Great Britain. 743,345 893,594 843,119 893,637 1,023,789 1,050,198 1,191,071 Imports from Great Britain. 3,670,467 2,308,023 1,603,465 2,009,111 1,886,142 2,525,298 3,431,778 The imports from Great Britain alone, in the two first years of peace, must have been nearly $30,000,000, or $10 per head of the people against an export of $9,000,000, and were sufficient cause for much distress. This was, however, of a nature which would natu- rally cure itself, since it involved a fall in prices that would promote exports and check imports, and these were more nearly equal- ized in 1788. In that year, however, a new event gave a great impulse to American exports. The French government had previously made a free trade treaty with England ; and in 1787, under the liberal sentiments which that gov- ernment espoused, they issued a decree, placing American citizens commercially on the same footing as Frenchmen, and admit- ting American produce free of duty. Under this regulation, the United States exported in 1788, 246,480 tierces of rice, 140,959 barrels of flour, 3,664,176 bushels of wheat, 558,891 bushels of rye, 520,262 bushels of barley. These figures represent very large exports for the state of the country at that time, when the population was small, and the farm produce drawn altogether from the Atlantic states of the country. The farms of the Hudson river and its milling powers were then in great requisition. The fisheries had large sales, and the south exported freely its rice. The enjoyment of the French and Eng- lish trade gave a great impulse to the shipping interest, and the United States were rapid- ly growing into a power whose influence was felt in all the commercial relations of Eng- land. The political difficulties of Europe were also taking a new shape. The failure of the harvests hastened the march of affairs, and a new war between France and England left in the hands of the United States the carry- ing trade of the world. While American ship- ping was called upon to supply raw materials COLONIAL TRADE IMPERIAL RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION OF INHABITANTS. 139 and food for England and western Europe, it was also called upon to carry between Euro- pean countries and their colonies. French ships could no longer safely trade with the West Indies, the Spanish merchants and government depended upon neutral flags to convey their merchandise and treasures, and even the English preferred the safety of third bottoms for the transport of their goods. The insurrection in St. Domingo, and the events in other islands, drove great numbers of persons to the United States, and many fortunes were founded. That of Stephen Girard received a great accession from the wealth placed on board his ships by persons who were slaughtered in the attempt to fol- low. The activity with which American shipping was employed in those years did not prevent them from seeking new trade in the east, and an American ship made its appearance in the China seas, in a com- merce which has not ceased to grow to the present day. The period was marked by the development of the most enter- prising genius in mercantile adventure. The fame of William Gray, of Boston, soon became world-wide, and was as honored in the east as it was in the west. His ships navigated every sea, and employed hundreds of hardy men. The skilful and bold seamen who commanded his ships were not of the later class of " dandy captains," who came in with the "liners," but it was his saying that the best captains would sail with a load of fish to the West Indies, hang up a stocking in the cabin and put therein the hard dollars as they sold the fish, and pay out from it as they bought the rum, or molasses, or sugar, tie up the balance, and hand it into the counting-house on their arrival home, in lieu of all accounts. The honesty and judgment of their proceedings wer beyond question ; and the problem of profits between the fish sent and the cargo and stocking returned, was for the clerks to solve. The genius for plotting long and intricate voyages belonged to the head of the house. New York, in John Jacob Astor, had still a more extensive opei-ator. He first projected the enterprises to the north-west coast, and laid out schemes which required ten years to ripen, with pro- found skill, and his name was known through- out the world. Philadelphia had an exponent of her commercial power in Stephen Girard, whose enterprises belonged to the same pe- riod of large operations and bold conduct. The Patersons of Baltimore led the com- merce of that city ; and behind these leading names came a crowd of great merchants for the mercantile intellect seemed as active in that day as was military, political, and literary genius both on this continent and throughout the world. With the year 1791 the new government of the United States, under the constitution adopted 1787, came into operation, and from that date regular official figures of the an- nual progress of the national commerce have been published. The leading changes pro- duced by that event were the abolishment of all state laws imposing duties upon im- ports and exports ; the creation of a tariff by Congress ; the establishment of a mint, a national bank, a post-office ; the funding of the government circulating paper, the with- drawal of all state issues, and the enactment of a navigation law in retaliation of the English law. The general course of trade proceeded, however, much as before, until it encountered the interruption that grew out of the European war. A few years of this prosperity excited the ire of the bel- ligerents, and England could no longer re- frain from treating the Americans still as colonists. In 1793 she issued an order to prevent food from being carried to any port occupied by French troops, and also to pre- vent American vessels from trading between France and her colonies. She also exercised the right of impressing American seamen to man her navy. Under these and other or- ders, American merchants had been robbed of large amounts of property. The com- plaints thus created threatened war ; but it was arrested by a treaty concluded by Mr. Jay, under which $10,000,000 indemnity was paid. This treaty gave umbrage to France, which also seized American vessels ; but the first consul put an end to the complaints in 1800. England had, however, in view of the apparently progressive difficulties in Europe, revived the principle she had laid down in 1756, viz. : that neutrals could carry on no trade in time of war that they had not pursued in time of peace : in other words, that American ships should not do the French carrying trade. Her next step, in May, 1 806, was to promulgate the unheard-of and absurd edict, that Europe was in a state of blockade from the Elbe to Brest. The import of this was, that American ships should visit none of those ports. This monstrous pretension, in addition to some minor orders, drew from Napoleon, November, 1806, his Berlin de- 140 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. cree in retaliation, prohibiting all intercourse with the British islands. This was replied to, by Great Britain declaring France and her colonies in a state of blockade. To these insane edicts on both sides succeeded others, which so multiplied the difficulties of commerce that the United States government, to avoid war, laid an embargo upon com- merce in 1808. It was not to be expected, however, that when the chief interests of the country were commercial, that such a mea- sure should be otherwise than very unpopu- lar, and the government changed it, in 1809, to non-intercourse with France and Great Britain. Notwithstanding all the troubles thrown in the way of commerce by the edicts of France and England, the American mer- chants contrived to carry on a large traffic. Under Bonaparte's continental system, which sought to exclude colonial and British pro- ductions, produce was very scarce, and high in Europe. The emperor, to remedy the matter, offered high premiums for the in- vention of substitutes for many articles, such as indigo, cane sugar, coffee, etc. To those premiums are due the large use now made of chicory-root as a substitute for coffee. It originated in Germany, but has since spread to England and the United States. Beet-root sugar, which has become so large an industry in France and Germany, being equal iu consumption to cane, originated in the same manner. Nevertheless, all com-[ modities were very high, and when a cargo" could be got in, it realized a fortune. To get them in was the problem ; and this was usually done by fees, or pots de vin, which were mostly appropriated by Talleyrand and Fouche, and afterward rights were openly sold by the emperor to raise money. Jerome Bon- aparte, who died so recently, had married, in 1803, Miss Paterson, of Baltimore, a direct de- scendant of " Old Mortality," immortalized by Scott in a novel. The Paterson interest with Jerome was the means of procuring admission for many a valuable cargo. In- terest and enterprise effected much, and few merchants desired to lose all chance through the intervention of their own government. Nevertheless, the embargo took place in 1808. The progress of trade from 1790 to 1808, was as follows : IMPORTS AND EXPOETS OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TONNAGE IN THE FOREIGN TRADE. Tonnage. Dom. exports. For. exports. Total exports. Imports. 1790, 474,374 $19,666,000 $539,156 $20,205,156 $23,000,000 1791, 502,146 18,500,000 512,041 19.012 041 29,200,000 1792, 564,457 19,000,000 1,753,098 20,753,098 31,500,000 1793, 520,764 24,000(000 2,109,572 26,109,572 31,100,000 1794, 628,618 26,500,000 6,526,233 33,026,233 34,600,000 1795, 747,965 39,500,000 8,489,472 47,989.472 69,756,268 1796, 831,899 40,764,097 26,300,000 67,064^097 81,436,164 1797, 876,913 29,850,026 27,000,000 56,850,206 75,379,406 1798, 898,328 28,527,097 33,000,000 61,527,097 68,551,700 1799, 939,400 33,142,522 45,523,000 78,665,522 79,069,148 1800, 972,492 31,840,903 39,130,877 70,971,780 91,252,768 1801, 947,577 47,473,204 46,642,721 94,115,925 111,363,511 1802, 892,104 36,708,189 35,774,971 72,483,160 76,333,333 1803, 949,172 42,205,961 13,594,072 55,800,033 64,666,666 1804, 1,042,404 41,467,477 36,231,597 77,699,074 85,000,000 1805, 1,140,368 42,387,002 53,179,019 95,566,021 120,600,000 1806, 1,208,716 41,253,727 60,283,236 101,536,963 129,410.000 1807. 1,268,548 48,699,592 59,643,558 108,343,150 138,500,000 In the period here embraced there oc- curred many events which had a very lasting and important bearing upon the future of the United States. The temporary free trade with France had imparted a sudden impulse to the export of farm produce. The wars that succeeded greatly enlarged the sphere of action for the shipping, and we find in the table that the imports of goods rose year by year from 23,000,000 in 1790 to 138,000,- 000 in 1807. Of these large imports, how- ever, it appears, from the column of exports of foreign merchandise, a large portion was re-exported, forming the carrying trade be- tween the countries of Europe and their colonies, that the war threw into the Ameri- can bottoms, and which passed through American ports. A large portion of this trade was paid in money in England, form- ing those credits which were transferred by the Americans to the English, in payment of merchandise thence imported. Thus the trade was generally in favor of England with the United States, and in favor of the latter with Europe. Now, as England could have no direct trade with Europe during the COLONIAL TRADE IMPERIAL RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION OF INHABITANTS- 141 war, and yet was compelled to send funds thither for political purposes, the credits she received from the Americans were of vast service to her. It was in the conduct of that trade that the tonnage multiplied to the ex- tent seen in the column. The amount increased from 474,374 tons in 1790, to over 1,260,000 tons in 1807, or an increase in capital so employed from $15,- 000,000 to $50,000,000 The wealth of the country was thus rapidly increasing in a foreign trade, which formed one-half of the whole commerce. The fisheries were very active and flourishing ; the agricultural in- terest prospered under the large exports and high prices, and manufactures began to be actively developed. The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Hamilton, in his celebrated report upon manufactures in 1791, says: " It is certain that several important branches have grown up and flourished with a rapidity that surprises, affording an encouraging assur- ance of successive future attempts." Among those enumerated as then flourishing are leather, iron, wood, flax, bricks, paper, hats, carriages, etc. It was computed that four- fifths of all the clothing of the inhabitants was made by themselves, and that great quantities of coarse cloths for table and bed- ding were manufactured in households. All these industries pertained mostly to the north, and their surplus formed at that time most of the exports of the whole country. The southern states were possessed of 600,- 000 blacks, for whom there was no adequate employment. They were mostly engaged upon the production of tobacco and rice, but the market for them was not such as to afford much encouragement for the future. The increase of blacks who were not earning their support was not regarded with favor by southern statesmen under such circum- stances : hence the incorporation into the federal constitution of the inhibition of the slave trade after 1808. That provision was resisted by the New England shipowners, of whose business the transportation of blacks, as a return cargo, after carrying produce to England, formed an important part. An event occurred in 1793, however, which wrought an entire change in the business of the country and the prospects of the south. Up to that time a little cotton had been raised, but the difficulty of freeing it from the seed was sitch that one hand could clean but 1 Ib. per day, and even at 30 cents per Ib. it was not profitable, under such condi- tions. The mode of carding and spinning it was also laborious and slow. At about that period the steam-engine in England was introduced as a motive power, and such in- ventions were made in the process of carding and spinning cotton as to enable one man to do the work that required 2,200 by old methods. These were the conditions of an immense demand for the raw material. Prov- identially, precisely at that juncture, 1793, Eli Whitney, of Massachusetts, invented the cotton-gin, by which one hand, in- stead of only 1 Ib., could clean 360 Ibs. per day. Thus the market for cotton, and the means of preparing it, were both provided at once, and they were thenceforth to furnish the chief employment for American ships. The items of domestic exports in the above table were therefore varied as follows : Cotton. Tobacco. Flour & provisions. Rice. Manufactures. Total. 1700, $42,285 $4,349,567 $5,991,171 $1,753,796 $12,136,819 1803, 7,920,000 6,209,000 15,050,000 2,455,000 2,000,000 31,179,000 1807, 14,232,000 5,470,000 15,706,000 2,307,000 2,309,000 44,002,400 Thus cotton in a few years came to form nearly one-third of the whole exports, there- by supplying to the shipping in 1808 a com- pensating freight for the blacks, who were no longer to be imported. That cotton trade has not ceased to grow to the present day, and with ever increasing importance. It has supplied not only the manufacturers of Europe with raw material, but also those of the northern states. The impulse thus given to the cotton culture produced a vital change in the condition of the south, and this change is well indicated in the charge made by Judge Johnson, of Savannah, in 9 1807, in the case of a suit brought by Whit- ney to make good his claim to his patent. " The whole of the interior," said Judge Johnson, " was languishing, and its inhabit- ants were emigrating, for want of some object to engage their attention and employ their industry, when the invention of this machine (the gin) at once opened views to them which set the whole country in active mo- tion. From childhood to age it has pre- sented to us a lucrative employment. Indi- viduals who were depressed with poverty and sunk in idleness have suddenly risen to wealth and respectability. Our debts have COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. been paid off, our capitals have increased, and our lands doubled in value. We cannot express the weight of obligation which the country owes to this invention. The extent of it cannot now be seen." In these words we have the proof of the utter depression that then existed at the south, affording a strong contrast to the im- mense wealth that has since been developed. The kinds and quantities of goods import- ed into the country were adapted to the wants of the people at that time, when lux- uries had by no means so large a share of the public taste as is now the case. The homespun goods of the country were to be gradually supplanted by machine goods as these improved and cheapened, and they did so rapidly under the influence of larger sup- plies of raw material, operated upon by the most astonishing inventions in new machines, and the improved scientific processes applied to the manufacture. The American manu- facturers were required to withstand not only the competition of the large capital and cheap labor of England, but the constant effects of new inventions, of which the first- fruits were manifest in imported goods. They therefore grew but slowly, and hardware, dry goods, and other leading branches of merchandise, continued to be imported. The 1808, 1809, 1810, 1811, 1812, 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, aggregate amount retained in the country for consumption did not materially increase in the ten years up to 1807. All branches of industry were in a high state of prosperity, when the course of events brought on the embargo, which produced an immense change in the course of affairs. All those interests that had thriven so well since the peace of 1783, became suddenly depressed by the circumstances which gave an impulse to manufacture. The raw mate- rial and farm produce which had been so actively exported now accumulated on hand at falling prices, tempting the manufacturer to employ the labor no longer occupied with commercial interests, and a new order of in- dustry sprang into being. Trade was, how- ever, not entirely interrupted; many coast- ing vessels, with suitable cargoes, were by pretended stress of weather driven into foreign ports, and the United States courts were filled with suits brought for breaches of the embargo acts. Under the non-inter- course act of 1809, business recovered to some extent, only to encounter those new vexations which brought on the war of 1812. That event rather changed the course of trade than interrupted it, and was succeeded by a greater degree of activity than ever. The imports and exports were as follows : Tonnage. Domestic exports. Foreign exports. Total exports. Total imports. 1,247,596 $9,433,546 $12,997,414 $22,430,960 $56,990,000 1,350,281 31,405,700 20,797,531 52,203,231 59,400,000 1,424,784 42,366,679 24,391,295 66,757,974 85,400,000 1,232,502 45,294,041 16,022,790 61,316,831 83,400,000 1,269,997 30,032,109 8,495,127 38,527,236 77,030,000 1,166,629 25,008,152 2,847,845 27,855,997 22,005,000 1,159,210 6,782,272 145,169 6,927,441 12,965,000 1,368,127 45,974.403 6,583,350 52,557,753 113,041,274 1,372,218 64,781,896 17,138,556 81,920,452 147,103,700 1,399,911 68,313,500 19,358,069 87,671,569 99,250,373 1,225,184 73,854,437 19,426,096 93,280,533 121,750,000 1,260,751 50,976.838 19,165,683 70,142,521 87,125,000 1,280,166 51,683,640 18,008,029 69,691,669 74,450,000 $546,907,213 $185,376,954 $731,284,167 $1,039,910,347 The large carrying trade that had existed in foreign produce gradually perished on the return of peace in Europe, throwing much ton- nage out of employ ; and domestic produce, although it found its way abroad to some ex- tent, still fell in value, and accumulated in quantity in the home ports. Cotton in par- ticular felt the want of the foreign market, although its presence in New Orleans be- came an instrument in the great triumph of our American troops over the British vet- erans who had just driven the French out of Spain. The same men who had routed the legions of Napoleon embarked at Bor- deaux for New Orleans, to fall before the cotton bags defended by Jackson and his gallant band. The course of events that had been pro- ductive of so much prosperity from 1783 to 1808, was followed in the next seven years by commercial disasters, it is true, but those disasters were relieved by the brilliant posi- tion assumed by the United States among the nations of the earth as a naval power. COLOHIAL TRADE IMPERIAL RESTRICTIONS EMANCIPATION OF INHABITANTS. 143 The American tonnage, which increased to over 1,000,000 in 1807, had given employ- ment to large numbers of hardy and skilful seamen, men whose professional skill and nautical daring had already made them fa- mous, and had incited Great Britain to those impressments by which she sought to ob- tain the services of such able men. When her conduct drove the American government to embargo commerce, the employment of ships and men became restrained, and their daring manifested itself in infractions of the law. Non-intercourse and war drove them altogether out of employment, and they crowded into the navy and privateers. Up to that time England was the admitted mis- tress of the seas. Every nation in Europe had been driven from the contest. The best fleets of Napoleon, invincible upon land, had invariably struck to the British flag, and the feeble nation upon this continent, just formed out of revolted colonies, was hardly worth considering at all as a power. The proof of the contempt in which it was held was given in the conduct of the nations that forced non-intercourse and war upon the United States. It came very hard for all the thriving interests here to face ruin in the shape of war, but it became inevitable. So distrustful, however, was even Congress of the ability of the country to resist England, that it was determined, on the declaration of war, to send the government ships up the rivers, where they would be out of the reach of the dreadful English cruisers. It was only at the earnest solicitation of the leading officers of the navy that permission was finally given for the ships to go to sea. The astonishment in Europe, the dismay in Eng- land, and delight in the United States, could scarcely be equalled when the encounter on the seas resulted in the unprecedented spec- tacle of a series of triumphs over the tyrant of the ocean. In the short period of twenty years a power had arisen that was thenceforth to know no master upon the ocean, and sub- mit to no insults, and this power had been born of commerce. The war closing with the defeat of the best troops of England, the "liberators of Spain," before the lines of New Orleans, left the United States no longer in the position of merely liberated colonies, but in that of a victorious power among the nations of the earth. It had cost much to win that position, but it was worth the struggle, since it ensured continued peace thereafter. The nations of Europe have not since thought it worth while to provoke new hostilities, but have, on the other hand, from time to time, settled up for the injuries they then committed upon American commerce. The intervention of war had paralyzed every industry. The farm products that had been raised for export no longer had an outlet for the surplus ; cotton, rice, and tobacco ac- cumulated idly in warehouses. The ships were freightless at the docks, and all the earnings of industry were at their minimum. It was an advantage to manufacturers, indeed, to have no competition from abroad ; but, on the other hand, the general depression of all other industries destroyed the home market for goods. The general depression of trade and the depreciation of property undermined all credits. Those who had contracted obli- gations to pay when merchandise was sale- able and property convertible, could not pay when all values were paralyzed. In order to remedy this state of affairs to some ex- tent, which was ascribed by certain parties to the want of a United States bank, new state banks were multiplied, under the erroneous notion that these could supply capital. In- asmuch, however, as the radical evil was inability to pay, increase of promises did not help the matter, and a general suspension of the banks took place. The country was filled with irredeemable paper ; and the fed- eral debt, which had been $75,463,476 on the consolidation of the revolutionary debt in 1790, had risen to $127,334,934 when peace took place in 1815. In such a state of affairs the return of peace brought with it a flood of imported goods, which amounted to $147,000,000 in 1816, giving the govern- ment a customs revenue equal to $36,306,- 874 in the year. The new United States Bank went into operation at the same time, causing for the moment additional pressure ; but the sale of its stock, and of the federal government stock, subscribed to its capital, abroad, helped to correct the exchanges. The produce that had accumulated during the war also went forward in great quan- tities, giving a considerable impulse to the aggregate of domestic exports, which rose to $73,854,000 in 1818. Of this amount 40 per cent, was cotton. In some sort, the trade which had lain dormant during the war was forced into the first three years of peace. In the five years that ended with 1820 there was, consequently, great activity of trade, demanding greater banking facili- ties, thus promoting a restoration of cou- 144 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. fidence, and aiding the United States Bank in restoring order to the currency. The year 1820 brought with it new regulations in regard to the taking of the census, and a law of Congress was enacted for correctly keeping the import, export, and tonnage returns, which has since been done, and an- nually reported. The revenues of the gov- ernment, which depended upon duties on imports, suffered interruption during the war, and a resort to taxation became neces- sary. This had been done in 1791 by a tax on houses and lands. A new valuation took place in 1815 ; and this, compared with the valuation of 1791, gives the progress of real property in all the states during that period. The census of 1820 comprised, in addition to the population, some items of the industry of the people. Comparing the leading aggre- gates at the two periods, the results are as follows : Population Estimated Taxable land, acres. . Valuation Imports Exports Tonnage Bank capital Manufactures U. 8. debt u revenue Post offices, No Post roads, miles. . . . Postal receipts 1791. . 4,049,600 163,746,686 479.293,263 23,000,000 20,205,156 474,374 3,000,000 5600,000 75,463,476 4,399,478 75 1,905 46,294 1820. 9,638,131 188,286,480 2,275,730,124 74,450,000 69,691,669 1,280,166 137,110,611 62,776,530 81,015,566 16,779,331 4,500 67,586 1,111,927 Increase. 5,588,531 24,539,794 1,796,486,861 51,450,000 40,486,518 805,792 184,110,611 47,176,530 15,555,090 12,879,858 4,425 65,681 1,064,738 Such was the progress of the country in the first thirty years of its existence. Its population had increased 125 per cent. It had added five states to the Union, and 24,539,794 acres to its taxable property, the value of which had risen nearly fivefold. Its tonnage had increased threefold, its manufactures tenfold, and the capital em- ployed in banking had been increased $134,- 000,000. This great prosperity had mani- fested itself in face of a war with the great- est naval power the world had ever seen, and over which a decisive victory had been won. Commerce, under favorable circum- stances, had been the basis of this great growth of wealth. CHAPTER II. CHANGED INTERESTS MANUFACTURES- COURSE OF TRADE SPECULATION- RE- VULSION BANKRUPT LAW ENGLISH FREE TRADE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE FARMERS GOLD. THE events of the war of 1 81 2 had brought with them much experience. Up to that period great dependence upon foreign manu- factures had existed. It is no doubt true that most of the common wearing apparel and similar goods were made in families, but iron ware, and most articles that enter into the materials of daily avocations, came from abroad. With the war came great deprivation, and many necessary goods, that had been abundant, were no longer to be had. Materials for the army and navy, of all sorts, particularly blankets for the men, were with difficulty obtained. This necessity gave a great spur to individual enterprise, and at the same time forced upon the gov- ernment the idea of fostering home industry. This necessity was also apparent from the nature of the government. The federal Constitution had given to Congress the power to levy duties upon imports, and also direct taxes for its support. The former right was exercised up to the war, and the government finances were independent and flourishing. When, however, the war put an end to commerce, the government rev- enues also ceased, since, there being no im- ports, there could be no duties. Resort to taxation was then the alternative. The mode adopted by Congress was to apportion the amount required upon each state, and let the respective governments collect it. It was soon found that this was a very ineffi- cient mode of proceeding, since the states could not be coerced, and the federal govern- ment was in danger of falling to pieces. The statesmen of the day saw the necessity of strengthening the government on the return of peace, and this was done by the same means as it was sought to encourage home manufacture, viz., by raising the duties upon imported goods. A new tariff was therefore enacted in 1816, increasing the duties, par- ticularly upon cotton goods, in taxing which the minimum principle was introduced that is, that the goods should pay 20 per cent, duty, but that the cost on which it was calculated should not be less than a fixed minimum. Thus, cotton cloth was to pay 30 per cent., but the cost must not be under 20 cents per yard, or 6 cents per square yard duty. The new duties, falling upon the large importations that followed the peace, rapidly swelled the revenues beyond the current wants of the government ; at the same time, notwithstanding that the navy had so well discharged its duties in time of war, and the merchant marine had so well vindicated its ability to furnish sailors, Con- CHANGED INTERESTS MANUFACTURES. 145 gress saw fit to pass a navigation act, by which the officers and three-fourths of the crews of American vessels should be Amer- ican citizens. The act is of itself mostly a dead letter, since naturalization is carried on to an extent which makes the phrase " Am- erican citizen " a very ambiguous one. The object is desirable, but the means hampers trade, and does not effect the object. With the operation of the higher duties during the four years that ended with 1820, the imports diminished ; the currency was con- tracted and restored to a specie basis ; the exports of the country, that accumulated during the war, passed off; the proceeds had cancelled obligations, bringing the country into a better condition ; and the fed- eral government had been enabled to pay off a considerable amount of its debt. The countries of Europe had also become settled after the convulsion of war and the effects of peace. The Bank of England, that had been suspended for a quarter of a century, resumed payments, and trade generally be- fan to resume its accustomed channels, [any currents of business had, as a matter of course, been disturbed. The large foreign carrying trade that had been enjoyed by American vessels was now resumed by the nations of Europe, and new currents of en- terprise were to grow up, under new appli- ances. The capital of New England, that before the war had been exclusively employ- ed in navigation and agriculture, was, by the events of the war, diverted to banking and manufactures, and was now growing in the last direction, banking having proved dis- astrous. The tariff of 1816 had been meant to aid them, and in 1818 and 1819 additions were made to the protective character of the duties. Cotton manufacture grew, and the great staple culture of the south cotton was developed, while Europe, no longer wanting so much food, the agriculturists be- came depressed. The manufacturing interest was therefore the favorite, and in 1824 a new tariff of higher duties was demanded and passed, to be succeeded by one of a higher grade of protection in 1828. The effect of these changes, with the steady nature of the demand for produce abroad, was to keep the imports and exports at moderate figures up to 1831, when a reduction of duties took place. In all that period, under the action of the United States Bank, and the annual pay- ments of an average of some $7,000,000 by the government on its public debt, the curren- cy was very steady, and commerce regular. The exports and imports for the ten years under those rising tariffs, were as follows : Dom. exports. For. exports. Total exports. Imports. Ex. specie. 1m. specie. 1821, 43,671.894 21,302,488 64,974,382 62,585,724 10,478,059 8,064,890 1822, 49,874,185 22,286,202 72,160,387 83,241,511 10,810,180 3,369,846 1823, 47,155,408 27.543,622 74,699,030 77,579,267 6,372,987 5,097,896 1824, 50 649,500 25',337,157 75,986,657 80,549,007 7,014.552 8,379,835 1825, 66,944,745 32,590,643 99,535,388 96,340,075 8,932,034 6,150,765 1826, 53,055,710 24,539,612 77,595,322 84,974,477 4,704,533 6,880,966 1827, 58,921,691 23,403,136 82,324,827 79,484,068 8,014,880 8,151,130 1828, 50,669,669 21,595,017 72,264,686 88,509,824 8,243,476 7,489,741 1829, 55,700,193 16,658,478 72,358,671 74,492,527 4,924,020 7,403,612 1830, 59,462.029 14,387,479 73,849,508 70,876,920 2,178,773 8,155,964 $536,105,024 $229,643,834 $765,748,858 $798,633,400 $71,673,494 $69,144,645 If we compare this period of ten years with the ten years of comparative quiet im- mediately preceding the war, we shall find the following aggregate results : tic Tmnnrta Re-CXports of Domestic imports. foreign goods . espol . ts . Total exports. 17981803. $956,470,000 $422,500.00(1 $393.700.000 $816,200,000 1621 1831,' 798,633,427 229,643,834 586,104,918 765,748,752 Decrease $157,836,573 $192,856,166 Increase $1 42,404,918 $50,451,248 The decrease was altogether in the foreign goods, or colonial produce brought into the country during the European war for re- shipment to Europe ; while the increase in domestic exports was mostly cotton, that article forming three-fifths of the whole value exported. The exports of flour and provisions were limited, but manufactures began to form an item in the exports. It is to be borne in mind that Great Britain had made great efforts after the war, when her navigation laws were modified, to concen- trate the trade of the world in her ware- houses. Inducements were held out by facilities of entry and advances on merchan- dise to attract thither the produce of all nations, because, under such circumstances, not only did the British manufacturers have within their reach the raw materials of all manufactures, but trading vessels had, in 146 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. those ample warehouses, every variety of goods to make up an assorted cargo for any voyage in the world, and make of them the medium of selling British goods. Thus, all the new countries of America, Africa, and Asia offered markets which would absorb small quantities of a great variety of articles, but a cargo of any one description would glut them. To make a profitable voyage, there- fore, the cargo should be composed of such a variety of wares as would all sell to ad- vantage. If Virginia was to send a whole cargo of tobacco to Africa, a portion of it would sell, and the remainder be a dead stock, and the voyage a losing one. The same thing would happen to a cargo of rum, or calicoes, or gunpowder, or hardware, or the infinite variety of articles that make up the wants of a small community. If a ves- sel's cargo should be composed, in proper proportions, of all these articles, the whole would sell well, and the voyage pay; but for a vessel to go round to places where each of these articles is to be had, and so collect a cargo, is expensive, and would still result in loss. The English warehouse system sought to supply a want here by attracting into them all possible descriptions of tropical and other produce. A ship might then make up her cargo for any part of the world at the smallest average expense, and every cargo was sure to be completed with British manufactures. Under such circumstances, they could compete with any other nation. The advantage was so manifest, that American ships would go out in ballast to England, to fit them out for Asiatic markets. It resulted from this that England continued to be the recipient of most American produce, not only for her own use, but for re-export else- where. With her large capital she advanced on the produce, and so controlled it, becom- ing the banker for the Americans. The nations of the continent, slowly recovering from the effects of the long wars, began to manufacture such articles as found sale in the United States, while they did not purchase largely in return. China furnished teas and silks, and got its pay by bills drawn against American credits in London. The new bank of the United States operated the credit, giv- ing the China merchant a six months' bill on London, which he took in preference to sil- ver, which he before remitted. These bills were paid out for the tea, and by the Hong merchant, who received them, were paid to the British East India merchant for opium or raw cotton. By the latter it was remit- ted to London, where it was met by the funds already provided through the United States Bank, by sales of American produce. This centralization of trade in England became, however, inconvenient. The American ships that now began to carry cotton, tobacco, rice, and some breadstuff's to Europe, had thence no adequate return freights, because those countries did not as yet offer a good supply of merchandise. Soon, however, there sprang up an increasing migration to the United States from Germany across France via Havre, and these passengers be- came a desirable return freight, causing a change in the model of the ships engaged in the trade. By this means the freight was reduced, or rather the ship could carry cot- ton out cheaper, since she was no longer compelled to return empty. The result Avas, therefore, cheapened transportation, in the same manner that the modification of the navigation laws, enabling ships to carry car- goes both ways, had cheapened freight. The increasing exports, and the weight of the tariff of 1828 upon imports, had so operated upon exchanges as to cause an excess of specie to be imported to the extent of some $15,000,000 in the last few years. This in- flux accumulated in banks, and disposed them to inflate the currency, thereby induc- ing imports at a moment when reductions in duties were made by the tariff of 1831 ; and this inflation was aided by the conflict which then began between the United States Bank and. the government in relation to the re- charter of the institution. These circum- stances laid the foundation for the great speculation which followed. The high tariff' of 1828 had produced much agitation, that promised serious difficulties. The northern, or New England states, whose interests were originally commercial, opposed the war, be- cause it was destructive of those interests. Their capital was turned by it into manu- factures, and they demanded protection for that interest. This was acceded to, because all parties had witnessed the evils of a de- pendence upon foreign nations for manufac- tures, and also because the federal govern- ment needed strengthening by the support which high duties would give it. In 1830 the manufactures had enjoyed fifteen years of protection, and should be firmly rooted. The federal government, from being too weak, had become too strong. The public, who consumed goods foreign and domestic, COURSE OF TKADK SPECULATION REVULSION. 147 were paying too high a tribute for the sup- port of the manufacturers, and the states felt their rights encroached upon by the growing power of centralization. A change of policy in respect of the tariff was insisted upon, and a reduction took place in 1831, many goods being made free. In 1832 Mr. Clay's compromise was passed, by which biennial reductions were to take place, until, in 1842, all the duties should be re- duced to a general level of 20 per cent, ad valorem. These reductions in duties, at a time of bank inflation and speculation, emi- nently promoted those imports which, under such circumstances, were carried to excess. The manufactures of the country had largely increased during the ten years up to 1830. The capital employed in cotton manufacture at that date was $40,614,984. There were 795 mills, working 1,246,503 spindles and 33,506 looms. They produced 230,461,000 yards of cloth, that weighed 59,604,926 Ibs., and was worth $26,000,000. These mills employed 117,626 persons, whose wages were $10,294,944 per annum. This was a large interest grown up in cotton. The progress of manufactures generally was given by the census, as follows : 1830. 40,614,984 14,528,166 4,757,403 16,737,251 3,434,808 935,173 46,077,092 1820. Cotton 4,834,157 Wool 4,113,068 Pig iron and castings . . . 2,230,276 "Wrought iron 4,640,669 Brewers and distillers . . 4,876,486 Salt 1,852,258 Other articles 29,919,621 Total $52,466,535 $127,084,877 In the considerable increase of interests, here apparent, many of the factories suffered by home competition, when too much capi- tal had been induced, by hope of protection, to go into the business. The operations of these manufactures no doubt produced a local demand for materials and food ; but this did not suffice, however, in the absence of a foreign demand, to support prices of For. exports. $20,033,526 24,039,473 farm produce, in face of the large develop- ment given to agriculture by the increasing immigration and settlement of the western lands. The season of speculation which now seized the public mind was one of the most remarkable in the history of commerce. There is no doubt that it had its origin in the great success which had hitherto been manifest in the progress of the country. Those who had seen but thirty years of active life had witnessed the most extraordi- nary growth of numbers and wealth in the whole country, and in cities particularly. The highest prizes had attended those who had held land at the points favorable to trade, which trade was the foundation of cities. There seemed hardly any limit to the rise that might take place in the value of property, and so liberal were bank accom- modations, there was very little difficulty in procuring the means to hold land. In almost all cities, the early settlers had become pos- sessed of land cheap. The rapid growth of trade, bringing in numbers to occupy those lands for stores and dwellings, caused a competition that raised rents and values rapidly in price. The effort was then to become possessed of land for speculation, and this effort was attended with the wildest excitement ; a few hours sufficed to place a moderate fortune in the hands of the buyer, and prices rose to a fabulous extent in a short tune. From the cities, the excitement spread all over the Union, and productive employments were neglected to trade in lands ; at the same time, the fictitious for~ tunes made by these means stimulated expense, and the wealth of the country was diminished by a double process by lessened production, and increased consumption " the candle was burned at both ends," and there could be little surprise that it was speedily consumed. The course of the follows : Dom. exports. For. exports. Total exports. Imports. Ex. specie. Im. specie. 1831, $61,277,057 $20,033,526 $81,310,583 $103,191,124 $9,014,971 $7,305,945 1832, 63,137,470 24,039,473 87,176,943 10], 029,266 5,656,340 5,907,304 1833, 70,317,698 19,822,735 90,140,433 108,118,311 2,611,701 7,070,368 1834, 81,034,162 23,312,811 104,346,973 126,521,332 2,076,758 17,911,632 1835, 101,189,082 20,504,495 121,693,577 149,895,742 6,477,775 13,131,447 1836, 106,916,680 21,746,360 128,663,040 189,980,035 4,324,336 13,400,881 1837, 95,564,414 21,854,962 117,419,376 140,989,217 5,976,249 10,516,414 1838, 96,033,821 12,452,795 108,486,616 113,717,404 3,508,046 17,747,116 1839, 103,533,891 17,494,525 121,028,416 162,092,132 8,776,743 5,595,176 1840, 113,895,634 18,190,312 132,085,946 107,141,519 8,417,014 8,882,813 $892,899,909 $199,451,994 $1,092,351,903 $1,302,676,082 $56,839,933 $107,469,096 148 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. This period of commerce shows remark- able results, since it illustrates the nature of the pure speculation that possessed the coun- try. In the period up to 1830, the imports had exceeded the exports $32,884,675, or 5 per cent, in the whole ten years, an amount which was not more than healthy. In the succeeding ten years, the excess of imports over the exports was $210,334,181, or 20 per cent., and this took place although the exports were valued at inflated prices, which were not realized abroad. The course of business at that period required shipments of American produce, mostly cotton, to firms abroad, who made advances on the consignment at a certain ratio, less than the face of the invoices. The produce was then afterward sold for the account of the owner, and not unfrequently did not bring the amount of advances. Thus, if cotton was shipped at 16 cts. per lb., and 12 cts. advanced, the amount realized might be only 11 cts. Hence, the real exports of the country were not always measured by the export value. On the other hand, the goods imported were mostly ordered by importers here, and purchased on credits in the manu- facturing districts. These credits were oper- ated through large London houses connected Avith the American trade, and whose ability to extend credits depended upon the indul- gence of the Bank of England, and that institution itself was subject to pressure whenever the harvests should fail. The system of credits was open, however, up to 1836, in England, under apparently favorable circumstances. The United States and rival banks here favored the extension of credits in every possible way ; and the goods bought on credit in Europe were sold on credit here, and consumed by those who held fortunes based upon the apparent rise in lands bought on speculation, for promises. The numbers so engaged diminished pro- duction, while luxuries were imported more rapidly than ever. The returns of certain articles of domestic exports and imports, in- dicate the extent of this process as follows: 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1838, 1839, 1840, Silks. $5,932,243 9,248,907 9,498,366 10,998,064 16,677,547 22,980,212 14,352,823 9,812,338 21,752,369 9,835,757 Imports. Wines. $1,673,058 2,397,479 2,601,455 2,944,388 3,750,608 4,332,034 4,105,741 2,318,282 Imports. Spirits. Sugar. $1,037,737 $4,910,877 1,365,018 2,933,688 1,537,226 1,319,245 4,755,856 5,538,097 1,632,681 1,917,381 1,470,802 1,476,918 6,806,425 12,514,718 7,203,206 7,586,825 9,929,502 5,580,950 Flour. $10,461,728 4,974,121 5,642,602 4,560,379 4,394,777 3,572,599 2,987,269 3,603,299 Exports. Provisions. $17,538,227 12,424,703 14,209,128 11,524,024 12,009,399 10,614.130 9,588,359 9,636.650 14,147,779 19,067,535 Thus, while the import of silk rose from less than $6,000,000 to nearly $23,000,000, and the four articles, including wine, spirits, and sugar, from $13,550,000 in 1831, to $41,850,000 in 1836, the export of provis- ions, notwithstanding the high prices, fell from $17,538,227 to $10,614,130. So great had been the decline in production, that in the last-named year, 1836, wheat was actually imported at $2 per bushel, from Russia, on credit, to feed land speculators in the west. The mania for land speculation was fed by bank bubbles, and large sums were drawn from the east as well as Europe, for the creation of banks west and south-west. The transmission of these sums was the means of credits by which goods were con- sumed. There were created in the period from 1830 to 1840, 577 banks, having an aggregate capital of $218,000,000. These, banks were mostly started west and south- west, with eastern capital paid in subscription to the bank stock, and with state bonds issued in aid of the banks. Thus a stream of credit issued from London, winch, aided by cir- cumstances, poured over the Union, checking industry, exhausting capital, and raising prices. The harvests of England had been good for some years, and the importation of corn had ceased. As a consequence, ex- changes were in favor of England, and the bank disposed to be liberal. It was so to the American houses in London. These houses were thus enabled to grant credits to United States importers of goods who made their purchases in Lancashire. The goods arriving in the United States, were sold to jobbers and through the auction houses at long credits, and these were payable at the local banks started all over the country. The quantity of goods thus sold was increased by the large fire in New York in December, 1835, by which it was estimated $18,0.00,000 worth of property was consumed. These COURSE OF TRADE SPECULATION REVULSION. 151 goods were replaced on credit, and the city rapidly rebuilt by the same means, adding much to the accumulating liabilities. At the same time, as we have seen, $200,000,000 were sent from the east to the west to start banks. These banks were also authorized to issue paper to circulate as money ; and capi- tal and circulation were loaned to those who purchased and consumed goods. Thus, while the city merchants were selling their goods to the dealers of the interior, on credit, the capitalists were sending money in the same direction, with which to start banks ; thejse were to lend the dealers the means of taking up their notes. As long f a& this lasted, business was brisk ; but it soon came to an end. The federal government had also been a party to the excitement, by selling its lands on credits to speculators, and the amount of these sales became enormous, when suddenly the government issued its famous " specie circular," by which the lands were to be paid cash in specie. This was the first blow to the credits. The government, determined to curtail all credits, had made peremptory demand upon France to pay the indemnity long since due. This payment took place, and was received at this juncture very oppor- tunely in gold. The capital of England, which had been loaned so freely all over the world, began to run short. The harvests, also, which for so many years had sufficed for the national wants, suddenly failed, in 1836, and it became necessary to import corn for cash. This circumstance caused exchanges to run higher against England, and the bank began to contract. Its first notice was in August, 1836, to the American houses to curtail their credits. This was the signal for payment through the whole line of credits from the Bank of England to the western consumer of goods. The pres- sure became intense, and in May, 1837, every bank in the Union had suspended their pay- ments. The three large American houses in London, known as the "three W's," Wildes, Wiggins, and Wilson, failed for many mil- lions, and their assets consisted of the credits they had granted American importers. The latter stopped in great numbers, with assets due from dealers all over the country ; and the latter stopped with large assets due from speculators who held land at paper prices, and who insisted that a return of paper inflation would enable them to pay. The banks of the interior had large sums due them from speculators who held land, as well as from shopkeepers who had trusted consumers. The shopkeepers had bought of the merchants in eastern markets, and had given notes payable at their local banks. Those notes were generally sent for collection through the city bank to its country corres* ponding bank, and on their maturity were met by a discount of the maker's note by the local bank. This mode of payment only transferred the debt from the merchants to the bank, and was possible only as long as the eastern bank did not claim the balance due it. When that was done, failure took place. A great struggle was made to restore that inflation, particularly by the United States Bank, which, with its southern and western dependents, felt that unless the debts contracted all over the country in an inflated currency, could be paid in a similar currency, they could not be paid at all. Public opinion was, however, bent on re- sumption, and January, 1839, it took place. The United States Bank sought to create foreign credits by obtaining state stocks on credit, and, by selling them in Europe, aid the exchanges. It also entered the cotton market as a monopolizing buyer. The insti- tution, on the expiration of its United States charter, had obtained a new one from Penn- sylvania. When it went into operation as a state institution, its old bills hd been called in, and new ones issued. When it struggled to maintain its resumption in 1839, it had the boldness to exhume its old bills and pay them out for cotton at almost any price, which cotton was sent to its agents in Liver- pool for sale, and against which to draw sterling bills, which it sold in New York for cash ; thus forming a kiting operation. At the same time, it had obtained some $15,- 000,000 of state stocks from Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and other states, on similar terms, and these were sent to London for sale; but not selling readily, they were pledged to cover bills drawn by the bank. All these plans were insufficient to sustain the institution under its load of debt, and it became evident that nothing short of a second general suspension of the banks could save it. This it undertook to bring about by selling in the New York market its bills on France and England to any amount, and drawing the proceeds from the New York banks in specie. This course was pursued through August, 1839; when, early in October, the news came that the bills so sold in New York on France had 152 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. actual settlement. All these lands were now pressing upon the market, and the distress in cities attending the subsidence of building and other employments, drove crowds upon farming lands, laying the foundation of future prosperity. During the speculative years, the commercial cities increased most rapidly ; and with the revulsion, the agricul- tural states took the lead. The cotton cul- ture had received a great impulse during the same period, by means of the banking credits. The old lands of the Atlantic states were capable of producing cotton at 6 cts. per lb., but it was found that the new lands of the Mississippi valley would produce it at a much less rate. The migration of planters with their hands then took place to the new lands of the west, and the means of so doing were supplied to a great extent by the state bonds issued in aid of banking capital. These institutions made loans to the planters on security of the crops. Under this spur, large tracts of land were got under cultiva- tion, disastrously to the banks, but favorable to a large supply of cotton, of which the export became large. The ten years, 1841 to 1850, thus opened under great depression. The receipts of the federal government, in consequence of the revulsion of trade in 1837, had fallen far behind its expenses, while the duties under the biennial reductions of the compromise tariff were approaching their lowest grade of 20 per cent., and it became necessary to restore the duties, in order to procure rev- enue. The utter failure of the United States Bank, of which a large portion of the stock was sent abroad ; the failure of so many states, some of which repudiated their debts altogether; and the bankrupt law, which had expunged so large a volume of private debts, had produced so much discredit " abroad, that a 6 per cent, stock of the fed- eral government was utterly xinsaleable, not- withstanding that in 1835 the last dollar of the old national debt had been paid in full. Congress, therefore, in 1841, passed an act levying 20 per cent, duties on a long list of articles before free, and in 1842 raised the general level of duties. At this juncture there had been no plan of settling the state debts, and efforts to restore the national bank failed. Amid these adverse circum- stances, however, industry revived from the ruins of speculation, and the foreign com- merce was placed upon a more liberal foot- ing. The English government, taught by been protested. The bank then finally failed, and went into liquidation, when it was found that more than its whole capital had been lost. This event carried with it most of the banks in the country that had followed a similar policy. Liquidation then became general, and went on up to 1843, when the lowest point of credits was reached. The short harvests of England, that were the immediate cause of the explosion in 1837, were also the cause of a gradual restoration of sound prosperity in the United States, by reviving a demand for the products of land. This was the more readily done that the fictitious paper prices that prevented Ameri- can farmers from competing with those of Europe, had disappeared with the bank stoppages. The farmers had nominally sold their produce well, but they had taken pay in bank paper, which the revulsion left valueless in their hands. The process of liquidation swept several hundred banks out of existence, but there remained an immense load of debt due by individuals, to relieve whom Con- gress, in 1841, passed a bankrupt law. The operation of the law relieved 39,000 persons, from debts to the amount of $441,000,000. The disasters involved the failure of several states, with an aggregate debt of $100,000,- 000. The banks that were liquidated had an aggregate capital of $200,000,000. Thus, the recorded losses were as follows : States $100,000,000 Bankrupt debts 441,000,000 Bank capital 200,000,000 $741,000,000 The debts that were settled without the intervention of the law, were supposed to be equal to those legally discharged, but the amount recorded is an enormous sum. In consequence of those disasters, many states, in revising their constitutions, forbade the authorization of more bank charters. While speculation had thus run riot, during the ten years up to 1840, consuming the available capital of the country, the population had not failed to increase and extend itself over the face of the country. Many of the states had projected large works, for the construction of which they had con- tracted debts; and the expenditure upon the works had attracted laborers, who ulti- mately became settlers. The sales of public lands had been very large, but these had to a great extent been taken up by speculators, and this operation in some degree prevented BANKRUPT LAW ENGLISH FREE TRADE. 153 the experience of the past, had decided to relieve commerce from many restrictions, and in 1842 modified her corn laws, and ad- mitted provisions, which had previously been prohibited, to entry, at comparatively low duties. The first opening of the trade to provisions cheese, butter, etc. was not at once successful ; many attempts were re- quired, and much perseverance, before the American articles became properly prepared for and appreciated in the English markets. Success, however, ultimately attended the trade, and a large opening to western prod- uce was made, that has proved of a per- manent nature. This circumstance gave an impulse to commerce, which was greatly ac- celerated by the failure of the potato crops in 1845 and 1846. That event was of so grave a nature as to lead to the abrogation of the corn laws altogether, and also to a suspension of the navigation laws in England, France, Holland, and Belgium, for the reason that the shipping was inadequate to the transportation of food. The course of com- merce during the ten years, 1841 to 1850, was as follows : Exports. Domestic. Foreign. Total. Imports. Of those amounts. Specie. Exports. imports. 1841, $106,382,723 $15,469,081 $121,851,804 $127,946,177 $10,034,332 $4,988,633 1842, 92,969,996 11,721,538 104,691,534 100,162,087 4,813,539 4,087,016 1843, 77,793,783 6,552,697 84,346,480 64,753,799 1,520,791 22,390,559 1844, 99,715,179 11,484,867 111,200,046 108,435,035 5,454,214 5,830,429 1845, 99,299,776 15,346,830 114,646,606 117,254,564 8,608,495 4,070,242 1846, 102,141,893 11,346,623 113,488,516 121,691,797 3,905,268 3,777,732 1847, 150,637,464 8,011,158 158,648,622 146,545,638 1,907,024 24,121,289 1848, 132,904,121 21,132,315 154,036,436 154,998,928 15,841,616 6,360,224 1849, 132,666,955 15,088,865 147,755,820 147,857,439 5,404,648 6,651,240 1850, 136,946,912 14,951,806 151,898,718 178,138,318 7,522,994 4,628,792 $1,131,458,802 $131,105,780 $1,262,564,582 $1,267,783,782 $65,012,921 $86,906,156 In these aggregates, we have the reverse of the trade during the ten years to 1840, since the imports scarcely exceeded the ex- ports, including specie; and exclusive of specie, there was an excess of $14,677,036 exports over imports. The exports of do- mestic produce had become very considerable. The large breadth of land that had been brought under cotton, and the rapid settle- ment of farm lands after the revulsion, had laid the foundation for an extended produc- tion, while the means of transportation had been so much increased, as to equalize prices at a lower level on the seaboard, and supply a far larger quantity for shipment than had been possible before. Nevertheless, the de- mand became so urgent in the three years ending with 1847, as to tax every means of transportation to its utmost capacity, and to carry freights to an inordinate height, notwith- standing the suspension of the navigation laws in England. The demand for food abroad had super- seded that for all others to a considerable extent. The necessity of carrying food raised the freights so high, that other ma- terials would not pay to carry ; the more so, that it is a well-known effect of dear food, to lessen the purchase of clothing and other articles. Hence, when the market for cloths was lowest, the freight on the materials was highest. The condition of Ireland made it necessary to introduce Indian corn as a sub- stitute for potatoes. This was by great efforts accomplished in a degree, and thereby a permanent market made for corn. That article of food is, however, very far from being popular with the people. The effect of the famine, joined to the general influence of the change of English policy, was to carry up the domestic exports from $106,000,000 in 1841 to $150,000,000 in 1847. This in- crease was almost entirely due to breadstuffe and provisions, which reached a value of $68,761,921 in 1 847, beingnearly one-half the whole domestic exports for that year. The large sale of western produce so inaugurated gave an unusual stimulus to the activity of internal trade, and to the value of western lands and credits ; and the foundation was thus laid for the movement which so sin- gularly culminated in 1857. While the famine demand of 1846 caused so large an export of American produce, in return for which merchandise was necessarily to be received, the federal government re- covered from the embarrassments induced by the revulsion. It was, however, still em- barrassed, but this time with a surplus, rather than a revenue ; and in 1846 the tariff was again revised, so as to reduce the gen- eral average of duties some 7 per cent. The 154 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. principle of protection was finally disavowed, and that of revenue only admitted as a rule of action. This reduction of duties naturally gave a spur to importation, at a moment when the exports were very large. There was at that time, however, no speculative action in this country, nor much inflation of credit, by which large quantities of goods could be suddenly placed ; and the sales of produce were so prompt, as to throw a large cash balance in favor of the country : hence, of the imports of 1847, $24,121,289 were in specie the largest amount ever imported from abroad in one year a fact which im- parted much activity to trade ; and in the following year, when, the exports of farm produce declined, $15,841,616 of that specie returned whence it came. That re-export was, however, much stimulated by the ex- traordinary political convulsions that over- took Europe in February, 1848. The pecu- liar theories avowed by the successful rev- olutionists in relation to property, which was declared to be " robbery," greatly alarm- ed the public mind, and tended to make French property utterly unsaleable for the moment. The consequence was the most active shipment of money, silver particularly, with which to purchase the cheap goods of France. The panic soon passed, but de- pression continued under the provisional government, which, in order to encourage industry and employ workpeople, gave the manufacturers orders for goods, and allowed a drawback of 10 per cent, on merchandise exported out of France. This state of affairs caused the importation thence into the United States to be larger. Among the goods so imported was a quantity of Lyons silk, which had been ordered by the govern- ment with the view to employ the operatives. As the government had given no directions as to colors, the whole was made up, to the extent of 10,000,000f., in tricolor. A large portion of this was bought by a New York house, and gentlemen's coats for a long time had tricolor sleeve linings. With the in- stitution of the new government in France, confidence returned, and new branches of trade were opened with France, as well as other countries of the continent, which be- gan to be rivals for the American trade. The Germans and Belgians had so far ad- vanced in the production of certain manu- factures, as to dispute the French and English pretensions to supply the United States, and eredits began once more to form the medium of extended sales of foreign merchandise. The competition was now, however, far more severe with the home manufactures, which were so far advanced as not only to main- tain themselves against new competition, but to drive out those which had long held the field in particular goods. The balance of the ten years' business was, notwithstanding, very small. The period closed, however, with one of the most remarkable discoveries of modern times. We allude to the gold discoveries in California. The war, which carried Americans to California, gave them the opportunity to discover, and the "dust" was soon detected in the neighborhood of Captain Sutter's fort. The intelligence was received with great incredulity. The learned said the location and character of the gold was contrary to all precedent ; but soon the metal came, and was satisfactorily assayed. Each successive arrival brought stronger confirmation, and about $9,000,000 worth was received in 1850. Since then, the amount received has been nearly $50,000,- 000 worth per annum. The decade ending with 1860 was one of the most extraordinary in the history of commerce. It commenced with a confirma- tion of the astounding gold discoveries in California, followed by as important a dis- covery of the same nature in Australia. These events deeply stirred the commercial mind throughout the world, coming, as they did, at the moment when the political difficul- ties of Europe had settled down in a manner to win public confidence in continued peace and security. The discovery of such large supplies of gold induced the general belief that the metal would depreciate, as compared with commodities and silver, and that the depreciation would manifest itself in a rise in prices of all industrial products. Seri- ous apprehensions were entertained through this superficial view of the case, particularly in Europe, where a large class are rich on fixed annuities, or in the receipt of a fixed amount of money per annum. If all property was to rise in value, leaving the amount of rents the same in money, it would be equiva- lent to ruining creditors for the benefit of debtors. Thus, if a farmer had mortgaged his farm for say $5,000, the annual interest at 6 per ct. would be $300 ; at an average price of $1 per bushel for wheat, it Avould require 300 bushels per annum to pay the interest, and ultimately 5,000 bushels to pay the principal. If the mortgage run five REVOLUTION" IN TRANCE FARMERS GOLD. 155 years, lie would be required to give, alto- gether, 1,500 bushels for interest, and 5,000 bushels for principal together, 6,500 bush- els. If, through the influx of gold, prices came permanently to be $2 for wheat, it would at once reduce the quantity per annum that he would have to pay to 150 bushels, and the ultimate amount for principal to 2,500 : in other words, he would save half his grain, at the expense of his creditor, and the money value of his farm would be doubled. This would be of no benefit to him, beyond the discharge of his debt, be- cause the value of all that he had to purchase would rise in the same proportion. All creditors would lose half that was due them. This was an important consideration for the debt-covered countries of Europe, where so large a portion of the people are creditors of the governments. In Holland, to avoid this, they passed a law doing away with gold as a legal tender, and making silver the only medium of payment, under the impres- sion that silver would rise in the same proportion as other commodities. In the United States, the same impressions were entertained, but the event showed that the fears were groundless. But this view natu- rally stimulated the production of commodi- ties that were to rise in value, and industry became unusually active, since all classes wished to profit by the anticipated rise. Above all, commercial enterprise and migra- tion tended strongly to the gold countries, the direct source of the anticipated benefits. A vast amount of capital was sent to both California and Australia. The United States shipped to the latter country, in 1853, a large amount of goods; and to California the drain continued on a very extensive scale, with small remuneration to the shippers. The production of California gold has been $600,000,000, and it has cost an equal amount of capital. In other words, there has been no profit on the production. The capital that it cost exists in the gold itself, and in the cities and property of California. From nearly all nations the capital that now constitutes the wealth of California, flowed thither in exchange for the gold. While this great enterprise of gold digging has been in direct prosecution, another equally as exten- sive was undertaken, viz. : the construction of 20,000 miles of railroads, at a cost of $720,000,000. The capital for the enter- prise was drawn from Europe, in the shape of money and iron, and from the eastern states, in subscriptions to stocks and bonds. These have not all turned out well, but the capital expended remains in the shape of railroads that are now ready and efficient means of developing future trade. The speculative investments in lands and western property also ran to an inordinate extent in the same period, and nearly $500,000,000, ^n the best estimates, took this direction, following the trail of American migration, from the eastern to the western states, im- pelled by the large immigration from Europe. As we have seen elsewhere, 2,518,054 per- sons arrived from abroad in the period here mentioned. These persons brought with them, at the usual estimate of $100 per head, $251,805,400 in capital, as money and goods. A large portion of this was expended in transportation expenses and in settling new homes. We have, then, the following esti- mated items of extraordinary expenditures in the ten years, 1850 to 1860: Capital sent to California $600,000,000 " spent in 20,000 miles of railroad 720,000,000 " expended in land operations 500,000,000 " expended by newly-arrived immigrants at fifty dollars each 125,900,000 Total extraordinary expenditures $1,945,900,000 The 300,000 persons who went to Cali- fornia to consume the capital sent thither, returned $600,000,000 worth of gold, of which a large portion went to Europe,whence goods came. The railroad expenditure re- sults in effective investments in trade. The land investments are not " active," for the present, but are not entirely lost. The im- migrants are mostly at work, producing capital in new states. While these large expenditures took place in the United States, Europe incurred a heavy loss in the failure of her corn harvests, that she was obliged to make good from the corn crops of the United States. She also incurred a heavy expense in the Russian war, which returned very little for the invest- ment, but which required a larger supply of American produce, particularly pork, whis- key, but of gold, above all. The loss of her vine crops, also, brought American whiskey in demand, as a substitute, and thereby, possibly, cut off permanently a supply of genuine grape liquors for the United States. Those events caused a larger demand for produce, at a time when the expenditures for gold, rails, and land were so active. It is not a matter of surprise, under all these circumstances, that the gold diggers, road 156 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. in addition to war and short crops, demanded more raw materials. The imnort nnd nxnort. table, therefore, shc,,^ ^ ever before, as follows : builders, speculators, and emigrants, so well supplied with money, should require a larger quantity of goods, both manufactured and imported, while similar activity in Europe, 1 7 more raw materials. The import and export table, therefore, shows higher figures than ever before, as follows : 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, Domestic. $196,689,718 192,368,984 213,417,697 253,390,870 246,708,553 310,586,330 338,985,065 293,758,279 335,894,385 385,000,000 Exports. Foreign. $21,698,293 17,289,382 17,558,460 24,850,194 28,448,293 16,378,578 23,975,617 30,886,142 20,865,077 25,000,000 Total. $218,388,011 209,658,366 230,976,157 278,241,064 275,156,846 326,964,908 362,960,682 324,644,421 356,759,462 410,000,000 Imports. $216,224,932 212,945,442 267,978,647 304,562,381 261,468,520 314,639,942 360,890,141 282,613,150 338,768,130 444,500,000 Of these amounts. Specie. Exports. Imports. $29,472,752 $5,453,592 42,674,135 5,505,044 27,486,875 41,422,423 56,347,343 45,745,485 69,136,922 52,633,147 63,887,411 78,500,000 4,201,382 6,958,184 3,659,812 4,207.632 12,461^799 19,274,496 7,434,789 7,000,000 $2,766,799,881 $226,950,036 $2,993,749,917 $3,004,591,285 $507,306,493 $76,156,730 The imports rose steadily to over 000,000 in 1854, under the first Australian and Californian excitement, and took larger dimensions as the railroad operations pro- gressed. Eailroad iron figured largely in the amount in exchange for bonds. The imports of silks rose from $13,731,000, in 1 850, to $30,636,000. The most remarkable rise in the importation was, however, in sugar, which, from $11,000,000, rose to nearly $55,000,000, in 1857, in consequence of the failure of the Louisiana crop, at a moment of very active demand. So high a figure to be paid for sugar at a critical mo- ment went far to disturb the exchanges, and aid the panic of 1857. We find that the whole amount of importations for the ten years reached $3,004,591,285, exceeding, by $1,736,807,503, the importations of the pre- vious ten years. This excess of expenditure corresponds with the estimated amount of capital expended for extraordinary purposes, since a considerable portion of the expendi- tures was applied to domestic manufactures. The operation of the treaty with Canada pro- duced a somewhat larger receipt of foreign goods. These also swelled proportionately the aggregate imports. The excitement man- ifest in the United States in regard to gold and railroads, was also present in England and Europe. The production of manufac- tured wares to send to the gold countries, and to avail of the local demand for goods, required more raw material, at a moment when the short harvests and war enterprise enhanced general wants. The effect of these was equivalent to a large transfer of capital to the west, not only from Europe, but also from those eastern states that are usually buyers of food. Thus the wheat crop of the United States in 1850, by census, was equal to 22,000,000 bbls of flour. The aver- age export price in that year was $5, giving to the crop a value of $110,000,000. In 1855, the average price was $10, giving a value of $110,000,000 greater. This sum was taken out of the pockets of the food buyers, to the profit of the food sellers, at the moment when the latter were enjoying so large an expenditure for other purposes. The export value of agriculture rose from $24,309,210, in 1850, to $77,686,455, in 1856. The great activity of the years ending with 1 857 was, then, due to heavy expenditure of capital at the west simultaneously with profitable sales of its crops. The panic of that year caused not only a total cessation of the expenditure, but an earnest desire to recover capital invested at the west. Rail- road building stopped, migration ceased, speculation was at an end, and, at the same moment, European crops being good, prices of produce fell in face of very poor western harvests. With this combination of circum- stances, the decade closed under a sort of paralysis. There was no exhaustion of capi- tal, since it was apparently more abundant and cheaper at the great eastern reservoirs than ever before ; but the stimulus to its employment was gone, and it accumulated in first hands. The broad lands of the west are well settled ; they are well supplied with means of communication, and are ready to throw out limitless supplies of capital, when the wheel is once more in motion. If we bring together by recapitulation the aggregates of the seven decades since the formation of the government, we shall FARMERS GOLD, ETC. 157 have a very interesting synopsis of the national progress in respect of commerce. The trea- sury department has also caused to be pre- pared, with great care, the annual value of agricultural products and manufacturing in- dustry at corresponding periods. If we add them to the table, it will be so much the more complete, as follows : 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, Exports for periods of ten years. Domestic. Foreign. Total. $293,634,645 $191,344,293 $484,968,938 383,401,077 372,536,294 755,937,371 462,701,288 127,190,714 589,892,002 536,104,918 229,643,834 765,748,752 892,889,909 199,451,994 1,092.351,903 1,131,458,801 129,105.782 1,260,564,583 2,766,799,881 226,950,036 2,993,749,917 Imports. Manuiaciures. Annual value. Agriculture. Annual value. $591,845,454 . . 927.663,500 $145,385,906 688,120,347 62,766,385 798,633,427 111,645,466 1,302,476,084 483,278,215 $621,163,977 1,267,783,782 1,055,595,899 994,093,842 3,004,591,285 2,000,000,000 1,910,000,000 $6,466,990,519 $1,476,222,947 $7,943,203,466 $8,581,113,879 This table, mostly official, gives the ex- traordinary results of a nation's industry and commerce in a period of seventy years. The growth has such an accumulative force, as to be very surprising. In the item of re-exports of foreign goods, the trade never recovered the figures they touched at the period when American vessels did the carrying trade for fighting Europe. Latterly, however, under the warehouse system of the United States, and the reciprocity treaty with the British ' provinces, some increase in that respect has taken place, the more so that steam and ex- tended relations are .opening to the United States a larger share of the South American trade, tending ultimately to give the United States the preponderating influence. The exports of domestic goods grow rapidly under the more extended demand for cotton throughout the world, and of which the United States is the only source of supply. All other cotton countries, India particularly, require more cotton in the shape of goods than they supply in the raw state. The de- mand for cotton clothing increases in the double ratio of greater numbers and greater wealth throughout the world. Cotton is, however, not the only article which increases in export value. The tables show us that gold has figured in ten years for $507,000,- 000 as an article of export, and will probably never be less. The agricultural resources of this country have just begun to be developed. Up to 1842 there was, under the restrictive systems of Europe, comparatively no market for American farm produce. In that year the statesmen of England recognized the fact that the demands of English workpeople for food had outgrown the ability of the British islands to supply it on terms as low as it could be bought elsewhere. They therefore removed the prohibition upon the import of cattle and provisions, and reduced the duty on grain. This opened a market for Amer- ican produce, which grew rapidly. The cir- cumstances of the famine of 1846 justified the wisdom of the English government, and led to the entire removal of the corn duties in 1849. That example was followed by France and her neighbors. France, however, restored the duties in 1859. The liberal legislation of England, the famine, the wars, and speculations of Europe, have gradually extended the demand for American produce, at the time when a very broad field had been opened to supply that demand. This we may illustrate. The area of Great Britain's in- dustry hills, lakes, vales, and valleys is 53,760,000 acres; and the population in 1812, when she made war on us, was 11,- 991,107. Now we find from the table of land sales, elsewhere given, that the federal government has sold in the last twenty years selected farm lands to the extent of 68,655,- 203 acres, and has given to railroads 42,- 000,000 acres more of selected lands, mak- ing 1 10,000,000 acres that have mostly passed into the hands of settlers. This is a surface double the whole area of Great Britain ; and the population on that area has increased, in the same time, 11,374,595, or a number nearly as large as that of Great Britain in 1812. There have been built on that area in the last ten years, and are now in operation, 20,000 miles of railroads, crossing every part of it, and bringing every farm within reach of a market. The speculators and road builders, who ate up the produce of that area, during the process of road construction, have van- ished, and the whole is now offered by a hundred channels to the best bidders of Europe. We have said that corn is the settler's capital, and that corn, in the shape of grain, pork, and whiskey, is the staple 158 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. export of a new country. The corn product I of pork. In that year the weight of pork of 1855, per state reports, was 600,000,000 ! exported was 164,374,681 Ibs. Of this bushels. The number of hogs packed that year was 2,489,050, averaging 200 Ibs. each, and giving a total weight of 497,900,000 Ibs. amount, 58,526,683 Ibs. went to England, or 12 per cent, of the whole production, as the result of her more liberal policy of 1842. QUANTITIES OF CORN AND PORK EXPORTED TO GREAT BRITAIN. Pork. Hams and bacon. Lard. Corn. "Wheat. Flour. barrels. Ibs. Ibs. bushels. bushels. barrels. 1840, 1,061 104,341 615,972 620,919 1841, 4,769 26,394 444,305 12,548 119,854 208,984 1842, 6,900 160,274 3,430,732 123,665 143,300 208,024 1847, 73,940 14,367,105 17,798,770 15,526,525 4,399,951 2,457,076 1848, 87,760 29,218,462 27,283,741 5,062,220 2,034,704 958,744 1849, 111,385 53,150,465 21,388,265 12,392,242 608,661 953,815 1855, 64,663 30,240,161 15,349,922 5,935,284 8,036,665 2,026,121 1858, 13,578 15,365,524 10,288,474 3,215,198 8,926,196 3,512,169 The cotton, tobacco, and rice of the south, the farm produce of the west, and the gold of California, each contributed an increasing proportion to the general exports ; but manu- factures have also come to figure largely the general aggregate. in The following table gives the proportions in which the general heads of exports have contributed from time to time to the result, since the formation of the govern- ment ; and also the total exports, including all articles: HEADS OF EXPORTS. Tobacco Flour and United States Total of all Cotton. and rice. provisions. Manufactures. specie. domestic exports. 1790, $42,285 $6,103,363 $5,991,171 $19.666,000 1803, 7,920,000 8,664,000 15,050,000 $2,000,000 42,'205,961 1807, 14,232,000 7,783,000 15,706,000 2,309,000 48,699,592 1816, 24,106,000 15,187,880 20,587,376 2,331,000 64,781.896 1821, 20,157,484 7,143,349 12,341,360 2,752,631 $10,478,059 43,671,894 1831, 31,724,682 6,908,655 12,424,701 5,086.890 9,014,931 61,277,057 1836, 71,284,925 12,607,390 9,588,359 6,1071528 345,738 106,916,680 1842, 47,593,464 11,448,142 16,902,876 7,102,101 1,172,077 92,969,996 1847, 53,415,848 10,848,982 68,101,921 10,351,364 2,620 150,637,464 1851, 112,315,317 11,390,148 21,948,651 20,136,967 18,069,580 196,689,718 1854, 93,596,220 12,182,204 65,941,323 26,849,411 38,234,566 253,390,870 1859, 161,434,923 23,281,186 37,987,395 32,471,927 60,110,000 335,894,385 These general heads represent all parts of the Union cotton and tobacco in the south, flour and provisions in the west, manufac- tures in the east, and gold in the Pacific states. It is difficult to see any great dif- ference in the prosperity which may attend each in the future. The south is most secure in its market, holding, as it does, an absolute monopoly of a raw material, which is indis- pensable to the industry of 5,000,000 people at home and abroad, without which $500,- 000,000 employed in manufactures would be valueless, and without which a large por- tion of the clothing of civilized man would fall short. The peril of this position to manufacturers, operatives, and merchants is apparent to statesmen, and the utmost efforts are vainly made to find a remedy. The greater the exertion used, the more depen- dent are the manufacturers on the south. India was long the hope of England, but there are 120,000,000 persons in India whose scanty hand-spun clothing is composed of cotton. Every effort to improve their con- dition, and to induce a larger culture of cot- ton, has but one result viz. : to create a larger demand for cotton machine clothing from them ; and the dependence upon the United States is the greater. The import of cotton from India has been the cry for thirty years. What is the result ? English official returns give the following figures for 1859 : Ibs. Import of raw cotton from India, 1859, 192,330,880 Export of cotton goods to India, " 193,603,270 Excess of cotton sent to India, . . 1,272,390 The field for the extension of the machine goods in China and India is limited only by the means of the people to buy. The more those means are increased, the greater is the demand for the raw material ; and the value of cotton rises annually on that basis. The FARMERS GOLD, ETC. 159 productions of the west are more exposed to rivalry than those of the south ; but since the formation of the present government, England and western Europe, from being large food exporters, have come, by the growth of manufactures, to be large food importers, and their supplies are drawn more steadily from eastern Europe. Those resources are coming to be narrowed, for the same reason. The United States, on the other hand, with their immense plains and growing means of communication, are assuming a more regular position as a source of supply, which will annually swell the exports. The column of manufactures is a gratifying evidence that the colonial position is at last overcome ; that the requisite skill and capital for manufac- turing against all rivalry are at last acquired, and that American industry now finds sale in the markets of the world. The South American countries offer the legitimate opening for that sale. The gold of California is always a merchantable commodity, and must sell under all circumstances. The internal production of wares has in- creased in a ratio more rapid than even the importation of them. The annual production rose from 62,000,000 in 1820 to 1,055,000,- 000 in 1850, as manifest in the cplumn of manufactures reported in the above table. In order to manufacture to advan- tage, something besides a law is necessary. There must be capital and a supply of skilled labor. Those, in the long race of a thou- sand years, grew up in England, where the system of manufactures is mostly individual. A man learns his trade, and devotes himself to the production of an article, or a part of an article, and by the constant exercise of intelligence and economy, he comes finally to perfect it in the cheapest manner. These productions are combined by other parties into merchantable commodities. In the United States it was a consequence of the pro- hibition under the imperial government, that these individual industries did not grow up. There were no factories in which young ar- tisans were learning a business, and when sep- aration took place there was no experienced labor. When, therefore, the capital that had been earned in commerce was suddenly applied to manufactures, the only mode of proceeding was the corporate mode ; the capital was subscribed by a company, and the works directed by persons often of little practical experience. Under such a system, progress was difficult. With the large im- 10 migration of skilled workmen from abroad, however, a greater breadth has been given to all branches, and progress is very rapid, the more so that the general prosperity enables consumers to extend the best possible en- couragement to producers, by buying their wares. The chief consumers of these have been the agriculturists, and the interchange of manufactures for agriculture forms the chief trade of the whole country. In 1840, per census reports, the value of manufac- tures was $483,278,215, and of agriculture, $621,163,977 ; the imports were $107,000,- 000. The interchange of these commodities, at first hands, would involve an aggregate trade of $1,211,442,192. The same items for 1850 would give an aggregate of $2,305,- 343,446 nearly double the amount. But the raw material passes through many hands before it reaches the manufacturer, and his wares pass through a succession of mer- chants, jobbers, and retailers before they are finally consumed. Grain passes through many hands before it is finally eaten. The grinding of flour is one of the largest manu- factures of the country, turning out in 1850, $136,056,736 per annum. It is probable that each of the articles which form the ag- gregate of the mining, manufactures, agricul- ture, and imports, is sold four or five times before it is finally consumed. This would give an aggregate trade of $10,000,000,000 per annum, in 1850, against $6,000,000; 000 in 1840, or an average of $2,000 per annum for every effective man in the country. This seems very large. If, however, we have recourse to the circular of the leading mer- cantile agency in New York, whose rami- fications extend over the Union, we find they report upon their books, 250,000 firms in business in 1857 the panic year; of these firms in business 4,932 failed in 1857, for an aggregate of $291,750,000 of liabilities, or an average of $58,350 each. If the aver- age of all the persons doing business was only $50,000, or $8,350 each less than those who failed, then the aggregate amount of credits must have been $12,500,000,000 in 1857. The firms on the books do not in- clude the retailers to any great extent. Thus the liabilities of 1857 far exceed the esti- mate we made on the figures of 1850. Again, the bank discounts in the past year are $637,183,899; these purport to repre- sent bills not more than sixty days to run. The average of some of the largest city banks is fifty-four days ; at sixty days the 160 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. amount of discounts for a year would be, in round numbers, $4,000,000,000; and the exchanges at the New York clearing- house, as we see in another chapter, are over $8,000,000,000 per annum. These figures give some idea of the vastness of that immense traffic, which consists in the inter- change of the products of industry. In 1840, the active bank loans were $278,000,- 000, which, at the same average time, would give $1,668,000,000 of discounts for the year, which holds about the same. In 1850, the loans were $413,756,759, which would give an aggregate discount for the year of $2,484,- 000,000. Comparing these aggregates for several years, we have results as follows : Annual productions. 1840, $1,211,442,192 1850, 2,305,343,446 1860, 4,444,50(1,000 Annual Bank transactions. discounts. $6,055,000,000 $1.668,000,000 11,525,000,000 2,484,000,000 22,222,500,000 8,943,003,000 We have, then, the fact that the national trade doubled in the ten years ending with 1850, as a consequence of the increased pro- ductions of industry ; and the best data give the same general results for the decade now closing. These large figures, astonishing as they seem, are not out of proportion to the immense growth of the country in breadth and numbers. The broad surface of the Union, be- tween the Atlantic and the Mississippi river, is now covered with states. Thc- thirteen colonies that emerged from a war, eighty years since, have grown to be thirty- three states, with a land value of, in round numbers, $9,317,000,000. All this vast ter- ritory is now productive, yielding its annual returns, and giving a productive annual cap- ital beyond any thing the world has hitherto witnessed. The following table gives the states in the order of their admission into the Union, the area in acres, the population of the old states in 1790, and the population and land valuation of each state in 1850, according to United States census ; also the same figures from the state censuses made nearest to 1860: GROWTH OF THE UNITED STATES. ] ad 5ate of mission. 178T 17S7 17S7 1788 178S 1788 1788 1788 1788 , 1788 1788 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1796 Area In acres. 1,356,SOO 30,080,000 4,384,640 87,120.0CO 3,040.000 4,640.000 7,040.000 17,920,000 763,000 5,139,200 89,265.280 29,440,000 29,120,000 82,000 5,796,000 24,115,200 28,160,000 1790. Population. Valuation. 59,096 4,053,238 434,378 72,824,252 184,139 21,287,981 82,548 10,263,506 238,141 40,163,955 3:8,717 59,441,642 819,728 21,634,004 249,073 12,450,720 69,110 8,082,855 141,899 19,028,103 748,308 59,976,860 340.120 74,885,075 893,751 27,909,479 S5!,416 15.165,484 73,077 0,268,325 35,791 5,847,662 1850. Population. Valuation. 91,532 15,896,870 2,311,786 600,275,851 489,555 153,251.619 906,185 121,619,729 370,792 119,088,672 994,514 551.100,824 583,034 139,026,601 668,507 105,737,492 147,545 77.7JS,974 817,976 92,251,596 1,421,661 252,105.824 3,097,894 715,369,038 869,039 71,702.740 51,687 14,409,413 814,120 72,980,488 982,405 177,013,407 1,002,717 107,981,793 Nearest to I S60. Population. Valuation, 112,216 30,466,924 2,906,115 6*8,770,384 672,035 179,150,000 1,057,286 337,969,471 400,147 211,187.683 1,231, 066 597.980.995 087,049 255,477,588 703,708 214,101,201 174.620 111,175,174 326,073 103,804,326 1,596,318 730.817,653 3,880,735 1,404,907,679 992,622 271,781,101 75,080 20,271.000 3 J 5,098 89,136,34-i 1,155,084 334,770.701 1,109,80] 266,249,3S1 Georgia Massachusetts South Carolina ...... Ehode Island New Hampshire , New York North Carolina , District of Columbia Vermont Ken tucky Tennessee .... Total old states 267,412,120 3,833,287 479,282,646 14,620,449 $0,287.570,916 17,455,653 $5,727,973,4IS Ohio 1802 1812 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1836 1837 1845 1845 1846 184S 1850 1857 25,576,960 29,715,840 21,637,760 80,174,OEO 85,459,200 32,462,080 22,400,000 9 43,123,200 83,406,720 35,995,520 37,931.520 152,043,520 35,155,200 84,511,360 120,9 17.840 90,774,960 6,540 Louisiana Indiana Mississippi Illinois Alabama Maine M issonrl Arkansas Michigan Florida Texas Iowa Wisconsin . . ... California Minnesota Total new states Grand total . . . . 781.2S5.760 ..l,04S;02l',890 3.929.827 $479.282.646 1,980,329 517,762 988,416 606,526 851.470 771,623 583, 16D 6S2,044 209,897 397,6,')4 87,44J 212,592 192,214 805.891 92,597 6,077 433.872,632 176,623,654 ! i 2,870,399 86,901,904 114,7S2,<;45 98,870,118 90,799,513 86,802,101 20,372,101 30,877,223 10.924,107 80.149.671 23,714,658 26,715.525 21,923,173 262,088 8,485.206 1,411,460.792 28,105,635 $4,699,031,708 2,3?0,502 708,002 1,350,428 791,305 1,711,951 964,201 6'J8,279 1.1^2,112 435,450 749,113 140,425 609,215 674,948 775,881 379,!KI4 173,855 840,800,034 878,911,905 318,204,964 161.747..VC, 407,477,307 901,100,100 162.472.914 274.1)65.! (14 53,255,7 II 120,36-2.474 22.210.915 133,722.433 J97,22n..T>0 152,537.700 13,000,361 3,56-2.079.984 31,065,214 $!),317,fi92,-.'61 In addition to these, New Mexico had, in 1850,61,547; Oregoji,13,294; Utah, 11,380. The official United States census for 1860 will change the figures of the states some- what. The aggregate is 31,429,891. SHIPS TONNAGE NAVIGATION LAWS. 161 CHAPTER III. SHIPS TONNAGE NAVIGATION LAWS. THE appearance of the United States as a nation was fraught with the most extraordi- nary results in respect to the condition, pol- icy, and governments of Europe, but in none greater than in respect of navigation. From the moment that the stars and stripes floated from the mast-head of a merchantman, a revolution was commenced which has not yet ceased its influence upon the commerce of the world. Up to that time, England had gradually attained the supremacy of the seas. The Dutch, who had fought a steady battle with the ocean, until they had driven it back and fortified their country by dykes from its invasion, had earned a right to rule ; which, by their energy, they did for a time. Their country was small, however, and pro- duced but little : hence, there was no room to support commerce in the face of the power of England. Great Britain is an island of great productive power, although but little larger than New York. Its coast is indentr ed on all sides with good harbors; and from which side soever the wind blows, it is fair for some of her vessels to arrive, and others to depart. A sea-girt population is neces- sarily a nautical population. The English were peculiarly fitted for sea adventure ; and with such advantages, added to their skill in building, they could not fail to ac- quire ascendancy upon the ocean, which their large population maintained and fed by planting colonies in all parts of the world. When the commerce of England had well grown, as a consequence of these advan- tages, her government, in the hands of Crom- well, sought to increase it by enacting the famous " navigation law," which was popular, because it professed to give England the supremacy of the ocean. The principle of the law was, that no goods should be im- ported into England from Asia, Africa, or America, except in British vessels; that goods imported from Europe in European vessels should pay more than if imported in British vessels. This was very plausible. It would, it was supposed, give England the world's commerce ; but as there then exist- ed none but British vessels in either of the three continents out of Europe, there was no more trade, in consequence of the law, than before. The law was a dead letter. The growth of English commerce was evidently great. The statesmen of Europe ascribed it rather to the law than to the circumstances of the people, and they imitated its provisions. The trade between England and her colonies was large, but the vessels were all British. The ^development of this industry of the North American colonies, and their trade, was probably the first real opposition on the ocean that the Dutch received. So much did it flourish in the seventeenth century, that Sir Joshua Childs, writing in 1670, states that " Our American plantations em- ploy nearly two-thirds of our English ship- ping, and thereby give constant subsistence to, it may be, 200,000 persons here at home." Ship-building had been pursued with great success in the colonies ; and the genius of the colonists had already given their ships a distinctive character. On the declaration of peace, in 1783, that "bit of striped bunt- ing" was found floating at the gaft of all the best vessels. They, by the law, could now carry no goods to England. The large ex- ports of the United States were now to go in the worst vessels, because they were English. The United States immediately passed a similar law, that forbade any goods to be imported, except in American vessels. The American vessel then went out in bal- last to bring home English goods, and the English vessel came out in ballast to carry home American produce. Two ships were employed to do the work of one, and all im- ports and exports were charged two freights. This was too absurd, even for statesmen. A treaty was consequently made, by which the vessels of both nations were placed upon the same footing. The practical effect of this was to double the quantity of tonnage employed, since the vessels of both nations could now carry freights both ways. The position of affairs was, however, entirely new. The United States a young country, with few ships and less capital, distributed among a sparse population presented itself to the old, wealthy, and aristocratic governments of Europe, and demanded of them that they should admit its ships to visit their pop- ulous and wealthy cities, in return for the privilege of their visiting the comparatively poor and unattractive towns of the states. This kind of reciprocal intercourse had never existed ; and the United States now came forward to propose it, and to lay down prin- ciples for its guidance. Their moral influ- ence caused them to be adopted. These principles were, " independence," " equal 162 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. favor," and " reciprocity." These principles were first laid down in the treaty made be- tween France and the United States in 1778, and they became the basis of all subsequent negotiations. The commercial sagacity of the English prompted them to accede at once. The United States vessels were ac- cordingly placed upon the footing of the "most favored nation." From the moment the United States entered that wedge, the iwhole system of exclusiveness began to fall to pieces. There are now forty-eight treaties between the United States and other coun- tries, most of them containing the favored nation clause. The benefits of this example have been so fruitful, that all the nations of Europe have eaten through their old restric- tive systems, by similar treaties with each other. Although England was forced into this concession in her direct trade, she, for a long time, refused it in respect of her col- onies. It was reserved for a later period to force her into that movement. The vessels of the United States having thus gained an international footing, events supervened to give a great impulse to their employment in the carrying trade. In colonial times, Mas- sachusetts Bay was the chief theatre for ship- building, but Maryland was also noted for it. The vessels built in 1771 were as follows: AN ACCOUNT OF THE NUMBER AND TONNAGE OF VESSELS BUILT IN THE 8EVEHAL PROVINCES IN THB YEAR 1771. Square-rigged 1 J )S vessels? , and Tonnage, schooners. Netsr Hampshire 15 40 4,991 Massachusetts Bay ... 42 83 7,704 Ehode Island 15 60 2,148 Connecticut 7 39 1,483 New York 9 28 1,698 New Jersey 2 70 Pennsylvania 15 6 1,307 Maryland 10 8 1,645 Virginia 10 9 1,678 North Carolina 8 241 South Carolina 3 4 560 Georgia 2 4 543 Total.. . 128 291 24,068 The tonnage entered and cleared for the year 1771, to all ports, was as follows : Cleared from colonies. Great Britain 98,025 Southern Europe 37,237 West Indies 108,150 South and Central America. 107,552 Entered colonies. 82,934 37,717 106,713 104,578 350,964 331,942 This was before the war. After the war, the trade received a great development from the French treaty of 1778, and from that with Great Britain. The ship-building during the colonial period had been in very different styles, so that every seaman, at a glance, could recognize the origin of the vessel. The Baltimore clipper, the Essex fishing schooner, the Chesapeake schooner, the down east lumber schooner, or brig, the Hudson river sloop, the Long Island sloop, the Newport boat, the Massachusetts Bay dory, were distinct types, and still preserve their styles to some extent, although the march of improvement has tended to assimi- late all styles, by combining their good points. The changes of trade have varied the demand, and since California has brought clippers in demand, they are now by no means a Baltimore peculiarity. The fishing vessels were peculiarly adapted to their em- ployment. The fisheries were the chief business of the northern colonists, and they had not only the benefit of the large sale to the West Indies and to the Catholic countries of Europe, but the eating of fish in England had, by the law of Elizabeth, in 1563, been ordered on Wednesdays and Saturdays, for the encouragement of seamen, thus affording a large market, from which foreign fish were excluded. The same law became a custom down to our day, it being still almost uni- versal in New England to eat fish on Satur- day. Indeed, so strictly was this custom observed, that in the old slave days of Massachusetts, it being ordered that slaves should not be in the streets on Sunday, a black was arrested on the common. He denied that it was Sunday, and proved his point by showing that "massa no eat salt fish yesterday." The fisheries were thought to be the nursery of seamen, and when the Union was formed, a law of July 4, 1789, allowed a drawback on fish exported equal to the supposed quantity of salt used. This law, in 1792, was changed to a bounty per ton on the vessels engaged in the fisheries, and has been continued down to the present time. The number of tons now in the cod fisheries is 129,637, and the bounty paid to the interest from the origin of the grant to the close of the year 1859, amounts to $12,944,998, of which Maine, New Hamp- shire, and Massachusetts received nearly the whole. It is to be remarked that this bounty-fed interest has prospered less than any other. The whale fishery seemed pecu- liarly adapted to the skill and daring of the American seamen. The whale boats were of a peculiar build, and gradually, although they SHIPS TONNAGE NAVIGATION LAWS. 163 received no protection from the government, they drove away other nations from the seas. The interest is, however, depressed, from the growing scarcity of whales, and the great competition that its product receives from other sources. The making of lard oil brought "prairie whales" into effectual com- petition with those of the ocean. The tonnage engaged in the foreign trade increased up to 1810 very rapidly under the ^Registered "Whalers. Cod Mackerel Steam. tons. Coasting. tons. fishery. fishery. Ocean. Coasting. 1789, 123,893 68,607 9,062 1810, 984,269 405,347 1,227 35,168 . . 1821, 619,896 559,435 27.994 51,351 . . . . 1829, 650,143 508,858 57,278 101,797 35,973 54,036 1840, 899,764 1,176,694 136,926 76,035 28,269 281,339 1850, 1,585,711 1,755,796 146,016 85,646 58,111 44,942 481,004 1858, 2,223,121 1,710,332 198,593 110,896 29,593 78,027 651,363 This table gives a sort of chart of the whole progress of the tonnage. It is observ- able that up to the close of the first period, viz. : to the embargo and non-intercourse of 1809, the registered tonnage, or that engaged in the foreign trade, increased most rapidly ; there were then no large home productions to require much inland transportation, and the carrying trade of Europe was very active. With the growth of cotton, however, an immense freight was given as well to coasting as to registered tonnage, and that was far more valuable to the latter than the carrying trade which had been lost. When the war and non-intercourse stopped the growth of external tonnage, a great impulse was given to that of the interior. The lakes and rivers began to be covered with craft, which swelled the enrolled tonnage. In the south a good portion of this tonnage was employed in the transportation of cotton to the seaboard, where it was freighted to Europe in regis- tered vessels. The operation of the laws in relation to the measuring of vessels had an injurious influence upon the form. The making the beam of the vessel an element in the calculation of the tonnage she would carry, led to the construction of "kettle bottoms," which swelled out in the form of a kettle, allowing her to carry much more than her register showed. These vessels carried cotton mostly to European ports, whence there was little return cargo ; but when, after the war, migration set in freely from Havre, affording a return freight, the form was altered to give accommodation to the passengers, and an impulse was given to ship-building. The latter branch of industry influence of the carrying enjoyed under the treaties with Europe, and the effect of the wars between the great powers. The coast- ing trade did not increase in the same ratio, for the reason that the trade enjoyed by the registered tonnage was not the carrying of American goods, but of foreign products from colonies to Europe. The compara- tive increase of the tonnage is seen as fol- lows : Total. 201,562 1,424,789 1,298,958 1,260,797 2,180,764 3,535,454 5,049,808 languished up to 1829, since there was little carrying trade, and the cotton crop was only one-fourth its present quantity. The British. government had refused to allow the West India colonies to be open to American ves- sels. The West Indies, however, were depend- ent upon the United States for supplies of produce, while they were required to send their own sugar, coffee, and rum to the mother country in British vessels. By re- fusing to let American vessels go thither, she sought to secure three freights for British ships. Thus, a vessel left England with goods for the United States, then loaded provisions for the West Indies, and took home thence sugar, etc., to England, making a round voyage. This the United States refused to permit, unless American vessels participated ; and the trade was closed. The English colonists, deprived of American sup- plies, set up a clamor which compelled the government to open certain ports to Ameri- can ships on the same terms as British ships ; and Congress, in return, authorized the Pres- ident, by proclamation, to open United States ports to colonial vessels, whenever he should have proof of a reciprocal movement. This took place in 1830, and the trade has rapidly increased since. The increase of registered tonnage, as of all others, had been large up to 1 840, under the general animation that trade encountered from the speculative action of those years. Two circumstances now, however, occurred to enhance the demand for shipping. These were the English-China war, and the Amer- ican-Mexican war. The attempts of the English to force the opium trade upon the 164 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. Chinese, contrary to their laws, had induced the Chinese, in 1841, to destroy a large quantity of opium. This brought on the war, which resulted in the opening of five Chinese ports to the commerce of the world, and by so doing had increased the demand for American ships always favorites with the merchants in the trade between India and China. One result of the English war with the Chinese was the negotiation of a treaty of a very favorable nature between the United States and the Chinese govern- ment. The great success of the Americans in that respect was a matter of envy upon the part of the English ; but it was not a matter of surprise, that since the Chinese were compelled to open their ports to trade, they should favor those who had been friend- ly rather than their victors. The Americans and English had long traded together, and their nationality had long been a puzzle to John Chinaman. As far as he could see, they both spoke the same language, although they sailed under different flags; but, with his natural acuteness, he had observed that the " red-haired devils " had more capital than the Americans ; he consequently classi- fied the latter as " second-chop Englishmen." He was now, however, not sorry to give them the advantage in the treaty negotiated by Hon. Caleb Gushing, or, as they styled him, Ku-ching. The return of that minister to the United States across Mexico was at- tended with a new insult from that people, who robbed him of his baggage. Sub- sequently, the long train of insults heaped upon Americans through the recklessness Lines. Port. Style. Ownership. Cunard line, Liverpool, paddle-wheel, British, u Havre, screw, it Collins Liverpool, paddle-wheel, American, Scotch Glasgow, screw, British, Irish Cork, " (i French Havre, K French, Old Havre line, (i paddle-wheel, American, Vanderbilt " M u u Independent line 11 u (( Belgian Antwerp, screw, Belgian Bremen Bremen, paddle-wheel. American, Hamburg Cunard Philadelphia Hamburg screw, Bost'ntoL'pool, paddle-wheel, Liverpool screw, German, British, u Portland a a II Total , . and arrogance of the Mexicans, ended in a war in 1846. That event caused a large demand for shipping on the part of the gov- ernment, for transports. The expedition fitted out under General Scott for Vera Cruz, was the largest naval enterprise ever under- taken by any nation up to that time that is, a like number of troops had never before been transported so great a distance by sea to open a campaign in an enemy's country. The British and French expedition from Varna to the Crimea, ten years afterward, was no greater in magnitude, although great- ly trumpeted by English writers. The Amer- ican expedition was promptly successful, when even the French had failed in their previous attack upon Vera Cruz. Following these two events, that absorbed so much shipping, came the Irish famine. The same famine, which created the extended demand for American produce, also stimulated a large migration to the United States, fur- nishing ample freights to the homeward- bound shipping. The increase of steam tonnage was the most remarkable. The first arrival of a steamer from England was the Sirius, April 23, 1838. That experiment was looked upon with distrust, but it has succeeded so far, that fifteen lines, running forty-five ships, have since been started between the United States and Europe. In July, 1840, the Britannia, the first Cunard boat, arrived at Boston ; and that line has continued to be the most uniformly successful up to the present time. The lines since started are as follows, mostly running from New York : Vessels. 4 5 3 3 2 3 3 3 1 5 2 2 4 3 2 45 Average passag< Tons. out. days, hours. 10,360 11 3 11,800 9,727 12 3 6,612 13 2,000 4,500 15 7,200 13 6 7,600 13 1,800 12,590 4,000 14 12 2,400 16 8,100 11 12 6,856 3,000 98,545 Such has been the progress of steam be- ] ence, time and distance have been reduced tween Europe and America. By its influ- J one-half, and, as a natural consequence, cap- SHIPS TONNAGE NAVIGATION LAWS. 165 ital has been virtually increased, since, by quicker communication, it can be more fre- quently turned. Many disasters have at- tended the ocean service of steam ; but it has been estimated that since the first steamer arrived, in 1838, 500,000 persons have crossed the Atlantic by steam. Of this number, 2,709 have been lost; giving a chance of loss as one out of 184. The first ocean steamer lost was the President, in 1841, with 130 lives, Since then, the loss- es have been as follows : President, Arctic, Pacific, San Francisco, Central America, Independence, Yankee Blade, City of Glasgow, Union, Huraboldt, Franklin, City of Philadelphia, Tempest, Lyonnais, Austria, Canadian, Argo, Indian, Northerner, Hungarian, Ownership. British, American, Brit sh, American, British, (i French, German, British, Lives lost. 130 300 240 160 387 140 75 420 150 160 456 27 32 American, Brit., (about) 120 Value of ves- sel and cargo. $1,200,000 1,800,000 2,000,000 400,000 2,500,000 100,000 280,000 850,000 300,000 1,600,000 1,900,000 600,000 300,000 280,000 850,000 400,000 100,008 125,000 75,000 270,000 Total 2,797 $15,930,000 Showing that a fleet of twenty fine steam- ers, many of them first-class, have been totally lost within the period named. The President, Pacific, City of Glasgow, and Tem- pest, were never heard from; the Arctic, San Francisco, and Central America, foun- dered ; the Independence, Yankee Blade, and Northerner, were wrecked on the Pacific, and the Canadian, Humboldt, Franklin, Argo, and Hungarian, on the Atlantic coast ; the Lyonnais waa sunk by collision, and the Austria was burnt. Not enumerated in this list are two-thirds as many more, generally of a class much inferior, which were lost in the California trade. The growth of steam service in the in- terior of the country was more rapid than its external development. The amount of steam tonnage in ocean navigation, in 1850, was 44,942, against none in 1840. The in- land tonnage engaged on lakes, rivers, and coasting, was 481,004 an increase of 283,- 000 in ten years, at a cost of $28,000,000. When the western country, with its fer- tile fields and magnificent water-courses, attracted settlers, and these had produce for sale, there was but one way to market, and flat-bottomed boats, launched upon the de- scending streams, bore the freights to New Orleans. At that point they were not un- frequently broken up, the owners returning by land. In 1794, two keel boats sailed from Cincinnati to Pittsburg, making the trip in four weeks. Each boat was covered, so as to be rifle-proof; was loop-holed for muskets, and six guns, to carry pound balls. It was in this manner that persons and property were protected from Indian aggression. The other western rivers presented similar means of travel. Even this was progress, however; and each year saw the numbers and wealth of the dwellers increase. In 1790 the first sea-going brig was built at Marietta, Ohio. She was called the St. Clair, 120 tons, owned and commanded by Commodore Preble, who descended the Ohio and Mississippi, and arrived, via Hav- ana, at Philadelphia, where she was sold. In 18024, four ships, three brigs, and three schooners were built at Pittsburg for the Ohio navigation. Keel boats and sea-going vessels rapidly multiplied ; but the dangers of the navigation retarded commerce The dangerous falls of the Ohio were a drawback ; and the Kentucky legislature, in 1 804, incor- porated a company to cut a canal round them. This was, however, not done until 1830. After 1806, the march of commerce and civilization began to make itself felt, and trade was carried on in keel boats, which, however comfortably they might float wit h the sram,required three months for a voyage from New Orleans to Cincinnati. The first steam- boat on the rivers was built by Fulton at Pitts- burg, in 1811. She cost $20,000, and took her first freight and passengers at Natchez, arriving at New Orleans in December. She continued to run three or four years between those points, eight days up and three days down, clearing, the first year, $20,000. Steam tonnage then rapidly multiplied. The annexation of Louisiana, and the events of the war, had greatly stimulated western trade and river tonnage. From the period last named up to the year 1839 a period of twenty-eight years, or thereabout how do we find the aspect of matters altered ? The surface of the " beautiful river," as the French call the Ohio, constantly agitated by the revolutions of paddle-wheels, and its shores decked with cities, towns, and villages, the 166 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. appearance of which sufficiently indicated the vast stores of wealth which a thrifty, in- dustrious population was rapidly bringing to light. It is computed that the country drained by the Ohio and its tributaries em- braces one-third of Pennsylvania, one-third of Virginia, two-thirds of Ohio, all of Ken- tucky, three-fourths of Indiana, and one- fourth of Illinois making an aggregate of 142,000 square miles, or 91,000,000 of acres. The Ohio rises near the 42 d degree of north latitude, and empties itself into the Missis- sippi, near the 37th degree, within which space all the tributaries, with the exception of the great bend of the Tennessee, are cir- cumscribed. The computation of those who owned the first steamboat on this river, made after her first trip, is said to have been, that if 6 cents freight could be obtained on each pound, and they could get enough to do, the investment would be a profitable one. The result has shown that freight has been reduced to less than a cent, and that ample employment is aftbrded for hundreds of boats ! The number of steamboats built previous to the year 1835 inclusive, was 588, of which 173 were built at Pittsburg, and 164 at Cincinnati. The number of boats in active business in 1838 was 357, measuring 65,000 tons, or 180 tons each; and, in 1858, the tonnage had increased to 124,941. The opening of the Erie canal, in 1825, gave a new direction to western produce. The great lakes, from forming a separation from Canada, at once became a means of communication between the inhabitants of the vast circle of their coast and Buffalo, the gateway to the east. Those vast seas form a basin, into which pours from every quarter the produce of eight sovereign states, not including the Canada side. On these lakes a few craft had floated ; and in Erie harbor, in 1812, was built, in seventy days from cutting the timber, that remarkable fleet that bore Perry's flag to victory, and made the lakes American seas. Tonnage multiplied as the produce increased, and the construction of the Ohio canals gave a north- ern direction to it. Up to 1820 there was but one steamer on the lakes, and not until 1827 did a steamer reach Lake Michigan. In 1832 a steam- boat landed troops at Chicago. In 1833 there were on the lakes eleven boats, which had cost $360,000. They carried 61,480 passengers in that year. In 1840 there were forty-eight boats on the lakes, and their value was $2,200,000. In 1859 the number of boats was 186, and the value $3,997,000, including propellers. The amount of tonnage upon the lakes is now as fol- lows : STATEMENT SHOWING THE NUMBER, KIND, TONNAGE, AND VALUATION OF VESSELS ENGAGED IN THE COM- MEBCE OF THE LAKES IN 1859. AMERICAN BOTTOMS. Number. Eig. 68 Steamers 118 Propellers 72 Tugs 43 Barques 64 Briga 833 Schooners Tonnage. Valuation. 46,240 1,779,900 55,657 2,217,100 7,779 456,500 9,666 482,800 30,452 456,000 178,362 4,378,900 1,198' Total 328,156 $9,771,200 CANADIAN BOTTOMS. Number. Eig. 54 Steamers 16 Propellers 17 Tugs 15 Barques 14 Brigs 197 Schooners Tonnage. 21,402 4,127 2,921 5,720 3,295 32,198 Valuation. 989,200 140,500 184,800 134,000 78,400 778,300 313 Total 69,663 $2,305,200 The losses of screw-propellers upon the lakes by wreck and fire, rose from $39,000 in 1848 to $1,159,957 in 1855, and have since diminished to $91,830 last year. The number of vessels lost in ten years was 402, and the value $3,752,131. The num- ber of vessels built in 1858, was 113 on the rivers, and 31 on the lakes. Broad canals and numerous railroads are always busy delivering upon the bosom of the lakes the wealth annually created by 5,000,- 000 of people, and valued at hundreds of mil- lions of dollars. The borders of those lakes are dotted with cities, whose marvellous growth has been proportioned to the rapid settle- ment of the surrounding country. Oswe- go, Buffalo, Cleveland, Sandusky, Toledo, Monroe, Detroit, St. Joseph, Chicago, Mil- waukee, Racine, and many smaller ports, have, like nets, so to speak, accumulated a portion of the vast wealth that has rushed by them over the bosom of the lakes. Each of these cities has a large tonnage employed in the transportation of produce and mer- chandise ; and that tonnage has in the last few years received a new development by the introduction of the newly constructed screws. The invention of Fulton consisted in the adaptation of paddle-wheels to propel vessels. The idea of propelling by a screw in the stern was quite as old as that of the SHIPS TONNAGE NAVIGATION LAWS. 167 paddle-wheels ; it was not, however, success- fully constructed until, in 1839, after many failures by others, Ericsson succeeded. A small iron screw-steamer was built and navi- gated to this country in 1839, byCapt. Crane, and she became a tug on the Raritan canal. From that time, screws vindicated their value for certain purposes, as superior to paddles. They have lately performed so well as to lead to the impression that they may yet supplant the paddles altogether. This is more particularly the case with inland navi- gation. The form of the screw has undergone continual changes, to obviate some of the difficulties that presented themselves. The model until recently in use upon the lakes, is the Loper propeller, invented by Capt. Loper, of Philadelphia. The screw was cast in one piece, and of a form that combines many advantages, particularly that of hoisting out of water with a fair wind. Within the last three or four years, however, a Buffalo invention has been introduced, by which the engineer may regulate the " pitch," or angle of the screw blades, according to the circum- stances, without taking up the screw. These steam propellers are obviously of a nature to monopolize the trade of the lakes. They make their trips with regularity and prompt- ness. There are now 1 1 8 on the lakes, with a tonnage of 55,657; and 68 paddle-wheels, tonnage 46,240. The great progress made in the last ten years in railroads, which have come to rival canals and rivers throughout the west and skirting the lakes, has greatly affected the trade in vessels, as well steam as sail. The introduction of steam lessened the amount of tonnage, because steam can per- form more voyages. Railroads have again reduced the quantity of tonnage required, because they run all winter, and at all times with greater speed. While this has been taking place, however, greater facilities for getting to sea have made ship-building on the lakes more active. Several vessels have been built at the lake ports for Liverpool, going down the St. Lawrence, and some schooners have recently been built at Cleve- land, to run between Boston and Albany and Chesapeake bay. Those of about 200 tons cost $10,000. The advantage of build- ing on the lakes consists in the fact that ship plank is much cheaper, say $20 in Cleveland to $60 in Boston, spars $40 against $100 ; and the vessel makes a hand- some freight in lumber on the voyage out. Nevertheless, in the last two or three years, there has been a decrease of lake tonnage, as well through the competition of the raiU roads, as the diminished transport of grain, arising from the cessation of the export demand for grain. The wrecks, condemna- tions, and departures for the ocean, at a time when building is slack, have decreased the actual tonnage. This year the vast crops moving require every available means of transportation. These circumstances of the increase of the western and lake tonnage, indicate the means by which freights accumulated at the sea- ports to employ the ocean or registered tonnage, had increased in such rapid pro- portions in the last nine years. The in- crease from 1850 to 1858 was, it appears, 637,410 tons, while the sail coasting tonnage actually declined. The discovery of Califor- nia gold led to the employment of clipper ships for quick passages round the cape, and these, under the pressure of high freights, rapidly multiplied. In 1855, the number of vessels built was 2,034, having a tonnage of 583,450, or a quantity equal to the whole coasting tonnage of the Union in 1830. The tonnage increased too fast, and reaction overtook it. The quantity built in 1859 was only 870 vessels, of 156,602 tons. In ordinary years, cotton is the chief freight of ships, and the ordinary proportion of shipping is as one ton to a bale of cotton produced. The progress of the registered tonnage during the eight years, from 1851 to 1858, was as follows : REGISTERED TONNAGE. 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, Built. 165,850 193,021 209,898 320,012 336,098 260,676 195,962 96,459 Lost at sea. 23,149 28,083 33,850 53,493 46.149 58', 580 63,232 46,198. Sold Condemned, to foreigners. 3,801 15,247 2,060 17,612 6,400 10,035 7,448 59,244 6,696 65,887 6,992 41,854 9,371 51,791 13,699 25,925 Increase. 123,647 145,265 159,613 199,826 218.366 153^248 71,567 10,635 The building under the clipper fever more than doubled from 1851 to 1855. The sales to foreigners have risen to a large item. In the five years, 1854-58, it amounted to 244, 700 tons, or 20 per cent, of the whole quan- tity built. This, at an average of $100 per ton, amounts to $24,470,000, or yearly aver- age sales of $4,895,000, forming a considerable manufacture. The cheapened cost of build- ing on the lakes and western rivers will transfer to that region much of that trade The enrolled tonnage has been as follows : 168 COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 1851, 1853, 1855, 1857, 1858, Built 132,353 215,673 247,351 182,841 145,827 Lost at Condemned. Bold, sea. 7,675 11,819 15,068 19,257 17,263 2,047 3,209 2,138 1,877 2,337 858 378 Increase. 122,631 200,645 230,144 160,848 125,847 The amount of shipping owned in the United States, and engaged in either foreign or domestic commerce, reached its highest point in 1856, and, after some remarkable fluctuations, had attained nearly the same point in 1861 ; but the presence of rebel privateers in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, during the war, led to the sale or transfer of great numbers of vessels to a foreign flag. Since the close of the war there has been great activity in the building and purchase of ships, and three or four years will probably restore the supremacy of Ameri- can shipping. The following table shows the changes which have taken place, since 1850, in the amount of shipping engaged in our commerce. It has reference to the port of New York alone, but gives the proportions of foreign and American shipping very fairly. Date. 1850, 1851, 1855, 1856, 1861, 1862, 1864, 1865, AMERICAN. No. Vessels. 1,832 2,353 2,487 2,763 3,034 2,693 1,568 1,430 Tonnage. 807,581 1,144,485 1,340,257 1,684,597 1,618,258 1,472,989 845,172 774,459 FOREIGN. No. Vessels. 1,451 1,490 904 1,098 1,943 2,713 3,207 3,210 Tonnage. 446,756 470,567 220,000 386,263 865,447 1,079,492 1,416,734 1,473,815 The commerce of the United States, both in the exportation and importation of goods and products, has advanced with far greater rapidity than that of any other nation of Christendom. The following table shows the extraordinary rapidity of its increase, as compared with that of Great Britain and France, the two greatest commercial nations of the world : NATIONAL EXPORTS. Date. 1800, 1819, 1829, 1839, 1849, 1859, 1860, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, United States. $31,480,903 64,974,382 72,358,671 121,028,416 145,755,820 355,894,385 400,122,296 229,790,280 331,809,459 445,791,370 336,697,123 Great Britain. $118,413,084 176,057,005 179,213,115 266,167,900 317,980,125 626,114,049 664,732,635 951,134,453 709,010,477 802,000,000 France. $53,750,816 83,095,885 121,563,730 188,101,247 207,281,108 321,182,291 424,950,000 819,150,000 420,506,250 499,218,750 The exports from the United States, in 1866, will probably considerably exceed $500,000,000. The exports of a nation, it should be re- membered, are but a part of the surplus remaining after the wants of the people are supplied with the article exported. This is particularly the case with all agricultural pro- ducts, and the amount of these exported bears often a very small proportion to the whole crop. Of cotton, fully one-half the yield is consumed at home ; while of bread- stuff's, the export in 1865 was $53,502,511, and the total yield of the year, in twenty- one states and one small territory only, was $360,000,000, or about seven times the whole export. With each year, too, the proportion of manufactured goods, the prod act of skill bestowed upon the raw material, is increasing; though as yet we are not so far free as we should be from the use of foreign manufac- tured products ; and the many duties which it has been found necessary to impose upon foreign manufactures, so far from diminishing their consumption, have seemed to increase it. The importations of 1866, at agold valuation, were $437,638,966, equal to over $650,000,- 000 in currency, larger than in any previous year of our history, although almost every article imported pays a duty of from thirty- three to fifty per cent, on its prime cost. It is a remarkable fact that, notwithstanding the immense waste and destruction caused by the war, the wealth of the country has increased at the average rate of about five per cent, per annum, and at the next decennial census will undoubtedly exceed twenty-five thousand millions of dollars; thus showing an actual gain of about sixteen thousand millions in the value of property in ten years. This rate of gain, continued for five decades, or fifty years, would make this the wealthiest nation on the globe ; and there is no reason to doubt that it will not only be continued, but increased, since within the next five or ten years, with our Pacific railroad and its branches completed, we shall become the carriers for the whole population of the globe. Swift steamers will then bear the products of the far East to the great port of San Francisco in twenty days, or less, whence they will be brought to New York in five days, and reach Liverpool in eight days more, thus making the circuit of three-fourths of the globe in thirty-three days, while the Atlantic Cable and the Russo- American telegraph give instant communication with the antipodal markets. CENSUS, 1860. THB FOLLOWING TABLE GIVES THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1860, DISTINGUISHING FREE FROM SLAVE, SHOWING ALSO THE NUMBER OF STATES, THE RANK OF EACH STATE ACCORDING TO ITS POPULATION AND THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES TO WHICH IT IS ENTITLED IN CONGRESS, THE TAXABLE VALUATION ACCORDING TO THE LATEST RETURNS, AND THE NUMBER OP MILITIA IN EACH STATE. Mute* Total free population. Slaves. Represen- tation in Congress. Rank as per popu- lation. Valuation. Militia. Maine 619 953 5 22 $162,472,914 73,552 New Hampshire 826 072 8 27 103,804 326 33,538 Vermont 315 877 8 28 86,775,213 28,915 Massachusetts 1 231*494 10 T 597 936 995 161 192 Rhode Island * , 174 621 1 29 111,175174 17,826 Connecticut 460670 4 24 211,187,683 51.680 New York 3 851 563 80 1 1 404 907 679 418846 New Jersey '676*084 5 20 281 333 349 81.984 Pennsylvania 2 924,*501 28 2 568,770,234 350,000 Ohio 2 877 91T 19 3 840,800 031 279,809 Michigan '754'291 6 16 120,362,474 109,570 Illinois 1 687*404 18 4 407 477 367 257 420 Indiana l'370'802 11 6 818 204 964 53918 Wisconsin 768 485 6 15 152,537.700 51,321 Iowa 682 002 5 19 197 223 350 110000 Minnesota 172 793 1 80 781 100 24990 Kansas 143642 1 82 679 240 21,000 884770 3 26 131 306 269 207 780 Oregon 52566 1 86 1 981 101 9,000 Maryland 646183 85382 6 17 255,477,588 46,864 Delaware 110,548 1,805 1 83 80,466,924 9,229 Virginia 1,097 373 495 826 11 5 730,817 658 143,155 District of Columbia 72,093 8,234 85 20,271,000 8,201 North Carolina 679 965 328 877 7 12 271 781 101 79448 South Carolina 808 186 407,185 4 18 214,101 201 86,072 Georgia 615,336 467,461 7 11 837,969,471 78,699 Florida 81 885 68 809 1 31 22216915 12 122 Alabama 520444 435,473 6 13 201 100 100 76,662 Louisiana 854 245 312,186 4 21 878,911,905 91,324 Mississippi 407 551 479 607 5 14 161,747 536 36084 Missouri 1 085 590 115,619 9 8 274,965 164 118047 Kentucky 933,707 225,902 8 9 834,770,701 88,979 Tennessee 859528 287.112 8 10 266 249 384 71 252 Arkansas 331,710 109,065 3 25 53,255,711 47,450 Texas 415,999 184,956 4 28 188,722,683 19,766 Nebraska ... 28,893 88 New Mexico 82,060 84 Utah 50,000 87 Washington 11,624 89 Dakotah 4,839 40 Total 27,673,271 4,002,996 234 $9,312,404,850 3,803,811 It will be observed that the figures for the total population do not quite agree with those in vol. i., p. 160, for the year 1860. This arises from the fact that after that table was printed a revision took place in the official tables. The column of valu- ations, it will be borne in mind, is that of the several States, each for its own taxation purposes, and each on its own peculiar basis. The figures do not therefora give relative values between the States. PRINCIPAL CITIES OF THB UNITED STATES, INCLUDING ONLY THOSE WITH A POPU- LATION OP OVER 50,000 IN 1860. Name. 1790. 1800. 1810. 1820. 1880. 1840. 1850. 1860. New York 83,131 60,489 96,373 123 706 203 007 812 710 615547 821 113 Brooklyn 8,298 4,402 7,175 12042 36233 96838 ) Williamsburg 1 620 5680 80 780 ) 273,325 Boston 18,038 24,027 32,250 48298 61 372 93883 136 881 177902 Baltimore 18,503 26,614 46,555 62788 80625 102 313 169 054 218,412 Philadelphia 42,520 70,287 96,664 108116 167 1S3 258 037 408 762 568084 750 2,540 9644 24831 46338 115 436 158851 Chicago 4,479 29 963 109 420 1,357 4012 10352 21 210 48,194 70226 Newark 6,507 10*953 17290 38894 72055 New Orleans 17,242 27,196 46310 102 193 11 6*375 170,766 St. Louis 4893 5852 16469 77860 160,577 Buffalo 1,508 2,095 8653 18213 42261 81,541 Washington... 81210 8,208 13,247 18.827 23.364 41,000 61,400 of g g O I 525 o ^i 8- S rH 5 o, 00 05 0 00 MS ^S SSS^SSSSSSlrH- ' SctS32SS2grH to O5 O5 1 00 C5CMOCOCOCOJt-rHOOOOOC-*rH CM O O -#" 0. 10 *> . oo o t- i i m O rH i l m O5 iH CO O 00 - rH ir* C^I IQ 00 ^ 1^5 OO OO O If) rH rH i OO ^1 QO.t-OC5rHe<)COrH OOCO COtOrHCO tO C.2C>Oc3 CB g-g'g Scgo'^cS ojp w % "b'S 'Sot "^ %T. & 'I -2 S S ^ i .3 g 3 "S | Greneral total . TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION, STEAM ENGINES, MANUFACTURES, MACHINERY, & c . IMPROVEMENTS IN TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION ILLUSTRATED. TRAYEL AND TRANSPORTATION. CHAPTER I. EARLY ROADS POST ROADS MACADAM- NATIONAL. OF all the marvels that have marked the present century, those which manifest them- selves in the development of the means of locomotion and transportation are among the most wonderful. With the emancipation of the states from their colonial condition, and the formation of a federal government, a most extraordinary activity seems to have been imparted to the inventive faculties of the American people, and to which side soever we direct our attention, we find that all the great and useful creations of genius take date from that auspicious event. The art of transportation has, as it were, been created. Not that our fathers were not possessed of the means of transportation by land or water, but those means were so im- measurably below those no win use, thatitmay be fairly claimed that a new art has been created. When our fathers landed on these shores, it is easily understood that they found no roads, or carriages, or other means of moving from one place to another. In- deed, the countries they had left were at that time but poorly provided with such means, as compared with what they have at present. The first attempts to exchange the prod- ucts of labor, which mark the nascent ^com- merce of a people emerging from barba- rism, are developed through manual labor, and the application of the strength of ani- mals in a rude and imperfect way. The peddler with his pack, and progressively his pack-horse, are the instruments of intercourse in an infant society. From village to vil- lage, pathways are formed, wheel-carriages are invented to gather the fruits of harvests, and they wear their own paths upon the sur- face of the soil, and finally the road is con- structed, more or less perfect, as a means of transport between places more or less dis- tant. In such a state of affairs the roads are very imperfect, and the carriages of the rudest description. It is conceivable that the first step from the pack-horse and its pathway, to the two-wheeled cart and a road was a very great advance nearly as much as from the road to the railway. And this improvement has by no means been of so distant a date as at first we might imagine. Not only is the construction of good roads of very recent date, but up to the present moment a very large portion of the world called civilized is without them. Certain parts of Europe, the French colony of Algiers, and the United States alone possess them. In other words, but little more than one- quarter of the inhabited part of the globe is provided with roads. In China a large part of the internal land transportation is upon human backs. With the exception of one or two important communities, the extensive empire of Russia, with 60,000,000 inhabi- tants, is without roads ; communication is kept up only in the winter, when the ground is frozen, by sledges. Spain is little better off than Russia, and Italy has few of such im- provements. The condition of affairs in this country before the construction of roads is evident to the hardy pioneers of the western fron- tier, and has been at times common to every part of the country. The first settlers on arriving here, it is certain, found no roads, and were not skilled in following an Indian trail. They built their houses upon the summits of hills, as well to avoid the mias- mata of swamps as to get notice of the ap- proach of hostile savages. The connection between these houses was by foot-paths that became horse tracks, and with the progress of events were enlarged into wagon roads. These, ultimately fenced in, became the high- ways, running irregularly over the face of the country, as they were prolonged by settle- ments. The science of road making never guided their direction, nor would farmers EARLY ROADS POST ROADS MACADAM NATIONAL. 173 permit the squareness of their fields to give place to the straightness of roads. These highways are made in the general idea of making the passage of a vehicle between any two given points possible, and various expedients are resorted to, to overcome ob- stacles at the smallest expense. The plough turns up the sides, and the scraper draws the earth to the summit, which is levelled off to be hardened by travel. The reduction of hills or the filling in of swamps is not resorted to in new settlements, but the latter are mostly made passable by laying down logs across the track, and parallel with each other. This (corduroy) road is better than a swamp, but offers so great resistance that a far less load can be drawn over it than over a smooth, level road. The roads of the whole country, encountering these natural difficulties, took their character from their location, and transportation in each district was more or less difficult, according to cir- cumstances. The best roads of the day were such as would now nowhere be tol- erated; as a general thing, the water-courses, so abundant in the country, were the main arteries, and most roads were directed toward these, or in the neighborhood of a large city they converged upon it as a common centre. The number of even these roads at the date of the formation of the government was not large, nor was their quality to be admired. The streams and water-courses were well supplied with small craft, that delivered goods and produce between distant points, but where the route left the water, the transportation became difficult and expen- sive. The war and its success had deeply stirred the public mind, and imparted lull activity to the independent genius and en- terprise of the people. Those 3,000,000 of souls occupied, as it were, but a foothold on this immense continent, to the ultimate possession of the whole of which they al- ready looked forward. The means of trans- portation were the first object and desire that presented themselves to thinking men. Steam, as a power of locomotion, was un- known, and the science of road making little developed. Canals, therefore, pre- sented themselves almost simultaneously to leading men in various sections. General Washington had, before he attained his twenty-first year, crossed the mountains and given his careful attention as an engineer to the subject of canals, more particularly the connection of the Chesapeake with the Ohio 11 river. At a subsequent period he received the thanks of the Virginia House for his report on the results of his examination of the valley of the Ohio. And the war had no sooner closed than we find him, in 1784, pre- siding at a commission sitting at Annapolis, on behalf of Maryland and Virginia, to con- sider the improvement of the navigation of the Potomac, which improvement ultimate-! ly, in after years, became a canal to Pittsburg. General Washington, as an engineer, always took an active interest in works of internal improvement. When the Dismal Swamp canal, connecting the Chesapeake, at Nor- folk, Va., with Edenton, Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, a distance of 28 miles, through the vast Dismal Swamp, was project- ed and executed at the expense of individuals with some government aid, he took some of the stock. One certificate of this stock, originally issued to him for 300, or $1,000, was sold in 1825, at auction, in Alexandria, for $12,100, to Judge Washington. Penn- sylvania, nearly at the same time, appointed commissioners to explore routes for connect- ing the Delaware with the lakes. They reported in favor of the Juniata, partly by canal and partly by river. The result was a charter of the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Company, in 1789, and the Delaware and Schuylkill in the following year, with $400,- 000 capital. In New York the active mind of Gouverneur Morris had already projected the Erie canal. In Massachusetts, the Mid- dlesex canal, 30 miles, was authorized in 1789, and navigated in 1804. In South Carolina the Santee canal was finished in 1802. These, with many other events, show the activity of the public mind at the date of the birth of the Union, in relation to means of transportation. It will be re- membered, however, that the people were then few in number. They were heavily in debt. Their productions were small and trade limited. There was no surplus capital to carry out those magnificent ideas, which were in advance of the times. The natural water-courses of the country ran through the finest farms and delivered most of the produce upon noble bays, which were well provided with ships to transport it abroad for sale. This natural traffic absorbed all the commercial capital of the country, but it was so profitable that in the course of a few years it supplied accumulations for other objects, and it was left for a few years later to witness the prosecution of great en- 174 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. terprises. The roads of the country were in a terrible state, however, and since the new constitution had empowered Congress to establish post-offices and post-roads for the conveyance of the mails, it became its duty to look to the roads, and this was the first practical bond of union between the states. A systematic connection of every town in the whole thirteen states, by state routes under one organization, completed the means of communication and established passenger routes. The statistics of the post-office afford a very good indication of the progress of that kind of transportation : MAIL SERVICE. No. of Miles post offices, post roads. 89 1,905 ... 2,403 37,031 ... 8,450 115,176 1859 27,977 260,052 By stages. Sulkies and horses. Steam. Miles. 89,650 2,534,102 17,693,839 23,448,398 Miles. 756,818 3,058,960 8,531,909 27,021,658 Miles. 628,737 4,569,962 Rail. Miles. 27,268,384 Annual. Miles. 846,468 5,592,652 26,854,485 86,308,402 This table gives the transportation of the mail in the first year of its operation ; in 1811, when steamboats began to run; in 1833, when railroads began to claim a share ; and in the past year, when all these means have been more fully developed in all sec- tions of the country. There are thus three distinct periods of transportation: 1790 to 1810 were 20 years of common roads and sail vessels; from 1810 to 1830 were 20 years of canals and steamboat progress ; and since 1830 there have been 30 years of rail- road progress, which has produced immense results, throwing an entire net-work over the surface of the country between the Atlantic and the Mississippi, and superseding other means of transportation. It is to be ob- served that in the first year of the opera- tions of the post-office department, there were but 1,905 miles of post-roads, and that on these, nine-tenths of the service was on horseback, the stage service being very small ; but as the roads were improved up to 1811, the stage service came nearly to equal the horse service. From that date steam began to take the mails that ran on or near water-courses, and subsequently to 1830 the railroads began to compete with the stages on land ; since that time the stage service has increased but six millions, while in the previous 20 years it had increased over fifteen millions of miles. The extension of post routes has been in 70 years, it appears, over 258,000 miles in the whole country, and the federal government has taken an active part in the extension of roads. The most important work of this kind undertaken was the Cumberland or national route across Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to St. Louis. For this purpose, large annual appropriations were made by Congress. Other roads in many directions were projected, particularly jfrom Washing- ton to New Orleans ; and in the frontier states, numerous roads were constructed by the troops under the direction of the war department. It was thus that the federal government imitated imperial Rome, which in the days of its power clearly understood that that power was to be maintained only by the rap- id march of its legions. From the "eternal city," noble causeways ran to the remotest corners of the then world. These were mili- tary routes simply, and intelligence was con- veyed upon them from station to station with great rapidity. On the fall of the empire, those noble works, instead of being preserv- ed for the uses of commerce, were in a great measure demolished by small states, as a means of preventing invasion. Nevertheless, those Roman roads remained the best roads in England down to the present century. What is called Ermine street connected Lon- don with Carlisle, in Cumberland. Another is known as Watling street. Apart from those old works, the roads of England were no better than those of this country up to the present century. In this respect there is great difference between the works of the Romans and those of the United States. Those old Roman roads had no competitors. During 1,400 years they continued the best means of conveyance. The United States roads, on the other hand, were hardly done before the inventive spirit of the age set up a successful rival in the giant railway, which has become the trunk road. The French government, under the empire, saw the necessity of roads, and began a system for Europe. The noble way over the Sim- plon was the first of these. With the fall of the empire that system became confined to France, but has since been vigorously pushed $20,000,000 per annum was ex- pended for many years in their construction. EARLY ROADS POST ROADS MACADAM NATIONAL. 175 There were in 1815, 3,000 leagues of "roy- al" roads, and these had increased to 10,000 in 1850. 2,000 leagues of departmental, or county roads had, in the same time, increas- ed to 12,100, and town roads were extended by 15,000 leagues. These extended means of communication have imparted to French prosperity much of its strength. In the United States the impulse given to road building by the federal government was taken up by the several states, if not direct- ly at the public expense, yet by laws which compel inhabitants to work on the local roads. These regulations are different in different states. The essential features of all the laws are nearly the same as in the state of New York, where the directing power is in " commissioners of highways," who are chosen in each town, tinder these over- seers are also chosen. The commissioners direct as to the grade of the road, general shape, drainage, etc. The overseers sum- mon the persons who are to work, see that they do actually work, collect fines and com- mutation money. Every person owning land, and every male over twenty-one years, is as- sessed to work. The whole number of days' work shall be at least three times the num- ber of inhabitants in each town. Under this system the roads are never very good. The commissioners work gratuitously, and skill, labor, and time are never to be had for that price. The overseers, being changed every year, are never experienced in the undertak- ing. The men they summon go to it as a half holiday, and the work the overseer sets them at is pretty sure to be that which most bene- fits his own place. The money subscribed is not expended in the best manner. These are all circumstances which do not favor the construction of such roads as will greatly reduce the cost of transportation. In the laying out of the road in this way, a passa- ble track is the most aimed at. To admit vehicles, the track must be cleared of wood by the ax-men, swamps must be overlaid with materials, rivers bridged, and the route laid around hills in order to avoid the difficulties of ascent. These are the main points to make a road practica- ble. It is Very soon discovered that trans- portation on a bad road is much more ex- pensive than on a good, and efforts are ac- cordingly made by the most enterprising to improve the bad roads. The first step is to make the roads in such a manner as to ac- commodate the greatest nnmber of people, and at the same time allow the largest loads to be drawn by horses. The better the road the larger will be the load that a team, or two horses, can draw at a given speed, and of course, the cheaper the transportation. It is to be understood, however, that the road must be equally good for the whole distance that a load is to be drawn, since if there is a space where great difficulties are to be en- countered, the load must be gauged to meet that difficulty, no matter how good may be the remainder of the road. If a highroad leading through one township is not kept up, it neutralizes the public spirit of those ad- joining ; hence the necessity of a general system to insure continuous cheap transpor- tation. To effect this, science has devoted its attention, but with little effect in the man- ner that country roads are made and kept in repair. The requisites of a road are : 1 st, straightness, because straight lines are the shortest ; 2d, it should be as level as possible, because every ascent causes a loss of power. Thus, if a horse draws on an or- dinary level road two tons, and comes to an ascent of one foot in every twenty, he can- not ascend, because, in addition to the draught, he must lift up 200 pounds, or one- twentieth of the whole weight through the whole height. To make the road level, and save this labor and expense, the road must wind round the hill. There is little lost by this, because generally it is no further round than over. To prove this, cut an egg in half longitudinally, and set it upon the table ; the line which goes round the base is the same as that which goes over the top. The half of an apple or any similar body will give the same result. Even if it were longer, it is better to go round, since the horse can do the last and not the other. The road should never be less than a rod wide, to allow two vehicles to pass. The surface of the road must be as smooth and hard as possible, in order to overcome as much as possible the resistance offered by sinking in, which is very serious, because the depression creates little hills before the wheels. Thus, if a wheel four feet in diameter sinks in one inch, to overcome the resistance thus offered one-seventh of the load would require to be lifted up over it. The harder the road, the less the resistance from this source. The greater the number of stones, hard substan- ces, and inequalities there are to be encoun- tered, the greater the resistance from colli- sion. The resistance of friction is proper- 176 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. tional to the roughness of the road, and the extremes of this may be illustrated by a car- riage wheel on gravel and a rail wheel. The loss of power on a road, or in other words, the cost of transportation, is increased in proportion to the increase of these resist- ances, and inversely as they are diminished. To overcome them many improvements have been gradually adopted, such as earth, gravel, broken stone, stone pavements, wood, and railroads. In marshy forests charcoal roa % ds are made. Timber from 6 to 1 8 inches thick is cut, 24 feet long, and piled up lengthwise in the centre of the road in such a manner that the pile will be about 1 2 feet high. This is cov- ered with earth, taken from ditches on either side. When the wood is charred, the coal is raked down to the widthof 10 feet, with a depth of two feet in the centre and one at the side. Such a road becomes very compact, and free from dust. Such a one in Michigan cost $660 per mile. In the older states mostly plank roads were at one time favorites, and many hun- dreds of miles were constructed at a cost of $1,250 per mile. This plan has been gen- erally abandoned. The roads not kept up are a nuisance, and many have been com- plained of, and removed as such. Gravel roads have sometimes been made with the gravel from the shores of rivers, but the resistance offered by these roads is con- siderable. The modes of road making here alluded to, are those which are prevalent mostly in the country districts, and where the work is performed as a tax. These answer for cross roads ; but the great thoroughfares were taken in hand either by the state or by au- thorized companies. Turnpike companies were chartered by most of the states, with the intention that they should construct roads having all the requisites of the best routes, and they were authorized to make a charge to those who use them. These, like most corporations, were subject to abuse ; and the people were com- pelled to pay tolls when they had gained noth- ing in the way of easier transportation. New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and other states, authorized a number of companies which answered a purpose before railroads. The New York turnpike laws enact that ve- hicles having tires six inches wide shall pay half tolls, those with nine inches, one quar- ter, and those 1 2 inches, none at all. These enactments were designed to encourage the use of broad tires, as being less destructive to roads, but where the road is well made, as on the Macadam plan, the breadth of the tire has no effect ; on the other hand, the horses' feet do the most damage. It has been calculated that a set of tires will, in average weather, on a macadamized road, run 2,700 miles, but that a set of shoes will bear only 200 miles travel. The Macadam road, invented by a Scotch gentleman of that name, was introduced in 1820. The principle is simply that stones broken into angular fragments not over a certain size, say that of a pigeon's egg, will, under the pressure of wheels, combine into a compact mass, excluding all water, and, therefore, not subject to the action of frost, and be as solid as the original stone. These have proved to be the best roads, an- swering most of the conditions, and, there- fore, allowing of transportation at the small- est cost. Good, well-made pavements, as used in cities, are better, since they give lit- tle resistance, and afford a foothold to the horses. In order to understand the differ- ence in value of these roads, it may be re- marked that a machine has been invented called a dynamometer. It resembles a spring balance ; one end is connected with the car- riage, and the other with the horses, and the power they exert is shown by the index. By such an instrument it was determined that, on a gravel and earth road, the resist- ance to draught of one ton was 147 Ibs. ; on a Macadam road, 65 Ibs. ; on a good pave- ment, 33 Ibs. ; and on a rail track, 8 Ibs. Whence it appears that a horse can draw three times as much on a Macadam road as on an earth road ; on a pavement, four and a half times as much ; on a railway, eighteen times as much. These figures indicate the gradual advance made in the power of transportation, since the roads, under the action of the state and federal government, and of the enterprising towns and cities, gradually improved from mere wagon ways to well-constructed roads in those sections where land carriage was most used. While individuals, companies, and states thus contributed to the improvement of roads, the federal government entered the field with greater vigor. There were two motives for the construc- tion of roads and internal improvements by the federal government. The first was to facilitate the mails ; and the second Avas to EARLY ROADS POST ROADS MACADAM NATIONAL. 177 facilitate communication. It was obvious that the new and infant states had little means to expend in the construction of roads that were to be more or less for the general benefit. The government, therefore, in organizing new states upon the national territory, made provision for the construc- tion of roads out of the proceeds of the pub- lic lands sold within each state. The gov- ernment everywhere constructed numerous roads, and after the war of 1812, when its finances began to be easy, it employed the French General Bernard and a corps of en- gineers in the construction of fortifications and roads. Among these engineers was Capt. Poussin. This gentleman went back to France, carrying with him the republican ideas here collected. He there propagated them with such effect that he was, in 1848, when the Revolution chased the last Bourbon from the throne, attached to the Paris Na- tional, the republican newspaper, and be- came, in consequence, ambassador of the provisional government to the United States in 1849. Thus, after the lapse of a quarter of a century, returning to the scene of his early labors. When the state of Ohio was admitted into the Union, there were very few roads there, and the federal government was the chief pro- prietor of the land. It was agreed, therefore, that two per cent, of the proceeds of the land sold should be applied to the making of a road leading to the state. The same condi- tion was made when Indiana, Illinois, Mis- souri, Mississippi, and Alabama were ad- mitted, and the road was commenced. A turnpike road from Baltimore, 170 miles to Wheeling, was laid out, and a similar road from Washington, 150 miles to Cumberland was constructed. From that point the Cum- berland road runs 135 miles to the east bank of the Ohio ; of this distance, 85 miles are in Pennsylvania, 35 in Maryland, and 15 in Vir- ginia. This was extended west 80 miles to Zanesville, and so through the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, to St. Louis. The road has cost the government over $3,500,- 000. Its effect upon transportation was very great. Before its construction it re- quired, to go from Baltimore to Wheeling, 8 days. This was reduced to 3 days. The figures were the same for the length of travel from Washington to Wheeling. Its influence upon the country through which it ran was great. Villages multiplied in its neighborhood, and the value of property was much enhanced. The city of Wheeling was particularly influenced by it. In the year 1828 it forwarded to Baltimore over that road 3,500,000 Ibs. or 1,750 tons of prod- uce, by over 1,000 wagons. Anticipations were then indulged that a small reduction in the cost of transport would bring 100,000 tons of Ohio produce over the road to Bal- timore. They did not then foresee that the reduction in cost would be brought about only by rails to Baltimore. The Cumberland road by no means monop- olized the attention of Congress, but roads were constructed in most of the states under the war department, and in the new states the army was employed in making them. Some 800 miles were thus made in Arkansas. We may allude to a few of these roads, as that to Mars Hill, Maine ; Detroit to Fort Gra- tiot, Michigan ; do. to Saginaw bay ; do. to Chicago ; Laplaisance bay to the Chicago road ; Fort Howard and Fort Crawford ; road to Chattahoochee ; canal surveys in Florida ; road to Apalachicola ; Pensacola bay to Pittsburg, Miss. ; road from Jackson to Ful- ton, Mississippi ; Memphis to Little Rock ; Green bay to Winnebago. These few names of roads spreading from Maine to Arkan- sas and Florida will give an idea of the ex- tended works of the government, which also embraced removing obstructions of rivers and improving river navigation. A grand system of internal improvements was thus developed, until its growing magnitude made it a political issue, and the whole system came to an end under the Maysville road veto of General Jackson. The principle was adopted by one party, that the federal gov- ernment had no power to construct any but strictly national works, or not any that were entirely within a single state. The system thus came to a violent end, after an expendi- ture of some $30,000,000, but not until rail- roads had begun already to supersede canals and roads. The federal government had thus lent a powerful hand to the extension of highways. The great thoroughfares that it had laid open had facilitated migration and settlement, and wherever these had taken place, local roads multiplied, until we find that in the present year there are 260,052 miles of post-road in the Union. The mails of the government were given out by contract to the highest bidder for four years' service. The whole mail service was divided into sections, north, east, west, and south, each being let for four years, but 178 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. every year one of those fell due. The contractors agreed to deliver the mails on certain routes in a given time, for a certain amount of money. The mail money was generally depended upon for the expenses of running the vehicles, and such passengers as could be carried by the same conveyance afforded a profit. Thus the system for the circulation of letters and newspapers became the machinery for the circulation of the peo- ple. These accommodations were, however, far from being luxurious at a distance from the great cities. In these, indeed, the staging was conducted in a style approaching the splendid. The eastern stages running into Boston, and penetrating into every part of New England, were celebrated for their quality and style, as were those of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and most other large cities that were the centres of traffic, as well as post service. The dif- ferent " lines" 'ran such opposition, as re- duced the fare and promoted speed. The dandy " turn-out" being ready at the hour, well dressed, polite, smart drivers received the "ribbons" with gloved hands, and the " team" went through with a skill that could get the best time out of the nature of the road. As the traveller receded from the great centres, he found the "teams" worse, and the roads to match. The mails ran fewer times in the week, the vehicle dwindled from the easy coach to the covered spring wagon, to the open wagon without springs, ultimately to the horse, and finally perhaps to a man's back, and the traveller's accommodation diminished in proportion. CHAPTER II. COASTERS STEAMBOATS CANALS. IN the neighborhood of the water-courses the traveller was better accommodated by the coasting vessels. The early settlements of the country had been, as a matter of course, upon the coast and on the numerous streams with which the country is supplied. The roads had extended back, more or less, into the country from these settlements, where the freights accumulated at the landings, whence they were carried by water for interchange with other towns, or, as the country grew, to be exported abroad. The wagon charge for freight was always so high as to absorb the value of the produce at moderate distances, and travelling was most- ly upon horses, unless water conveyances could be availed of. This was the common mode for long journeys on all the rivers. The following advertisement, from a New York paper early in the present century, gives an idea of the style of travelling in the youth of men now not old. " SLOOP EXPERIMENT FOR PASSENGERS ONLY. Elias Bunker informs his friends and the public, that he has commenced running a sloop of about 110 tons burthen, between the cities of Hudson and New York, for the purpose of carrying passengers only. The owners of this vessel, being desirous to ren- der the passage as short, convenient, and agreeable as possible, have not only taken care to furnish her with the best Beds, Bed- ding, Liquors, Provisions, &c., but they have been at very great expense and trouble in procuring materials, and building her on the best construction for sailing, and for the ac- commodation of ladies and gentlemen travel- ling on business or for pleasure. " Merchants and others residing in the northern, eastern, or western counties, will find a great convenience in being able to cal- culate (at home) the precise time they can sail from Hudson and New York, without be- ing under the necessity of taking their beds and bedding, and those in New York may so calculate their business as to be certain of comfortable accommodations up the riv- er." This was evidently no common luxury that Capt. Bunker proffered to an admiring pub- lic. They were no longer required to "take up their beds and walk." Ladies and gen- tlemen travelling for pleasure could now be supplied with bedding, as well as other lux- uries, on board a hundred ton sloop, and. depend upon the time of her leaving. The wary Elias did not commit himself to the time of her arrival, however. Long experi- ence had made him cautious on that point. However, to be certain of leaving was some- thing, since the taking of a passage had been only a preliminary step to a voyage. The completing of the freight, the waiting for a wind, and the notification by means of a black man to be on board at an appointed hour, were now to be dispensed with. This was a great blessing, a good way in advance of the navigation 150 years previous, when permission was granted to a sloop to go from New Amsterdam (New York) to Fort Or- ange (Albany), provided she did not carry COASTERS STEAMBOATS CANALS. 179 more than six passengers. This was the mode of reaching most of the large cities. From any point of the eastern coast the best mode of reaching Boston was by the lumber or other coasters. In these the passengers, male and female, were stowed away in a few berths in the cabin, or sprawled around upon the uncarpeted floor. Sometimes these ves- sels, when the freight earnings were eked out by a fair number of passengers, as from Ban- gor, Portland, or other cities, were raised to the dignity of a "packet," when a few ex- tra berths were decorated with a red bomba- zette frill of rather a scanty style. In the rainy seasons, spring and fall, these were al- most the only modes of travelling. It may be suppossd that passengers were not very abundant. The vessels, however, improved in size and accommodation, and the number of passengers still, even in these railroad days, conveyed by them is, perhaps, as large as ever. The speed of these vessels was not great, and the uncertainty of arrival such as now would by no means suit ideas of busi- ness. In those seasons of the year when the roads were generally good, the stages would make four miles per hour and arrive in fair time. Such arrangements did not permit frequent visits for the purchase of goods, and most business was done fall and spring, when the goods followed the water-courses as far as possible, and then paid from 15 to 30 cents per ton per mile, according to the difficulties of the route. Even the mail charge was from 6| to 25 cents per single let- ter, or a letter on one piece of paper, being 18| cents for any distance between 150 and 400 miles envelopes, of course, were not used. Those charges were continued down to 1845, when the reduction took place. The tonnage employed in the coasting trade had increased from 68,607 in 1789, to 420,362 in 1812. Inasmuch as but little change had taken place in the speed and build of the vessels, the increase indicates the progress of business. In 1807 the en- terprising sloop owners who, like Captain Bunker, had conceived the idea of furnish- ed berths for the accommodation of the pub- lic, were struck aghast at the success of Ful- ton's " Clermont" named after the country seat of Chancellor Livingston steaming up the river at the rate of four miles an hour un- der all circumstances. The conservative inter- ests were loud in demonstrating the utter ruin that was to overtake river craft, the occupa- tion of boatmen, and, consequently, the na- vy, "the country's right arm of defence," by means of this great innovator. Never- theless, the spark of genius had kindled the flame of invention, and the public were be- coming absorbed in it. Each new steamer ex- ceeded the previous ones in build and style, and the machinery underwent as rapid im- provement. As usual, however, the public were slow to be convinced. It was admit- ted, when it could no longer be denied, that steam would answer for the river, but it was held to be idle to attempt the Sound naviga- tion in those new-fangled concerns. This problem was decided in the Fulton by Capt. Bunker, possibly our enterprising friend of the sloop. The "Hell-gate" passage was, in those days, an object of terror. An Eng- lish frigate had been lost there in the old war, and there were not a few who still held the idea that "the devil onjy could beat those English who had beat the Dutch." The East River rushing up the Sound at par- ticular times of tide pours a tremendous flood between Ward's and Long Islands. The passage narrows to a few yards, and the tide rushes past the "hog's back" and the "grid- iron," turns at right angles, and forms a foaming whirlpool around the " pot-rock," which, even with the surface of the water, is fatal to any vessel that touches it. Through that "gate of Hell" the steamer was to pass, and the operation was described by a passenger as follows : " I remember the long-agitated question, whether steamboats could be made capable of sea navigation, or so constructed as to trav- erse our sounds, bays, and coasts in safety. This question was put to rest by the enter- prise and skill of Capt. Bunker. In the Fulton, constructed, I am told, with a view to crossing the Atlantic, he undertook the navigation of Long Island Sound, an arm of the sea in which the most severe tempests are often encountered. During a season of no extra- ordinary moderation, including the two equi- noctial gales, Capt. B. lost but a single trip. Another doubt remained to be removed. It was supposed impossible to pass the celebrat- ed passage of Hell-gate against the tide, at the strength of the current. This was re- served for Capt. Bunker to remove, and I happened to be on board at the time of the novel and interesting experiment, returning southward from New Hampshire. A num- ber of respectable passengers witnessed the performance. It was in the boat Connecti- cut, built with all the strength to be obtained 180 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION". and careful workmanship. The machinist (McQueen) was accompanying his engine to prove its powers, with careful and ingenious assistants, and some of the owners were on board also. The first attempt to pass the point of greatest pressure of the contracted stream was unsuccessful, and the boat was compelled to retreat into an eddy and in- crease her steam. With renovated power the effort was repeated, every man fixed im- movable at his post, the passengers properly stationed in different parts of the boat, the engineers employing their utmost diligence to force the passage. They were again de- feated by the supposed resistless stream, and again retreated, racked, strained, and shiver- ing, from the contest. After a short pause and fresh preparation, it was resolved by the parties concerned to make a third endeavor, and test the strength of the machinery by the greatest trial it could ever be expected to bear. After a severe struggle, in which a weaker vessel would have been disjointed and torn to pieces, the headstrong current yielded to the giant power of steam, and the triumph of art over nature was effected. A few moments of greater breathless anxiety I scarcely ever witnessed. Mechanical sci- ence achieved a victory over elementary force, and overcame an obstacle heretofore deemed in this manner altogether insur- mountable. The courage and perseverance of Capt. B. were so conspicuous on this occasion, that I can never forget the impres- sion made on all present. We have since found it as easy to traverse our sea-board, navigate the Mississippi, and cross the At- lantic, as it was to find America after Colum- bus had broken the egg." To those who now so frequently make that dire passage without knowing it, this animated description must afford surprise as well as amusement. It is suggestive, not so much of the temerity of the " bold naviga- tors" of that day, as of the feeble nature of the boats then built. The passage, to be sure, has now been deprived of some of its " horrors" by the removal of the pot-rock, which has been broken by gunpowder blasts to a depth which leaves it no longer dangerous. The noble steamers of the pres- 'ent day pass through at all times of tide, without apparently feeling the current, in- stead of butting at it three times " strained and shivering." The steamboat, after per- forming this feat, passed up the Connecticut *iver for the first time to Middletown. The North River boats continued to improve, and the time of the Clermont 36 hours to Albany was, in 1820, reduced by the Par- agon to 20 hours. In 1823, however, the time f from New York to Providence, 200 miles, was 20 hours, and the stage to Boston completed the route, 40 miles, in 6 hours more, making 26 hours. At that date steam- ers were multiplying on all the Atlantic rivers and bays, and on the western rivers, as well as on the lakes. In 1819 the first steamer crossed the Atlantic from Savannah, Georgia, to Eng- land. In 1 825 the Chief Justice Marshall had reduced the time to Albany to 14 hours 30 minutes. The progress in speed may be seen at a glance in the following figures : 1811, Clermont's time to Albany, 4 ms. per h., 36 hs. 1820, Paragon, " " 27 1825, Chief Justice Marshall, " 14.30 1840, Knickerbocker, " 9.33 1860, average time 18 miles per hour, 8 With the opening of the Erie canal in 1825, the quantity of goods going and com- ing much increased the demand for trans- portation, and barges in tow of steamers be- gan a new era in that buisness. That goods could be carried west on the canal, and so by continuous water-courses on the lakes and their affluents, induced more passengers by the same route. In 1841 the improved method of propelling- by screw was introdu- ced by the patent of Capt. Ericsson. The iron screw steamer R. F. Stockton, of 72 tons, came from Liverpool under the command of Capt. Crane, and became a tug on the Rari- tan canal. Those steamers now gradually gained ground in public favor. The speed was long not so great as that of the paddle wheels. This has been gradually overcome by improved models and forms of screw, until in the month of October, 1860, two propellers of 100 feet length were launched for the North River trade, and made time 18 miles per hour, being the fastest boats for their length afloat. This class of vessels may ultimately be exclusively used in the European trade. The settlers who had crossed the moun- tains in the early times of the government had located mostly on the great streams, within easy reach of the means of conveying the surplus to points of sale. They were not provided with vessels of a very expensive construction ; and flat boats were the chief means of descending the streams. These vessels, designed only to go down stream, were composed of such material as, after COASTERS STEAMBOATS CANALS. 181 having served the purpose of transporting produce, could be broken up at the place of destination, and sold as lumber. These were improved into keel boats, for the pur- pose of ascending the streams, and in either case were propelled by long poles in the hands of the boatmen. These, standing on the gunwale at the extreme bow of the boat, thrust the pole into the mud, and setting the shoulder against the top, push- ed the boat forward with the feet in walking toward the stern, which reached, they drew up the pole, walked back, and repeated the movement. In this laborious mode of travel, all the merchandise sent from the east, via New Orleans, reached its destina- tion. It required four months to travel thus from New Orleans to St. Louis a distance of 1,500 miles, and the cost of the goods, it may well be supposed, was enhanced by the proc- ess ; while, on the other hand, the produce sent down realized but little. Thus, between the cheapness of the produce and the dear- ness of merchandise received in exchange, the settler realized but little for his labor. It is easy to conceive how great a blessing was steam on those waters, to enable the weary men to stem the ceaseless, downward flow of the mighty currents. In 1811 that blessing made its appearance at Pittsburg in the shape of a steamboat, built by Fulton, and which had a considerable success. The general progress was, however, slow, for the reason, among others, that, as in all such cases, there was a large capital invested in river craft, which would depreciate in value in face of the new power, and there was not much capital to embark all at once in steam. It was also the case that ChancellorLiving- ston, the partner of Fulton, claimed a mo- nopoly of the lower Mississippi trade, and put a restraint for some years upon steam in that region. So great a power could not, how- ever, but force its way. With the construc- tion of the Enterprise, in 1815, St. Louis was reached in 25 days from New Orleans, and public enthusiasm was aroused. There were, however, up to 1817, still but twelve boats upon the western waters, of an aggregate ton- nage of 2,335 tons. The time to Pittsburg was 54 days, of which 36 days was running time. These passages caused much excitement, and a bold merchant predicted that the rate of freight between New Orleans and St. Louis would fall to $3,50 per 100 Ibs., but he was regarded as visionary, or what they would now call in Wall-street language a " bear" in freights. His sanguine nature would probably have been surprised could the veil of time have been so lifted as to permit him to see 35 years ahead the boats of the pres- ent day making money at 40 cts. per 100 Ibs., and carrying it in three days, instead of 25. The Monongahela and Ohio Steam- boat Company claimed patronage because their new crack boats could go nine miles an hour ! But they were in advance of the times; that speed was thought to be dangerous, even if possible. Those people are now, however, not quite satisfied unless the speed is equal to 25 miles in still water. The war had given a new impulse to settle- ments west ; the more so that steam now so much facilitated travel, and freights multi- plied in proportion. Thus reciprocally the improved means of travel induced more lo- comotion, and increased traffic more de- mand for vessels. The multiplying boats and more rapid passages still found a suffi- ciency of business, and even the old river craft were kept in requisition for tow boats. Cincinnati began to build barges of 100 tons to go to New Orleans in tow of steamers ; and the Etna made the passage down in fifteen days, reflecting great glory on the com- mercial enterprise of that city, and its citizens became elated. A Cincinnati writer of 1 8 1 7 estimates the territory drained commercially by that city at 10,000 square miles, and re- marks : " Supposing this settled by 40,000 families, and that each farm would give two tons annual surplus for exportation, there would be 80,000 tons to send to New Orleans, or freight for 800 boats of 100 tons each." The writer apologizes for the extravagance of this estimate. Commercial enterprise began to seek new routes. In 1823 three keel boats in tow passed 450 miles up the Wabash river. It was not until 1826 that the first steamer ran up the Alleghany river. In the same year the ship Illinois reached St. Louis from New York, via New Orleans, 3,000 miles, in twenty -nine days and a half, and the first steamer ran up the Susquehanna to Tioga. The opening of the Erie canal, in 1825, caused a great change in travel. Thus the journey from New York to Pittsburg was accomplished by canal, with only eight days staging, and thence down the river to New Orleans. In 1824 the passage up from New Orleans to. New York, via Pittsburg, was made in 24 days, at an expense of $90. The passage from Natchez to Philadelphia, 2,000 miles, was equal to 17 days. In COASTERS STEAMBOATS CANALS. 183 the same year a remarkable voyage was pro- jected from Charleston to Green Bay. It was a sloop of six tons, with six passengers, and it reached Rochester in 15 days from Charleston. The passage of a gentleman from Detroit to Washington and back in 1 6 days was regarded as a miracle. The remarkable progress of steam upon the Mississippi may be estimated most readily by a table of the passages at different periods, as follows : NEW ORLEANS TO ST. LOUIS 1,300 MILES. Prior to steam 120 1815, Steamer Enterprise 25 1823, " average passages.. 12 1826, " General Brown... 9 ' 12 hours. 1828, " " ... 9 ' 4 " 1860, " running time 3 The time between New Orleans and St. Louis was thus diminished under the various improvements suggested by experience in the form and mode of running steamers. A boat of 350 tons when fitted out will now cost some $50,000, and will carry 500 tons down stream, or 1,500 bales of cotton on deck. Twenty years ago the freight of cotton down from Memphis was $2 per bale, and below Natchez $1 per bale. The charge for freight up from New Orleans to Natchez was 75 cts. per 100 Ibs. As the business increased, larger boats were built. Of these the Eclipse was the type. She car- ried 1,200 tons, but was too large to pay; and boats are now constructed of a less dimension. The Mississippi boats are large flat -bottomed boats, drawing from 15 to 50 inches of water. The speed depends upon the circumstances of the channel. That of the Memphis, recently built for the St. Louis and Memphis trade, is 18 miles in still water per hour. With light draught and great pressure, a speed equal to 24 miles in still water has been attained. The Al- to ona ran between Alton and St. Louis, 25 miles, in one hour and forty-five minutes, and in one hour down; average down and up, one hour and twenty-five minutes. Eighteen miles is said to be the time of the western boals. Those rivers flow with gen- tle currents in mostly shallow water; and there have been various changes in the fashion of the boats. The stern-wheel boat, we believe, is peculiar to those rivers. Instead of having two wheels paddling, one on each side, one wheel, 20 feet in diameter, is placed directly at the stern, athwart ships, and by its revolutions pushes the boat ahead. These boats are not remarkable for their speed, but answer in narrow and shallow streams. The regular steamers have their main decks within four or five feet of the water, and the guards overhanging the bow give them the appearance of a New York ferry-boat. The paddle wheels are generally much further aft than in the eastern steamers. The after part of the main deck is devoted to freight. Above the main deck from 10 to 18 feet is the saloon deck, which extends nearly over the whole of the main deck. The saloon is surrounded with state-rooms, which open into it, as well as on to a promenade which goes entirely round the outside of the boat. The saloon is from 150 to 250 feet long. Above this deck is a promenade deck, upon which is a long tier of state-rooms, and this, in its turn, is surmounted by another prome- nade deck, which has the pilot-house at its front, and which is usually 50 feet from the water. But formerly, when there was no restraint upon reckless steam pressure, or the explosive qualities of the boiler, its height, as well as that of the decks, was very uncertain. The "crack boats" are now built from 300 to 400 feet, with 36 to 40 feet beam, eight feet hold, and draught of water, light two feet, and loaded four feet. These steamers are now free from those reckless races which formerly so endangered life, when the safety-valve was fastened down, the furnace stuffed with tar and pitch, and the captain, rifle in hand, ready to shoot down the pilot of the opposing boat at the critical moment when the least devia- tion in steering would lose him the race. Those barbarous times have passed with the frontier manners of the passengers. Their sporting, drinking, gambling, fighting, have given place to business, temperance, pru- dence, and refinement, while wealth rolls up in the cjties as a result of the speedy and cheapened transportation which the steam- ers have effected. The increase of steam tonnage on those waters, has been as follows : 1842. New Orleans 28,153 St. Louis 14,725 Cincinnati 12,025 Pittsburg 10,107 Louisville 4,618 Nashville 3,810 Wheeling 2,595 Vicksburg Memphis Galena. . 1851. I860. 34,736 70.072 31,834 55,515 24,709 23,136 16,943 42,474 15,181 29,037 3,578 5,268 7,191 11,545 938 450 6,143 5,849 Total tons 76,033 135,560 249,039 184 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. It is a matter of course that when the speed of these vessels has increased in the manner indicated, their efficiency for traffic has progressed in the same ratio. In the 25 days that were formerly required to go from New Orleans to St. Louis, a steamer of the present day will make eight passages, and will carry more freight. Hence, the number of tons does not indicate the growth of the trade. If the number of tons is three times greater, the business is 30 times larger. The effect of the great reduction in the freight on goods may be illustrated by a single example. Thus, in 1815 cotton cloth was 30 cts. per yard, and 100 yards weighed 25 Ihs., which would consequently be worth $30. The transportation of this at that time from New Orleans to St. Louis would cost $5, or 1 7 per cent, of the cost. The same quantity of cloth is now worth $9.00, and the transportation from New Orleans to St. Louis 40 cts., or 4 per cent, of the cost These figures speak of the greater money value realized for products, and the increased quantities of merchandise pro- cured for that money value. The war of 1812, by interrupting trade on the Atlantic, had induced a large migration to the west, when steam was opportunely developed to facilitate trade and traffic at the same time. The return of peace found a large population west of the mountains in the full tide of prosperity, and in the Atlan- tic states great excitement in regard to steam, with multiplying manufactures, which sought a market in the growing west. Under such circumstances the old canal projects for opening up the communication were revived in full force, the more so that the war had nearly destroyed the usual water communica- tion. Instead of transporting merchandise in sloops and schooners along the coast, now no longer safe from the enemy, recourse was had to wagons over roads not the best in the world. This was necessarily very slow and costly. The traffic between New York and Philadelphia, for instance, was carried on in a Conestoga wagon, drawn by four horses, and that which covered the distance of 90 miles in three days was known as "the flying machine," and the value of goods at either end of the round showed great fluctuations, enhanced by the expense. This extra expense for the whole coast alone, it was asserted, would have paid the whole cost of a system of internal navigation from Maine to Georgia. It was then that the enterprises to which the great minds of the Revolution had given birth at the peace of 1783 began to be realized, and two objects were sought, viz. : a safe inland water com- munication along the whole Atlantic border, to operate in case of war, and another was to connect the waters of the west with the east, and the public began to regard with more favor the project of uniting the lakes to the Hudson river. Mr. Morris, who had suggested it at the close of the Revolu- tion, wrote an able report in its favor in 1812, when the war gave new interest to it. The undertaking was formidable, and New York applied to the federal government and other states for aid, but her application was met with jeers and ridicule. The result was the determination of the state to under- take it alone, when the return of peace allowed of more facility for its execution ; accordingly, on the 4th of July, 1817, the Erie canal was commenced with great cere- mony, Governor De Witt Clinton turning the first earth, and it was completed Octo- ber, 1825. The event was celebrated with the greatest pomp along the whole line, and in the city of New York. The canal is 363 miles long, 40 feet wide at top, 4 feet deep, and the capacity of boats, 80 tons. The construction cost $7,143,789, or $19,679 per mile. This immense work gave the long- wished-for communication between the great lakes and the tide waters of the Atlantic. In the same year, viz., October, 1817, a canal connecting the waters of Lake Champlain with the Erie canal some miles from Albany was commenced. This Erie and Lake Cham- plain or Northern canal is 63 miles long, and was completed at the close of 1823, at a cost of $1,257,604, or $19,962 per mile. The Erie canal proved to be the most successful work of the kind in the world, and within 10 years discharged in full the debt created for its construction. The great success of the work not only gave an impulse to canal building in other states, but induced the state of New York to embark in new under- takings of the same nature, which have not proved so successful. These were what are called the lateral canals, draining the coun- try on either side, into the grand canal. The Oswego canal runs 38 miles from Lake Ontario to the Erie canal, at Syracuse. It cost $55,437, and was finished in 1838. The Cayuga and Seneca lake runs 23 miles from those lakes to the Erie canal at Mon- COASTKRS STEAMBOATS CANALS. 185 tezuma, and was finished in 1829, at a cost of $237,000. The Chemung canal, connect- ing the Chemung river with Seneca lake, 39 miles, was finished in 1838, at a cost of $316,000. The Crooked Lake canal, 8 miles, was finished in 1836, for $120,000. The Chenango connects the Susquehanna at Binghamton with the Erie canal at Utica, 96 miles, and was finished in 1837, at a cost of $2,417,000. These canals never paid their expenses, and became a burden upon the revenues of the Erie. There are also in New York, the Genesee Valley canal, 108 miles ; Black River and feeder, 87 miles ; the Delaware and Hudson, 83 miles; and the Oneida, 8 miles. The great success of the Erie, as we have said, roused the emulation of other states, and during the five years succeeding the opening of the Erie the air was filled with canal projects, only to name which would occupy much space. We may mention some of the most extraordinary, however : a canal from Boston to. Narragansett bay; Long Island to Canada, via the Connecticut river ; Boston to the Connecticut river ; a canal over Cape Cod ; Providence to Worcester ; a ship canal across Central America. These projects only indicate the extraordinary ac- tivity that the Erie success had imparted to the public mind. Those which were evidently the most needed for present and future com- merce, were immediately undertaken. The Chesapeake and Ohio, to connect the waters that the name designates ; the Ohio canal, to connect Lake Erie with the Ohjo river ; the Farmington canal, in Connecticut, afterward used for a railroad site ; the Chesapeake and Delaware, to connect those waters, were all ready, and broke ground July 4, 1825, three months before the Erie was finally completed. These works, with many others, which we shall take up in their order, were pushed to completion, under various diffi- culties, inasmuch as that they required a large amount of money, but they had an immense influence upon traffic, and called into requisition an amount of engineering skill which had never before been demanded in the country, and various success has attend- ed the construction. The object of a canal is, of course, to float boats that contain merchandise, between two points, in order to reduce the expense of the transportation. The canal is therefore constructed with some regard to the amount of business that will be required of it. The channel must be excavated on the level soil, carried over gaps and rivers by embankments that will hold the water, and it must be fed by abundant streams. The channel is excavated with the two sides sloping at the same angle, which varies with the nature of the soil. The base of the slope is commonly to the height as 5 to 4. The bottom of the canal is generally the breadth of two boats upon the deck, in order that they may pass. The depth of water in the canal should be at least one foot more than the draught of the boats. The tow- path is about two feet above the level of the water, and about ten feet wide. When the canal runs through a sandy soil, or one that does not easily retain water, the bottom is "puddled." This process is to mix clay well with gravel and put it on in successive layers of two or three inches thick. When a new layer is put on, the old one is roughed up to make both adhere well. When re- pairs are needed, they are generally done at the time the water is let out for the winter. The bed of the canal is so laid as to give a gentle current to the water. The levels are the distances between the locks, and each level, proceeding downward, has- a less elevation than the preceding one. In a hilly country these locks are frequent, and in some cases are continued for a distance, like steps up and down a declivity. Thus the Erie canal, on leaving Lake Erie at Lock- port, descends 60 feet to the Genesee river. To perform this, ten double locks built in masonry are required, but the canal has also one level of 63 miles without a lock. The lock is a chamber built of timber or masonry, as large as possible for the size of the canal. The boats must not exceed what can be admitted to the locks. The top of the lock is above the surface of the water, and its bottom is level with that of the next lower level. Each end of the chamber is closed by heavy swinging doors, which open in the middle against the direc- tion of the current. The doors being a little broader than the lock, they meet in the mid- dle at an angle, and the weight of the water presses them together. When a boat going up the canal comes to a lock, it passes be- tween the open gates, which close behind it. The water is then let in from the upper gates, until the lock being full, the boat floats to the upper level, generally about 10 feet rise, but sometimes 1 8 feet. It passes out, and another boat being ready to go 186 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. down takes its place, when, the upper gates being closed, the water is let off below and the boat lowers with it to the lower level. A lock full of water is thus dis- charged. It follows that a large supply of water must be had to replace what thus passes off, in addition to leakage and evap- oration. The engineer of the Erie canal calculated the loss by leakage was 100 cubic feet per minute. For supply, reser- voirs are often constructed. Canal branches, called feeders, are made to bring water from distant sources. Steam power is also used to raise water to the required level. This is the case with the Illinois and Michigan canal ; the waters of Lake Michigan being pumped up to the summit level. In some cases inclined planes are substituted for locks. In these cases the boats run upon trucks, which are then, by the power of steam, dragged up the plane to the higher level. In the Morris canal, of New Jersey, these have a slope of one in 21. These are the general features of all the canals, bat the influence they have upon transportation de- pends, of course, in some degree, upon the localities and the capacities of the work. Boats are commonly towed upon a canal by horses. A single horse can draw upon a good road a ton at a speed of 2 or 3 miles per hour, and can draw as easily 70 tons upon a canal at the same speed. The difference in cost is immense. Instead of 24 cents a ton for one mile land carriage, the Erie canal charges 6 mills per ton per mile, or one-fortieth part of the expense. The freights charged are distinct from the state tolls. It is obvious that where the boats are of greater capacity, allowing of larger quantity to be passed down at the same passage, the cost of transportation is much diminished. Thus the Delaware and Hudson canal had a capacity for 50 ton boats, and coal was carried 108 miles for $1. The enlargement of the canal so as to admit boats of 100 tons reduced the cost 65 cents, but some of the boats carry 148 tons at proportionate rates. When the routes of the canals of other states threat- ened to affect the business of the New York canal, the reduction of the cost by means of enlargement was the means resorted to to retain the trade, and the enlargement has been prosecuted at great expense. Th principle of the enlargement was based upon the fact that as the canal is abundantly supplied with water, the only limit to its capacity would be the time required to pass >oats at the locks. It was calculated that 6,000 boats can be locked each way in a season. The old canal boats were about 70 tons, hence, the utmost capacity of the anal would be 3,640,000 tons; but by the mlargement the boats were to be of 224 ;ons burden, hence the tonnage would be 11,648,000 tons, if the quantity moving ach way was the same, but the down Teight is as four to one of the up, which reduces the capacity to 7,230,000 tons. Before the canal was built, the expense of transportation from Buffalo to New York was $100 per ton ! and the time 20 days. A ton of wheat in New York was then worth about $33, hence the transportation was three times the value of the wheat, six times the value of corn, and twelve times the value of oats. As a consequence, the wheat of western New York at that time went down the Susquehanna to Baltimore as the cheap- est and best market, as the lumber of the head waters of that river now goes. When the canal was opened, the freight down was about $14 per ton, more or less, according to the character of the freight. This has gradually been reduced, and in 1850, when the railroads for the first time were allowed to carry freight, it was $3 to $7 from Buffalo to New York. By the enlargement it is sup- posed the rates will be reduced to $1.82 between Albany and Buffalo. Since the permission of railroads to carry freight, however, the business of canals is more con- fined to those heavy freights furnished by the raw produce of the country, lumber par- ticularly. Those coarse and bulky articles that are of low money value as compared with their weight will continue to move up- on canals, but the lighter and more costly, as well as those pressed for time, will be carried exclusively by rails. These latter have some disadvantages, however, as in the case of flour, the motion of the railroad causing it to waste, an objection not urged against canal travel. The total length of the five great lakes is 1,555 miles, and the area 90,000 square miles, and they are estimated to drain an area of 335,515 square miles. That vast tract of waters was a waste as far as transportation went until the year 1797, when the first American schooner was launched. The craft increased to some extent for the small commerce that engaged the settlers when there was no outlet either to the Atlantic COASTERS STEAMBOATS CANALS. 187 or to the south. In 1816, however, a steamer was built on Lalce Ontario, and in 1819 the Walk-in-the- Water, 340 tons, was launched at Buffalo. The most of the trade, however, consisted in the operations of the Indian traders, carrying westward supplies and trinkets for the trade, and returning with furs and peltries. On the opening of the Erie canal, in 1825, a new state of things presented itself. Western New York threw off its frontier aspect, and put on an air of civilization, since it became a receiver of western produce and exporter of goods. The steam tonnage multiplied to transport the growing produce of the west. In 1822 the Superior was launched, another steamer in 1824, two in 1825, and three in 1826. One of these made the first voyage upon Lake Michigan, in 1826, on a pleasure excursion. It was not until 1832 that business called them thither, and then one reached Chicago, in the employ of the government, to carry supplies for the Black Hawk war. From that time, tonnage has increased as follows : 1841. Buffalo Creek 6,773 Presque Isle 2,813 Cuyahoga 1,855 Snndusky Miami 887 Detroit 2,053 Mackinaw Chicago Milwaukee . . 1850. 1860. 25,990 42,640 5,691 1,471 6,418 22,597 360 1,745 16,469 30,381 1,746 617 652 8,151 2,026 14,381 58,711 108,243 The 11 boats running in 1833, carried to and from Buffalo 61,485 passengers, and the fares with the freight amounted to $229,- 212. Those were the years of the great land speculations, and crowds of passenger: went west on that errand. Three trips were made a year to the upper lakes. The trips to Chicago from Buffalo occupied 25 days to go and return. In 1841 the time required for a first-class steamer was 10 days from Buffalo to Detroit and back. This was reduced in 1851 to 3 days, and 5 for propellers. In 1834 the lake commerce was controlled by an association, owning 18 boats. This association was kepi up to 1841, when the number of boats hac increased to 48. The opening of the Ohio canals had poured upon the lakes a large amount of produce. The 500 miles of cana then completed, opened up the grain coun- try to the lakes. In 1835, Ohio exported by the lakes 543,815 bushels of wheat; n 1840, 3,800,000 bushels; and in 1851, 12,193,202 bushels, which paid $500,000 reight and charges. The railroads have since interfered to some extent, but the wheat received across the lakes has this last year been as follows : From Ohio 2,856,216 bushels. Indiana 3,219,225 Michigan 2,117,970 Illinois 12,195,195 "Wisconsin 5,447,766 New York 130,667 Total .25,967,039 " The successive opening of the Ohio canals in 1833, the Illinois canal in 1848, and the Indiana canal in 1851, all added constantly to the amount of produce to be transported, and since the last-mentioned date the rail- roads have opened new regions of country, and increased the lake trade. It is to be born in mind that the size of the vessels, their great speed when under way, and the great- er dispatch in loading and unloading by steam, not only for motion, but for labor at the dock, enable the same quantity of ton- nage to do ten times the business that it formerly could do. In 1859 the lake steamers averaged 437 tons. In the present year the average is 680 for steamers and 470 for propellers. A change is now going on in the power, by reason of the improvements in propellers. In 1843 the first lake propeller, the Hercules, was launched at Cleveland, 275 tons, the screw of Ericsson's patent. She was said to have made great economy in wood for fuel. In 1851 the propellers had increased to 52, with a tonnage amountr ing to 15,729. In 1860 there were 118, tonnage 55,657. These boats had far less speed than the paddles, but they have not ceased to gain in public opinion, not only upon the lakes, but in the Atlantic bays and rivers, until recent improvements have brought them to rival the paddle wheels in speed. These vessels will in all probability monop- olize tlje European, as well as the internal trade. Previous to the opening of the Erie canal, in 1825, the commerce of the lakes was nec- essarily local, since there were no markets east or west. The produce raised in the coun- try bordering the lakes descended the streams that ran into them, and found interchange with other lake ports. The opening of the canal immediately gave an eastern current to produce of all descriptions, and much had ac- 188 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. cumulated in anticipation of the event, and goods returned in great quantities. In the month of May, 1825, 83*7 boats, carrying 4,122 tons of goods, left Albany for Buffalo, paying $22,000 tolls. The lumber from western New York and the lake borders being now marketable where before it was valueless, a motive for clearing land was imparted, and the new canal received on its bosom from all sections of the lake shore the lumber brought by multiply- ing vessels. The lumber that found tide water before had been that which in south- ern New York and in Pennsylvania skirted the natural water-courses, and being cut and hauled, was rafted down to Philadelphia and Baltimore. The New England streams de- livered the lumber in the same manner. The opening of the canal brought into com- petition the vast and hitherto untouched resources of the west, and the same remark applies to all farm produce. The farmers of New England were undersold at their own doors, by produce from western New York. The potatoes that had been quick of sale at 7 5 cents, were supplanted by the best " che- nangos" at 37 Miles. Erie canal Hudson river to lakes 363 Pennsylvania canal.. Delaware and Ohio 395 Ohio " ..Ohio river and Lake Erie 307 Miami " .. " " 178 Indiana " .. " " " 379 Illinois " ..Lake Michigan with Illinois river. . .102 Expenditure. $7.143,789 13,381,822 4,695,824 3,750,000 7,101,000 8,654,337 40 40 40 40 60 60 No. of Locks. 84 200 152 102 102 2 Total 1,V24 $43,726,772 The financial results of the New York canals may be thus stated in the aggregate of receipts and revenues from the commence- ment of the works to Sept. 30, 1859 : Receipts. Gross tolls $70,565,73T Loans 55,842,462 Other items 20,469,924 Expenditures. Construction $55,106.814 Repairs 16,932,080 Loans and Interest 57,028,943 Other items 17,790,286 Total $146,858,123 Total $146,858,123 These great state works have completed the connection between the Atlantic, the lakes, and the western rivers, and, by so doing, have promoted the circulation of the produce of all sections in active competition. The resources of every section have been drawn out in such a manner that the whole people have had the advantages of all. In the course of the development a vast capital was added to the national wealth, and a great value bestowed upon land not before very marketable. While this has been done by state means, a great number of other canals have been erected as well by public means as private enterprise. The most important of these was the Delaware and Raritan canal, connecting those two rivers. The work was completed in 1827, shortening the distance 16 miles between Philadelphia and New York, and packet propellers run regularly through it between the two cities. It is also the main source of supply of coal for New York. The state of Virginia early embarked in improvements, particularly in the James river, which is navigable to Richmond for vessels of 120 tons, the tide reaching there; above Richmond a series of short canals in- tended to connect the river with the Kan- awha, where it is navigable 70 miles from its mouth on the Ohio. This project was un- dertaken by the James River and Kanawha Company, and was completed in /the form of a canal, 147 miles, at a cost of $5,020,050. There are many other works of public utility in Virginia, under the control of a board of public works, chartered in 1816. There are a number of other canals in several states, as the Blackstone, of Massachusetts ; the Ogee- chee, of South Carolina, connecting Charles- ton with the Santee, cost $650,667, and many other improvements in a number of states. The Morris and Essex canal, of New Jersey, 101 miles, was completed in 1831. It had banking powers connected with it, and of all the public works in the country was the basis of the most stupendous stock speculation. Its liabilities were at one time near $10,000,000, and it was sold out in 1845 for a sum less than $3,000,000; its business is at present prosperous. It is one of the works that were erected to develop the great coal business of Pennsylvania. The discovery of that important mineral takes date about the year 1820, and the canals that were built to bring the coal down may be enumerated as follows : Schuylkill navigation Pennsylvania. Lehigh canaL Pusquehanna North Branch " ' upper Union ] >elaware and Hudson New York. Morris canal New Jersey. Length. Miles. ,..108 ...85 ..41 ..73 ..94 ..82 ..108 ...102 Total canals . .693 Cost. Width. Locks. $2,500,196 36 120 4,455,099 60 81 897,160 40 12 1,590,379 40 8 4,500,000 40 5,000,000 36 90 9,100,000 75 18 3,612,000 32 29 nlanfts. 22 $31,654,834 The expenditure of large sums of money struction promoted a local demand for prod- along the routes of these works for their con- uce, and aided in the settlement of the RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 191 country through which they ran, and from the improvement of which their future freightings were to be derived, and there is little matter of surprise that the first years of their operation should be of large promise. The cost of transporting a ton of merchandise from Buffalo to Albany, which had been $100, and the time twenty days, was at once reduced to $20, and the time to eight days. While yet they were being con- structed, however, a new agent of transpor- tation had risen, which was to overshadow their importance, and reduce them to a second rank. The rejoicing for the com- pletion of the Erie had hardly died away, be- fore the locomotive began to throw its shadow on the future. The " astonishing speed" of steamboats and stages was about to dwindle into an intolerable tedium. The capacities of railroads had begun to be dis- cussed, and the discussion rapidly elicited action, which did not cease to extend itself, until the whole country has become covered with rails. When railroads began to be con- structed, however, both vehicles, sailing vessels, and steamers had made^ considerable progress in speed, and the connections of travel had come to be made with more regard to dispatch. It is amusing to look back at some of the accounts of the wonders of the canals after the opening. Thus, in 1823 it is stated " CANALS ! A sloop, called the Gleaner, has arrived at New York from St. Albans, in the state of Vermont, with a cargo consisting of 1,200 bushels of wheat and other articles. She will carry sixty tons of merchandise, and does not appear te have had any difficulty in passing through the northern canal. It is supposed that she will safely navigate the Hudson, and she is designed as a regular packet between St. Albans and the city of New York. Look at the map! An uninter- rupted sloop navigation from one place to the other ! " When the Green Mountain vessel arrived at New York, the veteran artillery were order- ed out, and she was saluted from the battery." In 1824. " INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT. It is stated in one of the New York papers that a barrel of flour can be transported from Albany to New York, a distance of 150 miles, for 12| cents, and that one individual offers to do it for seven cents." In 1825. "MARCH OF INTELLECT WITH POWER. It is no fairy tale, that flour, man- ufactured on Lake Erie, has been profitably 1 sold in Newbern, North Carolina, for $5.50 per barrel. This flour was transported from the lake to Albany, through the Grand canal ; thence down the North River to New York ; and thence, by sea, to Newbern. The cost of transportation from the lakes to New- j bern was less than $1.50 per barrel, while I that between Raleigh and Newbern (not more than 120 miles) is generally two dollars." In 1826. "The following, from the Pitts- bury Gazette, shows the importance of canals. Mr. Foster has published in the Greensburgh Gazette a statement furnished him by a merchant of Meadville, showing the amount which the merchant paid for the transpor- tation of his goods this fall from Philadelphia, by way of New York, the canal, and Erie, to the town of Meadville. The whole cost per hundred pounds was $1.2041 We are now paying three dollars per hundred for carriage in wagons from Philadelphia to this city!" These extracts afford in contrasting not only the routes, but the prices, with those before their use and those which now exist much room for reflection. It may be re- marked that the Caroline, burnt in the em- ploy of the sympathizers in 1839, at Schlos- ser, and sent over the falls of Niagara, was built in South Carolina, and had passed up the canals to her destination. CHAPTER III. RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. THE excitement in relation to canals and steamboats was yet at its zenith, when the air began to be filled with rumors of the new application of steam to land carriages and to railroads. There were many inven- tions and patents at home and abroad in re- lation to carriages propelled upon common roads by steam, but these seem never to have attained much success, although attempts to perfect them are still made with great perse- verance. On the other hand, the use of rail- roads from small beginnings has reached a magnitude which overshadows the wildest imaginings of the most sanguine. In 1825 descriptions came across the water of the great success of the Darlington railroad, which was opened to supply London with coal, and which had passenger cars moved by steam at the rate of seven miles per hour. 192 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. The most animated controversy sprang up in relation to the possibility of such roads in England, and was shared in to some extent on this side of the Atlantic. With the nat- ional energy of character, the idea had no sooner become disseminated than it was acted upon. The construction of railroads in America is usually ascribed to the emu- lation excited by the success of the Liverpool and Manchester railway. This appears not to have been the case, however, since some of the most important works in this country were projected and commenced before the Liverpool and Manchester road was built. The act of Parliament for the construction of that road was passed in 1826, and the road itself was finished and opened in September, 1830, 31 miles long; but the Massachusetts Quincy road, three miles from Quincy to Ne- ponset, was opened in 1827, and a great celebration was held in consequence. The celebrated Mauch Chunk railroad of Penn- sylvania was begun in 1826, and finished in the following year. On that road the horses which draw up the empty coal wagons are sent down on the cars which descend by their own. gravity. This contrivance was borrowed by the Mauch Chunk road from the Darlington road, similarly situated, in England. It is to be remarked that both the Quincy and the Mauch Chunk roads were horse roads ; the locomotive was not at first introduced. In 1828, twelve miles of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad were completed, two years before the Manchester road was opened. In the same year, 1828, the South Carolina road, from Charleston to Hamburg, was surveyed, and in Massachusetts the city of Boston voted the construction of a road from that city to the Hudson at Albany. The first portion of that road, however, Boston to Worcester, 44 miles, was not opened until 1835. The second road finish- ed in the United States was the Richmond, Va., road, thirteen miles to Chesterfield, in 1831, and in the same year that running from New Orleans, five miles to Lake Pont- chartrain, was opened. Thus roads were well adopted in public opinion here before the great success of the Manchester road was known, but which gave an undoubted impulse to the fever. During the excitement in relation to "rail" roads, a writer in a Providence paper thus satirized the condition of the Connecticut roads. He claimed the invention of the cheapest " rail" roads, and proved it thus : " Only one English engine alone costs $2,000, which sum the whole of our apparatus does not much exceed, as figures will prove ; for 700 good chestnut rails at $3, amounts to only $21, and it ought to be remembered that this is all the expense we are at, and the inference is con- clusive in our favor. We place our rails fifty to the mile by the side of the road, to pry out the wheels when they get stuck, and hoist behind when wanted." The public were, however, no longer to be satisfied with this kind of "rail" road. They em- barked in the new enterprise with such vigor, that in 1836 two hundred companies had been organized, and l,003i miles were opened in eleven states. These were highly speculative years, however, and the revulsion brought matters to a stand. It was at once apparent to the commercial mind that if railroads Avould perform what was promised for them, geographical position was no longer important to a city. In other words, that railroads would bring Boston into as intimate connection with every part of the interior as New York could be. The large water communication that enabled New York by means of steamboats to concentrate trade from all quarters, could not now com- pete with the rails that would confer as great advantages upon Boston. Indeed, Bos- ton had now availed herself of steam power. Up to 1828 she owned no steamers. The Benjamin Franklin, built in that year, was the first, and her steam tonnage is now but 9,998 tons. When she bought her first steamboat, however, she was laying out those railroad connections that she has since push- ed so vigorously, and they have paid an enormous interest, if not directly to the. builders, at least to the general interests of the city. It is to be remarked that the national government expended, as we have seen, largely in the construction of highways, the clearing out of rivers, and the improvement of harbors. The people have by individual taxes mostly constructed the earth roads of this country. The canals have, however, with a few exceptions, been state Avorks, built by the proceeds of state loans, with the aid of lands donated by the federal govern- ment. These lands were made marketable and valuable by the action of the canals in aid of which they were granted. The rail- roads of the country have been, as a whole, built on a different plan, viz., by corporations, or chartered companies of individuals. These RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 193 associations have not, however, themselves subscribed the whole of the money, probably Dot more than half, but they have found it to their interest to borrow the money on mort- gage of the works. The great object of the companies has not been so much to derive a direct profit from the investment, as to cause the construction of a highway, which should by its operation increase business, enhance the value of property, and swell the floating capital of the country by making available con- siderable productions of industry, which before were not marketable, since the influence of a railroad in a new district is perhaps, if not to create, at least to bring into the general stock more capital than is absorbed in its construction. Thus in the last twenty-five years, a thou- sand millions of dollars have been spent in the construction of roads, and yet capital is pro- portionally more abundant now than before this vast expenditure, and land has, in railroad localities, increased by a money value greater than the cost of the roads ! We have seen that before the operation of canals, land transportation was, and is now remote from these works, one cent per mile per hundred. If a barrel of flour is then worth in market five dollars, a transportation of 300 miles would cost more than its whole value ; but by rail it may be carried from Cincinnati to New York for one dollar. Thus railroads give circulation to all the surplus capital that is created by labor within their circle. It is on this principle that may be explained the immense prosperity that has been seen to at- tend the enormous expenditure for railroads, particularly during the last ten years. The construction of the Massachusetts Western railway, from Boston to the Hudson river, was one of the most important and fi- nancially successful of all the railroads of the country. New York had constructed her great canal, as it were making Albany basin a part of Lake Erie. Boston now grasped the idea of a railroad that should make Al- bany basin with its affluents a part of Boston harbor. It is to be borne in mind, however, that when that road was undertaken, railroad building was a new art ; the mode of laying the track, the form, and even the model of rails were problems. The form of wheels to run on the rails, the mode of setting the car on the wheels, were all unknown com- pared with the knowledge on the subject which the construction of 30,000 miles of roads in this country has since accumulated. The state of knowledge at that time may be seen in the following extract from " Wood on Railroads" in 1825 : " Nothing can do more harm to the adop- tion of railroads than the promulgation of such nonsense as that we shall see locomotive engines travelling at the rate of twelve miles per hour." Such was engineering knowledge at the time Boston voted to build a connection 200 miles to Albany. Since that day much has been learned in relation to the characteristics of roads. The great advantage of railroads is that they practically diminish distances between places in proportion to the speed attained. The rapidity of motion and power of traction de- pend upon the diminution of friction. This was sought in common roads, Macadam roads, and canals, but has approached perfection in railroads. The essential attributes are two smooth surfaces for wheels to run on. These being made of iron, are made as narrow as possible to lessen the ost ; and to keep the wheels upon the rails, flanges are placed upon the inner rim of the wheel. The form of the iron rails has undergone many changes, as experience suggested improvements. The mode of laying these has also varied. The building of a railroad includes " the road bed," somewhat like a common road, and the superstructure, which embraces rails, sup- ports, ties, etc. The main operations in the construction of the road bed consist in the " excavations, tunnels, embankments, ballast- ing, bridges, and viaducts." These operations are required to give the necessary levelness and straightness to roads, both of which are requisite, not only as ele- ments of speed, but of economy. The straightest road is the shortest; but when the road is done, the expense of keeping up the earth-work is nearly nothing, while, on the other hand, the annual expense required to keep up the perishable superstructure is very great and proportionate to the length of the road. Hence true economy requires a greater outlay to make the road straight, in order to avoid permanent cause of ex- pense. Common roads may be lengthened to advantage, in order to avoid an ascent. In railroads this is avoided by tunnels through the obstacle when it is too high to excavate at what it would cost to tunneL This is not, however, the only reason for straightening, since the frequency of curves greatly increases the danger of railroads. RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 195 AHien a car in motion enters upon a curve, it has a tendency to continue its straight course, and this is overcome by the resist- ance of the flanges of the wheel against the rail, and by the firmness of the outer rail. This resistance is always felt in the rocking motion of the cars, and is increased by the shortness of the curve. A pair of wheels is fastened to an axle and turns with it, the outer wheel moving on a curve much faster than the inner one, which would slide, under such circumstances, if both were of the same diameter, sufficiently to make up the differ- ence. This is obviated by making the wheels conical, or of a larger diameter next to the flange than on the outside. The ef- fect of this is that the wheels having some play between the rails, the outer wheel, forced against the rail, runs on a larger di- ameter than the inner one, thus compensat- ing the speed. Further, to overcome the centrifugal force, the outer rail is made higher than the inner one, so that the weight of the car gives it a tendency to slide toward the inner one in opposition to the centrif- ugal force. The excavations in loose earth require to be supported at the sides by re- taining walls, and to be drained by ditches and cross drains. In making a tunnel the centre of the road is set with great accuracy on the sur- face of the ground by an instrument, and shafts are sunk at proper levels along this line. The excavations are then made by " drifts" from shaft to shaft; and to the open ends of the tunnel. The material excavated is raised through the shafts, which serve for ventila- tion when the tunnel is finished. The em- bankments require great care to insure their solidity. When the materials for filling are at hand, they are usually made at their full height at one end, and then temporary rails permit the approach of wagons to be emptied over the head of the embankment. The progress of the work depends upon the speed with which these succeed each other. When the track passes through a country like a wooded swamp, where the materials for filling are not at hand, resort is had to trusses. Piles of a diameter of 1 5 inches are driven, so as to form lines of the width of the railroad ; transverse ties are fastened across the tops, and, with proper supports, longitudinal timbers are laid across the piles to carry the rails. The tops of embank- ments and the bottoms of excavations are made about two feet below the intended or " formation level" of the road, and have there a convex surface like an ordinary road. This space of two feet is filled up with por- ous material, broken stones, gravel, etc. This is called " ballast," and through it the rains pass freely, and the frosts of winter do not so much affect it. On this " ballast" the sleepers are laid. Many roads are not prop- erly ballasted, and are, therefore, unsafe. Bridges are difficult of construction, and have sometimes been made of iron. This was the case with the Erie railroad, when an accident occurred, because the iron, resting upon stone piers, contracted by the cold so as to drop off its support. When the road bed is complete, the su- perstructure is put on. This is now done by cross sleepers. The best of these are second- growth chestnut, 7 feet long, and 8 by 12 inches. These are laid upon the ballast. The iron rails are laid upon these, but in some cases longitudinal timbers are first laid down, and upon these the iron rails are laid. The iron rails have undergone many im- provements. At first, a simple flat iron rail was spiked down to these timbers. These rails would often get loose, and the end ris- ing form a " snake head," and the wheel catching under, throw it up with great force and danger to passengers. These roads were ridiculed as " hoops tacked to a lath." Va- rious forms and weights of rail were adopted as experience directed ; that now the favorite is called the T rail ; the shape is like that letter inverted. There must be a certain breadth of rail for the wheel to run on, and depth for strength. The smallest rails will weigh 36 Ibs. to the running yard. The Massachusetts roads use 60 Ibs. to the yard ; the New York roads, 70 to 75 Ibs. to the yard. The rail is not fastened directly to the timber, but is held in chairs, which are spiked to the cross sleepers. The chair is of cast or wrought iron, and will weigh 20 to 30 Ibs. They are made in one piece, so as to receive the ends of two rails, which are fastened by wedges of iron or wood, driven between them and the chair, without inter- fering with the longitudinal expansion and contraction of the rails. The proper breadth of rails apart, or the width of the track, has been matter of much discussion. There are many advocates of the "broad gauge" and of the "narrow gauge." The latter is generally 4 ft. 8 in. and the former 6 ft. The Erie railroad is of the broad gauge, and the convenience of the cars is superior to that of the narrow 196 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. roads. It is a more expensive road to build, however. Both plans have their advantages. The majority of roads are, however, built on the narrow gauge. When gauges on long lines are uniform it facilitates the passage of the cars, which would otherwise be inter- rupted. The power on railroads is mostly steam, but horses, stationary engines, and atmos- pheric pressure are sometimes used. The first really successful locomotive was built in 1814, which drew 30 tons 6 miles per hour ; improvements have since been made until 70 miles per hour is attained. A Philadelphia engine drew 158 cars, 2,020 feet long, with 1,268 tons coal, 84 miles in 8 hours. The engine weighed 15f tons. The power of an engine depends upon the quantity of steam it can generate in a given time. Each revolution of the wheels corresponds to ? double stroke of each piston, or four cylin- derfuls of steam. The utmost heating surface is therefore required, and this is obtained by tubular boilers. Wheels, 7 feet in diameter, pass over 22 feet in each complete revolu- tion. To go 25 miles per hour, therefore, they must revolve five times in a second, and each piston must make 10 strokes in the same time. This minute division of time is accurately made by this ponderous machine. This rapid exhaustion of steam causes a greater demand for fuel in proportion to the speed. The power of an engine to draw loads depends upon the pressure of steam, which is usually 50 to 60 Ibs. to the square inch ; but the adhesion of the engine to the rails must be great, otherwise the wheel would slip round. For this reason the wheels were first made with cogs to hold in the rail, but it was found that the weight of the engine was sufficient on level roads. The adhesion of iron upon iron is one-eighth of the weight, but in wet and freezing weath- er it is greatly reduced, and it lessens with the increase of the slope of the road, or ascending grade. Thus, if an engine will draw 389 tons on a level, it will draw but one-fourth of the amount up a grade 50 ft. to the mile. The average cost of locomotive power is not far from 50 cents per mile run, which includes fuel, oil, wages, repairs, wear and tear, etc. These expenses are, of course, lessened by levelness and straightness, since where these are perfect, more is carried for the same money, than on common roads. A great draw-back upon the cheapness of rail transportation is the weight of the rolling stock. The cars and engines usually are to the paying freight as 1 to 6. Various means have been proposed to lessen the burden of this expense, but hitherto without much success. It is evident from this slight sketch of the principles of railroad construction that the characteristics of a road, in relation to curves, grades, etc., have much to do with the economy with which it can be run, and its ca- pacity to compete successfully with rival lines. The city of Boston was, as we have said, one of the earliest to understand the advan- tages that were to be drawn from railroads in overcoming the disadvantages of its posi- tion in relation to the west, and the Western railroad has been the instrument by which she made the great states west of New York subservient to her interests. The charter of that road is dated March 15, 1833. The road runs from Worcester, 44 miles west of Boston, to the Massachusetts state line, and thence 38^ miles over the Albany and West Stockbridge railroad, leased and operated by the Western road, into Albany, 200 miles from Boston. The first train of passengers that left Boston was on April 7, 1834, for Davis' Tavern, Newton, to which place the Worcester road was then opened. It was completed to Worcester July 3, 1835. The Western road, in continuation, was opened to Springfield Oct. 1, 1839, ten days before the United States Bank finally failed, and it reached Greenbush Dec. 21, 1841, thus es- tablishing the route from Boston to the Al- bany basin in seven hours. It there con- nects with the New York Central road, which carries the line 229 miles to Koclies- ter, whence, by the Lockport division of the Central road, 77 miles, it connects at Suspension bridge with the Great Western Canada road, and thence with the Michigan Central, the Illinois Central, and the Ohio and Mississippi roads to New Orleans. By this route Boston and St. Louis, 1,365 miles distant, are connected in 64 hours. From Buffalo the line connects south of the lakes with all the net-work of Ohio and other roads. Every portion of the country is thus brought into connection with Boston. The Worcester railroad has a double track its entire length, laid with 60 Ib. iron. Its freight-house at Boston is a single room 466 feet in length and 120 feet wide. The cost of the road was $4,843,610. The Western has a double track 68 miles; it has 20 de- pots, covering 118 acres of land; it has 15 stone-arched bridges, 15 to 60 feet span. RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 197 The bridge across the Connecticut is 1,264 feet long. The Western road has a grade of from 60 to 80 feet per mile for more than 1 8 miles ; near the state line the depot is 1,456 feet above the depot in Boston ! These features indicate the difficulties that were en- countered in the construction, and it received much aid from the state. The original capi- tal was $2,000,000; in 1836 this was in- creased, and the state subscribed $1,000,000. The state subsequently loaned its credit for $4,000,000. The present debt of the com- pany is $5,839,080, and the capital $5>150,- 000, on which it uniformly pays 8 per cent, dividend. The cost of the Western road proper was $6,757,309, and of the Al- bany and West Stockbridge, $2,392,384. The opening of this road made a great change in flour business. Formerly the flour that came down the Erie canal, and was tranship- ped in sloops, made the voyage up the Sound and round Cape Cod, into Boston harbor. The Western road made the line direct, and by it about 600,000 bbls. now annually leave Albany ; of this 40 per cent, is sold along the line, in what was once an agricultural region, and the balance meets in the Boston market the flour of the southern states. The Boston and Providence road was opened 41 miles in June, 1835, and at once became the connecting link between the steamboats from New York and Boston, taking the place of the stage lines. This road has now several branches, and has been very profitable. The original cost, $3,862,710, has long since been returned to its stockholders in 6 per cent, dividends. It has a debt of $195,220, which is paid at the rate of $30,000 per annum. The Boston and Maine road, which is the second link in the great chain which reaches from Bangor to New Orleans by the Atlantic coast, 1,996 miles, was opened in 1843. It runs 74 miles to Berwick, where it connects with the Portland, Saco, and Portsmouth, ex- tending to Portland. The cost of this has been $4,719,995, and it has no debt. It has, since Oct., 1843, paid 40 dividends, amounting to $133 per share of $100. The connections of this road are very numerous. Lateral and cross roads bring every manu- facturing town in New England within easy distance of Boston. The 3,749 miles of rail- road in the New England states give an active circulation to raw materials and the products of industry, making, so to speak, all the labor of those states available on equal terms. In New York the question of railroads had been very early discussed. A publica- tion of Colonel Stevens, of Hoboken, in 1812, advocated a railway instead of a canal to the lakes ; but his proposition was op- posed by Chancellor Livingston on grounds which indicate very odd ideas of the 'nature of the works. The first regular application to the legislature for a railroad charter seems to have been made by Stephen Van Rensselaer and others in 1826, for power to construct one between the Hudson and the Mohawk, and they received the grant for the reason that no railroads were then in the country at all, and that, as the petitioners were willing to make the experiment at their own cost, it was a good opportunity to per- mit it. The surveys for the road were not made until 1830, and the road was opened in September, 1831, and three cars, with twenty passengers in each, were drawn to Schenectady in 46 minutes by an American engine of 3 tons. Meantime, the charters of the Harlem and the Saratoga and Schen- ectady had been granted. The opening of the Mohawk road caused much excitement. A road from the Hudson to the lakes was agitated, and applications were made to the legislature of 1832 for 49 roads, of which 27 charters were granted, and of these six have been constructed, viz. : the Brooklyn and Jamaica, Hudson and Berkshire, Erie, < Rensselaer and Saratoga, Tonawanda, Water- town and Rome. In 1833, six railroads were chartered; of these the Utica and Schenectady, Whitehall and Rutland, and Buffalo and Black Rock were constructed. In 1834, ten railroads were chartered, and of these five were constructed : the Auburn and Syracuse, Buffalo and Niagara Falls, Long Island, Lockport and Niagara, and the Saratoga and Washington. In 1836, 43 railroads were chartered, seven of which were built : the Albany and West Stock- bridge, Attica and Buffalo, Auburn and Roch- ester, Lewiston, Schenectady and Troy, Skan- eateles, and Syracuse and Utica. In 1837, 14 railroads were chartered, but none of them have been constructed. In 1838, the state authorized a loan of its credit to the extent of $3,000,000 to the Erie railroad, and of $100,000 to the Catskill and Canajoharic, and of $250,000 to the Ithaca and Owego ; also, $200,000 to the Auburn and Syracuse. In 1839, the Oswego and Syracuse railroad was chartered ; and the city of Albany lent $400,000 to the Albany and West Stock- 200 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. bridge road. In 1840, acts were passed in the legislature to loan the credit of the state to the extent of $3,47 8,000 to six roads, and provision was made for a sinking fund to be paid into the treasury by the railroad com- panies, except the Erie. In 1841, the city of Albany was authorized to invest $350,- 000 in the Albany and West Stockbridge road. The Erie railroad, having defaulted on its interest, was advertised for sale by the comptroller, which did not take place, how- ever. This was not the case with the Ithaca and Owego, which was sold for $4,500, and the Catskill and Canajoharie for $11,600. The loss to the state was 81,026,327. In 1844, the several railroads from Albany to Buffalo were, for the first time, permitted to transport freight on the closing of the canal, by paying the state the same toll as the canal would have paid. In 1846, the Hud- son River and the New York and New Ha- ven were chartered. In 1847, the seven roads making the line from Albany to the lakes were required to lay down an iron rail of 56 Ibs. to the yard. They were like- wise authorized to carry freight all the year by paying canal tolls ; and all the railroads were made liable for damages in case of death by neglect of the companies' agents. In 1848, the general railroad law was passed. The law provides, however, that the legisla- ture shall decide whether the " public utility " of the road justifies the taking of private prop- erty. This was removed in 1849. Thus, from 1826 to 1850, 151 charters were grant- ed, and of these 30 have been carried into effect. We observe that the line from Albany to Buffalo was composed of seven distinct companies, finished at different times. Most of these were restricted as to fares. The Mohawk and Hudson or Al- bany and Schenectady was not restrained. The others were, as in the following table composing the line now known as .the Cen- tral railroad : Maxi- mum Char- Open- fare ' tered. ed. per Albany and Schenectady . Utica and Schenectady. . . Syracuse and Utica Auburn and Syracuse Auburn and Rochester. . . Tonawanda Attica and Buffalo ..1826 1831 . .1833 1836 ..1836 1839 ..1834 1839 ..1836 1841 ..1832 1842 ..1836 1842 .4 .4 .5 .4 78 .4 48i .8 31 i Cost. 17 $1,711,412 78 4,143,918 53 2,490,083 26 1,011,000 78 4,210,101 1,216,820 900,915 Total 8ti7 $1 5,690,249 These companies were in 1850 allowed to carry freight without the imposition of the canal tolls, and in 1853 were all con- solidated in a single company the New York Central. When this project of con- solidating was under consideration, the stocks rose rapidly to high premiums, arid the prin- ciple of consolidation was to create scrip stock to the amount of the aggregate pre- miums, and divide this pro rata among the stockholders of all the companies. That scrip, to the amount of about $8,100,000, now figures as a part of the cost of the pres- ent company. It may be remarked that the restrictions as to charge have been inopera- tive, since the charge has always been less. The length has been shortened in such a manner that the distance is now 298 miles from Albany to Buffalo, and the charge is $7.00, or 2* cents per mile, the time being 14 hours. The capital of the company is $24,- 153,000, the liabilities $6,233,000, and the $8,100,000 debt certificates to be paid out of future income making altogether $38,- 486,000, against $30,732,517, the cost of the roads. The business of the new company from its consolidation has been as follows : EARNINGS FROM PASSENGERS, FREIGHT, AND ALL OTHER SOURCES, FOR THE YEARS ENDING SEPT. 30, 1853-1859. Tears ending Passengers. Freight. R n urc 3 J s Total. Sept. 30, 1853, $2,829,068 $1,835,572 $122,279 $4,787,519 " 1854, 8,151,513 2,479,820 2S(i,999 5,918.332 " 1855, 3,242,229 8,189.602 131,749 6,563,580 " 1856, 3,207.378 4,328,041 171,928 7,707,347 " 1857, 3,14,7.636 4,559,275 320,338 8,027,259 " 1858, 2,532,646 3.700.270 295,495 6,528,412 " 1859, 2,566,369 3,337,148 297,330 6,200,848 Total $45,733,296 Whoever glances at the map of New York will observe that the Erie canal runs mostly through the northern counties, skirting, as it were, Lake Ontario for a considerable dis- tance ; that the lateral canals extend from this toward the southern portion of the state. The Chenango canal connects the Mohawk with the Susquehanna, and the Gencsee Val- ley canal extends from the Alleghany river to Lake Ontario. The great southern tier of counties bordering on northern Pennsylvania, after having taken great interest in the con- struction of the canal, were without means of communication with markets, other than by common roads. The face of the country was too rugged to permit of a canal, but in 1825 the state legislature ordered the survey of a state road from Lake Erie to the Hud- son river. Several conventions were held during the four years ending with 1830 in relation to the road. The railroad fever had gained ground meantime, and finally, in 1832, a charter for a railroad was granted, RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 201 with a capital of $10,000,000. The survey was made by De Witt Clinton, Jr., but the legislature required that $1,000,000 of the capital should be subscribed before the work was commenced. This was subscribed, and E. Lord chosen president in 1833. A new survey was made at the expense of the state, and the report made on it in 1835, when a reorganization of the company took place, with J. G. King president. The subscrip- tion of capital now reached $2,362,100. The work was commenced by putting 40 miles along the Delaware river under con- tract. The great fire of December, 1835, incapacitated many of the subscribers from paying up, and work was suspended. In January, 1836, the legislature loaned its credit for $3,000,000, but the stock could not then be negotiated. Some work was done along the line, however, by local sub- scription. In 1840 Mr. Lord again presi- dent the loan act was amended so as to be available, and the company purchased its iron. The terms of the loan permitted the state officer to deliver to the com- pany $100,000 of state stock whenever he should have evidence that the company had expended an equal amount ; the state stock not to be sold under par. The company then paid its contractors with time drafts. The receipts for these drafts furnished the evidence of the company's expenditure, on which the state officer issued the stock to the company, which then borrowed on it the money to take up the drafts, and the lenders of the money sold the state stock in the state for what it would bring some lots as low as 80. The work thus done was in detached lots, as the interest of certain par- ties prompted the expenditure. As soon as the last issue was made by the state the company stopped, and the state assumed the interest on the $3,000,000 issued to it. In 1842 the company assigned, and its af- fairs fluctuated until 1844, when Mr. Loder was elected president. In 1845 the state surrendered its lien of $3,000,000 upon the road, and authorized the individual stock to be cut down one-half by holders giving up two shares and taking one new one. A new subscription of $3,000,000 was obtained, and the work commenced anew. Much of the old work was useless ; and at this day, when the passenger approaches Dunkirk, he sees, stretching out far away to the right, like an immense army of grim warriors, the piles that were driven originally for the road, at great expense, and then abandoned. From the year 1845 the road began to grow. Start- ing from Piermont, on the North River, 20 miles above ' the city, it reached Otisville, 62 miles, in October, 1846. The route was altered, and reached Binghamton, 139 miles, in December, 1848, at a cost of $9,- 802,433, allowing $1,458,000 for half the old stock, after the release of the state lien. In June, 1849, 22 miles more to Owego were opened; in October 361 miles were added to Elmira ; and it finally reached the lake at Dunkirk, May, 1851. This was a single track, and it was found almost impos- sible to work it ; consequently they put a second track under contract on portions of the road. It was now found that the loca- tion of the road at Piermont, to be reached by steamboat, would not answer. The com- pany then made an arrangement with the Paterson and Ramapo road to allow the Erie to come into Jersey City. The Erie railroad being a wide gauge, 6 feet, and the Paterson road 4 feet 8 inches, it became necessary to lay another rail outside the track, to permit the Erie cars to come over that road, and the Erie cars reached Jer- sey City in November, 1853. It is remark- able in relation to this road, that it has de- pended upon the telegraph to such an extent that it could scarcely be operated without it. It gives constant information of the where- abouts of the trains and the condition of the track, so that the superintendent, wherever he may be, keeps up a constant communica- tion with all the stations. The whole length of the road is 465 miles ; 282 miles double track and sidings. The maximum grade of the road is 60 feet to the mile for 8 miles, and there is one of 57 feet to the mile. The cost of the road was greatly enhanced by the mode of raising money for its construction, by a constant series of loans, for which were issued first mortgage bonds, second mort- gage bonds, bonds convertible in stock in 1862, bonds convertible in 1871, income bonds, unsecured bonds, and other debts, for very few of which the face was obtained, many of them being disposed of at a large discount. By these means the debts of the company ran up to $25,260,000, and the cap- ital, $10,000,000, was in February, 1857, by a dividend of 10 per cent, in stock, money alleged to have been earned and sunk in the Long Dock, raised to the sum of $11,000,000. This load of debt exceeded the ability of the company, and it went finally into the hands 202 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. of a receiver. The length of the road is 446 miles, and it has a branch of 19 miles from Chester Junction to Newburgh, making 465 miles. It leases of other companies 95 miles, consequently operates 560 miles ; and it has 282 miles of second track. There are 219 locomotives, 160 passenger cars, 49 second class cars, 45 baggage cars, and 2,763 freight cars. The company connected with Jersey City over the track of the New Jer- sey Transportation Company, but it project- ed an independent connection through what is called the Long Dock. This embraced a tunnel of 21 miles through Bergen ridge, and 21 miles of road running out on to docks and piers built out to deep water. The Long Dock Company was chartered by the state of New Jersey with a capital of $800,000. It purchased $773,440 worth of real estate. The Erie Company leased this at 10 per cent, of the capital, and then com- menced expenditures on the tunnel, which is 4,880 feet long, and up to January, 1860, it had expended $1,500,000. This, among other causes, brought the Erie railroad to default; and in August, 1859, at the suit of the fourth mortgage bondholders, a receiver was appointed. It was then proposed, as a means of arrangement, to capitalize the un- secured bonds, with the interest for two years, into a preferred 7 per cent, stock ; to extend the first mortgage bonds coupon to March 1, 1860; the second mortgage to September, 1860; the third to March, 1861, and the balance to December, 1861. It is estimated that the road will clear the other claims upon it, and complete the Long Dock. The busi- ness of this road from 1842 to 1859, inclu- sive, was as follows : EECEIPTS. Receipts from passengers $14,428,024 " freight 29,902,826 " mails, &c 1,586,935 Total $45,917,785 EXPENDITURES. Operating expenses $28,993,114 Dividends 3,481,445 Total $32,474,559 The Camden and Amboy railroad and Delaware and llaritan Canal Co., of New Jersey, is one of the oldest passenger roads, having been chartered in February, 1830, with the canal privilege. The last is 43 miles from Bordentown to New Brunswick ; and the former, South Amboy to Camden, New Jersey, 63 miles. There was to be no rival route within five miles of it. In 1831 the company gave the state 1,000 shares of stock, and a new act was passed consolidat- ing the canal and railroad companies ; fares not to exceed $3 between New York and Philadelphia. In the following year 1,000 shares more were conveyed to the state. In 1837 the road was permitted to extend to New Brunswick ; fares limited to 5 cents per mile. In 1842 the transit duties on the road were fixed at 10 cents per ton for freight, and one-half of all above 3 charged for pas- sengers. The road was opened to Camden in 1834. In 1843 an arrangement was made with the New Jersey Transportation railroad for through passage from New York to Philadelphia. The Camden road cost $5,563,580, and the New Jersey railroad, Jersey City to New Brunswick, 31 miles, $4,719,176. The Camden road has paid in 25 years 281 per cent, dividends, or 111 per cent, average. The New Jersey Central road extends from Elizabethport, 1 2 miles by water from New York, to Easton, on the Delaware ; at Elizabeth it connects, also, with the New Jersey railroad ; at Easton it commands the great Pennsylvania coal fields, and, prospec- tively, it will unite New York city with Lake Erie, over the Pennsylvania and Sunbury and Erie railroads. The cost of the road is $5,617,290; the capital is $2,000,000 ; and the debt $3,375,000. The great Pennsylvania line of im- provements, from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, commenced 4th July, 1826, and finished in March, 1830, comprised 82 miles of rail- road from Philadelphia to Columbia, and 36 miles of portage road from Hollidays- burg to Johnstown ; this consists of a series of inclined planes, which are worked by sta- tionary engines. This 118 miles of railroad was prolonged by 278 miles of canal, and the cost of the whole to the state was over $12,000,000. This broken line was not very well calculated to compete either with the continuous water service of the Erie canal or the uninterrupted passage of freight on the New York railways. The citizens of Philadelphia felt the want of 'works bettor adapted to the growing wants of that great city ; and a new railroad was proposed from Harrisburg to Pittsburg, 250 miles. The route is favorable, except for the mountain division, where the summit is crossed, 2,200 feet above tide water, requiring gradients 95 feet to the mile. These are but little in excess of those KAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 203 of the Massachusetts lines, which are worked to advantage. This work was opened through, November 15, 1832, at a cost of $7,978,000, It proved very successful, and up to Novem- ber, 1855, its profits, over interest on capital, were, in accordance with its charter, credited to construction account, and it has since paid 6 per cent. The state line of public works did not succeed financially, and the state de- termined to sell it. After repeated offerings it was finally purchased by and transferred to the Pennsylvania railroad in 1857 for $7,500,000, which was met by an issue of the 5 per cent, bonds of the company to the state, payable, $100,000 per annum until 1890, and the balance, $4,300,000, in four equal instalments annually thereafter. When the road took possession of the state works, the canals were found to be in a dilapidated condition, and the railroad needed repairs, which required assessments. The route then became continuous by rail from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, 353 miles. From Philadelphia 8 miles to the Susquehanna river there is a double track, and other portions of the road raise the double track to 242 miles. The cost, including the state line, is $30,168,987, composed of capital, $13,240,225, and $17,- 571,054 of bonds. A part of the cost is composed of $816,050 advanced to the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne, and Chicago rail- road, which prolongs the Pennsylvania road to the latter city. That road was composed of three roads, viz. : the Ohio and Pennsyl- vania, the Ohio and Indiana, and the Fort Wayne and Chicago roads. These were con- solidated into one company in 1856, and the line completed from Pittsburg to Chicago in 1859, 471 miles, at a cost of $16,079,590, of which $5,259,040 is capital, and $7,956,075 bonds. To assist the completion of this road, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company took up the rails on the 36 miles of portage road which it had bought of the state, and which was of no use, as it run parallel to its own road, and gave them to the Pittsburg road to com- plete its extension from Plymouth into Chi- cago. For this iron and the expense of tak- ing up and moving, the Pittsburg road gave its first mortgage bonds for $650,000. The business of the Pennsylvania road, connect- ing, as it does, Philadelphia with Chicago and the whole net-work of railroads between and beyond these cities, is not only profitable to itself, but of immense value to Phila- delphia. We have stated that a portion of the great Baltimore and Ohio railroad was finished two years before the opening of the Manchester road in England. The company received two charters : one from the state of Mary- land, February, 1827, and the other from the state of Virginia in the following March, with authority to construct a road from Bal- timore to the Ohio river. The capital au- thorized was $5,000,000, and the company entitled to organize on the payment of $1,000,000. The company was so organized in April of the same year, and with the aid of several officers of the United States top- ographical corps, the road was partly located in the same summer. July 4th, ground was broken by Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, and the portion of the road to Ellicott's Mills was put under contract. The capital of the company, at the close of 1828, reached $4,000,000, of which three-fourths was taken by individuals, $500,000 by the city of Bal- timore, and $500,000 by the state of Mary- land. The road was gradually extended to the Point of Rocks in 1832. Here arose an obstacle of right of way. The Chesapeake canal had appropriated the narrow gorge through the mountain, and several years of negotiation elapsed before the difficulty was finally settled by the legislature. In 1833 the Washington branch was chartered, on the condition that at least 25 cents per pas- senger should be paid to the state. The Baltimore and Ohio Company contributed $1,016,800 toward the construction, and it was opened 30 miles to Washington, August 25, 1835. The road had then no locomotives, horse power being used. The company of- fered $4,000 for a locomotive of American manufacture to burn coal. One was invented by Phineas Davis and accepted. It ran 15 miles per hour on short curves and 30 miles on a straight line. The rails were flat bars laid on stone foundations, which soon gave way to longitudinal timbers with improved rails. The road reached Harper's Ferry in 1834, and the state subscribed $3,200,000 for the extension to Wheeling. In 1838 the state of Virginia extended the time for con- struction through its territory and subscribed $1,058,420. The road was then completed to Cumberland in 1842, but nothing further was done until 1847. Virginia again ex- tended the time, and in 1849 state bonds granted to the company furnished means for pushing the road to completion in 1853. The city of Baltimore then furnished $5,000,000, which was expended in protecting tunnels, 204 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. double track, etc. There is one tunnel of 4,137 feet, and the length of all the tunnels is 12,804 feet. A charter for the Parkersburg branch was granted in 1851. The work began Decem- er, 1852, and was completed May 1, 1857. The road was built jointly by the city of Bal- timore and the Baltimore and Ohio Com- pany. The former gave $1,500,000 first mortgage bonds, and the latter $1,000,000 of its second mortgage bonds, and has since advanced $1,795,326. The road is operated by the Baltimore Company under a contract for five years, at a rent of 40 per cent, of the gross earnings. The capital of the Baltimore Company is $10,011,800, and the funded debt $13,881,- 833. There are three sinking funos operat- ing to redeem these debts, and all amount to about $1,200,000. The total earnings of the main road for 30 years were $9,744,351 from passengers, $29,604,970 from freight; total, $39,349, 321; the amount, less expenses, was $17,421,250, and the total amount of divi- dends paid has been $4,589,866. These range from 1 to 7 per cent., and during the five years ending with 1852, were paid in stock. The traffic of the road east is mostly in coal. Thus, of 566,214 tons delivered at Baltimore in 1859, 323,898 was coal. The number of passengers on the road and branches going west in 1859 was 338,037; going east, 349,501. Tons of freight going west, 303,104; going east, 770,452. This road has exercised an immense influence upon the business of Baltimore, and opened a route to the Ohio valley which rivals the Pennsylvania and the great New York routes. The Virginia Central railroad, which now connects Richmond 195 miles with Jackson's River, was originally chartered, in 1836, as the Louisa railroad, with a capital of $300,- 000, and in 1837 the board of public works was authorized to subscribe on behalf of the state $120,000. In December, 1837, twenty- three miles of the road were opened. It was further extended in the following year, and in 1840 the road reached Gordonsville. Under new privileges, granted in 1848, the work was resumed, and reached Charlottes- ville in May, 1 850, but in that year some new privileges being asked, the name of the road was formally changed to the Virginia Central railroad. There were then seventy miles in operation, and extensions at both ends were proceeded with; of these in 1851 twenty- three miles were completed, bringing the road into Richmond. It was not until 1857 that the road was opened through to Jackson's River, 195 miles, at a cost of $5,362,910 ; of this $3,132,445 is capital paid in, $1,878,493 by the state, and the balance by individuals. The highest grade of the road going west is eighty-three feet per mile for 1| miles, and going east seventy-two feet per mile for fourteen miles. There are 107 miles straight, and 77 miles curved, of which the smallest radius is 716 feet for 1 mile. The rails are all T, from fifty to sixty pounds per yard. The cross ties 2,400 to the mile. The busi- ness of the past year was as follows : Going Passengers. ^ols*' East 33,629 66,678 West 30,548 68,205 Total 64,177 134,883 Earnings $311,980 $306,212 This road from its opening, 1837, to the close of 1859, earned as follows: average length, 90 miles ; passenger earnings,$79,583 ; freight, $89,773 ; gross earnings, $180,009; expenses, $94,486; dividends paid, $22,971 ; per cent., 2. In casting the eye upon a railroad map, the line from Bangor, Maine, to New Orleans, 1,996 miles, is found to be composed of nineteen grand links ; one of the largest of these is that which connects Lynchburg, Va., with Bristol,Tenn., 204 miles. This was called the Virginia and Tennessee. It was opened in 1854. By this route the mails of the government are conveyed from Washington to New Orleans in seventy-five hours. This commanding position of the road is not, however, more advantageous than its local business, which is derived from one of the most fertile districts of Virginia, as well as rich in minerals. The road opened what had been one of the most secluded portions of the central states, and vast resources are there to be developed. The cost of the road is $7,050,519, of which $3,418,599 is capital and $2,833,000 bonded debt. The future of this road is one of the most promising. The next most important link in this great line is the Orange and Alexandria road, con- necting Alexandria and Lynchburg, 170 miles. This road was completed in 1859 ; by it the distance from New York to central Virginia is shortened sixteen miles, and the route to New Orleans, so to speak, straight- ened. The cost of the road was capital, $1,899,330; bonds, $2,600,000. The South Carolina road was one of the RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 205 first projected in the country. The city of Charleston early saw the advantage and im- portance of the work, which was commenced in 1830, and opened in 1833. Its main trunk extends from Charleston to Hamburg, on the Savannah river, opposite Augusta, Georgia, 136 miles. The track was origin- ally a trestle-work, on which was laid a thin flat rail. Some of the swamps and rivers were crossed at an elevation of fifty feet. On this road the first successful American locomotive was run. It was called the " Best Friend," and was built under the supervision of E. L. Miller, of South Caro- lina. It was introduced by Horatio Allen, and ran in 1830, when there were but eight miles of road out of Charleston. The South Carolina road cost $7,701,338, of which $4,179,475 is capital, and $2,730,463 bond- ed debt. The road owes most of its busi- ness to the transportation of cotton, and it pays ten per cent, regularly. Its stock is above par. The project of connecting Charles- ton with Cincinnati was early entertained, and in 1836 a grant was obtained from South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, for the purpose of construct- ing a road through Columbia, Knoxville, and Danville to Covington, opposite Cincinnati. This enterprise was swamped in 1837 by the crisis, when the road was partially construct- ed to Columbia. That project has now been revived by the completion of the Greenville and Columbia road, and the extension of the Blueridge road into Tennessee, thence via Knoxville through Danville and Lexington to Cincinnati. A more circuitous road by way of Nashville and Louisville, over the Nashville and Chattanooga, and Nashville and Louis- ville railroads, has been opened. Charleston thus drains the whole interior country. The Georgia railroad system is composed of two great lines : one from Savannah to the Tennessee river, 434 miles, and the other, 255 miles, from Augusta to West Point, whence it is prolonged to Montgomery by the Montgomery and West Point road. The Georgia Central, connecting Savannah with Macon, 191 miles, was opened nearly at the same time as the Georgia road connecting Augusta with Atlanta, 171 miles, viz., in November, 1843, having been commenced in 1836. It was chartered with banking priv- ileges, and has been eminently successful. Its capital stock is $4,010,000, and bonded debt $158,767. This road made a dividend last year of 15 per cent., and its stock is now 13 15 per cent, premium. The Georgia road cost $5,210,372, of which $4,156,000 is capital, and $476,895 bonded debt. The earnings of this road are 1 5 per cent. From Atlanta a road stretches to West Point ; it has always paid either seven or eight per cent., besides several extra divi- dends ; and last year divided a bonus of thirty per cent. The state railroad of Georgia, built at extravagant cost, and managed by state officials, paid into the treasury last year out of its net earnings about eight per cent, on its cost. In Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas, their fine rivers, navigable for steamboats, and stretching into every part of the states, have made railroads almost unnecessary. But whenever they are built, and can obtain a freight of cotton, they are sure to pay. This product is not like corn, or wheat, or even flour, worth one, two, or three cents a pound, but eight, ten, or twelve cents, and can there- fore afford to pay the cost of transportation. The most remarkable railroad in the world as to extent, location, mode of construction, and magnitude of resources, is perhaps the Illinois Central road. It may be called the corner-stone of a future empire. In 1837, when the population of the state of Illinois was less than 200,000 souls, and these agri- culturists scattered over the great state, they undertook with singular boldness a system of internal improvement by canal and railroad, which would involve an expenditure of at least $1 5,000,000. Among these was the Central railroad, which was to extend from Cairo, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, longitudinally of the state, to Galena at its northern extremity on the Missisippi river, making a line of 4571 miles, which should be the base of a triangle of which the great river formed the other two sides. This road was to cross the Illinois river at the commencement of navigation, or where it meets the canal coming from Chicago. Other roads were projected to cross the state, intersecting the Central road. The Central road was undertaken, and about $3,500,000 spent upon it, when bankruptcy overtook the state, and the road rapidly deteriorated. The progress of the work on the canal, with the funds borrow- ed on pledge of the land granted by the federal government, had been of great benefit to the state, and had enabled the federal gov- rnment to sell most of its lands on the anal and great water-courses, in fact, all within reach of market. There remained, 206 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. however, some 15,000,000 acres of the rich- est land in the heart of the state, for which there was no sale, because it was not acces- sible to market. Experiencing, however, the great results from the canal grant, which not only laid open great tracts to market, but by local expenditure in construction, brought settlers and money upon the vacant lands, it decided upon a similar grant to the state in aid of the Central railroad. Accord- ingly, in September, 1850, Congress made a grant of lands to the state of Illinois of every alternate section, six sections in width, on each side of the road and its branches, and if any land so situated should be taken up, then any vacant land elsewhere might be selected in room of it, within fifteen miles of the line of the road. The same law con- ferred upon the states of Alabama and Mis- sissippi similar grants for the extension of the road from Cairo to Mobile city. In the following February the state of Illinois incorporated the Illinois Central Railroad Company, with a capital of $1,000,000, to be extended to an amount not exceeding the cost of the road. The company on its organization was to pay over to the state treasury $200,000, and receive from the state the entire grant of lands made by the federal government, together with all that remained of the old Central road, right of way, etc. The company was to have fifty miles com- pleted within two years, under forfeit of the $200,000 deposited, and which was to be re- turned to the company on the completion of the fifty miles within the time. The road was to run from Cairo to the western end of the Illinois canal, and thence branch to Galena on the river, and to Chicago on the lake. The company was to pay to the state annually five per cent, on the gross income of the road. These were the leading items of the grant, and the conditions were all carried out. The location and survey of the route showed the company entitled to 2,595,000 acres of land to be selected by the company. This vast tract of land, amount- ing to an area larger than the whole state of Connecticut, was all to be selected from good farming lands, not an acre of waste in the whole, but all of the richest prairie soil, of the same character as that in the neigh- borhood of St. Louis, which for two hundred years had given to fresh settlers annual crops, without in any degree deteriorating appar- ently. These lands of the company were appropriated, 2,000,000 acres, valued at $18,150,000, as a security for $17,000,000 of construction bonds; 250,000 acres were added to the interest fund to meet any de- ficiency of means from other sources ap- propriated to interest on the construction bonds ; and 345,000 acres were held in reserve, but were finally the basis of$3,000,- 000 " free land bonds," issued and redeemed by conversion into company stock. Th 2,000,000 acres were placed in the hands of trustees, who alone have power to give title to purchasers, and who are required, when- ever the funds accumulate to the amount of a bond, to buy and cancel it. No land can be sold, unless bonds to the same amount are cancelled. It was estimated that the bonds thus issued would build the road, and leave the entire work free of cost to the stockholders. It was found requisite, how- ever, to create 170,000 shares, representing $17,000,000 capital. On this instalments have from time to time been called in. The $200,000 deposited with the state was as- sessed $20 on 10,000 shares, and the amount has since been increased to $26,000,000, on which 80 per cent, has been called, making $20,800,000. In April, 1852, $4,000,000 of the 7 per cent, construction bonds were is- sued at par, and the subscribers to this loan had the privilege of subscribing ten shares of stock for each $1,000 bond. The company purchased their iron, 72,000 tons, in 1852, when it was very low, or less than half the price to which it rose soon after, when the railroad fever developed itself. In October, 1852, the whole line was put under contract, in divisions, and 10,000 men were employed at an expense of $3,700,000 per annum, at work along the line, twelve hours per day, stretching a great highway through fertile plains never before opened, conferring value on them, wealth to the farmers, and strength to the state. As the work progressed, it en- countered difficulties from cholera, and the demand for labor which the growing railroad mania caused. The road was opened in 1854, and its earnings for its first year, 1855, were $1,532,118. It sold of its lands 528,- 863 acres for $5,598,577, and the sales have since reached 1,267,627 acres for$16,230,326, leaving on hand 1,327,372 acres. These lands are quite as valuable for farms as those sold. The Illinois Central railroad is the longest continuous line of road under the control of a single corporation in the United States. It owns 112 locomotives (of which number twenty-five burn coal), seventy first-class pas- RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 207 senger cars, twenty-four baggage and express cars, and 2,295 freight cars. It has ex- tensive workshops for the manufacture and repair of machinery at Chicago, Centralia, and Amboy, with one or two smaller es- tablishments at other places. The road is intersected by and makes connections with sixteen distinct lines of railroad. At its northern terminus Dunleith on the Mis- sissippi river, the cars make connections with the boats of the Minnesota Packet Com- pany for the upper Mississippi. The com- pany have recently erected a grain elevator at Dunleith, by which grain will be trans- ferred from the boats to the cars at a con- siderable saving in labor and expense. At Cairo, the southern terminus of the road, the cars make direct connections (by steamer to Columbus, Ky.) with the Mobile and Ohio railroad for Memphis, Natchez, Vicksbui'g, New Orleans, and other southern cities. In Chicago the company's facilities for receiving and forwarding freight are un- surpassed. Sleeping cars are run on all its night passenger trains. The land department is the most interest- ing branch of the company. It is divided into three bureaus the cashier's office, the sales room, and the contract room. The whole force employed in it comprises about twenty-five clerks, one of whom is a brother of Charles Dickens, the distinguished novel- ist. He is on the sunny side of thirty, is a quiet, unassuming gentleman, and, it is said, writes considerable for some of the leading literary publications in this country. But to return to the lands of the Illinois Central railroad. They comprise an area covering 4,05 square miles, nearly as large as the territory of the state of Connecticut, twice as large as Delaware, more than half as large as Massachusetts, about the same size as the electorate of Hesse-Cassel, three-fourths as large as the grand duchy of Baden, and half as large as the grand duchy of Tuscany. The most marvellous result of this great work was manifest in the report of the United States land commissioner. The lands through which the road ran had been offered on an average of 15 years at $1.25 per acre, without finding a buyer. All those lands were withdrawn while the company made its selections. When that was done, the lands were again brought into market,in June, 1852, and these in the next twelve months soldin Illinois 298,861 acres for cash, at $2.50 per acre, and 2,509,120 for land warrants. The sales were double the quantity sold in all the states in the previous year. The whole interest of the government in Illinois was speedily closed out. For lands which had been valueless to it before the completion of the road, it realized over $9,000,000. This was the effect of transportation upon those lands. The first land grants of the government, as we have seen in a preceding chapter, were in aid of canals. The grant to the Illinois railroad was followed by others, and the ag- gregate grants are as follows to each state : Grants for internal improvements. Ohio 1,243,001.77 Indiana 1,609,861.61 Illinois 500,000.00 Missouri 500,000.00 Alabama 500,000.00 Mississippi 500, 000.00 Louisiana 500, 000.00 Michigan 1,250,000.00 Arkansas 500, 000.00 Florida 500,000.00 Iowa 1,385,078.22 "Wisconsin 1,069,371.99 California 500, 000.00 Minnesota Ter. . 340,000.00 Railroad grants. 2,595,053 1,815,435 2,332,918 1,687,530 1,162,580 3,096,000 1,465,297 1.814,400 3,456,000 1,622,800 4,416,000 10,897,313.59 25,464,013 The grants for internal improvements in- clude the canal grants to Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as for river improvements. The railroad grants, it appears, amount to nearly 25,500,000 acres. These grants have been applied to that purpose by the several states, not always, however, with the best success. The state of Wisconsin was unfor- tunate in the grants of the state rights, and the land has been withheld in some cases. Minnesota founded a railroad system upon her lands, but up to the present time disaster only has attended it. The system was push- ed to its extent in 1857, and then suffered a severe revulsion. With the improved de- mand for farm produce, migration may be expected to be renewed, and the value of the land grants to be restored. The land grant of the federal government to Alabama for the Mobile and Ohio road was to the extent of 1,120,000 acres, and it became the basis of a sinking fund for the aid granted to the states of Tennessee, Missis- sippi, and Alabama. The road is to extend from Mobile bay, in a line nearly due north, to the mouth of the Ohio river, opposite Cairo, a distance of 594 miles. Thence by the Illinois Central it will connect with Duii- 208 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. leith, on the upper Mississippi, 928 miles, and also with Chicago and the eastern lines. The road was commenced in 1851, and was pushed through Tennessee to West Point in 1857; it is by the law of that state entitled to a guaranteed state credit of $8,000 per mile, which will carry it to the Kentucky line. The work is one of the most important in the whole country. The Memphis and Charleston railroad connects Memphis, on the Mississippi, with Charleston, by the way of the Nashville and Chattanooga road. This road connects Charleston and Savannah with the leading cities of the Mississippi river. It js 271 miles long, and forms part of the great through line from Washington to New Orleans. It is well built, and pays 1 2 per cent, dividends. Its cost was $6,351,752, of which $2,258,115 is capital, and $2,594,000 bonded debt. The New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern road forms the southernmost link of the great chain which stretches 2,000 miles on the Atlantic coast to Bangor, thus connecting codfish with sugar, the Maine law with New Orleans rum. The road runs from New Orleans to Canton, Mississippi, 206 miles. It has, as a matter of course, an im- mense through business as well as a large local traffic. Its cost has been $8,949,183, of which $4,320,618 is capital, and $3,185,- 000 bonded debt. There were completed in January, 1860, the last two links in the great chain of rail- ways from Maine to Louisiana the first, the last twenty-five miles on the Mississippi Cen- tral, and the second, of sixty-one miles be- tween Lynchburg and Charlottesville, on the Orange and Alexandria railroad, popularly known as the Lynchburg Extension. This route, as will be seen by the following table of distances, is within a fraction of 2,000 miles in length, from Bangor to New Or- leans, of a continuous rail track, with the exception of four short ferries, viz. : the Hud- son river, the Susquehanna, the Potomac, and the James river at Lynchburg, the last two of which will soon be supplied with bridges. From New Orleans to Canton, Miss., by the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern railway 206 Canton to Grand Junction, Miss., by the Mis- sissippi Central railway 165 Grand Junction to Stephenson, Ala., by the Memphis and Charleston railway 219 Stephenson to Chattanooga, Tenn., by the Nash- yille and Chattanooga railway 38 Chattanooga to Cleveland, Tenn., by the Cleve- land and Chattanooga railway 29 Cleveland to Knoxville, Tenn., by the East Tennessee and Georgia railway 83 Knoxville to Bristol, Tenn., by the "East Ten- nessee and Virginia railway 130 Bristol to Lynchburg, Va., by the Virginia and Tennessee railway 204 Lynchburg to Alexandria, by the Orange and Alexandria railway 169 Alexandria to Washington, D. C., by the "Wash- ington and Alexandria railway 6 "Washington to Baltimore, Md., by the Balti- more and Ohio railway 39 Baltimore to Philadelphia, by the Philadelphia, "Wilmington, and Baltimore railroad 98 Philadelphia to New York, by the Philadelphia and New York railroad line 87 New York to New Haven, Conn., by the New York and New Haven railway , . . . 74 New Haven to Springfield 62 Springfield to Worcester, by the Western rail- way 55 Worcester to Boston, by the Boston and Wor- cester railway 45 Boston to Portland, Me., by the Eastern and Portland, Saco, and Portsmouth railways. . . . 107 Portland to Bangor, Me., by the Penobscot and Kennebec, and Androscoggin and Kennebec railways 137 Total 1,953 This vast chain of railways is composed of nineteen independent roads, costing in the aggregate, for 2,394 miles of road, $92,784,- 084, or .nearly one-tenth of the whole rail- way system of the United States, of which 1,953 miles are used in this continuous line. The roads from Washington city to New Orleans, embracing a distance of 1,249 miles, have had the contract for the great through mail to New Orleans once a day since July 1, 1858. The state of Michigan, in 1836, con- templated the construction of three railroads to cross the state : the Southern, from Monroe to New Buffalo ; the Central, from Detroit to St. Joseph; and the Northern, from Huron to Grand River. For these roads a state debt of $5,000,000 was contracted ; and, in 1838, 28 miles of the Central road had been put in operation, which was ex- tended to 146 miles, at a cost of $2,238,289, and the Southern road, 68 miles, at a cost of $1,125,590, when the state failed and re- pudiated its debt. As a step toward re- covery, a bill was passed, at the suggestion of Mr. Charles Butler, of New York, called the " Butler act," by which the state sold the Central road to a Boston company for $2,000,000 of its own bonds, and the South- ern road for $5,000,000 to another company. RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 209 Little was done> however, until 1849, when Mr. Butler and others reorganized the South- ern company, and the road was pushed to completion. As it approached the Indiana line, an old Indiana state charter was pur- chased, enabling the company to carry their work through that state to the Illinois line, whence, under the general law of that state, it was pushed on to Chicago. The dis- tance from Monroe, on Lake Michigan, to Chicago, is 246 miles, and the work was completed for $5,000,000, or $20,000 per mile in running order, the level nature of the country being very favorable to the construction of railroads. The work was eminently successful, but became involved through its connection with lateral jobs, which covered it with liabilities greater than its business, large as it was, could carry. It was, like the Erie canal, and indeed many other railroads, overlaid with useless and ill- judged expenditure. The company expend- ed 1,312,534 in aid of other roads, many in nowise connected with it, and in keeping up a ruinous competition. The company thus became hopelessly involved in 1857, when its cost had risen to $19,595,407. Its struggles increased its liabilities, while its business declined. Its main line, Monroe to Chicago, is 246 miles, and six branches raise the length to 509 miles, to which 30 miles leased are to be added. The Michigan Central reached the lake in May, 1849, and was also pushed to com- pletion, going round the foot of Lake Michi- gan, where the Illinois Central put out a hand to meet it. The connection is thus 284 miles Detroit to Chicago. The cost of this road was $14,548,411. The road was laid with T rail, and was very prosperous. The capital of the company is $6,057,844, and the debt $8,284,063. The road is an important link in the line of connection between Boston and the western country. The state of Tennessee has an important system of railroads extending to all sec- tions of the state. The state guarantees $8,000 per mile for the purchase of iron and epuipmetit, upon the condition that the com- panies prepare the road bed and defray the charges of construction. The state retains a lien upon the whole property. The roads have been well built. The state of Missouri had done little toward the construction of roads until the session of 1851, when it agreed to lend its aid to two great lines: the Pacific road, commencing at St. Louis and running across the state, on the south side of the Missouri river, and the Hannibal and St. Joseph road, extending 206 miles across the state from river to river, connecting the two cities named. This last has also a land grant of 600,000 acres, made the basis for $5,000,- 000 of the company's bonds. The state subsequently enlarged its plan, and agreed to issue some $24,000,000 of its bonds in aid of the railroads. The panic of 1857 supervened before the issue was completed, and many of the roads became embarrassed. The most important of these roads is the Pa- cific. It has received state aid, direct and contingent, to the extent of $7,500,000, and has also a land grant of 1,127,000 acres. The main line, St. Louis to Kansas city, is 282 miles, running nearly parallel with the Missouri river, and the south-west branch is 283 miles together, 565. The route open is 63 miles to Syracuse. The cost is $11,- 701,516, of which $3,319,835 is capital, and bonded debt $8,303,000. In the following table of the leading rail- roads of all the states, with the capital paid in and the funded debts outstanding, there are many roads which run through several states. These are given, the whole in those states where their greatest length is. Thus the Bos- ton and Maine road has three miles in Maine, but the whole is put down in Massachusetts. The titles of roads in Italics show the land- grant roads. The figures are from returns a year earlier than those above. RAILROADS OP THE UNITED STATES PROJECTED LENGTH AND MILES COMPLETED, WITH THE CAPITAL PAID IN, AND FUNDED DEBT. Corporate titles of companies. Androscoggin Androscoggin and Kennebec. Atlantic and St Lawrence Branch Bangor, Oldtown, and Milford 123 Branch 0.5 Total length Length roads of Koads. completed. 36.1 55.6 149.2 1.5 36.1 55.6 149.2 1.5 12.3 0.5 Carried forward 255.2 255.2 Capital. $151,833 457,900 2,494,900 135,000 3,239,633 Funded Debt $444,638 1,748,451 3,472,000 5,665,095 210 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. Corporate titles of companies. Total lengtl of roads. .... 255.2 i Length roads completed. 255.2 Capital. $3,239,633 Funded debt. $5,665,095 172 17.2 226,500 6.0 6.0 J . . . . 5.5 5.5 f 224,113 6.0 6.0 175,000 63.0 63.0 ) 9.5 9.5 f 1,287,779 1,280,000 7.5 7.5 } 100,000 33.0 180,497 300,000 54.7 64.7 555,228 1,206,800 Portland and Oxford Central 28.5 21.5 430,000 51.3 51.3 1,500,000 39.0 39.0 169,200 656,900 55.0 18.5 370,000 450,000 631.4 554.9 8,457,980 9,458,495 .... 20.8 20.8 371,037 23.1 23.1 246,018 150,000 Boston Concord and Montreal 93.0 93.0 1,800 000 1 050 000 53.8 53.8 2,085 925 738 200 37.0 28.5 389,047 420 853 34.5 34.6 1,500,000 14.6 14.6 200,000 16.8 16.8 492 500 42 795 .'..". 46.3 20.5 166,748 209 927 26.8 26.8 863,400 33 800 Merrimac and Connecticut Rivers 53.8 53 8 595 587 383 400 Northern New Hampshire 69.2 69.2 ) Bristol Branch 12.8 12.3 f 3,068,400 299,500 Peterboro' and Shirley 10.5 10.5 245,643 46.8 46.8 250,000 24.7 24.7 500,000 750,000 Wilton and Nashua 10.3 10.3 232 227 Total New Hampshire . . . . 594 8 660 5 13 206 532 4,078 475 Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers ...'. 110.3 90.7 1,200,000 800,000 Grand Trunk of Canada 17.3 17.3 345,000 Rutland and Burlington 119.6 119.6 2,233,376 3,145,001 Rutland and Washington 44.8 44.8 950,000 Rutland and Whitehall 6.8 6.8 ) Branch 15 1.5 I 255,706 47.0 47.0 1,350,000 Vermont Central 118.0 118.0 ) Branch 4.0 4.0 f 5,000,000 3,853,000 Vermont Valley 23.7 23.7 516,164 793,200 54.0 540 ) Branches 10.5 10.5 f 332,000 700,000 557 5 537.9 12 182 246 9 291 201 New York and Boston air-line . .... 23 3 153,312 New York, Providence, and Boston 50.0 50 d 1,508,000 306,500 Providence, Warren, and Bristol 13 6 13 6 287 917 109,937 Total Rhode Island 86 9 63 6 1 949 229 416437 Danbury and Norwalk 23 9 23 9 279 100 85 000 Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill 1975 122 4 1 936 739 1,810 500 .. . 740 740 2 000 000 232 000 57 57 1 031 800 287 300 New Haven and Hartford 55 5 65 5 ) 10 6 10 6 C 2,350,000 964,000 New Haven, New London, and Stonington. . . 61.5 61 5 960 748 866,000 Carried forward 480.0 40419 8,558,387 4,244,800 RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 211 Corporate titles of companies. Brought forward Total length of roads. 480.6 404.9 66.0 62.3 Capital. $8,558,387 922,500 510,900 2,980,839 2,122,500 Funded Debt $4,244,800 700,000 1,052,500 2,219,000 714,998 New Haven and Northampton 46.4 Branches 8.8 New London, Willimantic, and Palmer 66.0 New York and New Haven 62.3 Norwich and Worcester 59.0 Allyn's Point Extension 7.0 Total Connecticut 729.5 654.4 64.2 7.1 63.0 i 31.0 ' 60.2 63.0 48.0 11.8' 11.0 6.6 53.0 6.0 33.8 21.7 14.5 15.0 12.0 18.7 13.0 15,095,126 977,700 120,000 3,798,400 657,351 2,200,000 238,513 220,666 111,114 1,157,800 101,387 3,749,000 154,157 630,000 248,225 357,078 1,024,600 216,794 8,331,298 2,049,500 6,882,000 1,006,800 3,186,000 340,000 188,700 95',000 600,000 Belvidere Delaware .'. 64.2 Burlington and Mount Holly , 7.1 Camden and Amboy 63.0 Branch 31.0 Camden and Atlantic 60.0 Central of New Jersey 63.0 Extra track 48.0 Flemington 11.8 Freehold and Jamesburg 17.0 Millstone and New Brunswick 6.6 Morris and Essex 92.0 Newark and Bloomfield 6.0 New Jersey 33.8 Northern New Jersey 21.7 Paterson and Hudson 14.5 Paterson and Ramapo 15.0 Sussex 12.0 Warren 18.7 60.0 Total New Jersey 645.6 553.6 16.1 19.5 21.2 26.7 ' 1.8 74.3 8.8 74.5 43.5 12.1 44.8 24.3 46.1 1.0 50.0 2.4 9.2 3.3 44.1 1 30.5 3.8 19.9 ; 1.4; 15.1 50.9 16.0 14.0 9.0 24.9 6.9 0.7 6.6 12.4 3.9 15,982,785 312,828 295,337 600,000 1,830,000 4,076,974 . 3,692,144 3,160,000 4,500,000 681,690 1,591,100 203,150 136,789 2,853,400 56,353 299,107 396,085 3,540,090 214,296 1,895,402 298,951 369,218 12,000 250,357 200,000 156,185 14,348,000 440,000 174,200 600,000 190,000 252,500 2,030,500 280,261 100,000 62,900 303,014 100,000 Agricultural branch 28.4 43.0 21.2 Boston and Lowell 26.7 Branch . 1.8 Boston and Maine 74.3 8.8 Boston and New York Central 74.5 Boston and Providence 43.5 Branches 12.1 44.8 24.3 46.1 1.0 Connecticut River 50.0 2.4 9.2 3.3 44.1 30.5 3.8 19.9 1.4 15.1 50.9 16.8 Fitchburg and Worcester. 14 9.0 24.9 Hartford and New Haven 5.9 0.7 Lexington and West Cambridge 66 12.4 3.9 Carried forward 775.3 737.7 31,621,456 4,433,376 212 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. Corporate titles of companies. Total length of roads. Length roads completed. Capital. Funded debt. Srotight forward 775.3 737.7 $31,621,456 $4,433,375 Medway branch 3.6 3.6 32,554 Middleboro' and Taunton 8.1 8.1 149,496 . . Nashua and Lowell 14.4 14.4 600,000 New Bedford arid Taunton 20.1 20.1 ) *>00 000 Branch 1.6 1.6 f * Newburyport 26.9 26.9 220,240 221,600 New York and Boston air line 32.0 8.6 223,176 675,000 Old Colony and Fall River Bridgewater branch 79.5 7.8 79.5 ) 7.8 ) 3,015,100 134,500 Peterboro' and Shirley 14.1 14.1 265,327 Pittsfield and North Adams 18.6 18.6 450,000 Providence and Worcester 43.4 43.4 1,510,200 300,000 Salem and Lowell 16.9 16.9 243,305 226,900 South Reading branch Branch 8.2 0.3 8.2 ) 0.3 f 298,947 South Shore 11.5 11.5 259,685 153,290 Stockbridge and Pittsfield 21.9 21.9 448,700 Stony Brook 13.2 13.2 267,364 Stoughton branch 4.1 4.7 94,944 Taunton branch 11.1 11.1 ) Branch 0.6 0.6 f 313,156 Troy and Greenfield 36.5 36.1 385,206 219,000 Vermont and Massachusetts Branch 69.0 8.0 69.0 ) 8.0 f 2,214,225 1,003,880 "Waltham and Watertown, horse 2.2 2.2 18,978 "Western 156.1 156.1 5,150,000 6,125,520 "West Stockbridge 2.7 2.7 39,600 , 9 Worcester and Nashua. . . 45.7 . 45.7 1,141,000 194,500 Total Massachusetts 1,474.8 1,384.2 49,462,563 13,687,566 Albany and Susquehanna 140.0 .:;..:. :. 275,792 Albany and West Stockbridge 38.0 38.0 1,000,000 1,289,933 Albany, Vermont, and Canada Branch 31.9 0.8 31.9 ) 0.8 f 495,005 1,575,091 Black River and Utica Branch 108.5 2.6 34.9 ) 2.6 f 804,648 700,000 Blossburg and Corning 14.8 14.9 250,000 220,000 Buffalo, Corning, and New York. 142.3 142.0 680,000 2,592,221 Buffalo and New York City Branch 91.0 1.5 91.0 ) 1.5 f 755,709 1,720,000 Buffalo and Pittsburg. 75.2 . . 133,167 Buffalo and State Line 68. 3 68.3 1,934,850 1,049,000 Oanandaigua and Elmira 69.8 69.8 500,000 Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Branch 98.6 1.6 98.6) 1.6 f 1,300,000 2,195,832 Cayuga and Susquehanna 34.6 34.6 687,000 411,000 Chemung 17.4 17.4 380,000 70,000 Erie and New York City. 63.2 352,741 14,000 Genesee Valley 16.0 75,689 165,000 Hicksville and Cold Spring 4.1 4.1 52,000 Hudson and Boston 17.0 17.0 175,000 Hudson River. 144.0 144.0 3,758,466 8,842,000 Lake Ontario, Auburn, and New York 73.8 71,000 Lake Ontario and Hudson River 182.0 2,715,186 870,000 Lebanon Springs 22.5 324,448 Long Island Hempstead branch 95.0 2.5 95.0 ) 2.5 \ 1,852,715 636,997 New York and Erie Newburg branch 446.0 19.0 446.0 t 19.0 ) 11,000,000 25,326,505 New York and Harlem 130.8 130.8 ) Morrisania branch 2.1 2.1 5 5,717,100 5,151,287 New York Central Branches, &c 297.7 258.2 297.7 ) 258.2 I 24,153,000 14,333,771 Niagara Falls and Lake Ontario 13.2 13.2 393,721 Carried forward 2,724.0 2,057.4 59,837,237 67,112,637 RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 213 Corporate titles of companies. Brought forward Total length of roads. 2,724.0 Length roads completed. 2,057.4 Capital. $59,837,237 Funded debt $67,152,637 Northern Ogdensburg .. .. 118.0 118.0 ) 3.8 3.8 J Oswego and Syracuse 35.9 35.9 396,340 213,500 Plattsbur " and Montreal 20.6 20.6 347,775 Potsdam and Watertowu 75.4 75.4) 2.3 2.3 j 665,419 Rochester and Genesee Valley .. .. 49.7 18.5 557,560 150,000 Rensselaer and Saratoga 25.2 25.2 610,000 140,000 Sackett's Harbor and Ellisburg 18.0 18.0 167,485 278,400 Saratoga and Schenectady . . . . .. .. 21.0 21.0 300,000 85,000 Saratoga and Whitehall . 40.9 40.9 ) 6.6 6.6 f 500,000 395,000 Sodus Point and Southern 35.0 35,289 Staten Island 26.0 26.0 115,000 Syracuse Bin"hamton and New York . . . 80.0 80.0 1,200,130 1,643,126 Troy and Bennin p ton 5.4 5.4 75,370 171,200 Troy and Boston 34.7 34.7 604,911 806,500 6.0 6.0 275,000 Troy and Rutland .... . ... 17.3 17.3 380,818 Troy Union and Depot 2.0 2.0 7,611 680,000 Union, Ramapo 0.2 0.2 50,000 1.3 1.3 77,414 96.8 96.8 1,498,500 685,000 Total New York 3,520.4 2,786.3 70,674,768 74,811,371 Delaware and Maryland 84.0 84.0 361,478 931,500 Newcastle and Frenchtown . ... 16.0 16.0 744,520 Newcastle and Wilmington 5.0 5.0 93,000 Total Delaware , 105.0 105.0 1,198,998 931,500 39.0 39.0 462,000 Baltimore and Ohio Branches ( 379.0 379.0 10,011,800 13,881,833 Washington line , , 30.0 1,650,000 Hoffman's Mines branch 11.0 11.0 500,000 22.0 22.0 800,000 George's Creek Canal and Iron 21.0 21.0 600,000 [ 138.0 138.0 2,260,000 5,578,800 Western Maryland 14.0 14.0 300,000 Sundry coal railroads say 40.0 40.0 800,000 Total Maryland 694.0 694.0 17,383,800 19,460,633 Alexandria Loudon, and Hampshire , 122.0 41.3 1,403,018 36,188 105.0 77.8 2,969,861 775,500 79.0 79.0 1,500,124 590,610 103.0 103.0 468,605 5,719,229 Orange and Alexandria , , 149.0 88 1 981 167 2 316 879 45.0 45 231 573 123.0 123 1 365 300 1,851 500 Petersburg and Roanoke 59.0 590 883,200 102,500 Richmond and Danville 140 140 1 980 997 907 491 Richmond Frederick, and Potomac 750 75 1 041 880 643 960 Richmond and Petersburg 22.0 22 835 750 204 808 Richmond and York River 24.0 24 657 812 85 000 80 80 844 200 472 811 Virginia Central 178 178 3 132 445 1 485 346 Virginia and Tennessee , 204.0 2040 3 353 672 3 247 500 Winchester and Potomac 32.0 32 300 000 120 000 Total Virginia. . . . , 1,540.0 1,371.1 22 949 604 18,559,316 Atlantic and North Carolina 95.0 95 1 545 225 400 000 North Carolina . . . . 223 223 4 000 000 Carried forward 318.0 318.0 5,545,225 400,000 214 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. Corporate titles of companies. Brought forward Total length of roads. 318.0 Length roads completed. 318.0 97.0 22.0 161.0 162.0 Capital $5,545,225 973,300 450,073 1,127,511 1,340,217 Funded debt. $400,000 126,200 1,060',000 791,055 Raleigh and Gaston 97.0 Roanoke Valley 22.0 Western, coal 43.0 Wilmington and Manchester. 161.0 Wilmington and Weldon 162.0 Total North Carolina 803.0 760.0 13.0 55.0 109.0 40.0 143.0 ) 21.0 f 23.0 32.0 102.0 136.0 ) 106.0 f 25.0 9,436,322 1,916,515 706,365 1,201,000 400,000 1,429,008 200,000 400,000 685,743 4,179,475 1,000,000 2,377,255 217,577 195,266 384,000 200,000 1,145,000 106,218 960,410 2,770,463 Blue Ridge 183.0 Charleston and Savannah 102.0 Charlotte and South Carolina 109.0 Cheraw and Darlington 40.0 Greenville and Columbia 143.0 Branches 21.0 King's Mountain 23.0 Laurena 32.0 North-eastern 1 102.0 South Carolina . .. 1360 Branches 106.0 Spartanburg and Union 67.0 Total South Carolina 1,0640 805.0 87.0 53.0 16.0 24.0 191.0 232.0 102.0 4.0 17.0 22.0 50.0 68.0 228.0 138.0 12,418,106 1,250,000 733,700 151,887 3,750,000 4,150,000 1,438,800 63,767 212,500 275,000 669,950 1,275,901 2,921,900 5,901,497 5,978,934 250,000 298,500 106,267 373,000 23,000 249,000 10,200 396,500 Atlanta and West Point 87.0 Augusta and Savannah 53.0 Barnesville and Thomaston ... 16 Brunswick and Florida 67 Central of Georgia . 191.0 Georgia and Bank 2320 Macon and Western 102.0 Main Trunk (Atlantic and Gulf) 4.0 Milledgeville and Gordon 17 Milledgeville and Eaton ton 22.0 Muscogee 50 Rome and Kingston Savannah, Albany, and Gulf. ... 68 South-western 228 Western and Atlantic 138.0 Total Georgia 1 275 1,222.0 62.0 32.0 32.0 29.0 22.0 22,794,902 2,500,000 191,485 205,781 800,000 425,000 1,582,467 195,000 204,600 Florida 1540 Florida and Alabama 45 Florida, Atlantic, and Gulf Central 60.0 Pensacola and Georgia 253 Tallahassee 22 Total Florida 534 177.0 65.0 30.0 109.0 14.0 57.0 362.0 116.0 4,122,266 877,953 355,010 1,067,006 290,000 1,500,000 3,481,791 1,419,769 650,000 65,184 399,600 503,500 109,500 777,777 4,717',497 922,622 Alabama and Florida 135 Alabama and Mississippi Rivers 88 Alabama and Tennessee Rivers 1680 Marion 14 Mobile and Girard 222 Mobile and Ohio 518 Montgomery and West Point 116 North-east and South-west Alabama 209 Tennessee and Alabama Central Total Alabama 753.0 17.0 22.0 27.0 6.0 9,646,723 225,000 750,666 662,911 212,398 7,030,896 Baton Rouge, Gros Tete, and Opelousas . . 17 Clinton and Port Hudson 22 Mexican Gulf 27 o Mimesburg and Lake Pontchartrain 6 Carried forward 72.0 72.0 1.950.975 RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND* COST. 215 Corporate titles of companies. Brought forward Total length of roads. 72.0 Length roads completed. 72.0 13.0 80.0 206.0 21.0 392.0 236.0 71.0 83.0 8.0 7.0 26.0 Capital. $1,950,975 497,220 1,002,959 4,437,990 882,922 Funded Debt. $ 2,121,000 2,817,000 58,744 New Orleans and Carrollton 13.0 New Orleans Jackson and Cfreat Northern ... 258.0 New Orleans Opelousas, and Great Western. . . . .... 411.0 Vicksburg. Shreveport. and Texas 189.0 943.0 8,672,066 2,000,961 798,285 1,000,000 200,000 95,000 620,000 4,996,744 2,554,732 456,949 1,400,000 Mississippi Central 236.0 Mississippi and Tennessee 99.0 Southern Mississippi 143.0 Grand Gulf and Port Gibson 8.0 Raymond 7.0 West Feliciana 26.0 Total Mississippi 519.0 431.0 12.0 206.0 168.0 182.0 19.0 8.6 4,714,246 50,493 1,770,612 2,620,000 3,330,657 66,974 1,999,300 4,411,681 327,000 8,768,000 3,250,000 8,203,000 1,400,000 3,276,000 Cairo and Fulton 78.0 Hannibal and St. Joseph 206.0 North Missouri 236.0 Pacific 311.0 South-western branch 283.0 St. Louis and Iron Mountain 8.6 Total Missouri 1,200.0 673.0 8.0 80.0 20.0 13.0 29.0 65.0 185.0 19.0 26.0 5.0 9,838,036 312,000 1,582,169 694,024 694,444 514,409 741,069 2,151,430 575,000 800,000 100,000 25,224,000 2,930,000 sold for 26,000 71,000 130,000 456,519 2,300,000 8.0 Covington and Lexington 80.0 Lexington and Big Sandy 133.0 Lexington and Danville 35.0 Lexington and Frankfort 29.0 Louisville and Frankfort 65.0 J- 269.0 Maysville and Lexington 90.0 Paducah and Mobile 26.0 Portland and Louisville 5.0 Total Kentucky 740.0 450.0 48.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 130.0 300.0 300.0 VO.O 60.8 59.0 41.0 159.0 46.0 30.0 8,164,545 300,000 867,210 333,204 1,289,673 536,654 3,809,949 570,000 298,721 317,447 798,285 144,894 2,256,479 595,922 216,962 5,887,519 61 2*, 000 2,020,000 1,902,000 2,659,000 1,361,000 740,000 632,500 554,949 406,000 1,524,000 860,000 413,000 48.0 Cleveland and Chattanooga 30.0 Edgefield and Kentucky 41 East Tennessee and Georgia 30 East Tennessee and Virginia 148.0 Memphis and Charleston ' 311.0 Memphis and Ohio . . . 306 Memphis Clarksville, and Louisville 130 Mississippi Central, and Tennessee 50.0 Mississippi and Tennessee 100.0 McMinnville and Manchester 41 Nashville and Chattanooga 202 62 38.0 Total Tennessee 1,543.0 1,346.0 38.0 22.0 75.0 86.0 50.0 38.0 11.0 107.0 12,335,390 351,524 785,950 752,733 516,072 838,086 245,000 921,449 648,216 13,684,449 446,000 729,000 665,000 860,000 965,000 755,000 570,000 414,000 Memphis and Little Rock (Arkansas) 146.0 Sacramento Valley (California) .... 22 286 Chicago Iowa, and Nebraska 860 Dubuque and Pacific 3190 Iowa Central air-line .... 438.0 Keokuk Fort Desmoines, and Minnesota 140.0 Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, and Muscatine 68.0 .... 419.0 Total Iowa 1,756.0 367.0 3,821,556 4,229,000 216 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. Corporate titles of companies. Total length Length roads r fln itAl of roads. completed. Capital. Funded Debt. Ashtabula and New Lisbon 84.8 . . $600,000 Bellefontaine and Indiana 118.2 118.2 1,859,813 ' $1,267,078 Carrollton Branch 11.5 11.5 225,000 Central Ohio .... 137.0 137.0 1,628,356 3,673,000 Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton 60.3 60.3 2,155,800 1,411,000 Cincinnati and Indianapolis Junction 99.1 37.0 1,000,000 Cincinnati, Wilmington, and Zanesville 162.8 131.8 2,441,176 3,032,000 Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati Branches, &c 135.4 6.8 135.4 - 5.8 4,746,100 38,000 Cleveland and Mahoning. 75.0 67.0 580,000 1,202,300 Cleveland, Painesville, and Ashtabula. 95.4 95.4 3,000,000 1,667,000 Cleveland and Pittsburg. . 101.0 101.0" Tuscarawas extension. . 32.0 32.0 ,:.. , Hanover branch 1.5 1.5 ', . : 3,942,368 4,918,325 Beaver extension 22.0 22.0 Wheeling extension. . . 47.0 47.0 Cleveland and Toledo, N. div " " " S. div 109.2 79.4 109.2 79.4 3,343,812 3,842,720 Cleveland, Zanesville, and Cincinnati 114.0 61.4 369,673 575,250 Clinton Line 55.3 1,000,000 . . Clinton Line extension. . . 94.6 1,983,000 Columbus, Piqua, and Indiana 103.0 72.0 750,000 1,600,000 Columbus and Xenia. . . . 54.6 54.6 1,490,000 290,700 Dayton and Cincinnati, tunneL 53.2 2,000,000 Dayton and Michigan. . . . 144.0 144.0 2,108,380 2,513,400 Dayton and Western. . . . 36.6 36.6 289,692 700,000 Dayton, Xenia^ and Belpre 63.0 16.0 437,838 422,658 Eaton and Hamilton 45.0 45.0 469,762 728,853 Four Mile Valley 34.0 300,000 Fremont and Indiana. . . . 120.0 36.0 1,000,000 . . Greenville and Miami. . . 32.0 32.0 300,000 473,000 Iron 47.0 13.0 118,865 50,000 Little Miami 83.4 83.4 2,981,293 1,399,000 Marietta and Cincinnati , Hillsboro' branch 173.8 21.6 173.8 21.6 1,399,000 7,405,917 Ohio and Mississippi 192.3 192.3 6,584,681 9,880,000 Pittsburg, Columbus, and Cincinnati Cadiz branch 117.0 8.0 117.0 8.0 1,906,736 2,400,000 Pittsburg, Maysville, and Cincinnati. 225.0 . . 390,933 . . Sandusky, Dayton, and Cincinnati 153.9 153.9 ( Old line 52.0 52.0 ..; ; 2,697,090 2,134,000 Findlay Branch 16.0 16.0' ' Sandusky, Mansfield, and Huron branch Newark 116.0 9.0 116.0 9.0 828,583 1,402,572 Scioto and Hocking Valleys 130.0 55.5 403,975 500,000 Springfield and Columbus 43.0 19.5 193,000 150,000 Springfield, Mount Vernon, and Pittsburg. . . 112.0 49.0 1,000,000 1,050,000 Tiffin and Fort Wayne. . 102.7 , , 150,000 Toledo, Wabash, and Western 243.0 243.0 3,573,000 7,650,000 Total Ohio 4,282.0 3,060.0 62,326,631 61,376,763 Detroit and Milwaukee. . . 188.0 188.0 2,950,009 4,250,000 Detroit, Monroe, and Toledo 51.0 51.0 1,202,821 Grand Eapids and Indiana 183.0 - Iron Mountain, N. Michigan 25.0 25.0 600,000 Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana. ... 246.0 246.0] Constantino branch. . . 4.0 4.0 Old Goshen branch. . . 10.0 10.0 Michigan City branch. 14.0 14.0 St. Joseph Valley railroad Jackson branch 8.0 42.0 8.0 42.0 8,975,400 9,343,000 Goshen air-line 120.0 120.0 Toledo section 3.0 3.0 Ohio section of D. M. and T. Railroad 7.0 7.0 Erie and Kalamazoo. . . 30.0 30.0 Carried forward 931.0 748.0 13,728,230 13,593,000 RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 217 Corporate titles of companies. Brought forward Total length of roads. 931.0 Length roads completed. 748.0 284.0 Capital. $13,728,230 6,057,844 500,000 Funded debt $13,593,000 8,284,063 Michigan Central 284.0 Port Huron and Milwaukee 89.8 Flint and Pere Marquette 173.0 Total Michigan 1,477.8 1,032.0 lo's.o 29.0 109.0 72*.4 89'.8 ) 20.2 f 84.0 78.0 27.0 640 86.0) 26.0 } 23.0 ) 288.0 74.0 20.0 16.0 73.0 3.5 20,286,061 1,196,679 1,000,000 986,061 835,000 611,050 1,689,900 835,971 1,014,252 188,000 1,000,000 1,647,700 2,800,000 1,100,000 120,000 160,000 1,381,450 265,033 21,877,063 1,006,125 1,219,100 1,166,000 1,362,284 1,025,700 681,000 600,000 1,336,816 3,000,000 820,000 230,000 Chicago and Cincinnati 104.0 Cincinnati and Chicago . . . . 108.0 Cincinnati, Peru, and Chicago 102.0 Evansville and Crawfordsville 109.0 Evansville, Indianapolis, and Cleveland. . . . 155.0 Indiana Central 724 Indiana and Illinois Central 70.0 Indianapolis and Cincinnati 89.8 Cincinnati extension 20.2 Indianapolis, Pittsburg, and Cleveland. . . . 84.0 Jeffersonville 78.0 Knightstown and Shelbyville 27.0 Lafayette and Indianapolis 64.0 Madison and Indianapolis 86.0 Martinsville branch , 26.0 Shelbyville branch 23.0 New Albany and Salem 288.0 Peru and Indianapolis 74.0 Rushville and Shelbyville 20.0 Shelbyville Lateral 16.0 Terre Haute and Richmond 73.0 Union Track, Indianapolis 3.5 Total Indiana 1,692.9 1,290.9 220.0 138.0 45.0 181.8 196.0 33.2 121.0") 105.5 21.0 } 1.5 10.5J 175.6 308.0 ) 250.0 J. 146.0 ) 4.0 35.0 45.0 3.0 148.0 46.0 94.0 ) 92.0 f 100.0 43.0 1.0 168.5 ) 25.0}- 14.8) 16,831,096 3,500,000 4,631,540 988,000 5,603,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 6,026,400 1,600,000 10,249,210 100,000 750,000 1,300,000 60,000 1,780,295 200,000 1,560,889 800,000 200,000 3,026,903 500,000 12,447,025 4,500,000 3,158,000 762,865 1,397,000 7,369,000 580,000 3,783,015 3,088,426 20,000,000 3,292',402 600,000 2,200,000 1,200,000 5,035,615 Chicago, Alton, and St. Louis 220.0 Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy 138.0 Chicago and Milwaukee 45.0 Chicago and Rock Island 181.8 Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond du Lac 196.0 Fox River Valley ... 33 2 Galena and Chicago Union 121.0 Fulton and Iowa line 105 5 Beloit branch 21.0 Elgin branch 1.5 St. Charles branch 10.5 Great Western 178 Illinois Central 308 250.0 Galena branch 1460 40 Illinois and Indiana Central 745 81.5 Joliet and Chicago . . . . 35 Joliet and Northern Indiana 45 Mound City 30 Ohio and Mississippi 1480 Peoria and Bureau Valley 46 Peoria and Hannibal 129 Peoria and Oquawka 94 92 Quincy and Chicago 100 Quincy and Eastern 43 Rock Island Bridge 1 Terre Haute, Alton, and St. Louis 1685 St Louis branch 25 Belleville division 14 8 Tonica and Petersburg . . . . 120 Total Illinois.. . 3.177.4 2.772.4 45.885.237 56.9fifi.324 218 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. CorponUetitU* of copies. **%* ^Sff Capital. Funded Alleghany Valley 181.0 45.0 $ 1,660,000 $400, 000 Beaver Meadow 20.0 20.0 1,410,900 2,000 Catawissa, Williamsport, and Erie 63.0 63.0 1,700,000 . 2,271.536 Cumberland Valley 52.0 52.0 981,900 245^500 Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western 193.0 193.0 3,360,872 6,070,125 East Pennsylvania 36.0 36.0 386,121 365,500 Erie and North-east 22.0 22.0 600,000 400,000 Harrisburg and Lancaster 55.0 55.0 1,087,100 661,000 Hempfield 32.0 32.0 1,809,563 Huntingdon and Broad Top 46.0 42.0 425,015 1,000,000 Lakawanna and Bloomsburg 69.0 69.0 710,000 1,000,000 Lehigh Valley 45.0 45.0 1,966,350 1,500,000 Little Schuylkill 46.0 28.0 2,256,100 942,500 Lehigh Coal and Navigation 24.0 20.0 2,479,900 3,619,304 Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven 145.0 72.0 2,800,000 North Pennsylvania 75.0 660 3,155,820 2,787,000 Pennsylvania 386.0 386.0 13,249,125 16,932,517 Philadelphia and Baltimore Central 79.0 12.0 . . 250,000 Philadelphia, Germantown, and Norristown 24.0 24.0 1,208,500 374,800 Philadelphia, and Reading 151.0 151.0 11,737,041 12,195,950 Philadelphia and Trenton 28.0 2-8.0 1,000,000 Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore 104.0 98.0 5,600,000 2,498,435 Pittsburg and Connellsville 147.0 60.0 1,753,864 1,500,000 Pittsburg, Fort Wayne, and Chicago 467.0 467.0 6,266,278 8,895,457 Pittsburg and Steubenville 31.0 31.0 1,221,277 280,000 Schuylkill and Susquehanna 54.0 54.0 1,258,700 97,000 Schuylkill Valley 39.0 24.0 568,150 Shamokin Valley and Pottsville 33.0 28.0 500,000 821,447 Sunbury and Erie 148.0 148.0 4,506,920 4,369,070 Tioga 29.0 29.0 97,550 396,000 Westchester and Philadelphia 26.0 26.0 682,170 944,169 Williamsport and Elmira 78.0 78.0 1,500,000 2,361,973 Total Pennsylvania 2,928.0 2,044.0 57,939,216 73,181,283 Kenosha and Rockford 176.0 55.0 800,000 700,000 Lacrosse and Milwaukee 199.0 199.0 10,872,000 10,414,066 Milwaukee and Chicago 40.0 40.0 1,000,000 600,000 Milwaukee and Horicon 42.0 42.0 1,101,200 Milwaukee and Mississippi 260.0 234.0 3,696,693 4,047,000 Milwaukee, Watertown, and Baraboo 130.0 130.0 345,861 132,000 Racine and Mississippi 142.0 136.0 2,705,720 1,417,000 Wisconsin Central 65.0 10.0 600,000 Total Wisconsin 1,054,0 846.0 21,121,474 17,310,066 Buffalo Bayou 190.0 32.0 Galveston, Houston, and Henderson 240.0 56.0 Houston and Brazoria 125.0 50.0 275,000 240,000 Houston and Texas Central 125.0 70.0 455,000 975,000 San Antonio and Mexican Gulf 135.0 25.0 Southern Pacific 784.0 28.0 TotalTexas 1,824.0 251.0 730,000 1,215,000 Minnesota and Pacific 620.0 .. .. 600,000 Southern Minnesota 175.0 .. .. 575,000 Minneapolis and Cedar Rapids 112.0 .. .. 600,000 Minnesota Transit 200.0 ./ .. 500,000 Hoot River Valley t 60.0 Total Minnesota 1,167.0 2,750,000 There is, in addition to the roads here mentioned, a considerable length, probably 2,000 miles in all, employed in mining dis- grand result* is over 28,000 miles of road, which have cost, in capital and funded debt, ,066,866,284, which has been expended tricts, and not used for general traffic. The ' in the period since the first road was begun. RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 219 Corporate titles of companies. RECAPITULATION BY STATES. Total length Length roads of roads. completed. Maine 631.4 554.9 New Hampshire 594.8 Vermont 557.5 Rhode Island 86.9 Connecticut 729.5 Massachusetts 1,474.8 New York 3,520.4 New Jersey 645.6 Pennsylvania 2,928.0 Delaware 105.0 Maryland 694.0 Virginia 1,540.0 North Carolina 803.0 South Carolina 1,064.0 Georgia 1,275.0 Florida 534.0 Alabama 1,496.0 Louisiana 943.0 Mississippi 519.0 Missouri 1,200.0 Kentucky 740.0 Tennessee 1,543.0 Arkansas 146.0 California 22.0 Iowa 1,756.0 Wisconsin 1,054.0 Minnesota 1,167.0 Texas 1,824.0 Illinois 3,177.4 Indiana 1,692.9 Michigan 1,477.8 Ohio 4,282.2 Funded Debt $9,458,495 4,078,475 9,291,201 416,437 8,331,298 13,687,565 74,811,371 14,348,000 73,181,283 931,500 19,460,633 18,559,316 2,377,255 5,978,934 1,582,467 399,600 7,030,896 4,996,744 4,411,681 25,224,000 5,887,519 13,684,449 446,000 129,000 4,229,000 17,310,066 2,275,000 1,215,000 56,966,324 12,447,025 21,877,063 61,376,763 Total 40,224.1 28,007.8 $569,865,924 $497,000,360 560.5 537.9 63.6 654.4 1,384.2 2,786.3 553.6 2,044.0 105.0 694.0 1,371.0 760.0 805.0 1,222.0 177.0 753.0 392.0 431.0 673.0 450.0 1,356.0 38.0 22.0 367.0 846.0 25LO 2,772.4 1,290.9 1,032.0 3,060.1 Capital. $8,457,980 13,006,532 12,182,246 1,949,229 15,095,126 49,462,563 70,674,768 15,982,785 57,939,216 1,198,998 17,383,800 22,249,604 9,436,322 12,418,106 22,794,902 4,122,262 9,646,723 8,672,066 4,714,246 9,838,036 8,164,545 12,335,400 351,524 785,950 3,821,556 21,121,474 730,000 45,885,237 16.831,096 20,'286,061 62,326,631 The expenditure of such an enormous sum of money, amounting to $54 per head for the average population during the 30 years in which they have been building, is mar- vellous in so young a country, which, 40 years before this outlay occurred, was mostly destitute of capital. The railroads, however, exist, and capital is now, at this moment, more abundant for general purposes than it was before the construction of the railroads. It is, in fact, cheaper in the general market, and in this we recognize the vast utility of the works in developing capital. The opera- tion has been to bring the production of millions of acres into general circulation, more than supplying the absorption that the railroad building occasioned. It is to be considered that a considerable amount, prob- ably $300,000,000, has been borrowed in Europe. For the, in round numbers, 26,000 miles of road built since 1840, there would have been required very nearly 2, 000,000 tons of railroad iron, which, at an average price, was worth $104,000,000. There was imported in the same time, 1840 to 1849 inclusive, 1,714,343 tons, at a cost of $69,- 799,797, mostly purchased in exchange for bonds. In the six years ending with 1857 there were opened 14,335 miles of railroad, which required 1 ,304,485 tons. In the same period there were imported 1,289,787 tons. Thus the quantity of domestic required was 14,698 tons in addition to the renewal of old rail. A good deal of iron was bought at very high prices proportioned to the estimated values of the bonds. That some of those bonds have not been paid is true, and also that iron was very bad. The iron has been, therefore, a posi- tive advance to the capital of the country, to be paid out of the products of the earth newly opened to market by its means. In illustration of the value conferred by the means of transportation, we may take the Philadelphia coal fields ; these were discov- ered as fuel in 1820. The quantity that has since been delivered is seen in the following table : Tons. 1820 to 1840 21 years 6,847,179 1840 to 1850 10 " 22,034,961 1850 to 1860 9 " 55,742,000 Total tons coal 84,624,140 220 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. This, at an average value of $5, gives $423- 120,760. If this coal is assumed to have been transported 100 miles average at the cost of transportation on common roads, the expense would have swallowed up the-whole value, but there have been built, running into the anthracite region, the following works : Miles. 11 canals 815 40 railroads 1,564 Cost $40,556,775 86,773,269 Total $127,330,044 Under the supposition that the coal trans- ported pays the interest on this cost, which would be $8,690,000 per annum, then the 7,626,000 tons brought to market last year, at a value of $38,000,000, paid $1.12 per ton, or 22 per cent., thus bestowing a clear value of $29,000,000 per annum upon those fields. The Cumberland coal fields also de- liver over the Baltimore and Ohio road 617,010 tons per annum. The annual sale of coal from those regions of Pennsylvania 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1,169 1847 1,303 1848 1,319 1849 1,415 1850 1,415 Miles of road. 662 791 848 932 1,109 Cotton crop. Bales. 1,634,945 1,683,574 2,378,875 2,030,401 2,394,503 2,100,537 1,778,651 2,347,634 2,728,596 2,096,706 Total 21,174,422 The value of the 5,914 miles of roads built is not far from $150,000,000, but the value of the cotton produced and brought to market has been in the 20 years $2,900,- 000,000. The increase in the value during the last 10 years over the former decade has been $800,000,000. That vast sum has poured out upon the markets of the world as a purchasing power, stimulating industry at home and abroad to produce the equiva- lents to give in exchange, and which have been consumed by the southern cotton pro- ducers. In the western country the results are still more marked, since a country which was a wilderness has, under the influence of rail- roads opening the way, become the source of immense wealth. This influence upon the grain business of Chicago is seen in the following table, which shows the number of miles in operation in Illinois and Wisconsin, is, including the quantities used locally, $40,000,000. This sum is added to the floating capital of the country as a conse- quence of the $127,330,044 absorbed in con- structing the roads. In other words, the cost of construction is repaid in three years nearly, and a perpetually increasing fund flows down for the promotion of trade, since coal is as much a purchasing power for goods as is gold. What those roads have done for coal have the southern roads done for cotton. Formerly the water-courses were the only means of transportation ; and when they were dry or shallow cotton ac- cumulated at the landings until the next flood. The iron arms now stretch out in all directions, and not only is all the cotton grown added to the marketable value, but new lands are brought into action. The ef- fect of railroads upon cotton is seen in the following table, which shows the miles of railroad open in 10 cotton states, and the quantity of cotton produced: Miles of road. 1851 1,560 1852 2,010 1853 2,515 1854 3,040 1855 3,362 1856 3,809 1857 4,165 1858 4,751 1859 5,552 1860 5,914 Cotton crop. Bales. 2,355,257 3,015,029 3.262,882 2,930,027 2,847,339 3,527,845 2,9159.519 3.113J962 3,851,481 4,675,770 32,519,111 in each year, and the bushels of grain re- ceived in Chicago for corresponding years : 1841 Miles of railroad. Illinois. Wisconsin 22 Grain receipts. Bushels. 40,000 5,873,141 6,412,181 12,932,320 16,633,700 21.583,221 18,032,678 20,035,166 21,736,147 40,000,000 1852 . 148 20 50 200 240 285 559 793 838 951 1853 296 1854 1,200 1855 1,884 1856 2,241 1857 2,571 1858 2,678 1859 .. .. 2,774 I860.. ..2,811 The cost of the Illinois and Wisconsin railroads has been $141,283,691, most of it furnished by the eastern states and by Eu- rope. In the same period there have been sold by the federal government, in Illinois, 15,000,000 acres of land, and the canals and railroads have sold 3,000,000 acres. Thia land now sends forth, it appears, over these RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 221 railroads, 40,000,000 bushels of grain, at a value of $60,064,575 per annum, as esti- mated by Col. Graham, of the United States Engineers, and Chicago sends back, in re- turn, a value of $60,608,779. Two years and a half of such production gives the whole Passengers. Chicago and Milwaukee $145,580 84 Racine and Mississippi 41,151 80 Lacrosse and Milwaukee. . . . 205,745 19 Chicago and St. Paul 102,876 26 Milwaukee and Mississippi. . 305,305 93 Galena and Chicago 1,022,141 65 Mineral Point 14,015 77 Chicago and Iowa 15,379 29 Chicago and Burlington 533,034 75 Dubuque 30,900 17 Burlington and Missouri 46,377 58 Chicago and Rock Island 449,526 02 Mississippi and Missouri. . . . 90,280 02 Chicago, Alton and St. Louis 417,80026 Illinois Central 819,829 87 Pitts., Ft. Wayne, and Chicago 742,372 04 Michigan Southern 920,366 53 Michigan Central 1,013,062 24 cost of the railroads, and a permanently in- creasing affluence of wealth from that region. The railroads of the other sections bordering the Lakes have not been less efficient. As an illustration take Chicago as a great railroad centre : Freight. $46,363 40 114,077 85 269,941 10 194,608 50 557,900 20 472,269 13 37,487 05 32,817 86 103,421 97 29,468 83 42,869 46 439,152 32 124,162 51 424,734 84 975,904 87 699.053 79 849^528 36 931,753 98 Mail and Mis. $12,235 91 16,767 45 12,824 92 17,479 89 53,150 45 1,552 52 2,555 08 34,252 92 1,200 00 1,975 06 43,101 66 3,400 00 24.753 32 180,804 28 126,354 35 269,452 08 71,370 63 Total. $204,186 15 155,229 65 492,453 74 310,319 68 383.176 01 1,547,561 33 53,055 35 50,853 24 1,600,709 63 61,578 00 91,222 10 981,789 00 717,842 53 967,288 52 1,976,578 52 1,567,780 18 2,039,346 97 2,016,186 85 Total $15,297,156 85 This gives a value of $15,297,155 earned by roads running into Chicago from almost every point of the compass. A large por- tion of the earnings were derived from pas- sengers who had been connected with rail- road building and land speculation. While all these rivers, canals, and roads have been busy bringing down produce from swelling numbers of settlers, the traffic of the great outlets has been equally as active. We are to bear in mind that in 1825, when the Erie canal opened, there was no transpor- tation of produce from west to east of the mountains. Bearing that in mind, we shall inspect the following table with interest. It shows the tonnage and revenues of the five great outlets, for the year 1859, as fol- lows : THROUGH TONNAGE. Going East. West Total tonnage. New York canals 2,121,672 317,459 8,781,684 New York Central 234,241 113,833 834,379 New York and Erie 200,000 60,000 869,072 Pennsylvania railroad 129,767 108,a39 1,170,240 Baltimore and Ohio railroad .. 135,127 66,470 897,496 Total 3,820,807 667,601 7,552,871 KECEIPTS. Freight. Passengers. New York canals (tolls) . . $ 1 ,723,945 New York Central 8,357,148 $2,566,369 New York and Erie 8,108,248 1,154,083 Pennsylvania railroad.... 3,419,494 1,412,603 Baltimore and Ohio 2,92^,411 690,207 Total receipts. $6,200,848 4,894,527 5,362,355 3,613,618 Total $ 14,517,246 $5,823,262 $ 1 9,57 1 ,348 Thus these five routes collected in 1859 H $14,517,246 in tolls and freights, and $5,823,- 262 from passenger traffic. This has been the sum of the progress in transportation across the mountains east and west. The vast lines of railroads now in operation are probably more than the present wants of all parts of the country may require, but the glance we have made at the past shows that the country will very soon outgrow this sup- ply of rails, and call for a completion of those projected. This immense length of continued rail now enables an individual to travel from one ex- tremity of the Union to the other without fatigue ; not only are the distances short- ened, but every appliance for comfort makes the journey, even to invalids, com- modious. For this purpose there have been recently introduced on the long lines, sleep- ing-cars, wherein the passenger takes his nat- ural rest while the iron horse is whirling him toward his destination at the rate of 30 miles an hour. This is an improvement upon the invention introduced by Captain Bun- ker, as we have seen on the Hudson river sloops in the early part of the century, whereby gentlemen and ladies could be ac- commodated with beds. They were prob- ably more necessary in that day, however, when it might have been necessary to while away the time in their berths. The rail cars do not go the less rapidly that the passengers are well accommodated. There have been 222 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. many instances not only of berths provided but of births taking place in the cars. Such an event happened on the Long Island cars, which were going at the speed of 40 miles per hour, and a grave difficulty sprang up as to where the young gentleman was born, a problem not easily solved, when towns passed at the rate of a mile in 90 seconds. We have seen that the passenger of the present day does not occupy much time in performing long distances, and that these passages are by no means costly as compared with the inconvenient mode of locomotion in the olden time. Twenty years since it was recorded as a marvel that a gentleman made the distance from Chicago to Albany in 154 hours, or 6 days and 10 hours, and 24 days from New Orleans to Baltimore was recorded as matter of wonder. Now, 89 hours from New York to New Orleans is an easy pas- sage, and Cincinnati is reached in 36 hours. A passenger is booked through from Bangor to New Orleans in less time than was em- ployed to go from Boston to New York. From New York, as the great centre, lines radiate in all directions, bringing the most distant cities within a more convenient dis- tance than was Philadelphia in the past century. It is instructive to look back at the changes the means of locomotion have wrought in the views of passengers. At the close of the last century enterprising con- tractors advertised as follows : "PHILADELPHIA STAGE- WAGGON and NEW YORK STAGE-BOAT, performs their Stages twice a Week. John Butler, with his wag- gon, sets out on Mondays from his House, at the Sign of the Death of the Fox, in Strawberry-ally, and drives the same day to Trenton Ferry, when Francis Holman meets him, and proceeds on Tuesday to Bruns- wick, and the passengers and goods being shifted into the waggon of Isaac Fitzran- dolph's the same day, where Ruben Fitz- randolph, with a boat well suited, will receive them, and take them to New York that night. John Butler returning to Phil- adelphia on Tuesday with the passengers and goods delivered to .him by Francis Holman, will again set out for Trenton Ferry on Thursday, and Francis Holman, &c., will carry his passengers and goods, with the same expedition as above to New York." By this remarkably ingenious plan and -diction of John Butler, everybody got to his journey's end in the course of time ; "with the same expedition as above," that is, it appears, from Monday morning to Tuesday night, if Ruben Fitzrandolph's boat did not get aground or becalmed, or weather-bound, or driven off, in either of which cases the time of arrival was dubious. But honest John " with his waggon," was soon "cutout." Those "Yankees," immor- talized by Knickerbocker, came down from the north and innovated even upon so ad- mirable an arrangement as was here devised in the tap-room of the " Death of the Fox," Strawberry-ally, under the administration of Jefferson. Ruben's boat with its vicissitudes was abandoned, notwithstanding the attrac- tions of the " Kill van Kull" passage, and a land route through adopted. The attractions of this route were set forth as follows : " FOR PHILADELPHIA AND BALTIMORE SWIFTSURE MAIL STAGE. A new line has removed from No 2 Courtlanclt street to No. 116 Broadway, and is now running between New York and Philadelphia, through a beautiful country, and on the short and pleasant road through Newark, Springfield, Scotch Plains, Bound Brook, Somerset, Arnwell, Coryell's Ferry, Cross Road, Crooket Billet, and Jenkintown to Phila- delphia. "To start from New York every day at 10 o'clock, A. M. (Sundays excepted,) lodge at Somerset, and arrive at Philadelphia next day afternoon. The Swiftsure is the only opposition stage from this city to Philadel- phia and Baltimore." There does not appear to have been much time saved by this new plan, any further than that the vicissitudes of the boats were exchanged for those of muddy roads. Spring coaches had, however, supplanted honest John Butler's wagon, since travellers had become more dainty. A few years more brought steam into competition for the use of travellers, and the number multiplied to such an extent, that, on the occasion of the great semi-centennial jubilee anniversary of the National Independence, held July 4, 1825, it was recorded in The Philadelphia Gazette, that 300 New Yorkers were said to have been in Philadelphia. There were passengers enough to fill 35 coaches ! Great doings, that, in the travelling way ! What would Francis Holman have done with the crowd between Brunswick and Trenton ? Travelling had clearly outgrown his arrange- ments. Well, 35 years more passed on, and railroad connections being constructed, the RAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST. 223 papers of the day contained a new adver- tisement of a trip to Philadelphia. It was no longer "John Butler with his waggon," but that " John Brougham with his company" would perform as usual in the evening at the New York theatre, then proceed by the cars to Philadelphia and perform at the theatre there in the same evening, and re- turn to New York to sleep. Thus two per- formances were had in two cities 90 miles distant, and the passage made both ways in the same evening by rail ! The ordinary pas- sage is some 4 hours, and the expense $3.00. The fare is reduced to $2. 25, if the passenger does not care about an hour or so of time. The influence of these great improve- ments in travel has been in an eminent de- gree to consolidate population in cities, and these grow the more readily that the dis- tance within which perishable food can be brought to market is so much increased by rapidity of travel. The elements of growth of a city are supplies of food, fuel, and water. Unless these are abundant and cheap, the disadvantages thence arising will counterbalance the geographical and commer- cial advantages of a city. To supply food the circle of country about the city which supplies market-gardens, dairies, etc., must be fertile and accessible. The width of this ring, or, in other words, the area thus devoted, is determined by the speed with which the produce can be transported. The distance of its extreme limits must not be greater than will permit the products to reach the centre in time for use ; any improvement that enables a larger space to be gone over in the same time increases the area of dwell- ings and market-lands. The area thus commanded increases as the square of the distances. Thus, if the speed is doubled, the area is four times as large, if it is tripled, the area adapted to city supplies is nine times as great, consequently there will be nine times as much milk, butter, vegetables, food, and produce as before. Steamboats opened a market in New York for large quantities of early southern fruits and vegetables that compete with those coming by rail from a country before secluded. If the city is thus benefited, so are the distant farms, the value of which, as compared with those near, becomes equalized. If wheat is worth $1.00 in the city, and it cost 25 cents to get it there from a certain farming district, the producer will get 75 cents only. If the cost of transportation be reduced to 10 cents, then there is 1 5 cents to be divided between the city consumer and the producer. The comparative influence of a railroad in effect- ing this result over a common road is great. Another very important development of railroads has been for city service. It is now nearly 30 years since, the city of New York having spread over a greater surface of ground than it was convenient to walki over, lines of omnibuses were started to run on the great thoroughfares, to carry passen- gers. The price was, at first, 12^ cents for a ride any distance on the line. This was gradually reduced to 6 cents. About the year 1852, however, the plan of horse railroads was proposed, and one was laid down the Sixth Avenue, to the lower part of the city. This was at once eminently successful. The advantages accruing to the general benefit from the development of this system may be briefly enumerated as follows: The quick- est, cheapest, and most agreeable facilities of travel to all parts of the city ; the surprising increase of the value of property upon the outskirts, now easy of access at all hours of the day and evening ; the spreading of the laboring population to the suburbs, and the consequent rapid extension of the city ; the opening of new branches of occupation by the necessity created for conductors and drivers, and the building of cars ; and, lastly, the creation of an extensive and profitable investment for capital, the stock of some of these lines of railway being eagerly sought as safe and lucrative. It resulted, that others were put into operation. The plan was soon adopted in Boston, and in Phila- delphia, which is, from its broad and rectan- gular streets, well adapted to railroad travel. From there the system has spread to Balti- more, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, St. Louis, New Orleans, and other cities. The extent of the roads is as follows : No. Boston 5 New York and Brooklyn. 7 Philadelphia 18 Miles. Cost. 30.4 $968,943 66.8 5,212,586 1548 8,550,000 Total 30 242.0 14,731,529 The amount of traffic on these roads is immense. In New York, the number of passengers carried in a year more than equals the whole population of the United States. Thus while the railroads favor the settle- ment of cities, by concentrating in them a large manufacturing and commercial pop- ulation, which can draw cheap food from 224 TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. every section of the Union, they at the same time circulate that city population cheaply and speedily, enabling them to occupy a larger space of ground, and at the same time concentrate the manufacturing operations in a manner to facilitate the greatest production of commodities that are reciprocally re- quired by the producers of food. In no coun- try have railroads been availed of to the ex- tent which the United States exhibit. Under the free action of the national energy, the roads have multiplied in a marvellous man- ner, but it is to be remembered that this has had an immense tract of rare and fer- tile soil to respond to the operations of the roads, and the country has been taken up, step by step, by an immense immigration. Such a state of affairs cannot exist in Europe. There are no new lands and crowds of immi- grants, the resources of which need only the railroad to be developed. There the money put into railroads is a positive investment, here it calls into activity a sum larger than its own amount. The gross income of 257 roads in the United States, for 1859, was $111,203,245 freights and passengers, or $4 per head for each soul in the Union. This was for goods transported and for travelling. The roads of the United States, as compared with Europe and Great Britain, will be seen in the following tables of the number of miles in operation throughout the globe at the commencement of the year 1857 : United States 28,500 miles. Canada and British Provinces 1,465 " Cuba 391 " Jamaica 10 " New Granada 49 Brazil 53 Peru 22 Chili 80 England and Wales 6,426 Scotland 1,138 Ireland 1,012 Spain 263 France 3,712 Belgium 1,119 Holland 422 Denmark 188 Norway and Sweden 67 Russia and Poland 637 Prussia 2,309 Smaller German States; 4,235 Austria and Hungary 1,697 Switzerland 167 Italy 812 Egypt 132 British India 311 Australia 39 Total of railways in the world in 1857,65,256 The comparative cost of the roads other authority is as follows : Miles. United States 28,037 Great Britain 8,297 France 4,038 Germany 3,213 Prussia 1,290 Belgium 1,095 British Provinces. 826 Cuba 359 Panama 47 South America ... 60 Russia 422 Sweden 75 Italy 170 Spain 60 Africa 25 India. . 100 Cost. .' $1,086,865,399 1,487,916,420 616,118,995 228,000,000 145,000,000 98,500,000 41,600,000 16,100,600 7,000,000 4,500,000 42,000.000 7.500^000 17,000,000 6,000,000 3,100,000 15,000,000 by an- Cost per mile. $38,800 179,000 152,000 71,000 63,000 90,OOG 50,000 41.000 150,000 75,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 125,000 150,000 Total 48,114 $3,823,200,814 $79,000 Although the territories of the United States abutting on the Pacific coast and the north-west were the scene of Mr. Astor's en- terprise early in the century, California, up to the Mexican war in 1846, was an unknown region. That war resulted in an acquisition of territory, that was no sooner annexed, than the inquisitive settlers discovered those gold treasures that set the world in a blaze, and made that region the centre of migra- tion for many years. The route thither was by Cape Horn, on a voyage of many months, or across Central America, by a perilous journey. That was not to be suffered long by a people who had learned the art of rail- road building, and the Panama railroad, 48 miles, was constructed at a cost of $3,000,- 000 ; $4,973,000 capital, and $2,427,000 debt. This road, connecting on the Atlantic side with New York by a steam-line, and on the Pacific side with San Francisco, by another, became at once the great route, and its revenue last year was $1,925,444. The facilities of trade thus afforded, caused a rapid multiplication of people on the north- west coast, the more so that new discover- ies of gold were being made. Meantime the public mind was awakened to the neces- ity of an inland route by rail, not only to shorten the transport trade from India, but as a means of support, in case of war, and also as a bond of union. The undertaking was regarded with hesitation, even by those who had seen the active progress of great works among us. It was supposed impossible to build a road 2,000 miles to connect St. Louis with San Francisco, across the moun- tains, although the map shows a line be- BAILROADS LAND GRANTS EXTENT AND COST SHIP CANALS. 225 tween St. Louis and New York, and between New Orleans and Brazos. What is there more difficult in one than in the other ? It is said the country is unsettled! What was the country between Detroit and New Orleans, through which there are now 1500 miles of road, 25 years since ? The settlement of the country goes on at a railroad pace. The frontier line of the country is 1,600 miles. Along this the population advance west, at the rate of 1,000,000 souls per annum. The demand for a railroad in 1850 came from 20,000,000 people, without any answering reply from beyond the Rocky Mountains. The demand is now prolonged by 30,000,- 000, to whom 500,000 voices from the Pacific coast respond. Before the roads can be constructed, if now undertaken, 40,000,- 000 on the east of the mountains will be eager to communicate with 1,000,000 on the western slopes. These vast numbers will be pressing toward each other, so as to shorten the purely through route, increase the local traffic at both termini, and a ter- minus which shall be 500 miles south of one centre and 500 miles north of another, will not suffice. The mind at once be- comes impressed with the necessity of having three. Let us revert thirty years, to the connection of the Atlantic with the Mississippi river. Suppose the necessity of a railroad connection had then been agitated to run 12 or 1 5 hundred miles to St. Louis ; that one connection would have ill supplied the numerous routes that now cross the country between Canada and Charleston. A parallel case will soon present itself with the western slopes, and three routes will be found by no means too many, either to answer the purposes of communication or to accommodate the travel. The requisites of a road are shortness and cheapness. These are relative. The road which is shortest and cheapest to connect the Columbia river with the great northern interests, including those of Canada, which concentrate round Lake Superior, is not the shortest and cheapest mode of reaching New Orleans from San Diego ; nor would a route between the two latter at all accommodate those northern interests. The Pacific railroad ex- tended from St. Louis to San Francisco would be the shortest and cheapest for those central interests, but it could not advantageously do the business of the other sections. Each of these sections has large means that can be applied to the construction of a road that would serve their necessities, but which could not be enlisted in favor of one that would be of no direct benefit. If, there- fore, the government should give authority for the construction of three roads, with a grant of six-mile sections along the route of each, and in addition aid each by a grant of $50,000,000 of 5 per cent, bonds, taking a first lien upon the road, the local interests of each section would complete the balance. Migration will follow these lines of com- munication settling the best lands, until those coming east will meet those proceed- ing west, and a continuous line of settlement will follow the rising sun from New York to San Francisco, and the entire Union be united with the waters of the Pacific, that bring the commerce of Asia on the east, and with those of the Atlantic, that float its commerce with Europe on the west. The Pacific railroad, though long dis- cussed, was not definitely located, nor the company incorporated, tillJuly 1st, 1862, and acts amendatory of it were passed July 2d, 1864, March 3d, 1865, and July 3d, 1866. By this act, the right of way, to the extent of 200 feet in width on each side of the rail- road, was granted to the company; and also every alternate section of public land, to the amount of five alternate sections per mile, except mineral lands ; and also provided for issuing thirty-year government bonds, to the amount of $16,000 per mile, for every section of forty miles completed, to the com- pany, such bonds constituting a first mort- gage on the road. Under this act and its amendments, the road was commenced from both termini, and has been vigorously prose- 1 cuted. On the 1st of January, 1867, there were completed about 305 miles of the eastern division, extending to within 200' miles of Denver, Colorado ; and it was pro- gressing at the rate of from one to two miles per day. Of the western division, 156 miles east from Sacramento, to the state line, was to be finished by July 1st, 1867, and to Salt Lake, 675 miles from Sacramento, by 1869. It is expected to be completed in its whole extent by 1870. The completion of this road will bring the carrying trade be- tween Europe and Eastern Asia through the United States, and will * greatly facilitate the development of the vast mining interests of the Kocky Mountain and Pacific regions. THE SEUUND EXPERIMENTAL BOAT OF JOHH 1'ITCH. Finished in May, 1787, and run at the rate of four miles per hour on the Delaware. Cylinder twelve inches in diameter, stroke three feet. THE FIRST STEAMBOAT EVER BUILT TO CARRY PASSENGERS. Constructed by John Fitch, and finished April 16th, 1798. Cylinder eighteen inches in diameter, speed eight miles per hour in smooth water. The following year this boat was run to Burlington regularly as a passenger boat STEAM. BY JOHN C. CHAPTER L INTRODUCTORY. HISTORY OF STEAM ENGINE. ONE hundred years ago, a harmless vapor arose with the morning sun, and floated o'er our heads, remarked by the artist, poet, or philosopher, but almost unheeded by the mechanic, and only regarded by the mariner as a prognosticator of the wind. How is it to-day ? From myriad towering columns, o'er which the fierce fire-king his sombre mantle flings, gushes, in mimic clouds, the quick breath of our new-born Titan. The ancient rocks echo to his shrill voice, and tremble as he rushes by. He troubles the waters, and rides on their crest defiant. O'er hill and dale, and lake and river, is his white flag unfurled, pro- claiming peace to all nations. From the pine of the frozen north, to the palmetto of the sunny south, his twin track tunnels the mountain, belts the prairie, and spans the flood. Mightiest of kings is this son of fire ! proudest of monarchs is this genius of the lamp and the fountain ! In an article like this, it is not neces- sary that we should dwell upon the ge- nius of James Watt abler pens have awarded him the fame he so richly deserves, and a proud monument in Westminster Ab- bey tells the passing stranger that it was KOT TO PERPETUATE A NAME, WHICH MUST ENDURE WHILE THE PEACEFUL AKTB FLOURISH; BUT TO SHOW THAT MANKIND HAVE LEARNED TO HONOR THOSE WHO BEST DESERVE THEIR GRATITUDE, THAT THE KING, HIS MINISTERS, AND MANY OF THE NOBLES AND COMMONERS OF THE REALM BAISED THIS MONUMENT TO JAMES WATT, WHO, DIRECTING THE FORCE OF AN ORIGINAL GENIUS, EARLY EXERCISED IN PHILOSOPHIC RESEARCH, TO THE IMPROVEMENT OP THE STEAM-ENGINE, ENLARGED THE RESOURCES OF HIS COUNTRY, INCREASED THE POWER OF MAN, AND BO8E TO AN EMINENT PLACE AMONG THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS FOLLOWERS OF SCIENCE, AND THE REAL BENEFACTOBS OF THE WORLD. What greater praise could be awarded to him than this? How could his unrivalled genius be more concisely expressed, or clearly acknowledged 1 and yet, at that time, they had but begun to see the stupendous results of his inventions. To realize the in- ventive mind of James Watt, it requires careful study, and thorough mechanical knowledge, even at this late day ; and when we consider that with him all was compara- tively novel, we pause in astonishment at a mind so fertile in mechanical devices. England, ever true and grateful to her own genius, has # fitly honored her greatest in- ventor, while America has suffered genius as great to die, unrewarded in life, and forgot- ten in the grave ; but she has not neglected to profit by their inventions ; and it is our purpose to show, in this article, how great have been the results. The first steam engine of which we have any knowledge in America was at the Schuyler copper mine, Passaic, N. J. It was, more properly speaking, an atmos- pheric engine, and was imported from Eng- land in 1736, and put up by a Mr. Horn- blower. The first engine that was con- structed in America was built by Christopher Colles for a distillery in Philadelphia; the machine was, however, very defective. It was built in October, 1772, and was, like the other, an engine upon Newcomen's plan. Thus it will be seen that it is less than a hundred years since America took her first lessons in a science that was destined to work such a revolution in the whole world ; and her birth, as a nation, may be considered as cotemporary with that of the steam en- gine. In 1787, John Fitch, of Connecticut, built, in Philadelphia, the first condensing engine, and this without the aid of Watt's experiments for it was only in the year 1786 that the latter patented, and made public, his most important improvements; and we have every reason to believe that Fitch was at first ignorant of them. With 228 STEAM. the assistance of common blacksmiths, he constructed a low-pressure engine, and, more than this, applied the motor to a steam- boat. Then came the experiments and suc- cess of Robert Fulton, a man whom we have not forgotten to honor; ,the improvements of Stevens, to whom we owe our great suc- cess in river navigation, and the energy and perseverance of Oliver Evans, the first to apply the principles of the high-pressure, or non-condensing engine, to common use, and to demonstrate its advantages not only for the stationary engine, but also its adapta- bility to carriages on common roads ; from which we may date the invention of the lo- comotive engine, for it was only the experi- ence of Stephenson in tram-roads that led him, at a much later day, to the invention of the latter, and Watt's engines would never have become applicable thereto, on account of their great size. In spite of the difficulties under which a young nation labored, from the want of an accumulated capital, we took a start from the first introduction of the locomotive en- gine, that has astonished the world; and have grown a race of civil engineers that, with a limited amount of money, have pro- duced effects wonderful even to themselves. Well may Americans be proud of the results of their inventive genius. To the general reader these events have come to be a mat- ter of course, and steam, with its thousands of detailed improvements, is looked upon as something wonderful, but inexplicable ; the mass of people understanding little or nothing of its nature. We propose, then, to explain, as simply as possible, the cause of this great effect, and, dropping technicalities, to give the great public a concise idea of steam, and the steam engine, before proceeding to the results of its use. When Watt constructed his first engines, he used them to replace horses in the mines, and, in order to give some idea of their value, he reckoned his engines as at so many horses' power ; and the power of a horse was computed from the effect produced by a horse raising a weight to a certain height in a given time : this he computed as 33,000 Ibs., raised, in one minute, to the height of one foot. The following description, from S. Holland, chief engineer of the English navy, concisely shows the manner of obtain- ing the horse-power of a steam engine : " Work is a term in mechanics of recent origin, but of great utility ; it means a com- pound of force (or pressure) and motion. Work is said to be performed when a pres- sure is exerted upon a body, and the body is thereby moved through space." The unit of a pressure is one pound, the unit of space one foot, and work is measured by a ' foot- pound' as a unit. Thus, if a pressure of so many pounds be exerted through a space of so many feet, the number of pounds is mul- tiplied into the number of feet, and the prod- uct is the number of foot-pounds of work ; hence, if the stroke of a steam engine be seven feet, and the pressure on each square inch of the piston be 22 pounds, the work done at each single stroke, for each square inch of the piston, will be 7 multiplied by 22, equal to 154 foot-pounds. Power con- tains another element in addition to those contained in work. It implies the ability to do so much work in a certain period of time ; and, in order to have a proper idea of it, a unit of measure is also employed. This unit is called a 'horse-power,' and is equal to 33,000 pounds raised through a space of one foot in one minute ; it is the execution of 33,000 foot-pounds of work in one minute. To find the horse-power of a steam engine is to find the number of pounds pressure on the piston in square inches, and to multiply this by the number of feet travelled by the piston per minute, which gives the work ; then this is divided by 33,000 pounds, and the quotient is the horse-power, which is usually abbreviated II. P. As the pressure is always indicated by the square inch, the number of square inches in the area of the piston has to be found. This is done by squaring the diam- eter of the piston, and multiplying this by the decimal, -7854." The horse-power of an engine is always calculated with the steam in the boiler at a moderate pressure, and, consequently, if the steam is kept at a higher pressure, it will be capable of more work, and the engine will be of a greater effectual horse-power than the one given. Hence the terms real and nominal horse-power. The term horse- power is, in reality, of itself nominal, as Watt, in order to have his engines give satisfaction, added some twenty-five per cent, to the real work of the best horses in Corn- wall. Having thus given an explanation of this term concisely, that it may be re- membered, we will endeavor to instruct the general reader as to some other terms not always understood, although constantly made use of in conversation. STEAM. 229 Engines are divided into two kinds : low and high-pressure, or condensing and non- condensing. The low-pressure engine was, in the main, invented by James Watt ; and its peculiarity consists in the fact that, while the steam is entering upon one side of the piston, the steam upon the other side is con- densed, and forms a vacuum that adds to the power of the engine from twelve to four- teen pounds to the square inch. Thus, with steam at the pressure of twenty-five pounds only, we have an effective force of nearly forty. The low-pressure engine has the ad- vantage of not carrying so much steam, and, consequently, is less dangerous. From the fact, however, that it is much more compli- cated and expensive, it is not often used on land, unless for large engines, and its size prevents its adaptation to locomotion. The high-pressure engine was invented by Leopold and Trevithick, subsequent to the other. Oliver Evans, of Philadelphia, was the first to advocate its use, and, in fact, to practically apply it. Engines of this descrip- tion discharge the steam, after using it, into the air, and have, consequently, the resistr ance of the atmosphere to contend with ; they are, however, much cheaper, and with properly built boilers are not necessarily more dangerous. All our locomotives are upon this principle, and the draft of the fur- naces is accelerated by the rush of the waste or exhaust steam, as it passes into the chim- ney. The pressure of steam used in our high- pressure engines, averages more than in any other country ; from eighty to one hundred pounds per square inch being the common average. In order to prevent an amount of steam from accumulating to a higher pres- sure than this, the safety valve is placed upon the boiler, so constructed that, when the pressure rises above the point desired, it will open the valve, and allow the surplus to escape. Over-weighting this valve, or not taking proper care of it, and allowing it to rust into its seat, are fruitful sources of boiler explosions. No engineer should run an engine without trying his valve at least once a day. It is important that the water in the boiler should always be at about the same height ; not full, as in that case water is apt to pass over into the cylinders, and the en- gine is said to be flooded ; nor too low, for the heat of the furnace would melt the flues, if they were not covered with water. Vari- ous automatic contrivances have been in- vented to keep the water at the true level ; but their liability to get out of order has pre- vented their use, and engineers unite in the opinion that man's judgment alone is com- parative security. To assist the competent engineer, there are several devices. The most common are the three gauge-cocks, placed, the one above the other, at some three inches apart the centre one being the desired level ; by trying these cocks, the ex- act height can be readily seen. Other water gauges have been in use, some of them since the earliest engines were constructed, upon the principle that a float upon the water will indicate, by means of a rod, its exact height. A glass tube, connected above and below the water line, is much used in our steamers. In order to determine the steam pressure at any point below that at which it raises the safety valve, various steam gauges have been in use from time to time ; the most common in steamboats is called the syphon gauge, and works upon the principle of balancing a column of mercury in a syphon tube. With- in the last ten years the spring gauge has .come into general use in locomotive and other engines; they occupy but little room, and, if occasionally tested, answer every pur- pose of the more cumbersome syphon. With the exception of the Bourdon (French) and SchaefFer (Prussian), all the spring gauges in use in the United States, some thirty in number, are American inventions, and both of the foreign gauges have been improved upon, and are made in a superior manner here. The passage between the boiler and the cylinder was at first opened and closed by means of a cock ; the slide valve, modifica- tions of which are now universally used, was the invention of Murray, of Leeds, England, in 1810. The piston was at first packed with hemp, saturated with grease ; the brass rings, now used, were invented by Murdock & Aiken, of Glasgow, in the year 1813. The paddle-wheel between two boats was first used by William Symington, in Scot- land ; but the side wheel, as now used, to- gether with the screw propeller, were both made use of in the models by John Fitch. His first steamboat, however, was worked by oars, or paddles, after the same manner as an Indian uses them. The first boat that car- ried passengers, built by John Fitch in 1789, was propelled by a set of paddles at the stern. The North River, of Clermont Ful- ton's first passenger boat was driven by the 230 STEAM. present form of side wheel ; she made a successful trip in the year 1807. One of the greatest improvements of steamboats with regard to speed was made by Robert L. Stevens, who added the false bow to a boat constructed by him in 1815. She attained the speed of 1 5 miles per hour, a great improvement over the North River (which only made four miles per hour), but seeming very slow at the present date, as contrasted with the time made at a trial trip of the Daniel Drew, in 1860, which was 22 miles per hour against the tide. It is quite curious to follow the various improvements that have been made upon the steam engine, and to see how the present simple apparatus was isettled upon. It re- quired years of experiment before the crank was adopted, notwithstanding that the same device had been in use in the common foot- lathe for several centuries. It was finally adopted by Picard ; but, after his invention, Watt patented a much more complicated method of transmitting the reciprocating into the rotary motion. This was called the sun and planet motion, and went out of use only after repeated trials with the crank. It is true that the latter was patented ; and the fact that Mr. Watt wished to avoid another patent, had much to do with this persistent trial of an inferior device. In the use of the locomotive engine, also, it was only after years of experiment that it was realized that the traction of the wheel upon the rail was sufficient to propel the carriage not only upon a level, but also up a very steep grade. On the line of the Pennsylvania railroad, beyond the town of Altoona, the track has an ascending grade over the mountains of over 100 feet to the mile, yet a passenger train of six or seven cars, with the assistance of two locomotives, surmounts the grade at a speed of nearly thirty miles per hour, and this, too, upon a road that lies coiled upon the side of the mountain like a huge serpent. So short are its curves, that the locomotive is quite visible from the fourth car during many parts of the ascent. No other nation in the world can show so great a triumph of civil engineering as this. The first road that was constructed at this place was work- ed by stationary engines, and the cars were drawn up by ropes and chains. This was a copy of European engineering ; but Amer- ican genius is destined always to rise supe- rior to imitation, and it is, in fact, only when it so rises, and trusts to its own gigantic plans, that the true power of American char- acter shows itself. The stolid English en- gineer imitates the Egyptians and the Ro- mans, and piles stone upon stone, and iron upon iron. The American imitates nature, with whose great works he is in constant communion, and, like the spider, constructs a bridge light in appearance, but sufficiently strong to withstand the tempest and the storm, and bear with an easy vibration, double, nay, triple, the load put upon it. Only an appreciation of the grandeur of such a fall as that of Niagara, could fit a man to construct the bridge that spans its river. But to return to the improvements in the steam engine itself. When we look at the combination of them, as at present in use, we cannot but feel the wonderful genius therein displayed. It is but a few years since the steam engine, although vastly su- perior to horse power, was a cumbersome and expensive machine both to construct and repair ; and although it is at present far from being perfect, yet the difference in its first cost, and the amount of fuel it uses for the same effect, is astonishing. Stand and look at some of our immense stationary en- gines, and see how noiselessly and steadily they turn the ponderous wheel ! One would think a child's power could stop it. Then pass on, and on, through the groaning mill, and see the labor of thousands of men per- formed by this untiring giant. It is only after seeing the work he accomplishes, you can realize his strength. Stand upon the western prairie at night. The moon silvers a twin track that glistens far into the dark- ness ; soon you hear a distant hum that grows upon the ear, and detect a faint spark that brightens as you gaze ; anon the sound increases, and the eye of the iron horse over- powers the moon's pale gleam ; he sees you, and screams his shrill warning. Who can help starting as he rushes by, or not feel as though steam itself were personified. Mark the groaning train, with its living freight, tearing madly through the darkness, bearing absent friends to the loved at home, or per- haps good news from the beloved afar. Again, stand upon the Battery, at New York, and watch the almost countless fleet of steamships, steamboats, propellers, and tugs; some moving steadily toward the Narrows, as though conscious and proud of a power that can span the ocean in so short a time ; others plashing and dashing madly STEAM. 231 about, or clinging to some gigantic ship, and tugging manfully at its side, when old Boreas has left it helpless ; others, again, in holiday attire, bearing a happy throng over the glad waters, and tuning the voice of this giant slave into fitting melody for the joyous hour. Here comes the Sound steamer, a floating palace fitted up in almost regal ele- gance, drawing but little water, and yet a staunch sea-boat, large, and, to the foreign ship-builder, apparently top-heavy, yet fast as the racehorse, and frequently tried by the stoutest gales. Up and down both rivers ply the ever busy ferry-boats movable bridges, ever crowded with passengers. Did Fulton's wildest dreams ever picture a scene like this ? Did John Fitch ever imagine a triumph so wonderful ? Yet it is all the work of steam ; and to them we owe, in part, the bands by which we hold this half- tamed Titan. Not only are these steamers propelled by steam, but his aid is called in both to load and unload them, and, in the hour of danger, steam works at the pumps with untiring hands. Not alone in the large manufactory, the gallant steamer, and the rushing car, does the vapor of water show its strength and usefulness, but thickly strewn about our cities and villages, delving in the mines, driving the rattling press, it helps all trades, and multiplies the power of man a thousand fold. Cities have sprung up under its magic touch, and everywhere we see traces of the king of motors steam. And to whom are we indebted for all this improvement, this immense power ? Mainly to the American inventor, and our patent laws. It is not too much to say that one- half of the patents issued at the United States Patent Office for the last twenty years related either directly to the steam engine, or to machines intended to be driven by it ; nearly all of them patented by citizens of the United States. The use of steam ex- pansively was an English invention, but it is doubtful whether it was profitably used until improved upon in America. American loco- motives have borne off the palm wherever they have been brought into contact with those of other nations. In ocean steamers we may be second, but the reason is plain : foreign builders have the assistance of rich and powerful governments, while our own success is entirely due to private enterprise, with a limited amount of capital. As for steamboats for rivers and lakes, to which our immense inland navigation has turned the attention of our mechanics, we are far ahead of our rivals. The Yangtsze and Peiho, built for the Chinese coast, have never been equalled by England, as is suffi- ciently plain from the following China over- land trade report, written by one of their own countrymen : " Steamboat builders in England, and Scot- land, too, are certainly the most adroit 'shavers' living. They turn out so many miserable botches, that really we think a very great majority of the community would, were they ' going into steam,' resort to the United States. As far as river naviga- tion is concerned, our attempts to com- pete with Jonathan are simply absurd, as those who own English river steamers here at present, must, ere this, have discover- ed to their cost. But, even in sea-going steamers, ' if the proof of the pudding be in the eating,' we should wish to know where the British steamers are, which are as swift, as safe, as commodious, as serviceable, or as economical in expenditure of fuel, as the Yangtsze or the Peiho ? We maintain that every boat sent out here from England or Scotland, on China account, whether for coast or the river, has either been a misera- ble failure, or a glutton for fuel. We do not make one exception. We do not like to mention names, as we are averse to depre- ciate people's property, but we confidently leave it to every unfortunate sufferer to say whether or not we are correct in our state- ment. "We, of course, except the P. & O. Company, as they seem to have a secret plan of constructing boilers, which makes them last as long as the boat ; that is, for an indefinite period. We declare one never hears of any thing occurring to one of the company's boilers, nor any of their boats being laid up to have a new one, or the old one mended. " We will take, for instance, the Chevy Chase, which vessel, we believe, cost on the Clyde about three times the sum that the Yangtsze cost at New York. Now the Yangtsze has been running nearly three years hard upon the coast, making unprecedentedly swift passages, and never was docked until the other day. The Chevy Chase will not carry so much as the Yangtsze, nor has she as good accommodation ; but she burns twice as much coal, and, in a race between this and Shanghai, would be sparingly backed. She is about as strong again and as heavy 232 STEAM. again as there is the slightest occasion for ; and has clearly twice as much power as she can bear, for the weight of it sinks her. She is a very shalloAV craft, and her deck is so near the bottom, which contains an enor- mous mass of iron, that compasses will not act, and it becomes dangerous to run her in thick weather. She will bring grief to the hearth, but never grist to the mill ; and the sooner she is altered the better. She should be made into a screw propeller, and a suitable vessel built for the valuable and powerful machinery now fitted in her. With a screw, and a spar deck fore and aft, she might be rendered serviceable yet. If the beams, etc., of the spar deck were con- structed of wood, and the compasses put on an elevation, they would act well enough ; they are at present neutralized by their proximity to a prodigious mass of iron. "The American boilers, though not so durable as ours, are much better adapted to economy of fuel. Coal, in the United States, costs as many dollars as it does shil- lings in England. Economy of fuel is, there- fore, more studied than with us, space being sacrificed. Our short tubular boilers send half the heat into the chimney, while the long flue boilers of the Americans absorb the heat pretty much in making steam. The difference is very great, and well worth the subject of an inquiry. "Our engineers are such a pig-headed, self-satisfied, conceited set of people, that, until they see their trade gone, and their crotchets explode, they will not believe their own eyes. We are not venturing on opinions, so much as stating results ; and too many here can corroborate the sad experience we unfold." Having spoken thus, in general terms, of the steam engine, it may not be amiss to give a description of the simplest form thereof, by describing its component parts in terms easy to be understood and remembered. A steam engine consists, then, of a cylinder, closed at both ends, having fitted to it a pis- ton, whose rod passes out at one end through a steam-tight hole called a stuffing-box. The piston consists of a skeleton, technically called a spider, having three brass rings made thin enough to yield to the inequali- ties of the cylinder as it wears, and forced against it by springs resting upon the spider, and held in place by a plate commonly called a follower. The steam is admitted to the cylinder on the side, at each end, through what are called the ports ; the two ends of the ports arc brought near each other at the point where they enter the steam-chest a small box near the centre of the cylinder. These ports are alternately opened to the boiler and the atmosphere, by a sliding valve, that obtains its motion from what is called the eccentric, which is placed upon the main shaft. The piston-rod is fastened, at the external end, to a cross-head, which communicates its motion to the crank-rod, and through it to the main shaft. In sta- tionary engines, working by a single cylin- der, it is evident there will be two points at which the rod has no power over the crank ; these points are called dead centres, and to overcome them the momentum of the balance-wheel is used. In the locomotive, two cylinders being used, they are set quartering (at right angles with each other), and the one overcomes the dead centre, of the other. In the marine engine the motion of the wheel is continued by the action of the water, as the boat advances, and, conse- quently, no balance is required. If, after a part of the steam has entered the cylinder, the induction valve be closed, the expansion of the steam would continue the stroke of the piston until the pressure became the same as that of the external air, or until the piston had reached the end of its stroke. Thus, if the pressure of the steam was eighty pounds per square inch in the boiler, and the valve was closed after the piston had made one quarter of its stroke, it is evident that the pressure would con- stantly decrease up to the end of that stroke, and that the average pressure would be less than the pressure in the boiler, but at the end of the stroke there would be but very little waste steam ; in other words, the pressure remaining in the cylinder would not be in so great an excess over the atmos- pheric pressure as if the steam had followed the piston throughout its entire stroke. To show this more plainly, it must not be for- gotten that steam at eighty pounds pressure is, in reality, steam at ninety-five pounds to the square inch, working against fifteen pounds (the atmospheric pressure), or a difference of pressure of eighty pounds ; there- fore, at the end of the stroke, the ninety-five pounds would have become twenty-three and three-quarters of pressure working against fifteen pounds atmospheric, or a difference of eight and three-quarters of pressure ; so that, when the cylinder was open- STEAM. 233 ed by its exhaust to the air, there would be only eight and three-quarters of a pound to the square inch thrown out into the air, and thus wasted, while you have had an average of sixty-seven pounds to the square inch throughout the stroke of the piston, working against fifteen pounds of atmospheric, or an actual difference of pressure of fifty-two pounds. Had you used fifty-two pounds of indicated pressure, following the full stroke of the piston, it is evident you would have thrown into the air the contents of the cylin- der at that pressure, instead of at eight and three-quarters, as by the cut-off. This is, in brief, the theory of the cut-off; but, like many other improvements, it has been car- ried to an extreme, and has thus become a positive evil. In order to realize this, notice carefully the following : If steam, at thirty pounds per inch, as indicated, be used in a cylinder, cutting off at one-quarter stroke, what will be the pressure at the end of the stroke? Thirty is, as before shown, forty- five against fifteen : at the end of the stroke it will then be eleven and one-quarter against fifteen, or a back pressure of three and three- quarter pounds. Many people, who have found fault with cut-offs, have overlooked this important point, and have judged all cut-offs by an engine that was thus working at a disadvantage. In explaining the cut-off, we have not taken into consideration the condensation of the steam from its expansion ; and this is, of itself, a very important item of loss, as is also its increased friction ; so that the actual gain from the use of a cut-off is not as great as it would theoretically appear. Having thus stated some of the most im- portant parts of a steam engine, we will now speak of some of its accessories. In order to give a uniformity of speed to the machin- ery driven by a steam engine, no matter how much the work it has to do may vary, the governor was invented : it consists, in its simplest form, of two balls revolving around an upright shaft, and suspended from its top by rods ; if revolved with great rapid- ity, these balls are carried by their centrif- ugal motion to the greatest circumference that their rods will allow them ; if moved slowly, they will assume their smallest cir- cumference, and, by these motions, close or open the throttle, or, in the improved en- gines, vary the cut-off: thus controlling the speed of the engine, and keeping it always at nearly the same velocity. In order to keep the boiler filled with water to the requisite level, one or more pumps are placed in connection with it, of a capacity to supply it, if only working part of the time. These pumps should always be provided with a pet-cock, which, when open- ed, will show whether the pump is doing its duty, as the valves of any pump are liable to become clogged and useless. On the loco- motive engine the casual observer will notice that the engineer frequently tries these cocks, Avhich are placed upon the side of the en- gine, and, in fact, that he sometimes tries them to the detriment of dandified-looking individuals, who approach too close to the iron steed. The pet-cocks are not, how- ever, as much used as they should be, and, in fact, are very frequently left out altogether in the construction of the stationary engine. The safety valve, as at present in use, has a great many faults : it was originally the in- vention of Denis Papin, of France, and was constructed by him in his experiments with what was called Papin's steam digester a machine for dissolving bones, etc. It con- sisted, as at first constructed, of a small round plate covering a hole, and held in its place by a weight suspended from a lever, whose fulcrum rested upon the plate. But little improvement has been made upon this simple device ; it is now tapered, to fit a counter-sunk hole, and possesses the advan- tage of being more difficult to calculate. But one of its chief faults is in the fact that the point of contact between the lever and valve is so large, that its wear creates a constantly varying leverage. This could be obviated by making the point of contact a knife-edge instead of a half-inch pin. Another disad- vantage in the common safety valve is the fact that the engineer has the power of weighting it to an unlimited extent. "We have seen this difficulty obviated by an American invention. The weight is sus- pended in the boiler directly from the valve, and consists of the greatest weight the boiler should ever be allowed to carry. The lever is now so applied, that its tendency is to always lighten the valve, so that the more it is weighted the less steam can be carried. 234 STEAM. CHAPTER II. STEAMBOATS. IN looking over English works upon steam, we cannot help noticing the truth of Dr. Lardner's remarks : " England has been so dazzled by the splendor of her own achieve- ments in the creation of a new art of trans- port by land and water within the last thirty years, as to become in a measure insensible to all that has been accomplished in the same interval and in the same department of the arts elsewhere." Not content with the praise other nations have ever been willing to give her for the invention of the steam engine, she also wishes to rob John Fitch of the only reward we can now give him for a life devoted to the steamboat. It is true that her arguments are aided to this end by the writings of some Americans who have endeavored to prove Fulton as the first practical steam navigator, thereby putting the date of this invention some twenty years later. But the time is fast approaching when the true inventor will be acknowledged by his countrymen, and the man who proph- esied so truly that " this will be the mode of crossing the Atlantic in time, whether I shall bring it to perfection or not ; steam- boats will be preferred to all other convey- ances, and they will be particularly useful in the navigation of the Ohio and the Mis- sissippi. The day will come when some more potent man will get fame and riches for my invention " when this man, we say, will be t honored as he should be by the millions who enjoy the fruits of his genius; when our school-books will place his name in connec- tion with that of Fulton, and his biography will be found in every library; when his grave and the tomb of Washington will not bring a blush to the American cheek. And are you not to blame, reader ? Have you ever read the life of John Fitch, the American Watt a life that remained sealed for thirty years by his own request, and now teaches a lesson of perseverance, under trials that few ever have to encounter ? If not, it is a duty you owe your country and yourself to read it at once, and thus add another name to the tablets of your memory, already inscribed with those of Franklin, Fulton, and Morse. The extent to which steam navigation has improved our country, is scarcely realized even by those who have travelled over it the most. The Hudson river, from the first voyage of the North lliver, Fulton's steam- boat, up to the present time,, has re- mained at the head of all competitors in river navigation. We had then two trips per week, each consuming from thirty to thirty-six hours ; we have now four passen- ger boats per day over the entire route, and many making short trips, besides those used for towing barges and canal boats ; the pas- senger boats making the entire trip of one hundred and fifty miles in from ten to twelve hours. The increased prosperity of New York, growing out of this immense traffic by steamboats alone, is very great, but even this is small when compared with the navigation of the Mississippi and the other western rivers. In 1856 there were over one thousand steamboats and propellers on the western waters, costing not less than nineteen millions of dollars, and of a carry- ing capacity of four hundred and forty-three thousand tons. Of these boats, the smallest was the Major Darien, of ten tons, built at Freedom in 1852 ; and the largest was the Eclipse, of one thousand one hundred and seventeen tons, built at New Albany the same year. Thus, on the western waters, in the short space of forty-five years, steam created a business that absorbed nineteen millions of dollars in steamboats alone. Up to the year 1811, the only regular meth- od of transportation had been by means of flat boats, which consumed three or four months in the passage from New Orleans to Pittsburg. The price of passage was then one hundred and sixty dollars ; freight, six dol- lars and seventy -five cents per hundred pounds. The introduction of steam has re- duced the price of passage between these two cities to thirty dollars, and merchandise is carried the whole distance for a price which may be regarded as merely nominal. Besides this great saving of time and money effected by steam navigation on these waters, the comparative safety of steam conveyance is an item which especially deserves our notice. Before the steam dispensation be- gan, travellers and merchants were obliged to trust their lives and property to the barge- men, many of whom were suspected, with very good reason, to be in confederacy with the land robbers who infested the shores of the Ohio, and the pirates who resorted to the islands of the Mississippi. These partic- ulars being understood, we arc prepared to estimate the value and importance of the THE FIRST PROPELLER EVER BUILT. Constructed by John Fitch, and experimented with by him on the Collect pond, New York city. The boiler was a twelve gallon pot, with a bit of truck-plank fastened by an iron bar placed transversely. This was in the year 1796. OLIVER EVANS' ORUKTER AMPHIBOLOS. Thirty feet long and twelve broad. Cylinder five inches in diameter with a nineteen inch stroke. Constructed by Oliver Evans about the year 1804. THE MACHINEEY OF FULTON'S FIKST STEAMBOAT. Imported from England where it -was constructed in 1805. Wheels fifteen feet in diameter, cylinder twenty-four inches in diameter, four feet stroke. THE NORTH RIVER, OF CLERMONT. Robert Fulton's first steamboat as she appeared after being lengthened in 1808. She was launched In 1807, and was run as a regular packet between New York and Albany. Speed four miles per hour, length 133 feet, beam 18 feet, depth 8 feet, tonnage 160. STEAMBOATS. 239 services which the steam engine has rendered to the commerce and prosperity of the west- ern states. In 1811, Messrs. Fulton and Livingston, having established a ship-yard at Pittsburg for the purpose of introducing steam navi- gation on the western waters, built an exper- imental boat for this service and this was the first steamboat that ever floated on the western rivers. It was furnished with a stern wheel and two masts for Mr. Fulton be- lieved, at that time, that the occasional use of sails would be indispensable. This first western steamboat was called the Orleans ; her capacity was one hundred tons. In the winter of 1812, she made her first trip from Pittsburg to New Orleans in fourteen days. The first appearance of this vessel on the Ohio river produced, as the reader may sup- pose, not a little excitement and admiration. A steamboat at that day was, to common observers, as great a wonder as a navigable balloon would be at the present. The banks of the river, in some places, were thronged with spectators, gazing in speechless aston- ishment at the puffing and smoking phe- nomenon. The average speed of this boat was only about three miles per hour. Be- fore her ability to move through the water without the assistance of sails or oars had been fully exemplified, comparatively few persons believed that she could possibly be made to answer any purpose of real utility. In fact, she had made several voyages before the general prejudice began to subside, and for some months, many of the river mer- chants preferred the old mode of transporta- tion, with all its risks, delays, and extra ex- pense, rather than make use of such a con- trivance as a steamboat, which, to their ap- prehensions, appeared too marvellous and miraculous for the business of every-day life. How slow are the masses of mankind to adopt improvements, even when they ap- pear to be most obvious and unquestionable ! The second steamboat of the west, was a diminutive vessel called the Comet. She was rated at twenty-five tons. Daniel D. Smith Avas the owner, and D. French the builder of this boat. Her machinery was on a plan for which French had obtained a patent in 1809. She went to Louisville in the summer of 1813, and descended to New Orleans in the spring of 1814. She after- ward made two voyages to Natchez, and was then sold, taken to pieces, and the en- gine was put up in a cotton factory. The 15 Vesuvius was the next; she was built by Mr. Fulton, at Pittsburg, for a company, the several members of which resided at New York, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. She sailed under the command of Captain Frank Ogden, for New Orleans, in the spring of 1814. From New Orleans, she started for Louisville, in July of the same year, but was grounded on a sand-bar, seven hundred miles up the Mississippi, where she remain- ed until the 3d of December following, when, being floated off by the tide, she re- turned to New Orleans. In 1815-16, she made regular trips for several months, from New Orleans to Natchez, under the command of Captain Clement. This gentleman was soon after succeeded by Captain John D. Hart, and while approaching New Orleans, with a valuable cargo on board, she took fire and burned to the water's edge. After being submerged for several months, her hulk was raised and re-fitted. She was afterward in the Louisville trade, and was condemned in 1819. In 1818, the first steamboat was built for Lake Erie and the upper lakes, at Black Rock, on the Niagara river, for the late Dr. I. B. Stuart, of Albany, N. Y., by Noah Brown, of New York city. She was a very handsome vessel, 360 tons burden, brig rig- ged, and her engine, on the plan of a Boulton and Watt square engine, was made by Rob- ert McQueen, at the corner of Centre and Duane streets, New York city ; her cylinder was 40 inches diameter, 4 feet stroke. The materials for making the boiler were sent from New York, and the boiler was made at Black Rock 9 feet diameter, 24 feet long a circular boiler, with one return flue, called a kidney flue, seldom, if ever, carry- ing more than nine inches of steam. This steamer was called the Walk-in-the-Watcr, after a celebrated Indian chief in Mich- igan. Her engines were transported from New York to Albany by sloops, and from Albany to Buffalo by large six and eight horse Pennsylvania teams. Some of the engine was delivered in fifteen days time, and some was on the road about twenty-five days. The trip from Black Rock, or Buffalo, to Detroit, consumed about forty hours in good weather, using thirty-six to forty cords of wood the trip. The price of passage in the main cabin was eighteen dollars ; from Buf- falo to Erie (Penn.), six dollars; to Cleve- land, twelve dollars; to Sandusky (Ohio), 240 STEAM. fifteen dollars; to Detroit, eighteen dollars. The strength of the rapids at the head of the Niagara river, between Buffalo and Black Rock, was so great, that besides the power of the engine, the steamer had to have the aid of eight yoke of oxen to get her up on to the lake, a distance of about two and one-half miles. In those days, the pas- senger and freighting business was so small, that one dividend only was made to the owners for the first three years from the earnings of the steamer. In 1821, in the fall, the steamer was totally lost in a terrible gale. On the coming winter, a new steamer was built at Buffalo, by Mr. Noah Brown of New York a very strong, brig-rigged vessel. She was called the Superior, flush decks fore and aft ; the first steamer, the Walk-in-the-Wa- ter, having had a high quarter or poop deck. Compare the time and expense of travel- ling in those days with the present time ! Mr. Calhoun (now living), the engineer of the Walk-in-the- Water, says, "Every two years I used to return to New York from Buffalo in the fall, and in the spring from New York to Buffalo. I have been three and four days, by stage, to Albany; never less than three days, and sometimes near five days ; the stage fare was ten dollars to Albany. From Albany to Buffalo, I have been ten days in getting through ; the short- est time was eight days ; the stage fare through, was twenty-one dollars. How is it now ? My usual expense in going to Buf- falo from Albany was thirty dollars, includ- ing meals and sleeping." Such facts show the advantages we have obtained from the use of steam in our river navigation. The boats that then plied upon the Hud- son river, would not be sufficient to carry the passengers' baggage of the present day. The first boat was only 160 tons, while the New World, built in 1847, was of 1400. The latter has made the trip from New York to Albany in seven hours and fifteen min- utes, including nine landings of say five minutes each ; the actual running time being six hours and twenty minutes ; dis- tance, one hundred and fifty miles per- formed by the North River in thirty-six hours. The application of the steam engine to navigation, has been successful by three methods only : the side wheel, the stern wheel, and the propeller. The side wheel was known to the ancients, and was used in connection with a windlass, turned by men, as a means of propulsion, by the Romans, in their war galleys. It was first partially applied to steam navigation by Robert Ful- ton, but since his day it has undergone vast improvement. As at first constructed, it consisted of a double-spoked water-wheel, suspended by a shaft with no outside bear- ing, which shaft, being of cast iron, was very liable to break. The outside bearing and guard were subsequently invented by Fulton, as appears from his specification of patent. The wheels being totally uncovered, were found to throw water upon deck, and a dash-board was puf up to prevent it, which was in time replaced by the present wheel- house. The paddle was next surrounded with a circular brace, or rim, as at present in use. In Fulton's first boat, the wheels could, at will, be disconnected from the en- gine, but this plan went out of use in order to simplify the machinery, after the crank shaft was adopted, connected directly with the engine. Various side wheels have been patented, that are so constructed as to prevent the lift of water as the bucket rises there- from. One on the Richard Stockton ap- pears to work well, but their complication, cost, and liability to get out of repair, have prevented their general introduction. The stern wheel was first thought of by Jonathan Hull, of England, in 1736, as suf- ficiently appears from drawings thereof pub- lished by him; but it certainly was first practically applied by Robert Fulton, in the steamboat Orleans, of which we have al- ready spoken. This wheel is now in almost universal use on our western rivers, as it is peculiarly adapted to boats drawing but lit- tle water. The wheel is suspended at the stern, and is sometimes covered with a wheel-house, but more frequently entirely exposed. The propeller was first applied to a small steamboat built by John Fitch, and experi- mented with by him under the patronage of Chancellor Livingston, on the Collect Pond in New York. The propeller was a screw or worm. Great improvements have, how- .ever, been made in the screw, and to the English we are indebted for some of the most important. Captain Ericsson deserves great credit for his improvements in this respect. Among the finest of our propellers may be named the R. R. Cuyler and the Matanzas ; the former is of wood, her total length is 240 feet; she is 33 feet wide, and has 24 feet depth of hold. She is furnished STEAMBOATS. 241 with one direct-acting inverted condensing engine, the largest single engine as yet built for a propeller. Her cylinder has a diameter of 70 inches and 48 inches stroke. She is furnished with two return tubular boilers 13 feet wide, 17 feet long, and 14 feet 4 inches high, with separate chimneys and separate connections to each boiler. The Matanzas is the first steamer, whose hull is entirely of iron, that has ever been con- structed in the United States. Her frame is of angle iron, with reverse bars also of iron ; her keel is of solid iron, 3 by 9 inches, as are her beams and deck knees. She is clipper built, 900 tons burden ; her dimensions are length 210 feet, keel 200 feet, 30 feet beam, depth 20 feet. This beautiful propeller, as all her visitors have unanimously called her, was built at the Delamater Iron Works, under the direction of Mr. J. W. Caper, and is the first iron ship constructed at that shop. Her en- gine is an inverted cylinder, 56 by 44 inches, of the same pattern, although smaller, as that of the R. R. Cuyler, and was designed by the same engineer, Mr. John Baird, chief engineer of Cromwell's line. The chief advantage claimed for the pro- peller over the side wheel, is the fact that in sea-going vessels the latter rarely possess an equal immersion, and consequently are constantly varying their purchase upon the water, whereas the propeller is always acting, or nearly so. The disadvantage of the pro- peller is the increased speed of the engine ; this was at first overcome by gearing, but the plan is objectionable on account of break- age and friction. The true form of a pro- peller is not yet decided, and probably we shall soon see many vast improvements both in its construction and the application of the engine that drives it. In war vessels, the propeller is less liable to be damaged by shot than the side wheel, and as an auxiliary for the sailing vessel, it is far preferable to the latter. Various devices have been adopted to disconnect and take in the propeller when using sails, but the use of two arms instead of four has in a great measure obviated the necessity so to do. Propellers have been tried with success on the Raritan canal, and are now extensively used there ; their cheap- ness, as compared with the side wheel, will always recommend them for small vessels. Whether the propeller will ever entirely su- persede the side wheel is still a question ; that they are cheaper in connection with sails as freighters no one questions, and it is pos- sible that they may eventually be so im- proved as to eclipse the side wheel in speed ; but this we very much doubt. They are, however, as yet comparatively in their in- fancy, and time alone will prove them. Among sea-going side wheel steamers, the Americans may point with pride to the Adriatic, the largest steamer afloat except the Great Eastern ; she measures 350 feet in length, 50 feet beam, and is about 5,000 tons burden. She was modelled and built by the late George Steers, and is a perfect ves- sel in appearance, appointments, speed, and every other respect. Her engines were built at the Novelty Works ; her total cost was over a million of dollars. She has two oscil- lating engines, 101 inches in diameter by 12 feet stroke, and carries 25 Ibs. of steam ; her paddles are 40 feet diameter, floats, 3 by 12 feet ; she has eight vertical tubular boilers, with 30,758 square feet of headng surface. She is truly a magnificent ship, and will compare favorably with any steamer in the world, not excepting the Great Eastern, that mammoth we had almost said blunder. Of our steam navy, the first commence- ment of which was the steam battery Ful- ton the first, built under the personal super- vision of Robert Fulton, we can only say that it is small but efficient ; steam in the navy is now a positive need, and we hope to see our force largely increased. The steam .engineers in the United States navy are sec- ond to none in the world. The use of the donkey engine or auxiliary pump, has been adopted in nearly all of our steam vessels, and is a decided improvement over the old method of filling the boilers by the main engine, as it obviates the difficulty of working the wheels while lying at the wharf, or stopping from any cause. The sages who managed the Great Eastern have thrown out the " donkeys," probably because they think there are sufficient for all pur- poses among the directors. The use of coal in our steamers is now universal upon the Atlantic coast and rivers. John E. Mowatt, the first to establish the tow-boat business, was also among the first to burn coal. His boat, the Henry Eckford, was fitted up for that purpose, but the want of a sufficient draft was the cause of its abandonment after several trials; this was in 1825. A few years after, Robert L. Stevens tried a blower on his crank boat, the North America. His first blower was of rude con- struction, being made of planks, and placed 242 STEAM. directly in front of the furnace, under the doors. After his success, the blower came into general use both for coal and wood ; but improvements in furnaces have now, in a measure, superseded its use. Mr. Stevens tried several expensive experiments, and many of them proved of value only as lessons to the engineer. While experimenting upon the blower, he caused to be constructed a spiral fan in the chimney, but abandoned it after one or two trials. Placing the boilers on deck Avas his invention, as also the false bow that made so great an improvement in speed. The present open work walking- beam is also ascribed to him ; in fact we may safely say that Kobert L. Stevens did more than any other man toward the im- provement of the steam engine. When steam was first used, great fears were entertained of explosions, and dangers by fire; this was increased by the explosion of the steamboat Washington. This hap- pened June 9th, 1816. She was the largest and finest boat that floated on the western waters. Her commander, Capt. Shreve, was skilled and experienced in all the duties of his calling ; her machinery was all presumed to be in the best possible order, and no hu- man foresight could have anticipated the fatal event. The boat left Marietta, Ohio, on Monday, June 7th, and on the afternoon of the following day came safely to anchor off Point Harmar, where she remained until Wednesday morning. The fires were now kindled, and other preparations made for continuing the voyage down the Ohio ; but a difficulty occurred in getting the boat into a proper position to start the machinery. While laboring to effect this object (the boat having, in the meantime, been carried by the force of the current near the Vir- ginia shore), it became necessary to throw out a kedge anchor at the stern. Shortly after, all hands were called to haul in the kedge, and while there collected together, the end of the boiler nearest the stern was suddenly blown off, and a column of min- gled water and steam was thrown among the crowd, killing a number upon the spot, and inflicting the most frightful injuries on the remainder. The captain, mate, and several others, were blown overboard, and, with the exception of one man, were afterward res- cued from the water, and found to be more or less injured by the scalding water and the scattered fragments of the boiler. At Harmar, a neighboring town, the in- habitants were alarmed by the sound of the explosion, appearing, as it did, to shake the earth. A number of citizens among whom were several physicians rushed to the boat to ascertain the extent of the calamity. Lan- guage is but feeble to explain the misery and torture which presented itself to their view. Strewn about the deck were the mangled and writhing forms of human beings, filling the air with screams and groans, while others, more fortunate, had ended their suf- ferings in death. Those who experienced the greatest pain, apparently, were injured by inhaling the scalding steam, which is agonizing, beyond all the powers of imagina- tion to conceive. The cause of this explo- sion is not exactly known, but it is supposed to have been from over-pressure, owing to the displacement of the valve weight, which had accidentally slipped to the end of the lever. This accident, as we said before, added to the general prejudice against steamboating, and caused a great excitement among the inhabitants of that region ; people being oblivious of the fact that in proportion to the passengers carried by steamboats up to that date, there had been much less accident and danger than by the original conveyance of barges and flat boats. Still, there was a great deal of mismanagement, resulting from ignorance, in our first steam vessels, and the general introduction of high-pressure en- gines, without the proper increase of strength in the boilers, caused many serious acci- dents, that in time drew the attention of Congress to the subject. Several laws were passed ; but it was not until quite a late period that the present comparatively per- fect system of inspection was matured by our government. In the year 1852, an act was passed by Congress, containing provisions against fire, regarding pumps, boats, life preservers, the transportation of dangerous articles, etc. This act also provided for an inspector of boilers in each district, whose duty it is to test all the boilers in his district, used on board of vessels carrying passengers, once when first constructed, and at least once a year thereafter. The Board of Inspectors were also empowered with the examination of engineers, which duty is set forth in the following section : " Whenever any person claiming to be qualified to perform the duty of engineer 'upon steamers carrying passengers, shall apply for a certificate, the LOCOMOTIVES. 243 Board of Inspectors shall examine the appli- cant, and the proofs which he produces in support of his claim ; and if, upon full con- sideration, they are satisfied that his char- acter, habits of life, knowledge, and experi- ence in the duties of an engineer are all such as to authorize the belief that the applicant is a suitable and safe person to be entrusted with the powers and duties of such a station, they shall give him a certificate to such effect, for one year, signed by them, in which cer- tificate they shall state the time of the exami- nation, and shall assign the appointee to the appropriate class of engineers." It was also provided that nine super- vising inspectors should be appointed by the executive, to carry out the provisions of the act. Since the passage of this law, steam- boat explosions on the Atlantic coast have become almost unknown, and have greatly decreased in the west. With competent inspectors this law is invaluable, and we hope to hail the day when a similar act is passed in every legislature, touching loco- motive and stationary boilers. No one who looks at the immense amount of business dene by steam vessels, will ques- tion the advantages obtained by the appli- cation of steam to navigation, still this branch of commerce is as yet in its infancy, and it is our belief that not only will steam supersede sails entirely, but also that the la- borious occupation of rowing will eventually be mainly done by steam. It is unques- tionable that boats requiring four men to pull them can, even now, be much more economi- cally worked by machinery, and certainly run much faster. Their cost need not ex- ceed five hundred dollars. For such small craft the propeller is better fitted than the side wheel. There is a boat of this descrip- tion now running in the harbor of Norfolk, Virginia, and capable of carrying twelve pas- sengers at eight miles per hour, at the ex- pense of seventy-five cents per day for fuel, and the wages of one man, who can easily do the work and steer the boat. This boat carried passengers to the Great Eastern, when she lay off Old Point Comfort, and ap- peared like the minnow beside the whale. We have already stated that John E. Mowatt was the first to introduce the tug business on the North River. This was Jonathan Hull's idea; he never dreaming that large vessels could be provided with propelling power, both on account of its weight, the weight of fuel for a voyage, and the danger from fire. This branch of steam navigation has proved very lucrative. With- in the past few years the propeller has here also been substituted. Philadelphia, we be- lieve, was the pioneer in this enterprise, and most of the propeller-tugs were built in that place. We will conclude this chapter with the following statement of the tonnage of steam vessels belonging to the several ports of the United States in 1859, as published in the "Report on Commerce and Navi- gation": New York 120,598.09 New Orleans 75,789.91 St. Louis 54,51 5.64 Pittsburg 40,550.08 Buffalo 42,464.04 Detroit 33,005.12 Louisville 29,626.72 Cincinnati 25,668.31 Mobile 28,898.52 Philadelphia 22,238.50 Cleveland 21,720.73 Baltimore 19,260.83 San Francisco , 10,214.94 Boston 9,998.52 Chicago 7,651.45 The total steam tonnage of the United States, for the year ending 30th of June, 1859, was 676,004 83-95 tons. CHAPTER III. LOCOMOTIVES. OUR second chapter referred more partic- ularly to the application of steam to naviga- tion. In this, we shall endeavor to set forth its advantages in land transportation. Among the earliest experiments upon this subject in America, were those by Oliver Evans, of Philadelphia. The following is his account, published in 1804 : " I constructed for the Board of Health of Philadelphia a machine for cleaning docks, called the Orukter Amphibolos or Amphib- ious Digger. It consisted of a heavy flat- bottomed boat, thirty feet long, and twelve feet broad, with a chain of buckets to bring up the mud, and hooks to clear away sticks, stones, and other obstacles. These buckets are wrought by a small steam engine set in the boat, the cylinder of which is five inches diameter, and the length of stroke nine- teen inches. This machine was constructed at my shop, one mile and a half from the river Schuylkill, where she was launched. 244 STEAM. She sunk nineteen inches, displacing five hundred and fifty-one cubic feet of water, which, at 62. 5 pounds, the weight of a cubic foot, gives the weight of the boat thirty -four thousand four hundred and thirty-seven pounds, which, divided by two hundred and thirteen, the weight of a barrel of flour, gives the weight of one hundred and sixty-one barrels of flour that the boat and engine is equal to. Add to this the heavy pieces of timber and wheels used in transporting her, and the number of persons generally in her, will make the whole burden equal to at least two hundred barrels of flour. Yet this small engine moved so great a burden, with a gentle motion, up Market street and around the Centre Square, and we concluded from the experiment that the engine was able to rise any ascent allowed by law on turnpike roads, which is not more than four degrees." After giving a comparison of the merits of steam and horse power, for moving car- riages on common roads, Evans says : "Add to all this that the steam wagon consumes nothing while standing, will roll and mend the roads, while the horse wagons will cut them up. Upon the whole it appears that no competition could exist between the two. The steam wagons would take all the busi- ness on the turnpike roads. I have no doubt but you will duly appreciate the im- portance of such an improvement, and con- ceive it to be your interest to appropriate the sum necessary to put it in operation. I have invented the only engine that will answer that great purpose, as well as many others for which power may be wanted. It is too much for an individual to put in operation every improvement which he may be able to conceive or invent. I have no doubt that my engines will propel boats against the current of the Mississippi, and wagons on turnpike roads with great profit. I now call upon those whose interest it is, to cany this invention into effect. All which I respectfully submit to your consideration." Thus it will be seen that Mr. Evans not only practically applied steam to locomotion, but fully realized the advantages of his in- vention. The introduction of the railroad prevented the improvements that would naturally have followed so great an inven- tion, and but little has since been done, until within the past three or four years. Mr. Fisher has been one of the most success- ful in his improvements ; his first experiment was in 1853, when he built a small carriage for four persons, which weighed, empty, about one thousand four hundred pounds. The cylinders Avere ten by four ; boiler, thirty feet of surface, only twenty feet of which could be reckoned effective, or one foot of surface to about one hundred and ten pounds of total weight. It outran horses, in night races, on the Broadway pavement, and ran at a moderate speed on cobble pavements, but had not steam enough for common roads. The next trial was in 1858, on two steam fire engines, the J. C. Gary and J. G. Storm, the carriages and engines of which were built from his design, the boilers and pumps being designed by others. These engines had heavy boilers and apparatus, and could not be regarded as steam carriages, but only as a demonstration of the practicability of working by steam. Their cylinders are fourteen by seven and a half inches ; wheels, five feet ; the Gary boiler four hundred and eighty feet of heating surface ; that of the Storm three hundred and eighty ; weight of the Gary, empty, fifteen thousand six hun- dred and thirty-six pounds ; the Storm some- what lighter. These engines ran well on pavements, and when fairly in motion could run on soft ground at six or seven miles per hour. The next experiment was by Mr. Fisher in 1859, when a carriage was built, which is not yet finished. Its cylinders are fourteen by seven inches ; wheels, five feet ; boiler, one hundred and sixty feet of surface ; weight, with water and eleven men, estimated at twelve thousand pounds, or seventy-five pounds to one foot of heating surface. Two gentlemen timed it on an evening trial trip ; one reported that it ran between two mile stones in two minutes and forty seconds; the other reported it within three minutes. The road was gravel, rather loose and soft on the surface. As we have before stated, the introduction of railroads turned the attention of our mechanics to them, and steam carriages were abandoned. The railway itself does not come within the compass of our article ; we will state, however, that its origin is un- known, as the remains of a stone tram-road have been found among the ruins of Thebes. Thirty years ago they were still discussing the advantages of canals as compared with railroads in this country ; it is, however, somewhat singular that, with the exception of a mile or two of canal near Cambridge, constructed by the Romans, England had in- LOCOMOTIVES. 245 troduced the entire principle of railroads long before she took up canals. As long ago as 1776, and possibly thirty years prior to that time, England had wooden rails in some of her collieries. It was not, however, until the year 1825 that the subject was prominently brought forward. The railway project from Manchester to Liverpool was the cause of this new impulse. The rails, prior to 1776, were of wood, placed about four feet apart on sleepers ; these wooden rails were then covered with iron plates, and cast iron wheels were adopted instead of the wooden ones that had been used up to this time. In 1790, the edge rail was invented. From 1802 to 1806, the first effective experiments were made with the locomotive engine. It was not, however, supposed possible that the friction or ad- herence of the plain wheels of such car- riages upon the rail could be sufficient to allow any great weight to be drawn after them, and, therefore, the cumbersome ap- pendage of cog wheels and ratchet wheels, continuous and endless chains, propelling levers, etc., etc., continued to perplex the minds of engineers until about 1814, when it was first discovered that the adhesion of the locomotive carriage, with its plain cast iron wheels, was adequate for every purpose on ordinary railways. The improvement consequent upon this was effected by Mr. Stephenson in the north of England, and for a long time his engines, with unimportant alterations, were used where fuel was cheap. Those locomotives drew about one hundred tons on a level, at four miles the hour, per- forming the work of about sixteen horses. Their weight was about ten tons, and cost about sixteen thousand dollars. The first railway in the United States was built from Milton to Quincy, Mass., a dis- tance of two miles, in 1826. The Baltimore and Ohio was the first passenger railroad ; it was opened in 1830, a distance of fifteen miles, with horse power. Next in the order of time came the Mohawk and Hudson, from Albany to Schenectady, sixteen miles ; opened for travel also with horse power. The first locomotive engine upon a railway in this country, was built at Stourbridge, England, for the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com- pany, and imported by Mr. Horatio Allen. This engine was called the Lion. Mr. Allen, in a speech not long since, gives a graphic account of the first trip : " It was in the year 1828, on the banks of the Lack- awaxen, at the commencement of the rail- roads connecting the canal of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company with their coal mines ; and he who addresses you was the only person on that locomotive. The circum- stances which led to my being alone on the engine were these : the road had been built in the summer; the structure was of hem- lock timber; the rails of large dimensions, notched on caps placed far apart; the tim- ber had cracked and warped from exposure to the sun. After about three hundred feet of straight line, the road crossed the Lacka- waxen creek on trestle-work, about thirty feet high, with a curve of from three hundred and fifty-six to four hundred feet radius. The impression was very general that the iron monster would break down the road, or it would leave the track at the curve and plunge into the creek. My reply to such appre- hensions was, that it was too late to consider the probability of such occurrences; that there was no other course than to have a trial made of the strange animal, which had been brought here at great expense ; but that it was not necessary that more than one should be involved in its fate ; that I would take the first ride alone, and the time would come when I should look back to the inci- dent with great interest. As I placed my hand on the throttle-valve handle, I was un- decided whether I would move slowly or with a fair degree of speed ; but believing that the road would prove safe, and prefer- ring, if I did go down, to go handsomely, and without any evidence of timidity, I started with considerable velocity, passed the curve over the creek safely, and was soon out of hearing of the vast assemblage. At the end of two or three miles I reversed the valve, and returned without accident ; having thus made the first railroad trip by locomo- tive on the western hemisphere." The first locomotive engine ever built in the United States, was built at the West Point foundry, New York, under the direc- tion of Samuel Hall, for the South Carolina railroad. This engine blew up shortly after it commenced running, and another was built to replace it. In 1831, the De Witt Clinton was built at the same foundry for the Mohawk and Hudson (New York Cen- tral) railroad ; this engine weighed four tons ; it was run without load at the rate of forty miles per hour. Cylinders, five and a half inches in diameter stroke, sixteen inches; four coupled wheels, four and a half feet in 246 STEAM. diameter. The boiler was cylindrical, with a large dome in the centre, and contained some thirty flues. In January of the same year, the Baltimore and Ohio railroad offered four thousand dollars for the best anthracite coal-burning locomotive, weighing three and one half tons, and capable of drawing fifteen tons, fifteen miles per hour on a level, with a steam pressure of not more than a hundred pounds to the square inch. The conditions were filled by an engine built by Phineas Davis, of York, Pa., in June, 1831. This engine had an upright boiler and cylinder. William T. James, of New York, who had already constructed a steam carriage in 1829, finished a locomotive in 1832; this engine was employed on the Harlem railroad, with success, for a time, but was eventually sold to the Baltimore and Ohio road, where it exploded in 1834. This engine was pro- vided with a " spark arrester." In January, 1833, M. W. Baldwin, of Philadelphia, still one of our best locomotive builders, built the Old Ironsides, for the Philadelphia and G^rmantown Railroad Company. This engine weighed five tons, and was said to have been run at the rate of sixty- two miles per hour. Mr. Baldwin intro- duced the outside connection engine, thus doing away with the crank axle, and plac- ing the cylinder more under the eye of the engineer. It would be tedious to follow the con- struction and alterations in the various loco- motives that were built by different manu- facturers in the United States. We will, however, mention the most important im- provements. The truck frame, in front of the engine, was first used by Adam Hall, of the West Point foundry, in 1832, on an engine called the Experiment. The four eccentrics were first used by William T. James, on his steam carriage ; they were, however, patented by S. H. Long, of Philadelphia, in 1830, and first used on a locomotive in 1833 ; this was the Black Hawk, built by Long and Norris, of Philadelphia, the founders of the present locomotive shop known as Norris' works. The Norris engines were the first ever ex- ported ; this was brought about by the, at that time, extraordinary fact of drawing 19,200 pounds up an incline of three hun- dred and sixty-nine feet to the mile, the en- gine weighing but 14,370 pounds ; on hear- ing of which, the Birmingham and Glouces- ter Railway Company ordered several engines for an incline upon their road, where they performed successfully. Since that time, engines have been exported to. England, France, Russia, Germany, Egypt, and Chili. In the latter country there are eight American locomotives. The engines forwarded to Egypt, were built by William Mason, of Taunton ; and for excellence of workman- ship, style, and finish, will compare favor- ably with any in the world. There are, at present, twenty-nine American locomotives on German roads. Messrs. Winans, of Bal- timore, furnished the majority of the loco- motives sent to Russia. There arc now some twenty-three locomotive shops in the United States. Most of the engines are, however, built in Philadelphia, and Paterson, N. J. Hinckley and Drury's, afterward called the Boston Locomotive Works, was established in 1840. The Lowell shop began to build engines in 1835. Rogers, Ketchum & Gros- venor, of Paterson, New Jersey, commenced building in 1837. This shop is still in full operation, under the name of the Rogers Locomotive Works. This shop made sev- eral material alterations upon the English type ; they enlarged the boiler in proportion to the cylinder, established the link motion, and covered more effectually the cylinders and valve chests, to prevent radiation. Rog- ers, also, was among the first to adopt the full-stroke pump. The locomotives built at this shop have always found a ready market. Next in order was the Taunton Lo- comotive Company, established in 1847, by W. W. Fairbanks, a marine boiler maker from Providence, Rhode Island. Then John Sou- ther, formerly of Hinckley's shop, started his works in South Boston, in 1848. In 1849, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Com- pany entered the lists with some important improvements ; they were followed by the Portland, Lawrence, and Wilmarth shops, and a few years after, by Mason, of Taunton, the East Bridgewater, and the Manchester locomotive works. But since 1857, the New England locomotive shops have done but little of this kind of work ; the Boston, Lawrence, and Manchester locomotive works have failed; the Amoskeag, Lowell, and Mason's shop at Taunton, have turned their attention to cotton and woollen machinery ; and the business has gone almost entirely into the hands of the Paterson and Phila- delphia shops. The causes of this change are various : prominent among them may be mentioned the manufacture of locomo- LOCOMOTIVES. 249 tives by railroad companies themselves, at their repair shops. The manufacture of the locomotive engine had a good effect upon our machine shops, independent of the work it furnished ; as in order to construct them a variety of improved tools were made, that have greatly added to the facility for turning out other machinery. These improvements are so marked that no one who is familiar with the machine shop can help noticing them. Coal is now rapidly superseding wood as fuel for the locomotive. It is true that some of our first engines were coal-burners, but wood has been for years the principal fuel used. The American engine has sevei-al marked distinctions from the English ; what most strikes the eye of the common observer is the ra&, or house for the protection of the engineer ; this is peculiar to our locomo- tive. The smoke stack is also very different in the wood-burning engine from that in use on coal-burners. The auxiliary pump is used on some of our engines, but not to so great an extent as it should be. A first-class locomotive engine costs about ten thousand dollars, and an average taken from one of our largest roads shows a cost of about eleven hundred dollars per year for repairs. Locomotives in this country are built much too large for the work they have to accomplish, and the attention of our master machinists having lately been much attracted to this subject, it is to be hoped that some improvements in the weight will be made. A locomotive too heavy for the work it has to do, is not only more expen- sive in first cost, but in the greater wear of the road. A good locomotive can draw thirty times its own weight on a level, and a paying load should not exceed twenty-five tons ; bearing this in mind, why build twenty-six ton engines? There are many parts of an engine now built much too heavy ; the bell, dome-casings, and cabs, for instance. It is not necessary to greatly lessen the weight of the running gear, although in some instan- ces this is much too heavy. Wrought iron in place of cast in some cases would be lighter and much better, and steel should be substituted for iron wherever possible. The speed over the American roads is not so great as in England, from the fact that the former have more and steeper grades, and have, besides, shorter curves, to say nothing about their construction being much less expensive. Sixty miles per hour has been made upon our roads, however, but thirty is nearer an average, while in England seventy miles has frequently been attained. Dr. Lardner, in his lately published "Econ- omy of Railroads," thus endeavors to convey to the unpractised reader the enormous speed of a locomotive going at the rate of seventy- miles an hour : " Seventy miles an hour is, in round numbers, one hundred and five feet per second, that is a motion in virtue of which a passenger is carried over thirty-five yards between the beats of a common clock. Two objects near him, a yard asunder, pass by his eye in the thirty-fifth part of a sec- ond ; and if thirty-five stakes were erected by the side of the road, one yard asunder, the whole would pass his eye between two beats of a clock ; if they had any strong color, such as red, they would appear a con- tinuous flash of red. At such a speed, therefore, the objects on the side of the road are not distinguishable. When two trains, having this speed, pass each other, the rela- tive velocity will be double this, or seventy yards per second ; and if one of the trains were seventy yards long, it would flash by in a single second. To accomplish this, suppo- sing the driving wheels seven feet in dia,me- ter, the piston must change its direction in the cylinder ten times in a second. But there are two cylinders, and the mechanism is so regulated that the discharges of steam are alternate. There are, therefore, twenty discharges of steam per second, at equal in- tervals ; and thus these twenty puffs divide a second into twenty equal parts, each puff having the twentieth of a second between it and that which precedes and follows it. The ear, like the eye, is limited in the rapid- ity of its sensations, and sensitive as that organ is, it is not capable of distinguishing monotonous sounds which succeed each other at intervals of the twentieth part of a second. According to the experiments of Dr. Hutton, the flight of a cannon ball was six thousand seven hundred feet in one quarter of a minute, equal to five miles per minute, or three hundred miles per hour. It follows, therefore, that a railway train, going at the rate of seventy-five miles per hour, has the velocity of one-fourth that of a cannon ball ; and the momentum of such a mass, moving at such a speed, is equiva- lent to the aggregate force of a number of cannon balls equal to one-fourth of its own weight." Some years ago a curious calculation^ 250 STEAM. showing one of the advantages of the steam locomotive, was made in England. " In 1 853, 111,000,000 passengers were conveyed, each passenger travelling an average of twelve miles. Twelve miles of railroad are accom- plished in half an hour, whereas the old stage coach required an hour and a half to get through the distance. The aggregate time thus saved for the above number of passengers is equal to thirty-eight thousand years." This was seven years ago, since which time the number of passengers carried has been nearly doubled. Mr. Fleming, on the Mobile & Ohio rail- road, and some other master mechanics, have adopted the plan of paying the engineers a certain fixed salary, and then giving prizes to those who save the most fuel to the mile run. It is also customary to place the in- spection of wood to be used under the en- gineer's care, he having the choice of the stations at which he will take in wood. With these two regulations the company get better wood at the same price, as it is di- rectly to the engineer's interest to carefully examine the quality, quantity, and price of every load of wood he takes on. So great has been the economy of this plan, that it is strange that every one does not adopt it. Another important item in the running expenses of the locomotive is the oil and waste. The latter is used to wipe the machinery, not only on account of the looks, but to prevent its gumming up with oil and dirt. The average cost of oil, waste, and tallow, taken from some of our largest roads, is seventy-five hundredths of a cent per mile run ; and as engines average some fif- teen thousand miles per year, we have a total cost, in three small items, of one mill- ion dollars per year in the United States alone. Before leaving the subject of steam loco- motives, we wish to speak of the Dummy engine, or steam car for city railroads. We know that this use of steam has met with great opposition from all classes of men ; but what are the arguments ? In the first place they say : " Oh ! the steam car is much more dangerous than horses." Why ? " Because it is more difficult to stop, and it goes so much faster." What is the truth ? It is much easier to stop a steam car than one drawn by horses, inasmuch as we have not only the same brakes, but the power of reversing the engine in an emergency. As to the cars being run faster, our laws against fast driving are as potent in the one case as in the other ; and by Barker's arrangement, it is impossible for the car to go over a given speed the governor being attached to the brake. The second argument against steam cars is that the noise and smoke will frighten horses. The noise and smoke can both be avoided, and it has been proved that horses are not more liable to start than at the sight of a buffalo robe. The argument as to ex- pense has been entirely thrown aside ; still, but few know the great advantage in this respect that steam has over horse power. A number of our lines average seven horses to a car (in Boston they average eight), in order to have the necessary relays; seven good horses for this purpose are worth, say, eight hundred dollars ; the feed, care, and stable-room of each horse averages, say three dollars and fifty cents per week ; so that a line with forty cars is under the enormous annual expense, for horse-care and keep alone, of $50,960 ! Now then for steam. The first cost of an engine and steam generator, with all the necessary appurtenances, will be no more, if as much, as the seven horses to each car. Keep- ing the engine in repair would incur no more expense than shoeing horses, renewing har- ness, etc. It would cost no more to replace them than to replace worn-out horses. The engines, to be of sufficient capacity to over- come our steepest grades, will consume eight bushels of coke per day (a high estimate), running sixteen hours, the price of which at present is five cents per bushel ; but, suppo- sing the extra demand to cause an advance of a hundred per cent. which is hardly likely, for even a less increase in price would cause many private families and others to cease using it the fuel expense in one year, to a company with forty cars, would be $9,984 ; making the difference in cost, in one year, between steam and horses, of $40,976. Think of it! $40,976 saved to a company with forty cars, in one year (over $1,000 per car), after putting down the fuel at double its present price. Coke is preferable, because it is clean to handle, ignites quick, emits no smoke, is light and cheap, and requires a much less draught than coai. To save cumbrous and useless weight as much as possible, it is proposed to oarry very little fuel, except what is on the fire, nor unnecessary extra water either, the tank and bin to be replenished at the depot each trip, while waiting its time. LOCOMOTIVES. 251 Were the different companies to offer, as an inducement, to reduce the fare to three cents, on condition that the community would permit the use of steam, they would anni- hilate all groundless opposition on the part of the masses, which is every thing with us ; and the enormous increase of " short rides," occasioned by the reduction of fare, would make the receipts greater than at present; and as the saving in favor of steam is quite $1,000 a year per car, the value of the stock would be increased prodigiously. If there could be any serious objection urged against using steam, in this age of improvements, with the plans of safety here laid down, other than those suggested by "old fogy- ism," all the advantages we have enumerated would weigh little in its favor ; but when it can be so arranged as to be actually safer than horse power, we think the time has come to put it thoroughly to the test, at all events. Among the plans for city cars that have been suggested and built, we may mention those of Latta, of Cincinnati ; Baldwin ; Grice & Long ; and Darker, of Philadelphia. Latta' s engine is in a separate car from the passengers ; Baldwin's has its machinery be- neath the car, and its boiler in front; and Darker places his entire engine and boiler upon the roof, connecting with the wheels on the outside, near the centre. Grice & Long's car is thus fitted : the engines and boiler are on the front platform ; the engines slightly inclined, and graded to the front axle ; the axle being placed at the extreme end of the car, for the purpose of making the connection, and increasing the stability of the wheels. The boiler is of the ordinary vertical, tubular type ; the after part of the car is finished with a self-adjusting, vibrating truck, for the purpose of turning the short curves of city roads. The running of this car has afforded the utmost satisfaction. With a full complement of passengers, it has ascended the heaviest railway grades in Philadelphia county ; some of which exceed three hundred and seventy feet to the mile, embracing sharp curves. The whole ar- rangement is simple and compact ; can be applied to the horse cars now in use, and will give them a greater number of seats than they now afford. These steam cars burn anthracite coal, and have open ex- hausts ; thus avoiding the two most promi- nent objections urged against street locomo- tives, smoke and noise. The American and Gazette, of Philadelphia, describes a trip made last March in this car, from which we extract the following : "The road traversed is a very rough one, built cheaply of cast iron rails, which are shorter than those of wrought iron used in the city streets ; and as the material is less durable, the joints are well worn, and the travelling good for dyspeptics. There are also some sharp curves and steep grades, which are calculated to test the power of a locomotive. But with all these difficulties the car made its trip in thirty minutes, against forty-five usually taken by the horse cars. It was really agreeable travelling, too, for the car was heated by steam pipes, so that it was as comfortable inside as in a parlor. There is no escape of smoke, as the engine con- sumes only anthracite, and uses up its own gas ; nor is there escape steam, that be- ing carefully provided against. Thus, when the locomotive is under full headway, there is no puffing or blowing, no wheezing to be heard outside, and, in fact, nothing to frighten a horse. On the road, all sorts of vehicles were encountered, drawn by every descrip- tion of horse, from the thorough-bred to the common draught horse; they were passed at the ordinary pace and without stopping, but none of them took fright; and this settles clearly enough that the steamer will not frighten horses. The car is warmed in winter by steam pipes along the floor. Yes- terday was a raw, disagreeable day, and we had occasion to observe that the car was comfortably warmed by these pipes. The temperature, too, may be increased or di- minished, at the will of the engineer, an im- portant consideration in our variable climate. In summer the steam car may also be kept cool by the same agency which heats it, by simply attaching a steam fan to the engine, the fan to be stationed in the centre of the roof of the car." Thus much for the first experiment of any note that has been tried upon the street rail- road. It was, in our opinion, a decided suc- cess, and should wake up our city railroad companies to action ; this old war between horses and steam is renewed, but we hope it will soon have its final quietus. We will conclude this chapter with an anecdote of the first engine introduced upon the Baltimore and Susquehanna railroad. This road was built to run with horses, and in some of the first circulars issued by the company, the road was spoken of as being 252 STEAM. delightfully picturesque, winding among beautiful scenery, and forming a most inter- esting ride rather different from the em- peror of Russia's idea of a railroad, which he laid out with a ruler, by describing a straight line from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Against the wish of the president of the company an engine was imported from Eng- land in the brig Herald, about the year 1830, and was put upon the road under the man- agement of an English engineer. While standing upon the track one day, fired up and ready to start, the president, who was absent on her arrival, came down to look at the strange animal. He was accompanied by one of the directors, who had already ex- amined the iron steed and was desirous of exhibiting it to the best advantage. The engineer being temporarily absent, the two mounted upon the platform. " Thee sees, friend," said the director, " this lever ; well, by drawing it toward thee (suiting the action to the word ), the machine will retreat, and by pushing it from thee, it will advance ; thus the competent man can handle it as readily as thee can drive a horse. If thee turns this little crank the steam will com- mence working, and the engine will start." And sure enough the engine did start, for the honest Quaker, in order fully to explain its action, had opened the throttle. Away went the iron horse, affrighting them out of all presence of mind, and increasing in ve- locity at each stroke of the piston, until it reached one of the picturesque curves that had so much delighted the president, where, with one bound, it left the track and turned a summersault down the embankment. Both parties were hurt, but most fortunately es- caped with their lives. CHAPTER IV. STATIONARY ENGINES. THIS is the oldest form, being but a modi- fication of the first steam pumping engines ;' not being confined to space as in the loco- motive and marine engine, these machines have admitted of a greater variation of form, and a better chance of artistic display than any other, consequently we have many in- stances of elaborate workmanship and a great variety of design. The majority of stationary engines in use may be divided as follows : the beam, the horizontal, the steeple, the oscillating, and the rotary engine. The beam engines are commonly low-pressure or condensing, and are mainly used for pump- ing, or where great power is required ; the motion of the piston is communicated by the working-beam to the pump or crank- shaft at the opposite side of the machine. The horizontal engine is probably the most used at a high pressure in this country ; its advantage is the facility with which it is put up, and its steady working ; every part being firmly attached to a solid bed, requir- ing but little bracing to keep it in place. The disadvantage of a horizontal engine is the unequal wear of the cylinder, due to the gravity of the piston. The steeple or verti- cal engine has, like the beam engine, an up- right cylinder, but is connected directly to the main shaft above or below. In all the above-named engines the cylinder is station- ary, and the reciprocating motion is changed into rotary by means of a cross-head, slides, and connecting-rod ; in the oscillating engine the cylinder vibrates upon trunions, placed sometimes at its centre, and sometimes at its end ; thus allowing the piston to be coupled to the crank, and doing away with the cross- head and slides. The advantages of this en- gine are its reduced size and expense. In the horizontal and other engines the steam valve is moved by an eccentric, but in some oscil- lators the truriion box forms a self-working valve both for induction at the one side and eduction at the other. The disadvantages of an oscillator are the liability to overheat its trunions and the difficulty of keeping them tight. An oscillator costs less at the start, but requires more oil, and is of doubtful economy. The change of the reciprocating into the rotary motion was a problem for many years, and the idea that there was a great loss of momentum in the constant stopping and starting of the piston at each end of the stroke induced many mechanics to study some method of obtaining a direct rotary motion, or, in other words, to produce a ro- tary piston. It was at once evident to the merest novice that a rotary engine would be in reality a rotary pump reversed, and con- sequently the rotary engines bear so strong a resemblance to the oldest rotary pump as to instantly strike the eye of any one who has seen the two. One of the most suc- cessful rotary engines of to-day is that of Holly, of Seneca Falls, New York, and this is only a modification of Murdoch's rotary STATIONARY ENGINES. 253 engine, which is, in turn, a perfect copy of an old pump taken from Serviere's collection. It may be thus described : two cog-wheels fitted accurately to each other are inclosed in a case ; each cog is grooved and fitted with packing, bringing it into steam-tight contact with the circumference and sides of the case. The axles of the cog-wheels are continued through the sides of the case, and geared together at each end to prevent friction upon the centre cogs ; now, if re- volved, each cog will act as a piston, but as the cogs in contact in the centre lap each other, the piston surface at each extreme of the case will be just double that of the centre, and this surplus of force gives mo- tion to the two axles. The pump of which this engine is a copy was invented as long ago as the sixteenth century. A patent was obtained in England in 1825 by Mr. J. Eve, an American. Within a cylindrical case a hollow drum was so con- structed as to fit closely to the case ; floats, or pistons, were cast upon its periphery, and packed to fit the cylinder ; on one side of the main cylinder was a small recess filled with a small drum, that revolved in contact with the main drum, this small drum having a segment removed to receive each piston as it passed, and having its diameter so pro- portioned to the main drum as to revolve once between the passage of each piston or float. Other rotary engines, on a plan anal- ogous to the above, differing only in the manner of opening the valve, have been in- vented, and copied from the ancients, some of which are exceedingly complicated, but they have always been unsuccessful in prac- tice, principally from the fact that it is ex- ceedingly difficult to pack them. If they could overcome this fault without adding friction, the rotary engine would be very valuable on account of the small space it occupies. The demand for stationary engines, from one horse power upward, during the last twenty-five years, has been so great that now almost any machine shop is prepared to build them, and of course, while such is the case, thousands of engines are annually built that would better bear the name of steam eaters than steam engines. In some of the small engines that flood the market, the first principles of steam are practically ignored, and there are at this moment running in the United States engines that consume more coal to do the work of ten horses than a properly-constructed one would use to do the work of twenty. As an instance of the truth of this statement, we will take the engines built by Messrs. Corliss & Nighten- gale, of Providence, over an engine that was working to good advantage in the James Mills, Newburyport, but was re- moved on the representation of the build- ers of the new machine, that they would take five times the saving of the first year's fuel as sole payment of their engine. The James Steam Mills contained 17,024 spin- dles, and, including the weaving and all the preparations for making sheeting and shirtings, required a hundred and ninety horse power ; their engines were condensers ; cylinders, twenty-four inches by four feet length of stroke. Ten thousand four hun- dred and eighty-three pounds of coal per day was the average amount used during five years previous to the contract for the new engines ; this included the coal used for dressing, heating, and all other purposes for which steam is used in such an establish- ment. The new engines were high-pressure cylinders, eighteen inches by four feet stroke. By the terms of contract under which the change of engines was made, it was at the option of the company to pay for the new arrangement the sum of ten thousand five hundred dollars cash in lieu of the saving of coal ; but the choice was to be made be- fore the new engines were put in operation. In view of the favorable results obtained by the former engines, they decided to pay in the saving of fuel. The new engines were run one year from December 3d, 1855, and the average amount of coal used per day was found to be five thousand six hundred and ninety pounds. The coal being reck- oned at six dollars per ton, Messrs. Corliss & Nightengale received nineteen thousand seven hundred and thirty -four dollars and twenty-two cents. Thus it will be seen that the builders received nearly double price for their engine, and yet it cost the owners of the mill nothing for a machine that was destined to be a source of great saving in their future expenses. The singular character of Mr. Corliss' bar- gains attracted much attention to his en- gines, as they showed conclusively the ad- vantages thereof over the old plans. The above experiment was a comparison between his engine and what had been considered a good machine ; in the following, however, we see its great advantages over a more or- 254 STEAM. dinary engine. In March, 1852, Mr. Corliss contracted with, Crocker Brothers & Co., of Taunton, Massachusetts, to furnish them with an engine that would do the same work they were then doing with five tons of coal per day, and yet only consume two ; agree- ing to forfeit one dollar per pound, for every pound per day used above that amount. This contract was successfully filled without taking out the old boilers. Mr. Corliss' engines possessed, as may be readily supposed, several important improve- ments, one of which was the manner by which its speed was regulated. Watt regulated by connecting the governor with the throttle-valve ; Corliss used no throttle- valve, but connected the governor direct to the cut-off. This connection of the gover- nor was not of itself the improvement of Mr. Corliss, as that had already been done by others ; but it was the manner by which this connection was made, which was at once simple and efficacious, for which he deserves credit. The use of the throttle-valve was always attended with a wire-drawing of the steam. This wire-drawing is. a reduction of the expansive force of the steam, and is al- ways attended with more or less condensa- tion; so that every form of cut-off, used with a throttle, is more or less imperfect. By thus dispensing with the throttle-valve altogether, and opening the steam-valve sud- denly, the pressure of steam in the cylinder approximates very closely to the boiler pres- sure. The valves in the Corliss engine are circular; and by his automatic method of varying the point of cut-off, he gains a great advantage, as he cuts off suddenly without danger of slamming, as in the use of the puppet-valve. We do not wish to be understood to say that the Corliss engines are the best in the market ; they are among the best ; and we have dwelt thus long on some of their merits in order to contrast them with others. When we add the fact that one-half of the stationary engines in the United States are run by boys or men not capable of manag- ing a modern cooking-stove, the reader can realize to some extent the economy of cheap (?) engines and cheap (?) engineers. Steam is a good slave but a bad master ; and the fearful loss of life in the United States during the past forty years, from the explo- sion of steam boilers, is mainly due to bad management. Boilers are in constant use all over the country, carrying a pressure double nay, triple that for which they were intended; the safety (?) valve weight- ed down by old pieces of iron, stones, etc., to such an extent that the runner no more knows what pressure he is using, than does the stranger who is passing his door. In thousands of cases the steam-gauge, which, at least, gives the pressure when in order, is not used, or never tested ; and what was intended as a preventive, becomes, by a stop- page in the connecting pipe or a derange- ment of its machinery, a source of treach- erous security. Many a man, on being asked why he does not use a steam-gauge, will re- ply that they are not reliable, or that the safety-valve is good enough; and yet that same man is perhaps employing an engineer that could not calculate, to save his life, the amount of pressure he was carrying, or, the size of his safety-valve being given, tell its area in square inches. "We can point out places where the engines, beautifully de- signed and executed in their details, are nothing but a mass of slime and grease from bed-plate to cylinder-head, the deposit of no one knows how many weeks of inatten- tion and neglect, while a stolid runner sits calmly by, as though rather admiring the state of things than otherwise. When such is the case where every thing is visible, where is the necessity of looking among the usual- ly unsearched portions of the machine for safety and economy." A steam boiler blew up in Brooklyn a few months ago, and we went over to exam- ine it ; we were told the engineer had run an engine for some time. Whether this was true or not, the man was one who did not understand his business, as is sufficiently evident from the following reasons : his pump was small, but sufficiently large if in good order which it certainly was not ; we took out the piston with ease, and put it back again readily, although it was entirely cov- ered with the coarse gravel and sand thrown about by the explosion. The safety-valve was held in its place by a rod passing through a plate ; this rod, originally a good fit, was so firmly rusted in its place, that all the force we could exert on the end of the lever was not sufficient to move it. We unscrewed this plate, and it required two or three smart blows of the hammer to drive the rod out. In our opinion, it would have taken not less than twelve hundred pounds in the boiler to have started that valve, allowing that it had the weight upon it that we saw. The owner STATIONARY ENGINES. 255 stated that the valve always leaked more or less ; but on looking at it we were convinced that if it rested upon its seat, it never could have leaked, as it was a ground joint and a good one. We consequently came to the conclusion that the valve was not held in its place by the weight on the lever, but simply by the rust on the valve-rod or stem, the weight at the end having nothing to do with it. The safety-valve was bolted on to the steam dome with four 5-8 bolts, and was evidently blown off at the same instant as the flue collapsed, as it was found in the shop near the engine, while the boiler was thrown at least seventy-five feet against a house. We might name scores of other accidents resulting from similar causes, of which the above is a fair sample ; but it is evident enough, from what we have already said, that there is a want in the community yet un- filled one that should receive the careful attention of every public man. What we need is a law compelling the owners of steam boilers to have them inspected at least once a year, and properly provided with safety- valves and other trustworthy appliances ; it also should be imperatively their duty to employ engineers, and not mere runners. A law framed upon the United States steam- boat inspection plan would be of incalcula- ble benefit to the owners themselves, as well as the community at large. The gradual introduction of the station- ary engine has been of infinite value to our country as it is, but if rendered safe as it might be, its value would be increased four- fold. It is now no longer necessary that the manufacturer should locate beside a waterfall, and transport his manufactured goods for miles to a market; he can estab- lish himself beside the railroad, the steam- boat, nay, in the city itself, where his cus- tomers dwell. Thus, the stationary engine tends to centralize manufactures, while the locomotive and steamboat lengthen the arms of trade. The portable engine has lately come into general use, and, like the stationary, is made of various forms, in all of which it resembles the latter, with the exception of placing the engine directly upon, or against the boiler. These engines are used wherever it is neces- sary to do work sufficiently great to pay for them, but not for permanent business, such as pile driving, excavating, etc. Among the simplest of this class of engines, may be mentioned Reed's oscillator, and Hittinger, Cook & Co.'s. A portable engine manufac- tured at the Washington Iron Works, con- tains all the safety and economic appliances of the best stationary engines ; a description of these portable engines will answer for this class of machines. The boiler is tubu- lar, commonly called a locomotive boiler, and is mounted upon two large wheels at the fire-box end, and two small wheels at the smoke-box end, so fitted as to turn beneath the barrel. The steam dome is over the fire- box, and is fitted with safety-valve and steam gauge. The cylinder is fastened to a hollow frame that serves as a feed-water heater, and is placed very near the steam dome, thereby preventing radiation in the steam pipe. Upon the top of the steam chest is placed the governor. On the front of the boiler we find the smoke pipe, and, directly behind it, the main shaft and a pair of balance wheels. The next matter of interest is the arrangement of the main slide-valve of the engine, which is well known to cause much loss of power, in the ordinary construction, by the friction caused by the pressure of steam on its back. This is entirely relieved by a very simple method in this engine. The valve, which is an ordinary one, has a solid protection at each end, which rests on a roller. These rollers are made at first slightly too small, but the grinding away of the valve on its seat soon causes the projec- tions to rest on the rollers, when all the slid- ing friction at once ceases, and the valve works free from friction except that caused by the stuffing-box around its rod. It is ev- ident that this arrangement will not readily get out of order, for when the rollers wear, it brings the valve on the seat, which at once begins to wear, and the pressure once more is brought on the rollers ; hence, it is self- adjusting. The rollers being removed, re- duces it to the usual slide-valve. The force pump has been a fruitful source of trouble to all those who have ever had charge of a small steam engine having a quick motion; indeed, it frequently gives trouble in larger engines, from the accumu- lation of air in the chamber, which prevents its suction. It is usual to have attached to the lower part of the pump, or valve cham- ber, a small air-cock, and, when the pump is to start, the attendant places his finger on its extremity as soon as the plunger reaches the bottom of the pump, thus expelling the air ; then, on the rise of the plunger, a vacuum is 256 STEAM. formed, and the pump fills with water; the cock is then closed, and the pump left to it- self. As soon, however, as air collects from any defect of packing, or otherwise, the pump ceases to work, and has to be again started as before. This difficulty is entirely got rid of by the simple contrivance of an air-trap, whose valve, opening outward at each downward stroke of the pump, allows the air to escape, accompanied with a little water, and closes by the atmospheric pres- sure as the plunger rises. Within the last five years, the labor of loading and unloading vessels at our wharves has been performed by hoisting engines. These are all run at high pressure, and do the work with economy and dispatch. One of the best of these machines is made at the shop of Hittinger & Cook. The steam- er Matanzas carries one on board, to use at the other end of the route. The hoisting so much resembles the portable engine, as not to require especial explanation. In most of the steam sawmills in the United States, the fuel consists of the saw- dust made at the mills, and thus the cost of running is greatly reduced; in other en- gines, coal is almost exclusively used. In fact, the enormous amount of wood con- sumed by steam engines throughout the United States, has so called the attention of mechanics to coal-burning engines, that it is not probable we shall use wood as fuel many years longer. One of the greatest fields for economy in the use of steam, now open, is the waste of combustible gases by the chimney, commonly spoken of under the term smoke, but often consisting of the best part of the fuel, unconsumed from the lack of oxygen, and, in some cases, lack of caloric. Tubes, to conduct atmospheric air to the sur- face of the fire, have been in use some time, also the perforation of the fire door ; but the tubes being exposed to an intense heat, soon become of no value, and the openings at the door and sides of the fire-box only partially supply the oxygen. A Mr. Pierce, of Troy, has patented a plan for surrounding the air tubes with water, thus protecting a passage direct to the middle of the fire ; we have not seen this plan tried, but think it would be a source of economy. Stationary engines being the most plenty, it is upon them that are tried nearly all the new experiments. At the present time, the use of super-heated steam is attracting a great deal of attention. In order to under- stand this subject, it is necessary that we should look closely into the nature of steam itself. It would defeat the purpose of this article if we were to go into a lengthy argu- ment upon the relative merits of the various theories that have been advanced by scien- tific men upon steam, and, consequently, we shall merely give our own opinions upon the subject opinions at which we have arrived by careful study and experience, it being understood that the laws of steam are at best comparatively unknown. The analyza- tion of simple steam is yet to be made ; we will, however, call it water converted into an aeriform state by the electrization of its particles by caloric. Simple steam does not-, however, in the present construction of boil- ers, come into use as a motor, from the follow- ing reason : steam has the same affinity for liquids that all fluids have, forming an elec- tro-magnetic combination to which there is no barrier ; it will then absorb and hold in suspension particles of water whenever in direct contact therewith, and, consequently, all steam formed in the boiler will hold in suspension a portion of water, and become, in lieu of simple, surcharged steam. Thus, steam at 20 Ibs. to the square inch holds in suspension nearly double its weight of water. What is the effect of this ? First, the water thus carried off in suspension is at the maximum, temperature, or equal to that of the steam containing it, and the in- vested heat of this water is not only wasted to a great extent, but these water particles become a very serious tax upon the real steam with which they are admixed, as fol- lows : having been heated under the maxi- mum pressure of the steam with which they are incorporated, they have a corresponding temperature, and as the latter, the steam, expands in the steam pipes, on its way to the cylinder, and in the cylinder itself, the pressure becoming correspondingly less, these particles flash partially into steam, but not containing the total amount of heat neces- sary to their constitution as elastic vapor, they absorb into the "latent" form a quota of heat from the surrounding particles of true steam, thus condensing them ; for steam, be it remembered, can part with no portion of its legitimate heat without condensation (unless it be super-heat, of which presently), it being understood that the absorption of sensible heat (temperature) into the " latent" form, and which is the exact measure of the force exerted by steam under all circum- STATIONARY ENGINES. 257 stances, whether usefully realized or not, is not here meant as a loss of heat. That there is a loss by direct condensation because of the presence and action of these water particles as explained, may seem to some at the first glance a paradox, but there is in the case of steam, and between the particles of all matter, a certain impetus and momentum in the transference of that unknown some- thing, which is their " vis viva" or cause of elasticity. The electrician knows this well ; vide the "lateral discharge" and return stroke. Again, for more common place example, fasten by one extremity a straight spring, bend it, release it, it flies back, not to its original position of rest or neutral point, but far beyond, though finally it will settle there. And so it might be held that the particles of steam would make " reprisal," so to speak, of the heat stolen by the particles of water flashing into steam, as set forth ; and so they do, but meantime the piston is moving on, and this heat, the source of the elastic force of the steam, cannot, it will be evident, be acting efficiently in two or more directions at the same time ; but this is not all, the more watery particles in the steam, the more heat wasted by conduction to, and radiation from, the steam pipes, cylinders, etc. Water is classed as a non-conductor of heat to a high degree, but it is a medium radiator, and it vastly exceeds steam and other aeriform fluids in both these respects. This, to a great extent, accounts for the sud- den falling off of power during " priming," so well known. But there is still another, as it were, negative loss due to this water carried off in the steam, because, by its minute subdivision, it exposes an immense surface to heat, particularly radiated heat, that might be brought to act upon it, and thus quickly transform it into perfect steam, much augmenting the volume of the whole, and being generated at less cost than the first portion which held it in suspension ; and it is through the avoidance of the evils before mentioned as due to these water particles, and the gain produced by their conversion into elastic steam, that so much economy is found in the use of super-heated steam, which is steam that has received an excess of heat (temperature) beyond that normally due to its pressure when in direct contact with the water from whence it em- anated. The system, however, is fallacious, because pure steam, and all other known aeriform fluids, expand only about l-540th 16 part of their volume, at the ordinary atmos- pheric temperature, for each degree of Fah. additional forced upon them. Pure steam thus, say at twenty pounds to the square inch, would require to be elevated to a tem- perature of about eight hundred Fahrenheit to double its volume if under a constant pressure, or to double its pressure if under a constant volume (the quantity of heat being, however, very different in the two cases) ; whereas the mere added temperature in this case would correspond to that of simple steam at a pressure of about seven hundred and fifty pounds to the square inch, not to mention that such, and far less temperatures, would destroy all packings, prevent lubrica- tion, cause " cutting," warp valves, etc. There are other practical defects. Although there is no difficulty in super-heating the steam to any desired extent according to the size of the super-heating vessel and the part of the smoke or fire space in which it may be located, yet it is very difficult, if not im- practicable, to maintain a proper average un- der the influence of fluctuating fires at one time in full glow, at another freshly trimmed, and an uneven draft, damp or dry, weak or strong ; the engine at one time under full motion, and a rapid flow of steam passing through the super-heater, and at another time the engine stopped, and there being little or no flow of moist steam through it to protect it from being overheated and "burnt out," or rendered brittle and insecure. Hence, if super-heating be attempted at all, it should be to the minimum degree, and not with the expectation of an important access of power that no degree will afford, but only to an extent sufficient to supply radiation from the various parts of the en- gine, etc., during the travel and action of the steam, thus preventing its condensation, which, to a given extent, involves not only that much immediate loss, but the more im- portant coactive evils due to the presence of watery particles. The great and main object, then, is accomplished by the produc- tion and use of simple (dry) steam ; any modicum of water present possessing but the negative advantage of supplying lubrica- tion, and any " super" heat, that of supplying radiation. We have dwelt at some length upon the laws of steam, but at best we can do but little justice to the subject, and, as we have already said, this article is intended mainly as a statement of the effects rather than the 258 STEAM. causes, still we could not refrain from touch- ing upon a subject that has already and is destined still to attract so much attention as this. We cannot leave this branch of the sub- ject without alluding to the new pumping engine lately erected at the Brooklyn Water Works. The impression is still generally prevalent that gravitation supplies of water for cities are cheaper and better in all cases where it is even possible to have them. It is plain, however, from numerous results throughout Europe and America, that the annual cost represented by the interest on the capital expended for gravitation supplies, except in special instances, far exceeds the annual cost of interest and maintenance in- curred by properly arranged steam supplies, and that the quality of the water obtained is generally superior. In this respect, the contrast between New York and Brooklyn, which cannot be detailed here, is conclusive. This engine was built at Hartford, Conn., by Messrs. Woodruff OO O' *oo III ii s g S"? ? O> 3> Ci O CO CO - )C/> O IQCaOiOCiC" * 5 r-i CJ'OOOCntOOOar 'ib. 1|. 'co'o tn'toai'* co I i f , X > >M 00*.c M-I,O.^ .^.. ooo^> >S!a3 o*^^o* cnmu- > ' ^o^p os-P 5 ~' '^ ^ ^* -* * OOO 4*- O **. rf^ O *-* O Ot to -3 Or ^ O -* O UCT V tots co^ y t- 1 CO O O . >p '' 2 X ^ to 01 ; ' v. '. to vi r^. 10 > j^ 5 2, CJoo i-^ii o os os C" i toon t*r6f SOO OsiJ*V O O^-IOOO^ COO*-O" ' OO O5OO O OOO < O O CJIO5OO l-l *. O - OL <3> *- OS tO ODtO O" OM OO CO O tO to to tomoo 284 COTTON MANUFACTURES. Such had been the immense growth of the manufacture in ten years from the time the Lowell mills were started, when but little ma- chine cloth was made; but in 1831, there was made, it appears, 230,461, 990 yards, or nearly twenty yards per head of all the people. It is obvious that this large and sudden pro- duction of cloth could have found vent only by supplanting the work of families and hand looms, and of course by pressing hard upon the spinners of yarn. The New Eng- land mills were mostly carried on as one concern,- spinning and manufacturing to- gether. This, however, is not the case with the mills in the middle or the new states. The mills there are mostly employed in spin- ning only, as were the first New England mills. The yarns are produced for sale to hand looms. The census of 1840 gave the number of mills in the whole country at 1,240, and the number of spindles at 2,284,- 631, consuming 132,835,856 Ibs. of cotton; and the manufacture had continued to spread into the southern and western states. That was still hand weaving, which yet obtains in many parts of the older states of the Union. Thus, while in Pennsylvania the capital invested amounts to about one-seventh of that of Massachusetts, the quantity of cot- ton consumed is one-fifth ; the value of the raw material, not quite one-fourth; number of operatives (male and female), one-fourth ; value of products, rather more than one- fourth ; the number of pounds of yarn spun and sold as yarn is above thirty times greater in Pennsylvania than in Massachusetts. This, to a certain extent, gives a key to the differ- ences in the modes of manufacture in the two states. There can be no doubt, however, that domestic weaving is gradually giving way, and those manufacturers, especially in Pennsylvania, who formerly did a prosperous business as spinners only, now find that the eastern states supply the piece goods at a rate so little above the cost of the yarn, that it is not worth the while of the farmer to continue this primitive custom of weaving his own cloth. Thus the domestic loom is fast following the spinning wheel of the early settlers, and those manufacturers who until recently have spun yarn only, are gradually introducing the power loom as the only means of sustaining their position in the market. This was illustrated by the Eagle Cotton Mill, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. For- merly, the proprietors spun yarn only, and did a successful trade ; but, by a return which they made, it appears that in six establishments under their direction they had introduced already 540 looms to the 26,000 spindles, and were manufacturing sheeting at the rate of 6,000,000 yards per annum, together with twilled cotton bags, batting, and yarns, and this in order to make the latter pay, by consuming the surplus 3^arns themselves. In the Penn Cotton Mill, Pittsburg, the more modern system had be- come the rule of the establishment, and with 7,000 spindles and 207 looms, 2,730,000 yards of shirtings were produced annually, besides 240,000 Ibs. weight of colored yarns for cotton warps and cotton rope. At two establishments in Richmond, Virginia, the consumption of the yarn in the manufacture of piece goods was the rule. Georgia, Ten- nessee, and North Carolina are quoted as those in which the greater progress had been made, while Virginia, South Carolina, and Alabama were the next. In Tennessee, spin- ning would appear to be the rule and manu- facturing the exception ; in Georgia and North Carolina, equal attention is paid to both ; while in Virginia, South Carolina, and Alabama the manufacture of the piece goods is decidedly more extensively carried on than spinning ; only slave labor is largely used, with free whites as overseers and instructors. The males are heads of departments, ma- chinists, dressers, etc., and the females are spinners and weavers. The latter are chiefly adults, though children from twelve to fif- teen are employed. The average hours of work here are twelve, but vary a little with the season, very full time being the rule. The James River Mill produces a large weight of work for the extent of its machin- ery. The goods manufactured are coarse cottons, and average about two and one-half yards to the pound, shirtings twenty-eight inches wide (osnaburgs), summer panta- loons for slaves, and bagging for export to the Brazils for sugar bags, running about three yards to the pound. Bagging of a lighter character for grain, and thirty -six inch osnaburgs, two yards to the pound, are also produced. The Manchester Company manu- facture sheetings, shirtings, and yarns, and employ about 325 operatives ; the children being of the same average age as at the James River Mill. Mr. Whitehead, of Virginia, in 1853, perfected a patent speeder. Its ad- vantages are a greater speed, a more even roving, and a bobbin of any desirable size, which never becomes spongy in the wind- MANUFACTURE IN AMERICA SPINNING PROGRESS. 285 ing. In Maryland, however, there were twenty-four establishments in 1850, chiefly engaged in the manufacture of piece goods, such as drillings, sheetings, ducks, osna- burgs, and bagging. The yarns produced for domestic purposes bear but a small pro- portion to those manufactured into cloth, and these are chiefly sold within the state for the home weaving of mixed fabrics of wool and cotton, forming coarse linseys. If the illustrations given show the early pro- gress and position of this manufacture in the United States, so far as daily-recurring im- provements and ever-increasing wants have permitted it to remain in its original form, the manufacturing towns of Lowell, Man- chester, and Lawrence, strikingly demonstrate the results of the energy and enterprise of the manufacturers of New England. At Lowell, Mass., the cotton manufacture has been developed in a form which has been a theme for many writers on the economy and social bearing of the factory system ; and the plans so successfully put into operation here and carried on since 1822 have led to the erection of large establishments, with their attendant boarding-houses, at Man- chester, N. H., and more recently at Law- rence, Mass. The falls of the Pawtucket on the Merrimac river and the Pawtucket canal, which had previously been used only for the purpose of navigation and connecting the river above and below the falls by means of locks, presented to the original projectors of Lowell a site for the solution of an important problem, not only in Ameri- can industry, but to a great extent in that of Europe itself. This was the combina- tion of great natural advantages with a large and well-directed capital, resulting in extensive and systematic operations for the realization of a legitimate profit, while the social position of the operative classes was sedulously cared for, and their moral and intellectual elevation promoted and secured. The census of 1860 gave figures that show the extent of the manufacture as it existed at that date, in all the states. Those figure* are as follows : COTTON MANUFACTURES OF THE UNITED STATES PER CENSUS OF 1860. No. of States. Establish- ments. Maine 19 New Hampshire 44 Vermont 8 Massachusetts 217 Rhode Island..., 153 Connecticut 129 New York 79 Pennsylvania ., 185 New Jersey 44 Delaware.. 11 Maryland 20 District of Columbia. . 1 Ohio 8 Indiana . . , 2 Illinois 3 Utah 1 Missovri 2 Kentucky 6 Virginia 16 North Carolina 39 South Carolina 17 Georgia , 33 Florida 1 Alabama 14 Louisiana 2 Texas 1 Mississippi 4 Arkansas 2 Tennessee 30 Total 1,091 Total in 1850 1,074 Capital Cost of raw material. Male hands. Female hands. Cost of labor. Value of products. $6,018,325 $3,319,335 1,828 4,936 $1,368,888 $6,235,623 12,586,880 7,128,196 3,829 8,901 2,883,804 13,699,994 271,200 181,030 157 222 78,468 357,450 33,704,674 17,214,592 13,691 24,760 7,798,476 38,004,255 10,052,200 5,799,223 6,353 7,724 2,847,804 12.151,191 6,627,000 4,028,406 4,028 4,974 1,743,480 8,911,387 5,383,479 3,061,105 3,107 4,552 1,405,292 6,676,878 9,203,460 7,386,213 6,412 8,582 2,768,340 13,650,114 1,320,550 1,165,435 1,010 1,524 468,336 2,217,728 582,500 570,102 520 589 218,352 941,703 2,254,500 1,698,413 1,093 1,594 582,780 2,973,877 45,000 47,403 70 25 19,800 74,400 265,000 374,100 372 468 151,164 723,500 251,000 229,925 177 190 84,888 344,350 4,700 11,930 10 1 2,640 18,987 6,000 6,000 4 3 3,420 10,000 169,000 110,000 85 85 30,600 230,000 244,000 214,755 130 116 41,280 315,270 1,367,543 811,187 694 747 260,856 1,489,971 1,272,750 622,363 449 1,315 189,744 1,046,047 801,825 431,525 342 549 123,300 713,050 2,126,103 1,466,375 1,131 1,682 415,332 2,371,207 30,000 23,600 40 25 7,872 40,000 1,316,000 617,633 543 769 198,408 1,040,147 1,000,000 226,600 220 140 49,440 466,500 450,000 64,140 130 . . 15,600 80,695 230,000 79,800 106 109 36,264 176,328 37,000 11,600 14 11 4,428 23,000 965,000 384,548 323 576 139,180 698,122 98,585,269 57,285,534 46,859 75,169 23,940,168 115,681,774 76,032,578 37,778,064 35,295 62,661 17,267,112 65,501,687 Increase. 17 $22,552,691 $19,507,470 11,364 12,508 $6,672,996 $50,180,087 286 COTTON MANUFACTURES. CHAPTER III. INTENTIONS MODE OF MANUFACTURE- PRINTING AGGREGATE. WHILE the manufacture has thus spread over the face of the Union, the pioneer mills, or those which are erected in new locali- ties, are generally employed in the spinning of yarn of coarse sorts ; the old mills gradually spinning finer yarn, and attaching weaving and printing to their operations. In the whole period, however, of the past forty years, continued improvements have been made in machines and in power. Those mills that came into operation with fresh capital and the newest machines, had always advantages over those which still worked the old machines. The introduction of steam as a motor also favored the introduction of mills into localities that were not provided with water, and many persons contended that steam was cheaper and better even where water power existed. The latter was improved in its turn by the introduction of turbine wheels, which are a steady and suf- ficient power. The streams of New England were by art made to contribute in a wonder- ful manner to the work of factories. The works at Holyoke, Mass., are a singular in- stance of genius and enterprise. In the machines themselves, the greatest improve- ments have been continually made, in this country, as well as abroad. We have men- tioned the American gin of Whitney, which, by enabling cotton to be cleaned, laid the foundation of the whole trade. The card-sticking machine, the steel die of Per- kins, ring spindle of Jenks, the improved throstle of M'Cully, the tube-frame, the patent size of Mallerd, of Lowell, are among the most important of a crowd of inventions that have been made by American mechanics, and every few years a new mill starts in some quarter, with all these combined. The ring spindle of Mr. Jenks is very curious, and is producing important results. That gentle- man was a pupil of Slater, and has an establishment for the manufacture of cotton machinery near Philadelphia, since 1810. On the starting of the Lowell mills, Mr. Moody invented a number of machines, viz : a loom, a filling frame, a double speeder, a governor, and also what is called the "dead spindle," in distinction to the " live spindle," which was the English invention. The dead spindle is mostly used in Lowell. Mr. Jenks' ring spindle is, however, superseding both, inasmuch as that it produces more and better yarn. The spindle of this improved frame has no fly, but has a small steel ring, called a traveller, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, with a slit for the insertion of the thread, which is wound by the ring travelling around the bobbin, being held in its horizontal plane, during its circuit, by an iron ring loosely embraced by its lower end and fastened upon the traversing rail, being sufficiently large to allow the head of the bobbin, as well as the traveller, to pass through without touching. This plan of spindle may be driven 8,000 revolutions per minute with perfect security when spinning coarse yarn, and when producing the finer numbers, 10,000 revolutions per minute is not an extraordinary speed for it to attain ; the yarn produced in either case being su- perior in strength and character to the yarn produced by the other throstles at a greatly reduced speed. The manufacture, as at present conducted, is a most beautiful and complicated art. The raw material is divided into long staple, medium staple, and short staple. The staple means simply the length of the fibre, and it is characteristic of the origin of the article. The first or long staple is used for the warps, or the longitudinal threads of a cloth. These threads must be made of long staple ; no other kind of cotton will spin into the fine numbers. The medium staple is used for the " weft," or cross threads of tissues. It is softer and silkier than the long staple, and fills up the fabric better. The long staple will not answer for this purpose. The quantity of cotton in the weft of cloth is from two to five times as much as that in the warp. The short staple is used for weft, but it is harsher and more like wool, and after washing or bleaching it makes the cloth meagre and thin. It is mixed with the medium staple in small proportions. This last and almost, when alone, useless sort is that which comes from India, and the first or long staple is " sea island," raised on our southern coast. The medium staple, or that which is required for the great bulk of the manufactures, is alone found in the United States. It is that kind called " uplands," bowed Georgia, or New Orleans. The quality is a result of climate and soil. The cotton having reached the mill, it is requisite that all of the same staple, but of different qualities, should be well mixed, to INVENTIONS MODE OF MANUFACTURE PRINTING AGGREGATE. give as uniform a character as possible to the cloth. To attain this, the contents of a bale are spread out upon the floor, and upon it another is scattered, and so on until a huge pile, called a " bing," has been raised ; a rake is then used to scrape down from the sides, thus mixing the whole as the cotton is required for the mill. This cotton is matted together and filled with dirt, sometimes by design to increase the weight fraudulently. It must, therefore, first of all be cleaned and the fibres loosened. For this purpose several machines are used. The favorite is a patent Willey, which is composed of two iron axles on a level with each other, each having four stout steel teeth. The teeth of both axles mesh together as they revolve, and also the fixed teeth attached to the inner casing of the box which contains them. These axles revolve 1,600 times in a minute, opening out the fibres and beating out the dirt from the cotton, which is blown through a tube by a revolving fan. The second machine through which the cotton passes is the spreading machine, the object of which is to perfect the clean- ing and loosening of the fibres. The cot- ton being carefully weighed and spread upon the feeding apron, passes in between a pair of rollers, where it meets the action of blunt knives revolving 1,700 times in a minute. The cotton coming from this ma- chine is flattened into a filmy sheet of uni- form thickness, and wound upon a roller. It is of the greatest importance that this feed- ing should be done evenly, as otherwise the " lap," as it winds upon the roller, will have thin and thick places, which will run through the subsequent manufacture. The laps that come from the spreader wound on rollers, are now to go through the third process, that of carding. The machine for this purpose we have described. It re- ceives the end of the lap from the roller of the spreader, and by its operation combs out and straightens the cotton into a delicate fleece, which the " doffer" delivers through a funnel, whence it is drawn com- pressed, elongated, and consolidated by a pair of rollers, that drop it into a tin can. To the observer it appears like a stream of cream running into the tin can. For very fine yarns, this process is repeated with finer cards. The first carding is then called breaking. The fourth process for the cotton is the drawing. Hitherto the cotton has passed only through male hands ; with the drawing it passes into those of females. The slivers, as they are dropped into the tin can from the carding machine, are exceedingly tender and loose, and the fibres are not yet arranged in the position proper for the manufacture of smooth yarn. This is to be perfected by the rollers of the drawing frame ; some frames have three pairs of rollers and others four. The distance between the pairs of rollers is such that the longest fibre of cotton will not reach from the centre of one roller to that of another pair. This prevents breakjng the fibres, but the rollers must not be too far apart, lest the cotton separate in unequal thicknesses. The " doubling," by which the end of a new sliver is laid on the middle of one running in, equalizes the sliver. The more it is doubled and drawn, the more per- fect is the yarn, and this doubling is done sometimes 32,000 times. The fifth operation is the roving, or first spinning process. The slivers un- der the action of the drawing frame be- come so thin and tender they will no longer hold together without a twist, and many machines are used for the purpose of imparting it, under the names of slubbin, fly frame, belt speeder, tube frame, and others. The operation is performed one or more times, according to the fineness of the yarn desired. The cans which receive the slivers from the drawing frames are placed upon revolving wheels, and the sliver passes from these to the fly frame. This came into use in 1817. In this frame the spindles are set vertically in one or two rows at equal distances apart, each passing through a bobbin, which is loosely attached to it, and which has a play equal to its length up and down on the spindle ; at the top of the spin- dle is suspended a fly with two dependent legs, one solid, and the other hollow. The roving enters this by an eye immediately above the top of the spindle, and passing down the hollow leg attaches to the bobbin. The revolving spindle carries the fly with it, spinning and winding the roving at the same time. At this point enters a very nice calculation. The roller on which the roving is wound delivers it with the exact speed of the spindle, but as the size of the bobbin on the latter increases, it going at the same speed would take up the yarn faster than the roller would deliver it, and would strain it too much. This is avoided by a contrivance which varies the speed of the bobbin to meet 288 COTTON MANUFACTURES. the circumstances. The rovings having re- ceived this twist, are now to be spun into yarn, and this is done either by the throstle or the mule spinner. The difference in the motion and structure of these machines is not great. The former is similar to the bobbin and fly frame. The roving being unwound from the bobbin is elongated between three pairs of rollers, and is then spun and wound upon a bobbin as before. The greatest differ- ence in these machines is in the spindles. The oldest is the live spindle, and the dead spindlf is that invented at Lowell, and that which has been most used here. The ring spindle of Jenks is fast superseding both. The thread being spun by any of these means is wound upon bobbins, and these are then set in a frame in such a manner that the threads can be wound off from them on to a large six-sided reel. This, one and a half yards in circumference, makes 560 revolutions, giving the length of a " hank ;" many hanks are wound on the reel at the same time, and when these are removed and weighed they give the number of the yarn. The coarsest yarn weighs half a pound to the hank, or 840 yards ; common quality gives ten to forty hanks to the pound. The finest seldom exceeds 300 hanks to the pound. Previous to 1840 no yarn finer than 350 was made in England ; at the World's Fair there was some exhibited 600, and some muslin for a dress for the queen was made of 460 yarn. This exceeds the "fairy tissues" of the east, mentioned in the fore part of this article. Thus machinery has overtaken east- ern hand art. It has been stated that yarn has been spun 900, and one specimen of No. 2,150, or 1,026 miles for a pound of cotton! The finest yarns are singed by being run through a gas flame ; they are then passed over a brush and run through a hole in a piece of brass just large enough to admit the yarn. Any inequality then stops the yarn and is immediately remedied. Upon most of the machines, throstles, and feeders there are clocks, which, wound up once a week, mark the quantity of work that each ma- chine does. From this register the account is transferred to a board which hangs in sight of all the operatives, and from which the monthly wages are ascertained. The yarn being spun, the filling is now ready for the weaver, but the warp goes to the dressing-room. Here the yarn is warped off from the spools on to the section beams. This is considered hard work, since it re- quires unremitting attention to reconnect the threads that are constantly breaking. The yarn now upon the beams undergoes " dressing," or the application of the size before mentioned, and the friction of the brushes. The beams containing the dressed yarn go to the weaving-room, which usually is a large mill containing one hundred and fifty girls, and some six hundred looms. From this room the woven fabric goes to the cloth-room, where it is trimmed, measured, folded, and recorded, and either baled for market or sent to the print-works. The print-works are a most interesting portion of the manufacture. The cloth re- ceived from the manufactory is covered with a fine nap, which, if printed, Avould rise up and give the colored parts a pepper-and-salt look. To get rid of this, the cloth is singed ; not asy the cook singes a fowl, by a blaze, but by running the cloth over a half-cylinder of copper, heated red hot. The cloth is passed over dry, and repassed; after which it is moistened by wet rollers, to extinguish any shreds which might happen to be on fire. This singeing process always excites the wonder of the beholder, who is not a little astonished that the cloth is not injured. The next process is to bleach the cloth. On the success of this depends all the after- work. A good white is not only the soul of a print, but without it no good and bril- liant color can be dyed. The greatest diffi- culty is to remove every trace of grease and oil, imparted by the spinner and weaver. The cloth is, therefore, put into big tubs, holding five hundred pieces, and steeped in warm water some hours. It is then washed in the dash-wheel, and subjected to the follow- ing operations, which convert the oil to soap, and remove with it the coloring matter : 1. Boiled by steam in a creamy lime. 2. Washed in the dash-wheel. 3. Boiled in alkali by steam. 4. Washed in the dash-wheel. 5. Steeped in bleaching-powder solution some hours. 6. Steeped in oil vitriol and water, about the strength of lemon juice. 7. Washed in the dash-wheel. 8. Squeezed between rollers. 9. Mangled and dried in air, or in warm rooms built for this purpose. The cloth is now perfectly white, and loses not so much in weight and strength as by the old process of grass bleaching. The bleached cloth is now printed with one or INVENTIONS MODE OF MANUFACTURE PRINTING AGGREGATE. 289 more colors. Four to six colors only could be applied by the printing machine up to 1845 ; if more were wanted, they were, until recently, introduced by hand, with blocks, after the other colors were finished. By a Boston invention, patented in 1851, twelve colors may now be printed. The improve- ment consists in the mode of applying pres- sure to the print rollers. A yielding pres- sure of several tons is given to each roller. The frame is also so constructed that any one of the rollers may be removed from the ma- chine without disturbing the others. The machine weighs ten tons, and is ten feet high. This huge machine is so nicely ad- justed that the cloth, while passing through it at the rate of a mile per hour, receives twelve colors each with the utmost precision. Ordinary machines will print 300 pieces, or 12,000 yards, per day, while, by the old hand process, it would have required 192,- 646 applications of the block. The figure, or design, is engraved on a copper roller, each color having a separate roller. The color which the beholder sees imprinted, as he watches the process, is not the color that is to be, when the print is finished. The color which he sees is, with the exception of brown, or blue, or black occasionally, fugitive. It is merely what is called " sightening" that is, a color imparted to the paste, or " thickening," which is imprinted by the roller to enable the machine printer to judge of the perfectness of the work. The paste, or thickening, contains the mordant that is, the peculiar substance which, combining chemically with the cloth, enables it to dye a peculiar color, according to the nature of the mordant and dye-wood. The cloth dyes only where the mordant is applied that is, on the printed figure only. The mordants generally used are alum and copperas, each of which is first changed to acetate of alu- mina, or iron that is, the color-maker takes away the oil of vitriol from the alum and copperas, and substitutes vinegar in its place. Sometimes the iron liquor, as it is called, is made by dissolving iron turnings in pyrolig- neous or wood acid. The preparation of color, and the thickening it with flour, starch, gum, etc., is a distinct branch, carried on in the color shop of the print-works. It may be added, that with madder, iron dyes black and purple, according to its strength ; alum dyes red of various shades; and a mixture of the two dyes chocolate. So that out of the same dye-kettle come various 18 colors, according to the mordant, and these colors are all fast. The cloth having been printed and dried, is " aged," during which a chemical combi- nation takes place between the mordant and the cloth. Ordinarily, this occurs in two or three weeks by a natural affinity of the cotton fibre and mordant, but by certain agents, this chemical change is hastened and perfectly effected in two or three days ; yet as this process goes on in conjunction with the others, the visitor sees only the folding up and winding into rolls of the piece of cloth, though all the time this change is going on. The cloth is then passed, by means of rollers, through a boiling hot solur tion of phosphate of soda, to render insolu- ble any uncombined mordant, and to wet the cloth evenly. It is then washed in the dash-wheel, and after this, to remove the thickening, passed for twenty, or thirty min- utes through bran or meal and water, quite hot, washed, and it is now ready for dyeing. The dye-woods used are madder, bark, or logwood the last only for mourning prints, or black and white. The dye-wood is put into large wooden vats, with a portion of water, and then the pieces of cloth, sixteen in each vat, are introduced over a winch, moved by water power. Steam is then admitted, the goods turned through and through, round and round, gradually heat- ing the water, till at the end of two hours it rises near to boiling, and the mordanted cloth is perfectly dyed. It is taken out, rinsed, and washed in the dash-wheel. The cloth after this is passed, by means of a winch, either through hot water and bran or through hot soap, for half an hour, washed, and then again put through these operations, again washed, and then rinsed through a hot solution of chloride of soda, washed again, squeezed, and dried in either air or in warm rooms. Sometimes they are mangled with some stiffening, and so are finished. The visitor of print works will see a great number of men busily employed dipping wooden frames, on which are stretched pieces of cloth, printed with a brown figure, into deep vats, filled with a green- blue liquor. The cloth comes out with a greenish hue, and immediately grows blue in the air on all parts, except where the brown figure was. That resists, or throws off the blue vat. Now, the blue vat contains a solu- tion of indigo in lime water. Indigo is one of the most insoluble substances in water ; 290 COTTON MANUFACTURES. but by means of copperas and lime, the oxygen of the indigo is abstracted by the iron ; it then becomes greenish and is dis- solved by the lime-water. Exposed to air, it again absorbs oxygen and becomes blue. It is during this change from green to blue that it becomes chemically united to the cloth. The brown figure resists, because it is a preparation of copper, which yields its oxygen to the indigo on the figure while in the vat. The figure becomes covered with blue indigo in the vat ; it forms then no affinity with the cloth, and consequently after the copper has been removed by a weak acid, the brown spot or figure remains white, and so is produced the blue ground with white figures. The whole is a most exquisite chemical process from beginning to end, equalled only by the process for China blue, where blue figures are raised on a white ground. This is done by printing on the figure with fine ground indigo thickened with paste, and then by alternate immer- sions in lime water and copperas liquor, the indigo is dissolved and fixed on the spots where printed, by a play of chemical affini- ties similar to those described in blue dip- ping. Black and white, and red or chocolate and white, are made by passing the cloth through red or iron liquor, or their mixture, and after squeezing, while the cloth is open and flat, that is dried in hot flues. Every part of the cloth is thus imbued with mor- dant. The process is termed "pading." It is then printed with citric acid (lemon juice) thickened with roasted starch. This acid discharges the mordant, and conse- quently, when dyed as usual, the discharged figures are left white. Logwood is the dye for black, and madder is the dye for reds and chocolates. The designing of patterns is a distinct branch of art. Usually, one or more designers are employed in each estab- lishment. In the year 1840, there were thirty-six cotton-printing establishments in the United States. These were in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. They printed 100,112,000 yards, at a value of $11,667,512. The exports of cotton goods from the United States in 1827 were valued at $951,- 000 for plain white cloths; $45,120 printed and colored ; $163,293 for yarn, etc. ; making together $1,159,413. In 1857, the exports of white had run to $3,463,230 ; and of printed to $1,785,685 ; dark and other manu- facture, $866,262 ; together, $6,115,117. The American cottons are much in demand in China, in consequence of their heavier qual- ity than the English or Chinese goods. The value of cotton goods imported in 1856 was $25,917,999 ; and the average for the last six- teen years was $16,758,418. The value per head of United States cotton goods consumed was, for 1856, $2.40 ; and of foreign goods, sixty cents. The imported goods are mostly of the finer description, nearly all from Eng- land and Scotland, and mostly into the port of New York, under the credit system of sales. We may here add the progress of the trade in Great Britain, as it is given in the factory inspector's official report : Horse power. Spindles. 1851, 134,21T 1857, 161,435 25,638,114 38,503,580 Looms. Cotton used. Ibs. 301,445 757,879,749 369,205 1,028,886,528 The following comparative figures will show the decline in the cost of the yarn, as a result of machinery : No. 40 yarn. 1812. 1830. 1857. Hanks per spindle per day. 200 275 275 Cotton per Ib $0 36 $0 14 $0 12 Labor " " 024 015 010 Cost yarn " 060 029 022 The manufacture progresses in this coun- try according to the wants of the population, and these wants increase in the two-fold ratio of more means and greater numbers. The progress here is also more steady than it is abroad, for the reason that the demands of the people are not curtailed by those period-: ical famines, which abroad cause every other consideration to yield to that of food. We may sum in the following table the progress of the manufacture since 1809 : COTTON MANUFACTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 1809 . . . No. of Factories. 62 Spindles. 31 000 Hands. 4 000 Cotton used. Ibs. 3 600 000 Yards cloth made. Capital 1810 168 90 800 1820 250 572 9 945 609 1831 795 1 246 503 57 466 77 757 316 230 461 990 $40 614 984 1840 . . 1,240 2 284 631 72 119 132 835 856 398 507 568 51 10 1 ' .359 1850 1,074 4,052 000 97 956 276 074 100 828 222 300 76 0.32 578 I860.. ..1,091 5.235.727 122.028 437.905.0.36 1.148 '>52.40fi 98.585. 2fi9 PAPER: ITS MANUFACTURE. 291 The figures for 1809 are those of Mr. Gal- latin, and those of 1810 those of the United States marshal, also those for 1820. Those for 1831 are taken from the report of the com- mittee before alluded to, and the succeeding ones from the decennial censuses. Although the returns for 1860 have not yet been offici- ally published, the figures given have been copied from the revised records, and are, be- lieved to be substantially accurate. The above table shows that in 1830 the cotton spun was six and a half pounds per head ; in 1 840, eight pounds per head ; in!850, ten and a quarter pounds per head ; and in 1860, fif- teen pounds per head, being in the double ratio of numbers and wealth, and showing that the United States are the largest consumers of cotton goods in the world. The United States now consume nearly as much raw cotton per annum as Great Britain did in 1838-9 ; that is to say, Great Britain at that date consumed 442,691,877 Ibs., and the United States this year 357,185,523 Ibs. Thus the manufacture in the United States this year for home consumption equals what Great Britain produced for home consumption and her vast export trade in 1839, or twenty years since. In this progress of manufacture there has been a steady decline in price. In 1815 the price of cotton cloth was forty cents; in 1822, twenty-two cents; and at this time four to ten cents. In those figures we have the secret of the great dissemi- nation of machine goods. The price of a good calico is now twelve yards to a bushel of wheat. Forty years ago, it was one yard for a bushel of wheat. The quality of the goods at the same time has improved in a greater ratio. The handsome prints that now replace the "factory checks" of that day, show as great a change as does the price. PAPER: ITS MANUFACTURE. CHAPTER I. MATERIALS PKOGRESS. IF the question were put, " What single ar- ticle has been of the greatest service to man- kind ?" mature reflection would, we think, decide upon paper as that article, since it has been the means by which thought and ideas have been diffused, not only among cotemporaries, but preserved, and, as it were, accumulated in magazines for future expansion and growth. All other inventions, and per- haps the whole growth of civilization, are due to the material of paper. Every branch of knowledge is reached, and every avenue to the wisdom of great minds and the results of genius are explored only by means of paper, and its blessings are diffused through all ranks of society. Even he who, wrapt in his igno- rance, despises " book laming," enjoys a part of those benefits of civilization which paper has been the means of imparting to all. Like al- most all great blessings, however, it has been developed most rapidly and completely in the United States. Almost all vegetable sub- stances were used for the manufacture of pa- per by our ancestors, but it was not until the fourteenth century that linen rags became generally the material. The first German paper mill was established at Nuremberg in 1390; some English manuscripts, however, date as far back as 1340, on linen paper. The first English mill mentioned is in 1496, by John Tate, jun., in Hertfordshire. In 1588 a paper mill was started at Dartford. It is to be conceived, however, that in that age, when books and newspapers were little used, and walls Avere draped with cloth, that paper was not much in demand, and many improvements were not made in the manu- facture. In the early part of the eighteenth century, the manufacture was introduced into the colonies. Mr. J. M. Willcox, a paper maker near Philadelphia, stated that in 1725 his grandfather, who had been educated a paper maker, came over and settled where the mill now is, and he erected in 1732 a mill for the manufacture of paper. The kind of paper then made was of the description*used by clothiers for press-boards, for the pressing of cloth. There existed at that time an act f parliament against the manufacture of any other kind of paper in the colonies. There were at that time two other mills in the same 292 PAPER: ITS MANUFACTURE. business, one near Boston and another near Philadelphia. The demand for paper at that time, either for books or newspapers, was small, and not of a character to attract much capital into the business. When the war came on, a demand sprung up, and Mr. Will- cox manufactured the paper for the conti- nental money, and at the same time com- menced making writing paper for the first time in America. The Massachusetts Bay assembly, in 1728, passed an act for the encouragement of the paper manufacture. They granted to Daniel Henchman and others the right of making paper, on condition that within the first fifteen months they would make 140 reams of brown paper and sixty reams of printing paper. Of this the board of trade report of 1731 says: "By a paper mill set up three years ago, they make to the value of 200." This, with the mill of Willcox and another near Philadelphia, were the only ones exist- ing at that time ; but the trade grew to a considerable extent. Coxe, in his " Views of the United States," says there were in 1794 forty-eight mills in Pennsylvania. In 1810, the value of paper made in the United States was about $2,000,000. The general govern- ment, from its origin, did what it could to encourage the manufacture, by making rags free; curiously enough, however, after the fall of Napoleon, a considerable quantity of paper came to this country, and was bought up by the contractors to supply Congress ; and for a long time, up to 1 825, the paper used by the United States Senate bore the water line, "Napoleon, Empereur et Roi, 1813." It was about the year 1760 that the inven- tion of wove moulds was made to obviate the roughness of laid paper. This led to the manufacture in France of what is called vellum paper. In Holland, soon after, the manufacture was improved by the invention of cylinders with long steel knives to reduce the rags to pulp, thus superseding the old plan, which was by stampers. It was then customary to pile the rags in large stone vats, and let them remain for a month or six weeks to ferment and rot by soaking and stirring in water. By these means the fibres became loosened, and sufficiently soft to be reduced to pulp in the large wooden stampers. The vats were now supplanted by engines. These aro arranged in pairs. That which first receives the rags is called the washer, working the rags coarsely, while a stream of water runs through them. The contents of this vat, when ready, is called half stuff, and is lex off into the other engine, which is on a lower level, and this beats or grinds the whole into pulp for making paper. From the date of the Revolution until the year 1820, there was very little improvement in the mode of making paper by machinery. The number of mills increased in proportion to the demand for material for newspapers and book-making. This grew in such a man- ner, that by the year 1810 the ordinary sup- plies of material for paper making began to fail, and rags from Europe were imported in greater quantities for that purpose. The principal supplies of rags in the United States came from the economy of families, purchased by ragmen who called some- times paying money, and at others exchang- ing tinware and other commodities. It is only of late years, and that in the large cities, that the European chijfonniers, or rag- pickers, have made their appearance. These are now to be seen, male and female, with the early dawn, armed with a bag and a long iron hook, watching the opening and sweep- ing out of stores, to pick up every shred of rag or paper, and following the gutters the live-long day, thrusting the iron hook into filth of all descriptions to fish out matter for the paper maker. This they rinse in the nearest puddle, and deposit in their bag. Many of them earn a fair living at this unpromising occupation. Nevertheless, the supply is very inadequate, and large importations are re- sorted to. The quantity of imports is as fol- lows : IMPORTATION OF BAGS INTO THE Hags imported. Of which 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857, Ibs. 9,897,706 8,154,886 17,014,587 14,941,236 20,696,875 26,094,701 18,288,458 22,766,000 32,615,753 40,013,516 38,727,017 44,582,080 from Italy. 8,002,865 6,529,234 13,803,036 11,009,608 15,861,266 18,512,673 12,220,579 14,171,292 24,240,999 23,948,612 20,817,204 27,317,580 UNITED STATES. Value Per lb ' vame< cts. $385,020 3.89 304,177 626,136 524,437 747,157 902,876 622,876 985,465 1,007,826 1,224,413 1,239,168 1,448,125 3.73 3.68 2.51 3.61 3.46 3.42 4.31 3.69 3.06 3.20 3.27 Total, 293,192,815 196,404,948 $10,016,014 It may be remarked that the export of linen rags is strictly prohibited from Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, and Portugal. The import from Italy has been nearly 70 per cent. The rags thence derived are mostly linen which has been used for outer gar- MATERIALS PROGRESS. 293 ments, and which have become whitened by exposure to sun and air. That circumstance formerly gave them a value which they have lost since the improvements in bleaching all descriptions. The linen rags from the north of Europe are stronger and darker. The quantity of rags used in the United States in 1850 was, according to the value reported in the census, nearly 200,000,000 Ibs., and 20,- 696,875 Ibs. were imported in that year. The importation has, it appears, since more than doubled, and it is now estimated that the quantity used is 400,000,000 Ibs. ; and as one and a half pounds of rags give one pound of paper, the product Avould be 270,000,000 Ibs. This compares with the English and French returns as follows: Rags consumed. anmially. head con- lbs - Ibs. ' sumed. United States 400,000.000 270,000,000 10.80 Great Britain 436,800,000 291,200,000 4.55 France 235,200,000 140,083,447 3.89 At one time there were serious apprehen- sions that the supply of linen rags would fail, and various researches were entered upon by ingenious individuals to find substitutes. A book written in Germany by M. Schaffer, so long ago as 1772, contains sixty spec- imens of paper made of different materials. This ingenious person made paper from the bark of the willow, beech, aspen, hawthorn, lime, and mulberry; from the down of the asclepias, the catkins of black poplar, and the tendrils of the vine ; from the stalks of net- tle, mugwort, dyer's weed, thistle, bryony, burdock, clematis, willow-herb, and lily ; from cabbage-stalks, fir-cones, moss, potatoes, wood-shavings, and sawdust. Paper has been likewise made from straw, hopbind, lic- orice root, the stalks of the mallow, and the husks of Indian corn. These experi- ments are now continued, and an attempt to make paper from reeds has recently been made in Baltimore. The process of bleaching the coarser rags, so as to render them fit for the purposes to which only those of the finest qualities were formerly applied, will, however, render the use of these inferior substances unnecessary for many years. The advance of a people in civilization has not only a tendency to make the supply of rags abundant, but, at the same time, to increase the demand. The use of machinery in man- ufactures renders clothing cheap ; the cheap- ness of clothing causes its consumption to increase, not only in the proportion of an in- creasing population, but by the scale of indi- vidual expenditure ; the stock of rags is therefore increasing in the same ratio that our looms produce more linen and cotton cloth. But then the increase of knowledge runs in a parallel line with this increase of comforts, and the increase of knowledge re- quires an increase of books. The use of cotton for clothing has become so general as to have an important influence upon the supply of rags. It has to a consid- erable extent superseded linen. When cot- ton cloth has been much worn, it is of little value for pulp, since the paper made from it will hardly bear its own weight. To remedy this, imported rags, which are supposed to be about 80 per cent, linen, are mixed with the domestic cotton rags, giving the paper a strength and firmness it would not otherwise have. The best qualities of writing and printing papers contain 30 to 50 per cent, of linen, which is entirely derived from abroad. The use of cotton clothing is, how- ever, rapidly spreading all over the civilized world, and the effect of this is that the pro- portion of linen contained in the imported rags decreases from 5 to 10 per cent, every year. An ultimate resource is, how- ever, new raw cotton, which, mixed with the worn rags of the same material, makes a beautiful paper. Some twenty years since, after the great revulsion of 1837, cotton was so cheap that large quantities were manufac- tured into paper. It is ordinarily too dear for that purpose. Some years since the pro- ject was started of importing the mummy wrappers from Egypt, to convert them into paper. Old Mehemet All, who was chief man- ufacturer in his own dominions, stopped the project, by forbidding the export and monop- olizing that valuable material for his own mills. A curious thing that, that the cloth- ing which swathed dead Egyptians, three to four thousand years since, should now be the medium of knowledge in this nineteenth century. The quality of the paper depends greatly upon that of the linen worn in the country where it is made. Where that is coarse and brown, the rags and the paper made from them must be so too. The quality of the rags depends very much upon the state of civilization of the countries which pro- duce them ; the lower the state of civiliza- tion, the more coarse and filthy the rags. When the rags are received at the mill, they are sorted according to their respective 294 PAPER : ITS MANUFACTURE. qualities; for if rags of different qualities were ground together at the same engine, the finest and best parts would be ground and carried off before the coarser were suffi- ciently reduced to make a pulp. In the sorting of rags intended for the manufacture of fine paper, hems and seams are kept apart, and coarse cloth separated from fine. Cloth made of tow should be separated from that made of linen ; cloth of hemp from cloth of flax. Even the degree of wear should be attended to, for if rags comparatively new are mixed with those which are much worn, by the time the first are reduced to a good pulp, the others are so completely ground up as to pass through the hair strainers, thus occasioning not only loss of material but loss of beauty in the paper; for the smooth, vel- vet softness of some papers may be pro- duced by the finer particles thus carried off. The pulp produced from imperfectly sorted rags has a cloudy appearance, in consequence of some parts being less reduced than others, and the paper made from it is also cloudy or thicker in some parts than in others, as is evident on holding a sheet up before the light. When it is necessary to mix differ- ent qualities of materials, the rags should be ground separately, and the various pulps mixed together afterward. The rag mer- chants sort rags into five qualities, known as Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. No. 1, or superfine, consisting wholly of linen, is used for the finest writing papers. No. 5 is canvas, and may, after bleaching, be used for inferior printing papers. There is also rag-bagging, or the canvas sacks in which the rags arc packed, also cotton colored rags of all colors, but the blue is usually sorted out for making blue paper. Common papers are made from rag-bagging and cotton rags. An operation sometimes required after unpacking the rags is to put them into a duster, which is a cylinder four feet in diameter and five feet long, covered with a wire net, and inclosed in a tight box to confine the dust. A quan- tity of rags being put into this cylinder, it is made to rotate rapidly on its axis, and thus a great deal of dust is shaken out, which might otherwise vitiate the air of the rag- cutting room. The sorting is done by wo- men and children in a large room. The rags are sorted, according to their fineness, into the superfine, the fine, the stitches of the fine, the middling, the seams and stitches of the middling, and the coarse. These divisions are more or less observed at the present day. The very coarse parts are rejected, or laid aside for making white-brown paper. The paper was formerly made into sheets by means of the mould and deckle. The mould was a square frame or shallow box of ma- hogany, covered at the top with wire cloth ; it is an inch or an inch and a half wider than the sheet of paper intended to be made upon it. The wire cloth of the mould varies in fineness with that of the paper and the nature of the stuff; it consists of a number of parallel wires stretched across a frame very near together, and tied fast through holes in the sides ; a few other stronger wires are also placed across at right angles to the former; they are a considerable distance apart, and are bound to the small wires at the points of intersection by means of fine wires. In several kinds of writing paper the marks of the wires are evident, from the pa- per being thinner in the parts where the pulp touches the wires. In what is called wove paper, there are no marks of the wires; these are avoided by weaving the wire in a loom into a wire cloth, which is stretched over the frame of a mould, and being turned down over the sides is fastened by fine wire. The water-mark in paper is produced by wires bent into the shape of the required letter or device, and sewed to the surface of the mould ; it has the effect of making the paper thinner in those places. The old makers employed water-marks of an eccen- tric kind. Those of Caxton and other early printers were an ox head and star, a collared dog's head, a crown, a shield, a jug, etc. A fool's cap and bells employed as a water- mark gave the name to foolscap paper ; a postman's horn, such as was formerly in use, gave the name to post paper. Connected with the sizing of papers is the blueing, which is said to have originated in the sug- gestion of a paper maker's wife, who thought that the practice of improving the color of linen while passing through the wash, by means of a blue-bag, might also be advanta- geously applied to paper. A blue-bag was accordingly suspended in the vat, and the effect proved to be so satisfactory that it led to the introduction of the large and impor- tant class of blue writing paper. It was soon found that smalt gave a better color than common stone-blue, and smalt continued to be used for many years ; but when artificial ultramarine came to be manufactured at a very low cost, and in a great variety of tints, INVENTIONS MANUFACTURE. 295 this beautiful color gradually superseded smalt in the manufacture of writing paper. From 1820 to 1830, some efforts were made to introduce into the United States machinery from Europe. England and France were before us in its introduction. Several machines were sent out from Eng- land ; some very imperfect, and the cost too great for our manufacture. The patronage then offered was no inducement to our own machinists to construct so expensive a ma- chine until 1830, about which time Phelps & Spofford of Windham, Connecticut, made one which answered very well. Soon after, the country was supplied at a reasonable cost, and equal in quality to the best English. Not long afterward, Howe & Goddard, of Worcester, Massachusetts, commenced mak- ing the Fourdrinier the shaking endless wire-web machine. The cylinder machine, more simple and less costly than the other, is in more general use ; but the paper made on it is not equal in quality. Notwith- standing, it does very well for news, and the various purposes which a coarser article will answer for. These are made in various places throughout the United States. The interval from 1830 to 1840 was important for the vast improvements in the manufacture, by the application of this kind of machinery for that purpose ; also, by the introduction of the use of chlorine in the form of gas, of chloride of lime, and the alkalies, lime and soda-ash, in bleaching, cleansing, and dis- charging the colors from calicoes, worn out sails, refuse tarred rope, hemp bagging, and cotton waste, the refuse of the cotton mills. These articles, which heretofore had been considered only applicable for the manufac- ture of coarse wrapping paper, have, through the application of this bleaching and cleans- ing process, entered largely into the com- position of news and coarse printing papers, and consequently have risen in value 300 per cent. A few mills possess machinery and adopt a process by which they are pre- pared for the finest printing and letter paper. A beautiful paper is made of cast-off cable rope. Hemp bagging is an excellent ma- terial for giving strength, and is in great de- mand, especially for making the best news paper. The cost of making paper by ma- chinery, compared with that of making it by the old method (by hand), not taking into account the interest on cost and repair of machinery, is about as one to eight. The present low price resulting from improved machinery and the cheap printing by steam power, has placed newspapers and books in the hands of all ; and a great increase of production has followed within the last few years. The quantity now made might be nearly ascertained, if the deputy marshals could report the number of engines in opera- tion : 300 pounds of paper would be the average daily produce of each engine taking into consideration the loss of time and power from a deficiency of water in the summer season. There has been a greater proportional increase of mills in the middle and western states within the last ten years, than in the east. Ten years ago, 80 per cent, of the supplies for Philadelphia came from the east of the North River ; at present there probably does not come 20 per cent. Formerly, a much greater quantity was sent west of the mountains, and large quantities of rags brought in return. In consequence of the greater number of mills in the west, particularly in Ohio, New Or- leans is to some extent getting supplies there. Formerly, they all went from the Atlantic states. CHAPTER II. IN VENTIONS MANUFACTURE. THE slow and difficult process of moulding the separate sheets of paper by hand, has to a very great extent been superseded by the introduction and gradual improvement of the very beautiful machinery of Fourdrinier. By means of this machine, a process which, under the old hand system, occupied a couple of weeks, is now performed in a few min- utes. Within this brief space of time, and the short distance of thirty or forty feet, a continuous stream of fluid pulp is made into paper, dried, polished, and cut up into separate sheets ready for use. The paper thus produced is moderate in price, and, for a large number of purposes, superior in quality to that which was formerly made by hand. In fact, the machine-made papers can be produced of unlimited dimensions ; they are of uniform thickness ; they can be fabricated at any season of the year ; they do not require to be sorted, trimmed, and hung up in the drying-house operations which formerly led to so much waste that about one sheet in every five was defective. The paper machine moves at the rate of from 296 PAPER: ITS MANUFACTURE. twenty-five to forty feet per minute, so that scarcely two minutes are occupied in con- verting liquid pulp into finished paper, a result which, by the old process, occupied about seven or eight days. If the machine produce ten lineal yards of paper per minute, or six hundred yards per hour, this is equal to a mile of paper in three hours, or four miles per day of twelve hours. The paper is about fifty-four inches wide, and suppos- ing three hundred machines to be at work on an average twelve hours a day, the aggregate length of web would be equal to 1,200 miles, and the area 3,000,000 square yards. Paper is sent into market in various forms and sizes, according to the use for which it is intended. The following table contains the names and dimensions of various sheets of paper. Inches. Foolscap 14 by 17 Crown 15 Folio post 16 Demy 17 Medium 19 Royal 20 Super-royal 22 Imperial 22 Medium and half. 24 Royal and half 25 Double Medium 24 Double super-royal 27 Double imperial 32 20 21 22 24 25 27 32 28 29 38 42 44 Many of the papers above enumerated are made by hand of the exact size indica- ted, but if made by the machine, the roll of paper has to be cut to the required di- mensions. In order to do this with pre- cision and expedition, various cutting ma- chines have been contrived, in which the paper, as it comes from the manufacturing machine, is cut to any size required. Fine papers are, in many cases, hot-pressed and glazed. In hot-pressing, a number of stout cast iron plates are heated in an oven, and then put into a screw press in alternate layers, with highly glazed paste-boards, between which the paper is placed in open sheets ; and the hard-polished surface of the pasteboards, aided by the heat and pressure, imparts that beautiful appearance which be- longs to hot-pressed paper. A yet more smooth and elegant surface is produced by the process of glazing. The sheets of paper are placed separately between very smooth, clean, copper plates. These are then passed through rollers, which impart a pressure of twenty to thirty tons. After three or four such pres- sures the paper acquires a higher surface, and is then called glazed. The general in- troduction of steel pens has increased the demand for smooth papers, and has led to improvements in finishing them. As an improvement in the manufacture of paper sized by the machines now in use, it is pro- posed to conduct the web of paper, after it has been either partially or completely dried, through a trough of cold water, then to pass it through a pair of pressing rollers, and after- ward to_ dry it on reels, or over hot cylin- ders. The paper which has been thus treated will be found to "bear" much better, and admit of erasures being made on its surface, and written over, without the ink running in the way it does when the paper is sized and dried in the usual manner. It has been found that when paper is dried, after sizing, by the drying machines in present use, the paper is very harsh, and until it stands for some time to get weather (as it is technically termed) great difficulty is experienced in glazing the paper. This inconvenience is proposed to be overcome by passing the paper partially round a hollow cylinder, through which a small stream of cold water is made to run. By this means the heat is carried off, and the paper is rendered more tractable, and brought to a proper state for undergoing the glazing operation. We may describe the modern process of paper making, by detailing the operations as carried on in large mills. The visitor goes up to the second story, into a room some sixty by eighty feet, in which girls are engaged assorting the rags. Here are nu- merous bales of white rags, foreign and do- mestic. The imported are linen, the others cotton. In ' the same room these rags are cut by a machine, driven by power, which fits them for the subsequent processes. They are next sent into a rotary boiler of about two tuns capacity, into which steam is ad- mitted, and the rags boiled. Next they are cast down on a floor in the first story, where they are put into cars, on which they are conveyed to the washing engines. Two engines are employed in washing, called rag engines. These engines play in tubs of an oval form, of large capacity, each containing perhaps 200 Ibs. of rags. The impelling power, steam or water, causes the revolution of a roller, set with knives or bars of cast steel inserted in it longitudinally. This roller is suspended on what is called a lighter, by which it may be raised or lowered at pleasure upon a plate, consisting of bars of INVENTIONS MANUFACTURE. 297 steel, set up edgewise. Passing now between this and the plate, the rags are reduced to fibre. A stream of pure water is then con- veyed into the rag engine, and, by means of a cylinder covered with gauze wire, the dirty water is passed off. This cylinder, called a patent washer, is octagonal in shape, some thirty inches in length, revolving in the en- gine, and having buckets within it, corres- ponding with the sides of the washer. By this process the rags are washed perfectly clean in from three to six hours. The bleaching process is performed by the insertion into this engine of a strong solution of the chloride of lime and some acid, to cause a reaction. The pulp is then emptied into large cisterns, covered with the bleach liquor it contains, where it is allowed to remain from twelve to twenty-four hours to bleach. It is then drained, put into the beating en- gine, and reduced to a pulp, the consistency of milk, which it much resembles. This pulp is emptied into a large cistern, in a vault beneath, and kept in motion by means of an agitator revolving in it. It is then raised by a lifting pump into a small cistern, from which it is drawn off by a cock which is opened more or less, according to the thickness of the paper intended to be made on to a strainer, which removes the knots, sand, or hard substances that may damage the paper, and then flows upon a leathern apron, which conducts it to an endless wire cloth, over which the web of paper is form- ed. This wire cloth is kept constantly vibrating, which both facilitates the escape of water and the felting together of the fibres of the pulp. The wire cloth, with the pulp upon it the edges being protected by deckle-straps passes on until it comes to a couple of wet-press cylinders, as they are call- ed, the lower of which is of metal, but cover- ed with a jacket of felting or flannel ; the upper one is of wood, made hollow, and cov- ered first with mahogany, and then with flannel. These cylinders give the gauze with the pulp upon it a slight pressure, which is repeated upon a second pair of wet-press rolls similar to the first. The paper is then led upon an endless felt or blanket, which travels at exactly the same rate as the wire cloth, while the latter passes under the cyl- inders, and proceeds to take up a new supply of pulp. The endless felt conveys the paper, still in a very wet state, between cast iron cylinders, where it undergoes a severe pres- sure, which rids it of much of the remaining water, and then between a second pair of press-rollers, which remove the mark of the felt from the under surface ; and finally it is passed over the surface of cylinders heated by steam, and when it has passed over about thirty lineal feet of heated surface, it is wound upon a reel ready for cutting. Forty years ago three men could by hand manu- facture 4,000 sheets in a day. The same number now by the aid of machinery will make 60,000. From the time of the Revolution the quan- tity of paper imported has been gradually decreasing ; and before the revision of the tariff in 1846, had dwindled to perhaps not more than 2 per cent, of the amount con- sumed, with the exception of wall papers, of which large quantities Avere imported, and still continue to be, from France. Since 1846, there has been an increase of cheap French letter paper, but the amount is small compared with the whole amount of letter paper consumed, probably not more than 3 per cent. There is also a small quantity of ledger and letter paper brought from Eng- land, but as the American is quite equal in quality, the importation is gradually dimin- ishing. Within the last few years great in- genuity has been exercised, both in England and the United States, in trying to make a paper by machinery to resemble the old- fashioned hand-made laid paper (yet pre- ferred by many). To the eye it is a pretty good imitation, but lacks the toughness, firmness, and surface of the hand-made. By an experienced judge the difference is easily discovered. Notwithstanding, lai-ge quan- tities have been used under the supposition that they were hand-made. The reduced price of machine paper has forced almost all manufacturers to abandon the old method. There were a few years since only two mills in operation in the United States in which it was made by hand one in Massa- chusetts and one in Pennsylvania. There is a limited quantity of peculiar kinds, that can be better made by hand than on a machine, such as band-note, laid letter, deed parch- ments, and such as are used for documents that are much handled, and require great strength and durability. Within the last few years some improvement has been made in the finish of writing and printing papers, by the introduction of iron and paper calen- ders for the purpose of giving a smooth sur- face. The finish of American papers is now equal to any in the world. 298 PAPER: ITS MANUFACTURE. The quantity of paper required for the newspaper service of the country is probably 150,000,000 Ibs. per annum, which would allow a circulation of 750,000,000 sheets. There would remain 250,000,000 Ibs. of paper for the service of the book trade, and the trade and publications of the religious societies. The use of paper-hangings, which has become so common in the past ten years, superseding hard finish and painted walls for city dwell- ings, absorbs a large amount of paper. In Philadelphia, which has been the leading place for the manufacture of paper-hangings until more recently, when the business has been carried on in New York and Boston, the consumption of paper for hangings has been yearly 1,500 tons, or 3,000,000 Ibs. The paper used for this purpose is heavy, and comes from the mill in rolls 1,200 yards long, and from 20 to 35 inches wide. It costs from 9 to 14 cents per pound. In the preparation of this paper the pattern is first carefully drawn from original designs, and then printed. The outlines of the various tints are made each upon a separate block, made of pear-tree mounted with pine. The color is contained in sieves, and the blocks thus applied to these are laid upon the paper, following each other upon the guide-marks left by the previous impressions. It is stated that a paper-hanging exhibited at the World's Fair, and representing a chase in a forest with birds and animals, was per- fected by the application of 12,000 blocks. In making what is called flock (shearings of broadcloth) paper, the pattern is printed in size and varnished ; the wool then being sifted on the varnished pattern, adheres to it. The census of 1860 gave the localities of the paper mills and their comparative im- portance as follows : MANUFAOTOKIE8 OF THE UNITED STATES. States and Territories. ! No. of Establish- ments. Capital. Cost of raw material. Connecticut 55 $1,860,000 $1,527,672 Delaware 2 280,000 286,439 Georgia 4 171,000 72,400 Illinois 2 47,103 43,075 Indiana 10 147,500 56,785 Kentucky 1 125,000 68,500 Maine 14 519,100 535,539 Maryland 25 272,800 300,759 Massachusetts 99 3,589,860 3,313,162 Michigan 5 46,500 62,837 New Hampshire 24 425,000 378,596 New Jersey 36 990,000 997,109 New York 126 2,039,000 1,394,210 North Carolina 6 121.850 54,600 Ohio 29 875,500 737,246 Pennsylvania 84 1,917,920 1,313,841 Iowa ' 1 12,000 6,600 South Carolina 3 111,000 53,000 Tennessee 2 14,500 10,200 Vermont 12 139,500 152,396 Virginia 9 154,500 130,165 Wisconsin 5 133,000 99,135 California 1 60,000 8,000 Cost of labor. Value of product $342,996 $2,453,258 29,292 385,000 20,904 146,300 13,080 59,938 25,548 140,200 19,200 122,000 100,834 949,645 51,228 513,690 800,692 6,170,127 16,248 127,000 95,580 701,209 179,940 1,582,703 433,028 3,059,776 53,916 165,703 197,448 1,382,241 256,656 2,367,268 3,924 17,400 16,044 96,500 4,500 28,000 35,688 2^7,800 41,678 270,000 23,988 193,114 4,800 40,000 Total in U. S . . . Total in 1850.... Increase. 555 443 112 14,052,683 11,602,266 6,519 4,392 5,523,929 5,523,929 3,835 2,950 2,767,212 21,216,802 1,497,792 10,187,177 3,048,337 $6,048,337 2,684 1,442 $1,269,420 $11,029,625 There were produced in these 555 paper mills, in 1860, 131,508,000 pounds of print- ing paper, 22,268,000 pounds of writing paper, 33,379 tons of wrapping paper, and 8,150 tons of straw boards. The mills which manufacture tarred boards, that is, those made of oakum, hemp rope and bag- ging, &c., were not enumerated. During the war, the price of paper rose more than one hundred per cent., and the product has been greatly increased since 1860. HAND CARDING. WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. CHAPTER I. "WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES CARDING WEAVING FELTING. THE manufacture of woollen, or any other goods, having been prohibited in the colo- nies under that harsh principle which prompted the Earl of Chatham to exclaim that the " colonists had no right to manu- facture so much as a horse-shoe nail," much progress could not have been expected. Nevertheless, progress was made, since the home manufacture of woollen cloth became very general. The people spun and wove their own cloth, and the merchant found little sale for the imported article. The oppressions of the home government were continued, until finally, in 1765, a society was started in New York with great zeal, not only repudiating all foreign goods, but taking measures to encourage the home manufacture of cloth from sheep's wool, and from all other materials. This was very pop- ular ; and an agreement was extensively en- tered into, in order to encourage the growth of wool, to eat no mutton or lamb, and to purchase no meat of any butcher who should kill a sheep or lamb. The economist of the present day will smile at such a mode of en- couraging the farmer to keep sheep, viz. : by cutting off his market for the mutton. Never- theless, it showed zeal. Manufactures are not, however, to be established by resolu- tion. For their development there are neces- sary, 1st, the supply of skilled labor ; 2d, the material for its use ; 3d, the capital to em- ploy it ; and 4th, the demand for the goods. This latter existed to a considerable extent, on certain conditions, among which was, that it should come within the means of the con- sumers. There does not appear to have been much scarcity of wool, since home-made goods were generally used. There was an absence, however, of capital, and of that skilled labor which is always the result of extensive experience in the same employ- ment. There came great numbers of art- isans from Europe, and it was stated that 30,000 weavers left Ulster in 1774. The war came, peace succeeded, and the new government was formed in 1791 ; on which occasion, Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, made his famous report on manufactures. He stated, that of woollen goods, hats only had reached maturity, and supplied the demand. At Hartford, a mill for cloths and cassimeres was in operation, and produced excellent wares, under the cir- cumstances ; but he remarked, that " it was doubtful if American wool was fit for fine cloths." The quality of wool grown in the country must, since then, have chang- ed very much, since the American wool is used entirely for the fine goods, and the imported wools only are used for carpets and coarse manufactures. The manufacture of cloths did not progress rapidly, since we find that, in 1810, according to the report of the Treasury department, ordered by Congress, the manufacture of wool was still mostly in families. The progress of the manufacture, according to that report, has been as fol- lows : 1810. "Woollen manufacture, $25,608,788 1820. 4,413,068 1830. 14,528,166 1840. 20,696,999 1850. 43,207,545 This value, in 1810, was nearly all in fam- ilies, and the figures subsequently are the product of regular manufactures as the busi- ness progressed. The family manufacture was necessarily of a rude description. The wool, being washe'd, was carded between two cards held in the hands of the operator, who continued to card until the wool was formed into a long roll, which was then spun upon the single spindle, driven by the wheel that the busy hand of the housewife kept in motion. There are many still living who CARDING WEAVING FELTING. 301 were employed in sticking the teeth for those cards, and in tending the wheel. The cloth, woven also by hand, was subsequently sent to mill to be fulled, and dyed, and dressed ; which was the first regular business branch of the manufacture. The dyeing was rather an imperfect process. The operator did not then understand the art of fixing colors. Daniel Webster somewhere relates his mis- fortune, when, dressed up in a new suit of home-spun blue, he accompanied his father on the way to a new school, and, being over- taken by a shower, had the color washed from his new coat into his shirt. With the lapse of time dyeing became better under- stood. Not many years have elapsed, how- ever, since the distinctive mark of American cloth was, that it wore "white on the edges ;" in other words, its color was not fast. With the introduction of machinery, and the im- proved condition of the people, home manu- factures necessarily gave way to machine work. Other occupations paid the time of the farmer better, and the use of machines gradually made a market for the raw wool, at a price which, compared with falling prices of the cloth, would give the wool- grower his cloth without labor. This we may illustrate by extreme figures. Suppose, there being no factories, wool is worth 10 cts. per lb., and cloth imported, $2 per yard, a pound of wool will make two yards, or $4 ; if not as good cloth, at least good enough. The farmer, by turning his wool into cloth, makes a large saving. Soon, however, ma- chine labor sinks cloth to 50 cts. per yard, and raises wool to 60 cts. The farmer can now no longer afford to make his own cloth, but his wool trade has become profitable. Thus, machine goods supplant hand goods. In this line, the inventions have been very remarkable. In 1797, Asa Whittemore, of Massachu- setts, invented a machine for making cards. Instead of sticking them by hand, as before, a strip of leather, by passing between a cylinder and a scraper, becomes of equal thickness. This strip of leather, in passing through the machine, is stuck full of teeth, that are also made from steel wire by the machine at the same time. The ingenuity of this machine was such, that the famous John Randolph, on inspecting it, exclaimed, that " it operated as if it had a soul !" ?>here have been 100 patents since issued f ( r im- provements in this machine. The hand cards were then supplanted by the warding machine. This has a drum of about 3 ft. diameter, and as many long, covered with the cards. Smaller cylinders, also covered with cards, are placed so as to revolve against the circumference of the cylinder, and in the contrary direction. There is a feed apron, on which the wool is laid, and, being drawn in between two rollers, is caught by the cards of the revolving drum, and combed out be- tween it and the smaller cylinders. The wool is thus spread on the surface of all, and is finally taken up by the " doffer," or a cylinder in front of the main drum ; from this it flows in a broad, thin, gauzy fleece, which passes through a funnel, and in so doing is contracted into a ribbon, or sliver, which is delivered into a can, ready for the " drawing frame." Long wools and short wools are subjected to different treatment in this stage of the manufacture. The long wools are sometimes called combing wools, in consequence. In the manufacture of worsted, the long staple is used mostly^ because a smooth, fine yarn is required, not much liable to full, or shrink, or curl. In order to form such a thread, the first object is to lay or stretch the fibres into lines, as parallel as possible. If it were possible to procure a single fibre of wool of a length sufficient to weave like a fibre of silk, the beauty and finish of the fabric would be as nearly perfect as could be desired. As that, however, is not pos- sible, the object of the manufacturer is to draw out the fibres into parallel lines, in order that they may twist into a thread as fine and smooth as can be obtained. The old mode of doing this was by hand. When the wool has been washed with lye, or soap and water, and dried, it passes into a ma- chine called the " picker," tended by a boy, who lays the wool as evenly as he can upon the feed apron, which carries the wool be- tween rollers, when it is caught by revolving teeth, torn asunder, and scattered in the air. The fibres are thus cleared and straightened to some extent. They were then taken to the comber, who, in a close room, employed combs with long, heated teeth. The work- man oiled the wool, and combed it with these heated instruments, until it became suitable, when it was arranged in " slivers." This was a very laborious and unhealthy task, and many machines have been invented to super- sede the hand labor. Some of them are very ingenious, and they have advanced the stage of the manufacture in an eminent de- 302 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. gree. When the " slivers" are thus pre- pared, they are carried to the "breaking machine." There the first sliver is placed upon an apron, which carries it between two rollers, that seize and draw it forward, and it passes from them through other sets of rollers, which move three times as fast. As a con- sequence, the sliver is drawn out to three times its original length. When it has half passed into the first set of rollers, the end of another sliver is laid upon it, passing thence with it, and becoming incorporated with it in the drawing. All the slivers thus become incorporated in one of three times the aggregate length of all the original sliv- ers, and it is coiled in a can. Three of these cans are carried to the " drawing frame," which has five eets of rollers, oper- ating in the same manner as the breaking frame. As fast as the sliver comes through one set of rollers, it coils into a can, and the slivers of three cans are then united, and pass through another set of rollers. These draw- ings thus take place 1,500 times with some wool, and the process reduces the sliver to one-fourth its original bulk. There are many variations of the, detail of drawing by differ- ent machines, but the result is the same. After the drawing is finished, a pound of the sliver is taken and measured, in order to test the accuracy of the drawing. This done, the sliver is passed to the " roving" frame, where two slivers are drawn, as be- fore, into a " roving," which has now become so attenuated, that it must have a twist to hold it together. This twist is imparted to it as it is wound upon spindles, of which the frame contains a great many. The bobbins from the roving frame spindles are then car- ried to the spinning frame. They are placed upon skewers, and the roving proceeds from them between rollers, of which there are three sets : the first pair turns slowly, the middle twice as fast as the first, and the third from twelve to seventeen times as fast as the first pair. The spindles that receive the thread from the rollers must turn very fast to give the required twist to the thread. The hardest thread is tammy warp, and, when this is of size of twenty-four hanks to the pound, the twist is ten turns to an inch. The least twist is given to thread for fine hose, and it is then five to the inch. The threads are then reeled. The bobbins are placed in a row upon wires, before a long horizontal reel, which is exactly a yard in circumference. When this has revolved eighty times, it rings a bell. It is then stopped, and a thread passed round the eighty turns of each thread. The reel then proceeds. Each of these eighty turns is called a ley ; seven such are a " hank :" which is, consequently, 560 yards. When this quantity is reeled, the ends of the threads are tied together, and each hank is weighed by a machine, which denotes the number of hanks to a pound, and this is the number of the yarn: thus, No. 24 means that twenty-four hanks of 560 yards each will weigh 1 Ib. A hank of cotton measures 840 yards. Short wool, for the cloth manufacture, re- sembles cotton in some respects. The wool being oiled and " picked," is passed through the carding machine, whence it proceeds through the drawing process, as with the long staple, until it assumes the form of yarn for the weaver. In woollen cloths, cassimeres, broad cloths, narrow cloths, etc., all wool is used : that is, both warp and weft are wool, but the wool is combined with many other articles, ac- cording to the dearness of each. The cotton warp is used in satinets ; and in most descrip- tions of dress goods there is a combination of wool with silk or cotton. If these articles are very high, more wool is used ; and the reverse, if wool is high, and cotton is cheap, more cotton is introduced into the fabric. There are also a great variety of styles and patterns constantly produced, to attract at- tention. The weaving process on the improved power-looms has been greatly facilitated of late years, and the labor has been diminish- ed. Thus, formerly, one person was re- quired to tend one loom, at a certain speed ; but, by various improvements, one person may now tend four. In large factories, great numbers of looms are placed in one room, and, as the cloth-rolls become full, they are placed upon a little rail-car, which carries them off to the dyeing and finishing depart- ment. The woven cloth is carried to the fulling- mill, to have the oil applied in spinning, and other greasy matters removed, and, by a partial felting, to give the fabric more com* pactness. The first process is to scour the ck th. This is done by placing it in troughs, so Arranged as to contain the liquids stale urine and hog's dung, then urine alone, and to be followed by fullers' earth and urine. Heavy oaken mallets, or pounders, slide CARDING WEAVING FELTING. 303 down with force into one end of the trough, and mash, or roll over the cloths. The pounders are lifted by wooden cams, kept in motion by horse-power for many hours. In this process the oil is detached from the wool, the urine is absorbed by the earth, and both washed off by the water. When this is complete, soap is applied liberally, and the pounding continued, to full the cloth. Instead of soap, in some cases steam is applied, and the pounders made of iron. The process of fulling is also effected without pounders, the cloth being pushed, or squeezed, through a long trough. After the fulling, the soap is washed out, and the cloth is ready for teasling. To full a piece of broadcloth re- quires sixty to sixty-five hours, and lllbs. of soap are usually applied. In the process, the cloth will shrink in length from fifty -four to forty yards, and from twelve quarters wide to seven quarters. When cloth is returned from the fulling- mill, it is stretched upon the tenter frame, and left to dry in the open air. As cloth in the fulling-mill shrinks nearly one-half, it must be woven nearly double its intended breadth. Superfine six-quarter broadcloths arc therefore woven twelve quarters wide. The cloth is minutely examined, when dry, in every part, freed from knots and uneven threads, and repaired, by sewing any little rents, or inserting sound yarns in the place of defective ones. In order to raise up the loose filaments of woollen yarn into a nap upon one of the sur- faces of the cloth, it is scratched with the hea"ds of the teasle plant, or with teasling cards made of wire. In large factories the operation is performed in the gig-mill, which is a cylinder covered all over with teasles, and made to revolve rapidly, while the cloth is drawn over it. This operation requires attention, lest the goods become tender. Indeed, every branch of the wool manufacture re- quires the supervision of a practical man. If a piece of cloth comes from the press dam- aged, or inferior, he must be able himself to discover where the fault lies, without taking any other man's word for it ; if the wool is not properly cleaned and dyed, the dyer must be called to account, not the carder, or the weaver ; and if, through the carelessness of the shearer or gigger, the goods are made tender, they must answer for it, not the spinner. Therefore, the manager of a wool- len establishment must be a thorough prac- tical manufacturer, conversant with all the branches of his business, and able to assume and maintain the responsibility of each and every one. This individuality of the manu- facturer is well divided among the different branches of the manufacture in England, where the business has grown up in the hands of practical men ; but in this country, where manufacturing was, as it were, im- provised on the formation of the govern- ment, it came, necessarily, under the con- trol of corporations, where the supervising power could not be so well exercised as where each branch is produced by an in- dividual on his own responsibility, and to meet the consequences of defect himself. In a corporation, many of the appointments are independent of the general direction, and the resulting defects in fabrics are placed to the account of the wrong party, or not fixed upon any. The art of dyeing and printing fabrics is one of the most progressive connected with manufacturing. The materials of human clothing are mostly from silk and wool, of animal origin, and cotton and flax, of vege- table origin. These two classes differ in the facility with which they imbibe coloring matter. The animal fibre takes much more brilliant shades than the vegetable, and the color may be applied to either class in the raw state, in the spun yarn, or in the fabric : hence, great diversity in the processes. The coloring matters are themselves of the most various origins animal, vegetable, and min- eral and their substances, brought together, act upon each other, and produce the most intricate changes. The leading vegetable colors are yellow, brown, and red; blue is derived only from litmus and indigo ; black is afforded by nutgalls, sumach, and cashew nut. These are generally obtained by water; but some of the substances require either alcohol or some of the fixed oils. From the animal kingdom come, from the bodies of the cochineal and kermes insects, the bril- liant scarlet and crimson dyes. The ancient dye, called Tyrian purple, was long supposed to be lost ; but a French chemist has lately discovered it. Hoofs, horns, etc., give Prus- sian blue. Many brilliant colors are derived from the salts of various metals. The same metal is caused to give various colors. Iron gives that buff known as nankeen ; it gives various shades of blue, and is made to yield black, slate color, and other shades. Chrome, and lead salts, give an interesting variety of colors. The materials to be dyed, of what- 304 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. ever nature, are seldom found to have such an affinity for the dyes used that they will retain them. They will soon wash out, un- less a remedy is applied. Chemistry dis- covered this in certain substances that will fix themselves permanently upon the fibre, and then, by uniting chemically with the color, " fix" that permanently also. These applications are called " mordants," from the Latin, mordeo, because they were thought to bite into the fibre. It is sometimes the case that, in thus combining with the color, the mordant will modify or alter its tone, and those having this effect, are sometimes called " alterants." Thus, if a decoction of madder be applied directly to cloth, it gives a dirty red color, that will not remain. If the cloth is first prepared with acetate of alumina, the color will not only become entirely fast, but will assume a fine red hue, which will re- sist the action of air, light, and water. If, instead of the alumina, oxide of iron is used as a mordant, a purple color will be ob- tained. In dyeing with cochineal, if crim- son is required, alumina is used for a mor- dant ; if oxide of iron is used, the color will be black. It follows, that mixing mor- dants will multiply shades, and the variations of proportions and strength of solution give a wide field for the production of effects. It sometimes is the case, that two solutions, neither of which will give any color at all to the fabric, will impart a fast color by follow- ing each other in the application. Thus, a solution of nitrate of potash gives no color to cloth, and may be washed out ; the same is true of bichromate of potash ; but if one of these is applied after the cloth has receiv- ed the other, a fast yellow is obtained. In the process of mandarining, an acid is made to act directly upon the fibre of the wool. In a large factory, the dye stuffs are ground and mixed in an appropriate room. The in- fusions are made in tubs or vats, some in cold water, and others in boiling water. Some of the dyes are introduced in the shape of a coarse powder, and others in bags, through which the color oozes. The cloth is first prepared by thorough cleansing, in order to remove all extraneous matters that may be attached to the fibre. When this is com- pleted, the mordant is applied by soaking the cloth in appropriate solutions. It is then hung up to dry in long folds, if intend- ed for printing, as in the case of muslin-de- laines, a fabric in. which the American manufacturer has come to surpass the im- ported article, and to monopolize the market. The art of printing goods may be said to have been created in the last fifty years. As practised in the early part of the century, it was comparatively rude. The figures to be impressed upon the cloth were engraved upon a square block of wood, and the color being applied to this, it was impressed upon the cloth, which was then drawn forward, and a new application of the block made. This was the style of printing practised orig- inally by Robert Peel, grandfather of the late prime minister of England, and founder of that family. An improvement was then made by engraving the pattern upon a cop- per cylinder, and by passing the cloth over this, the work Avas done with more pre- cision and continuity. This was costly, how- ever; and one such cylinder laboriously en- graved, would print only 1,500 pieces of cloth. Perkins, of Newburyport, Massachu- setts, then invented the die. This is a small steel roller, on which the figure is engraved, and made exceedingly hard. From this, the figure is conveyed to a soft steel roller by pressure. From this last the design is im- pressed upon a copper roller by pressure. This last prints the cloth. In this manner, the design on the steel die, once engraved, may be multiplied to any number. The original block-printing would take but one color. Numbers of improvements were made to increase the number of colors that might be printed. This is now done by engraving the dies and rollers with portions of the designs that are to take different colors. The rollers are placed upon the printing machine in such a manner, that the cloth passes up slowly over the large drum of the machine. They each, in succession, impress it with the design and color with which they are fed. Almost any number of colors may thus be printed. The style and quality of ladies' dress goods of wool, have thus made rapid strides in the last few years. The faculty of felting possessed by the wool, arises from the barbs upon each fibre, like those that are to be seen on each fibre of a feather, locking into each other. The pro- cess of rubbing in hot water causes those in the wool to become more closely interlocked, until the whole becomes a compact mass. The making of hats of wool was a large busi- ness in the New England colonies early in the 18th century so much so, as to draw upon them the interference of the government for CARDING WEAVING FELTING. 305 the suppression of the business. It con- tinued, however, locally, and was, in 1791, mentioned by the Secretary of the Treasury as one of the most successful. The manu- facturing process was mostly the same, al- though the form of the hat underwent many changes, from the " cocked" to the " stove- pipe," and latterly to "Wide Awake," " Kos- suth," and other styles. The wool mostly lambs or short wool was washed in urine to remove all grease that prevented felting. The wool then, being dried, was " bowed." This was performed by the operative, who laid about 3 oz. of wool upon a board, and then, holding in his left hand a bow with a ptiff string, he vibrated the string in such a manner as to strike the wool, and cause it to fly out clear and loose. When quite clear, it was formed by hand into a cone form nearly three times as large as the proposed hat body. To keep the light wool to- gether, it was placed between two cloths. It was then immersed in water, and con- tinually rolled in different directions upon a short round stick held in the hands of the operator. This operation caused the hat to felt or shrink into the proper size and shape. Being then in the sugar-loaf form, it was stretched upon the hat block that gave it its shape, and the manufacture proceeded with, until, napped with fur and trimmed, it was ready for sale. About 30 years since, machines for forming the bodies were introduced, and these soon supplanted the old hand system. The wool was washed with soft soap as a substitute for urine, the lye of the soap being equally efficacious in removing the grease. When dry and clean, the wool was passed through the " picker," made with a cylinder covered with long teeth. As this revolved with great velocity, it took from a pair of rollers the wool, separated it, straightening the fibres, and cleaning it of dust at the same time. This wool was then passed through the breaker, or carding machine, as in preparation for spinning; but as the broad fleece comes off the doffer, instead of being drawn into a ribbon, it is received upon a pair of light wood cones, placed with their bases together. To these a vibratory motion is given at the same time that they revolve. The result is, that the fleece of wool winds over them in contrary directions, until they appear like a large cocoon. When about 3 oz. are wound upon the cones, the boy who tends cuts them apart with shears, and by a rapid movement removes the 19 woolly cap from the cone, which instantly resumes its motion. These caps, so removed, are perfectly formed " bodies," ready to be felted in the usual manner. The regularity and rapidity of the formation enables a " body" to be formed with much less wool than bv the hand system. Instead of 3 to 4 ozs. for a hat, a perfect body was now formed of 1 oz. weight. This process of the wool manufacture grew rapidly, until a ma- chine was invented to form hat bodies of fur. The difficulty in that respect had been that the fur could not be carded into a fleece like the wool. A machine was then in- vented, by which the air was exhausted under a fine wire gauze, and the fur flying was drawn upon this and partly felted into a ribbon, which was wound upon cones for the hat bodies. The next process was to form the cone itself full of holes, and, by ex- hausting the air, the fur is caused to settle upon it evenly, in weight sufficient for a body. These fur hats caused those of wool to rank second. The felting qualities of wool have, how- ever, paused it to be used for many other purposes, such as piano-covers, drugget, and for the manufacture of cloth without weav- ing. This is called beaver cloth, and is difficult to detect, by the eye, from woven cloth. Several manufactories of this descrip- tion are in operation in Connecticut. The wool being worked and "picked," is carded in a machine which is double the width of the ordinary one, in order to deliver a fleece or web six feet wide instead of three. This " web" is, as it is delivered by the machine, carried out, in a horizontal direction, 21 feet, and so doubled in folds until it gets a proper thickness for felting. Inasmuch as that the process of felting causes a web to contract more' in breadth than in length, it becomes necessary, to give the cloth a proper consistency, that the webs should cross. To do this two machines are placed at right angles with each other, and as the web of one is extended, that of the other crosses it. When the proper thickness is thus attained, the whole is rolled upon a beam, and trans- ferred to the felting table. Here a number of cloths are laid together upon an endless apron, the movement of which carries them forward over an iron plate, perforated with holes, through which steam ascends, and thoroughly heats and saturates the cloths, which proceed under a platen, to which steam power imparts a rapid vibratory mo- 306 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. tion, which felts the cloth. When this is com- pleted, the cloth is dyed of the requisite color, and then subjected to the fulling and teasling process, like a woven cloth. For those heavy coat cloths that are in the style called Peter- shams, another process is substituted. It consists in passing the cloth under a sort of press, of which the lower side, on which the cloth rests, is stationary, and the upper, being covered with sand, receives a rapid, rotatory, vibratory motion, which rolls up the nap into those little knots that are the distinctive feature of Petersham. The nature of these cloths permits of giving them two colors. Thus a dark and a drab color may be felted together to form one cloth, of which the inside is of a different color from the outside. These cloths are used to some extent by the clothiers, but their durability is said not to be such as to recommend them. Of all people, the American shows the most remarkable inclination for good car- pets. It seems to be impossible for him to walk comfortably through life without a carpet under his feet. Every man who oc- cupies a few square feet of house-room must have the brick or the boards protected from his tread by so much carpeting. Here car- peting appears in a thousand places where, in other parts of the world, it is never seen. The English shopkeeper thinks the bare boards good enough for the reception of his customers, and seldom does the mer- chant think of adding to the elegance of his counting-room by laying down a square of Brussels. Only those churches devoted to the service of the more aristocratic worship- pers, are furnished with the comforts of Kid- derminster the bare wood, or bricks, or stone, being considered more consonant with " the self-denying duties of the sanctuary." Widely different is it with the well-to-do American. He believes in enjoying life; and considering that carpets contribute to life's enjoyment, he does not hesitate to spread every place where he is accustomed to tread with a due quantity of three-ply, or tapestry, or Brussels, or Turkey. Yet, with- al, the quantities imported are apparently in- adequate to this general demand. The number of yards, of all descriptions, im- ported, is about 1,500,000 per annum a quantity that might suffice for 15,000 houses; but in 1850, according to the cen- 8U8, there were 3,362,000 dwellings in the Union, It follows, that by far the largest portion of carpets are furnished by home manufacture. The carpets most in use in this country are known as :< rag carpets," as ingrain, three-ply, Venetian, tapestries, Brus- sels, velvets, Wilton. The Turkey, Axmin- ster, and Persian carpets are used but little, and manufactured not at all. The ingrain carpet is made with two sets of worsted warp, and two sets of woollen weft. It con- sists of two distinct webs, incorporated into each other by the warp threads passing from one to the other to bring the required colors to the surface. Each web is, however, a cloth of itself, which, if separated by cutting from the other, would present a coarse sur- face, like baize. Two colors only are used with effect in this kind of carpet. The three-ply is similar, but produced by three webs, making a thicker carpet, with a greater number of colors. The pattern in this does not appear in opposite colors, as in the two-ply. This fabric was long thought not adapted to power looms, but in 1839, Mr. Bigelow, of Lowell, improved the matter, so that weavers, who were then making 8 yards per day by hand, could make 12 yards per day by power. This plan has since been so improved, that power looms are now wholly used, with such economy of labor as greatly to reduce the cost of car- pets. The hand weaver could always tighten the weft thread, if he found it too loose to make the selvage regular, and if he saw that the weft thread was too irregular to make the figure a just proportion, he imparted more or less force in beating it up. The judgment and skill of the weaver was thus a great element in the production of the goods. Mr. Bigelow, in his first loom, contrived to take up the woven cloth by an unerring motion, the same amount for every beat of the lathe. His next step was to regulate the tension of the threads, so as to keep the selvage smooth, and the figure regular. In this he succeeded so as to bring the two- ply loom to 27 yards per day, and the three-ply loom to 18 yards. His method of producing figures that will match was patented in 1845. The same machine was found to be applicable to Brussels and tap- estry carpets, the weaving of which by power was before thought to be impractica- ble. They were made at the rate of 4 yards per day by hand. This has been increased to 20 yards per day by the new process. The figures of the carpets are also made so as to match perfectly, and surpass the best carpets made in any other part of the world. CARDING WEAVING FELTING. 307 These looms are used in factories built for them in Lowell and Clinton, Massachusetts ; Thompsonville and Tariffville, Connecticut ; a large factory is in operation in New York, and Philadelphia and other cities have lately established them. The Brussels carpet takes its name from the capital of Belgium, whence it was introduced into England in the last century. It is made upon a ground of linen weft, which is con- cealed by the worsted threads that interlace and cover it. The threads are generally of five different colors. In weaving, these run the length of the web, and are so managed that all those required by the pattern are brought up together across the line of the carpet. Before they are let down, a wooden instrument called a sword is passed through, to hold up the threads. This is replaced by a wound wire, which being at last removed, leaves a row of loops across the carpet. In a yard there are sometimes 320 successive lifts of the sets of colors required, each of which forms a row of loops. Four colors must always lie beneath the 5th, which ap- pears on the surface, and thus the carpet is thick and heavy. The Wilton carpet differs from the Brussels in that the loops are cut before the wire is removed. A groove runs in the wire to receive the edge of the cut- ting knife. The soft ends of the cut loops give the carpet its velvet appearance. In Imperial Brussels, the loops of the figures only are cut. Here a new invention was brought into use to make "tapestry and velvet pile." This is a combination of the arts of printing and weaving. The principle is this: if a rose-bud occurs a thousand times in the length of a web, at 4 feet apart, the block printer must apply his block a thousand times to print the bud. By the new process the thread is wound a thousand times round a cylinder 4 feet in circumfer- ence, and a turning wheel, charged with color, passes across the coil. The thread unwound is found to be marked in a thou- sand places exactly where it is wanted. The threads are thus all parti-colored, and singly show no regular figure ; but when arranged in the proper order for the weaver's beam, the figures come into view much elongated. Sometimes 1 8 feet of warp will be gathered into 4 feet of cloth, in order to secure the due proportion of the intended object. By this system the number of colors, that could not exceed 6 or 7 by the old plan, is now increased to 20 or 30, or any number; and instead of a change of blocks for every pattern, the same blocks serve for all pat- terns. The wool used for carpets is imported from South America and the East Indies. Of that obtained from South America, the best is the Cordova, which is worth here 22^- and 23 cents per lb.,and next in grade to it ranks the Buenos Ayres, worth 13 and 14 cents per Ib. The East India wools all rank still lower, and are generally of a dark color. It may be interesting to follow the wool in its passage through the various processes which transform it from its hard, dirty, and oily mass, lying in bales, to the brilliant velvety pile worthy the foot of Flora McFlimsey. The material passes in the usual way, from the wash to the combing machines, which separate the long from the short fibres. The long are passed through rollers, and assume a form entitled a " sliver," which is allowed to fall into a hollow cylinder set for the pur- pose, while the short fibres disappear in a mysterious-looking box at one side of the room. These slivers are then passed through a drawing frame, twenty or more of them united, and drawn out so as to equalize the thread; eight or ten of these threads are again subjected to the drawing process and reduced to one, which operation is repeated as often as is necessary to produce uniform- ity. These long fibres, so carefully put through this process, are intended to form the warp of the carpets, while the short fibres are used for the "woof" or "filling." In the spinning-room, both staples of wool come together to be spun on the long, clash- ing, clattering "spinning jacks," twelve in number, some of them spinning 256 and others 308 threads at once. When it leaves the "jacks" it is in the form of coarse yarn, tightly rolled on large spools, from which it is wound into skeins and is ready for the dye house. By a curious system of folding, of a recent American invention, part of the yarn skeins are, after being scoured (a process ap- plied to all yarns to free them from their natural oil), subjected to a parti-colored dye- ing and thus the same skein, or frame of skeins, may sometimes bear half a dozen dif- ferent colors. These parti-colored yarns are used for warp. Other bundles of yarn are submerged in rolling, steaming floods of col- ored liquids of every hue. That portion in- tended to be used white, is bleached by means of sulphur in houses erected for the purpose on the river bank. From the dye- 308 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. ing-room, the yarn is conveyed to the drying- room, immediately over the engine boilers, and after it has become thoroughly dried, is conveyed to the winding-room,where winding machines, worked by girls, are at work, fill- ing spools and bobbins from the skeins; and no sooner are the spools filled than they are unfilled by the warping machines, five of which are constantly in operation. The threads are here wound upon the large cylin- ders for the printers, and each filling of this great cylinder makes but a single thread in the warp of a single pattern, so that for a piece having 208 threads in its width, the cylinder must be filled and carefully printed a corresponding number df times. These monster skeins, after being printed, some- times with 100 or more shades of colors, each laid on in straight lines by a small printing roller, travelling across beneath the large cylinder, are packed at full length in rice chaff, and having been placed in boxes on a little railroad car, are shoved into a boiler, where from 4 to 6 Ibs. pressure of steam is applied. When the colors have been thoroughly fixed by the means we have stated, the skeins are dried and passed through what are termed setting machines, when the yarn is ready for the Bigelow loom. These have on the end of each of the little wires used to raise the pile of the Brus- sels carpet, a small knife, which, while it weaves, cuts the pile and makes it " velvet." The next machines to which the fabric is sub- jected, are for shaving the velvet, and girls are employed in trimming the under side of the goods and preparing them for the rolling ma- chine. Here the carpets are rolled, marked with the number of the pattern of each roll, number of yards, etc., and thus prepared for removal to the warehouse. The lengths of the pieces usually are : velvets, from 40 to 50 yards ; tapestries, 50 to 60 yards ; and in- grains, from 100 to 110 yards. The quantity of carpets made in New York and Massachusetts, according to the respective state censuses of 1855, was as fol- lows : "Wool used. Carpets made. Ibs. yards. New Tork 3,707,500 1,820,500 Massachusetts.... 2,880,974 1,988,460 Total two states. . 6,588,474 3,808,960 The manufacture of long shawls, for men's use, was pushed to a great extent a few years since, when the fashion was more prevalent than now. The Bay State Mills became famous for that description of goods, the manufacture of which required 3,000,000 Ibs. of wool per annum. The delicate yarn, known as zephyr worsted, is much used on these machines, greatly promoting the manufacture of those articles Avhich it has been the rage to knit of late. The demand for that yarn causes frauds to enter into the sale. Each pound of zephyr is divided into 16 laps, which are sold without weighing, as containing each one ounce of wool. Full weight would be 16 drachms to the ounce lap, or if stored in over dry atmosphere, 15! drachms; but the fraud consists in putting up only 15, 14, 12, or 10 drachms in each ounce lap, the num- ber of laps in a pound being the correct number 16. These frauds are difficult to detect, as the dishonest dealer is provided with false weights, which make his goods appear on trial to be correct. The ounce of the apothecary shops contains more grains than the true standard avoirdupois ounce, so that it cannot be tested there. The proper remedy would be to inquire continually of dealers whether their goods are full weight or short weight, to show that public atten- tion is directed to the matter, and to com- pare articles bought at different stores, by putting them on the opposite scales of a bal- ance, and noticing where goods are sold by true or best weight. The production of hosiery and fancy knit work has become very important in the last ten or fifteen years. The supply of those articles came previously from England, but within that time the manufacture of these articles has received a great development, particularly in Philadelphia. The fine Amer- ican wool is well adapted to the manufac- ture. The business is largely carried on in families and by hand looms. There are large factories devoted to the production of opera hoods, scarfs, comforters, etc. The wool is prepared in the usual way, by card- ing and spinning, and is bleached, dyed, and printed according to the designs required. In the weaving, some fifteen or twenty differ- ent kinds of looms are employed. One has recently been invented for weaving neck- comforts. It weaves four neck-comforts of a double fabric, and each of a different pat- tern. The Jacquard principle, used in car- pets for years, is applied to it, and almost any design may be produced. The machin- ery is changed to suit the goods hoods, CLOTHING TRADE TOTAL MANUFACTURE. 309 talmas, opera cloaks, neck-comforts, scarfs, hose of every description. A large estab- lishment in Philadelphia uses 250,000 Ibs. of wool per annum in these articles. CHAPTER II. CLOTHING TRADE TOTAL MANUFACTURE SHODDY. UNTIL within the last twenty-five years, the ready-made clothing trade was confined almost entirely to the furnishing of sailors' sea fit-outs, or slops. The stores for this purpose were mostly in the neighborhood of shipping offices, and kept to some extent by sailor landlords, whose business philanthropy led them to coax " poor Jack" into their " cribs" on his arrival, and feast him high while his earnings lasted; and as soon as these were nearly gone, ship him on board some vessel, obtain his advance pay, which is, in the navy, three months, or $36, and in the merchant marine, one month, varying from $12 to $20, according to the demand for seamen. If this is not all due the landlord, he supplies slops at enormous rates for the balance, gets Jack dead drunk, and puts him on board at the last moment in that condition. In such a business, ready-made clothing was indispensable, but otherwise there was little market for made- up goods. Most families in the country made their own clothes. But as taste and wealth improved, the difficulty of " cutting out" called into being a special trade, and most villages and towns in the country were visited by professional persons, who boarded round in the families where cutting and fitting, as well for males as females, was in requisition. Another trade also grew up in the cities ; it was the dealing in second-hand clothing, mostly by Jews. These industrious persons bought up all the old clothing that could be had, cleaned, repaired, and redressed them, and sold them to those who sought to econ- omize. The cleaning and repairing of these clothes occupied great numbers of poor peo- ple. The repairing soon grew into fabricat- ing very cheap cloths bought at auction, "half-burnt," "wet goods," etc., to sell them in connection with the old garments. Vis- itors from the country found that garments could be bought in this way to better advan- tage than even to have them made at home, and the boarding-round system began to wane. It was soon found in New York that the great crowd of visitors who passed rap- idly through the city, and had little time to wait for measures, or to be inconvenienced with tailors' delays and misfits, would become buyers of a better class of ready-made cloth- ing, and the manufacture began to spread by tailors keeping assortments. The visitors who thus bought at retail were disposed to extend orders for resale at home, and in 1834 and 1835 the wholesale manufacture commenced in New York. One of the first of these, a shrewd judge of cloth and a close reckoner, commenced with little capital, slept under his counter, and kept his personal ex- penses very small, devoting his whole time to the cheap purchase of cloth, and the most economical way of making it up. This trade grew rapidly to an expenditure of $80,000 per annum for labor, mostly to sewing girls, at ridiculously low prices. This work was done to a considerable extent by girls who, living with their parents, wished to increase their allowance for dress. It is obvious that where the purchase of goods, the cutting, and making are attended to by experienced men, on a large scale, the cost of the goods must be very much less than that at which in- dividuals could get them up, and the compe- tition of the clothiers guarantees that the profits shall not be exorbitant. There were many in the trade when the revulsion of 1837 ruined them. The trade was soon again re-established, and it has not since ceased to grow, not only in New York, but to spread into all the cities of the Union. The census of 1850 gave the clothing business as fol- lows : Number 4,278 Capital $12,509. 1 61 Cost of material $25,730,258 Males employed 35,151 Females employed 61,500 Cost of labor $15,032,340 Value produced $48,311,709 This production in amount ranks third of the occupations of the Union. Since then the increase has been very much greater, and the business is now so extensive, that the " purchases of the clothiers" are a regulating feature in the goods market. These pur- chases take place many months before the goods are sold. The cloths for winter goods are bought in the previous spring, in order to give time for the making up. In a large clothing establishment, the business proceeds with great method. The cloth, as soon as it 310 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. comes in, is subjected to a rigid scrutiny, and blemished portions are removed. Tlie piece is then taken to the superintendent, a statement of the number of yards, the cost, and of whom purchased, is then entered in a book kept for the purpose. There is also entered the number and description of the goods to be made, how they are to be trim- med, the name of the cutter, the price of making, etc. The cloth is then transferred to the cutter, with directions as to kind of garment, style of cut, sizes, etc. The gar- ments being cut, are passed to the trimmer, who supplies buttons, thread, lining, etc. The goods then come under the control of the foremen, of whom there are several, and these give them out to be made. The num- ber who do this part of the business is very large, and are mostly females. They take home pantaloons, vests, etc., and when not well known to the foreman, are required to leave a deposit in money for the return of the goods. This is necessary in large cities, since it happens that if there is no deposit, the person may be tempted to pawn or sell the goods; or, if she is honest, she may have a drunken husband, who will seize and pawn the goods. It often happens, however, that poor, deserving women have no money to deposit, and go hungry in face of work that they might do. There are, on the other hand, knavish dealers, who, taking advantage of the position of the depositor, require it, and when the goods are returned, declare the work ill done, and retain the deposit to pay for the alleged spoiling of the cloth. There are also great numbers of men em- ployed in doing the heavy work, and since the introduction of sewing machines, these have been greatly employed. The large immi- gration into New York has caused a great supply of German and other families, who take in sewing, and these nearly all have a sewing machine. This demand for the machines is supplied by the liberality of the competing patentees. They deliver a machine upon the payment of a small sum, and allow the buyer to pay up a dollar or two a month until the purchase is completed. In this manner the supply of labor in the manufac- ture of clothing is greatly increased, but the pressure is harder upon those who have no machines. The women may, however, earn from $3 to $5 per week ; the former price on coarse work was as low as 25 to 37 cts. for common silk vests, and as much for panta- loons, of which two pair a day is a large pro- duction. For custom-made silk vests, $1 is paid. The finer coats are made by regular tailors, employed in fashionable city shops during the dull season, and these earn &7 to $12 per week. The supply of labor is not, however, confined to the city, but embraces a broad circle of country, to which goods are sent by rail and express to be made up. Many clothing concerns have agencies in the country towns. These keep vehicles to travel round to farmers' and other dwellings where good sewing is done in the winter, with his goods, and bring them back when done. This reverses the old system of board- ing round to cut out family goods, since tlie goods go round to get made up. The ener- gy with which the trade is driven, therefore, produces two competitions, one to get the work done, and the other to get the goods sold. The cutting is an " art " of itself, and re- quires a certain talent. It is, in fact, the most important part of the manufacturing, since the style and " set " of the goods de- pend upon it. The large New York clothing stores employ the best "talent" in this line. The majority of the goods made up in New York and Philadelphia, is for the south and west. The capital required is large, since the goods are to be purchased some four or five months in advance of the season ; much cash is paid out in the manufacturing, and finally, sales made at six to eight months. This manufacture includes all styles of boys' clothing as well as men's. The house of Brooks Brothers sell 81,000,000 per annum, and pay out $200,000 for sewing. This is stated at one-hundredth part of the clothing business of New York. The clothing trade of Boston has also re- ceived a great development of lute years, and by a combination of circumstances which have had their influence everywhere. In 1840 there were only two houses in the trade in Boston, and the aggregate sales were about $200,000. These have now in- creased to thirty-five houses, with sales not much short of $15,000,000 per annum. The supply of goods of home manufacture is large in Boston as well from the man- ufacturers direct, as through commission houses who advance on them to the manu- facturers. The cutting is done in Boston, but the sewing is mostly done in the fanners' families throughout New England, and about 60,000 females in such situations are em- ployed. The numerous railroads that trav- erse the country, make commodities cheap ; CLOTHING TRADE TOTAL MANUFACTURE. 311 and as sewing machines improve in the qual- ity of the work they do, and in the cheap- ness with which they can be furnished, hard- ly a house is without one, and all seek em- ployment for them. In 1857, when the financial pressure caused so many mills to stop, throwing hands out of employment, these sought sewing as a substitute ; and their savings enabled them to buy machines. The same event threw large quantities of goods upon the market, through the auction houses, and also through the hands of the commission houses, to whom the manufac- WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES OF THE UNITED STATES FOB 1860. . Pounds Value of Number of hands Value of all emplc >yed. of entire wool used. raw material. Male. Female. products. Maine $932,400 2,414,300 $1,003,366 539 488 $1,717,007 New Hampshire 1,421,300 3,829,404 1,612,578 846 672 2,601,353 Vermont 1,746.300 4,047,010 1,662,650 895 1,178 2,938,626 Massachusetts 8,993,903 33,516,797 12,520,675 7,659 5,310 19,655,787 Rhode Island 3,168,500 6,832,600 4,070,224 2,593 1,636 6,915,205 Connecticut 2,491,000 7,179,819 4,043,124 2,308 1,459 6,840,220 New York 3,115,700 7,453,004 3,424,614 2,504 1,716 5,870,117 Pennsylvania 4,339,310 7,128,529 4,427,138 3,738 2,350 8,191,675 New Jersey 583,400 1,175,800 548,578 532 303 1,085,104 Delaware 117,000 140,000 75,807 76 38 153,035 Maryland ... 318,200 1,055,272 267,355 248 133 605,992 Ohio 658,750 1,190,751 476,833 543 185 825,231 Indiana 464,341 940,000 352,362 436 97 649,771 Michigan 103,950 163,100 69,010 77 49 139,246 Illinois 207,600 324,300 110,462 128 34 187,613 Wisconsin 100,600 265,000 85,743 74 31 172,720 Iowa 82,500 168,700 67,293 96 24 127,640 Missouri 103,750 191,400 56,745 53 17 143,025 Kentucky 408,500 1,452,500 510,902 350 87 845,226 Virginia 463,600 1,131,000 389,204 381 113 717,827 North Carolina 223,000 504,500 151,005 113 140 291,000 South Carolina. 50,000 250,000 60,000 37 55 80,000 Georgia 242,500 1,008,600 260,475 167 216 464,420 Alabama 140,000 264,435 80,790 95 103 191,474 Texas 60,000 81,900 25,980 36 7 38,796 Mississippi 75,500 270,597 119,849 202 33 158,507 Louisiana 75,000 69,150 31,300 40 20 45,200 Tennessee 6,000 10,000 5,225 8 2 8,100 California 100,000 400,000 50,000 40 20 150,000 Oregon 70,000 150,000 27,000 27 3 85,000 turers pledged them for money. Thus, there was a large supply of goods and labor at less than former rales ; clothing could be furnished much cheaper, and this circum- stance was not advantageous to the old stocks. That circTimstnr.ee, temporary in itself, gave an impulse to the clothing busi- ness, as bringing more within its scope. The national census returns of 1850 and 1860 gave some details of the manufacture of woollen in each state, at each of those periods. That of 1860 was the most full, and is as follows : Yards of cloth manufactured. 2,509,100 5,782,641 3,975,882 34,899,348 19,343,660 14,301,043 7,951,679 23,405,469 1,754,575 427,200 1,153,857 1,078,266 680,355 172,723 176,960 285,000 133,315 358,000 2,230,246 1,007,714 639,000 300,000 1,435,000 613,410 94,976 569,203 48,800 18,000 52,500 Total $30,862,654 83,608,468 $36,586,887 24,841 16,619 $61,895,217 124,897,862 There were produced in these 1,260 wool- len mills, the same year, in addition to the cloth specified above, 6,401,206 pounds of woollen yarn, 610,400 shawls, 296,874 pairs of blankets, 18,000 table covers, 155,000 yards of felt (all made in New Jersey), and 600 coverlets (made in Ohio). The annual product in 1850 was valued at $43,542,288, and in 1840 at $20,696,699, so that the pro- duction was tripled in 20 years. In the re- turns from the state censuses of 1855 and 1857, the production of all classes of woollen goods increased considerably. Massachu- setts and New Hampshire showed the largest increase. The manufacture appears to con- fine itself mostly to the middle states; cu- riously enough to those states which are most exposed to the competition of the im- ported goods. We should have stated above, that the manufacture of woollens in the United States increased from $20,000,000 in 1840, to $43,- 000,000 in 1850, according to the national census. The statistical accounts of the gen- eral progress are very meagre. The statistics of woollen goods manufactured in 1855, S12 WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES. in the states of New York and Massachusetts were given as follows : MASSACHUSETTS. Broadcloth yards 759,627 Cassimeres " 6,444,585 Satinets " 6,736,082 Jeans " 1,948,609 Flannels and blankets "10,279,227 Yarn Ibs. 689,957 Carpets '. yds. 1,988,460 Wool used Ibs. 21,667,272 NEW YOBK. Cloth yds. 4,836,834 Yarn Ibs. 506,178 Shawls no. 188,000 Blankets prs. 48,000 Knit goods doz. 15,384 Shoddy Ibs. 348,000 Carpets yds. 1,820,500 Wool used Ibs. 15 325,283 These figures show that there has been an increase of nearly 12,000,000 pounds of the wool used since 1857 in Masachussetts, and a considerable increase in the quantity of goods produced. In New York,- the quan- tity of wool used has fallen off more than one half in five years. This has been partly owing to the lessened production of shawls, which took so large an amount of wool. The following figures, from a well-informed source, show the number of factories, sets of ma- chines, and quantity of wool required to feed them, in New England and New York, at this moment: Factories. Sets. Wool required. Maine 32 91 Ibs. 2,065,000 New Hampshire. 56 228 5,670,000 Vermont 56 122 2,375,000 Massachusetts . . 154 999 31,017.000 Connecticut 93 410 12.155JOOO Rhode Island ... 56 225 5,625,000 New York 468 10,59o'ooO Ibs. 69,497,000 The production of cloths labors under dis- advantage from the sharp competition which the English, Belgians, and French have kept up to obtain the American market. Up to 1840, 19-20ths of the cloths and cassimeres imported into the United States were of English manufacture. At that date they lost ground, but have since recovered. The importations have been as follows : IMPORTS OF CLOTHS AND CASSIMERES INTO THE UNITED STATES. Germany. Belgium. France. England. Total 1840, 16,fil2 93,135 89,767 4,490,830 $4 690 44 1848, 71C,93i 396,712 2,4(56,302 8777612 478,532 1,988.181 185 1, 1,411,282 1857, 2,574,871 909,331 , 3,785,070 1,059,470 5,711,933 6.357,557 7,463,(lri;i 10,h55.605 The tariff of 1841 and 1842 approached, by the biennial reductions, the 20 per cent. horizontal rate contemplated by the com- promise tariff, for the last and "subsequent years of its operation : that is to say, cloth paid 50 per cent, in 1822, 38 per cent, in 1840 and 1841, and 29 per cent, in 1842 to June 30. By the tariff of 1842 it paid 40 per cent., and by the present tariff 30 per cent. It may be observed, that with the advance of duty from 29 per cent, under the last year of compromise, to 40 per cent in 1844, the import of cloths in the aggre- gate increased, but this increase came from the continent, and the maximum importation was in 1 845. In the year 1 848 the quantities received from France, stimulated by the ex- port bounty of the revolutionary government, increased. 50 per cent., and the same influ- ence caused cloths to come from Germany in greater quantities. The Belgians and Germans were here in great numbers, at the Crystal Palace exhibition, seeking to intro- duce their Avares, and with more or less suc- cess. The result is, that the aggregate value of foreign cloths consumed in the United States did not increase, although the popu- lation increased at least 5,000,000 of people. The superior dye and finish of the German and French cloths have been the main reasons for their supplanting the English in our markets. The English manufacturers have now, by outlay of capital and increased ex- ertions, obtained more or less success in re- covering their ground; and against this sharp competition of France, Germany, and England, our manufacturers have hitherto rally, maintained their ground, as appears Tom the fact, that while the increase of population and the wealth of that population aas been very large within ten years, and the market for foreign goods has been extend- ;d, yet, on the other hand, most of the in- ;reased consumption of the country, in the double ratio of greater number and enhanced neans, has been supplied from our own pro- duction under shield of a 30 per cent. duty. The importation of shawls was very much increased in the same period of time, under similar conditions in reference to the suc- :essful competition of Europe against Eng- and. But the manufacture of these articles n this country has also immensely increased n the same time. The attention of farmers n the last two years has been powerfully lirccted to this great staple, and the degree of prosperity which it manifests is well cal- culated to extend their enterprise not only ,o the number of sheep, but to the quality CLOTHING TRADE TOTAL MANUFACTURE. 313 in respect not merely of breeds, but in keep- ing clean and packing. The fact has been developed by the most elaborate scientific researches, that the climate and soil of the United States are better adapted to the growth of fine, long stapled wools, suitable for the cloth manufacturer, than any other mawufac- turing country, and the article produced ex- ceeds the Australian wool. Under the ap- pliances of increased capital, and the stimulus which the competition of England with the continent may impart to the quality of the fabric, the United States will probably assume the superiority ; but our manufacturers should not neglect the necessary exertion to procure as fine a finish and as durable a dye for their cloths as those of the continent exhibit. The United States wools are rapidly gaining a character which will bring the foreign manufacturers into sncli competition for their purchase as will permanently sustain their price. The supply of wool in the United States has never been equal to the demand. In 1840 and 1850 the census gave the quan- tities raised in the country. If to these we add the quantities imported, we approximate the quantity used as follows : 1840. 1850. United States product. .Ibs. 35,802, 114 52,516,969 Imported 15006,410 18,669,794 Total manufactured, .lbs.50,808,524 71,186,763 These wools, imported into the United States, are mostly of the coarser descrip- tions used for carpets, etc., and the average value is about 10 to 11 cts. These are qualities which do not compete with the fine wools of American growth ; but the growth of manufactures was found to be impeded by the want of greater supply. In consequence, Congress, in 1857, made all wools costing less than 20 cents at the place of growth, free of duty. These had paid 30 per cent., ad valorem, previously. This law had not much effect in increasing the supply, for the reason that the supply is everywhere short. There were quantities of South American wool imported of a fine quality, but so filled with the burr peculiar to that country, as to make them nearly useless. Many machines were invented to remove these burrs, but with partial success. One was of the form of a number of circular saws, 8 to 10 inches in diameter, set close together upon a shaft, which revolved with much velocity. The wool was fed to this cylinder, through two rollers. The saw teeth seized the wool, which, passing between the saws, left the burr on the surface, whence it was removed by the motion of the cylinder against a sta- tionary knife placed longitudinally across it. The general impulse given to manufactures at home and abroad, has caused the demand to outrun the supply of wool. This was the more the case that manufactures spread in those countries that formerly were most de- pended upon for raw wools. The supply of England has been kept up by the extended exports of Australia and the Cape of Good Hope. Hence, the lower duty did not im- prove the supply in the United States, and the home supply has to some extent been diminished by the operation of railroads and the growth of large cities. These latter have raised the demand for mutton and lamb, while the easy transportation afforded by rail has induced the farmers to send the animals to market instead of the wool, which was formerly alone practicable^ The price of wool accordingly rose, and the manufacturers naturally sought to reduce the cost of the raw material by hunting up a substitute. This is usually found in substituting one of these four chief materials of human clothing 1 cotton, silk, wool, and flax. The one of these that is relatively dearest is mixed with larger proportions of the others. Hence, the value of the whole becomes in some degree equalized. Out of these circumstances has grown one of the most curious manufactures that have sprung up of late years. This is the shoddy manufacture. It has recently been imported from England ; and there are now in New York state six factories inWatervliet, New- burg, Troy, and Marlborough. These turn out about 100,000 Ibs. of shoddy per annum. But what is shoddy ? In the somewhat hilly district of York- shire, between Huddersfield and Leeds, stand on two prominences the pretty little towns of Dewsbury and Batley Car. The stranger, on alighting from the railway car, is struck with the unusually large warehouses, built of stone, by the railway company. For such small stations, these are mysterious erections. But if he enter the principal warehouse, he will probably find piled up hundreds of bales, containing the cast-oft" garments of Great Britain and the continent of Europe. Here, in fact, from all parts of the world, are brought the tattered remains of the clothes, some of which have been worn by royalty in 814 WOOLLBN MANUFACTURES. the various courts of Europe, as well as by the peers and peasants. The rich broadcloth of the English nobles here commingles with the livery of their servants and the worsted blouses of the French republicans; while American undershirts, pantaloons, and all other worsted or woollen goods, may there be found, all reduced to one common level, and known by one common appellation of " rags." The walls of the town are placarded with papers announcing public auctions of "Scotch shoddies," "mungoes," "rags," and such like articles of merchandise, and every few days the goods department of the railway is besieged by sturdy-looking Yorkshiremen, who are examining, with great attention, the various bales, some of which are assorted into " whites," " blue stockings," " black stockings," "carpets," "shawls," "stuffs," "shirtings," " linseys," "black cloth," etc. A jovial-looking man, of doubtful temperance principles, at last steps forward and puts the goods up to auction. The prices which these worn-out articles fetch are surprising to the uninitiated. Old stockings will realize from $35 to $50 a ton ; while white flannels will sometimes sell for as much as $100 a ton, and even more. The " hards," or black cloth, when clipped free from all seams and threads, are worth from $100 to $150 a ton. There are common mixed sorts of coarse fabric which can be bought as low as from $15 to $25 a ton; while the "rubbish," consisting of seams, linseys, and indescrib- ables, are purchased by the chemists for the manufacture of potash crystals for from $10 to $15 a ton. It will be seen that assorting these old woollens is equally important with the assort- ing of the different qualities of new wool ; and there is the additional consideration of colors to render assorting still more neces- sary. It is surprising, however, with what rapidity all this is accomplished. There are some houses where old woollen rags are divided into upward of twenty different sorts, ready for the manufacturer. The principal varieties are flannels, of which there are " English whites," "Welsh whites," "Irish whites," and " drabs." Each of these com- mand a different price in the market: the English and Welsh being much whiter than the Irish, and of finer texture, are worth nearly double the price of the Irish. The Btockings are the next in value to the flan- nels, on account of the strength and elas- ticity of the wool. The peculiar stitch or bend of the worsted in stocking manufac- ture, and the hot water and washing to which they arc submitted during their stocking existence, have the effect of producing a per- manent elasticity which no after process destroys, and no new wool can be found to possess. Hence, old stockings are always in great demand, and realize, for good clean colored sorts, as much as $80 a ton in busy seasons. The white worsted stockings are the most valuable of the " softs," and, when supplied in sufficient quantity, will sell for as much as $140 a ton. Carpets, and other col- ored sorts, are generally, owing to their rapid accumulation, to be had at very low prices. " Shoddy," so well understood in York- shire, is the general term for the wool pro- duced by the grinding, or, more technically, the "pulling" up of all the soft woollens; and all woollens are soft, except the super- fine cloths. The usual method of convert- ing woollens into shoddy, is to first carefully assort them, so as to see that not a particle of cotton remains on them, and then to pass them through a rag machine. This has a cylinder 3 ft. in diameter and 20 inches long, with steel teeth half an inch apart from each other, and standing out from the cylinder, when new, one inch. This cylinder revolves five hundred times in a minute, and the rags are drawn gradually close to its surface by two fluted iron rollers, the upper one of which is packed with thin stuff or skirting, so as to press the rags the closer to the action of the teeth. The cylinder runs up- ward past these rollers, and any pieces of rag which are not completely torn into wool, are, by their natural gravity, thrown back upon the rags which are slowly creeping into the machine. The rollers are fed by means of a creeper, or slowly moving, end- less cloth, on which a man, and in some instances a woman, lays the rags in proper quantities. One of these machines is com- monly driven by a seven-inch band, and re- quires at least five horse power. Half a ton of rags can be pulled in ten hours by one of these machines. The dust produced sub- jects the workpeople on first commencing the occupation, to what is there called the " rag fever." But after a time the imme- diate effects are warded off, and although it no doubt shortens life, the remuneration being considerable in England, 2s. for every 240 Ibs. of rags pulled there is never any difficulty in obtaining workpeople. CLOTHIKG TRADE TOTAL MANUFACTURE. 315 The " mungo" is the wool produced by subjecting the hards, or superfine cloths, to a similar operation as that above described. The machine, however, for the mungo trade, is made with a greater number of teeth, several thousand more in the same sized cylinder, and the cylinder runs about 700 revolutions in a minute. The rags, previous to being pulled in this machine, are passed through a machine called a " shaker." This is made of a coarsely-toothed cylinder, about 2 ft. in diameter, which revolves about 300 times in a minute, in a coarse wire cylinder. This takes away a large portion of the dust, which is driven out at a large chimney by means of a fan. The mungo pulling is, therefore, a cleaner business than the shoddy making, and, as a general rule, is more prof- itable. The power required for a mungo machine is that of about seven horses. Both the better kinds of shoddy and the mungo have for some years been saturated with oil ; but recently, milk has been applied to this purpose, and found to answer exceed- ingly well. The consequence is that milk in that locality, in England, has risen 100 per cent, in price ; and even in that district, where cows are kept in large numbers, it was feared there would be a great scarcity of milk for the supply of the towns. When well saturated with oil or milk, the shoddy or the mungo is sold to the woollen manufacturer. There are scores of men who attend the Huddersfield market every Tues- day to dispose of their mungo. It is as much an article of marketable value there, as cloth is here. It is not unusual for good mungo to realize as much as eight English pence per pound, while the shoddy varies in price from one penny to sixpence per pound, according to quality. The common kinds of shoddy require, of course, to be subjected to the scouring pro- cess, for which large wooden heaters, or " stocks," are employed. The dung of hogs is largely employed in this purifying pro- cess, as well as human urine, which is exten- sively used in the blanket manufacture of Yorkshire. The white shoddy is capable of being used either for light-colored goods or for the common kinds of blankets, while the dark-colored shoddy is worked into all kinds of coarse cloths, carpets, etc., which are dyed any dark color, so as to hide the vari- ous colors of the old fabrics. Tt is mixed in with new wool in such proportion as its quality will permit, without deteriorating the sale of the material. The mungo is used in nearly all the York- shire superfine cloths, and in some very ex- tensively. It produces a cloth somewhat inferior, of course, to the West of England goods in durability, but, for finish and ap- pearance, when first made up, the inferiority would only be perceived by a good judge of cloth. This substance is largely intro- duced into all felted fabrics. Blankets, car- pets, druggets, table-covers, and Petersham coats, are sometimes entirely made from it, and the trade is rapidly extending. The effect of shoddy in the cloth of an overcoat, in the wear, is to rub out of the cloth and accumulate between it and the lining. We have seen a gentleman take a handful of this short wool from the corners of his coat. The grounds on which this shoddy and mungo business can be justified are the cheapening of cloth, and the turning to a useful purpose what would be otherwise almost useless. The business in Yorkshire is dignified by the title of the " Dewsbury trade ;" and to it Dewsbury certainly owes its wealth, and we might almost say its ex- istence. In twenty years it has grown from a village to a town of some 30,000 in- habitants, and some immense fortunes have been made by this extraordinary trans- formation of old garments into new. Considerable quantities of white shoddy were sent from England and Scotland to this country, and finally a machinist sent several of his rag machines, and several factories were successively started. The sale of the product is now largely conducted in Cedar street, New York. The shoddy trade is somewhat fluctu- ating, being affected very much by the state of the wool market. So great is the com- petition in the markets, that as soon as a rise takes place in the price of new wool, the small manufacturers, instead of raising their prices, commonly regulate their expenditure by using a larger proportion of the old material, and they are thus enabled to com- pete, in prices at least, with the larger manu- facturers, who can lay in a large stock of new wool when the prices are low. LEATHER. CHAPTER I. TANNING BOOTS AND SHOES. ON the formation of the federal govern- ment, much solicitude was apparent in rela- tion to the growth of the more important branches of manufactures. That the im- perial government had so persistently pre- vented the establishment of any considerable branches, was a great drawback, because it had prevented the development of the neces- sary experience and skill in manufacture re- quired for large operations. The removal of those prohibitions by the act of inde- pendence, attracted attention to the forbid- den industries, and they began to flourish. The tanning and manufacture of leather, in all its branches, was one of the first that be- gan to thrive, and naturally, because the slaughter of animals for food furnished a greater or less supply of skins, that required to be wrought up into boots, shoes, harness, etc. Parliamentary committees, early in the eighteenth century, mentioned tanning in the colonies as a branch of individual in- dustry, which supplied most of the local demands for leather and shoe-making, as one of the leading handicrafts. In 1791, the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Hamilton, in his report on manufactures, mentions : " Tanneries are not only carried on as a regular business in numerous parts of the country, but they constitute, in some places, a valuable item of incidental family manufacture." He went on to mention, that encouragement had been asked of the gov- ernment in two ways, viz.: by prohibiting both the import of the leather and the ex- port of the bark. It was alleged that the leather trade had raised the price of bark from $3 to $4d per cord. He ascribed the rise, however, rather to the increase of tan- neries than to the export, of which, he said, there was no evidence. Glue was then a large item with the tanners, who used up the refuse portions of the skins in that way. From that time to the present, tanners have increased in all the states, in the proportion nearly of the growth of the population. The importation of boots and shoes was always insignificant, comprising high-priced articles from Paris mostly. Thus, the year 1822 was one of the largest import: there were then 14,979 pairs of shoes, mostly kid and morocco, imported, for $9,192 ; and 207 pairs of boots, for $792, or nearly $4 per pair. In 1858 the importation was only 39,826 pairs of leather boots and shoes, at a value of $87,101 ; and the export of do- mestic boots and shoes in this year was 609,- 988 pairs, or a value of $663,905 : showing a large excess of exports over imports. The manufacture of boots and shoes has, therefore, been in the double ratio of the number of people, and their ability to buy, in proportions as follows : Boots and shoes ..... Gloves ............. Leather belting ...... Morocco dressers. . . . Patent leather ...... Saddles and harness. . Tanners and curriers. 6,040 LEATHER MANUFACTURE OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1860. 126 46 136 12 3,695 Capital Kaw material. Male. Female. Labor. Product 523,357,627 $42,728,174 94,512 28,514 $30,938,080 $91,889,298 594,825 537,589 453 976 330,419 1,176,795 588,000 915,271 329 25 134,952 1,481,750 2,331,250 3,896,522 2,371 331 924,308 6,291,075 1,039,000 1,395,400 865 317,460 2,101,250 6,616,034 6,726,344 12,443 337 4,333,041 14,604,328 35,655,370 44,520,737 22,622 57 6,933,740 67,306,452 Total 21,541 $70,182,106 $100,720,037 133,595 30,240 $43,912,000 $184,850,948 The total value was thus raised to $184,- 850,948. The value produced by the tan- ners and curriers was $67,306,452. Of this leather so produced, the harness-makers TANNING BOOTS AXD SHOES. and shoe-makers used $49,454,588. The tanneries lie at the foundation of the whole. They use the skins and hides of animals slaughtered in the whole country, and re- quire, in addition, an average of some 5,000,- 000 of foreign hides, imported mostly from Central and South America, and the British East Indies, to make good the demand. The census of 1 840 gave the sides of sole leather tanned at 3,463,611, and of upper leather 3,781,868. The supply of hides in the country origin- ally was derived mostly, if not altogether, from the slaughter of animals for food. Tan- neries were started where bark, mostly hem- lock, was most easily accessible, and the tan- nery became the market for hides and skins for many miles around, as well for the farmers as butchers. In the neighborhood of the large cities, foreign hides became the main resource. Thus, in 1858, the value imported was 89,719,683, as follows: Bos- ton and Salem, $3,290,555; New York, 85,629,027; Philadelphia, $377,635; Bal- timore, $422,466. The importers of hides sell to the tanners for cash or short time, and then tanning takes place in localities best suited to the combination of the materials. Boston is the largest leather market in the states ; but there is not tanned in Massa- chusetts half the leather they use. They tan the upper leather ; but the sole leather is mostly tanned in New York. The hides imported at Boston and Salem are sold to the New York dealers, by them supplied to the tanners, and then resold to the boot- makers of Massachusetts. One reason of this is, no doubt, that the newly opened counties of New York supply more and cheaper bark than can be had elsewhere. When the Erie railroad was opened through the southern tier of counties, tanneries rapidly increased along its line. The returns of the road for the first five years were as follows : 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850, Hides sent west. Leather sent east Ibs. 976,950 1,200,520 1,111,580 3,253,883 10,140,022 781,300 480,040 1,078,620 3,696,592 8,409,765 So rapid was the effect of having access to new hemlock forests. The number of hides that are produced each year in the country, although a very important item, the census has not furnished in any definite manner. That of 1840 gave the number of sides tanned in 1839 at 3,463,611, which would account for 1,731,805 hides. The number of neat cattle in the country was then 14,971,586, and of horses and mules 4,335,669. The deaths among them would give about 400,000 hides, and the neat cattle would give 3,000,000 hides. The number of horses, cattle and other domestic animals in the United States, in 1866, is estimated by the Agricultural Department as foUows : Horses 6 691,220 Mules l',054,337 Cattle 26,935,616 Swine 28,845,003 Sheep 41,253,652 The census gives the quantity of cattle slaughtered* at 25 per cent, of the whole. This would give 6,733,904 neat cattle. The horse hides (ten per cent.) would be about 669,000. The census of 1850 gives 6,128, 970 hides tanned, and 8,653,865 skins, in- eluding 6,000,000 sheep skins. If we com- pare the census of 1840 with that of 1850, for tanneries, we have results as follows : No. Capital. Sides tanned. Skins. Value. 1840, 8,229 $I5,650,9:!9 3,643,611 3.781,808 $20,919.110 1850, 6,263 18,90u,557 12,257,940 8,653,865 82,861,790 The census of 1850 gives 6,128,970 hides tanned, which gives 12,257,940sides. Under the head of skins, the census of 1840 has upper leather, calf, horse, etc. The census of 1850 includes 6,000,000 sheep-skins. Now, these 12,257,940 sides of sole leather by no means account for all the shoes made in the country. The rapid rate at which shoes and boots are made and worn, far exceeds the increase of cattle and hides; and the census returns do not obtain any thing like the quantities that are made in the large cities, where the numbers of very poor foreign shoe-makers are large. The census of 1855 gave 24,804 boot and shoe- makers in the state of New York, while the United States census of 1850 gave but 10,439 in the state. This difference, to some extent, no doubt, grew out of the large migration, there being among the emigrants very many shoe-makers who work very cheap and well. The skins of domestic animals, or " green hides," are rated of higher value than the foreign or salted hides ; yet these latter will give a great weight of leather, because of the water in the green hides, which, on the other hand, are more easily handled. The largest oxen make the best sole leather. The skins of the bull are thickest about the neck and 318 LEATHER. parts of the belly ; but the back is thinner, and are inferior in fineness of grain to oxen or cows. The best are made into the heavy leather, used for the best trunks, shoe-soles, machine-belts, harness, etc. The lighter qualities serve for uppers of common boots and shoes. Kips, or skins of young cattle, make the uppers of fine boots and shoes. Those hides of the best quality only are split or shaved for the thin enamelled leather used for "ladies' shoes, and are made into "lace leather," or thongs for belts. In preparing the hides for tanning, the heavy ones are soaked for months in lime-water. The hair, at last, can be removed, with the epidermis, by the two-handed scraping-knife, rubbed over it as the hide is laid flat down on the bench prepared for this purpose. The fleshy substance on the other side is then scraped off, and, like the head, cheeks, and other waste, used for making glue. In large establishments, machines are used for this scraping. The lime that remains in the pores of the hide must be removed by soak- ing in some solution, like chlorine, that will form a soluble compound with the lime. Sometimes hides are laid in piles, and allow- ed to begin to putrefy, great care being taken to stop it as soon as the hair starts. By the United States plan, the object is more eifectively obtained, with less labor, and no injury to the leather. The hides are suspended in a cool vault, protected, like an ice-house, against the entrance of warm air, and furnished with a covered channel-way, that answers as a drain and as a conduit for cool damp air. Cool spring water is then conducted into the vault, to fall round its sides like spray. The hides are thus kept in a mist, at a temperature of 44 to 46 dcg., and, in six to twelve days, are found freed from all superfluous matter. The cold vapor has been absorbed, and its action by melting has distended and removed the epidermis with the roots of the hair. As soon as this is effected, the hides are ready for tanning. This American plan, it will be observed, is far in advance of that of the old systems, still practised in Europe. Of the hides brought into New York in a year, the disposition was as follows : Domestic hides, slaughtered 250,000 Imported 1,902,000 Stock, Jan. 1 375,000 Supply 2,527,000 Taken for sole leather 1,877,000 upper " 250,000 patent " 100,000 " by western tanners . . . 100,000 " neighboring cities . . 150,000 Stock, Dec. 31 2,477,000 50,000 These figures show the relative disposition of the hides sold in New York. Leather, tanned, is generally divided into three kinds, namely : hides, kips, and skins. The stoutest leather employed for trunks and soles of boots and shoes, is made from butts or backs. Buff leather was formerly made for defensive armor from the hide of the buffalo, but it is now furnished by the cow-hide, and is used chiefly for soldiers' belts. Bull-hide is thicker than cow-hide, while kip-skin, from young cattle, is lighter than the latter. The name kip is also giv- en to Calcutta, Brazil, and African hides. Calf-skin supplies the great demand for the upper part of boots and shoes ; sheep-skins form a thin, cheap leather ; lamb-skins are used for gloves ; goat and kid-skins form a light leather of fine quality ; deer or ante- lope are usually bi-dressed in oil ; horse-hide is prepared for harness work, etc., and this, with seal-skin, is used for making enamelled leather ; dog-skin makes a thin, tough leath- er, but most of the gloves sold as dog- skin are made of lamb-skin. Hog-skin makes a thin, porous leather, and is used for covering the seats of saddles ; ass and mule- skins are for shagreen leather, used mostly for scabbards. There is a large import trade in skins. The great demand for leather for the best gloves is supplied by lamb-skins from Italy, Spain, the south of France, and other parts, where, in conse- quence of the lamb being killed quite young, the skin is small, fine, and thin, and is used instead of kid ; but it is neither so strong nor so glossy. The skins of lambs that die soon after their birth, are sometimes dressed with the wool, and arc used for lining gloves and shoes. The best kid-skins are from the south of France ; they are also imported from Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Ire- land. It is said that as soon as the kid be- gins to feed on herbage, the skin suffers in fineness and delicacy, and is no longer suit- able for the best gloves. The best morocco leather is made from Swiss goat-skins ; another kind is from Mogador and East In- dian goat-skins, which are often made into black morocco, known as " black Spanish TANNING BOOTS AND SHOES. 319 leather," from the circumstance of the first . supplies having been obtained from Spain. The leather from the Cape sheep-skin is , nearly equal to morocco. Hippopotamus ! hides are exported from South Africa, and when tanned with oak bark, they make an j extremely thick and compact leather. In | Canada, recently, leather has been made from the white whale which visits the St. Lawrence. In February, 1860, some speci- mens of this leather were shown at the American Institute. There are various sorts of excellent leather made from their skins. The vegetable substances used in tanning have of late years become almost as numer- ous as the varieties of hides and skins on which they are employed. The active vege- table principle, tannin, varies somewhat according to the source from which it is derived ; but it is always marked by an astringent taste, a bluish-black or dark green precipitate in aqueous solution by admixture with a solution of one of the salts of per- oxide of iron ; while, with a solution of gela- tine, it gives a dirty white or brown precipi- tate. During a long period the principal tanning material has been oak bark and hemlock bark. That which is stripped in the spring is the most esteemed, for it then contains a larger quantity of tannin than that stripped in autumn, and this more than the bark stripped in winter. The best bark is obtained in a warm spring, from coppice trees about twelve years of age. Oak bark con- tains from 4 to 22 per cent, of tannin, which is contained in the inner white layers next the alburnum, as in the case of other astrin- gent barks. The tannin of bark is probably not identical with that of galls, as it does not yield pyrogallic acid when subjected to destructive distillation ; from four to six pounds of oak bark are required for every pound of leather. After the stripping, the bark is stacked to dry ; should the season be rainy, a portion of the tannin may be washed out, and the bark be thus deterio- rated. When the tanned leather is taken in hand bv the currier, it is softened by being soaked in water. It is next beaten by a mallet upon a hurdle, and then placed over a plank called a beam, which projects slant- ingly from the floor. The workman leans over this and against the leather, so as to keep it in its place, and with a broad knife shaves off all the irregularities from the flesh side. The knife is held firmly in both hands, and the operator continually exam- ines the skin, and moves it to bring all parts under the knife. After it is shaved, it is thrown into cold water, the flesh side laid next to a stone slab, and the other well rubbed with a tool called a stretching iron. This process forces out a whitish matter (bloom) gathered in the tan pit, and reduces inequalities. Many tools are employed, having the same object. The skin then un- dergoes "dubbing;" an ointment of cod oil boiled with the skins of sheep, is well rubbed in on both sides, and the leather hung up to dry. It is afterward rubbed with the graining board an instrument shaped somewhat like a brush, but grooved, and made of hard wood. The leather is then ready for sale ; or, after shaving the flesh side with a very sharp knife, it is waxed. A color, composed of oil and lamp-black, is well rubbed inon the flesh side, with a hard brush, until the surface is thoroughly black ; upon this is applied a size and tallow with a stiff brush, and when dry, it is rubbed with a broad, smooth lump of glass ; this is re- peated. This leather is called "waxed," or " black on the flesh," and is used for the uppers of men's boots and shoes. If curried on the other side it is called black on the grain, and is used for ladies' uppers. In preparing such leather, the waxing is per- formed as follows : a solution of sulphate of iron, called copperas water or iron liquor, is applied to the grain side of the wet skin, when the salt, uniting with the gallic acid of the tan, produces an ink dye ; stale urine is then applied to the skin, and when dry, the stuffing is applied. The grain is raised, and when dry, the skin is whitened, bruised, and again grained ; after which, a mixture of oil and tallow is applied to the grain , side, and it undergoes carefully the treat- ment with the pommel or graining-board again, and several other processes of rubbing, polishing, and dubbing, or oiling. These duly performed, with due regard to time and circumstances, complete the process. For many years it was found difficult to cause a bright varnish to adhere to leather without cracking, an eft'ect which is now produced by means of boiled linseed oil mixed with vegetable black and Prussian bine. This composition, of the consistence of a thick paste, is rubbed upon the surface of the leather, and then dried at a temperature of from 150 to 170 Fahr. The process is repeated from three to seven times, and when quite dry, the varnish adheres very 320 LEATHER. firmly, and will bear considerable flexure and tension without cracking. By mixing colored pigments with the varnish, enamelled leather of various colors may be produced. The process of tanning differs considerably in the mode of treatment with the kind of skin and the result desired. A large num- ber of thin leathers which are intended to be dyed, are tanned in various ways. White leathers are not tanned, but tawed, or treated with alum, salt, and some other matters. Wash leather is dressed with oil, or sham- oyed ; but whatever may be the subsequent treatment, the preparatory steps somewhat resemble each other whereby hair, wool, grease, and other matters, are removed, and the skin is reduced to the state of a gelatinous membrane called pelt ; the hair is removed from kid and goat-skin, by means of cream of lime ; the wool is generally removed by the feltmongers before the skin is passed to the tawers. Foreign lamb-skins, which are received with the wool on, are washed, scraped on the flesh side, and sweated in a close room, until, in consequence of the putrefactive fer- mentation, the wool can be easily removed. After this, fatty matters are got rid of by subjecting the skins to hydrostatic pressure ; they arc next worked at the beam and pared into shape, treated with lime, and next with dogs' or pigeons' dung, if the skins are to be tanned, and with bran and water if they are to be tawed, the object being, in either case, to get rid of the lime. During these opera- tions, the skins are worked a few times at the beam, and are finished by washing in clean water. Morocco leather is prepared by tanning goat-skins with sumach, and dyeing on the grain side. Inferior moroccos are prepared from sheep-skins similarly treated, for which purpose each skin of pelt is sewed up into a bag, the grain side outer- most, distended with air, and placed in a mordant of tin or alum. They are next placed in a warm cochineal bath for red, in- digo for blue, orchil for purple, and are worked by hand until the dye has properly struck. For certain colors the tanning pre- cedes the dyeing. The tanning or sumach- ing is carried on in a large tub, containing a weak solution of sumach in warm water; another and stronger solution is contained in an adjoining vessel, a portion of which, together with some sumach leaves, is poured into the bag; some of the weak solution is then added, the bag is distended with air, and the skin thrown into the vat. In this way about 50 skins are treated, and are kept in motion a few hours in the sumach tub, by means of paddles worked by hand, or by machinery. The skins are then taken out and heaped upon a shelf at the side of the tub, the pressure thus produced causing the liquor to escape slowly through the pores of the skin, the bags being shifted about from time to time. The bags are next passed into a second vat, containing a stronger solution, where they remain for nine hours. The bags are now opened and washed ; fine red skins being finished in a bath of saffron. All the skins are next struck on a sloping board until they are smooth and flat, and in order to improve their ap- pearance in the currying, a little linseed oil may be rubbed on the grain side ; they are then hung up in a loft to dry, when they be- come horny and are in the crust, as it is called ; they next pass through much labor- ious friction with the pommel, and with a glass ball ; while the peculiar ribbed ap- pearance of morocco is given by means of a ball of box-wood, on which is a number of narrow ridges. Sheep-skin morocco is pre- pared from split skins; the skin-splitting machine resembles in principle that hereafter described, only as the membrane is thinner, certain variations are required. Instead of stretching the skin on a drum, it is passed between two rollers, the lower one of gum- metal, and solid, and the upper made of gum rings; while between the two rollers, and nearly in contact, is the edge of the sharp knife, which is moved by acrank, ashereaft< r mentioned. When a skin is introduced be- tween the two rollers, it is dragged through against the knife edge and divided, the solid lower roller supporting the membrane, while the upper one, being capable of moving through a small space by means of its rings, adjusts itself to inequalities in the mem- brane ; where this is thin the rings become depressed, and when it is thick they rise up, so that no part escapes the action of the knife. The divided skins are not sewed up into bags, as, from their thinness, they can be sumached quickly. In preparing white leather by " tawing," the pelt is made as pure as possible ; the best kind of leather being prepared from kid- skins, while sheep or lamb-skins make the inferior kinds. They are first fed with alum or salt in a drum or tumbler made like a huge churn ; about three pounds of alum TANNING BOOTS AND SHOES. 321 and four pounds of salt being used to 120 skins of average size. The alumina of the alum forms some definite compound with the gelatine of the skins, while the salt serves to whiten them. When taken out, the skins are washed in water, then allowed to ferment in bran and water to remove the surplus alum and salt, and to reduce the thickness. They are next dried in a loft, and become tough and brittle, but they are made soft and glossy by means of a dressing of twenty pounds of wheat flour and the yolks of eight dozen eggs. By rotating the skins in drums for some time the dressing is absorbed, and scarcely any thing but water remains. This dressing is usually repeated, and the skins hung up to dry. The beautiful softness and elasticity of leather is now given by manip- ulation. The skins are first dipped in clean water, worked upon a board, and staked upon a stretcher or softening iron, consisting of a rounded iron plate fixed to the top of an upright beam, by which the skins are ex- tended and smoothed ; they are then finished by being passed over a hot iron. The tanning of leather, more than almost any other manufacture, is a chemical process, the success of which depends almost wholly upon the skill and judgment with which its complicated manipulations are conducted. To attain the requisite skill in the laboratory of the chemist is evidently impossible ; it can only be acquired in the tanning itself, by long and careful attention and observa- tion ; and perhaps there is no description of manufacture where so much depends upon practical knowledge, and so little upon mere theory, as in the tanning of leather. The tanning of leather consists in effecting a combination between the gelatine, which is the main constituent of raw hides, and tan- nin, a peculiar substance, found in the bark , of several species of trees the oak and hemlock chiefly. The processes employed I are so' various, and the modifications occa- I sioned by temperature, strength of the liquor, and quality and condition of the hides, are so numerous and so different, that hardly any branch of business requires for its successful conduct a greater degree of judgment and experience, and in few arts have there been effected greater improve- ments. Within twenty years the gain of weight in converting hides into leather has increased nearly fifty per cent. ; that is, from a quarter to a third more leather can now be obtained from a given 20 quantity of hides than in the old-fashioned way. The great improvement in weight seems to have been gained by the judicious use of strong liquors, or " ooze," obtained from finely-ground bark, and by skilful tanning. In order to produce heavy weights, the hides should not be reduced too low in the beam^ house, and should be tanned quickly with good strong liquors, particularly in the latter stage of the operation. To green hides, par- ticularly, nothing can be more injurious than to suffer them to remain too long in weak " ooze." They become too much reduced, grow soft, flat, and flabby, lose a portion of their gelatine, and refuse to " plump up." On the other hand, however, the effects of an early application of " ooze," that is too strong and too warm, to green hides, is very injurious. It contracts the surface fibres of the skin, tanning at once the external layers, so " dead," as it is termed, as to shut up the pores, and prevent the tanning from penetrating the interior. This renders the leather harsh and brittle. In softening hides, and preparing them for the process of tanning, a great deal also depends upon the judgment of the person superintending the operation, inasmuch as the diversities in the qualities and charac- teristics of hides render it impossible to sub- ject them to any thing more than a general mode of treatment. In "sweating," the character of the hides and the temperature are essential, but ever-varying considerations. As a general rule, however, the milder the process of preparing the hides for the bark, the better. Unnecessarily severe or pro- longed treatment is inevitably attended with a loss of gelatine, and a consequent loss of weight and strength in the leather. Too high a temperature is particularly to be avoided. In almost every lot of hides, particularly the Orinocos, however, there are generally some that prove very intractable, resisting all the ordinary modes of softening. For such, a solution of ashes, potash, or even common salt, will be found to be bene- ficial. As we have said, no precise rule can be given as to the length of time required for the preliminary process of soaking and " sweating" so much depending upon the qualities of the hides, and the tempera- ture at which these operations are con- ducted. 322 LEATHER. The following table, however, may be to a definite idea of the practice in a large found useful in conveying an approximation tannery : Temperatures. 40 Days. Buenos Ayres hides 10 to 12 Carthagena and Laguayra.. . 8 12 8OAKING. 50 60" Days. Days. 8 to 12 6 to 8 7 957 70 Days. 3 to 6 2 5 40 Days. 15 to 20 15 20 SWEATING. 50 60 Days. Days. 12 to 16 8 to 12 10 15 6 8 701 Days. 2 to 3 2 3 Salted hides do not require more than about two-thirds the time to soak, but about the same time to sweat. In sweating, the temperature rises as the hides sweat, so that the operation is seldom performed un- der 50. It is particularly recommended that, for the tougher hides, the heat should never be greater than 60 or 65. After the hides are prepared for tanning, the next process is what is commonly called " handling," which should be performed two or three times a day in a weak ooze, until the grain is colored, new liquor being prefer- able to old. They are then, after a fort- night, laid away in bark, and changed once in two to four weeks until tanned. Much care and judgment is requisite in proportion- ing the continually increasing strength of the liquors to the requirements of the leather in the different stages of this process. The liquors should also be kept as cool as pos- sible, within certain limits ; but ought never to exceed a temperature of eighty degrees. In fact, a much lower temperature is the maximum point, if the liquor is very strong too high a heat, with the liquor too strongly charged with the tanning principle, being invariably injurious to the life and color of the leather. From this, it would seem that time is an essential element in the process of tanning, and that we cannot make up for the want of it by increasing the strength of the liquor, or raising the tem- perature at which the process is conducted any more than we can fatten an ox or a horse by giving him more than he can eat. It may be questioned whether any patented schemes for the more rapid conversion of hides into leather, will be found, on the whole, to have any practical utility. We have mentioned the injurious effects resulting from too strong a solution of the active principle of the bark ; on the other hand, the use of too weak solutions is to be avoided. Hides that are treated with liquor below the proper strength, become much relaxed in their texture, and lose a portion of their gelatine. The leather neces- sarily loses in weight and compactness, and s much more porous and pervious to water. Che warmer these weak solutions are ap- )lied, the greater is this loss of gelatine. To iscertain whether a portion of weak liquor contains any gelatine in solution, it is only necessary to strain a little of it into a glass, and then add a small quantity of a stronger iquor. The excess of tannin in the strong solution, seizing upon the dissolved gelatine in the weak liquor, will combine with it, andj- be precipitated in flakes of a dark, curdled! appearance, to the bottom. In the best tanneries, the greatest strength of liquor used for handling, as indicated by Pike's ba-^ rometer, is 16. Of that employed in laying" away, the greatest strength varies from 30 to 45. After the leather has been thoroughly tanned and rinsed, it will tend very much to improve its color and pliability to stack it up in piles, and allow it to sweat until it becomes a little slippery from a kind of mucus that collects upon the surface. A little oil added at this stage of the process, or just before rolling, is found to be very useful. Great caution is necessary in the admis- sion of air in drying, when first hung up to dry. No more air than is sufficient to keep the sides from moulding should be allowed. Too much air, or, in other words, if dried too rapidly in a current of air, will injure the color, giving a darker hue, and rendering the leather harsh and brittle. To insure that the thick parts, or butts, shall roll smooth and even with the rest of the piece, it is necessary that the leather should be partially dried before wetting down for rolling, and that, when wet down, it should lie long enough for every side to become equally damp throughout. In the tanning records of 200,000 sides, an average of the whole time was five months and twenty-seven days. The average weight of the leather was seventeen pounds per side. This, according to the best authorities we< have at hand, is considerably below the time employed in England. There, it is no UB-' common thing for eight and ten months to be employed in tanning a stock of leather,; TANNING BOOTS AND SHOES. 323 and some of the heaviest leather, it is said, takes even fourteen and fifteen months. A new process of tanning leather has been recently introduced, as follows : Sole leather hides for sweat stock are pre- pared for the tan liquors in the usual man- ner. Limed stock for upper and sole leather, for either hemlock or oak tanning, is limed and washed, and bated by the paddle-wheel handlers ; after being properly prepared for the tan liquors, it is then handled in a sec- tion of vats, with the liquors communicating in the manner long known as press-leaches, except the order of running the liquors is from near the top of one vat to the bottom of the next, and so on through the whole section, thus "pressing" the weak liquor ahead on to the greener stock, giving a per- fect gradation of strength of liquor on each pack, stronger or weaker according to the length of time it has been in ; each vat is fitted with a paddle-wheel handler, patented June 19th, 1847, and Dec. 24th, 1850, which is used for stirring the stock in the liquors, dispensing with the necessity of handling by hand entirely; in this section stock should be kept about two weeks, then taken out and hung over sticks with head and butt down in layaways, patented August 10th, 1858, and not again moved or seen till well tanned ; the layaways are all in one section with the communicating trunks, in the same manner as the handlers ; when a pack is taken out tanned, a pack from the handlers is put into its place, and the weakest liquor in the section is allowed to fill the vat ; here every part of every side is in contact with the liquor at all times, and the liquors on every pack are becoming stronger every day till tanned ; the liquors are kept in motion by small paddle-wheels, which operate on the surface of the liquor over the suspended sides, causing the liquors to pass with a gentle cur- rent among the sides, bearing them up, so that they do not rest heavy on the sticks. Two men's labor is sufficient for all the yard work for a tannery working in and out 150 sides per day, including washing the tanned stock and taking it to the loft. The results of tanning 144,000 hides were as follows : Hides ....... 144,000 3,229,155 22.22 $421,810 Leather, sides, 287,275 5,316,789 18.51 704.044 This gives a considerable increase in the weight of the hides, and the increase in the | value of the article is much greater. That covers, of course, commission, labor, interest, profits, etc. The great development gives to general business in the last ten years has caused an almost continuous rise in the value of leather and hides. The latter, on being purchased and put in the vats, would thus acquire value from the general rise in the market, in addition to the regular value added by the art of the tanners. There was gradually felt a growing scarcity of hides, and the quantities imported by no means kept pace with the rising value. The quantities and values of hides imported for the few last years were as follows : I860. 1855. 1856. 1857. 1858. No. hides, 2,572,884 2,484,554 2,360,150 2,fi51,846 2,493,656 Value, $5,964,838 4,828,119 5,919,319 7,620,272 8,048,825 This shows that for 79,000 fewer hides, there was paid, in the year 1858, $2,000,000 more money than in 1850, a rate which gives an advance of 37 per cent, in the value of hides, without inducing a greater supply. Such a fact indicates the growing cost of the raw material for boots and shoes, and also indicates the growing value of the hides of animals throughout the country. Leather being so costly a substance, great efforts are made to introduce economies in its manufacture and use in every direction. One plan for getting the most possible sur- face out of a given weight, is to split the thick hides into two thinner sheets. This process, formerly difficult, has of late under- gone many improvements. When the hide is sufficiently tanned, it is split sometimes into five thicknesses, from a single one. This is done by various machines, in one of which the knife is 72 inches long, or as long as a hide is wide. A late improvement in Bos- ton makes the knife 80 inches long, and economises 25 per cent, in the stock that before was shaved away. The flesh side of the sheet, with the shanks, are used by the trunk-makers to cover wooden trunks, and blackened on the trunks. Other sheets are subjected to a process called "buffing," which consists in shaving off about half the grain, in order to obtain a softer surface to receive an artificial grain. They are then returned to the tan-yard, and, after being scoured, are retanned in warm liquors. They are then sent to the currier to be prepared for japanning. A new patent has been issued for splitting leather with a circular knife, which is of thin metal, made like a disc, convex side up. This revolves hori- LEATHER. zontally, with its sharp edge just above a table, over which the leather is stretched, and held down firmly to it by springs. Un- der the table is a roller, which, by revolving, draws the leather forward against the edge of the revolving knife. The upper side of the leather splits off in curls above the knife, which may be nicely adjusted to make the leather of any thickness. The general manufacture of boots and shoes had undergone few changes other than those produced by changing fashions and the regular improvements of business, until the introduction of sewing and pegging machines, which have given a great impulse to the production by affecting prices and disturbing localities. The Massachusetts shoe-makers, by their industry, early obtain- ed an ascendancy in the manufacture, and it is one that is easily adopted in an indus- trious community. The towns in the neigh- borhood of Boston attracted masons, car- penters, and other workmen, in the winter season, when their own professions were dull, to pursue shoe-making, which was always a resource. The town of Lynn was the most famous; and the facility with which shoes were turned out, led to the legend, that the materials, being stuck to the wall by an awl, were combined in the proper manner by a blow of the lapstone being skilfully aimed at them. There were others who asserted that both boots and shoes grew there sponta- neously. Whatever may be the fact, an affluence of these useful articffcb was always observable there, and thirty years since the sales were mostly in the hands of the New York merchants, to whom most of the New England manufacturers consigned or sold their wares. Gradually this changed. The number of skilled workmen that arrived from al-road became so great, as to fill most of the departments into which the boot trade became divided, as crimping, bottoming, heeling, and finishing; and the pay of the workpeople, by the piece, or the pair, enables each to control his own time, Avorking when they please. These sometimes club their v.-ork, and appoint an agent to sell ; others, by economy, save their pay, and employ a few men, whose work they direct. These, in the cities, are called "garret bosses." 'When they succeed in establishing a trade, they conduct the manufactory by a foreman, and open an office in the city, where they sell their wares, and purchase the stock for manufacture. The materials are in this manner better purchased ; and as the seller is himself the manufacturer, coming in con- tact with buyers from all sections, he be- comes conversant with the styles adapted to all localities, and the manufactory is by far the better conducted for it. The advan- tages of this system have made Boston, of late years, the grand centre of such operators, and have drawn thither the jobbers from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincin- nati, St. Louis, etc., until Boston has become the largest shoe market in the world. The sales of boots and shoes there are $62,000,- 000 per annum. The number of pairs made in Massachusetts in the year 1860 was as follows : Boots 11,578,885 Shoes 32,678,167 Boots and shoes 51,250 Total pairs 44,308,302 Total value $37,468,355 This was a number sufficient for one and a half pairs for each person, great and small, in the United States ; and the number em- ployed in making them was 43,907 males, and 32,652 females : together, 76,559. In 1845, the value, manufactured in Massachu- setts, was $14,799,140 an increase of $22,- 669,215 in the fifteen years; showing the force of concentration of the trade. The number of eases exported from Bos- ton, in 1859, was as follows : Total year. Baltimore 62,461 Charleston 17,177 Louisville 21,119 Lexington 2, 1 58 Memphis 3,338 Mobile 2,940 Nashville . 18,781 Paducah 1,146 Richmond 1,452 Savannah, Ga 2,526 St. Louis 55,774 New Orleans 37,686 Philadelphia 56,119 New York 182,207 All others 253,107 Total cases 717,991 This gives a value of over $30,000,000. The class of shoes sent from Boston is hot of so fine a character as those which are turned out in Philadelphia. The largest quantity of morocco is made there ; and the supply of skins and leather is ample, and of the best quality. The workmen have a, reputation for skill, and are paid by the piece. TANNING BOOTS AND SHOES. 325 The work is divided into separate branches. For men's dress boots, the " fitter" is paid 75 cts. ; for crimping, 10 cts. ; for bottom- ing, $2 50; heeling, 12 cts. A fast work- man earns about $12 per week. The pro- duction of boots and shoes in Philadelphia has been placed at $4,141,000, including a quantity made in the state prisons. The introduction of sewing machines has had an important effect upon the manufacture of both boots and shoes, and more recently, the invention of a machine to peg soles prom- ises to make a still greater change in the principal branch of the Lynn manufacture. The machine in question, for which a pat- ent has recently been issued, punches the leather, and inserts the pegs, in an incred- ibly short time, with the utmost accuracy and efficiency. The sole, when pegged, is perfectly pliable, the pegs forming, apparent- ly, a portion of its substance. The use of these machines is as well adapted to the limited wants of small western towns, as to the grand operations of metropolitan manu- facturers, and local wants may, by their ac- tion, be so gradually supplied, as to dry up those streams which unite in so extended a demand in Boston. Let us go into an eastern machine shoe factory. In a small room, partitioned off for the purpose, is a neat and compact steam engine, which carries all the machinery, even to the stitching machines. The remainder of the basement is occupied by machines for cutting, stripping, rolling, and shaping the soles. The stock is then passed to the story above, where the shoes are lasted, and the outer soles are tacked on by hand ; by which process they are prepared for pegging. The pegging machines are simple in their con- struction and mode of operation, but per- form the work with great despatch and accuracy, driving the pegs at the rate of fourteen a second. One of the most curious operations of the machine is the manner in which it manufactures the peg for its own use. A strip of wood of the required width, and neatly laid in a coil 100 ft. in length, is put into the machine, and at every revolu- tion it is moved forward, and a peg cut off and driven into the shoe. The rapidity and unerring accuracy with which these machines perform the work, is truly astonishing. After being pegged, the shoes are passed up to the third story, where the bottoms are smoothed, scoured, and brushed, and then sent into the front of the building to be packed, ready for sale and transporta- tion. Another part of the building is occupied by the women who tend the stitching machines, which are also run by steam : thus saving them from what otherwise must prove a laborious and fatiguing operation. A dozen hands employed in the manu- facture of these pegged shoes will complete about 20 cases per week; and the work being almost entirely accomplished by machinery, gives it a uniformity as to style, shape, and general appearance, which it is impossible to obtain by hand. The pegging machine has been invented but a few years. The work, even now, is said to be fully equal to that performed by hand, and must, therefore, we think, certainly supersede it when the machinery is brought to a higher state of perfection, which, in the nature of things (it being impossible to stay the progress of inventive Yankee genius), must be continually taking place. The style of making boots and shoes changes in some degree, and is leading manu- facturers to introduce improvements, like that of a steel shank, so called, which is a steel spring fixed firmly in the heel, and ex- tending under the hollow of the foot between the soles, to give elasticity to the step. The grades of city work vary with the qual- ity of the material and the labor bestowed. The patent leather custom-made boots com- mand $10 per pair; and the high Russia leather Wellington boots $12 ; and so down to $10, $8, arid $5 for calf-skin; with lower rates for split leather, and ordinary material. The scarcity of material, and the high prices of stock, have driven the poorer class of shoe-makers to the use of old tops, or upper leathers, for both boots and shoes. These are not only refooted for the use of the wearer, but are cut down to make new shoes and boots of a smaller size. Many take much pains to buy up old articles of that description, and reproduce them at rates far below what they could be afforded by regu- lar shoe-makers from new stocks. Much art' is used also in economising the soles of cheap goods. A thin under-sole is used; between which and the in-sole, pasteboard, old slips of leather, and other cheap sub- stances, are inserted, to give an appear- ance of substance. These cheap varieties of shoes supply the wants of those whose means are small, with a semblance of shoe- ing. 326 LEATHER. The phrase, "paper soles," is not unfre-| quently used to designate the extremely thin substance attached to the casings of the dainty little feet of our fair sex, but still that substance is leather. Recently, however, a pair of veritable paper soles were put upon a customer, and worn, though for a very lim- ited time. The victim in the case was a strapping negro fellow, who, allured by the seductive invitation to "walk in and see the cheap clodings," entered a Jew's museum, and purchased a pair of laced boots for $1 50. Establishments. Hands. Tanners 863 5,525 Boots & shoes 1,463 10,372 Harness, &c. Pocket-books Hose, Ac. Patent leather Morocco.. . 594 12 2 5 30 1,613 581 19 67 609 Capital. $3,367,013 1,061,940 481,571 91,430 1,000 59,000 223,300 The production of leather by tanners ex- ceeds by much the value used by those who work up leather. A great deal of the leather made in this state goes, however, as we have seen, to New England to be used. The manufacture of gloves has not ex- tended itself in this country so much as some other industries, with the exception of buckskin gloves, which are peculiarly Amer- ican, combining utility with dress. The use of gloves is becoming far more general in cities than formerly. In early times, the practice of presenting a pair of gloves at funerals to the attending clergy, and others, was carried to such an extent in Massachu- setts, that the legislature forbade the prac- tice, under a penalty of 20. In cold re- gions, gloves are of the warmest wool, or skins, with the fur side out. Buckskin lined with soft wool is often used: the texture changes with the climate to the softest kid and silk. India-rubber gloves are used for many purposes, such as saving the hands of females in many kinds of domestic labor. Some years since, the French government undertook to clear the sewers of Paris from the multitude of rats that infested them, and which had become a formidable nuisance. These rats were of large and divers breeds. It was stated that a contract was entered into with a Parisian glover to purchase the skins for the glove manufacture at a certain price, on the condition that they should not exceed 1,000,000. It resulted that many millions were procured^ and the Parisian Raw material. Value produced. 9,670,386 $15,642,383 2,628,524 6,063,951 816,804 1,580,492 128,040 369,000 60,000 77,000 113,000 226,500 1,301,612 2,899,829 They fitted well, and wore well for a few hours, but great was his astonishment when his trotters parted company with his boots, and he was once again barefooted. On ex- amining more closely his purchase, he found that the soles were composed of thick paper board, colored to resemble leather, and peg' ged to the uppers. The sympathising justice heard his complaint, but could grant no relief. The New York state census of 1855 gave the following summary of the production of leather, and the manufactures therefrom : Quantity. 4,244,615 hides. 1,478,017 pairs. ( 13,663 sets. ( 37,807 trunks. 21,600 gross. 73,250 skins. 838,795 skins. house having declined, a London glover took the " lot." It is not certain, however, that the skins are of practical value. The French excel in the manufacture of kid gloves, and Parisian gloves are still with- out a rival. The difference is seen in the cutting of the skin to the best advantage. This is performed with scissors, after stretch- ing and rubbing the skin upon a marble slab with a blunt knife. A skin is first cut longitudinally through the middle, by which it is divided into two equal and similar parts ; and the single strip, for the palm and back, is next cut off from one end of the half skin. The pieces for the thumb, the gussets for the fingers, and other small pieces to be inserted, must all be worked out either from the same skin, or from others precisely similar. In this work, it is said, "a Frenchman will gen- erally manage to get one or two pairs of gloves more than an Englishman can from the same skins, and these not inferior or scanty, but as well and handsomely shaped as the rest. This clever and adroit manip- ulation of the leather is an object of great importance in France, where not less than 375,000 dozen of skins of all kinds are cut up into gloves every year." The nearly square piece cut off is folded over upon itself, giving a little more width for the side designed for the back of the hand ; and upon this oblong, double strip, the workman, measuring with his eye and finger, marks out the length for the clefts between the TANNING BOOTS AND SHOES. 327 fingers, which he proceeds to cut and shape. Making the hole for the thumb is a matter requiring the greatest skill, for a very slight deviation from the exact shape would cause a bad fit when the parts are sewed together, resulting in unequal strain and speedy frac- ture when the glove is worn. By late im- provements, introduced by M. Jouvin, the thumb-piece, like the fingers, is of the same piece with the rest of the glove, requiring no seam for its attachment. The cutting also is performed in great part by punches of appropriate patterns, and some of these are provided with a toothed apparatus some- what resembling a comb, which pricks the points for the stitches. The seams are sew- ed with perfect regularity by placing the edges to be united in the jaws of a vice, which terminates in fine brass teeth, like those of a comb, but only one-twelfth of an inch long. Between these the needle is passed in suc- cessive stitches. When the sewing is com- pleted the gloves are stretched, then placed in linen cloth, slightly damp, and beaten, by which they are rendered softer and more flexible. The last operation is pressing. The chief branch of the manufacture carried on in the United States is that of buckskin gloves ; and the most important seat of this bu- siness is at Gloversville, Fulton county, N. Y. It follows, from what has been said, that the United States are large consumers of leather ; and when we consider that we are largely a grazing and cattle-growing nation, manufacturing from our native hides a greater quantity of leather than any other nation of equal population, in addition to large imports, it would seem to indicate an extravagant, if not a wasteful use of leather. We are informed by Adam Smith, who has delineated every point and line of every branch of political economy, and who has, apparently, collected and compressed into three volumes more of the critical history of the individual, as well as the general economy of human society, than any one author, and with less of error and mistake than most authors, that it is characteristic with savage nations to export their raw hides, and neither to manufacture nor ase much leather; while civilized nations import largely of raw hides, and manufacture and consume large quanti- ties of leather. It is a fair corollary, then, that our excessive consumption of leather indicates our superior degree of civilization ; and such is undoubtedly the truth. The high grade of civilization of the people of the United States is abundantly evident, and universally acknowledged. FIKE-ARMS. CHAPTER I. COLT'S REVOLVERS SHARP'S RIFLES DAHLGREN'S GUNS. THE improvements in fire-arms are making such rapid progress among civilized nations, that we may indulge the hope that they will soon cease to be wanted at all ; since, as extremes meet, they may become so effec- tual in their operation, and war reduced to such a science, that an attempt to fight will only be entire mutual destruction, like that most effectual combat between the two Kil- kenny cats. The last war in Europe, by which France, in three months, liberated Italy from Austrian grasp, is an example of the power that may now be exerted in a short space of time, and the newly invented rifled cannon had a powerful agency *in bringing matters to a close. After the invention of gunpowder in the fourteenth century, the art of gunnery made great progress, and the musket came to be the most important weapon. The Roman legions used the short stabbing sword as their favorite weapon. In the age of chivalry, the lance of the horse- man was the queen of weapons, and con- tinued so up to the battle of Pavia, in 1525, when chivalry made its last charge, and went down with the white panache of the gallant Francis I. From that time the ar- quebuse, then a matchlock, improved into a firelock, displaced the English bow, acquired the bayonet, and became, in its turn, the " queen of weapons." When the musket, or " Brown Bess," was furnished with per- cussion caps instead of flints, and the sword bayonet was added, there seemed to be little to hope for in the way of improvement. Since the " wars of the Roses" in England, nine-tenths of all the battles of the world have been decided by projectiles, artillery, and musketry, without crossing a bayonet or drawing a sword. The cavalry, as an arm, has continually lost ground, except in the rout of a defeat, when it follows up a fly- ing enemy. It never could break a square, even when armed only with pikes, and re- cent events have shown that it cannot reach infantry in line. A remarkable change has come over " Brown Bess" of late, and it seems now to have seen its best days. The rifle, or a screwed barrel, was among the first forms of the manufacture of small arms in the sixteenth century ; but the musket was pre- ferred, on account of its more speedy load- ing. The rifle was, however, the favorite with the American colonists, and its execu- tion in their hands during the Revolution brought it into general notice. The adding of the percussion cap was a great improve- ment to it. Recently it has become so im- proved as to supplant not only the old musket, but artillery also, since the events of the last few years have shown that it is easy to silence cannon by shooting down the gunners at their pieces, beyond the reach of grape. In the text-book of the St. Cyr Military School of . France, it is directed that the fire of artillery should cease when the enemy is distant twelve hundred yards. At Waterloo, the opposing armies being twelve hundred yards distant, were out of reach of all but solid shot from field guns, as they were then served. It is now stated that the Minie rifle is effec- tive at a mile distant, and at two thousand yards troops can easily shoot each other. It follows, from these simple facts, that ar- tillery must improve or become ineffective. The improvements in the rifle were mostly in the ball. The French pin rifle had a small steel "pin" in the bottom of the chamber. The powder filled in around this pin, and the ball, of a conical shape, hollow at the base like a thimble, had a small metal plate, which, on being rammed home, struck against the pin, and spread the ball so as to slug the piece. The Minie rifle was nearly the same, without the pin, because it was found that the explosion would of itself spread the ball. The performances of this weapon are somewhat marvellous, since it is COLT'S REVOLVERS SHARP'S RIFLES DAHLGREN'S GUNS. 331 said that it is effective at a distance of over a mile. The most important improvement in small arms has, however, been in repeating weapons, of which the revolvers of Mr. Samuel Colt are the type. Mr. Colt was a seaman in his youth, and while on a voyage to Calcutta devised the revolver. He made the model in wood, in 1829, while at sea. Improving upon this, he took out his first patent for fire-arms in 1835. This was for the rotating chambered breech. This of it- self was no new invention, since many of the old arms preserved in the tower of Lon- don have the same style of manufacture. It is obvious, however, that what is possible in this respect with percussion caps, was not so with the old flint-lock. Mr. Colt had the advantage of the cap, and his invention caused the chambers to revolve by the act of cocking. In 1851, he read an essay upon the subject before the Institution of En- fineers in London. Patents were issued in ranee, England, and the United States ; and in 1835 an armory was established at Paterson, N. J., but afterward abandoned. The first important use made of this new arm was in 1837, by the United States troops un- der Lieut. Col. (now Gen.) Harney. The In- dians were acquainted with a "one-fire" piece, but when they saw the troopers fire six times without loading, they thought it time -to give in. There was not much de- mand for the arm until the Mexican war of 1846-47, when a supply was required for Taylor's army. The government ordered 1,000, and there was not a model to be found. This order was filled at Whit- neyville, near New Haven. Other orders followed, and the works were transferred to Hartford. Mr. Colt manufactured on his own account. The California fever set in, and was followed by the Australian excite- ment. The demand for arms thus occa- sioned, induced Colonel Colt to erect an armory unequalled in the world. It occupies what was a flooded meadow of two hundred and fifty acres. This is diked in for two miles, and the most extensive buildings have been erected, at a cost of $1,000,- 000, to supply 1,000 fire-arms per day. In 1858, 60,000 were turned out. All the accessories of these arms balls, cart- ridges, bullet-moulds, powder-flasks, etc. are manufactured at this place. There are also extensive works for the manufacture of the machinery by which fire-arms are made. It is to be remarked that at these works the machinery for the British government ar- mory at Enfield has been made ; and also all those for the Russian government at Tula. The arms of Colt attracted great attention at the World's Fair of London. " In whatever aspect the different observers viewed the American repeaters," says an ac- count of the impression they made at the Crystal /Palace, "all agreed that perfection had been reached in the art of destruction. None were more astonished than the Eng- lish, to find themselves so far surpassed in an art which they had studied and practiced for centuries, by a nation whose existence was within the memory of man, and whose greatest triumphs had been in the paths of peaceful industry. The Duke of Welling- ton was found often in the American depart- ment, pointing out the great advantage of these repeaters to other officers* and his friends ; and the different scientific as well as popular journals of the country united in one common tribute of praise to the inge- nuity and genius of Colonel Colt. The In- stitute of Civil Engineers, one of the most highly scientific and practical boards of its kind in the world, invited Colonel Colt to read a paper before its members upon the subject of these arms, and two of its meet- ings were occupied in hearing him, and in discussing the merits of his invention." He was the first American inventor who was ever thus complimented by this celebrated in- stitute, and he received at its hands, for his highly able and interesting paper, the award of a gold medal and a life-membership. In addition to his presence before the institute, Colonel Colt, in high compliment to his ex- perience and skill, appeared also, upon special invitation, before a select committee on small arms of the British Parliament, and there gave testimony which was gladly received, and deemed of superior practical value. His own statements were amply corroborated at the time, before the same committee, by British officers, and others, who had visited his armory in America ; and especially by J. Nasmyth, the inventor of the celebrated steam hammer, who, in re- ply to the inquiry, what effect his visit to Colt's manufactory had upon his mind, an- swered : " It produced a very impressive effect, such as I shall never forget. The first impression was to humble me very con- siderably. I was in a manner introduced to such a skilful extension of what I knew to 332 FIRE-ARMS. be correct principles, but extended in so masterly and wholesome a manner, as made me feel that we were very far behind in car- rying out what we knew to be good princi- ples. What struck me at Colonel Colt's was, that the acquaintance with correct prin- ciples had been carried out in a bold, in- genious way, and they had been pushed to their full extent ; and the result was the at- tainment of perfection and economy, such as I had never met with before." All tests and examinations to which the repeating arms were subjected in England, were highly in their favor. Emphatically they spoke for themselves. The enormous power nay, the invincibility of British troops armed with them, was demonstrated. " The revolver manufactured by Colonel Colt," said the Dover Telegraph, a public journal, express- ing the best and almost universal opinion of England upon the arm, " is a weapon that cannot be improved upon. It will, we un- hesitatingly predict, prove a panacea for the ills we have so unhappily encountered in the southern hemisphere. The Caffre hordes will bitterly rue the day on which the first ter- rific discharge is poured upon their sable masses." And so a panacea the revolver did prove, both with the Caffre hordes, and with the Muscovite also, upon the bloody plains of the Crimea. Over 40,000 of these pistols are now in use in the British navy ; and Garibaldi has been ably sustained by a corps commanded by Colonel Peard, and armed with Colt's revolving rifles. The most important progress in the man- ufacture of these arms, is that each separate part of a pistol or carbine is made after one pattern by machinery, and with such entire accuracy, that a number of the weapons may be taken to pieces, and any part of one will fit any of the others. Each separate part is made perfect of itself, and separate boxes contain these parts. The weapons are put together rapidly when wanted. There has been a gradual improvement in them, from suggestions derived from their use in Mexico, the Crimea, and Italy. It is now a world- renowned weapon. The great success of Colt has, of course, brought forth imitations, and repeating arms of many descriptions have been patent- ed. Very many are infringements on Colt. There are Allen's, Derringer's, the Volcano, and other pistols, and Pettinger's patent, which is a revolving chamber, but also a patent lock of some reputation. The invention of breech-loading weapons has also been very successful. The type of this class is Sharp's rifle, which was invented about the year 1852, by Mr. C. Sharp, of Philadelphia. The cartridge in this weapon is put in at the breech, and the " twist" removed by the act of closing the breech. The piece is also self-priming. The caps, instead of being single, in the shape of small thimbles, as usual, are made flat, and arranged together like the coil of a watch-spring ; at each cock of the piece this uncoils and thrusts a cap, or one section of the coil, over the nipple. The danger of this is that they all explode at once if not well made. After the most careful examination of the construction of this arm by competent men, it was found, in compari- son with others, to stand the tests of a first- class weapon, being safe and certain in firing, easily and rapidly loaded, simple in its construction, and constantly kept clean by its own operation. For sporting pur- poses, this rifle soon became a favorite weapon. The ordnance department at Wash- ington expressed their admiration of the im- provement ; and subsequently the British government ordered 6,000 of these rifles, for the use of their army in India. More recently, Mr. Sharp applied the principle which distinguishes his rifles to the con- struction of a new pistol or carbine, es- pecially designed for the use of mounted dragoons. The advantages claimed by the patentee for the new pistol are numerous j among others, that it is more compact, lighter, has a more extensive range, and fires with greater accuracy than any pistol now in use. It is single-barrelled, but owing to the ease with which it can be loaded, it is capable of being fired twice as often as any revolver in a given period of time. The pis- tol weighs about two and a half pounds; the barrels are six and eight inches long, and throw a half-ounce ball effectively one- fourth of a mile. It primes itself for twenty rounds. It was recently tested, in competi- tion with various other fire-arms, at West Point, by a board of officers appointed by the United States ordnance bureau, and struck a target six feet square, at a distance of 600 yards, twenty out of thirty shots. The same pistol was fired seventy times in seven minutes, priming it three times, every ball striking a target three feet square, at a distance of forty-five feet, with a force suf- ficient to penetrate eight inches of pine board. Certificates from officers in the army COLT'S REVOLVERS SHARP'S RIFLES DAHLGREN'S GUNS. 333 testify to the high estimation in which it is held by the troops that have tried it. The firm of C. Sharp & Co. erected (for the manufacture of his fire-arms) a very exten- sive establishment at the west end of the wire bridge, near Fairmount. The building is of brick, 140 feet long by forty feet broad, and is surmounted by a cupola, from which an admirable view of the city and surround- ing country can be obtained. The machinery is of the most beautiful and accurate descrip- tion : the entire cost for the buildings and machinery being about $130,000. The basement is used for the forging of the iron material of the pistol. In the rear of the first story is placed a high-pressure stationary engine of seventy-five horse power, which forms the motive power of the establishment. The second story is used for the boring of rifle barrels, which are drilled from solid cylinders of cast steel. The third story is the tool manufactory, where the cutting, milling, and finishing apparatus is constructed. The fourth story is the finishing shop, where the rude materials are adjusted, and from which the article issues complete. The manufacture of the rifles is carried on in Connecticut. Among new inventions of breech-load- ing pistols is that of Stafford, of New Ha- ven. The conical ball, as in the case of all breech-loading arms, is fixed ready for use in a copper cartridge, which is dropped from the left hand into the barrel when the pistol is held by the right hand. The barrel being attached to the stock by a hinge, is opened to receive the ball. Then, on throw- ing the barrel into line with the breech, by an upward jerk of the right hand, it is ready for use. There is a spring catch in front of the hammer of the lock which catches the barrel and holds it in position until the pis- tol is discharged. When the thumb is brought down on the catch, the barrel is dis- engaged, and, by a jerk, is thrown into posi- tion for reloading the whole operation of loading and firing being accomplished in a small fraction of the time required to de- scribe it. This must be so, for an expert can fire sixteen shots a minute with this pis- tol. The arrangement of sights is also com- plete, so that any object can be exactly covered by a marksman with precision, and the penetration and force with which the ball is projected can hardly be realized by those who have not experimented with it. In the present year (I860) a patent issued for a breech-loading cannon, which has also been patented in France and England. By this a ball cartridge is dropped into the gun by an opening in the breech, a pin moves forward, pushing the cartridge, closing the hole by which it entered, and discharging the piece by percussion powder. The rifle factory of Mr. Eli Whitney, sit- uated at the foot of East Rock, on the Hart- ford and New Haven turnpike, was founded by the father of the present proprietor, in the year 1798, and was long used by him in the manufacture of arms for the United States government. This gentleman, dis- tinguished for his talents as a mechanic, for his sound judgment, and for his persevering industry, applied to this branch of business the same skill and ingenuity, the first fruits of which had been already displayed in the invention of that instrument so important to the agricultural interests of the south the cotton gin. The result was the production of an article superior to that obtained from England, not only in itself, but also in the manner in which it was made. The method of manufacturing muskets then devised by Mr. Whitney, and also many of the different kinds of tools invented and used by him, have been since adopted in the national ar- mories. The establishment has, we believe, been exclusively devoted to this business- from the time of its foundation until a few years since, when an alteration was effected^ and the manufacture of rifles substituted. The metal is wrought into the most eccen- tric shapes, without any further intervention of human hands than is requisite for super- intending the machine. Owing to this skil- ful arrangement of machinery, only thirty-five men are required to carry on the works, turning out nearly 3,000 rifles a year, worth about $13 apiece. In the manufacture of these about 50,000 pounds of iron, 6,000 pounds of copper, and from 4,000 to 5,000 pounds of steel are annually con- sumed. The steel is worked up into ram- rods, springs, and portions of the lock. The iron costs about $140 per ton, and is ob- tained from Salisbury, Connecticut that procured there being found of a superior quality to either the English or Pennsylvania iron. The stocks are made of black walnut, which is brought from Pennsylvania. The rifles, when finished, weigh ten and a half pounds each. A striking advantage gained by the extended use of machinery in making the different parts of the rifle is the perfect uniformity of the work. So accurately and 334 FIRE-ARMS. in so many different ways is every part, even the most minute, gauged, that in putting together the whole, no delay is occasioned from trifling inaccuracies in fitting. Each screw, spring, sight, top-board, or any other piece whatever, is so nicely wrought that it may be applied to and will fit any one of the 3,000 rifles made in the course of the year as exactly as it does the one of which it finally forms a part. The rifles are made on contract for the government, and are not offered for sale. The manufacture of guns is extensively carried on in England, and the value ranges from $1.50 to $175 each. A vast quantity of the cheap arms has always been manu- factured for the American trade, particularly for the Indians. The common guns are made of flat strips of iron, called a kelp, three feet long, four inches wide. This is rolled into a cylinder by hand, and the edges weld- ed. Sometimes the strip is thick, and one foot long, being drawn out as it is welded. The quality of the gun depends upon the toughness and elasticity of the iron. A supe- rior gun was made of the metal used for horse-shoe nails, and the old nails or stubs were reserved for this purpose, and formed a large item of import into England from the continent. Latterly they have been sup- planted by iron made for the purpose. Steel bars in combination with iron ones, called laminated steel, are now thought to be the best. There is much fraud in this manufac- ture, and thousands of guns of common Damascus iron are imported into the United States as laminated steel. The manufacture of guns is carried to great Serfection at the United States armories at pringfield, Massachusetts, and Harper's Fer- ry, Virginia. The guns are there made of flat bars of iron 14 inches long, 5 3-8 inches wide, and 9-16 inch thick. The edges are bevelled, so that when turned over into a cylinder they will make a perfect joint. The bars are first put into a reverbera- tory furnace, and when at a white heat are passed through curving rolls, of which there are five, to bend the bar gradually in order that it may not split. The curving of 450 is a day's work. Before it is curved it is called a plate ; after, a cylinder ; when welded it is a tube, and a barrel when it receives its shape in the taper groove. The welding being completed, the foreman takes the barrel to the straightening machine. This revolves sixty times in a minute. The machines will weld seventy-five barrels per day. At every stop the tests of gauge and inspection are rigidly enforced. The barrels are proved twice, with 360 and 240 grains of powder, and a ball double the weight of the service ball. The stocks are of black walnut, and are delivered by contract in the rough. They are turned into perfect finish in half an hour, passing through sixteen machines of the prin- ciple of Blanchard's lathes. The " furniture" or metallic mountings for receiving the barrel and stocks, are most of them stamped out of plates. The locks are highly ingenious, and brought to great perfection. They are too compli- cated for description. In the year 1859 the government produced 20,000 muskets in both armories. The United States rifle musket is composed of eighty-four different pieces, twenty-six of which are of cast steel, two of wood, and the remainder iron. There are 524 distinct operations performed on each musket and appendages. Each opera- tion has a fixed price. The improvements in small arms have been more successful than those in cannon, although the subject has for a long time oc- cupied the serious attention of governments and scientific men. The military maxim, that " he who would live long must enlist in the artillery," seems likely to lose its point. That arm was always effective out of musket range, but now, as we have seen, its fire falls short a long way inside of rifle practice. In recent years, there have been attempts to form guns 'of wrought iron, commonly of hoops encasing bars of the same metal. This construction was adopted for the first cannon, and was returned to in the formation of the Stockton gun, which weighed 7 tons l7i cwt., the explosion of which killed some members of the cabinet in 1845. It was a gun of the same nature, the explosion of which killed James II. of Scotland, in 1460. The efforts that have been made in this direction abroad have produced many new guns. Among these the Lancaster, which was to have had such effect in the Crimea, The gun has a twist, and the oblong ball moves endwise through this twist, giving the gun an immense range, but it was very uncertain of aim, and each discharge cost one hundred dollars. Many of these burst with great damage. This was supposed to be owing to the wedging of the shot in the i twist. The new rifledguns of Armstrong, Eng- COLT'S REVOLVERS SHARP'S RIFLES DAHLGREN'S GUNS. 335 lish, and those of the French invention, have not yet been sufficiently proved, although it was said that the latter were of great in- fluence in deciding the Italian campaign. The greatest decided improvement in guns, however, is an American one, by Captain Dahlgren, of the United States navy. That j gentleman entered the navy in 1826, as a midshipman, and was made commander in 1855. Since 1847 he has been employed in ordnance duty, conducting experiments that have had great results. Among these is the adoption for boats of bronze howitzers, 12 Ibs. and 24 Ibs. calibre, to throw shells, shrapnell, and canister j they are also avail- able on land. The Dahlgren gun is consid- ered the most perfect form yet constructed, and the new steam frigates are armed with them. The length of a 10-inch Dahlgren is 107 inches, and the range 1,776 yards. The improvement in the United States in the manufacture of guns is still making progress. The best metal yet used for guns is cast iron. That metal was, however, formerly not so well made as at present. It was not so uniform in character, and its strength was estimated at 20,000 Ibs. the square inch, while bronze burst at 33,000 Ibs., and was thought to be more relied upon for uniform- ity. This opinion has been modified by ex- periments, made by Major Wade, of the United States army, at Chicopee, in Massa- chusetts, in 1850. It there appeared that samples from different parts of the same gun showed a difference of from 23, 108 to 5 4, 531, showing a tendency of the metal to cool in masses into separate alloys. Bronze was, however, less hard than iron, and its great cost caused it to be confined to field pieces, while for every thing above iron is used. The casting of guns was originally hollow, but from unequal contraction in cooling, caused by different temperature within and without, the plan was abandoned, and the .gun being cast solid was bored out cold. In the United States, experiments have been successfully made to improve the qualities of iron for gun purposes. The object is to produce a metal of a perfectly uniform texture, hardened with the piece to prevent the battering action of the ball. The principle of strengthening iron by remelting was developed in experiments carried on by Major Wade, of the United States army. Since 1841 an officer is required to be present at the foundries while cannon are making, to examine and test the metal be- fore it is used, as well as the first gun made, before another is cast from it. This inspection has been highly useful. The transverse strength of some iron was found to be doubled by four meltings and castings. From experiments made at South Boston in 1844, it was found that the cohesive power of iron is augmented by exposing the melted iron to intense heat. This is increased by the time of exposure, up to a limit beyond which the strength retrogrades. All the experiments resulted in increasing the aver- age strength of iron from 23,638 Ibs. to 37,774 Ihs. the square inch. The strongest piece of iron ever cast was a sample of Greenwood (Orange county, N. Y.) ore. It was brought to the degree of density which is combined with the greatest strength. In the sample the density was 7.304, and the tenacity 45,970 Ibs. per square inch. This material will be probably the favorite for gun manu- facture. The process of casting bronze guns is complicated. The pattern of the piece is prepared by taking a tapering rod much longer than the gun, and enclosing it entirely in the coils of a soft rope. When this has approached the form of the intended gun body (not including the breech), it is laid over with plaster-of-Paris. It is then caused to revolve against a profile board, and by so doing receives its shape. The models of the trunnions, or arms on which the gun rests on its carriage, are then attached to it, and the whole dried. It is then washed with ashes to prevent adhesion, when it is covered with putty loam dried hard. This is the first layer of the mould, and other layers are added, until the whole is 2| inches thick. This mould is then encased in iron bands, over which a further thickness of 5 inches of mould is laid. Over this come more hoops and mould. The rod, with its covering of rope and plaster, is then taken out, leaving the putty mould entire. The breech mould is made separate in the same manner,and that for the " head" also. When thoroughly dried, the three sections are set up in the pit with several others, and the spaces around are rammed in with earth firmly. In order that the metal when running in may settle as equally as possible, it is introduced at the bottom. It thus rises in the gun, and into the head three feet above the gun. The object of this head is to allow the metal most likely to be imperfect to rise to the top. Hence, 336 FIRE-ARMS. when the gun is cool, this head is cut off. The gun is then solid, and, being placed upon a frame, is bored out. In this case the borer does not revolve, but the gun itself. A steel cutter, fixed to the end of a bar, penetrates into the gun as it is made to re- volve against it, being pressed up to it as the work progresses. The boring being finished, the gun is turned, and the touch- hole drilled with a bit and stock. In casting iron guns the process varies slightly. The mould being prepared, is en- closed in a huge case of cast iron, called a gun box, made in sections. Th,e lower section contains the mould of the breech, and is entire. Between the mould and the sides of the case, sand tempered with clay is rammed. The flat surface on which the next section is to rest, is covered with fine charcoal and clay water to prevent adhesion. The second section is of two pieces divided lengthwise, and has affixed to it the trunnions. The mould is kept in a perfectly vertical position by being adjusted by a plumb line. Sometimes the space round the box is left empty, and covered over to retain the hot air and prevent cooling too rapidly. When the mould is ready, the iron, which has been prepared by many remeltings, flows from several furnaces, through channels in the sand, into a reservoir, from which runners or channels lead over the tops of the moulds, which are slowly and steadily filled, without the introduction of air to disturb the quiet settling of the metal. The guns being cast, the difficulty is in cooling them to preserve the uniformity, and fires are sometimes kept burning round the case for several days after casting. At this point, an important improvement was introduced by Lieutenant Rodman. The original mode of casting guns hollow was abandoned for boring in 1729. On the plan of Rodman, guns are now cast hollow. A water-tight tube of cast iron is placed in the centre of the mould. In the centre of this tube is a smaller one, and through this a current of cold water enters, and, rising in the larger tube, flows off. Thus the interior is cooled, while the exterior is prevented, by heated air, from cooling too fast. The metal is thus protected from unequal con- traction. In proof of this experiment, guns were cast in pairs. These were 8-inch bores, of the same iron in every respect, one solid and one hollow. The solid gun burst at the seventy-third discharge. The hollow one stood fifteen hundred, and did not fail. A pair of 10-inch guns, treated in the same manner, resulted in the bursting of the solid gun at the twentieth fire, and the hollow one at the two hundred and forty-ninth. Another curious fact was substantiated, viz., that the strength of the gun increased by time. 8-inch solid cast guns, proved in 30 days, stood 72 charges ; one proved in 34 days stood 84 ; one in 100 days stood 731 charges ; one that lay six years stood 2,582 charges. The explanation of Major Wade was, that the particles of iron strained in cooling by unequal contraction, readjust themselves in time, and reach their greatest tenacity. When the iron gun, whether cast solid or hollow, has been dressed and drilled, it is ready to be proved, which is done in this country by testing the strength of a cylinder of the iron an inch in diameter and two inches long, cut out of the cannon, formerly from one of the trunnions, but now from the barrel near the muzzle. The specific gravity and other properties of the sample are care- fully noted, and these, together with the trials to which it is subjected, and the hard- ness of the metal determined by a very ex- act method, give correct indications of the strength of the gun, without the necessity of submitting it to extreme proof by firing with constantly increasing charges until the piece is destroyed. Indeed, to such perfection have these proofs been brought, that guns have been selected as of inferior quality from among a large lot, which, on reference to the books of the foundry, were found to have been the only ones of the lot made of hot blast iron. According to the indications furnished by the tests, several guns are usually taken from each large lot of them, to be submitted to extreme proof the selection being generally of those that appear to be the poorest, best, and intermediate qualities. These are fired commonly with charges of powder equal to one-fourth the weight of the ball, with one shot and one junk wad over it. The firing is continued, unless the piece previously bursts, to 500 rounds. Then one ball more is added with every discharge, till the bore is filled. The powder is after- ward doubled in quantity, and the bore filled with shot at each discharge. When it bursts, pieces are selected for further examination from the -breech, near the trunnions and the chase. Guns are also tested by hydrostatic pressure, water being forced into the bore COLT'S REVOLVERS SHARP'S RIFLES DAHLGREN'S GUNS. 337 with increasing pressure, till it sometimes bursts the piece, or brings to light its hidden defects by opening the small fissures that were concealed in the metal. It is not un- common for it to appear upon the exterior of pieces, of which the thickness of the metal is four inches, exuding through as a thin froth, which collects upon the outside, and forms drops and little streams. By this method, the exact pressure applied is known, and may be gradually increased to any de- sired degree. Sample bars are also cast to- gether with the cannon, which furnish some indication of the strength of the metal. The different rates of cooling of the large and small mass, however, render their qualities somewhat dissimilar. The next hostile operations upon the ocean will have to encounter countless changes that have been made since the last war. Steam will develop its yet untried powers in warfare. The new armor to make ships ball-proof, the range of small arms, and, not the least of the new agents, the effect of the shell guns of Dahlgren, are to be tested. The difficulty of getting to close quarters is by them much increased. The picking off of officers and men by the use of the new rifles must have the same tendency. In naval gunnery, as on land, the small arms formerly came into play only within the range of the batteries. At present, the small arms are first effective, and the Dahlgren only recovers a portion of the ground lost by cannon as a consequence of . the increased range of rifles. In 1848 also commenced in our navy, under the direction of Dahlgren, the adap- tation of graduated scales to naval guns. These bear the ranges in yards, and eleva- tions in degrees and fractions. Tables con- taining the angles of elevation answering to different distances, are furnished in the " Ordnance Manual." The scales are made of brass, and fitted to the breech of the gun. These insure accuracy of aim. An interesting series of experiments has been conducted, under government orders, by Major Mordecai at Washington, in rela- tion to the initial velocity of shot. By initial velocity is understood the velocity of the shot in the gun after discharge. This is considered the most important point, and innuite pains and expense have been in- curred in deciding it. The experiments made by Major Mordecai were in this view. The machines used for this purpose are a block filled with sand suspended on iron straps, at fifty-five feet distance from the gun, which is also suspended. At the discharge the gun recoils, and its rate of recoil is measured, while the shot buries itself in the sand contained in the block, imparting a motion, which is also measured. The weight of the block is 9,358 Ibs., and of the gun pendulum 10,500 Ibs. The result of a great variety of experiments was, that the velocity measured by the block was nearly the same as that measured by the gun.' The deductions from the experiments were some very valuable conclusions concerning the charges for cannon and small arms, and the form of the cartridge for heavy guns. In relation to wad, it was decided that the use of hay or punk is injurious to correct aim. When a wad is required to hold the ball, it should be light. In small arms, on the other hand, wad is required to develop the force of the charge ; unless, as in the case of the rifle, the ball has no windage. Another description of gun has been made up and experimented upon at Old Point Comfort. This tremendous piece of ord- nance, by far the largest ever cast in this or any other country, is designed for use in our coast defences, as an offset to the late important improvement in the construction of vessels- of-war. It is intended to cripple, certainly and hopelessly, at a single shot, any hostile ship or steamer, no matter how large or strongly built, that may venture within a mile of its enormous muzzle. The Floyd gun was cast but a short time since, at the Fort Pitt foundry, near Pitts- burg, Pennsylvania, under the supervision of Captain Rodman, of the ordnance de- partment. It weighs, independently of the carriage, 49,099 Ibs., and its cost is some- thing over $10,000. The bore is sixteen inches in diameter, and fifteen feet in depth. The gun is worked by six men, and the time consumed by loading and firing is just one minute and a half. It will throw either shot or shell ; and these are spherical in form and of appalling magnitude the solid shot weighing 450 Ibs. The 15-inch shell weighs about 384 Ibs., and carries beside 15 Ibs. of powder. The charge of powder used in firing this monster cannon was at first only 20 Ibs., but this has been gradually increased to ascertain the maximum of powder ; and in the last discharge no less than 45 Ibs. were used. ass FIRE-ARMS. The piece is not intended to be fired at a Jonger range than about two thousand yards, but at this distance its execution is terrific, completely shattering the most massive tar- gets, whether constructed of stone, timber, earth, or iron. Not the least singular feature of the big fun is the powder used in discharging it. he grains are hard, smooth lumps of irreg- ular shape, varying in size from half an inch to an inch in diameter. This powder is made on the principle of what is known amongst boys as a " spit devil," that is, it is so mixed as not to ex- plode all at once, like the fine-grain powder, the inertia of the bolt being so great that an instantaneous explosion of the whole charge would burst the gun ; but the igni- tion of the charge being gradual at first, the ball is started, without any great strain on the piece, and (it is contended by the friends of great guns) is always successfully launch- ed on its mission of destruction. There was convened in August, at the fort, a board of engineers, commissioned by the government, to examine into the ex- pediency of introducing the Floyd gun as a regular arm of the United States service. The large guns, as now used, are mostly designed to overcome the resistance offered by the iron covering of the new war steamers, the use of which has become so general in the civil war. The necessity of some mate- rial of greater resistance to projectile force became early apparent, when gunnery be- came so much improved that ordinary wooden ships were no longer capable of withstand- ing an assault. The question of iron plates for ships was discovered as early as 1811, by Stevens, of New Jersey. In 1840, experi- ments were made in England upon the re- sistance of iron in view of arming vessels. In 1 852, the United States ordered experi- ments upon iron batteries, but without favor- able results at that time. In 1854, the French Emperor ordered a series of experi- ments to be made in relation to iron plates ; and in 1860 the iron-clad ship La Gloire was built. In 1861, the Warrior was con- structed in England. Neither of these ves- sels appear to be a success, however ; both are overloaded, and both roll heavily in a heavy sea. In 1841, Mr. Theodore R. Timby, of York, constructed a model of a revolving iron tower for harbor defense. In 1854, Cap- tain Ericsson made a model of an iron tower on an armored vessel. The application of the tower to vessels he claimed was first made by him. On this plan was built the Monitor, which encountered the Confederate iron-clad Merrimac, in Hampton Roads. The latter was a wooden ship cut down, and armed with railroad iron, placed at angles, and; proved to be very effective and invulnerable i to shot. The Monitor was so successful that the government ordered 10 more at once. These were 844 tons, each having one turret and two guns of 11 and 15 inch calibre. Subsequently, seven Monitors, of 1,034 tons each, were ordered, having one turret and two 15-inch guns each. The third class Monitors carry two turrets and four guns each. There were built several other de- scriptions : of these the Ironsides, tonnage 2,486, weight of armor 750 tons; she car- ries two 200lb. Parrott rifles, four 24lb, and sixteen 11 inch guns. The Dunderberg is of 7,000 tons measurement, armor weight 1,200 tons. On the Western rivers were many others of various construction ; of these, the Essex has over all a continuous layer of India-rubber, one inch thick, and the iron plating is bolted over that. The rubber is supposed to give some elasticity to the plates when struck. The hall is divided into 40 compartments, and there are false sides, designed to break the blow of an as- saulting ram. Altogether the number of iron-clad steamers at the close of 1862 was 53, carrying 266 guns. There were also 13 gunboats and rams, carrying 67 guns. The events of the war demonstrating the utility and behavior of gunboats under fire, has developed alike their good and bad quali- ties to some extent, but by no means defi- nitely. In the attack on Charleston, the Iron- sides, with eight Monitors, carrying 32 guns, were engaged. During three-quarters of an hour she sustained the converging fire of four forts, carrying 300 guns of 8 and 11 inch calibre and 6 inch rifled shot. The number of shot fired was 3,500, distance 1,300 yards, at close quarters, 300 and 600 yards. The Passaic received 58 shots, and was disabled in the turret, which was rendered incapable of turning. The Keokuk was sunk and the enemy captured her guns. The whole num- ber wounded, in all, was 13, of which four were wounded on the Nahant, by the shift- ing of bolt-heads not properly guarded in- side. The experiment was very satisfactory as to resistance. CUTLERY. UNITED STATES INDUSTRY AXES. THE manufacture of cutlery in the United States is of recent origin comparatively. But a few years since, the whole supply came through the hands of the importer from Europe ; but the production of edge-tools and cutlery was no sooner started, than it took a rapid growth; and a foreigner, re- marking upon branches of American industry, says : " The manufacturers of cutlery have far surpassed those of the old world in the production of tools, and that not merely in the excellence of the metal used, but espe- cially in the practical utility of the patterns, and in the remarkable degree of finish in their work." This is a just remark. The " high finish" of American work is applied only, however, where it has utility; not where it is a useless expense. This may be illustrated in watches and clocks. The Eng- lish have highly polished works, that add much to the expense, but nothing to the service. In the American article this ex- pense is saved. A peculiarity of American work is the readiness with which improve- ments are perceived by the intelligent worker, and immediately adopted and applied. This intelligence comes, in some degree, from the entire freedom of industry, and the absence of all trade " guilds," unions, or restrictions. The American who travels in Europe is struck with the, to him, ludicrous mystery with which every species of handicraft is surrounded. It would seem as if the pro- prietor of every petty workshop or factory was exclusively possessed of the philosopher's stone, which would be robbed from him by the prying gaze of every transient visitor. The apprentices are only taught the routine of centuries, and only so much as is neces- sary to fulfil the part of the labor required of them. The manufacture itself, whatever it may be, is divided into branches, each of which is in charge of persons who preserve their supposed secret from the other branches. 21 Under these circumstances, the apprentice succeeds with difficulty in becoming a master of his trade. When out of his time, he must travel for three years ; and when he returns to his native town, he jnust have money and interest to be made a citizen, and then admitted as a member of the guild, or trades' union, before he can pursue, except as a journeyman, the trade he has learned. How different is all this in the United States ! The boy enters a factory, or a workshop, and is taught his especial work, and has within his reach every branch of information, scientific and practical, connected with the whole of it. His fellow-workmen are ex- perienced in all the branches, and with the best modes in use in all countries. His em- ployer is wedded to no system or rule, but is ever on the alert for improvement ; always ready to suggest and hear suggestions, and to adopt feasible ones. It is no wonder that, in such an atmosphere, the arts should flourish, and that an observant foreigner should exclaim, as above, that hardly twenty years of experience in the new world should have surpassed the centuries of progress in the old world. This branch of industry thrives mostly in individual workshops ; it has not come much within the sphere of corporate influences. There is a general and very perceptible adoption of American pat- terns, not only in Europe, but in England, as being more practical ; and it is stated, that in American factories already, there is more English steel used than in England itself. The American worker does not be- lieve in using poor tools, when good ones are to be had. Steel is the material used, by reason of its hardness, for the cutting edges of tools and cutlery. The backs are made of iron, as a cheaper material. So also are the handles, or " tangs," to which the steel is welded. The steel is blistered, as, or after, it is drawn down, by tilt-hammers, into shear-steel. This is used for table-knives, scythes, etc. When CUTLERY. a fine finish is required, or great hardness, the blistered steel is melted into cast steel, and the ingots are forged into bars. Simple articles, such as chisels, are made by ham- mering a bit of cast steel into the required shape. This being intended only for the edge, is made very thin, and iipon it is welded a flat slip of iron, which has been forged into the shape of the chisel, with a shoulder formed by driving it into a hole in the anvil. One side of the chisel is, there- fore, iron, intended to be ground away, and the other steel. Scissors are made of various materials. Common ones are shear steel, with the blades hardened. Tailors' shears have the blades only steel ; the remainder is iron. Formerly, only the edge was steel. Some scissors are made of good cast iron, called run, or virgin steel. Of these, many are sold for V cents a dozen. There are some, on the other hand, made with bows and shanks of gold, and sell for $50 a pair. When made wholly of steel, the blade is hammered out at the end of a small bar. It is then cut off, with enough to form the shank and boAv. A hole is then punched ; the instruments shaped, united by a screw, ground, filed, and burnished. The blades are slightly bowed, in such a manner that they touch each other only at the point of cutting, and this point moves as the blades close in the act of cutting, from the pivot to the point. This operation is seen by hold- ing a pair of scissors, edgeways, to the light. This action gives smoothness to the cut. The manufacture of table cutlery is of recent introduction into the United States ; and it has made progress, by reason of the American invention of a machine to form the blades, which invention has been adopt- ed in Europe. In the old process, the blade of a table or other large knife is hammered out on an anvil at the end of a bar of steel, and cut oif. It is then welded on to the bar of wrought iron, about half an inch square, and enough of this is cut oft' to form the bolster, or shoulder, and the tang. The blade is then heated and hammered, or, as it is called, smithed, which serves to condense the metal, and enable it to acquire a higher finish. The mark of the maker is then stamped upon it, arid it is hardened by heat- ing to redness, and plunging it into cold water. It is tempered to a blue color, and is then ready for grinding. The small blades of pen-knives are hammered, entire, out of the best cast steel. A temporary tang is j drawn out, to secure the blade while it is ground. A number of blades are heated together for tempering, by being placed over the fire, upon a flat plate, their backs downward. When at the proper degree of redness, so as to take a brown or purple color, they are dipped in water up to the shoulder. For razors, the best cast steel is selected ; and when the blade is shaped upon the anvil, from a bar as thick as the back of the razor, and half an inch wide, it is well smithed, to condense the metal. Only the best metal will bear the working down of one part of the blade to the requisite thin- ness, while the back is left thick. The shape is further improved by grinding on a dry, coarse stone. The tempering is per- formed after the blade is drilled for the pin of the joint, and stamped. It is then ground and polished. The grinding and polishing of cutlery is conducted mostly by wheels constructed for the purpose. There is a trough, with a stone for grinding, and a polisher, driven by a pulley. The stones vary in diameter from 4 inches to 2 feet, according to the articles to be ground. The convex surface of the small wheels gives the concavity on the blade of the razor, and the other wheels suit the various sizes and shapes of the articles pol- ished. Some are used dry, and others are kept wet, in order that the heat engendered by dry grinding may not injure the temper of the articles ground. The dry grinding is more expeditious ; but, unless the troughs are furnished with a ventilating fan and flue for carrying off the fine metallic particles and dust from the stones, the health of the worker suiters. This flue is constructed of tin, in the shape of a sort of cap, that comes over the back of the stone; the other end of the flue is in an adjoining room, and lias the air partly exhausted from it by a fan in rapid motion. This creates a strong cur- rent, which, when the stone is in operation, carries the dust and filings from it into the flue. When the grinding is completed, lap- ping succeeds. This is done on a thin wooden wheel, faced with a tire of metal made of five parts lead to one of tin, and cast upon the edge of the wheel. It is then turned true, and indented, so as to hold a dressing of oiled emery of different degrees of fineness. The steel blades receive various degrees of polish, by drawing them from cud to end across the revolving lap, which is ted with emery of various sizes. UNITED STATES INDUSTRY AXES. 341 The handles of cutlery are made of a variety of substances : ivory, horn, mother- of-pearl, tortoise-shell, cocoa-nut, maple-wood, etc. Ivory is mostly used for table-knives. A solid piece is cut out, of the right size, and a hole for the tang bored at one end. This is sometimes carried through, so that the tang may be visible. When it does not go through, the tang is secured by cement. By a late contrivance, a little spring-catch is fastened to the tang, which falls into a notch made in the cavity of the handle, and pre- vents it from being withdrawn. Balance handles are made by introducing lead into the handle, to counterbalance the weight of the blade. The handles of pen-knives are complicated. The springs must be nicely adjusted, requiring a peculiar temper. The slips for the handles require great care in the fitting. It is stated that a three-bladed knife passes through the finisher's hands one hundred times. The manufacture of butcher and shoe knives is large in the state of New York. The state census of 1855 gave it at 35,000 per annum ; and these have a wide reputa- tion. The manufacture of forks is said to be one of the most unhealthy of the mechanical arts. It has been estimated that the destruc- tion of life in it is greater than in any other pursuit, by reason of the fine dust evolved in the process of grinding, and which fills the atmosphere of the rooms, and invades the lungs of the operators. This takes place in the finishing. The forks are hammered out of square steel rods, 3-8ths of an inch thick. The tang and shank are roughly shaped at the end of the steel rod, and are then cut oft', with about an inch of the square steel besides. This is drawn out flat for the prongs ; and the tang and shank are then shaped by the die. The other end, heated to a white heat, is laid in a steel die upon an anvil, when another die, attached to the under face of a heavy block of metal, is allowed to fall upon it from a height of 7 to 8 ft. The prongs are thus shaped, and all, but a thin film of steel, removed from between them. This is cleared out by an instrument called a fly press. A number of forks are collected together, and annealed by heating and allowing them to cool slow- ly. They are now sufficiently soft to be easily shaped by the file, and by bending. They are then heated to redness, and suddenly cooled, by which the hardness is restored. The process of hardening renders all steel brittle ; and it is intended to remove this, by tempering. The higher the heat when the metal is hardened, the softer and stronger will be the steel. A lower degree of heat gives more hardness, and also more brittle- ness. The temper is indicated in the color, and the temperature which produces that color follows a regular scale. Thus, 430 degrees of heat give a very pale straw color, suitable for the temper of lancets. Higher degrees of heat give darker shades of yellow, suitable for razors, pen-knives, and chisels ; until, at 500 degrees, the color is brown- yellow, adapted to axes and plane-irons. Twenty degrees higher, the yellow has a purple tinge, seen in table knives. Thirty degrees more, and the dark color of a watch- spring is obtained. Again twenty degrees, and the dark blue of saws is visible. At 630 degrees, the color has a tinge of green, and the steel is too soft for instruments. This color is supposed to be produced by the action of the oxygen of the air upon the carboYi of the steel, and protects the metal from rust in some degree. One of the most necessary tools for a new and agricultural country is the axe. The remains of all lost races generally disclose, in some rude form, that useful instrument ; and the modern nations of Europe present it in an improved metallic form. The Spanish axe, which has no head, is made by hammering out the bar, and turning it into a loop, to make the eye. The manufacture of the axe has, however, like its use, been carried to its highest perfection in the United States. An American axe has a fame coextensive with that of an American backwoodsman, who alone, of all the nations that visit this continent, is fitted to struggle with the mighty forests with which the country was covered. While the American pioneer, axe in hand, boldly buries himself in the forest to clear and subdue it, the European keeps rather to the plains, as more easily managed. The experience in the use of the axe, and the various uses to which it is applied, have combined to produce great varieties, all of which have undergone con- tinual improvements. Formerly, the opera- tor depended upon the rude forges and lim- i ited skill of blacksmiths to supply axes. j With the improvements that suggested j themselves, special factories sprung up, and : the largest factory of the kind in the world , is in New England. There, 1,200 tons of 342 CUTLERY. iron, and 200 tons of cast steel, are by machinery wrought annually into tools. In the most recent process, hammered bar iron is heated to a red heat, cut of the requisite length, and the eye, which is to receive the handle, punched through it. It is then re- heated, and pressed between concave dies, until it assumes the proper shape. It is now heated, and grooved upon the edge, to receive the piece of steel which forms the sharp edge. To make the steel adhere to the iron, borax is used. This acts as a soap to clean the metal, in order that it may ad- here. At a white heat, it is welded and drawn out to a proper edge, by trip ham- mers. The next process is hammering off the tool by hand, restoring the shape lost in drawing out; it is then ground, to form a finer edge. It is then ground upon finer stones, and made ready for the temperer. The axe is now hung upon a revolving wheel in a furnace, over a small coal fire, at a peculiar red heat. It is cooled, successively, in salt water and fresh water, and then tem- pered in another furnace, where the heat is regulated by a thermometer. It is then polished to a high finish, which will show every flaw, and enable it to resist rust. It is then stamped, and the head blackened with a mixture of turpentine and asphaltum. The manufacture of scythes has reached a high state of perfection in the western states, and the patterns have been imitated to a great extent in Europe. The manufacture of surgical instruments has become large in the cities, mostly in Philadelphia, where the manufacture has acquired much celebrity. The ingenuity and skill with which an infinite variety of instruments are adapted to the purpose of operations upon the living fibres of the body, are marvellous in their way. The quantities supplied to the west and south are large. The production of cutlery and edge tools in the Union, according to the census of 1850, was as follows : Number of factories 401 Hands 4,275 Capital $2,321,895 Cost of labor 1,420,844 Cost of material 1,439,462 Value produced 3,813,241 This was for the year 1850. The quan- tities that are exported from the United States are small, not amounting to above a few thousand dollars. The imports, how- ever, continue to be large. In the year 1857, they reached $2, 140,000; of which, $1,953,- 396 was from England. The quantity im- ported is far from keeping pace with the number and wealth of the population. The great demand from the latter is supplied by the increasing home production of in- dividual operatives. FURS AND FUE TRADE. AMONG the natural products of the new world, the valuable furs of the various wild animals which peopled its boundless forests, its rivers, lakes, and seas, were soon appreciated by the early discoverers and ex- plorers. For many centuries the choicer varieties of fur had been held in the highest estimation, and the use of such as the er- mine and sable was monopolized, by special enactments, by the royal families and nobility of both European and Asiatic countries. A market was therefore ready for the large supplies which were soon furnished to the early settlers by the Indians in exchange for the trinkets, liquors, and numerous articles of trifling value brought from Europe for this trade. The English and French com- peted with each other to secure the control of the business around Hudson's Bay and in the territories now constituting British America, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Each nation established its own trading posts, or " factories," and protected them by forts, and the possession of these often passed by conquest to the rival party. The incorporation of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, by Charles II., gave a de- cided stimulus to the English interest, by securing to men of great influence and wealth, the control and monopoly of the fur trade throughout the possessions claimed by the British. The enormous profits realized by this company induced the Canadians, in the latter part of the last century, to form another company, which they called the North-west Fur Company, and whose field of operations was nominally limited to the territories ceded to the English by the French in 1763. Early in the present cen- tury their factories were extended westward to the rivers that flow into the Pacific, and they employed of Canadian voyageurs and clerks, who were mostly young men from Scotland, about 2,000 persons. They ac- quired possession of Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia, in 1813, and vigorously competed with the old company the two associations carrying on open war throughout the wild territories known only to these fur traders and the Indians they controlled.' By act of parliament, the two companies were united in one in 1821, and their opera- tions have been continued under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company until 1859, when their last special license of 1838 ex- pired. The company has exercised a des- potic sway throughout the territories it occupied, compelling the labor of the poor French voyageurs and the Indians, and causing them to subsist upon the most meagre fare and pitiful allowance. Sad tales of their sufferings are familiar to those who have visited these northern regions. The company established an express by the way of the great lakes and the western rivers, and by numerous relays, always ready, in- formation was conveyed by canoes and by land travel in an incredibly short time from the head-quarters of the company at Mon- treal to the most distant posts on the Pacific. Their furs collected on both sides of the continent were transported to London for the great annual sales of March and Septem- ber. From London many were sent to Leipsic, for the great annual fair at this famous mart. While these extensive operations were in progress, the inhabitants of the provinces now constituting the United States de'rived little or no benefit from the trade so long as they remained British colonies. In 1762, an association was established among the merchants of New Orleans, for conducting the fur trade in the regions on the waters of the Missouri and its branches ; and this led to the founding of St. Louis in 1763, by Laclede, the leader of the organization. This place was made their head-quarters for the reception of furs collected by their voyageurs in distant excursions by canoes and Macki- naw boats toward the Rocky Mountains, among tribes of Indians who often attacked their parties, but who, controlled by the talent and wise policy peculiar to the French, became at last firm friends of the enterprise, and bound to the interests of the Chouteaus and others by whom it was conducted. From St. Louis the peltry was boated down the river to New Orleans, or up the Illinois 344 FURS, AND FUR TRADE. to Lake Michigan, and thence to the great trading post of Mackinaw. From this it was forwarded by the lakes and the St. Lawrence to Quebec, to be shipped to Eng- land. Over the same routes were returned the groceries, etc., for the supply of the traders, which, so slow were the means of transportation, were the returns in part of the furs collected the fourth preceding year. But though the expenses of the long voyages more than doubled the cost of the supplies after they left Mackinaw, the profits of the business were not rated at less than 300 per cent. For fifteen years preceding 1805, the annual value of the peltry collected at St. Louis is stated to have been $203,750 ; and the value of the goods annually sent up the Missouri during about the same period was estimated at $61,000. Deer skins con- stituted the greater portion of the product, and they were, indeed, the chief medium of exchange, the value of articles being rated at so man,y shaved deer skins. Beaver and otter were the next in importance, and buf- falo skins, which are now the chief object of the trade, were then scarcely collected' at all. From the year 1818, the fur trade of the north has been conducted almost wholly by organizations which have sprung from these early operations. It was extended by the associations established at St. Louis to the regions beyond the Rocky Mountains, and there carried on at immense sacrifice of human life, from the dangers naturally inci- dent to the pursuit, and the unappeasable hostility of the savage tribes. In 1847 it was estimated that the annual value of the trade "had averaged for forty years from $200,000 to $300,000, and the latter portion of this period much more than the larger sum named. But, like the discovery of gold in California, its greatest importance was the opening of uncultivated territories to the advance of civilization, and the introduction of a permanent population for the establish- ment of new states. During the last century the fur trade had attained to no importance in the eastern states. Mr. John Jacob Astor, of New. York, engaged in it in 1784, buying in Montreal and shipping to Eng- land. But under the treaty of 1794 he was enabled to introduce fur from the British provinces into New York, and he then opened a new trade direct with foreign coun- tries, shipping peltries even to China, and receiving in exchange the rich products of the East Indies. As his operations pros- pered, he engaged in the early part of the present century in the collection of furs along the northern frontier, a field which had before been in exclusive possession of the North-west and Hudson's Bay Companies; and he labored zealously in the great national enterprise of diverting this important trade from the exclusive control of foreign com- panies, and causing it to contribute to the commercial interests of the United States. With wonderful energy, and dependent al- most solely on his own resources, he carried on these gigantic operations, having in 1808 a capital of no less than $1,000,000 in- vested in them. In 1810 he established the Pacific Fur Company, for the purpose of forming a settlement on the Pacific coast, and by means of it carrying out the grandest commercial scheme that had ever been un- dertaken. His ships, leaving New York with supplies for the colony, were to obtain from it and by trading along the coast car- goes of furs to be sold in China, and there loading with teas, silks, etc., would return to New York, making a complete circum- navigation of the globe. Mr. Astor was bound by his articles of agreement to fur- nish capital to the amount of $400,000 if required, sending each year an expedition around by sea and another across the coun- try to the mouth of the Columbia, and the profits were to be equally divided between his associates and himself. Notwithstanding a succession of disasters, Mr. Astor con- tinued for three years to despatch a ship bound around Cape Horn, to the mouth of the Columbia, having unshaken confidence in the final success of the enterprise. And such, no doubt, would have been the result, had not his principal Canadian partner, who controlled the affairs at Astoria (the settle- ment on the Pacific), proved treacherous and given up the post to the rival North-west Fur Company for a mere nominal price, on the pretence that it would certainly be seized by the British cruisers during the war. This occurred on the 16th October, 1813. From that time the operations of Mr. Astor were restricted to the northern terri- tories lying east of the Rocky Mountains. His factories were at Mackinaw, and at the foot and head of Lake Superior, upon whose waters he maintained sailing vessels long before they were visited by the explorers of copper mines. Up to the year 1845 the only business prosecuted upon its distant FURS, AND FUR TRADE. 345 shores was that of the fur hunter, and they were, in fact, known only to this class and to the wandering Chippewa and Sioux tribes of Indians. The territory of Minnesota, also, and the still more western regions, were fre- quented only for the same object previous to 1848. From that period, or even earlier, the fur trade has declined in importance, and its profits have been divided among larger numbers of adventurers. The house of Pierre Chouteau, jr., & Co. has been dis- tinguished for many years as the most en- terprising of those engaged in the trade ; and in 1859 one of their steamboats ascen- ded the Missouri river to the Great Falls, near the Rocky Mountains, about 3,950 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and returned laden with buffalo robes. Thus the trade still con- tinues to be the pioneer of civilization opening new roads into wild territories for the advance of permanent settlers. At present, St. Paul, in Minnesota, is the chief trading post of the fur trade of the United States. Until the year 1844, the furs from the valley of the Red River were sent to Hudson's Bay by Nelson's River, but from that period they have been collected at St. Paul, whence they are transported down the Mississippi, and are brought at last to New York. In 1857, the value of the furs shipped from St. Paul was $182,491 ; and in 1858, when the price of furs was lower, the shipments amounted to $161,022. The following table exhibits the varieties and value of the exports of 1856 : Animals. No. skins. Value. Muskrat . 64,292 $11,572 56 Mink . 8,276 18,621 00 Marten. . 1,428 3,570 0*0 Fisher . 1,045 4,702 00 Fox, red 876 1,095 00 " cross 20 100 00 " silver. . . . 8 400 00 " kilt . 2,542 3,271 00 Raccoon . 3,400 2,550 00 Wolverine . 2,032 3,048 00 Otter 405 1,417 50 Beaver 586 Ibs. 881 00 Bear 610 6,700 00 Lynx 50 125 00 Buffalo robes. . . . 7,500 41,200 00 Total value. . $97,252 56 From this table it is apparent that the character of the important furs has greatly changed since the early periods of the trade. Buffalo robes, then esteemed of no impor- tance, are now the largest and most valuable item ; while the beaver and otter, and even the marten and fisher (two animals of the sable kind) have greatly fallen off in relative importance. The skins of some of the smaller animals, as the mink, assume the greatest importance for their numbers and value, and next to these, in aggregate value, are the skins of the common muskrat. The highest-priced furs are the Russian sable, the sea-otter, and the black or silver fox. For its size, the first named of these is the most valuable, but the sea-otter brings the highest price of any single skin. This is collected chiefly on the American and Asiatic coasts of the North Pacific ocean ; and its greatest demand is among the Chi- nese and Russians, though its use by the former is restricted to the mandarins and high officers of state. In the latter part of the last century it was in such demand, that several expeditions were fitted out from this country, and also from Europe, expressly for collecting this fur from the islands and coast about Nootka Sound. The present value of the skins is from $100 to $125 each. The silver fox is found in the northern part of this continent, and is occasionally captured in the region about Lake Superior. The value of the skin is even greater than that given in the above table being often rated at $60 apiece ; in Europe, when well dressed, they have been known to bring nearly as many guineas. They are in demand chiefly by Russian noblemen for their most costly outside garments. Of late years the skins of the skunk have been largely collected, and thousands of them have been annually exported from New York. Those of black color were worth the most, and sometimes brought seventy-five cents each. The de- mand, however, has fallen off, as it is found impossible to entirely remove the disagreea- ble odor of the animal, so that it will not be given out when the articles made of the fur are moderately warm. Rabbits' fur, as described in the account of the hat manufac- ture, is an article of considerable trade. It is obtained chiefly from Europe, and is mostly consumed by the hatters, for whose use noth- ing but the fur itself in fleeces is imported. The whole skins are used to some extent by the furriers for cutting. The present char- acter of the trade, and value of skins, are seen in the following statement from the cir- cular of one of the oldest and most exten- sive houses in this business that of Messrs. C. G. Gunthcr & Sons, of Maiden Lane, New York. To their experience we are indebted for many of the particulars that follow :r 346 FURS, AND FUR TRADE. Silver fox, according to size and color From $10 00 to <| :so 00 Otter, northern and eastern, and north-western ..do. " 3 50 to 5 00 " Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and western . .do. " 3 00 to 4 00 " Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, and vicinity ..do. " 2 DO to 3 50 " North and South Carolina, and Georgia . . .do. " 1 50 to 3 00 Fisher, northern and eastern, according to size and color. . . " 2 50 to 6 00 " Penn., Ohio, and southern " "... " 2 00 to 3 50 Bear, northern " " " " 5 00 to 8 00 " southern " " " " 2 00 to 3 00 Martens '" " " " 1 50 to 1 65 Wolf skins 11 50 to i 00 Cross fox, northern and eastern, according to size and color. " 3 00 to 6 00 " Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio, do " 2 50 to ; f 00 Red fox, northern and eastern, do " 1 25 to 1 50 " south Penn., New Jersey, and Ohio, do " 1 00 to 1 75 " southern and western, do 11 50 to 75 Gray fox, northern and eastern, cased it 40 to 50 " southern and western tt ?,() to 40 Beaver, northern, parchment, per skin ' 1 00 to 1 50 " southern, and ordinary, per skin t 50 to 1 00 House cat, ordinarv t 8 to 10 " black furred ' ' 15 to 20 Mink, New York and eastern, according to size and color. . . * 1 51) to i 25 " New Jer., Penn., Ohio, Mich., Ind., 111., Wis., and Iowa, do.. * 1 25 to 1 75 " Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Mo., Iowa, and south, do.. 4 I 00 to 1 25 " North Carolina and Tennessee, do.. * 1 00 to r 25 " South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, do.. *'. 50 to i 00 \Vild cat, northern and eastern states, cased | 35 to 50 " southern and western \ 20 to 40 Raccoon, Mich., north. Ind., Indian handled, ac'd'g to size and color If 60 to ; i 00 " northern Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, do.. i 50 to 60 " New York and eastern states, and north Penn., do.. i 40 to 50 New Jersey, southern Penn., Ohio, Ind., and 111., do.. * 30 to 40 " Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky, do.. t. 25 to 30 " North Carolina and Tennessee, do.. 4. 20 to 25 " South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, do.. K 10 to 20 Muskrat, spring t 1 1 to 16 " fall and winter 4 ? to 8 " southern, average t 6 to 6 Opossum, northern, cased K 9 to 8 " southern 1 5 to 6 Rabbit, cased 11 1 to 2 Skunk, prime, black, cased 11 10 to 12 " white and black it 8 to 5 " out seasoned and very white tt to Although the supplies of furs are dimin- ishing, the trade in fancy furs, such particu- larly as are used for ladies' wear, is increasing in importance ; and in the city of New York the wholesale and retail trade for the year 1856 was estimated to amount to about $ 1,3 1 5,000. The sales of a single house amounted in 1858 to about $800,000, and consisted altogether of fancy furs, such as sleigh-robes, caps, coats, gloves, and all arti- cles worn by men and w.omen. The same house exported, in addition to this, $350,000 worth of shipping furs, consisting of otter, 1 leaver, muskrat, fisher, bear, silver fox, wolf cross, gray, and red fox, raccoon, opossum, rabbit, and skunk. A decided change in the requirements for furs for ladies' wear has taken place within a few years. Instead of the cheaper sorts which formerly supplied the market, the more costly kinds are now largely in demand. Russian sable, which, since the opening of the Amoor river, is furnished in larger quantities and at lower rates, is much worn, and so are opera cloaks of the white ermine, tipped with black tabs, from the tail of the animal. A full set of the best Russian sable, consisting of a fichu Russe, muff, and cuft's, has been sold for $1,800. The fichu Russe is a large cape, falling below the waist, and from twenty- eight to thirty-three inches in length. Around the neck, it is finished with a collar four inches deep, and slightly pointed at the back. The usual prices for a set of this fur arc from $700 to $1,500. Made of Hudson's Bay sable, the set is worth from $200 to $800. Some specimens of this fur are nearly equal in beauty, and quite so in FURS, AKD FUR TRADE. 347 quality, to the lower grades of Russian sable. The mink is the most popular fur for the same use, owing to its moderate price, com- bined with good qualities, and a set of the finest is worth from $100 to $200. This and the sables are often ingeniously imitated by dyeing some of the cheaper sorts, as rabbit's fur, so that even experienced per- sons are sometimes deceived. The stone marten has been a fashionable fur, but though very handsome, it is giving place to those sorts of darker shades. It is distin- guished by a white underground, and over this is the exterior shading of a light brown stone color. A fine set of this has usually sold for from $125 to $150. Fitch makes a good serviceable fur, but was never very fashionable. It is of yellowish hue, mel- lowed down in the best varieties by a long, thick overgrowth of dark brown. Sets of the darker shades are worth from $50 to $75, and others considerably less. Muskrat furs are sold under various names, as river mink, marsh marten, American sable, and French mink, and are worth in a full set from $28 to $35. The French cony, called also French sable, is a French rabbit, colored brown, with black stripes through the mid- dle of the skin, in imitation of mink and sable. A set of this fur, of best quality, costs from $20 to $25. Two sorts of squir- rel furs are made up, and mostly for chil- dren's wear alone. One is entirely gray, and the other mixed gray and white, and their value is from $25 to $40 the set. The white fur worn by children is of the miniver and white cony. Sets of furs are complete with a victorine or small cape in the place of the large one, and are, of course, furnished at considerably less cost. Fur overcoats for gentlemen are rarely seen in this country. A few have been introduced from Russia of great elegance, both sides being of rich fur, so that either might be worn outside. Ladies in the cities often preserve their expensive furs during the summer, by depositing them with the fur dealers, who take the same care of them as of their own stock. The mechanical processes to which furs are subjected are few and simple. The skins when stripped from the animals are merely dried in the sun, in order to protect them against putrefying. Those of small size are often first steeped in a solution of alum for more efficient protection, but the operation is ob- jectionable, as the alum weakens the pelt. They are made up into bales, and are called peltry. When stored, it is essential to keep them perfectly dry ; and to guard against in- jury from moths, camphor and tobacco are strewed among them; and they must be examined every few weeks, and each skin be beaten with a stick in order to cause the worms of the moth to fall upon the floor, when they are crushed by treading upon them. The first process of the furrier is to soften the pelt. This is done, with the finer kinds, by placing them in a tub with a quantity of butter and trampling them. After stripping off the loose pieces of skin, they are again trampled in sawdust (that of mahogany being preferred), the effect of which is to remove the grease, and the cleaning process is completed by occasionally beating with a stick and combing the fur. The skins are now ready for the cutter, who from a large number cuts out pieces of various shapes, which are then sewed together to make up the various articles of fur dresses. Each cape, muff, etc., is thus made up of pieces from dif- ferent skins, and the numerous seams are con- cealed on the outside by the fur itself, and on the inside by the lining. Furs that are to be used for felting require first the separation of the long hairs. This is effected after the skins have been split, scraped, and pressed, by either clipping them down to the length of the short hairs, or pulling them out one by one as each is seized between a knife-blade and the thumb. When carefully trimmed and pressed, the skin is well moistened with water, and being held upon a board of willow-wood, the fur is cut off close to the pelt by means of a sharp, rough-edged knife. The whole clipping is kept in one fleece by means of a piece of tin held in the left hand, and up which the fur is slipped as it is cut. The rabbits' fur imported for the hatters is received in these light, loosely cohering fleeces, each being the fur of one animal. The skins of the beaver and nutria require much more thorough cleaning to remove the fat from the pelt and the grease from the fur, as by repeated scrubbing with soap and hot water. The thick, closely matted fur of the former has been successfully cut by machine knives, an operation that has always failed when applied to the more uneven and thinner kinds of fur. Some chemical preparations have been used to separate the fur from the pelt, but they are generally found to be objectionable, as they destroy in part the felting property. HATS. CHAPTER I. EARLY HISTORY MANUFACTURE IM- PROVEMENTS. FROM an early period in the history of manufactures in the United States, the pro- duction of hats appears to have been prose- cuted with considerable success. As far back as the year 1732, the business was so successfully carried on in New England and New York as to lead to complaints among the hatters of London, and representations of the injurious effects upon the trade were in consequence made by the London Board of Trade to the House of Commons. Being the most conspicuous article of dress, the hat naturally was an object of particular solici- tude, and much more latitude was allowed in giving to it peculiar and fanciful forms than at the present time. And if our fathers failed to produce fine specimens of manufac- turing skill, we must admit that, in adopt- ing the graceful forms of the high Spanish hat, with its rounded brim, and ornaments of plumes, or loops and tassels, they cer- tainly excelled us in their appreciation and selection of pleasing shapes, instead of such stiff and awkward forms as those of the fashionable hat of the present day. There was, however, with them, quite as great a variety of hats as with^ us, both in material and in figure. The common hats were of rough felt, usually of wool, or of wool and fur sometimes of fur alone and the prac- tice was early introduced of covering the wool body with a plating of fine fur, felted by hand into the outside of the coarser ma- terial. The body was stiffened or not with glue, and sometimes water-proof stiffened with gum shellac. The round crowns of the early part of the century had given place, . in the better kinds of hats, to flat tops, and the broad brims of some were turned up and looped, first on one side, then on another, and at last on the third, till it be- came the regular three-cocked hat. This, from being a fashionable Lat, finally came to be appropriated to military officers, by whom it is still worn as a badge of rank. The Quakers alone adhered to the old broad brims, making it, it is said, a point of faith not to wear a button or a loop, and wore their hats " spread over their heads like a pent-house, darkening their outward man to signify they have the inward light." In the other extreme there were fashionable hats, like ladies' bonnets of the present time, too small to serve as a covering for the head ; such a hat was conveniently carried under the arm, and in fashionable calls furnished a pleasant diversion to its owner, who twirled it upon the head of his cane. Many of the soft hats of our ancestors were, no doubt, very fair articles of hand work- manship. They possessed abundance of material, and used the choice fur of the beaver more lavishly than hatters have of late been able to afford. Their mode of felting was the same as that now practised where machinery is not introduced, and their methods of shaping hats over blocks, or " sizing," were probably as skilfully con- ducted as at the present time. But in the pro- duction of the stiff pasteboard hats, covered with a sheet of fur or other material, the processes in use were comparatively rude, and have so continued down to within a few years past. Within our own recollection, the hatter in almost every village made the hats he sold, felting his own materials and forming the bodies over his blocks, and covering with them the stiff and clumsy cylinders of pasteboard, shaped, as near as might be, to the prevailing forms of the day. The fur of the musquash and beaver were used, often plated upon a body of lamb's wool ; and the choicest beaver hats were plated with the finest fur of the animal, taken from the bolly and cheeks. This, too, came to be used upon bodies of rabbits' fur, cf which the so-called beaver hats at last wore chiefly made ; and as beaver became scarce, EARLY HISTORY MANUFACTURE IMPROVEMENTS. 349 nutria, from a South American animal of tliis name, was very generally substituted for it. The hatter was provided with dyeing kettles, in which the complex materials of his hat bodies were brought to a uniform black shade ; and there was a variety of ap- paratus for steaming, shaping, and finishing, all of which involved laborious hand-work- ing, and more or less mechanical skill, to produce the small number of hats required by the men and boys of the village. Within a few years a complete revolution has been effected in this business. Ma- chinery has been almost wholly substituted for hand labor in preparing the materials of hats, and this is now done upon an immense scale in a few of the large cities, whence the hat bodies, or the finished hats, are sent for the supply of the country. The effect of this has been to furnish, hats of uniformly better quality than were made by hand, at greatly reduced cost, and to carry the manu- facture to such perfection that the American hat is now distinguished as the lightest and best produced in any country. In England, the American is often recognized by the ex- cellence of his hat. For this we are in part indebted to the greater dryness of our cli- mate, the moisture of England rendering it necessary to give more body and stiffening to the hats exposed to its influence. This is not so much the case in France, and hats there approach more nearly the quality of our own. In New York city the business in the com- mon felted hats of wool and of fur, which make no pretensions as works of mechani- cal skill, is carried on upon an immense scale in numerous establishments ; and it is stated that the commission houses and agen- cies engaged in this trade, which are con- centrated chiefly in the lower part of Broad- Avay, sell over 5,000,000 hats annually. The business in stiff hats is quite a dis- tinct branch, and their manufacture is ex- tended through several different establish- ments. The making of the bodies is almost monopolized by the firm of Messrs. Henry A. Burr ,000 bricks, and thoroughly mixed in the kneading. The eft'ect of this was to re- duce the time to four days, and the wood to 10 cords for 100,000 bricks. Thus 16 cords of wood is rated at $80 ; 75 bushels of dust, $3 ; 4 days' attention, $6 ; total cost, $89, against $2 12. It follows that, as the heat is very unequal in a clamp, some bricks are underdone, while others are slightly fused on the surface, called " clinker brick." It is obvious that in brick machinery the saving of labor is the great object, and to attain that a great number of machines have been invented. One of this class forces a lump of clay of the breadth and depth of a brick along a trough ; and it is cut off the proper length by a wire. Other machines have been made to stamp the brick out of a lump of clay. Again, the clay is forced into moulds by a heavy roller. There are ma- chines which pulverize the dry clay, and press this with great force into moulds, ready for burning. A patent for this, taken in Baltimore in 1847, and another in Bos- ton, pulverizes, screens, moulds,, and presses 2,500 bricks per hour. On this plan bricks are made on Staten Island. They pre- sent a smooth surface, but they are not so good as the Philadelphia and Baltimore. Bricks have been made partly hollow to diminish the weight. The size of bricks is 7 1 to 8| inches long, 4 to 41 wide, and 21 to 2i deep. In New York 5 courses of brick are allowed to the foot in height. In New England 5 courses make a foot, without the mortar. The weight of a brick is about 4 Ibs., and 21 make a cubic foot of wall. The Philadelphia brick are the best in the coun- try, and are made mostly by hand. The clay and sand give the brick a better color. The Baltimore brick bring a better price because the clay is purer, and therefore stronger, are better burned, and less liable to damage by transportation. The quantity made in Philadelphia is reckoned at 100,- 000,000 per annum. The lime used in New York and on the Atlantic coast is mostly of Thomaston, Maine, where it is manufactured of lime- stone and oyster-shells. Its quality is much superior to that of the lime of other sources. The chief use of lime is for making mortar for cementing brick and stone work and plastering walls. The best qualities, made from pure stones or shells, slake rapidly, and are called fat. This kind more than doubles in bulk on being slaked, and falls into a soft, white paste. The inferior qualities slake slowly, and give out but little heat in the process. The value of lime with masons de- pends upon the quantity of sand it will bear in the manufacture of strong mortar. Thus the best Thomaston lime will take 8 bbls. BUILDINGS AND BUILDING MATERIALS. 359 of sand for one of lime. It is stated that an excellent lime is made near New York city from white marble, and that it will take 9 bbls. of sand. The Thomaston lime is burned with anthracite coal. In New York it is used for plastering, at a price of $1 to $1.30 per bbl. of 21 bushels. A cheap lime from Ulster county is sold at 70 cents for stone work. In the mortar each atom of sand is surrounded with lime, which adheres closely to it, and attaches it to adjoining por- tions, becoming hard by exposure to the air. The building stone of Boston for ,the best houses has been derived from the immediate neighborhood, and is called Quincy granite. It is a handsome gray stone, hewn for dwell- ings, but sometimes used unhewn for public buildings. The stone is derived from Quin- cy, and the first railroad started in the coun- try was for the service of these quarries, hav- ing been introduced shortly after their open- ing. The stone now so well known and exten- sively used, not only in Boston but in most of the Atlantic cities, as well as the West India Islands, was a discovery of the present century. It was formerly supposed that, where there is but little soil there is also no stone, and it is recorded that stone for the foundation of the dwelling of Governor Phillips was brought from Rhode Island. The State House was, through scarcity of stone, built with brick. Granite quarries are also now worked near New York and in Delaware Bay. These sources supply some of the stone for New York city, where a coarse marble, known as Sing Sing marble, is also used. The chief stone relied upon for the fashionable dwellings is, however, " brown stone," from the Portland quarries of Connecticut. It by no means follows, however, that a brown stone palace " on an avenue" is built of brown stone, any more than a brown painted house is built of " paint." The house is usually built of lum- ber and brick, and a thin coat of brown stone put on the front. The difference in cost between a plain front of stone and one of Philadelphia brick, with stone trimmings, will be from $700 to $1000. For the con- struction of large and fashionable stores, the Sing Sing marble is mostly used, but iron fronts have come latterly much into use. These are cast in ornamental styles, and put up piece by piece, each being riveted to the other, the whole front thus forming one piece, and then painted to resemble stone. Marble is the favorite material in Philadelphia, not- withstanding her superior brick. It is procur- ed in abundance a few miles from that city. Stone at the West is not so abundant, but discoveries of good building stone have been made. A yellow stone in the neigh- borhood of Cincinnati supplies a handsome material to that city. The canals of Ohio and Illinois carry considerable quantities, and marble has been found near Dubuque. There are valuable quarries in the neighbor- hood of Chicago. Iron is destined to figure largely in fronts for stores, as well as for the construction of fire-proof grain depots. How long the once mighty forests of the country will supply the prodigious and growing demand for the use of dwellings, is a problem ; but long since, the demands of shipwrights have so thinned the Atlantic for- ests, that it has become cheaper to build upon the lake harbors and western rivers. The scarcity of knees and bends for ship-build- ing, led to the invention of the timber-bend- ing machine, by which the straight oak tim- ber was claimed to be bent in curves or at right angles for knees without decreasing its strength. The ports of the West, however, have of late been appealed to, and vessels built at Cleveland and other lake ports, at a small cost for lumber and labor, find their way to sea much cheaper than the same class built on the famous old ways of Maine, Massachusetts, or Baltimore. The white oak becomes less abundant, and live oak no great- er in supply, while the pine and other woods used in the floors and trimmings, compete with the demand for dwellings. The number of vessels built in 1858 was 1225, of 242,286 tons. Of these nearly one fourth were built in the state of Maine, one eighth in Massa- chusetts, as much in New York, and ten per cent, in Philadelphia. If we compare the number and class of vessels built in the west- ern states of Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, in 1859, with 1829, we shall observe the progress in 30 years : 1829 Ships. Brigs. 1 12 4 1859 4 1 65 37 1829 44 67 ATLANTIC. 473 141 1859.. ..118 44 366 365 25 98 18 128 Total. 42 205 743 1,021 Tons. 9,032 45,731 68,066 196,555 360 INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES. The tonnage built at the West has in- creased fivefold, while that on the Atlantic has increased less than threefold. In 1860 an enormous stimulus was given to ship- building in all the western ports. Milwau- kee did a large business, and the lake ton- nage was greatly increased. The whole quantity of tonnage built since the ac- counts were kept has been 5,212,743 tons, No. Carpenters 2,790 Ship-builders 892 Bricks 1,603 Lime and plastering, . 761 Lumber-yards 17,895 Masts and spars 39 Plumbers 124 Sashes and blinds. ... 433 Shingles 520 Quarries 1,144 Timber-hewers 129 The New York census of 1855 gave the number of feet of lumber used per annum in house-building at 5,953,000 ; ship-build- ing, 16,938,000 feet; boat-building, 7,673,- 000. The number of brick made in the state was 408,052,000, and 4,214,000 bush- els of lime. or a value of $260,637,000. Of this amount 3,400,01)0 tons, or a value of $170,000,- 000, have been built in the last ten years. The annual value built is over $16,000,- 000, and the value of the lumber used $9,000,000, and there are about 13,000 men employed. The census of 1850 gives the statistics of house and ship building as follows : Capital. Material. Hands. Cost of laltor. Value produced. $3,289.308 $7,011,930 15,276 $5,559,320 $16.886,819 5,182,309 7,286,401 12,623 5,922,576 16',595,683 4,367,912 1,474,023 16,726 4,235,088 6,610,731 1,124,072 1,106,775 2,834 735,746 2.286,242 40.038,427 27.593,529 51,766 16,022,052 58,520,966 124,130 89,719 154 63,216 189,482 646,225 1,297,119 1,037 377,944 2,343.607 1,066,355 859,827 2,448 860,920 2,277,061 823,940 406,932 2,127 425.328 985,957 4,032,182 2,475,760 9,996 3,431,194 8,180,115 222,479 14,742 414 67,508 132,246 CARRIAGES AND COACHES. THE improvements in the means of trans-: portation in the United States are very man- ifest in the number and quality of private carriages of all kinds that are now kept by almost all who live out of cities, and by very many of those who reside in them. With the multiplication of railroads, which were to supply the place of stage-coaches, it was supposed that the number of horses employ- ed would be greatly diminished. The con- trary seems, however, to be the fact, since the greater breadth of land by their means laid open to market, and the resulting gen- eral wealth have enabled all to keep pleasure- vehicles, when formerly the saddle only was used outside the stage-coach. The plain spring-less box-wagon of the farmer conveyed his family to and from church on Sunday, arid hauled his produce on week days, until within a very few years, when the idea of extravagance attached to the possession of pleasure or spring-wagons began to give way, and those vehicles were found in the carriage-house before the piano supplanted the quilting-frame in the parlor. So far from a decrease in horses, new ones and of better breed were required for fast and stylish driving. The well-to-do, permanent business man must have his business-wagon of tasteful appearance, case hardened iron axles, steel springs, and a top buggy. A rockaway, or even a coach, in many cases, is required in addition, and furnishes labor for fancy horses. The multiplication of ve- hicles is caused on one hand by the greater means of the people, and on the other hand by the great improvements in manufacture, which have diminished the prices while they raised the quality of the almost infinite variety of styles offered. These are so ad- mirable as to have elicited not only the sur- prise, but what is better, the custom of the citizens of Europe. The tide of improvement ran naturally at first in the line of stages and coaches. The object was to make them strong and light, and with such proportion of all the parts as would facilitate the draft ; in other words, to avoid loss of the power of the horse. In the cities the improve- ments are of recent date, and arose out of the magnitude of the business. The style adopted in 1830 was the omnibus or long- coach. One vehicle was then started to run up Broadway for 121 cents per head. The success was complete, and the number mul- tiplied, while the fare fell successively, until at the present time the most successful charge 5 cents in common with the rail-cars. The number of omnibuses now running in New York is 440, and the use of them has spread all over the country, giving birth to very numer- ous and extensive factories for their produc- CARRIAGES AND COACHES. 361 tion. About 300 per annum are made in New York, and larger numbers in Newark, New Jersey. The experience, skill, and capital tliat had been applied to the production of the old post-coaches were applied to the con- struction of the new vehicles. The work to be performed by the coach requires the utmost care in the selection of the mate- rials and in the manner of combining them. The frame is a piece of the nicest joiner's work, of the toughest ash, that has grown in exposed situations, and been seasoned at least two years. For some portions, oak and hickory, equally well selected, are used. The planking is of the strongest elm, and the panels of Spanish cedar; mahogany and rosewood for ornamental portions. The frame and axles are thoroughly ironed with the best metal. The springs are of the best steel, and of these many of the improved forms are of quite modern dates. The ellip- tical spring was introduced in 1825. The leather is of the toughest and finest descrip- tion. The upholstery is of fine cloths, nets, damasks, plushes, with coach-laces, exten- sively manufactured in New England. The most important part of the construction is probably the wheels. These must be so put together as to give the greatest amount of strength with the smallest weight of mate- rial. For this purpose the felloes are of ash, the spokes of oak, and the nave of elm. All these are so arranged as to receive the weight of the coach as far as possible longitudinally of the fibres of the wood. A very important American improvement in the strength of the wheel took place some 30 years since. Up to that time the iron tires had been put on in separate plates, breaking joints with the felloes. An Ameri- can blacksmith conceived the idea of mak- ing the tire whole and driving it on when hot, so that its contraction as it cooled would bind the whole wheel together almost as one piece. This invention has been universally adopted. The tires of New York omni- buses are, when new, an inch thick ; but so great is the wear, that they require renewal in 4 months. The size of the wheel is reg- ulated by the ease of draft. Thus it is found that the greatest ^ase requires that the line from the centre of the forward axle to the shoulder of the horse should form an angle of 15 degrees with the horizon. This principle will not admit of the fore wheels being more than forty-four inches in diameter, while to diminish the draught, the hind wheels are 56 inches, and the width of track is 4 ft. 8 in. The naves of the wheels have a lining of metal, forming a box that excludes dust and retains oil. It will have been remarked by the observ- ing reader that, in every branch of industry which has been recently taken hold of by the American manufacturer, the facility of production and cheapness of sale-prices have hand in hand made rapid progress. This remarkable feature has been due mostly to one principle : it is that of reducing the man- ufacture to its utmost subdivision, and mak- ing a distinct branch of each separate part of the object to be completed. A pattern being once fixed upon, all the parts of that pattern are given out to workmen, who con- fine themselves each to the manufacturing of the part he undertakes. The parts so produced are made in the best manner. Each man strives to improve in the work, or to do more and better in a given time, and his native intelligence does not fail of re- sults. The products of all their labors are then combined in complete articles in number and quality to defy competition. This mode of manufacture is a cause and a consequence of large sales. By improving and cheap- ening the goods the demand is increased, and thus reacts upon the power to produce. The carriage manufacture is another illustra- tion of this principle. The Messrs. G. & D. Cook & Co., of New Haven, when they en- gaged in the manufacture, nine or ten years since, introduced this way of systematizing the work. The mode of building carriages then was for each man to have a hand by turns in all the processes until the manufac- ture was completed, and that was of uncertain time. The Messrs. Cook were enabled by this plan to turn out a complete carriage in a day, of a quality which enhanced the ad- miration that the time of the operation had awakened. Their business has gradually expanded, until they now turn out ten per day, with the same facility with which the) formerly turned out one. The engraving on another page gives an idea of the extent of their establishment, which covers two acres, and affords 85,000 square feet of floor room. It has grown to this extent from one build- ing, on one third of an acre, with 3,000 feet of floor room. There are in the concern 24 separate departments, under 24 distinct foremen, each of whom is responsible for the part of the work performed in his depart- ment. All of them cover every branch of 362 INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES. the business, from the rough lumber to the boxing up of the complete vehicle. The orders are all laid before Mr. Kimball, one of the firm, and by him 24 blanks are filled up with minute particulars of the jobs de- livered to each foreman, with the time specified for the completion. These fore- men have 300 workmen employed in all the departments, each of which is also supplied with every variety of machine that invention and experience have suggested to facilitate the work, and these are driven by a steam engine of great power. This huge giant with its thousand arms obeys every move- ment of the 300 human workers, and the surprise of the observer who sees rough lumber wrought up into pleasure-wagons at the rate of one an hour is merged in admira- tion of the intellectual combination that produces such results. It is such enterprise and success as this that drew from the London Jurors of the World's Fair, the following remarks in their report : " Comparing the state of the art of carriage-building," say the London Jurors, in their report on carriages exhibited at the World's Fair, " of former and not very dis- tant times, with that of the present, we con- sider the principles of building in many respects greatly improved, and particularly with reference to the lightness, and a due regard to strength, which are evident in car- riages of British make ; and especially dis- played in those contributed by the United States, where there is commonly employed in the construction of wheels, and other parts requiring strength and lightness com- bined, a native wood (upland hickory), which is admirably adapted to the purpose. The carriages from the continental states do not exhibit this useful feature in an equal degree." The woods most used in the construction of carriages, ash, oak, and hickory, grow of superior quality and in great abundance in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, and the fact gives the art of carriage-making there great advantages. There are in that city over 30 factories that produce pleasure-carriages. The capital invested is some $600,000, and over 800 hands are employed. The vehicles are mostly for city use, with some export demand. One of the largest factories of the city, Roger & Co., occupies 40,000 feet of work room, and employs 125 men in all the departments of designers, body-makers, wheelwrights, carvers, painters, platers, trim- mers, upholsterers, etc. The wagons of that establishment have a good reputation. In New York, the carriage business is pushed to a great extent. The demand for heavy vehicles for the great cities is large, and the effect of railroads, in spreading the popula- tion of the city over a radius of 40 miles around it, has caused a considerable demand for pleasure-wagons. Some persons who would have no use for a vehicle in the city, in adopting a suburban home, found a car- riage a necessity. The aggregate of the business in the state of New York in 1855 was given by the state census of that year as follows : CARRIAGE AND CAB MANUFACTORIES IN NEW YORK. Felloe factories "Wheel " Hub " Spoke " , Coach and wagon factories 1,397 Car factories The number of cars made per annum is 580, and there are used 1,472,000 feet of lumber in their construction, and in that of wagons, 6,562,200 feet. There are 11,151,- 500 spokes made. The number of wagons turned out is 33,138, and of sleighs 3,838. The size of some of these factories, and the number of vehicles turned out, are surprising. The numerous depots for carriages in the city, contain every possible description of vehicles, and of all manufactures. The car- riage manufacture in New Jersey stands next in magnitude to that of New York. No. Hands. Capital in tools. Value of materials. Value produced. 6 30 $13,250 $21,450 $45,174 2 12 3,500 2,800 11,100 1 5 600 400 9,000 16 64 15,950 14,966 52,331 J97 6,391 471,530 1,712,256 5,005,125 26 1,547 264,784 679,239 1,274,768 This is mostly at Newark, where great numbers are turned out, of an approved quality. A feature of the carriage and wagon business that has been introduced of late years, is that all possible parts of vehicles can be purchased in any quantity, conse- quently the wheelwright business of small towns has been entirely revolutionized. They can no longer make an entire vehicle as formerly with any success, but purchase wheels, axles, top frames, springs, etc., of any and every pattern, to put together and finish. All these parts are produced in great quanti- 1810. 1820. THOROUGH BRACE 1825. FIEST ELLIPTIC SPRINGS. The following are a few of several hundred styles manufactured by Messrs, G. & D. Cook & Co, at the present time, GAZKLLE. CRICKET. FRENCH DOG CART. LAWRENCE HRETT. I/-OP CALASH. BREWSTER CALASH COACH. COUPE ROCK A WAY PREMIUM TOP. VIEW OF G. & D. COOK & CO.'S WORK& CARRIAGES AND COACHES. 367 ties, by machine. Hence, as we see, there are in New York, 16 spoke factories, which turn out 1,115,500 spokes per annum, also felloe factories and hub factories, etc. The largest city factories, however, make most or all the parts within themselves. In the production of a vehicle, the design is first prepared, whether buggy or coach or rockaway, on paper, f of an inch to the foot. The design being approved by the purchaser or owner, a geometrical plan is executed upon the black-board. The patterns are then cut in the wood, and from this skeleton the shape and proportions are determined. There must be exercised in this process, the utmost mathematical exactness. The wooden frame is now removed to the smithy ; then come in requisition, springs, tires, hinges, axles, bolts, locks, and every variety of form by which iron can conduce to the strength of the fa- bric. This being completed, the skeleton is moved to the body department, to receive its floors and panels, the sides with their proper curvature, the seats of the destined construction, and the doors with their trim- mings. From this room, the body goes to the paint room. This is a tedious process. From 15 to 18 coats of paint are applied, each being rubbed down with pumice stone. When it is dry, several coats of white lead and litharge, succeeded by a number of white lead and yellow ochre, complete this " priming," on which the finishing coats of ornamented colors are charged. When it is clothed in its pride of paint, it seeks the trimming room, to be decked with fine cloths, silks, lace, carpet, embossed leather, or the finest morocco, and becomes as taste- ful as art can make it. While the body of the vehicle is thus being prepared, the car- riage, or wheels, axles, perches, and shafts have also been approaching a state ready to receive it. The felloes, shafts, and nave, each of its appropriate and well selected wood, are combined into wheels, that must in size bear a certain proportion to the body. The average difference between the fore and hind wheels is eight inches. In the combina- tion each department supplies its proper part, and when ready to receive the body, that is hung upon the springs, and the whole is ready for the final polish. Apart from the coach or pleasure-vehicle business, is the wagon business, which, is of great extent, all the parts being formed by machines of late invention. The lumber for these heavy vehicles is of considerable dimensions. The plank used is three to four inches thick. This must be all well seasoned. Hence capital is required to keep a sufficient stock on hand, since it requires four or five years to season, or one year for every inch of thickness. The timber for hubs is of black locust. This, of different sizes, has the bark removed, and is bored through the centre to facilitate the seasoning. All the lumber thus seasoned in stock, is, when ready, re- moved to the saw mill. Here machines are usually ready to shape every part : upright and circular saws to cut the plank into shafts and felloes after it is marked ; planing ma- chines, and mortising machinery ; lathes for turning spokes and hubs ; for boring holes for the spokes ; for driving in the spokes ; for shaping and finishing the felloes; for boring holes in the hubs to receive the boxes, so as to insure a solid bearing, and for turning the hubs, of which the two ends are cut off at once by circular saws. All these machines soon turn the solid plank into finished wheels, while the body is growing under similar applications in another room, under the di- rection of various departments. The iron axles are turned in the machine shops, where also all the tires, bands, straps, bolts, rivets, etc., are prepared and applied. The wagons are then ready for the paint. This is the general operation of wagon -making in large establishments. In Philadelphia two concerns furnished 550 wagons for the Utah expedi- tion of the government in five weeks, or at the rate of 16 wagons per day, or a wagon in 45 minutes. The demand for express wagons that has grown up of late years, has become very large, and they are produced in great per- fection as respects strength and price. An- other large demand for vehicles has taken the shape of railroad cars, and these almost rival coaches in the extent of manufacture. In New York, the value of production is nearly $1,500,000 per annum, mostly at Troy. The car wheels are of iron, and the utmost care is taken in the manufacture of them, that when cast the iron shall cool equally in all its parts. For this purpose, when the wheel is cast in a mould, it is removed as speedily as possible into a circular chamber or furnace, composed of fire brick, 4^ inches thick, and surrounded by an iron case. When they are there deposited, the opening is closed, and the heat of the whole is raised to nearly the melting point. All the avenues to and from the interior are then closed, and 368 INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES. the whole is left to cool gradually. By this process of raising the heat, the tempera- ture of the wheel is equalized in all its parts, and as the heat can then only subside through the wall, it cools so gradually that all parts of the wheel contract alike. For this cooling 4 days are required. While red hot the wheel is removed, and having its edges packed round with sand, the centre is made to communicate, by means of a flue, with a chimney 120 feet high. The draught thus created cools the centre. The same, if not far greater importance attaches to the uniform toughness of the iron of a wheel as to that of a cannon. The lives of hundreds of passengers are always depending upon the soundness of the running wheels, and the utmost care is taken to make and keep them sound. The census of 1860 gives the following statistics of the production of carriages, wagons, carts and children's carriages for the year ending June, 1860. There has been, generally, an increased production since that period, though what were distinctively known as "southern carriages" are manufactured in less quantities than formerly. During the war, immense numbers of army wagons and ambulances were built. No. of Establish- ments. Capital invested. Carriages 3,917 $14,131,537 Wagons and carts 3,305 4,591,968 Children's carriages... 32 134,470 Cost of raw material. $9,085,301 2,812,981 108,393 Annual value Males Females Annual cost employed, employed. labor> 27,304 157 $10,001,891 $26,848,905 9,639 2 3,415,925 8,703,937 335 22 129,540 374,350 CLOCKS AND WATCHES. PERHAPS there is no one article of more general utility than "Yankee clocks," and none on which more small wit has been ex- pended both at home and abroad. The land of "wooden clocks and nutmegs" has been a standing jibe against those who have so cleverly and perseveringly executed those practical ideas that tend directly to the amelioration of the human condition. When we look around and reflect that every house, hut, and hovel in the length and breadth of the land is, or can be, supplied with an accurate time-keeper for one dollar, that is to say, a bushel of grain, and reflect that thirty years since comparatively no time- keepers existed within reach of the masses of the people, we begin to perceive that Yankee clocks are by no means so con- temptible a commodity. Doctor Franklin demonstrated that "time is money," but the people at large had no more means of measuring their time than of money to count. Alfred the Great and other old progress men discovered the value of time, and were hard put to it to measure it out. Some of the old fellows sought to do it by the dropping of water ; many marked the progress of the sun ; and other devices were employed without very great accuracy. Alfred contrived twelve candles, which be- ing burned one after the other, divided his day into twelve portions, which had each their special employment. Twelve candles were not convenient, however, to carry in one's fob, and were troublesome to light and snuff. If a Yankee peddler had walked in upon him with a wooden clock under his arm to sell for a dollar, he would far more likely have been hanged as a wizard than sneered at as a humbug. Time-keepers were invented, however, in the process of time, and gradually found their way into the hands of the rich. They were imported into this country from Europe down to the formation of the federal government, at high prices. Some of these were the pen- dulum clocks, some six feet high, and gen- erally stood in the landings of the old houses. About the time of the formation of the federal government, however, Eli Terry, of Windsor, Connecticut, made some clocks of wood, of a small size, to hang up against the wall. In 1793, he began making them, as a business, in Plymouth, Connecticut. Then he made a few in the year by his own labor. In 1800 he had procured the help of a couple of young men. The wheels were marked out on the wood with square and compass, and then cut out with a fine saw and jack-knife, the teeth of the wheels being formed in the same manner. Twice a year Mr. Terry would pack up some of these clocks and make a journey into the new country, by which name the region west of the North River was then called. There he found sale for his wooden " movements" at $25 each. He so pros- pered in this, that by the year 1807 a num- ber of persons in Waterbury associated themselves into a company to furnish Terry CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 369 with stock of which he was to make the ' movements. To execute this formidable work, he bought an old mill, introduced some machinery, and laid out a lot of 500 clocks at one time, a larger number, it is said, than was ever before undertaken at one time in the world. Mr. Terry used to sell his clocks himself at a price of $25, but of course money was not then obtained. Salt pork was currency, and when he took the clock out of his saddle-bags, he put salt pork in the place of it. In 1,810, Mr. Terry sold his factory to Thomas & Hoad- ley, and competition springing up the price of the wooden movements was reduced from $10, the then price, to $5, at which low price some of the manufacturers failed. In 1814, Terry invented a new style, called the pillar scroll top case, about 21 inches high. These sold for $15 freely, for many years, and he made a fortune of some $200,- 000. At this juncture Chauncey Jerome became an apprentice to Mr. Terry, and the works being extended, a circular saw was introduced for the first time, and it was a great curiosity. Jerome began when of age to make a few clocks for himself, and sold them at $12 each. He continued the busi- ness under many vicissitudes, making large quantities of clocks that were sent all over the Union, and sold by means of peddlers. An occasional new form to the clocks gave a renewed impulse to the sales, the grow- ing competition between the clockmakers continuing to force down prices. The panic of 1837 had a disastrous influence upon the trade, ruining almost all the manufacturers. Up to that time the clocks had been alto- gether of wood, of which it was difficult to procure the right description. When this was obtained it required a year's seasoning, and then it was a slow process, even with machines, to cut out the works. The largest manufacturer had never made more than 10,000 per annum. These clocks were one- day clocks, but good time-keepers. In 183*7, Mr. Jerome invented the one-day clock with brass works. This invention proved a new era in the clock business, and buried the old wooden works. From that time the business made very rapid progress, and the clocks not only found their way all over the Union, but also to Europe, India, China, Australia, and elsewhere. The old wooden clock could not well be exported, because exposure to the humidity of the ocean air caused the works to swell in a manner that ruined them. This difficulty the brass works did not encounter. The new business improved very rapidly under the demand for the clocks, which was con- tinually stimulated by the gradually falling prices. The old wooden dial was supplant- ed by one of zinc, and an eight-day clock, which would have cost $20 in 1837, can now be had for $4. The one-day clock is sold for 75 cents, and is an excellent time- keeper. The brass works of the clocks are made from the metal sheets with the great- est rapidity. The oldest manufacturer, Mr. Jerome, states that three experienced men can make 500 clocks in one day from the sheets. There are in every one-day clock from 8 to 10 wheels; an eight-day clock re- quires more. All these wheels are cut from the brass at one operation, pressed out and levelled for use. The expense of three days' work is thus distributed through 500 clocks, not quite 1^ cents each clock. The whole cost of the movements was 50 cents each. The frames of the clocks are also made in large quantities by machine. For the body of the case, common merchantable pine lumber is used. The boards are by circular saws cut into suitable lengths for sides and tops. Those free from knots are then by another saw cut into their proper widths, and go to the planing machine. They then are by an appropriate instrument cut in the shape designated for the fronts. The pieces are then taken by a workman who spreads glue upon them, to receive the rosewood or mahogany veneer. These are then in lots of a dozen placed in hand-screws until dry. When ready, the veneer is polished by ap- plying it to a revolving cylinder covered with sand paper, by which it is soon suffi- ciently polished to receive the varnish, of which several applications are made, and it requires about ten days to dry. They then receive a polish and are put together in the form of the case. It was usual to have 10,000 clocks undergoing this process at once. In this manner a case would cost 50 cents, 20 for labor and 30 for stuff; a cabi- net-maker could not make one such under $5. The dials are cut by machinery from sheets of zinc, the holes being punched by the same operation. They are then painted and the letters and figures printed on. One man could print 1,200 to 1,500 in a day. The whole dial would thus cost 5 cents. The tablets printed in a similar manner, and colored by girls, cost 1 cents each. The 370 INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES. glass and work 4 cents. The weights cost 13 cents. Thus the complete clock would cost about $1.25, a price brought about by the systematizing of the labor. The great clock factory of Chauncey Jerome was one of 31 that were in operation in 1852. It had been merged into a joint- stock company in 1850, called the Jerome Manufacturing Company. In 1853 and 1854 that concern produced 444,000 clocks per annum ; another factory, that of J. C. Brown, produced 100,000 clocks per an- num, and failed subsequently ; and the Ansonia Company, which was afterward formed, 150,000 clocks per annum. The sharp competition of all these companies reduced the price to such a degree that many stopped. In the ten years ending with 1856, four factories were destroyed by fire, nine failed, and five closed on account of low prices. There remained 1 3 factories, of which six produced 95,000 per annum, and the remaining seven, 48,000 clocks. In 1855 the great showman, Barnum, be- came a member of the Jerome Clock Com- pany by selling a clock factory which he owned in Bridgeport to the Jerome Co., and taking stock of the company in payment. In the same year the Jerome Co. failed utterly ; its owners allege, because the debts of the company bought from Barnum ruined them, while the assets of the con- cern were of no value, and the extensive financiering to stave off these liabilities, swallowed up all the means of the Jerome Company. The result .was almost a com- plete sweep of the clock business. The New Haven Clock Co., which succeeded to the business of the Jerome Co., is now the largest factory. Its method of making dials, etc., is the same as was that of the old company. There is also the Benedict Money paid to officers and men for their shares. . 4,018 601 ,,,, ,; $21,431,601 Add Interest and wear and tear 2,004, 6'21 Total investment $23,436.222 The value of all the fisheries, including the whale, may be summed up as follows : Vessels. Ton 'ge. Capital. Persons. Value. Whale 66 1 203,062 23.436,226 1 6.370 $ 1 2,040.804 Cod,mackerel,etc. 2,280 175,306 7,280,000 19, ISO 8,730.000 Oysters, etc 25,000.000 T.ake, etc 2,375.000 Fish for manure 260,000 Total $48,405,804 The " cod, mackerel, etc.," includes shad and other marketable fish. The item for oysters, etc., includes the turtle, clam, and other shell-fish. ICE, " Hast thou entered into the terrors of the snow, or hast thou seen the terrors of the hail?" JOB. FOR how many years, not to say centuries, was the vast icy wealth which nature confers upon northern latitudes in such profusion, and within reach of every individual, utterly unappreciated and neglected ! The use of ice was indeed known to the luxurious few in remote ages. The ancient Romans learn- ed to cool their choice wines with frozen water, and almost in every age, the " upper ten" were acquainted with its merits. Like education, and suffrage, and freedom of opinion, and toleration in religion, it how- ever became known to and extended among the people only under our federal govern- ment. It is now no longer rcgarde'd as ex- clusively a luxury, but has become a neces- sity. Under almost all circumstances water is made palatable by it, and wines are im- proved by its application. The introduction of water into large cities by aqueduct, is made acceptable to citizens not only in the summer but also in the winter by the use of ice. The excuse for ardent drinks based on poor water, is removed by the possession of ice, since tepid water is rendered attractive by it. When water is thus rendered agree- able, the temptation to indulge in strong drinks is diminished. By its use, also, the supply of food is virtually enhanced, since ICE. 387 the surplus of districts, that might otherwise be lost, can be sent to a considerable distance to supply the wants of large cities. The surplus supplies that may thus accumulate, can be preserved for a longer time by the use of ice. The fruits of the West Indies may be preserved in the northern cities, and those of our own orchards are by the same means preserved for the markets of India, ' Brazil, and the West Indies. Packet ships no longer carry live fowls and pigs, since a small ice-house may be packed with fresh provisions for the voyage. The markets of all large cities 'are provided with hundreds of ice-chests, in which fresh provisions are preserved free from taint. Fishermen have become greatly dependent upon ice, which enables them to keep a large and full supply of fish in every variety, and almost every family has its refrigerator or ice-box, which, regularly supplied, is the recipient for butter, milk, and other food. Thus families are as readily furnished with ice as with milk. To country houses and substantial farmers, ice-houses have become a necessity for the same general reasons. Not the least important use of ice is its medical applications. It is a reliable tonic and of the safest. In cases of fever it has become of general use. In India the first prescription of a physician is ice, and some- times it is the only one, and the ice is always American ! If India sends us her opium, she gets as valuable a return in ice. That article is also a styptic, and has many impor- tant medical applications. All these benefits and many more were annually provided for humanity in the frosts of winter and in the congealing of water, but were disre- garded until an enterprising Yankee adopted the notion of harvesting that crop. Massa- chusetts to be sure has but two crops, and it required two centuries to discover them. For more than 200 years the snow fell upon and melted from her granite hills, before speculation, putting its hand upon them, sent them along the coast by schooner loads as material for palaces. For more than 00 successive winters the clear and sparkling ice showed itself upon her ponds, and van- ished under the vernal sun, before enterprise detected in its preservation the means of in- creasing human enjoyment. Those frozen lakes were each winter covered with gold, but, like that of California, it was long undis- covered. It will, however, never run out, since, without ploughing or sowing, nature sends the annual crop, which like the manna has only to be gathered, and the market for it is ever increasing. There were many farmers possessed of ice- houses in the middle states, at a date as far back as the formation of the government. But the idea of making a trade of it seems to have occurred first to Frederick Tudor, Esq., of Boston, in 1805. He shipped a cargo in that year from Boston to Martinique. The ice was cut with axes, and carted in wagons to Gray's wharf, Charlestown, where it was shipped. The voyage proved a total loss, as did several succeeding ones, until the war put an end to trade. Mr. Tudor resum- ed it at the peace, and persevered in face of continued losses, until 1823, when he ex- tended it to the southern states, and the West Indies, and it began to pay. As long as it was a losing business he had it all to himself; as soon as his perseverance had mastered the business and made an art of it, he began to have competitors. Up to 1832, however, he was alone in it, and in that year extended his shipments to Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and also to BraziL These were the first ice shipments ever made to those countries, and they have ever since been good customers. Since 1832, a number of firms have engaged in it. In that year the shipment was 4,352 tons, cut from Fresh Pond. In 1854, it had grown to 154,540 tons. The use of ice extended itself in all the cities of New England, and in Boston be- came very general. The quantity there used is about 70,000 tons per annum, against about 27,000 tons in 1847. The ice is cut mostly from Fresh and Spy Ponds ; at the former the houses are capable of containing about 87,000 tons. The price of ice for shipping is usually $2 per ton, and rises from that to $6 after mid-winter. The article is served to families at the rate of $5 for the season, May to October, for nine Ibs. per day ; 15 Ibs. are served for $8, and 24 Ibs. for $12. When large quantities are served, the price is 1 7 cts. per hundred, and $3 per ton to hotels when 500 Ibs. per day are taken. In New York the quantity used is nearly 285,000 tons. This is supplied in the'pro- portions of 120,000 tons from Rockland Lake; 30,000 from Highland Lake ; NewRo- chellc, 10,000; Athens, 15,000; Rhinebeck, 18,000; Kingston Creek, 60,000; Catskill, 20,000; Barrytown, 12,000. Of this quan- tity, 113,000 tons are stored by the Knicker- 388 INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES. bocker Co., and the remainder by four firms. The cities of Newburg, Poughkeepsie, Hud- son, Albany, Troy, lay up from 5000 to 20,000 tons each. In central and western New York the use of ice is large. It com- menced at Syracuse in 1 844 for the supply of a saloon, and it was gradually extended to butchers and families, and the quantity there used is about 10,000 tons, taken mostly from Onondaga Lake, from which it is drawn two or three miles to be stowed in an ice- house. The other cities of western New York have followed the example, and the average price is 20 cts. per hundred. Cin- cinnati used to draw its supply of ice from its own vicinity ; but the railroad facilities per- mit of drawing it cheaper and better from the lakes. Chicago is well supplied from the same source. In the neighborhood of Peru, Illinois, a large quantity is cut 'for the supply of the lower Mississippi. It is cut in the winter and packed in flat-boats which are allowed to freeze up in the Illinois river ; there is therefore no other ice-house needed. As soon as the river breaks up in the spring, the boats float down stream and supply the markets below. In Philadel- phia, Baltimore, and Washington, ice is more important than in the cities of the North. When the weather sets in cold in the early part of the winter, they cut ice in the neigh- borhood, but the best supplies are from Bos- ton or from more northern lakes. The Atlantic and Gulf cities of the South get most of their ice from Boston, which sends them about 110,000 tons per annum, and further quantities to Havana and the West Indies. Rio Janeiro, Callao, and Peru, Charleston, Mobile, and New Orleans, are large customers of Boston in the article of ice. In New Orleans, substantial brick ice-houses have been erected at a cost of $200,000, and similar arrangements have been made in Mobile for its distribution. The quantity exported to Europe is large, and England takes about 1,000 tons of American ice. It follows as a matter of course, that where this object of industry and enterprise is formed by nature, the means of conducting the trade will gather around it. Hence the land in the immediate neighborhood of fresh-water lakes at the North rises in value, and good wages come to be earned in the winter by men who at the dull season would otherwise not be employed. The question soon presented itself to those who were engaged upon cutting ice on the same pond as to their comparative rights. This was settled at Fresh Pond by a committee, who decided that each owner should hold the same proportion of the contiguous surface of the pond as the length of his shore line is to the whole border. The time for cutting is December and January. The "experts" can in the middle of January estimate the value of the crop. W T hen the ice is sufficiently thick to cut, say from nine to twenty inches, the former for home use and the latter for exportation, if there should be snow upon the surface, it is removed by wooden scrapers drawn bv horses. There is a layer of what is called " snow ice," that is not fit for market ; this must be removed, and for this purpose an iron scraper with a cutting-edged steel is drawn over it by a horse. A man rides upon the scraper, which in its progress cuts several inches of the snow ice from the surface of the clear and glittering article that is to go to market. When this is completed, the field of ice is marked off into squares of five feet each. The marker is drawn by a horse, and is guided by handles like a plough. In the tracks of these marks and cross marks fol- lows the cutter. This is a remarkable inven- tion, which has reduced the cost of cutting ice in the neighborhood of Boston alone, some $15,000 per annum. Acres of ice are thus cut into square pieces, which are then floated off through canals, and impelled by long poles, to the sides of the pond, where inclined planes lead up to the ice-houses ; up this inclined plane each piece is dragged with great celerity by a powerful steam engine. In the house it is directed by hand down other planes to be packed away by the requisite number of men. By the aid of steam ten tons of ice may be cut and housed in a minute. With a full power, it is not uncommon to stow 600 tons an hour. Some- times there are several parties on the pond, each vicing with the other in the rapidity of their operations. Most of the ice-houses that we have seen are built of wood. Sometimes they are found of brick. They are very high and broad, and are usually from 100 to 200 feet in length. Fresh Pond, Cambridge, Mass., has its shores almost covered with some fifty of these ice-houses. They present a singular appearance, neither looking like barns nor houses ; and one unacquainted with the ice business would be almost certain to ask, on PINS. 389 seeing them for the first time, " What are they ?" The construction of these houses, in which ice is to be stored until sold, must be regulated by the climate the amount to be stored the material nearest at hand and the facility of reaching the shore the object being to have a cool spot, where the influence of the sun and a warm atmosphere shall be least felt. Added to this, the mass of ice must be preserved as much as possible from wasting, by being surrounded by saw- dust, tan, shavings, rice-hulls, charcoal, or leaves, which must be used iti the ice-house, or aboard ship, according to circumstances. Private ice-houses are constructed in dif- ferent ways. They were formerly merely cellars ; they are now in the most approved methods erected above ground, with a drain under the mass of ice. The opening is gen- erally to the north, and the ice is the better preserved for a double roof, which acts as a non-conductor. The waste of ice is different under different circumstances ; shipping ice should not waste more than 40 per cent. ; and when shipped on an India voyage of 16,000 miles, twice crossing the equator, and oc- cupying some months, if one half the cargo is delivered it is considered a successful voyage. The cost of the ice delivered is of course affected by this element of wastage. In Boston, it is $2 per ton; in Calcutta, 2us manners. This is a separate branch of business, and is carried on at Newark, N. J., extensively. The bed is made of suitable material, on the floor of the furnace, and made in the required form. The sheet of glass is laid upon this, and as it softens in the heat, it assumes the form of the bed on which it is laid. The manufacture of flint glass for domes- tic purposes requires great care in the selec- tion of the materials. It possesses the properties of great transparency and high refractive power. Its brilliancy and density are in some degree due to the introduction of oxide of lead. Oxide of zinc has also been found effective for the same purpose. In order to protect the glass from effects of smoke or other elements which might dis- color it, it is melted in a covered pot, with an opening in a short neck on one side. The heat is made very intense that the fusion may be rapid. The moment fusion and fiaing have thoroughly taken place, the heat is reduced, to prevent the deleterious action of the materials of the vessel upon the glass. In the United States, when the metal is taken out by the workmen, it is shaped in the required form by pressing into a die. For this purpose, when the article is large, considerable pressure is required. The ex- perience and skill of the workman are put to the test in taking up just the quantity of metal required to fill the mould, which is kept at a red heat. The objects, being formed, go through the cutting process, as it is called, but really the grinding proc- ess. Circular stones or metallic disks are made to revolve, being fed with sand and water for coarse grinding, and emery for finer work. The marks left in the coarse grinding are removed by application to wooden revolving wheels, fed with pumice or rotten-stone, and finally with putty pow- der, a preparation of tin and lead. The fine polishing of chandelier drops, and sim- ilar ornaments, is effected by a lead wheel, supplied with rotten-stone and water. Globes and lamp shades are polished on the inside by filling them with sand, and placing them in a drum, which revolves rapidly for a length of time. The glass most important in the arts is certainly that used for optical instruments. Flint and crown glass are both used for that purpose, but both have their defects. Those of the former arise from the difficulty of ef- fecting uniform fusion, and crown glass is seldom possessed of the requisite uniformity of texture. These difficulties^ were so great that, until the early part of the present cen- GLASS MANUJ|ACTURE. 405 tury lenses larger than three and a half inches could not be made. At that time a Swiss clockmaker, Guinand, produced them as large as nine inches, of the greatest perfec- tion. The secret remained with him for a long time, but was finally, by one of his sons, imparted to M. Bontemps, who in 1828 pro- duced lenses of twelve to fourteen inches. The secret was in keeping the mixture ac- tively stirred when liquid, and then suffering it to cool and anneal in the pot. Lenses are now made of flint glass twenty-nine inches in diameter, and weighing two cwt. The production of vessels of colored glass is conducted in a very ingenious manner. The coloring matters are various. Blue transparent glass is made with 2 Ibs. oxide of cobalt; azure blue, 4 Ibs. oxide of cop- per; ruby red, 4 ozs. oxide of gold; other colors by various combinations. Sometimes the color is incorporated merely with the outer portion of the glass. This is effected in the blowing by dipping the lump of clear glass, when shaped upon the marver, into the pot of melted colored glass, and then blowing it to the shape required, and flash- ing out, if desired to convert it into panes. The color may afterward be reduced in depth by grinding, and clear spots reached by grinding through the color. In the proc- ess of " casing," a portion of partially blown flint glass is inserted into a thin shell of colored glass, and then blown until it fills the shell, with which it becomes incorpo- rated by heating and further blowing ; cas- ings of different colors may be thus applied. In painting, the color, mixed with a flux that will fuse at a lower temperature than the glass, and with boiled oil, is laid on with a brush as in ordinary painting, or by blocks as in calico printing. The glass is then heated, when the flux melts, and sinks into the body. The painting of glass for church windows was formerly carried to a high de- gree of excellence, that moderns have not been "able to equal. Although the receipts have been preserved in ancient treatises, the process has been lost. Enamelled glass has of late been much used. The glass of the New York Crys- tal Palace is an illustration. In this proc- ess the enamel substance is ground to an impalpable powder, and then laid with a brush, in a pasty state, upon the glass. Af- ter the paste is dried, the ornament is etched out either by hand or by machinery. The glass being then softened in the intense heat of the furnace, the enamel becomes vitrified and incorporated with it. It then passes to the annealing furnace. This process was in- vented by Mr. William Cooper, of the firm of Cooper & Belcher, New York, whose ex- tensive works at Newark, N. J., supplied 60,000 feet for the New York Crystal Palace. Another variety, the flocked, has now come more into use. The process is nearly the same, except that a smooth opaque surface is given to the glass before the enamel is ap- plied. Soluble glass has been made of later years of equal parts silica and caustic potash. This is soluble in boiling water, and is used ex- tensively for making buildings and all com- bustible bodies fire-proof. In the manufacture of bottles, the metal, on being withdrawn from the melting pot on the end of the blowing tube, is, if for common black bottles, shaped in concavities that are made in the edge of the marver. Fine bottles of flint glass are shaped in moulds of brass or iron, which are made in two parts hinged together, so that they may be opened and shut with the foot. Bottles for champagne, soda water, etc., are made of extraordinary strength, and tested before using by hydraulic pressure. They ought to support, for this purpose, a pressure of 40 atmospheres, or 600 Ibs. on the square inch. Notwithstanding the great strength with which they are usually made, the breakage in the manufacture of champagne is rated at 30 per cent. The glass is drawn out into tubes in a manner that illustrates the curious manipu- lations of the metal. The workman, with his blowing tube, accumulates a certain quantity by successive dips into the melt- ing pot. This is then blown into a globe. Another workman then takes hold with a pontil, at a point exactly opposite the blow- ing tube. The two men then separate, and the globe contracts in the middle, which be- ing drawn out to the size of the tube desired, cools, and the hotter portions successively yield to the drawing, until a tube of 100 feet or more hangs between the workmen. The diameter of the bore retains its propor- tion to the thickness of the glass ; hence thin tubes must be drawn from globes blown to a large size. These tubes of colored glass may be converted into beads. Beads have always been a great element in the trade with the North American Indians, being highly prized by them. 406 INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES. INDIA-RUBBER AND ITS MANUFACTURE. ONE of the most remarkable American discoveries of the present century is, un- doubtedly, the mode of manufacturing and applying the article known to commerce as "India-rubber," but which, among the peo- ple of South America, is called "caout- chouc." The article in question is a gum procured from a peculiar tree in the hottest regions of the equator. The tree which yields this gum in the East Indies is some- what different from that which produces it in the equatorial regions of South America. The former (" ficus elastica") is represented in an engraving on another page. Although the gum was used in a rude fashion since many ages by the inhabitants of the countries which produce it (and it had been known to commerce for a long time, having been discovered by a French philosopher in 1736), it is only within 20 years that its value has been appreciated. In that time, under the genius of American manufacturers, it has risen to a rank equal, perhaps, to that of iron and glass among the materials that admin- ister to the necessities and comforts of man. In the forests of equatorial South America the " siphonia elastica" grows to a height of 60 or 70 feet, and is covered with a scaly bark. It bears a fruit, which encloses a white almond highly esteemed by the na- tives. A slight wound on this tree causes the sap to flow freely, thick, white, and unc- tuous, like the sap of the milk-weed. On being exposed to the air, this soon becomes solid. This sap is collected by the natives, who make a longitudinal cut in the centre of the tree, and lateral cuts leading diago- nally into it. At the bottom of the perpen- dicular cut a banana leaf is placed to con- duct the sap, as it flows, into a vessel placed to receive it. . The sap is used for the for- mation of bottles, boots, shoes, and various articles. The process is to form the figure of the thing desired in CI.HV, and cover it on the outside with inuny coats of the gum, ex- posing it to fire to dry. When the desired thickness is obtained, the mould is soaked out in water, and the article is ready for use. Clumsy shoes, rudely fashioned in this man- ner, were long an article of importation from Para into the United States, and extensively sold down to within 20 years. There was little other use made of the article except to erase pencil marks, and for which purpose was charged 50 cents for a cubic inch. The nature of the gum did not, however, long fail to become an object of research. The learned decided that it was neither gum nor resin, but of a peculiar nature analogous to resin, from which it differed in not being soluble in alcohol. Many attempts to make it useful in the arts were made, and finally it was found that by dissolving it in volatile oil there was obtained a sort of varnish very useful in making certain tissues and fabrics water-proof. A thin coat, placed between two sheets of stuff, caused them to adhere closely and made them impervious as well to water as to air. This application of it was made in the manufacture of mattresses, cushions, pillows, boots, bottles, etc. A so- lution in linseed oil is called an excellent var- nish for making leather water-tight. The best solvents are said, however, to be oil of turpentine, coal, naphtha, and benzole. Al- cohol will not dissolve it, but will precipitate it from ether. Another solvent is of rubber itself, called caoutchoucin. It is produced by exposing rubber to a heat of 60U, when it goes off in a vapor, which, being con- densed, produces the solvent. All these applications, however, utilized only one of the distinguishing properties of rub- ber, viz., its imperviousness to water. An inventor, however, by the aid of a new solvent, found means to spin threads of the rubber of various degrees of fineness and strength. These threads, covered with tex- tile fabrics silk, wool, cotton, or linen be- came light and supple tissues of extraor- dinary elasticity. This opened the way to an immense number of employments. In some machines the rubber is kneaded, and compressed in various ways, and finally a number of the balls thus treated are brought together and powerfully squeezed by a screw press in cast-iron moulds, in which, being firmly secured, the mass is left several days. This process is somewhat modified in differ- ent establishments. In some, the cleaned shreds are rolled into sheets, from which threads and thin rubber are sliced by the application of suitable knives, worked by machines, and kept wet. The sheets are at once ready for the purpose to which this form is applied, or, by machinery of great ingenuity, they are cut into long threads of any desired degree of fineness. If then re- quired to be joined, a clean oblique cut is made, with a pair of scissors, and the parts being brought together, readily and perfectly unite by the pressure of the fingers. As MACHINE FOR WASHIXO IXDIA-RUBBER. INDIA- If U BEER GRINDING MILL. , f'E GREAT CALENI-'EB MACHINE. rices KLAsric:A, Fito:.i THE EAST INDIES. CUTTING RUBBER I*;TO SLABS FOE THE WASHING MACHINES. INDIA-RUBBER AND ITS MANUFACTURE. 409 the threads are reeled off, they are elongated about eight times their original length by passing through the hands of a boy, and by the same operation they are deprived of their elasticity. After remaining on the reel some days, they are wound upon bobbins, and are then ready for weaving and braiding. The threads are of different fineness. A pound of caoutchouc can, by one machine, be made into 8000 yards of thread. This may, by another, be divided by 4, making 32,000 yards. Elastic braids are these threads covered with silk and other mate- rial. In woven fabrics, caoutchouc thread makes the warp, alternately with threads of stuff to receive the extreme strain that would destroy the rubber, and the other materials form the weft, or cross-threads. When wo- ven, a hot iron is passed over the stuff, and this causes the rubber to regain its elasticity. Another mode of forming the threads per- fectly round and smooth, is to convert the caoutchouc into a soft paste. This is done by macerating it for some hours with about twice its weight of sulphuret of carbon, add- ing 5 per cent, of alcohol. The paste is well kneaded by compressing it through dia- phragms of wire gauze, placed in cylinders, and is then forced through a line of small holes at the bottom of another cylinder. The threads, as they issue, are taken on a web of velvet, from which they pass to another of common cloth, and are carried slowly along for 600 to 700 feet, when be- coming dry and hard by the evaporation of the solvent, they are received in a little cup. The threads produced of vulcanized rubber retain their elasticity, and are, when woven, kept stretched by weights. On re- leasing them, the material woven with them is drawn back, producing shirred or corru- gated fabrics. Caoutchouc supplanted the metal elastics for many purposes, since it would not cor- rode in moisture. It was at once in demand for suspenders, garters, corsets, and number- less appurtenances of apparel. It came to be used foj water-proofing cloths, surgical instruments of all kinds, elastic bands, in the arts and trades. Book- binders have used it for securing the leaves in books, imparting flexibility and freedom to the opening volumes. In thin sheets, it has been used for taking impressions of engravings. In this form, also, it is an ex- cellent material for covering the mouths of bottles, and similar applications requiring the exclusion of air and moisture. Pre- pared with other ingredients, it forms a ma- rine glue unsurpassed in adhesiveness when applied to wood. A pound of fine rubber is dissolved in four gallons of rectified eoal- tar naphtha and well mixed. In ten or twelve days this will attain the consistency of cream, when an equal weight of shellac is added. It is then heated in an iron vessel having a discharge pipe at the bottom. As it melts, it is kept well stirred, and the liquid flowing out is obtained in the form of thin sheets. When it is applied, it is heated to 248 and applied with a brush, and retained soft un- til the jointing is made, by passing heated rollers over the surface. This has been, it is said, applied to masts of vessels, which have been so firmly spliced that fractures take place in the new wood sooner than to sepa- rate the glued portion ; and it has been held that parts of vessels may be, by these means, so firmly put together that iron bolts would be unnecessary. Rubber has been made use of for paving stables, lobbies, and halls, here, as well as in England, where Windsor Castle carriage- way is so paved. There are a multitude of uses for the material, such as baths, dishes for photograph and chemical purposes, tele- graph wire covers, boots, shoes, toys, life- preservers, clothing, furniture covers, travel- ling bags, tents, beds, water pails. It is being constantly applied to new uses, as the chemical modes of treating the article de- velop new properties. The uses of the article were, however, still comparatively limited. The water-proof qualities were, to some extent, availed of, and its elasticity was ingeniously applied in many minor directions. The native article itself was still an impracticable object in the man- ufacture. It had baffled the philosopher, the chemist, and the artisan in investigating its nature and in controlling its properties. Repeated attempts were made to transport the pure juice or gum to Europe, there to be operated upon, but without success, since it was found that it rapidly degenerated. A method of doing this was finally devised by Mr. Lee Norris, of New York. The liquor is first filtered and mixed with I its own weight of ammonia. On being poured out on any smooth surface, and exposed to a temperature of 70 or 100 of heat, the am- monia, which had preserved it from the ac- tion of the atmosphere, is evaporated, and leaves the gum in the form of the object 410 INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES. which holds it. Its intractable nature was finally, however, conquered by Charles Good- year, who controlled it, apparently, as Rarey does horses, viz., by producing the result without any one being able to explain the phenomenon. Mr. Goodyear spent 20 years of the most unremitting toil in experiment- ing upon India-rubber, and finally discovered that a mixture of sulphur, white lead,^,nd caoutchouc, exposed to regulated tempera- ture from 8 to 12 hours, becomes "vulcan- ized," or an entire new substance unlike any other. The native rubber, being exposed to the extremes of heat and cold, is destroyed ; but those agencies have no effect on the same article vulcanized. The liquids which dissolve the pure rubber do not influence the new article, which, however, acquires a far higher degree of elasticity becomes, in fact, an "elastic metal." The article, when put into the heaters, is a tough, sticky, une- lastic dough. It comes out endowed with a high degree of elasticity, insensible to heat, or cold, or solvents, and applicable to almost every want of life. It has been since dis- covered that the white lead contributes but little to the change undergone in the heat- ers, the cause or manner of which has baf- fled the skill of the most scientific chemists in this country or Europe. In mixing the proportions of the compounds, reference has always been made to the nature of the ob- jects to be manufactured. The form and adaptation of the articles are perfected before the "vulcanizing." The general mode of preparing the rubber is the same. The rub- ber imported from the East Indies is said to be of a stronger fibre than that of South America, and the gum is selected in accord- ance with the manufacture proposed. It is imported in rude masses, in which sticks, leaves, and dirt are thickly mingled. These are about 2 feet long and 1 foot thick. The first process that the gum undergoes is the expensive and laborious one of cleaning, by which the mass loses about 1 of its weight. A large vat is filled with hot water, and in this the rubber remains until the exterior is sufficiently softened to allow of the removal of the coarse basket-work that covers and adheres closely to it. When this is done, the lumps are, by means of a circular knife of a diameter of 4 feet, revolving with great speed under the influence of powerful ma- chinery, cut into slabs about 1 inch thick. The engraving will give a good Mea of the operation. These slabs a^-o then carried to the " cracker," of which an illustration will be found on another page. This is formed of two large cylinders grooved longitudinally, and revolving slowly but irresistibly. Between these the slabs, as they are passed, are elon- gated and twisted, by which operation much of the dirt and bark works out. The stretched slabs are then taken to the wash- ing machine, where numerous sharp knives, revolving under the water, cut it into small pieces, as seen in the baskets on the right of the illustration, which, at the same time, are kneaded and washed until they are thor- oughly cleansed. They are then ready for the grinding machine. This consists of large hollow cylinders, made of cast iron, and revolving in opposite directions. The small pieces that come from the washing machine, being fed in, are kneaded by the cylinders again into thick sheets or mats. With this process the preparation is sus- pended for several months in order to allow the mats to be thoroughly dried and cured by the action of the air. This involves the necessity of keeping on hand a large stock of rubber. When the rubber is quite cured, it is taken to the mixing machines, where it is to be combined with the various metals and sub- stances to which the metallic rubber owes its peculiar properties. The mixing machines, like most of those used in the manufacture, are hollow revolving cylinders. The mixing cylinders are of great size and strength, and acquire the necessary heat to work the rub- ber from the steam let in at the ends. These, revolving toward each other, knead the rubber like dough. In the process, a con- stant series of explosions, like pistol-shots, is caused by the air confined in the folds of the substance being forced out by the action of the cylinders. This, on a grand scale, repeats the boy's amusement of chewing rubber soft in order to explode on his fist the air- bubbles created in it. As the rub- ber softens under this action, the workman slowly mixes in the various substances re- quired. These consist mostly of sulphur, to which are added the oxides of various metals, zinc, lead, iron, etc. Here the greatest skill of the manufacturer is brought into requisi- tion. Every quality of rubber requires a different compound, and every difference in the compound requires a different treatment in the subsequent stages of the manufacture. Thus prepared, the substance is ready to be moulded aud shaped into the various forms INDIA-KUBBER AND ITS MANUFACTURE. 411 in which it is to be finally perfected and used. The modes of preparation are various, according to the ultimate object whether that may be for it to assume the form of the hard, unelastic comb, a door spring, a steam valve, a carpet, or any of the thousand shapes it is made to take. It may be here remarked that the dis- covery, great as it was, was but the first step in the great series of improvements that has resulted from it. After 1 8 years of incessant labor, Mr. Goodyear had perfected a raw material but a raw material for what ? It was necessary to know to what articles it could be applied before there could be any demand for it; until then it was of no market- able value. It was necessary to invent or dis- cover all the uses to which it might be ap- plied. The shoe business was the first to make it available ; but since then, vast as has been the number of manufactures based on it, discoveries are being daily made to extend it. The manufacture of "belting" and "hose" is a very large business. The belts are used for driving machinery, and are superior to every other means. They are stronger than the best sole leather, and adhere to the drum or pulley with a tenacity that prevents slipping. This manufacture is a peculiar process. Cotton duck, similar to that of which sails are made, is woven in a mode to give double the usual strength lon- gitudinally. This duck is impregnated with the rubber, under the influence of powerful machinery, which drives the substance through and through its meshes. It is then taken to the calender machine, seen in the engraving. The large cylinders of which it is composed have a perfectly polished sur- face. The rubber having gone through the mixing process, is in the shape of sticky, slate-colored dough, and passing through the calenders, is rolled out into a perfectly even sheet, upon the prepared duck. When this is completed, the " bolts" are taken to the belt-room, spread out upon tables 100 feet long, and cut into the strips desired for the various kinds of belting. For one of great strength, several of the strips are placed one upon the other, and then pressed together with immense power, by rolling- machines ; thus giving them the strength of metal, with the peculiar friction surface found only in rubber. The belts are now ready for the heaters. These are long steam boilers, the door of which being opened, there is drawn out a long railway carriage. On this are placed the goods, which are then rolled in, the boiler closed, and steam admitted. In from 8 to 12 hours, the sin- gular transformation known as vulcanizing, takes place. The manufacture of " Croton hose " is similar. A long iron tube, of the proper diameter (and hose is made from i inch to 12 inches) is covered with a sheet of care- fully-prepared rubber. This, however, in- tended to be pliable, would not of itself be of sufficient strength to sustain a strong head of water, hence it is covered with webs of cloth prepared in the manner of the belting duck. When a sufficient num- ber of folds have been applied to give the re- quired strength, an outside covering of pure rubber is applied. A heater of immense length then receives the pipes, with the hose on them, to be cured by the same process as the belts. The hose is then drawn off the pipe to be subjected to proof. This hose will withstand a pressure that will burst the most powerful leather hose. One of the most useful applications of vul- canized India-rubber, is steam packing. The vulcanized rubber is the only material that will preserve its elasticity and counteract the expansion and contraction of metals exposed to the heat, of steam, thus making a joint perfectly steam-tight. It is used to pack round piston rods in steam machines ; to place between the iron plates of steam pipes, wherever a joint is required; for gaskets, valves, and rings. Some ocean steamers have huge rubber valves, five feet in diam- eter, which play up and down in the vast cylinder, opening and shutting like the valves of a colossal artery. The use of rubber is now so great a necessity, wherever steam is used, that the mind wonders how it could ever have been dispensed with. It is not only steam, however, but every branch of mechanics that demands its presence, in the shape of sheets, plates, rings, hollow el- lipses, of all imaginable forms and sizes, of which none but a mechanic can conceive the number applicable to his own art. The use of rubber for car-springs has be- come almost universal. The high degree of elasticity which the sulphur imparts, makes that application an admirable one, and the more so that it does not lose the elasticity by prolonged use. The " elastic metal " supplants the rigid one in numberless uses. House-sinks, in- 412 INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES. stead of cast iron, are now formed of rub- ber, without joint or seam ; and these are far less fatal to the china washed in them, than were the metal ones. Springs for doors, from this material, supplant all others. These, for churches, are so arranged that the door may be closed, or held open to a desired distance. For bed-springs, it has become the most desirable, durable, and luxurious material. Carpets and mats for halls, stair- ways, and public rooms, are formed of it, of infinite variety and usefulness. The mixture of lead in the compound was found to make it more compact and heavy, but the pecul- iar properties are apparently attained as well without the use of the lead. The combina- tion with sulphur has been effected by ex- posing the material to the action of sulphur- ous fluids, as the sulphuret of carbon and the chloride of sulphur. An immersion of one or two minutes, in a mixture composed of 40 parts of sulphuret of carbon to 1 of chloride of sulphur, kept at the usual high heat, will produce the vulcanization ; and pressed into moulds while at the high heat, the form becomes permanent when cold. For the purpose of imparting that hardness which is manifest in combs, fancy boxes, canes, buttons, knife-handles, and all those forms in which it has supplanted bone, shell, and ivory, magnesia is introduced. It is stated that sulphur, in the proportion of one to three, will impart the hardness if the high temperature is sustained for a suffi- cient length of time. The magnesia gives a lighter color to the articles in which it is compounded. In the manufacture, articles to be heated are buried in pulverized soap- stone, by the introduction of highly heated steam. The ingenuity of chemists and me- chanics is still actively stimulated to pro- duce new compositions and new results, not only in the properties that result from new compounds and varied proportions, but in the applications of which they are sus- ceptible. Vast as are the resources that rubber opens to the arts and to trade, it may be said yet to be in its infancy. The effect upon the commerce of the country is seen in the following table. The largest proportion of caoutchouc used in the world comes from South America. Rubber Shoes exported. Other Tota Tears. Imported. Pairs. Value, rubber goods, value 1856 $1 143,372 625.220 $427,936 $665,602 $1,093.538 1S57 . 1,012,643 537,238 831,125 312,387 643,512 lSu8.. 755,828 247,380 115,931 197,448 813,379 There have been great vicissitudes in the manufacture of goods under Goodyear's pat- nts. Numbers of companies have been formed in Connecticut, New York, Newark, New Brunswick, Millstone, N. J., and else- where. Some of these have been highly successful, and others have sunk their capi- tals. These companies now have a common agency for the sale of their goods, under ;ertain regulations and restrictions, by which the ruinous effects of competition are abol- ished. The progress of the manufacture has been very rapid. In 1850, the value of the rubber goods made in the United States was $3,024,335. In 1860, it amounted to ,642,700, an increase of 86'6 per cent. The number of establishments had diminish- ed, but they employed a larger capital, used more raw material, and made a much larger quantity of goods. Since 1860 the manu- facture has nearly or quite doubled. The hard rubber, or vulcanite, is used for jewelry, buttons, dress ornaments, pencils, canes, &c. Gutta percha is used extensively for sim- ilar purposes as the caoutchouc, and is pre- pared in the same manner by Goodyear's process. It is a gum found in the trees of the Malay peninsula, and procured in the same manner as caoutchouc. European at- tention was first called to it in 1842, and it began to be imported in 1844. Its chemi- cal composition is identical with that of India-rubber, except that it contains oxygen, which rubber does not. It has a number of qualities that make it preferable for certain uses. It is a bad conductor, and is there- fore very applicable as a covering for tele- graph wires, and its peculiar acoustic prop- erties make it valuable for speaking-tubes in public houses and large establishments. The application of gutta percha to the coat- ing of telegraph wires is claimed by Mr. Samuel J. Armstrong, of New York, who for that purpose modified the machinery for gutta percha tubing. The first machinery built for that purpose was in 1848, and the first wire so coated was laid across the Hud- son river, at Fort Lee, in August, 1849, for the Morse Telegraph Company. This ma- chinery was furtively carried to England, and there used for the Atlantic Telegraph. The articles made of gutta percha alone, or mixed with other substances, are of very great variety ornaments, vessels, articles of clothing, fancy articles, surgical articles, dentists' and numerous other articles. Ves- sels have also been made of it, and its uses are being daily multiplied. SEWING- MACHINES. 413 SEWING MACHINES. THE description of labor which is the most general is, probably, that of sewing, since all women take part in it more or less, and they are aided in the heavier work by men. All human clothing, bedding, uphol- stery, ounds upon the heated steel, when the % shuttle is substantially formed, requiring only to be polished with the file to be ready for use. The next process is annealing the irticles turned out from the forges, in order o soften the metal sufficiently to bear ham- mering and filing. For this purpose they ctre packed between layers of charcoal in a trong iron box, which is shut up in the an- ealing furnace for about two days. This lone, they are passed through the trimming- ->ress, an instrument which cuts off all flanges r excrescences that may have been made mder the drop-press. Some pieces require o be dressed on the planing-machine ; >thers to be turned in the lathes, or filed in he vices. 430 INDIVIDUAL INDUSTRIES. Passing down one flight of stairs, we enter the foundry, which not only extends all the way under the main building, but has offshoots in two other directions, its entire area being nearly half an acre. So much crowded, however, was this department that a separate foundry had to be established up town, where a portion of the work is now turned out. The engine, having a capacity of eighty-horse power, occupies a separate apartment in. the basement. The sub-cellar is devoted to cleaning the castings, which is done by the ordinary mode of immersing them in diluted sulphuric acid, and afterward scraping off, or by placing them in a large cylinder, with several hundred weight of metal stars. The cylin- der is then made to revolve rapidly, expos- ing every part of the surface of each casting to a constant attrition from the stars, by which it comes out in time smooth and shining, as if it had been filed. In the foundry about eighty employes are at work. The average weekly wages of journeymen, including some over-time, is between $20 and $22. On the second floor, the machine properly takes its rise. Here its heavy parts are planed, bored, grooved, and otherwise pre- pared for the adjusting room. About one hundred machines, planers, lathes, milling, slotting, grooving, screwing, &c. are run- ning while the hundred workers behind them are so actively engaged that they have no time to bestow upon the stranger. In every sewing machine are nearly one hun- dred pieces, independent of the wood-work, some of the pieces having ten or a dozen faces. It is essential that part shall fit part so accurately as to occasion neither jolt nor jar afterward, or delay in adjusting, when the whole instrument is put together. Hun- dreds of openings of all sizes have to be drilled and reamed out ; yet so nicely that none shall vary a hair's-breadth from the true line. Grooves have to be excavated often one below another. Bolts, nuts, turn- screws, have to be turned and milled, in many cases undergoing half a dozen opera- tions at the hands of a single workman. 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P 3 :S OS If to the municipal relief, $624,482, we add that afforded by the Commissioners of Emigration, $206,064, and that furnished by the voluntary charitable associations of the city which by careful investigation has been demonstrated to amount to $586,119 for the year 1860, we have a total aggregate of $1,416,665 for the public relief of the poor in the city of rnew lork. Ihe amount bestowed in private chnrity cannot, of course, be estimated. * Adults. t Children. A large portion of these are children of foreigners, though themselves born in this country. "5* -t- oijotpt 10 'po^uouiap 'oucsui jo wquin^j O O> *)* T-llOO 1 :I sqicgp jo jaqtnn^ O icSSSoS b "otO o S (S" D :S jfanoui u[ paaapuaa oouBjsissy | o 1 IO :S : fe' ::::::.::::<- gujotpata uj pajapuai eou^sissy CO <* *O Tl< -^1 w oat co g 2f 4v4'0f sf s rt 3 o o" 3 | CO :co" 'Jt pooj u} p9japu9i aauujsissy 00 h-S SroooS * .tOOO IM t- 01 * rH w 1 :' . & |8 :SS ic?- 10 ^ ! Smqiop m parapnai eomrjstssy CO ^J -CiO^ O Os Os T* io 00 O -OO^O 'iDOt^i-HC-l I >o a o : % O CT .iftlO .U^T-lTHCO jj rt rtrt ^99Ai. jgd pisgq J9d JSOQ Sco -ot -iooo5 o : i * jCcp J9d psaq J9d isoo C/j t- O O* (M CO T-H (M OS o i t- i H * CO IM CO csf i-T i-T y o i^" O^ '0991 "'9^ Saunp paSujqosia 01Q 00 O < tO 50 f O sT 0>0.-|<0 Financial. qoBa oj 9Utotp9ni tj" - - - T-l (M rr> 9 t~ *=. 01 ! eo . . . -aes jo }soa 92oa9Ay SsSs b- J i-^t^ CO r-T^I if^r-T 1 o' d J "g g 11 1 W . P , W , T Illis CM 3^ 1 t-~ tO^^COC* ^-*,a^ w CO r-l O) i-l T-I I" I Aiijsugdsip qoa jo \v\0} ptnuQ lllsi 00 i 5 | 5lT-i03 TO "V r ~t os . Tj i.~, ^i^ ^H 3 co- *** c>> TO Ol b- OS fM 00 CO OO CO UO T-HCOO CO t- no g Sr^SS 00 ,9 b-CO OCR5O ~- O CM OJ OO CO,=O,C.CN_1O. 1 09 O -' 1 I 1 b- OO 06 OO OO Totals Boston Dispensary, A.D. 1796 fi'^ ^ *, I ^ o a o o 454 HUMANITARIAN AND CORRECTIVE INSTITUTIONS. In Brooklyn there are three city dispensa- ries, not as yet systematized like those of New York, and having, up to the present time, no district physicians. There is also an eye and ear infirmary, at which persons suffering with diseases of these organs are prescribed for gratuitously, and a homoeopathic dis- pensary. Baltimore has two dispensaries or infirm- aries ; Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, and Charleston, as well as some other smaller cities, one or more. Besides these institutions, there are in connection with nearly all the medical schools in the large cities, cliniques, at which, at a given hour, once, twice, or thrice a week, patients are prescribed for gratuitously by the professors, in order to familiarize the students with the practical diagnosis of dis- ease. Some of the medical schools have hospitals, with quite a number of free beds, for the same purpose. We insert a table showing the annual amount of medical service rendered by the dispensaries of New York and Boston, and the small cost at which so large an amount of good is accomplished. CHAPTER VI. NURSERIES AND FOUNDLING HOSPITALS. THERE has been a strong prejudice in this country against foundling hospitals, mainly undoubtedly the result of the mismanage- ment which formerly prevailed, and, to some extent, still prevails in some of the great European hospitals for foundlings. They have been stigmatized as offering a premium for licentiousness, and destroying the barri- ers against illegitimate births. On the other hand, it has been urged in their favor, that they tend to prevent infanticide and those crimes so prevalent in communities where no such institutions exist. After long delib- eration, the public authorities of New York have decided in favor of a foundling hospital, which will be the first in this country. Provision has been made for many years past for the care of the young children of criminals, and of paupers deceased, or inca- pable of taking care of them, in all our large cities. The usual method, if they are in- fants, is to put them out to nurse until they are three or four years of age, the city pay- ing a dollar a week or thereabout to the nurse. In many cases, those who have thus taken charge of them were utterly unfit for their duty, and painful instances of cruelty and maltreatment of these unfortunate children have come to light. Closer scrutiny is now exercised in regard to the character and po- sition of those who apply for employment as nurses, and the abuses are measurably checked. If the children survive the nurs- ing period, they are placed together in a public nursery or farm school, and there re- ceive a good English education, and are then apprenticed or adopted in families in the country, or, in some instances, sent to sea. The neglect and evil results which in many instances followed from the course pursued in these institutions, as well as the conviction that the infant children of vir- tuous parents, who were deprived of their parents' care by death or extreme poverty, were entitled to a tenderer watchfulness and supervision, has led in most of the large cities to the establishment of nurseries, in- fants' homes, and other institutions of a sim- ilar character, for children of this class. The "homes for the friendless," a class of insti- tutions we have elsewhere described, have received very considerable numbers of these children, and after carefully rearing them, have provided them with good homes, where they have been adopted by those who re- ceived them. There are also in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, hospitals for in- fants of legitimate birth. An institution much needed in all our large cities, and which has just been established in Boston, is the creche, now very popular in most of the European cities. It is a large building, with fine, airy, well-ventilated rooms, fitted up with cradles, toys, and every thing necessary for the care and amusement of infants and young children, and provided with a suffici- ent number of amiable and intelligent nurses, where the poor mother, whose daily toil sus- tains her little flock, may leave them for the day, certain that they will be well cared for, and receive wholesome food and pure air. For this care she pays a trifling sum, grad- uated to her ability. CHAPTER VII. HOMES AND ASYLUMS FOR THE AGED AND INFIRM. FROM tne care of children who have been bereft of a parent's tender love, to the pro- HOMES AND ASYLUMS FOR THE AGED AND INFIRM. 455 vision for those whom the burden of years and infirmity has reduced to an almost childish feebleness, seems a natural transi- tion. For this class, and especially for women who in the time of old age find themselves without those who can minister to their wants, and to whom the almshouse seems almost as terrible as the grave, the large-hearted charity of the philanthropic in most of our cities, has made liberal provision. New York has five institutions for this class, besides several relief societies intended main- ly for them ; Boston three or four, one of them largely endowed ; Philadelphia four ; Brooklyn two, one the Graham Home, nobly endowed by one of her citizens ; Baltimore two; and the other larger cities one or two each. In Boston and Philadelphia there are also institutions for aged clergymen, mer- chants, and others. New York has an asy- lum for infirm seamen, the Sailor's Snug Harbor, located on Staten Island, and found- ed and amply endowed by the munificence of a retired sea captain, Eobert R. Eandall. Provision has been made in most of the Northern cities for children, the aged and infirm, and the sick of the African race, in separate institutions, but with accommo- dations fully equal to those provided for whites. INDEX ACCOKDIOH, the, 438. Adriatic, tho (steamer), picture of, 237. Aged and infirm, houses and asylums for the, 454. Agricultural books, 98. Agricultural exhibitions, the first, 25; benefits of, 26; fruit culture increased by, 84. Agricultural implements in old times, 20, 24, 26; Improve- ments in, 30-37; manufacture of in Illinois, 76. Agricultural literature, progress of, 97. Agricultural newspaper, the first, 25. Agricultural periodicals, 97-8. "Agricultural Repository," 97. Agricultural societies recommended by Washington, 24; first establishment and increase of, 25; results of, 26; publi- cation of the proceedings of, 99. Agricultural wealth of California, 68; of the United States, 68. Agriculture, history of, in the United States, 19; of the Indians, 21; exhaustive system of, 22; primitive con- dition of, a century ago, 22 ; efforts for the improvement of, 24 ; stimulated by" foreign demand, 71 ; by canals and railroads, 72 ; total value of the products of, 7"6 ; scientific discoveries relating to, 99 ; prospects of, 101 ; annual value of, 157 (table) ; use of steam in, 263. Albany, penitentiary of, 439. Allen, Horatio, account of his first locomotive trip, 245. " American Agriculturist," 98. American bottom, first settlement of the, 74 "American Farmer," 97. American Watch Company, 371. Ainericus, large ox, 48. Ambler's mowing machine, 35. Amoskeag Locomotive Works, 246 ; Illustration of, 247. Atnoskeag steam fire engine, 260. Andrews, Dr., permutation lock of, 397. Annealing, process of, 402. Apples, primitive culture and use of, 81; thirty good native varieties of, 82 ; at the South, 82. Apple trees in California, 83. Apricots in California, 83. Ark. Wright's cotton-spinning invention, 108, 275. Astor, John Jacob, 139 ; the fur trade of, 844. Atlanta and West Point railroad, 205. Atlantic, first crossing of the, by steam, 180. Atlantic slope, area of the, 101. Auburn prison, silk manufacture in, 395; trial of solitary confinement in, 436. Axes, manufacture of, 841. Ayrshire cows, good milkers, 49 ; importations of, 50. Ayrshire bull, portrait of, 45. Bakewell, improvement in the breeding of cattle by, 39. Kaldwin, M. W., engine builder, 246. Baldwin's steam car for cities, 251. Ilallast, use of, in railroad construction, 195. Baltimore, the oyster trade of, 385; hospitals of, 449. Baltimore and Ohio railroad, 192 ; account of, 203, 245 ; pre- mium for coal-burning engine offered by, Z46. Baltimore and Susquehanna railroad, anecdote of th first engine on, 251-2. Baltimore clippers, 162. Bank of England, 145. 151. Bankrupt law, operation of the, 152. Banks, multiplication of. 143, 151 ; failure of, 15L Bark, oak and hemlock, 319. Barley, production and geographical distribution of, 78. Batchelder, John, sewing-machine patent of, 414. Bay State Mills. 308. Beads, glass, manufacture of, 405. Beam engines. 252. Beans, production and exports of, 79. Bean's sewing-machine patent, 414. Beaver cloth, 305. Bedford hog, the, 63. Beech-nut hog, picture of, 61. Bee culture, 90. Beeswax and honey, production of, 90l Belting, rubber, manufacture of, 411. Berkshire hog, picture of, 62. Berlin decree, the, 139-40. Bernard, General, 177. Beverly, Mass., first cotton mill nt, 277, 2SO. Bigelow's power loom for carpets, 306. Black Hawk horses, origin and qualities of, 54. Black Eiver canal, 185. Blackstone canal, 190. Blanchard, Thomas, hat-felting process of, 349. Bleaching, improvements in, 276; of cotton goods, 288; of paper stock, 297. Blodgett & Lerow, sewing machine of, 414. Blowers for steamboats, introduced by E. L. Stevens, 241. Blue grass, Kentucky, 80. Bock, Henry, tambouring machine of. 414. Bohemia, manufacture of glass in, 399. Boilers, water gauges for, 229 ; pumps connected with, 233; act for the inspection of, 242; stationary, bad manage- ment of, 254 ; inspection law required for, 255, 268. Bones for manure, 100. Bony fish, for manure, the taking of, 885. Book farming, prejudice against, 25. Books, agricultural, 98. Boots and shoes, importations and manufacture of, 816 ; manu- facture of, in Massachusetts, &a, 824; by machinery, 325 ; qualities and prices of, 825. Boston, export of apples, 82 ; lumber business of, 97; railroad enterprise of, 192, 197 ; clothing trade of, 310 ; shoe trade of. 324; ice trade of, 387. 3S8; glassworks in, 399 ; Prison Discipline Society of, 439; hospitals of, 449; dispensa- ries of. 452, 453 (table). Boston and Maine railroad, 197. Boston and Providence railroad, 197. Boston Locomotive Works, 246. Bottles, manufacture of, 405. Boydell's engines, 264. i Bradshaw, John, sewing-machine patent of, 414. Bramah lock, the, 897. Brazil, export of flour to, 107 ; cotton imported from, 117. Breadstutfs, fluctuations in European demand for, 71. Breaking machine, the, 302. Breech-loading weapons, 382. Breed, definition of, 41. Breeding, two modes of, 40. Bricks, early importation of, 856 ; material of, 857 ; manufac- ture of, 358 ; machines for, 853. Broadcloth, the fulling of, 802-3. Brooks Brothers, clothing establishment of, 810. Brooklyn, boiler explosion in, 254; hospitals of, 449; dispen- saries of. 454. Brooklyn Ship Timber Bending Company, 267. 458 INDEX Brooklyn Water Works, pumping engine at, 258. Brown, Noah, 240. Brown stone houses, 859. Brussels carpet, 307. Buckskin gloves, 826, 827. Buckwheat, production and geographical distribution of, 78; land cleansed by its cultivation, 78. Buffalo robes, 345. Buildings and building material. 353. Bunker, Elias, sloop of, 178; captain of the Fulton, 179. Burr & Co., hat body manufactory of, 349. Butler, Charles, 208. Butter, great production of, from 73 cows, 89 ; from an Ayr- shire cow, 50 ; production of, per cow, in different States, ol. Byfield breed of hogs, 64 Calico printing, 276; improvements in, 277; processes of, 288 ; statistics of, 290. California, domestic animals in, 68 ; agricultural wealth of, 68; agricultural development of, 77; fruit and wine of, 83; vintage and silk culture of, 102; gold discovered in, 154 ; capital and goods sent to, 155 ; routes to, 224 Caloric engine, the, 270-71. Camden and Amboy railroad, 202. Canada, operation of the treaty with, 156. Canadian ponies, origin of, 53. Canal up the Potomac projected by Washington, 71. Canals, American, 173, 184; mode of constructing and ope- rating, 185-6; principal, table of, 190; of New York, financial results of, 190; for coal transportation (table), 190; sensation produced by, 191. Candy and confectionery, 892. Cane, sugar. See Sugar cane. Cane carrier, the, description of, 128. Cannon, improvements in, 834 ; metal for, 335; casting, 835; proving, 336. Caoutchouc. See India-rubber. Carding, hand, picture of, 299. Carding machine, improvements in, 276; operation of, 287; Introduction of, 801. Card-making machine, 276,801. Cards, wool, 300 ; machine for making, 301. Carhart's melodeons, 434. Carpenter & Pluss's pumping engine, 263. Carpets, use and manufacture of, in America, 806; kinds of, 306, 307 ; quantity of, made in New York and Massachu- setts, 308. Carriages, manufacture of, 360 ; materials of, 361 ; illustra- tions of, 363-6 ; process of making, 367 ; statistics of. 368. Carrying trade in colonial times, 135; during the French wars, 138 ; English decree against the, 189 : cessation of, 140. Car-sprinars, rubber, 411. Cartwri^ht, power loom of, 108, 276. Gary's boiler, 244. 259. Cast iron, best metal for guns, 835. Cattle two centuries ago, 20 ; cruel treatment of, 20, 23 ; in Virginia, the first in the United States, 37 ; laws for the preservation of, 87; in the other colonies, 37, 38; Danish. in New Hampshire, 38 ; native sources of, 38; mode of keeping in Virginia, 38; increase in the average weight OI lllimu v t.u urctruo ui, *l-*>u. Cavalry, diminished importance of, 328. Cayuga and Seneca Lake canal, 184 Census of 1860. tables, 169-70. Census statistics, imperfection of, 78. Central railroad of New York, 200; of New Jersey, 202; of Pennsylvania, 203 ; of Virginia, 204; of Georgia, 205 ; of Illinois, 205; of Michigan, 208. Champlain or Northern canal, 184 Charcoal roads, 176. Charleston, railroad connections of, 205. Cheese, great production of, from one farm, 39 ; production of, per cow, in different States, 51 ; whole amount of, 51. Chemnng canal, 185. Chenango canal, 185. Chicago, rise and growth of, 75 ; preeminent as a grain depot, 75; statistics of the grain trade of, 76; preeminent as a lumber market, 96 ; receipts of lumber at, 96 ; effect of railroads upon the grain trade of, 220 (table); general rail- road business of, 221 (table); steam elevators of, 264. Chickering, Jonas, manufacture and improvement of the piano by, 453. Chickering's piano-forte manufactory, picture of, 852. Childers, trotting horse, portrait of, 56. China, American cotton goods sent to, 107; former course ot trade with, 146; English war with, 164 ; American treaty with, 164; land transportation in, 172 ; American steam- ers in, 281. Chincha islands, guano obtained from, 100. Chouteau, Pierre & Co., fur traders, 345. Cigars, manufacture of, in Hamburg, 87. Cincinnati, pork-packing in, 65 ; early steam transportation of, 181 ; railroad connections of, 205 ; steam fire engines at, 259 : hospitals of, 449. Cities, street railroads in, 223; plans of steam cars for, 251; frisons in. 439. engineering, American triumphs in, 280. Clark, G. B., mulberry plantation of, 394. Clay for brick, 358. Clay, Henry, importation of Herefords by, 48; compromise tariff of, 147. Clearing house, exchanges at the, 160. Clermont, the, Fulton's first steamboat, 179. Clinton, De Witt, 72, 184. Clipper ships, 162 ; in the California trade, 167. Clocks, early manufacture of, 368; wooden and brass, process of making, 369 ; exportation of, 870. Cloth, home-spun, 801. Clothins trade, the, rise and growth of, 309 ; management of. 309-10. Cloth manufacture, wool used for, 802. Cloth printing, 804. Cloths and cassimeres, imports of, 312. Clover and grass seeds, production of, by sections, 79. Coal discovered in Pennsylvania, 190; quantity of, transport- ed, 219 ; public works built for, 220. Coasters, travelling by, 179. Cod fishery, the, mode of conducting, 378-81 ; illustration of, 380. Ccelebs. short-horn bull, 47. Cole's u American Fruit Book," 84. Colles, Christ'r, first steam engine in America built by, 227. Colling, Charles and Robert, breeders of short-horns, 39. Colonies, the American, restriction of commerce and manu- factures in, 183; trade of, with the West Indies, fcc., 184; fisheries of, 135; table of exports from, in 1770, 130; the revolution in, 137. Coloring matters, 203. Colt, Samuel, invention of the revolver by, 331 ; the manufac- tory of, 831. Comet, the, second western steamboat, 239. Commerce, foreign, of the United States, history of, 104-5; colonial, restricted by Great Britain, 133-7 ; with the West Indies, 134; effect of the revolution upon, 137; activity of, after the war of 1812, 143; after the revulsion of 1887, 152; table of, for 70 years, 157; remarkable advance of, 168 ; of the great lakes, 186-7. Commercial disasters, table of losses from, 152. Conant, J. L., sewing-machine patent of, 414 Conestoga horses, 54. Conestoga wagon, 184. Connecticut, the clock business in, 368-70 ; silk culture and manufacture in, 893. Conner, James, fire-proof chest made by, 896. Cooking by steam, Papin's account of, 266-7. Cooks', Messrs., carriage manufactory, 361 ; picture of, 366. Corlies' sewing-machine patent, 414. Cooper, William, invention of, for enamelling glass, 405. Corliss and Nightengale's stationary engines, 253, 254. Corn, Indian, native mode of cultivating, -i\ ; Ojibway legend of the origin of, 68; first cultivation of, by the colonists, 69 ; early exports of, 69 ; census statistics of, 70 ; increased exportation of, 70; table of exports of, 71 ; late introduc- tion of, into the West, 75; exports of, to Great Britain, 1840-1858, 158. Corning and Sotham, of Albany, importation of Herefords by,"49. Cornish engines, 258. Corn laws, English, repeal of, 153, 157. Cotswold sheep, picture of, 57. Cotton, the demand for, 106; the high prices of labor sus- tained by, 106 ; the most important article of export, 107; importation of, into England. 108; improvements in the manufacture of, 108; increase in exportations of, 109; prices for different qualities of, 109 ; increase in American consumption of, 110; raw and manufactured, decline in cost of, 110; first cultivation and exportation of, 111; picture of cleaning, by hand and by the gin. 112; progress of the production of, since the invention of the gin, 1 13-16; monopoly of the foreign market for, 117; sources of the supply of, 117; qualities of, from different countries. 118; process of cultivating, 120; high prices maintained by, 122; effect of the war upon the production of, 124; ef- fects of, upon American commerce, 141 ; exports of, 1790-1859, 158; the transportation of, favorable to rail- roads, 205; effect of railroads upon, 220 (table); raw, divisions of, 286; for paper-making, 293, INDEX 459 Cotton clothing, demand for, 157. Cotton sin, invention of the, 111, 277; description of the, 111 ; picture of a, 112; infringements of the patent for, 113; effect of, upon production, 113. Cotton goods, importation of, 105 j sent from the United States to China, 107. Cotton manufactures, progress of, 274; inventions in, 275-6, 286 ; table of dates of, 277 ; in the United States, 277, 280 ; In 1809, 2S1 ; protective duties on, 283 ; table of, in 1S31, 283; returns of, in 1840, 284; table of, in 1860, 285; the processes of, 286-290 ; exports and imports of, 290 ; table of the progress of, 290. Cotton plant of Europe and America, 110. Cotton States, the, progress of the population of, 116 ; supe- riority of the climate and labor of, 119. Cotton yarn, prices of, 110. Cows in New England at its settlement, 19 ; in Virginia, 23 ; in Virginia, not housed nor milked in winter for fear it would\ill them, 38; in Ehode Island in 1750,39; great prices for, in England, 40; selection of, for breeding, 42; treatment of, in New England, 42; comparative statement of the products of, 51 ; proportion of, to popu- lation, in the States, 51. Cranberry, culture of the, 84. Creampots (cows), 47. Creche, the, 454 Credit, system of, 148 ; evils of, 148. Creole cane, origin of, 127. Crocheting machine, Thimonier's, 414. Crompton y s mule spinner, 108, 275-6. Crooked Lake canal, 185. "Cultivator," the, 98. Cumberland national road, the, 174, 177. Currency, inflation of, 146. Currier, operations of the, 319. Curves in railroads, 193-4. Gushing, Caleb, treaty with China negotiated by, 164. Cutlery, American manufacture of, 339; grinding and polish- ing of, 340; statistics of, 342. Cut-off, steam, the theory of the, 282-3 ; experiments upon the, 272. Dahlgreu, Captain, improved guns of, 335. Barker's steam car for cities, 251. Darlington railroad, 191. Davis, Phineas, coal-burning engine built by, 203, 246. Davy, Sir Humphry, 99. Deer skins as a medium of exchange, 844. Delano, Jesse, fire-proof chests of, 396. Delaware and Hudson canal, 185; enlargement of, 186. Delaware and Raritan cr.nal, 190, 202. Delaware and Schuylkill Company, 173. Denison, E. B., on American locks, 898. Detectors, low-water, 270. Devonshire cattle, qualities and importations of, 49. Dewsbury trade, the, 315. Dismal Swamp canal, 173. Dispensaries in the United States, 452; in New York and Boston, 453 (table). Dix, Dorothea L., efforts of, in behalf of the insane, 442. Dowley, L. A., importation of Herefords by, 49. Donkey engine, the, 241 ; use of, 260, 263. Double Duke, short-horn bull, portrait of, 43. Downing's "Fruit and Fruit Trees of America," 84. Drawing frame, the, 287, 302. Dressing machine, invention of the, 276. Dummy engine, the, 250. Dunderberg, the, 338. Dwellings, number and value of, 354; Improved style of, 355. Dynamometer, the, 176. Dyeing of cotton goods, 289 ; of woollens, 301, 803 ; of leather, 320. Dye-stuffs for woollens, 304 Eagle Cotton Mill, Pittsburg, 284 East Indies, cotton imported from, 117: inferior quality of, 118. Eggs, consumption of, 90. Egypt, one of the chief sources of cotton, 117. Elevators, the, of Chicago, 76. Electro-gilding, 377. Electro-plating, 372 ; illustrations of, 873-6. Eliot's " Essays on Field Husbandry," 97. Embargo, the, of 1808, 140; effects of, 142. Emigration into the United States explained, 106; to the United States from Germany, 146; of planters to the west, 152; from New England to the west, 188 ; of foreign paupers, 446; Commissioners of, 446. Engineers, steam, 254, 268; advice to, 270. England, importation of food into, 71 ; consumption of tobac- co in, 87; sources of the cotton supply of, 117, 275, 277; restrictions of, upon colonial trade, 183, 139; loss of the naval supremacy of, 143 ; Bank of, 145, 151 ; warehouse system of, 146; short harvests in, 152; navigation laws of, 161 ; cotton manufactures in, 275. Eolodicon, the, 433. Ericsson's screw propeller, 167, 180, 240; steam fire engine, 259 ; caloric engine, 270-71 ; turreted war steamers, 388. Erie canal, construction of the, 72, 166, 184; effect of the opening of, 180, 181; enlargement of, 186; effect of, on western New York, 186. Erie railroad, account of the, 200. Essex, the, 838. Essex hog, improved, picture of, 62. Evans, Oliver, 228, 229; " Orukter Amphibolos" of, 235 (pic- ture), 243 ; on steam wagons, 244. Eve, J., cotton gin of, 113 ; rotary engine of, 258. Everett, Edward, anecdote of, about American ice in India, 389. Exchanges at the New York clearing house, 160. Explosions, steam, 242. Export, three chief articles of, 107. Exports, table of colonial, 186; of domestic, 141, 158; of Ameri- can, British, and French, 1800-1865, 168. (See Imports and exports.) Factory operatives in New England, 282. Faile, Edward G., Devon cow and bull owned by, 44, 46. Fairbanks, W. W., engine builder, 246. Farmers, their primitive condition a century ago, 22; their fear of innovation, 23; influence of the Revolution upon, 24; backward in joining agricultural societies, 25; their improvement by means of, 26. " Farmers' Cabinet," 98. Farming in America in early times, 19; by the Indians, 21; by the early settlers of Illinois, 74, 75. Farm implements, general account of, 26. Farms, number and value of, in the United States, 102. Fawkes engine, the, 264. Felting, the process of, 304-5 ; of hat bodies, 349. Finkle & Lyon's sewing machine, illustrations of, 418. Fire-arms, introduction and improvements of, 828; illustra- tions of, 329-30. Fire engines, steam, 244; origin and kinds of, 259. Fish, eating of, at stated times, decreed by Queen Elizabeth, 162. Fisher, steam carriages built by, 244. Fisheries, colonial, of New England, 185; growth of the, 162; account of, 377 ; European, importance of, 378; American, 378; of the lakes, 385; statistics of the, 886. Fishing bounties, the, 162, 378. Fitch, the fur of the, 347. Fitch, John, picture of the steamboats of, 226; first condens- ing engine built by, 227 ; his boats, how propelled, 229 ; the honor due to, 234; picture of his propeller, 235. Flat boats on the western rivers, 165, 180, 182, 284 (picture). Flax and hemp, culture of, 89; statistics of, 90. Flax-seed, exports of, 89. Flint glass, 404 Flock paper, 298. Flora, short-horn cow, 47. Florida, sugar-cane cultivated in, 127. Flour, early exports of, 73 ; trade of Chicago in, 76 ; demand for Southern, 107; exports of, 1881-1888, 148; to Great Britain, 1840-1858, 158; and provisions, 1790-1858, 158; effect of the Western railroad upon the trade in, 197 ; tho grinding of, 432. Floyd gun, the, 337. Fly frame, the, 287. Food, importation of, into England, 71. Forest trees of the United States, 91. Fortunatus or Holderness, short-horn bull, 48. Foundling hospitals, 454. Fourdrinier machine, the, 295. Foster, Wm., first importer of merino sheep, 59. Fowls, foreign varieties of, 90-91. Fox, silver, fur of the, 845. France, revenue from tobacco in, 85 ; imports of cotton into, 109 ; free trade with, 138; effect of the revolution of 1848 in, upon commerce, 154; system of roads in, 174 Free-trade treaty between France and England, 188. French, D., steamboat built by, 239. Fruit, former and present importance of, 81 ; native varieties of, 82; production of, 82; at the South, 82; increasing exportation of, 63 ; no danger of a glut of, 83 ; in Califor- nia, 83; imports of, from tie Mediterranean, 83; census statistics of, 84. Fruit-raising, works on, 84. Fruit trees, annual sale of, 82. Fuel for locomotives, 249 ; economy in, 250 ; for stationary engines, 256. Fulling-mill, the, 302. 460 INDEX Fulton, Robert, first steamboat of, 165, 179, 229, 236 (picture) ; builds steamboats at Pittsburg, 239; steam battery built by, 241. Fulton, the, navigation of Long Island Sound by, 179-80. Fur, hat bodies formed from, 805. Furs, kinds and comparative value of, 845; table of, 846; preparation of, 347. Fur trade, history of the, 348. Gallatin, Albert, on cotton manufactures In 1809, 281. Gayler, C. J., fire-proof safes of, 396. u Genesee Farmer," 98. Genesee Valley canal, 185. George's Banks, cod fishery of, 881 ; halibut fishery of, 882. Georgetown and Pittsbnrg canal, 188. Georgia, colonial exports of, 187; railroad system of, 205; silk culture in, 893. Gibbs, James E. A. See Willcox & Gibbs. Gilding metals, various modes of, 372. Girard, Stephen, 189. Glass, importance and uses of, 398; history of, 899; statistics of, 400 ; materials of, 400 ; process of manufacturing, 401 ; crown, 401 ; cylinder, 402 ; window, consumption and imports of, 403; plate, 403; grinding and polishing, 403; silvering, 404; bending, 404, flint, 404; colored, 405; enamelled, 405 ; soluble. 405, bottle, &c.. 405. Gloucester, Mass., the mackerel business of, 383. Gloves, skins for, 318 ; kinds and manufacture of, 326. Glucose or grape sugar, 180. Gold, discovery of, in California, 154 ; effect of, on the price of labor, 107 ; as an article of export, 157. Gold's steam-heating apparatus, 265. Goodale and Marsh's steam excavator, 264. Goodyear, Charles, invention of vulcanized rubber by, 410. Government reads, 177. Governor, the, of steam engines, 233. Grain, trade in. at Chicago, &c., 76. Granite for building, 859. Grapes in California, immense growth of, 88. Grass and hay crop, importance of the, at the North, 79. Grasses first cultivated in New England, 20; progress in the cultivation of, 80. Grass seed, production of, 79. Gravel roads, 176. Gray, William, the ships of, 139. Grazing in Texas, 102. Great Britain, inadequate home production in, 71 ; trade with, after the revolution, 138 ; comparative area of, 157; corn and pork exported to, 158; commercial advantages of, 161 ; sources of the cotton of, 275, 277; progress oi manufactures in, 290. Great Eastern, the, 241. Greenough, J. ,J., first sewing-machine patentee, 414. Greenville and Columbia railroad, 205. Greenwood, Miles, 259. Grice and Long's steam car for cities, 251. Grover & Baker's sewing machine, invention of, 419; de- scription of, 424; warehouse of, 428. Guano, introduction and use of, 100. Gulf region, the, area of, 101 ; grazing in, 102. Guns, manufacture of, 834. (See Cannon.) Gutta percha, manufactures of, 411. Halibut fishery, the, 382 ; growth of, 883. Hall, Adam, truck frame in front of the engine used by, 246. Hamburg, manufacture of cigars in, 87. Hamilton, report of,, upon manufactures, 141, 280, 300, 316. Hamlin, Etnmons, improved melodeon of, 434. Handles of cutlery, 341. Hanks, William, silk produced by, 373. Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad", 209. Hanson, Timothy, propagator of timothy grass, 80. Hargreaves' spinning jenny, 108, 275. Harrow, improvements in the, 82. Hat bodies, process of manufacturing, 349. Hats, woollen, manufacture of, 305-6; early manufacture of, 848; superiority of American, 349; improvements in making, 349. Hay, importance of, at the North, 79; progress in the pro- duction of, SO ; statistics of, 80 ; advantages and disad- vantages of, 80; geographical distribution o^ 81; im- proved quality of. 81. Heating by steam, 265. "Hell-gate" passage, 179. Hemp, culture of, 89 ; at the West, 90. Herd, discoverer of timothy grass, 80. Herefords, improved by Tomkins, 40 ; imported Into Ken- tucky by Henry Clay, 48 ; characteristics of, 49 ; other importations of, 49. Herring fishery, the, mode of conducting. 381. Herring, Silas C., manufacturer of fire-proof safes, 897. Hiawatha, legend of, 68. Hides, sources and statistics of, 317 ; kinds of, 317-18 ; prep- aration of, for tanning, 318, 320, 321 ; growing cost of, 823. Hinckley and Drury, locomotive builders, 246. Hittinger, Cook & Co.'s portable engine, 255 ; hoisting en- gine. 256. Hobbs, A. C., lock-maker, 897, 398. Hogs, illustrations of, 61, 62; first importations of, 63; first attempts at improving, 64; most profitable at the West, 64; proper mode of breeding, 64; mode of killing and dressing at Cincinnati, 65; packing, 66; products of, 66; statistics of, 66, 67. Hoisting engines, 256. Holland, S., on the mode of ascertaining horse-power, 228. Holly on the caloric engine, 271. Holly, of Seneca Falls" rotary engine of, 252-3 ; pump of, 260, 263. Homes and asylums for the aged and infirm, 454. Honey, production of, 90. Hops, culture of, 88; improvements in the management of, 88; inspection and classification of, 89; fluctuations in price of, 89 ; statistics and geographical distribution of, 89. Hopper, Isaac T., prison associations organized by, 440. Horizontal steam engines, 252. Horrocks, loom patented by, 276. Horse railroads in cities, 223. Horse-power of steam engines, how obtained, 228. Horses, improvement of, in half a century, 52; first importa- tions of, 53 ; increase in speed of, 53 ; favorite varieties of, for the road, 54 ; at the South, 54 ; statistics of, 54 ; kinds used by the early colonists at the West, 75. Horticultural societies, 81. Horticulture, works on, 84. Hose, rubber, manufacture of, 411. Hosiery and fancy knit work, 308. Hospitals in the United States, 449 ; In New Tork, Boston, and Philadelphia, table of, 450. Hospitals for the insane, 440 ; convention of superintendents of, 442 ; cost and accommodations of, 443 ; table of, 444. Houses, materials of, 356; building of, and speculation in, 357. Hovey's " Magazine of Horticulture," 84. Howard, E., originator of American watch-making, 370. Howe, Elias, Jr., invention of the sewing machine by, 414; proceedings of, 419 ; income of, 421 ; manufactory of, 429. Howe, John J7, pin machines of, 890. Hudson river, navigation of, 234; steamboats on, past and present, 240. Hudson river steamboat, picture of, 194. Hudson's Bay Company, 843. Humanitarian and corrective institutions, 435. Hull, Jonathan, 240, 243. Hussey's reaping machine, 35. Ice, uses of, 386; the trade In, 887; mode of cutting and storing, 388 ; wastage of, 889. Ice-houses, construction of, 888. Ichaboe, the, and other guano islands, 100. Illinois, settlement of, by the French, 74 ; by revolutionary soldiers, 75; rapid agricultural development of. 75; man- ufacture of agricultural implements in, 76; public im- provements of, 189. Illinois Central railroad, history of, 205; working of, 206; land department of, 207. Imports and exports, table of, 1790-1807, 140 ; 1808-1820, 142; after the war of 1S12, 143 ; table of, 1821-1830, 145 ; 1831- 1840,147; of 'certain articles, 148 ; 1841-1850,153; 1851- 1860, 156; for 70 years, 157. India, cotton imported from, 117; exports and imports of cot- ton and cotton goods. 153; muslins of, 274; American ice In, 387, 389. (See East Indies.) Indiana, internal improvements of, 189. Indian corn. See Corn, Indian. Indians, agriculture of the, 21 ; their astonishment at sight of a plough, 22. India-rubber, source, uses, and manufacture of, 406 ; illustra- tions of, 407-8; vulcanized, how made, 410 ; articles made of, 411 ; imports and exports of, 412 ; growth of the man- ufacture of, 412. Infants, institutions for the care of, 454. Innovation, fear of, in farming, 23. Insane, the, former treatment of, 440; first efforts for the amelioration of, 441 ; hospitals for, in the United States, 441, 444 (table) ; improvements in the treatment of, 443. Insanity, American works on, 442. Interest, made high by cheap lands, 103. Ireland, Indian corn introduced into, 153; famine in, 164; prison system of, 488. Iron, imported, compared with that of Pennsylvania, 105. Iron-clad war-steamtrs, 338, INDEX 461 Ironsides, the, 338. Isherwood, Chief Engineer, steam experiments of, 272. Italy, importation of rags from, 292. "Jacketing," 269. Jackson, Patrick S., 281 ; Lowell originated by, 282. Jails, county, 438; defects of, 489. James, William T., 246. James I,. ''Counterblast to Tobacco," 86. James River Cotton Mill, 284. James Kiver and Kanawha Company, 190. James Steam Mills, engines used in, 263. Jay, treaty concluded by, 139. J. C. Gary, the, steam fire engine, 244 Jenks, ring spindle of, 286. Jenny, Devon cow, portrait of, 44. Jerome, Chauncy, manufacture of clocks by, 869. Jerome Manufacturing Company, 370. Jersey cows, value of, as milkers, 50 ; diffusion of, 50. J. G. Storm, the, steam fire engine, 244. Johnson and Morey, sewing machine of, 414. Jones, H. C.. burglar-proof lock of, 897. "Journal of Prison Discipline," 440. Keel boats on the Ohio, 165, Kentucky, importation of short-horns into, 47; their improve- ment there, 48; Herefords imported into, by Henry Clay, 48; thorough-bred horses in, 54; blue grass, 80. "Kettle-bottoms" (vessels), 163. Kip-skins, definition and sources of, 318. Knives, manufacture of, 340, 341. Knowles, John, first sewing machine invented by, 413. Labor, high wages of, 103 ; at the South, cheapness of, 119 ; comparison of free and slave, 120. Laclede, St Louis founded by, 843. Lake cities, 166. Lake region, area of the, 101 Lakes, the great, steamers and tonnage on, 166; ship-building on, 167; navigation of, 186; tonnage on, 187 ; first steam- boat on, 239 ; fisheries of, 385. Lamb-skins, uses of, 318; treatment of, 320. Lancaster gun, the, 334. Land, how cleared by the Indians, 21 ; exhaustive cropping of the, 22 ; eifect of the cheapness of, upon wages and Interest, 103; speculation in, 147-8, 187; public sales and grants of, 157, 207. Land grants to railroads, 207. Lard, preparation and disposition of, 66; exports of, to Great Britain, 1S40-1S5S, 158. Lardner, remarks of, on England's self-superiority, 234 ; on the speed of locomotives, 249. Lard oil, manufacture and uses of, 67. Latta's steam car for cities, 251 ; steam fire engines, 259. Leather, 316; tables of manufactures of, 316, 326; kinds of, 318; treatment of, after tanning, 319. Leather splitting machines, 323. Lee & Larned's steam fire engines, 244, 259. Leeghwater engine compared with that of Brooklyn Water Works, 258. Lenses, manufacture of, 405. Leopold and Trevithick, inventors of the high-pressure en- gine, 229. Libraries, township and district, 99. Liebig on manuring, 101). Lillie's safes, 397. Lime, building, qualities and sources of, 358. Liverpool and' Manchester railway, 192. Live stock, number and value of, in 1850, 1860, and 1866, 102. (See Cattle Stock.) Livingston, Chancellor, introducer of the grass-fed hog, 64; monopoly of the Lower Mississippi trade claimed by, 181 ; opposed railroads, 197; associated with Fulton, 239. Loaf sugar, how made, 392. Locks, burglar-proof, 397-8. Locks canal, 1S5; inclined planes substituted for, 186. Locomotive, the first, picture of, 194 ; coal-burning, invention of, 203 ; the first successful American, 205 ; premium for, 246 Locomotive engines, principles of, 196; history of, 243; ex- periments with, 244; the first in the United States, 245; manufactures and exportation of, 246 ; difference between English and American, 249 ; cost, proper construction, and speed of, 249 ; running expenses of, 250. Logging operations in Maine, "92-6; at Green Bay, 96. Long and Norris, locomotive builders, 246. Long Dock, the, at Jersey City, 202. Long shawls for men's use, 80S. Looms, hand and power, picture of, 278. (See Power loom.) Loper propeller, the, 167. Louisiana, sugar cane cultivated in, 127. Lowell, Mass., manufactories of, steam used in, 268; origin of, 282: factory system of, 285. Lowell and Jackson, power loom of, 281 ! cotton mill estab- lished by, 282. Lowell locomotive shop, 246. Lumber, the trade in, 188 ; for building, sources and supply of, 356, 857. Lumber business, the, 91; in Maine, 92; at Green Bay, 96; statistics of, 96. Lunatics. See Insane. Lynn, shoe manufacture of, 824. Macadam roads, 176. Machinery, benefits of, 269. Machines, exportation of, prohibited by England, 281. Mackerel fishery, the, mode of conducting, 883. McLean Asylum, the, 441, 449. Masic lock, the, 398. Mail service of the United States, 174; contracts, 177. Maine, account of lumbering in, 92-6; prison system of, 486. Malthus, theory of, disproved, 86. Manchester Company, the, cotton fabrics made by, 284 Manning, William, patentee of the first successful mowing- machine, 135. Mansfield, Conn., silk culture in, 893. Manufactures, comparatively small exports of, 107 ; Northern, at the South, 122-3; colonial, home restriction of, 183; rise of, 144 ; in New England, 146 ; progress of, 1820-1830, 147; competition of home and foreign, '154; annual value of, 157; exports of, 1807-1859, 158; increase of, 159; use of steam in, 268; systematizing of, 361. Manure, early neglect of, 23; artificial, 100; the taking of "bony fish for, 885. Maple sugar and molasses, production of, 130. Marble for building, 859. Marietta, Ohio, brig built at, 165. Marten, stone, fur of the, 347. Maryland, cotton mills in, 285. Mason, Captain John, Danish cattle imported by, 87. Mason, William, locomotive builder, 246. Mason & Hamlin's organ harmonium, &c., 434. Massachusetts, Agricultural Society of, 1792, 25; introduction of cattle into, 37; introduction of horses into, 53; of sheep, 59 ; wool-growing unprofitable in, 60 ; production of fruit in, 82; law for the inspection of hops in, 89; rail- road system of, 196 ; cotton manufacture in, 284 ; table of woollen manufactures of, 312; boot and shoe manufac- ture of, 324 ; mackerel fishery of, 333 ; the ice business of, 387; silk bounty of, 894; prison system of, 438 ; Gen- eral Hospital of, 449. Matanzas, the, propeller, 240. Maufih Chunk railroad, 192. Maumee river, fisheries of the, 885. Maysville road veto, 177. McCormick's reapers, 85, 86. Melodeon, the, 433. Memphis and Charleston railroad, 208. Mercantile agency, statistics of the, 159. Merino sheep, first exhibition of, 25; importations and In- crease of, 59. Merrimac and Monitor, encounter of the, 838. Merryman, John, of Baltimore, his herd of Herefords, 49. Mexican war, the, 164. Mexico, ancient use of cotton in, 274. Miami canal, 188. Michigan, railroads of, 208. Michigan, lake, first steamer on, 166. Michigan, U. S. steamer, experiments upon, 272. Middlesex canal, 173. Milk, yield of, by an Ayrshire cow, 50; value of Jerseys for, 50. Miller, E. L., builder of the first successful American locomo- tive, 205. Mills, flour and grist, 431 ; statistics and operation of, 431-2. Minie rifle, the, 328. Mink fur, 347. Minnesota, railroad system of, 207. Mississippi, the, flat boats and steamers on, 181-8 ; navigation of, 234. Mississippi railroad, the, 208. Mississippi valley, . D., Chancellor of the University in New York. I have looked into the work entitled "Eighty Years' Progress of the United States," and am happy to unite with the worthy men who have ex- amined it, in commending it to my friends. NEW YORK. ISAAC FERRIS. No. 65. From J. M. MATHEWS, D. D., Ex-Chancellor of the Univer- sity in New York. The object of the work is highly commendable ; and, so far as I have been able to examine it, has been executed with ability and fidelity. I freely com- mend it to public patronage. NEW YORK. J. M. MATHEWS. No. 56. From Prof. E. W. HOSFOED, of Cambridge University. It is a work of very great value for popular ref- erence. The articles having been prepared by writers who have made specialties of the subjects upon which they have written, are, as a con- sequence, eminently attractive. I find them an unfailing source of valuable information and im- portant suggestion. In the way of illustrations what could be more significant than the group of agricultural imple- ments of 1790, contrasted with the mowing, reap- ing, raking, and threshing machines of 1860; or than the Franklin printing press as compared with the Hoe printing press ? The author of the article on Steam and Steam- boats, renders a most acceptable service, in placing on record the just claims of John Fitch and Oliver Evans. Let me congratulate you on having found so many able contributors, and in having procured so valuable a work. No. 61. From A. JACKSON, D. D., President Hobart College, Geneva. I have examined, as far as time would allow, your new work, entitled "Eighty Years of Progress." I think it a very convenient book of reference, and a valuable addition to our statistical knowledge. I have already found it a very useful work to con- sult, and I gladly add it to our College Library, where it well deserves a place. No. 58. From C. Nurr, D. D., President of the Indiana State Uni- versity, Bloomington, Ind. I have examined your recently published work entitled " Eighty Years' Progress;" and from the examination I have been able to give it, I believe that it merits richly the highest commendation. The great variety and importance of the subjects, the felicitous style in which they are clothed, and their numerous and beautiful illustrations, render this work peculiarly attractive. They embrace subjects of great and universal utility, and deeply interesting to all classes of community. Every profession and calling in life is here exhibited, with the latest improvements in every department of industry and art. The advancement made during eighty years, in the American republic, is unparal- leled in the history of the world ; and will remain a proof to all coming generations, of the blessings of free institutions, and the capability of man, un- der a system of self-government, for an almost in- definite progress in civilization. This work should be in every library, public and private, and in the hands of every citizen. AGENTS WANTED To sell this valuable Standard National work in every unoccupied Town, City, and Village in the United States. Every family, every young man should have a copy. It is a perfect storehouse of in- formation, a library in itself, every page containing valuable infor- mation for all classes. It is the only work of the kind published in the country. Treats of subjects which all are inclined to boast of, and of which we may be proud of having historically described and embodied in a permanent form. Its value as a family book can not be over-estimated. It will take a place among the standard works of the country like Webster's Dictionary, Bancroft's History, and the New American Encyclopedia. The second canvass will, in many cases, be more profitable than the first, as there are but few books of any kind sold the first time over the ground in proportion to the population ; only just enough to give valuable works a good reputation, and create a desire to buy them. "We hope some resi- dent of each place where the book has been sold, will take up the second canvass and supply every family who was not furnished the first time over the ground. Our terms are extra liberal. For partic- ulars, territory, &c., Address L. STEBBINS, Hartford, Ct.