160 AN AMERICAN FARMER IN ENGLAND. 



of the mainsail that the wind might draw under it to fill the 

 foresail and jib. Another reason given for it is, that the wind, 

 drawing downward from the belly of the sail, tends to make 

 the vessel bury, and by lifting the tack she is made more 

 buoyant. It is never done in America. 



My opinion is, that the superior sailing of the &quot; America,&quot; 

 in the great matches of 1851, was more owing to her pecu 

 liarities of rig, the cut and material of her sails, and to sea 

 manship, than to the model of her hull. I have no doubt we 

 can still build and rig a vessel that will be her superior. 

 While the English stick to flax canvas, long gaffs, heavy top 

 sails, and graceful curves, I do not think there is any danger 

 that they will. When the Englishman is close-hauled with 

 his boom as near amidships as he can get it, his long gaif 

 will swing off so far that there must always be a considerable 

 part of his canvas in the peak that actually retards more than 

 it assists him. The Englishman thinks much of beauty of form 

 in his sails, but his standard of beauty is arbitrary a fashion. 

 To my eye, without regard to the primary beauty of utility, 

 the simplicity of the cut of our sails is much more agreeable. 



On the deck of the flag-schooner, which we ran very near 

 to, we saw the commodore of the Club, (an Earl,) a gray- 

 haired old gentleman, who sat in an arm-chair, reading from 

 a newspaper to some ladies. 



On reaching Portsmouth we took a boat to visit the navy- 

 yard, within the walls of which, being foreigners, not having a 

 pass, we could not enter. Our boatmen told us that if we 

 chose to enter we should not be challenged, as no one would 

 suspect us as being other than Englishmen, and that the prohi 

 bition was a silly old form that prevented no one from seeing 

 the yard that wished to enough to lie for it. 

 . The number of vessels (of the navy) in port was much 



