FARMERS' REGISTER— TOBACCO IN BATEAUX. 



605 



dined to think the experiment was not made m 

 this part of the country. A gentleman oi" Talbot, 

 some years past, wliether irom the recollection of 

 Mr. Cooper's sufrgestion, or froiTi his own specu- 

 la! ions, I know not, gathered his seed corn in this 

 way, and became convmced of the advantage. His 

 neighbors who saw the increased product, obtain- 

 ed seed trom him, and ado[)ted his practice, which 

 in time generally prevailed in Talbot, and has ex- 

 tended to this, and other counties oi the Eastern 

 Shore. I recollect a conversation with the late Col. 

 Edward Lloyd on this subjecl: he v/as a man of 

 sound judgement, and one of the best i)ractical 

 ilumers on this shore. A I that period he had not 

 planted this corn, and having experienced in the 

 course of his lile both loss and disappointment 

 from the representation of confident theorists and 

 sanguine experimentalists, whose "geese grow 

 into swans," he was in matters of this kind slow 

 of faith; but he became convinced of its value by 

 observation, and tested it by ciiltivation. 



Four years ago I obtained some of this corn, 

 which 1 have continued to plant since, always 

 carefully gathering the seed according to the sug- 

 gestion of Mr. Cooper, and my crops have been 

 much increased. My experience induces me to 

 tliinic, that no great ad\antag3 is derived if this 

 corn is planted in lands naturally poor, or exhaust- 

 ed by cultivation; but where in a state of fertility 

 eiiher naturally or by improvements, I think the 

 product from this kind of corn will be more than 

 fifieen per cent. 



WILt.IA.-I CAR.tXICIIAr;L. 



TTye, Easlirn Share, } 

 Md. Jan. 22, 1835. \ 



FoitliB Fannr-n' Rngistcr. 

 A PROJECT FOR COVF.HING HOGSriEAIiS OF 

 TOBACCO ON BOARD BATEAUX. 



Having been for several years past somewhat 

 familiar v/ith the responsibilities incurred by the 

 carriers of tobacco on the Roanoke, Apponiattox 

 and James Rivers, and the damage sustained by 

 the dealers in the ujuand inspections on those ! 

 streams, lor the want of a secure and sr,!ticient 1 

 covering tor the hogsheads, my a,tten1ion has been [ 

 directed with much inierest to the subject of some j 

 remedy lor the evil. The materials novt^ in use j 

 for covering are various, consisting of dhferent | 

 kinds of v.ooUen or cotton fabric, but none of them 

 sufKciently impervious to v/ater, to prevent serious 

 damage in a very violent or long continued rain. 

 This is manifest from the exhibition v/hicli a list ol' 

 tobacco from an upland inspection makes in the 

 iall '-sampling'' in the city of Richmond. And 

 where the tobacco passes through the hands of tv»^o 

 sets of carriers, as is the case on the Roanoke 

 and Appomattox, the loss arising from damage 

 falls on the dealers, from an impossibility of know- 

 ing upon whom to fix it. It is tiiercfbre impor- 

 tant that dealers should interest themselves on the 

 subject, and endeavor to devise a plan by which 

 their property is secured from unnecessary expo- 

 sure to damage. 



My plan is this: provide yourself whh a stock 

 of |)lank made of hickory, fi'om a foot to thirteen 

 inches in width, and three-fourths of an inch thick. 

 (Other descriptions of pia-ik might ansv/er the 

 purpose well, but I prescribe hickory plank, be- 

 cause it is essential that the material used should 

 not be lial)le to igplit or v/aiii from *he influence of 



the sun and wind; and I understand from an intelli- 

 gent carpenter, that the plank made of this tree is 

 Iree from these defects.) Have the platd<s well 

 seasoned, and let each piece be cut a few inches 

 longer than an ordinary lawfid hogshead. Six pieces 

 of the prescribed width will be enough lor one 

 cover, making beside the joint at the top, but two 

 joints of aside. Two straps of leather two inches 

 Avide and a foot and a half or two feet long, the 

 kind that is generally used for wagon harness 

 preferred, because it combines puancy with 

 strength. The plank must be nailed to the leath- 

 er straps in the following manner: the two plankB 

 which are to cover the top of the hogshead must 

 project one over the other like the comb of a house, 

 and be nailed at each end to the leather straps, 

 through the middle of the j)hmk. (that is, midwajr 

 its width,) which will make it lie better around 

 the hogshead. The straps which attach the 

 two top planks must be nailed on the under 

 side. The lower edge of each top plank must 

 be bevelled underneath about an inch, and the 

 upper edge of each second plank must be likewise 

 bevelled to secure a good lap of two inches. Then 

 there must be four leather straps of the width 

 prescribed nbove, and three feet long, one end of 

 each, nailed to the t'.vo top planks respective!}-, a 

 little below the nail by which the two understraps 

 were fastened, and on the upper side of the cover. 

 When the two second planks are fitted, as de- 

 scribed above, they should be nailed through the 

 middle to the strap where it passes over them, 

 which should be about six or eight inches from 

 each end: and »o likcvv'ise the third, on each side. 

 This will bring the covering so low that the vvater 

 will drop harmless to the bottom of the boat. 

 Usually, daubing with some tenacious clay is con- 

 sidered a sufTicient protection tor the head of the 

 hoffshead; but if more is preferred, two yards 

 of cotton oznaburgs suspended from small nails 

 in the top plank of each cover, will be a complete 

 protection. After the plank and straps are prepar- 

 ed, the nailing together had better be done over 

 a hogshead, whereby a better fitting of the cover 

 to the hogshead will be secured. It appears to 

 me that this cannot fail to answer the purpose. It 

 is secure, substantial, convenient, and cheap. If 

 the joints arc properly fitted, and the planks pro- 

 perly nailed to the leather straps, it is perlectly im- 

 penetrable to rain. With toleraljle care, they will 

 last longer than the cover novv^ in use. On the re- 

 turn trip they are as useful in covering an}' de- 

 scription of goods, and when not in use can be 

 folded up in a very small compass, the leather 

 straps to which the planks are attached, serving as 

 hinges. Its cost cannot exceed one-half of those 

 made of negro cotton or plains. Two hundred 

 feet of plank, one dollar's worth of harness leather, 

 and twenty yards of cotton oznaburgs being suffi- 

 cient to make an outfit for a boat; and the cost of 

 these articles, including the carpenter's bill, cannot 

 exceed %\0. If upon experiment, the above 

 scheme is seen to answer a valuable purpose, I 

 shall feel that I have rendered the commercial and 

 planting community, an important service. If it 

 only serves to attract to the subject more ingenious 

 and contriving reflection than my own, I sliall feel 

 thus much good has been done. This m.uch I 

 well know, that the present state of things upon 

 I this sahjecr, calls loudly for remedy. 



AN rPLANTi nEAI.ER. 



