212 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



STOVES FOR NEGROES DWELLINGS. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Amelia. March 3, 1840. 



One of (he greatest obstacles to the improve- 

 ment of onr farms in tliis part of Virj^iiiia is the 

 time and labor nece?snry to collect fuel lor our- 

 selves and slaves. This, on almost every large 

 farm, occupies, durinij ihc winter months, nearly 

 all the Ibrce and all ihe teams of the estate. Thus 

 we have, comparatively, no time for the accumu- 

 lation of the means of manure, or the distribution 

 of it when made. I will suggest a plan that will 

 secure to our slaves as much comfort as at present, 

 and at the same time save their masters the end- 

 less vexation of always cutting and hauling wood. 

 It is simply to substitute stoves in place of the 

 eight-feet fire-places, which consume a log at a 

 fiiincr. From accurate e.xperiments during the 

 last five years, I have found that a stove would 

 consume, in a given time, biit one-tenth the wood 

 of a common fire-place, whilst the general warmth 

 and comfort of the room was four times as great. 

 Thus the total gain was as one-tenth to four. But 

 to my plan. 



Let a 40 by 20 feet house he put up ; the base- 

 ment frame or brick, (I would prefer the latter,) 

 10 feet pitch. Divide this by cross partitions, so 

 fig to leave the centre or stove room 16 by 20. 

 The end rooms will of course be 12 by 20. Divide 

 these again, so as to make of each two dormito- 

 ries 12 by 10. Thus the ground floor will consist 

 of four lodging rooms, two on each side of the 

 stove room, in the centre of this middle apart- 

 ment or stove room, have a cheap cast iron stove, 

 with a pipe sufficiently long to extend throusrh the 

 roof of the house in a vertical position. Such a 

 stove and pipe can be bought and fixed for ^12, or 

 at the utmost ^15. The garret might also be di- 

 vided, if desired, into four or five sleeping rooms. 

 I would have all the rooms properly ventilated, by 

 windows at proper distances. I annex a diagram 

 to illustrate my views. 



N w IV C 



w=: D rzd 



w= D — d 



d- D w: 



d- D vi- 



S 



B 



A B, Southern front, 40 feet. 



B C, Eastern breadth, 20 leet. 



DDDD, Dormitories, 12 by 10. 



S, Stove room, 16 by 20. 



d, d, &c. Doors, w, vv, &c. Windows. 



Such a budding would cost but a trifle in com- 

 parison with the saving it would effect. The 

 stove room would accommodate comfortably 32 

 persons, and the lour lodging rooms on the first 

 iloor, and the four garret rooms would easily lodge 

 this number. To accommodate this number of 

 «lQ\Tes, upon the present plan, with fire, would re- 



quire eight fire places; but I have shown that 

 each fire place will consume at ihe mininium 10 

 times as much fuel as a stove. Hence the total 

 gain in fuel will he as 80 to 1. Or 1 load of v/ond 

 will upon this plan keep .92 slaves ns romforialile, 

 and for as Ions a time, ns SO loads upon our [iret^ent 

 system. I need not point out to him who groan^^ 

 under the unceasinij toil of prnviiiing fuel lor his 

 slaves, ihe great benefit of diniinishinix his labor 

 eighty fold ; nor need I advert to (he humanity of 

 an arrangemsnt, which would secure to every 

 slave, however old and decrepit, comlbit and 

 warmth at all times. I proceed to notice some (4' 

 the objections which I Ibresee may be made to 

 this plan. 



1st. Some will say that the negroes will he un- 

 healthy. This I deny , and I think my experience 

 bears me out. During the last five years 1 have 

 principally used stoves lor warming my f-chool 

 room, (di:rin«i a large portion of the time stoves 

 only,) and I have never perceived any injury 

 from tliis cause to my own health, or to that of 

 my pupils. 1 have generally had about thirty 

 bpys under my care; and the average amount of 

 doctors' bills, for the whole school during the five 

 years, has not exceeded $\5 per annum, and no 

 portion due to the stoves. Again, it is iiotorioui=; 

 that north of the Potomac, in the middle and east- 

 ern states, nine-tenths of the middle classes use 

 stoves, without injury to health. For my own 

 part, I sincerely believe that stoves are more 

 healihv than fires, because of the unilormity of 

 temperature that may be induced and continued. 



2dlv. Some may say ihat there will be cruelly 

 in debarring slaves the light of a cheerful fire. If 

 so, and no light-wciod knots are convenient, pro- 

 vide a lamp. The cost of this will not exceed ten 

 dollars per annum, and may easily be defrayed 

 from the gain in fuel and labor. 



3dly. Others will object to congregating so many 

 negroes together under the same roolj and to the 

 danger of" infection in case of" disease. 1 answer, 

 that I consider it better and more humane that they 

 should be togeth.er. In this way, by a[)pointing 

 a head man, a master may at night keep hi.s 

 slaves under the best control ; and, by making him 

 accountable, keep his negroes at home, unless ab- 

 sent by leave. It is a sickly philanthropy which 

 induces us to give our negroes a carte blanche p,s 

 to their doings and goings at night. How much 

 better and more humane would it be to keep them, 

 after a day of toil, resting at home, than, as at 

 present, to permit tliem to prowl over half the 

 neighborhood in search of pelf or whisky 7 Hun- 

 dreds olslaves are ruined by these nocturnal visiis, 

 whilst the masters' horses are rode, the masters' 

 corn or pigs stolen, to gratify their passion for 

 liquor, and swell the gains of some neighboring 

 dram-seller. My plan would prevent ail this. 

 Make your head-man accountable to you, that the 

 negroes be all in place at a certain hour, and also, 

 11 necessary, make him lock the door, and keep it 

 locked, alter that hour. The liability to disease 

 and infection would be little or none, if due atten- 

 tion were paid to keep the rooms and premises 

 clean. We all have old women, good lor nothing 

 else, whose business it might be to attend to this. 

 Moreover, a convenient house might be appropri- 

 ated as a hospital, into which each negro, as soon 

 as taken eick, might be removed. This, the uni- 

 versal practice on the large West Indian estates. 



