1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



495 



a'teiition to diet, is one of the most prolific causes 

 of disease anionir our negroes, as well as whites. 

 It is the almost universal custom in this state, to 

 give out to each negro a weekly allowance ol'corn 

 or potatoes, and to suffer them to cook it as they 

 please. For many reasons, this plan is the most 

 agreeable to the negroes. I shall show, however, 

 that it is far from being the most advantageous 

 either to their health, or conitbrt. l]very planter i 

 knows that there are many ncffroes, who rather 

 than be at the trouble of cooking their own | 

 victuals, will trade away their allowance with their 

 more industrious fellow-workers, for one-half; and 

 even where this is not the case, they are always 

 found ready to barter avva\' their whole weekly al- 

 lowance to some neiirhboring dram shop, lor a 

 gallon of whiskey, or a pound or two of tobacco, 

 or bread. Where negroes are permitted to cook 

 their own fjod, they neither have the time, nor 

 capability to do it properly. It cannot be expected 

 that the slave who is all day at hard work, can 

 pay a proper attention to preparing his food after 

 the day's labor. lie generally comes home tired, 

 and belbre he h;is half cooked his meal, hunger 

 induces him to devour it. It is true that some ne- 

 groes cook their food in the field, while at v-^ork, 

 but even this mode, must at once strike everyone 

 as very improper. In nine cases out of ten, they 

 cook with bad water, in dirty pots, and without 

 salt. But I shall not enlarge upon the many ill 

 effects arising fi-om permittmg negroes to have 

 their allowance, and to cook it themselves. One 

 of your correspondents, in a former number in an 

 article on this subject, has pointed out many of 

 the evils ; I shall, therefore, detail a remedy which 

 I have been applying lor many years ; and let me 

 assure you, Mr. Editor, each year has caused me 

 to be better pleased v.'ith its observance. First, 

 then, when I give out corn as an allowance, I 

 have it all ground into grist. And that this might 

 be done with ease, I at first procured myself a 

 corn mill worked by horse power, which, while it 

 grinds and cracks all the corn on m}^ plantation, 

 only cost me a couple of hundred dollars. The 

 corn being ground, I allow to each negro ten 

 quarts of grist. Seven quarts of this I retain to 

 be cooked for them, by a cook appointed for the 

 purpose. The balance, three quarts, 1 give them 

 to feed their poultry, or to do with, what they 

 please. I have a person appointed to cook for all 

 my negroes, who amount to about fifty in all. It 

 is her business to prepare two meals per day ; and 

 for each meal she cooks a pmt of grist to each grown 

 hand, and in a smaller proportion for the younger 

 negroes. That the food may be well done, she is 

 required to cook in two or three distinct pots. Both 

 for breakfast and dinner, I allow a small portion of 

 meat of some kind, to boil with their food. And 

 here let me observe, that a bit of meat, which 

 when divided among them all, would not afford a 

 taste for anyone, will when cooked together, make 

 soup enough to satisfy the whole plantation. In 

 winter I re([uire of the cook to have their breakfast 

 ready at 8 o'clock, at v.hich time the horn is 

 sounded, and each negro comes with his pigginor 

 bowl, and receives his portion, which is measured 

 out to him by the driver. Dinner is required to be 

 ready at 2 o'clock, and the same rules are observed 

 as at breakfast. Since I have been cooking for 

 the negroes of my plantation, I have never known 

 one of them to complain of not having enough to 



eat. When I first adopted this rule, my negroes 

 objected to it very much. But in a year or so 

 tliey saw the utilny of the practice, and now I am 

 convniced, that they would not abandon it for a 

 great deal, so much docs it contribute to their 

 comfort and health. 



Lilth Negroes. 



I have a nurse appointed to superintend all my 

 little negroes, and a nursery built for them. If 

 they are left to be protected by their parents, they 

 will most assuredl}' be neglected. I have known 

 parents take out an allowance for their children, 

 and actually steal it from them, to purchase arti- 

 cles at some shop. Besides, when they would be 

 honest to their offispring, fi-om their other occupa- 

 tions, they have not the time to attend to them 

 properly. The children get their food irregularly, 

 and when they do get it, it is only half done. 

 They are suffered, by not having one to attend to 

 them, to expose themselves; and hence many of 

 the deaths whicli occur on our plantations. 



I have just stated that I have a nursery for my 

 little negroes, with an old woman or nurse to su- 

 perintend and cook for them, and to see that their 

 clothes and bedding are well attended to. She 

 makes the little ones, generally speaking, both 

 girls and boys, mend and wash their own clothes, 

 and do many other little matters, such as collect- 

 ing litter for manure, &c. In this they take great 

 pleasure, and it has the tendency to bring them 

 up to industrious habits. The nurse also cooks 

 for them three times a day ; and she always has 

 some little meat to dress for them, or the clabber 

 or sour milk from the dairy to mix with their food. 

 In sickness she sees that they are well attended to; 

 and from having many of them together, one is 

 taught to wait upon the other. My little negroes 

 are consequently very healthy ; and from pursu- 

 ing the plan I have laid down, I am confident that 

 I raise more of them, than where a different sys- 

 tem is followed. 



A PLANTER. 



{To be continued.') 



From tlie London Journal of Arts, for August. 

 DR. church's STEABI COACH. 



We have much pleasure in stating that Dr. 

 Church has at length complefel}' and satisfactorily 

 accomplished the construction of a steam carriage, 

 in every way suited to run on ordinary roads. 



The external appearance of the carriage is 

 made exactly to resemble a stage-coach, and is 

 about the same dimensions. It consists of a frame 

 work with a casing enclosing the boiler and en- 

 gines ; the furnace, fuel-box, water chamber, and 

 condenser, all of which hang upon springs, sup- 

 j)orted by the running wheels, require no auxiliary 

 tender. 



The casing is formed and painted like an ordi- 

 nary stage-coach; the conductor sits, for the pur- 

 pose of steering, in the place of a coachman, on 

 the box in fi-ont ; the engineer, who attends the 

 fire and the machinery, and has command of the 

 steam, stands also in front, in an open compart- 

 ment, below the conductor. 



There are seats for the persons on the roof be- 

 fore and behind, as in other stage-coaches ; but 



