17 



power of the creditor, who either allows for it a. stipu- 

 lated price, or undertakes to convey it to Dantzic, to 

 be sold at the risk of the debtor; but with the pro- 

 ceeds to be received by the creditor. 



The charges for warehousing, shipping, freight, 

 tolls, commission, and other demands, have been 

 lately so high, in proportion to the prices, that very 

 small sums have been carried to the credit of the 

 landholder; and where estates are mortgaged, they 

 have been generally insufficient in amount to keep 

 under the growing interest. 



There are two modes of conveying Wheat to 

 Dantzic by the Vistula. That which grows near 

 the lower parts of the river, comprehending Polish 

 Prussia, and part of the province of Plock, and of 

 Masovia, in the kingdom of Poland, which is gene- 

 rally of an inferior quality, is conveyed in covered 

 boats, with shifting boards that protect the cargo 

 from the rain, but not from pilfering. These vessels 

 are long, and draw about fifteen inches water, and 

 bring about 150 quarters of Wheat. They are not, 

 however, so well calculated for the upper parts of the 

 river. From Cracow, where the Vistula first be- 

 comes navigable, to below the junction of the Bug 

 with that stream, the Wheat is mostly conveyed to 

 Dantzic in open flats. These are constructed on the 

 banks, in seasons of leisure, on spots far from the 

 ordinary reach of the water, but which, when the 

 rains of autumn, or the melted snow of the Carpa- 

 thian mountains, in the spring, fill and overflow the 

 river, are easily floated. 



Barges of this description are about 75 feet long, 

 and 20 broad, with a depth of two feet and a half. 

 They are made of fir, rudely put together, fastened 

 with wooden treenails, the corners dovetailed and 

 secured with slight iron clamps, the only iron em- 

 ployed in the construction. 



A large tree, the length of the vessel, runs along 

 the bottom, to which the timbers are secured. This 



