146 BULLETIN 414, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



The principal items of clothing used in convict camps are: Coats, 

 trousers, vests, underclothing, socks, shoes, shirts, nightshirts, hats 

 or caps, and such special articles as slickers or oilcoats, rubber boots, 

 fur-hned hats, and rubber capes. 



The characters of the more important articles in use are stated 

 below, the ranges of prevailing prices are given, and an estimate of 

 the hmits of durabihty is made on the basis of reports obtained in a 

 number of widely distributed locahties. 



Coats, Trousers, and Vests. 



The use of the vest as a prison garment is confined almost entirely 

 to the Northeastern States. In these States it is generally made of 

 woolen tweed and costs from 80 cents to $1. It is beheved that it 

 serves no useful purpose and is not recommended for general use. 



Coats and trousers are made of cotton, wool, or part wool, and of 

 soHd gray, blue, and brown or in black and white stripes. The 

 general practice in the Southern States is to provide 8 or 10 ounce 

 woolen garments for winter use and 8-ounce cotton goods for summer 

 wear. The woolen suits cost about $2.75 each, $1.50 for the coat and 

 $1.25 for the trousers. The same weight of goods is used in stripes 

 and plain material. It is customary to supply each convict with two 

 fuU suits at one time, and the average wear of such goods is reported 

 as from three to six months, depending on the nature of the climate 

 and the service. A good rule, it is said, is to allow two of such suits 

 per man for a winter season. For summer use the woolen clothes are 

 replaced by cotton goods, of which the coats and trousers cost from 66 

 cents to $1 each. These also are supphed two at a time for each 

 convict, and their average life is said to be from three to four months, 

 the coats lasting somewhat longer than the trousers. 



In the South the majority of reports indicate that each convict will 

 wear out one woolen suit and two cotton suits each year, and that the 

 average cost per man per year for these articles is about $6.50. 



In the States of New York, New Jersey, and New Mexico a much 

 heavier goods, in the nature of a woolen tweed, is used. Coats of this 

 material are reported as costing from $2.85 to $3 each, and trousers 

 from $1.78 to $1.90. But, though they exceed in first cost the quaMty 

 of goods used so widely in the South, it is reported that their hfe 

 greatly exceeds that of the latter. In New Mexico an accurate record 

 kept at the State penitentiary shows a life of nearly two years for 

 these garments, and in New York a life of more than one year is 

 reported as the average. Usually the coat is not worn on the work, 

 and the trousers are protected by overalls, which cost from 50 to 

 75 cents per pair and last from three to six months. Supphes of 

 two pieces of each garment are maintained for each prisoner, as in 

 the Southern States, and the approximate cost of coats, trousers, 



