THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



229 



to come here if they can help it, for it is too cold 

 a country ; if you don't take good care of your- 

 self you will take the head pleurisy and die in 

 three days. In the summer time the people 

 have to drive their stock three to five miles to 

 water, and in the winter they have to haul ice 

 and melt it to water them. The most of people 

 have to strain the water that they use to drink 

 and cook with, on account of waggle tails. I 

 think the reason why so many people move to 

 this country, those that are here wont write the 

 truth, and when they go to the old country they 

 wont tell the truth. I have eaten no good corn 

 bread since I have been in this country — the 

 meal is all like ground hominy — ground by horse 



mills — and I am living in the healthiest part of 

 the State, and the best watered. My master 

 talks of moving back in the course of two or 

 three years, as he is very much dissatisfied, and 

 I hope to see you all again before I die. 



It is my desire for all my religious friends, 

 both white and black, to pray for me, for I am 

 so dissatisfied in mind I cannot pray for myself, 

 I had rather live in Old Virginia in the piny old 

 field, work all day and part of the night and 

 live on peas and potatoes, than live here and 

 have as much hog and hominy as I can destroy, 



I have nothing more at present, but remain 

 Your affectionate son until death, 



John Preston. 



For the Southern Planter. 

 BOLTON HOISTER 



Mr. Editor, — Jonathan Pindar (a cousin of | 

 the celebrated Peter) tells a story of a Dutch- 

 man who went to mill once a week with a ! 

 bushel of wheat in one end of his bag and a i 

 stone in the other, to balance it. The reason he 

 gave for this was, that his father, his grand- 

 father and his great grandfather had done so 

 before him ; of course it was all right. Now, 

 Mr. Editor, I go for all rational improvement. — 

 Whatever lessens labor, saves time, and in other 

 respects answers a good end, must be valuable. 

 We have, in my humble opinion, too much of 

 this skipple stone, Dutch work about us. But 

 to the point. When in the State of Missouri, 

 last year, my attention was called to a very 

 simple and useful small affair for the purpose of 



filling tobacco barns, and I had one made, and 

 filled seven large barns with it in a hurry. I 

 found that it saved time and labor, and answered 

 a good end ; that I could fill two barns sooner 

 than one in the ordinary way, without risk or 

 clanger, as all hands were on the floor, except 

 one man above, to take and place the tobacco 

 stick — no handing from tier to tier. I have en- 

 deavored to give you a draft of it above. 



A is a piece of timber about four or five inches 

 square, with any kind of a roller in one end of 

 it, and fastened with a string or rope at the other 

 end, to keep it from tilting, say about six feet 

 long — it lies across two joists, and may be moved 

 at pleasure. 



B is a piece of timber two or two and a half 



