6 BULLETIN 74, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
hand trucks, are used to facilitate handling of freight. In faot, 
most of the freight handled by rail or water is loaded and unloaded 
by means of hand trucks. Motor trucks for unloading or loading are 
found only in rare instances, but devices for assisting hand trucks up 
or down inclines and for moving heavier weights from one level to 
another are frequently used. At Riverton, Ala., an incline was 
built on the bank of the Tennessee River for the opsration of a car by 
means of a steam-driven cable. This elevator transferred freight 
between the boats on the river and the railroad freight station up on 
the cliff. At any stage of the river this incline, of course, could be 
used, since it extended from the freight shed at the top of the high 
river bank to the lowest water level. 
TYPICAL STEAMBOAT ROUTES. 
ATLANTIC COAST. 
The actual routes followed by steamboat lines in various parts of 
the United States have certain characteristics which differ according 
to location. The Hudson River has a variety of traffic. One class 
consists in the through service between New York City and Albany; 
another class of traffic is composed of numerous routes centering at 
various important cities along the way; and the canal-boat traffic 
on the way from the Erie Canal to tidewater, the boats being towed 
in groups each hj a single tug. Among the farm products carried 
on this important waterway are grain, hay, fruit, and vegetables. 
Large quantities of wheat and corn are carried in canal boats on this 
river down to New York Harbor, the grain having been loaded at 
Buffalo. 
Another important system of waterways is that of Chesapeake 
Bay and its tributaries. Traffic on this bay radiates from the prin- 
cipal cities — Baltimore, Washington, and Norfolk. The usual local 
steamboat trip from Baltimore begins late in the afternoon, the boat 
reaching the mouth of some river early the following morning, pos- 
sibly some hours before daybreak. Here the first landing is made, 
which is followed by other landings up to the head of navigation. 
After a few hours at the terminus the boat starts on its return trip, 
often reaching the mouth of the river and entering Chesapeake Bay 
by nightfall and arriving at Baltimore early the next morning. This 
applies to a route of average length and of average distance from 
Baltimore. Some of the longer routes require 40 or more hours for 
transit one way, and on some of the shorter ones the round trip is 
made within a day. A great variety of produce is carried on these 
Chesapeake Bay routes. Grain, hay, and many kinds of fruits and 
vegetables constitute a large amount of traffic. From the lower part 
of the eastern shoro of the bay sweet potatoes are shipped in such 
large quantities in the fall that they often make practically full 
