in 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
aty. One that will cost double the money will do more 
than four times the service. 
Besides whole clothes, negroes should have clean 
•clothes: and in order to do this, they should have a little 
lime allowed them to do their washing. As it is not con- 
'Tenient for all. hands to wash at the same time, they may 
be divided into companies, and a certain evening assigned 
to each company. Those whose time it is to wash should 
■be let off from the field earlier than the rest of the hands, 
and on that night should be free from all attention to feed- 
ing stock The rule works equal ; for those who have to 
do extra feeding on one night are in their turn exempt. It 
should, however, be an invariable rule not to allow any 
of them to wash on Saturday night, for they will be dirty 
on the Sabbath, and render as an excuse that their clothes 
are wet. On some large plantations, it is the daily busi- 
ness of one hand to wash and mend for the rest. 
In building houses for negroes, it is important to set 
them well up, (say 2 1-2 or 3 feet from the ground to the 
sills) so as to be conveniently swept underneath. When 
thus elevated, if there should be any filth under them, the 
master or overseer, in passing can see it, and have it re- 
moved. The houses should be neat and comfortable ; and 
as far as circumstances will allow, it looks best to have 
them of uniform size and appearance ; 16 by 18 feet is a 
■convenient size for a small family. If there be many chil- 
dren in a family a larger house will be necessary. 
Many persons, in building negro houses, in order to get 
clay convenient for filling the hearth, and for mortar, dig 
a hole under the floor. As such excavations uniformly 
become a common receptacle for filth, which generates 
disease, they should, by no means, be allowed. In soils 
where the clay will make brick, the saving of fuel, and 
the greater security against fire, render it a matter of 
economy to build brick chimneys. In all cases, the chim- 
neys should be extended fully two feet above the roof, 
that there may be less danger in discharging sparks. They 
are also less liable to smoke. In consequence of negro 
houses being but one story high, the lowness of the chim- 
neys renders them very liable to smoke from currents of 
wind driving down the flue. This may be eftectually pre- 
vented by the following- simple precaution: Around the 
top of the chimney throw out a base some 8 or 10 inches 
wide, and from the outer edge of this draw in the cap at 
an angle of 35 or 40 degrees with the horizon, until true 
with the flue. No matter in what direction the wind 
blows, on striking this inclined plain the current will 
glance upwards and pass the chimney, without the pos- 
sibility of blowing down it. On page 454 of Reports of 
Commissioner of Patents for 1844, will be found plates 
illustrative of my meaning. The wings of the angles, 
as explained in the Reports, are, however, unneces- 
sary, as the remedy is effectual without them, though 
they evidently increase the draft. A coat of white- wash, 
inside and out, every summer, adds very much to 
the neat and comfortable appearance of the buildings, and 
is also, by its cleansing and purifying effect, conducive to 
health. The cost is almost nothing, as one barrel of good 
lime will whitewash a dozen common-sized negro houses, 
and any negro can put it on. 
If there be not natural shades sufficient to keep the 
houses comfortable, a row of Mulberries, or such otlier 
shades as may suit the owner’s fancy, should, by all 
means, be planted in front, and so as to protect the houses 
on the south and southwest. 
The negroes should be required to keep their houses 
and yards clean ; and in case of neglect should receive 
such punishment as will be likely to insure moi'e cleanly 
habits in future. • 
In no case should two families be allowed to occupy the 
same house. The crowding a number into one house is 
unhealthy. It breeds contention ; is destructive of deli- 
cacy of feeling, and it promotes immorality between the 
sexes. 
In affdition to their dwellings, where there are a num- 
ber of negroes, they should be provided with a suitable 
number of properly located water closets. These may 
contribute an income much greater than their cost, by en- 
abling the owner to prepare poudrette ; while they serve 
the much more important purpose of cultivating feelings 
of delicacy. 
There should, at all times, be plenty of wood hauled. 
Surely no man of any pretentions to humanity, would re- 
quire a negro, after having done a heavy day’s work, to 
toil for a quarter or a half mile under a load of wood be- 
fore he can have a fire. An economical way of supplying 
them with wood is to haul logs instead of small wood. 
This may be most conveniently done with a cart and pair 
of hooks, such as are used for hauling stocks to a saw-mill. 
Such hooks will often come in use, and the greater con- 
venience and expedition of hooks instead of a chain, will 
soon save more time than will pay for them. 
The master should never establish any regulation 
among his slaves until he is fully convinced of its pro- 
priety and equity. Being thus convinced, and having 
issued his orders, implicit obedience should be required 
and rigidly enforced. Firmness of manner, and prompt- 
ness to enforce obedience, will save much trouble, and be 
the means of avoiding the necessity for much whipping. 
The negi’o should feel that his master is his law-giver and 
judge ; and yet is his protector and friend, but so far 
above him, as never to be approached save in the most 
respectful manner. I'hat where he has just cause, he 
may, with due deference, approach his master and lay be- 
fore him his troubles and complaints ; but not on false 
pretexts or trivial occasions. If the master be a tyrant, 
his negroes may be so much embarrassed by his presence 
as to be incapable of doing their work properly when he 
is near. 
It is expected that servants should rise early enough to 
be at work by the time it is light. In sections of country 
that are sickly it will be found conducive to health in the 
fall, to make the hands eat their breakfast before going 
into the dew. In winter, as the days are short and nights 
long, it will be no encroachment upon their necessary 
rest to make them eat breakfast before daylight. One 
properly taken care of, and supplied with good tools, is 
certainly able to do more work than under other circum- 
stances. While at work they should be brisk. If one is 
called to you, or sent from you, and he does not move 
briskly, chastise him at once. If this does not answer, re- 
peat the dose and double the quantity. When at work I 
have no objection to their whistling or singing some lively 
tune, but no drawling tunes are allowed in the field, for 
their motions are almost certain to keep time with the 
music. 
In winter a hand may be pressed all day, but not so 
in summer. In the first of the spring a hand need not be 
allowed any more time at noon than is sufficient to eat. 
As the days get longer and warmer, a longer rest is 
necessary. In May, from one and a half to two hours ; 
in June, two and a half; in July and August, three hours 
rest at noon. If the day is unusually sultry, a longer 
time is better. When the weather is oppressive, it is best 
for all hands to take a nap at noon. It is refreshing, and 
they are better able to stand pressing, the balance of the 
day. Hands, by being kept out of the sun during the 
hottest of the day have better health, and can do more 
work through the season than those who take what they 
call a good steady gait, and work regularly from morning 
till night. They will certainly last much longer. 
If the corn for feeding is in the shuck, the husking 
should be done at noon ; and all corn for milling should, 
