165 
wants be supplied from the common stock. The clothing and 
food they make use of, is of the best quality. Of the latter, flour, 
salt meat, and all long keeping articles are served out monthly; 
fresh meat on the contrary, and whatever spoils readily, is dis¬ 
tributed whenever it is killed, according to the size of the fami¬ 
ly, &c. As every house has a garden, each family raises its own 
vegetables, and some poultry, and each family has also its own 
bakeoven. For such things as are not raised in Economy, there 
is a store provided, from which members with the knowledge of 
the directors, may purchase what is necessary, and the people of 
the vicinity may also do the same. The warehouse and store 
are for the present in wooden buildings, but in a short time the 
requisite brick buildings will be erected. 
Under Mr. Rapp’s new house we found a fine roomy cellar, 
in which he gave us a very good glass of old Rhenish wine, and 
also some good wine made on the Wabash, of which he had 
twenty-one casks. I tasted a very dark and powerful wine, made 
from wild grapes, which grew on an island in the Wabash. For 
the first three years it is said that this wipe cannot be drank on ac¬ 
count of its sourness; this has been in casks for eight year& and 
is so much improved, that it now is similar to old Hungarian 
wine. 
As we passed along we saw a small deer park, in which the 
elder Rapp had amused himself in taming some bucks and does, 
which would eat out of his hand. We saw also here a noble young 
moose deer, which was as large as a stout ox. He is also very 
tame, but during the season is dangerous. 
Mr. Rapp finally conducted us into the factory again, and said 
that the girls had especially requested this visit, that I might hear 
them sing. When their work is done they collect in one of the 
factory rooms, to the number of sixty or seventy, to sing spiri¬ 
tual and other songs. They have a peculiar hymn-book, containing 
many hymns from the Wurtemberg psalm-book, and others 
written by the elder Rapp. The latter are truly in prose, but 
have been arranged to old tunes by the girls. * The elder 
Rapp is very fond of psalmody, and the girls must devote them¬ 
selves considerably thereto, since Gertrude is a proficient and 
receives musical instruction. A chair was placed for the old 
patriarch, who sat amidst the girls and they commenced a hymn 
in a very delightful manner. It was naturally symphonious and 
exceedingly well arranged. The girls sang four pieces, at first 
* In this hymn-book are some pieces, which, if the perfect child-like inno¬ 
cence of these maidens be not recollected, might appear rather scandalous. 
For instance, there is a literal translation of the song of Solomon, among 
others. 
