Tallow candles,

Cordage from 1 to 4 inches, (it American White Soap,

French and Castile Soap,

Richmond Tobacco,

White Lead,

Red do.

Red Paint,

Pickled tongues,

At the above places the markets are very fluctuating. At present, American vessels are prohibited from entering at the Isle of France; it is now in possession of the British. The Island of Bourbon is in possession of the French; Batavia is in possession of the Dutch; and American vessels are permitted to trade there, (1821.)

Remarks on taking in Salt.

Mayo is a small island, not more than 17 miles in circumference, entirely devoid of verdure, and presenting nothing to the eye but a mass of brown and barren rocks. It is subject to the Portuguese government, as well as the rest of the Cape Verde Islands, and inhabited by blacks, who reside here only on account of the salt, which is produced by the operation of the sun's rays on the salt water. This salt water flows over a beach into a large pond, only three days in each year, and only in the month of March, at the time of the equinox, at the change or full of the moon. At the equinox in September, the water does not rise sufficiently high to flow over this beach; the reason is, that the earth is nearer the sun in our winter than it is in summer, and of course is nearer in March than in September; for which reason the attractive power of the sun is greater when he is nearer the earth. [See Nature of the Tides, page 100, on the effects of the disturbing forces of the sun and moon.]

When all the water has evaporated, a crust of salt is left, which, before it is broken, appears like glass. This salt is taken to the landing place, about two miles from the pond, on asses, where it is deposited in heaps as large as houses. This salt is common to all the inhabitants of that place, though those who

are best able to bear the expense of its carriage to the landing place, of course possess the greatest share of it. It is sold to foreigners at five dollars the moy of sixty bushels. The purchaser has also to pay a duty of one dollar and twelve cents on each moy. This price is settled by the Portuguese government; and no person is permitted to sell for more or less than five dollars the moy, on pain of transportation to the coast of Africa. The number of men employed in loading a vessel there, will make the salt, when on board, amount to from fifteen to sixteen cents the bushel. A bushel of the Isle of Mayo salt will weigh from seventy-six to seventy-eight pounds. The duties in the United States being twenty cents on the fifty-six pounds, will be about twenty-eight cents, so that in all it will stand, in the United States, at about forty-five cents the bushel. In the bad weather season a great quantity of salt is lost by its getting wet. This bad weather season is from July to December. The manner of striking the salt at Mayo is with a sharp striker, which tends rather to scoop the salt out of the tub: on the contrary, in the United States, the striker is round, which presses the salt into the half bushel. These two differences no doubt occasion considerable loss to the buyer at Mayo; so that it will be well for those bound there for salt, to take with them a round striker already coppered, long enough to go across a half barrel, and a sufficient number of iron shovels. It is best to take good strong bagging, and the bags can be made on the passage; to be sewed strong, not too wide, because they lose in the tying; made to hold one bushel. The bags, after the cargo is on board, can be sold to the inhabitants. If you hire bags you will have to pay high for them. Take with you also a kedge anchor, as it will be wanted to lay off a traveller to lower the salt by. The inhabitants at that place can show any person unacquainted how to rig the traveller, &c. Vessels load with their own boats, so that it is also necessary to have a good strong long boat.

In the bad weather season, which is the worst in August and September, the wind sometimes blows very heavily from the south; and frequently in those gales vessels have been obliged to slip and put to sea. These tremendous gales are called southers. I was there in the ship Recovery, of Philadelphia, in 1815, in the month of August, when the weather was so bad and the sea dashed so hard against the rocks, that I was detained two days from taking off salt. I have been informed that in the good weather season the water there is quite smooth.

The dunnage which is procured here is a kind of heath, which is scarce and dear, so that it is best to provide that article beforehand.

When salt is scarce, vessels have sometimes to wait for their

turn.

The inhabitants of this island depend for subsistence on the Island of St. Jago, which is only fifteen miles from Mayo.

On purchasing Molasses in the West Indies. The person who buys molasses in the West Indies to sell in the United States, lays under many disadvantages. In the first place it is a general custom to take the hogsheads from those persons who sell the molasses, which they have made by their own workmen or slaves, who take good care to have the bung diameter perhaps two or three inches greater than the cross diameter. By this means from five to ten per cent. is lost on the cask alone when guaged in the United States; besides the loss which always takes place between the rod and Gunter, which is five per cent. The molasses is also gauged when laying in the sun, or just as it is pumped out of the tank, when it is in a state of fermentation, which also occasions a loss, An allowance is made for this, but not quite sufficient. Another disadvantage is when taking the outs with the rod : they will jerk it up and down in the cask, which raises the molasses at least two inches, so that when the out is six inches they make it but four; and in proportion to the out, the loss will be more or less. Every advantage will be taken, particularly when molasses is in great demand, and in such case the purchaser must submit to those impositions or go without it. Therefore, in that case, it must be considered in the price of the molasses. But when molasses is plenty, and but little demand for it, these impositions for the most part may be avoided. I have dealt with some very just men in the West Indies, who would not take any advantage whatever.

The molasses which comes out of the tank will not be so good as that which comes from the plantations in hogsheads or kegs. The acid which is created in the bottom and round the walls of the tank, turn good molasses sour; and in general old molasses is mixed with the good. A person who purchases molasses in the West Indies, must be cautious when tasting it, as the sellers will try to vitiate his palate by first taking him to a cask of sour molasses. It is only the molasses which runs from the clayed sugar that turns sour, as there is an acid in the clay; and the fresh water which the clay is mixed with also tends to sour the molasses.

The molasses which runs or drains from the muscovado sugar, does not turn sour.

The manner in which a cargo of molasses is stowed being generally known, I shall omit mentioning it here. One thing must be remarked-when molasses is put between decks the hogsheads must be stowed athwart-ships, or else the motion of the vessel will slew them bung downwards, and thereby expose the molasses to run out of the bungs and vent holes. It is not safe to have more than three heights of hogsheads of molasses in the lower hold, as otherwise the lower tier may suffer by the weight of the upper casks, barrels, and tierces, making the fourth. Very deep ships have three decks.

The molasses sellers in the West Indies will tell you the reason they make the casks in that oval shape noticed above is, that they can support weight better; but the casks which are made in Philadelphia are perfectly round, and support weight equally the same; so that this is only an excuse. Attention must be paid that the molasses casks be made of red oak staves, and the heads of pine boards. The boards in the head must be up and down; if not it will not support much weight, and will most assuredly be broke, and occasion the loss of the molasses. Casks otherwise made must by all means be rejected.

*

ALL vessels bound to Hamburg must report their cargoes at Stade, where a small duty is exacted. If they have tobacco on board, to avoid an over charge, it is necessary that the bills' of lading particularly express leaf tobacco, and the number of hogsheads, but not the weight. With teas the weight must be mentioned. Nankeens should be reported by the web; as in this case ten pieces will pay no more than otherwise one piece would.

THE masters of vessels bound to Marseilles should be very particular in manifesting their cargoes, and even the least article of the cabin stores; for if there should be a difference even of one pound of sugar or tea, 200 francs for each package so differing from the manifest, either over or under, will be exacted.

In Marseilles they are very rigid in the quarantine laws; and

*Stade is a small village in Hanover, in the river, a little distance below Hamburgh. You report by the bills of lading; and if the cargo should not agree with the bills of lading when discharged at Hamburg, some difficulty will take place with the custom house, and a fine will be exacted according to the difference in the accounts.

It is a rule for the master of a vessel to make a small present to the officers when he reports, as ten or twelve pounds of coffee, fifteen or twenty pounds of sugar, &c. This sometimes prevents much difficulty.

I am informed that if a cargo should be insured at Lloyd's in London, and the master of the vessel in which it is shipped take a Heligoland pilot, after arriving safe at Hamburg, the pilotage, if reasonable, will be returned.

if the master of a vessel arriving there, should conceal any thing relative to the health of the persons on board, or should not give correct answers to every question asked by the quarantine officer, and the same should be afterwards discovered, he will be liable to a very heavy penalty; as Marseilles suffered most dreadfully by the plague in 1720. Out of 120,000 inhabitants of that place, 80,000 were carried off by that distemper. It was introduced by a vessel from Constantinople. And this it is supposed has caused the health officers to be so extremely rigid.

VESSELS bound to Canton, when arriving at Macoa, should enter cargo. If there should be no cargo on board, and the question should be asked, report wine or other liquors; and when the vessel arrives at Canton, the deception can be managed by sending up a few casks of water reported as wine. Some vessels have been detained for two and three weeks at Macoa, in consequence of not entering cargo, If cargo is not reported, no pilot will be permitted to go on board.

A ship while lying to off Macoa should be on her guard, for fear of pirates, and keep watch the same as at sea. The pilots of Canton river should not be trusted to run at night. They scarcely ever run at night without running the ship on shore, even the best of them.

7920 2640 880 660 440 220 132 110 40 Furl.

63360 21120 7040 5280 3520 (1760 1056 1880 20 8 Mile.