Arctic Expeditions

While searching a bit further on the 1852 Winter I came across this list of expeditions to the Artic. I was personally surprised to find the list dated back to 1848. It lists Ships, Captains, and deaths as well as how many days in Melville Bay.

Arctic Expeditions (from the Times, December 29, 1874).—"The following is a list of ships, comprising Government and Private Expeditions, British and Foreign, which have been on exploring service within the Arctic Circle since the Franklin Expedition sailed. It will be seen that the crews of all these vessels have returned in safety to their respective countries, with only such loss of life as might well have occurred had the men stayed at home :—
1. 1848 to 1849—H.m.'b ship Enterprise, Sir J. C. Ross. One winter, 26 days in Melville Bay.
2. 1848 to 1849.—H.M.'s ship Investigator, Captain Bird. One winter, 25 days in Melville Bay. Seven deaths (one officer) on board the Enterprise and Investigator.
3. 1849 to 1850.—H.M.'s ship North Star, Mr. Saunders. One winter, 57 days in Melville Bay. Four deaths.
4. 1849.—H.M.'s ship Plover, Captains Moore and Maguirc. Three winters. Three deaths.
6. 1850.—H.M's ship Enterprise, Captain Collinson. Three winters. Three deaths.
6. 1850.—H.M.'s ship Investigator, Captain M'Clure. Four winters. Six deaths (one officer).
7. 1850.—H.M.'s ship Resolute, Captain Austin. One winter, 45 days in Melville Bay. One death (accident).
8. 1850.—H.M.'s ship Assistance, Captain Ommanney. One winter, 45 days in Melville Bay. No death.
9. 1850.—H.M.'s ship Pioneer, Lieutenant Osborn. One winter. No death.
10. 1850.—H.M.'s «hip Intrepid, Lieutenant Cator. One winter. No death.
11. 1850.—Brig Lady Franklin, Captain Penny. One winter. No death.
12. 1850.—Brig Sophia, Captain Stewart. One winter. No death.
13. 1850.—Schooner Prince Albert, Captain Forsyth. Summer Cruise.
14. I860.—Schooner Felix, Sir John Ross and Captain Phillips. One winter. No death.
15. 1850.—Advance (American), Lieutenant Griffith. One winter drifting.
16. 1850.—Rescue (American), Lieutenant Dehaven. One winter drifting.
17. 1851.—Schooner Prince Albert, Mr. Kennedy. One winter. No death.
18. 1852.—H.M.'s ship Assistance, Sir E. Belcher. Two winters, 38 days in Melville Bay. No death.
19. 1852.—H.M.'s ship Resolute, Captain Kellett. Two winters, 38 days in Melville Bay. Six deaths.
20. 1852.—H.M.'s ship Pioneer, Commander OBborn. Two winters. No deaths.
21. 1852.—H.M.'s ship Intrepid, Lieutenant M'Clintock. Two winters. No death.
22. 1852.—H.M.'s ship North Star, Mr. Pullen. Two winters. 38 days in Melville Bay. Three deaths.
23. 1852.—Steamer Isabel, Captain Inglefield. No detention in Melville Bay; summer cruise.
24. 1853.—H.M's ship Phoenix, Captain Inglefield. Nine days in Melville Bay; summer cruise.
25. 1854.—H.M.'s ship Phojnix, Captain Inglefield. Took the pack—30 days; summer cruise.
26. 1854.—H.M.'s ship Talbot, Captain Jenkins. Summer cruise.
27. 1853.—Advance (American brig). Dr. Kane. Two winters. Took the pack—10 days.
28. 1857.—Steamer Fox, Captain M'Clintock. Two winters; first winter in pack, second season through in nine days. Three died.
29. 1850.—Schooner United States, Dr. Hayes. One winter, two days in Melville Bay. One death (accident).
30. 1871.—Steamer Poluris, Captain Hall. Twowinters; no detention in Melville Bay. One death.
31. 1873.—Steamer Juniata, Lieutenant Merriman. No detention in Melville Bay ; summer cruise.
32. 1873.—Steamer Tigress, Captain Green. Summer cruise.

Safety Pins

I love safety pins. I find them incredibly practice on a variety of levels. You probably are grateful too for this little invention but did you know they were invented in 1849 by Walter Hunt. He patented it in 1849. It was one wire coiled at one end with a clasped at the other. Sounds very similar to what we use now. Walter Hunt also built the first sewing machine in 1832.

Here's a link to a page on Walter Hunt that also has an image of the first safety pin designed.
Walter Hunt The Forgotten Genius

Unfortunately as smart as Walter was with his ability to invent, he wasn't very prudent with his financial abilities and sold his patent for $400 to a man he owed the same sum for.

California Gold Rush Effects on Hawaii

The California Gold Rush was a boom for the agriculture of Hawaii. With the influx of so many people the West Coast needed a lot more provisions. The shipping route from Hawaii to California was a nice straight shot. Among these early exportations were Irish and sweet potatoes, onions, pumpkins, oranges, molasses, and coffee. Flour sold out quickly.

Below is an excerpt from "Natural History of Hawaii Being an Account of the Hawaiian People, the Geology and Geography
of the Islands, and the Native and Introduced Plants and Animals of the Group " by WILLIAM ALANSON BRYAN, B. Sc. ©1915

Sweet And Irish Potatoes.

Formerly potato21 growing was an important island industry. In 1849 potatoes stood at the head of the list of exports. The lands best adapted to their growth are in the Kula district of Maui, where they were introduced and planted as early as 1820. Of late years the industry has diminished, owing to unskilled methods of culture and the appearance of various enemies. There are several species and almost innumerable cultural varieties adapted to various soils and conditions that, if introduced, would doubtless extend and revive the industry.

Sweet potatoes were at one time an important field crop. Like the "Irish" potatoes, they were extensively exported during the period of the gold-rush to California. The natives recognized as many as twenty varieties of uala (sweet potato), and several important varieties have been introduced from time to time by Europeans and others. It belongs to the morning-glory family and is easily grown, thriving in loose soils where the rainfall is not too abundant. The sweet potato is usually propagated by cutting off the tops and planting them in a hill of dirt which often is only a pile of loose ash-like soil scraped together.

Coffin, Casket, Sarcophagus

Hi all,

This is one of those tiny tidbits that some of you may know and some might not but here it goes. Do you know the difference between a coffin, casket and sarcophagus?

A Coffin is wider at the shoulders, narrower at the head and feet.

A Casket is a simple rectangle.

A Sarcophagus is the shape of a human body and often has the portrait of the deceased painted on the top.

On another note: Coffin seems to be the word of choice for the first half of the 19th century. Whereas, casket came into use, first time attested to in 1849. However, I'm seeing more use of the word casket in the later part of the century.

Sponges

In the 19th century sponge harvesting in America started in Key West. After storms sponges would wash up on the beachs. This begin the business of harvesting sponges, which became one of the largest industries on Key West in the 19th century, in 1849. As it became an industry a fleet (about 350 boats) called "Hook Boats" soon filled the docks and shores. These hook boats were long and thin, the spongers would stand in the boat and use long poles with holes to pull the sponges from the reefs. this industry grew quickly eventually reaching 1400 men.

Sponging on Key West ended by the end of the century with the Spanish American war going on in 1898 and sponges being nearly all gone the spongers moved up to Tarpon Springs to continue their harvesting.

New Orleans 1849

In 1849 New Orleans suffered from a flood. To date this flood was the worse the city of New Orleans suffered second only to what hit New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

The Sauve's Crevasse levee failed. Pierre Sauve's plantation was 17 miles up river from the city. On the afternoon of May 3rd, the levee gave way. It took weeks before the levee could be repaired but not for a lack of trying. Two engineers, George T. Dunbar & Surgi worked tirelessly for 17 days until they finally were able to staunch the flood on June 20th. It was another month before the rains disappeared and life in New Orleans could resume.

South Carolina Rice

While growing rice was not an event that started in the 19th century it was an important part of the economic culture of South Carolina. The tidbit below comes from a "Census of the city of Charleston, South Carolina" ©1849. The following tidbit gives some details about the various kinds of rice, where it was grown, etc.

RICE.
This subject, as well as the Cotton crops, demands more extension than the statement of exports for the lew years embraced in the foregoing tables. Fortunately, through the previous researches of another, the exports of Rice, from a very early period, have been collected and preserved, which will be found in the succeeding pages.
From " Drayton's View of South Carolina" we quote, " Rice, was first planted in South Carolina about the year 1688: when by chance a little of it, of a small unprofitable kind, was introduced into the State."
From "Ramsay's History of South Carolina" we learn, that the cultivation of Rice was first commenced in South Carolina in 1694. A vessel from Madagascar, in distress, put into Charleston harbor, the Captain of which had some previous acquaintance with Landgrave Thomas Smith, to whom he gave a small parcel of Rough Rice, which was in the cook's bag on board ; this, Mr. Smith planted in a moist spot in his garden, (now Longitude Lane, in the City of Charleston) the proceeds he distributed among his friends, and in a few years after Rice became one of the staple productions of the Colony.
In " Carroll's Historical Collections of South Carolina" it is stated, that a Brigantine, from Madagascar, put into the Colony, and gave some seed Rice to Mr. Woodward, which, in a few years, was dispersed through the Colony. It is also further stated " that Mr. Du Bois, Treasurer of the East India Company, difi send to that country, (Carolina) a small bag of seed Rice some short time after." These events occurred about the year 1700.
That Rice, soon after this period, was an' article of export from Carolina, we learn from a pamphlet reprinted in Carroll's Historical Collections of South Carolina, and originally published in London in 1707 by John Archdale, late Governor of Carolina, in which he says, " 17 Ships this year," (probably several years prior to the printing of the pamphlet) " came ladened from the Carolinas with Rice, Skins, Pitch, Tar, &c., in the Virginia fleet."
The following early exports of Rice, which we republish as having an appropriate place in the Statistics of Charleston, were collected by the Hon. R. F. W. Allston in his valuable " Memoir of the introduction and cultivation of Rice in South Carolina," published in 1843, from the following sources: From a statement published by Gov. Glen, in his " Description of South Carolina," 1761.

***
VARIETIES GROWN
The gold-seed rice, justly famous for the quality and large yield of the grain, stands, in the estimation of the market, among the first rices in the world. Along the Atlantic coast it has practically superseded the white rice introduced aud generally cultivated in the earlier periods of the industry. The two varieties of gold-seed appear to differ little except that one variety has a slightly larger grain than the other. White rice is valued for its <"arly maturity. The accompanying table illustrates the difference between the grains of gold-seed rice aud white rice:
DELTA LANDS.
A large proportion of the rice grown in South Carolina and Georgia is produced on tidal deltas. A body of land along some river and sufficiently remote from the sea to be free from salt water is selected with reference to the possibility of flooding it from the river at high tide aud of draining it at low tide.
Canals and levees.—A canal is excavated on the outer rim of this tract, completely inclosing the field. The excavated dirt is thrown upon the outer bank. ' The canal must be of sufficient capacity for irrigation and drainage, aud must also furnish dirt to make a levee which will provide perfect protection against the encroachments of the river at all seasons. The tract is then cut up by smaller canals into fields of 10 to 12 acres, making small levees on the border of each field. The fields are subdivided by ditches into strips 20 or 30 feet wide for cultivation. The entire tract is usually nearly level, but if there should be any inequality care must be taken that the surface of each subfield be level. The main canal is 10 to 30 feet wide and about 4 feet deep, and connects with the river by flood gates. Through these canals boats of considerable tonnage have ready access to the entire circuit of the tract, while smaller boats can pass along the subcanals to the several fields. The subcanals are usually from 6 to 10 feet in width and should be nearly as deep as the main canal.
Drainage.—Perfect drainage is one of the most important considerations in rice farming, because upon it depends the proper condition of the soil for planting. It may appear unimportant that a water plant like rice should have aerated and finely pulverized soil for the seed bed, but such is the case. Thorough cultivation seems to be as beneficial to rice as to wheat. Complete and rapid drainage at harvest always insures the saving of the crop under the best conditions and reduces the expense of the harvest. On 500 acres of such land, well prepared, there should be 65 to 80 miles of ditches, canals, aud embankment
If there are logs, stumps, or stones in the field they must be removed. When practicable the rice lands are flooded from the river and find drainage by a canal or subsidiary stream that enters the river at a lower level. The embankment must be sufficient to protect the rice against either freshets or salt water. Freshets are injurious to growing rice, not only because of the volume of water but by reason of the temperature. A great body of water descending rapidly from the mountains to the sea is several degrees colder than water under the ordinary flow. Any large amount of this cold water admitted to the field, not only retards the growth but is a positive injury to the crop. In periods of continued drought the salt water of the sea frequently ascends the river a considerable distance. Slightly brackish water is not injurious to rice, but salt water is destructive.
INLAND MARSHES.
Some excellent marshes are found in South Carolina and Georgia upon what may relatively be termed high land. These are in most cases easily drained and in many instances can be irrigated from some convenient stream. The objection planters have found to such tracts is that the water supply is unreliable and not uniform in temperature. In case of drought the supply may be insufficient; in case of freshets the water is too cold. To obviate these objections reservoirs are sometimes constructed, but are expensive, owing to loss by the evaporation from such a large exposed surface. However, where all the conditions are favorable, it costs less to improve these upland marshes than the delta lands and the results are fairly remunerative.
SOURCE: Bulletin ©1891