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.

1851 Pistol Gallery

Okay today I have an advertisement from the Burlington Free Press Oct. 3, 1851 edition. At first glance I was thinking that a pistol gallery was an early name for bowling alley. But as I researched further I'm wondering if it was in fact a pistol gallery. Here's the ad, let me know what you think it is:

Western Travel 1851

I found this ad in the 1851 Burlington Free Press. What I found interesting is the offer to bring their belongings at no charge. Today we can't even fly with a suitcase without paying extra to see this offer for families going west with all of their possessions was quite something. Also the opening paragraph lays out the way to head West. Enjoy!

The House of Seven Gables

The House of Seven Gables written by Nathaniel Hawthorne was published by Ticknor, Reed and Fields, Boston, MA 1851. The original house that Hawthorne used as the backdrop for this story is still standing in Salem, MA. It was a museum I visited once many, many years ago. And of course there was that show called Bewitched that had an episode "shot" there. I do believe they shot the exterior and the rooms were probably Hollywood stages. In either case, the novel dealt in part with the history of the Salem witch trials as well as the change that comes with romance. I bring this novel up, not only because it was written during the 19th century but also the historical aspect of the novel that Hawthorne had researched while he wrote his novel. Admittedly, the history he based a lot of the novel on was the tales passed down for many generations within his own family.

In 1883 a collection of Hawthorne's works were compiled and below is the introductory note giving further insight into the history around the novel.
THE
HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES.
A ROMANCE.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES.
In September of the year during the February of which Hawthorne had completed "The Scarlet Letter," he began "The House of the Seven Gables." Meanwhile, he had removed from Salem to Lenox, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where he occupied with his family a small red wooden house, still standing at the date of this edition, near the Stockbridge Bowl.
"I sha'n't have the new story ready by November," he explained to his publisher, on the 1st of October, "for I am never good for anything in the literary way till after the first autumnal frost, which has somewhat such an effect on my imagination that it does on the foliage here about me — multiplying and brightening its hueo." But by vigorous application he was able to complete the new work about the middle of the January following.
Since research has disclosed the manner in which the romance is interwoven with incidents from the history of the Hawthorne family, "The House of the Seven Gables" has acquired an interest apart from that by which it first appealed to the public. John Hathorne (as the name was then spelled), the greatgrandfather of Nathaniel Hawthorne, was a magistrate at Salem in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and officiated at the famous trials for witchcraft held there. It is of record that he used peculiar severity towards a certain woman who was among the accused; and the husband of this woman prophesied that God would take revenge upon his wife's persecutors. This circumstance doubtless furnished a hint for that piece of tradition in the book which represents a Pyncheon of a former generation as having persecuted one Maule, who declared that God would give his enemy "blood to drink." It became a conviction with the Hawthorne family that a curse had been pronounced upon its members, which continued in force in the time of the romancer; a conviction perhaps derived from the recorded prophecy of the injured woman's husband, just mentioned; and, here again, we have a correspondence with Maule's malediction in the story. Furthermore, there occurs in the "American Note-Books" (August 27, 1837), a reminiscence of the author's family, to the following effect. Philip English, a character well-known in early Salem annals, was among those who suffered from John Hathorne's magisterial harshness, and he maintained in consequence a lasting feud with the old Puritan official. But at his death English left daughters, one of whom is said to have married the son of Justice John Hathorne, whom English had declared he would never forgive. It is scarcely necessary to point out how clearly this foreshadows the final union of those hereditary foes, the Pyncheons and Maules, through the marriage of Phoebe and Holgrave. The romance, however, describes the Maules as possessing some of the traits known to have been characteristic of the Hawthornes: for example, " so long as any of the race
were to be found, they had been marked out from other men—not strikingly, nor as with a sharp line, but with an effect that was felt rather than spoken of — by an hereditary characteristic of reserve." Thus, while the general suggestion of the Hawthorne line and its fortunes was followed in the romance, the Pyncheons taking the place of the author's family, certain distinguishing marks of the Hawthornes were assigned to the imaginary Maule posterity.
There are one or two other points which indicate Hawthorne's method of basing his compositions, the result in the main of pure invention, on the solid ground of particular facts. Allusion is made, in the first chapter of the "Seven Gables," to a grant of lands in Waldo County, Maine, owned by the Pyncheon family. In the "American Note-Books " there is an entry, dated August 12, 1837, which speaks of the Revolutionary general, Knox, and his land-grant in Waldo County, by virtue of which the owner had hoped to establish an estate on the English plan, with a tenantry to make it profitable for him. An incident of much greater importance in the story is the supposed murder of one of the Pyncheons by his nephew, to whom we are introduced as Clifford Pyncheon. In all probability Hawthorne connected with this, in his mind, the murder of Mr. White, a wealthy gentleman of Salem, killed by a man whom his nephew had hired. This took place a few years after Hawthorne's graduation from college, and was one of the celebrated cases of the day, Daniel Webster taking part prominently in the trial. But it should be observed here that such resemblances as these between sundry elements in the work of Hawthorne's fancy and details of reality are only fragmentary, and are rearranged to suit the author's purposes.
In the same way he has made his description of Hepzibah Pyncheon's seven-gabled mansion conform so nearly to several old dwellings formerly or still extant in Salem, that strenuous efforts have been made to fix upon some one of them as the veritable edifice of the romance. A paragraph in the opening chapter has perhaps assisted this delusion that there must have been a single original House of the Seven Gables, framed by flesh-and-blood carpenters; for it runs thus: —
"Familiar as it stands in the writer's recollection — for it has been an object of curiosity with him from boyhood, both as a specimen of the best and stateliest architecture of a long-past epoch, and as the scene of events more full of interest perhaps than those of a gray feudal castle — familiar as it stands, in its rusty old age, it is therefore only the more difficult to imagine the bright novelty with which it first caught the sunshine."
Hundreds of pilgrims annually visit a house in Salem, belonging to one branch of the Ingersoll family of that place, which is stoutly maintained to have been the model for Hawthorne's visionary dwelling. Others have supposed that the now vanished house of the identical Philip English, whose blood, as we have already noticed, became mingled with that of the Hawthornes, supplied the pattern; and still a third building, known as the Curwen mansion, has been declared the only genuine establishment. Notwithstanding persistent popular belief, the authenticity of all these must positively be denied; although it is possible that isolated reminiscences of all three may have blended with the ideal image in the mind of Hawthorne. He, it will be seen, remarks in the Preface, alluding to himself in the third person, that he trusts not to be condemned for "laying out a street that infringes upon nobody's private rights . . . and building a house of materials long in use for constructing castles in the air.'' More than this, he stated to persons still living that the house of the romance was not copied from any actual edifice, but was simply a general reproduction of a style of architecture belonging to colonial days, examples of which survived into the period of his youth, but have since been radically modified or destroyed. Here, as elsewhere, he exercised the liberty of a creative mind to heighten the probability of his pictures without confining himself to a literal description of something he had seen.
While Hawthorne remained at Lenox, and during the composition of this romance, various other literary personages settled or stayed for a time in the vicinity; among them, Herman Melville, whose intercourse Hawthorne greatly enjoyed, Henry James, Sr., Doctor Holmes, J. T. Headley, James Russell Lowell, Edwin P. Whipple, Frederika Bremer, and J. T. Fields; so that there was no lack of intellectual society in the midst of the beautiful and inspiring mountain scenery of the place. "In the afternoons, nowadays," he records, shortly before beginning the work, "this valley in which I dwell seems like a vast basin filled with golden sunshine as with wine;" and, happy in the companionship of his wife and their three children, he led a simple, refined, idyllic life, despite the restrictions of a scanty and uncertain income. A letter written by Mrs. Hawthorne, at this time, to a member of her family, gives incidentally a glimpse of the scene, which may properly find a place here. She says: "I delight to think that you also can look forth, as I do now, upon a broad valley and a fine amphitheatre of hills, and are about to watch the stately ceremony of the sunset from your piazza. But you have not this lovely lake, nor, I suppose, the delicate purple mist which folds these slumbering mountains in airy veils. Mr. Hawthorne has been lying down in the sunshine, slightly fleckered with the shadows of a tree, and Una and Julian have been making him look like the mighty Pan, by covering his chin and breast with long grassblades, that looked like a verdant and venerable beard." The pleasantness and peace of his surroundings and of his modest home, in Lenox, may be taken into account as harmonizing with the mellow serenity of the romance then produced. Of the work, when it appeared in the early spring of 1851, he wrote to Horatio Bridge these words, now published for the first time: —
"' The House of the Seven Gables,' in my opinion, is better than 'The Scarlet Letter;' but I should not wonder if I had refined upon the principal character a little too much for popular appreciation, nor if the romance of the book should be somewhat at odds with the humble and familiar scenery in which I invest it. But I feel that portions of it are as good as anything I can hope to write, and the publisher speaks encouragingly of its success."
From England, especially, came many warm expressions of praise, — a fact which Mrs. Hawthorne, in a private letter, commented on as the fulfilment of a possibility which Hawthorne, writing in boyhood to his mother, had looked forward to. He had asked her if she would not like him to become an author and have his books read in England.
G. P. L.

Scarlet Summer Squash

One of my favorite vegetables is Summer Squash (Yellow), so I researched how it was prepared in the 19th century. The only recipes I found were for frying it. Personally, I've never had it fried. I like it steamed and served with salt and butter. However, I also enjoy the summer squash casserole I've had a various church dinners.

While I was searching for summer squash information I found this unique post:
"The scarlet summer squash is a new and beautiful flat variety, from France, of the acorn species, of a fine scarlet colour." Taken from The Farmer's and Planter's Encyclopedia of rural affairs ©1851.

Of the five books that reference Scarlet Summer Squash they basically repeated the sentence above. The earliest date was from 1841, the latest 1860.

My best guess is the vegetable is no longer in production. However, it would be interesting to find other references from local historical societies that explore the various crops raised in their areas. This will be one of those backseat topics. One that I will continue to note while researching other sources.

This Scarlet squash does have me curious. How did it taste? How well did it grow? Was the color a turn off? Or did this squash not reproduce well? How similar in taste is it to summer squash? Research! You can get lost in it.

English Sparrows

I stumbled upon this little tidbit while reading a history of Essex, MA.

In 1873 English sparrows began to make their presence known here about this year--probably the progeny of those imported into Boston. It was believed that they would benefit agriculturists by destroying ravaging insects, but they did not fulfill expectations, and were soon declared worthless.

In 1889 "The English Sparrow (Passer domesticus) in North America" was published. According to their research the English Sparrow was brought to America via Brooklyn, NY. Eight pairs. They were released into the wilds in the Spring of 1851. Several trips to England were made for these birds and during the last delivery some escaped in Boston. Ten years later (1868) the English Sparrow was seen regularly in the Boston Commons.

Clipper Ships, The Flying Cloud

In 1853 the "Flying Cloud" sailed 14,000 miles from NY to San Francisco in 89 days and 8 hours. The ship was built by Donald McKay and launched in 1851.

You can see a picture and some information about the Flying Cloud at Wikispaces

Another ship Donald McKay built was "The Great Republic." Below is an article from a Naval Journal published in 1854.

THE GREAT REPUBLIC.
This largest ship in the world, this wonderful piece of naval architecture, which has just made its appearance in our harbor, was designed, built, and is owned by Donald McKay, Esq., of Boston. The discovery of California gold, and the rush of emigrants to that land, and the consequent urgent demands for supplies, have called to existence fleets of clipper ships, eight of which, had been built by Mr. McKay, before he designed the Great Republic.

They were the Flying Cloud, Flying Fish, Sovereign of the Seas, Bald Eagle, Empress of the Sea, Staghound, Westward Ho, and Staffordshire. The Flying Cloud he built on his own account. She was 1,700 tons register; made the quickest passage from New York to San •Francisco on record, in 98 days, ran in 24 consecutive hours, 374 geographical miles. Not satisfied with this triumph, he determined to build a larger clipper that would outsail the Flying Cloud. He next designed the Sovereign of the Seas, a ship of 2,400 tons, " then the largest, longest and sharpest merchant ship in the world." She was so large, and the plan of her seemed so dubious and Utopian, that no merchant would invest in her. " Mr. McKay embarked all he was worth in her," turned merchant and freighted her himself She did out-sail the Flying Cloud.— Although her passage to San Francisco was longer, " she sailed in 24 consecutive hours, 430 geographical miles, 56 miles more than the greatest run of the Flying Cloud, and in ten consecutive days she ran 3,144 miles." " In eleven months her gross earnings amounted to $200,000," when he sold her on his own terms.

In these enterprises, " experience had shown, that the passage to California had been lengthened by ths tremendous westerly gales in the vicinity ofs Cape Horn, and that to combat them successfully, vessels of a still larger size and power were necessary.

He accordingly designed the Great Republic, a ship of 4,000 tons register, and full 6,000 tons storage capacity" ; has built her and will sail her on his own account.
" She is 325 feet long 53 feet wideand her whole depth is 39 feet." Shehas four decks, is 8 feet between decks, except between her spar and upper decks which is 7 feet. She has four masts, the aft one is called the spanker mast. From her keel to the main truck is 250 feet. Few of the thousands who have visited her have left with 'any adequate idea of her enormous size.

A house 25 feet front, 50 feet deepand four stories high is as large a tenement as often meets the eye, in this city; a block of 13 such houses is a longer hloc than is often met with, and yet the hull of this monster ship occupies more space than a whole block of such dwellings. A 300 ton ship used to be considered a large craft; yet this ship -will carry as much freight, and consequently displace as much water as a fleet of twenty such vessels.

Our forests could not furnish trees of sufficient size and length, to make her fore, or main, or mizen masts.— " They are built of hard pine, doweled and bolted together, and hooped over all with iron." Her foremast is 44 inches in diameter and 130 feet long, mainmast 44 inches, and 131 feet, mizen, 40 inches and 122 feet. Her main yard is 28 inches in diameter and 120 feet long, is spliced in the middle, being formed of two of the longest pine trees. There has been used in her construction,
Of hard pine 1,5QO,000 feet.
Of white oak, 2,056 tons.
Of iron, 336 1-2 tons.
Of copper, exclusive of sheathing, 56 tons.
Canvas in a suit of sails, 15,653 yirds.
Days' work on her hull 50,000. Her crew is to consist of 100 men and 40 boys.
Notwithstanding her great size, she is one of the most beautiful models afloat. Her Figure-head is the head and beak of the Eagle. Her stern is ornamented with a spread eagle measuring Thirty-six feet from tip to tip of its wings.

Under her spar deck, in the stern and richly ornamented, is the spacious ladies' cabin with three large state rooms on either side, forward of this, the main cabin and eight state rooms; still forward, stewards' rooms, officers' rooms, hospital, and rooms for the boys; a good arrangement to keep the boys from the forecastle and under the eye of the officers. She has also, we are happy to see, a fine spacious and airy forecastle, the men are to be lodged in hammocks, like a ship of war. She has three houses on the spar deck, in one of which is a steam engine of 15 horse power, to do the hard work of the ship, such as pumping, working the flre engine, hoisting topsails, taking in and discharging cargo. With it also is connected a distilery, not of ardent spirit* but of sea water into good fresh water ; no doubt she will be a temperance ship. The engine can be shipped into a huge long boat constructed as a propeller, to be used in calm latitudes for towing the ship. An admirable Yankee contrivance, truly, to help Jack out of the doldrums.— We suppose too it can be used as a lighter to load and unload in ports where there are no wharves.

In one of the houses is a library for the men containing over one thousand volumes of profitable books, and connected with it a teacher tor the boys.

In the construction and arrangement of this noble ship there is evidently an eye to the comfort and improvement of the men, which we are most happy to note and commend.— She is to be commanded by Capt. L. McKay, a brother, we believe, of thebuilder. We bespeak for her a good crew who shall look well to the interests and honor of the Great Republic.

Sewing Machines

The first progress of sewing machines was done for factory work, there were several starts and failures in Europe and America. You can read an overview of the history at About.com

For the purpose of a practical sewing machine for the 19th century housewife we start with Hunt & Elias Howe in 1834.
1846 Elias Howe was issued the first American patent
Then comes Isaac Singer who built the first successful machine. It was this sewing machine that started showing up in homes across America.

Yes, there was a patent war between Singer and Howe and Howe one, making him a wealthy man. Of course, Singer continued his production and paid royalties to Howe.

For purposes of writing historical fiction note these facts.
1846 Howe introduces the first home use sewing machine.
1851 Singer introduced a sewing machine for home use. His was scaled down for home use.
1854 Singer received patent for home sewing machine. This machine had a rigid arm and held the fabric down.
1889 First practical electric sewing machine
By the end of the century Singer claimed 80% of the world market.

Another source for a time line is from Idea Finder.

19th Century Photography

Wikipedia has a great overview of the history of the camera. There are a few dates that should be noted for those of us who write historical fiction.

In 1839 the first commercially produced camera, a Daguerreotype Giroux was sold.

1840 an American Chamfered daguerreian was made

Daguerrotypes are shown at the Great Exhibit in London in 1851 by 1853 New York Daily Tribune estimates that in the US 3 million daguerrotypes are being produced yearly.

The first studio that took portrait shots opened in 1853 in Paris.

In 1854 a boom of portrait studios worldwide over the next decade.

1859 a panoramic camera was invented.

1861-1865 Civil War is photographed by Mathew Brady and staff creating 7000 negatives.

Color Photography is introduced to the world in 1868

Eastman sets up Dry Plate Company in 1880

In 1887 a detective camera was patented by Eastman.

1888 First Kodak camera containing 20 foot roll of paper.

1889 first Kodak camera containing film

1900 Brownie camera introduced.

And behind every camera there is a photographer. I stumbled on this page and thought it might be helpful as well. It is a list of 19th century photographers, along with the dates they were in operation and where. Wikipedia has a great overview of the history of the camera. There are a few dates that should be noted for those of us who write historical fiction.

In 1839 the first commercially produced camera, a Daguerreotype Giroux was sold.

1840 an American Chamfered daguerreian was made

Daguerrotypes are shown at the Great Exhibit in London in 1851 by 1853 New York Daily Tribune estimates that in the US 3 million daguerrotypes are being produced yearly.

The first studio that took portrait shots opened in 1853 in Paris.

In 1854 a boom of portrait studios worldwide over the next decade.

1859 a panoramic camera was invented.

1861-1865 Civil War is photographed by Mathew Brady and staff creating 7000 negatives.

Color Photography is introduced to the world in 1868

Eastman sets up Dry Plate Company in 1880

In 1887 a detective camera was patented by Eastman.

1888 First Kodak camera containing 20 foot roll of paper.

1889 first Kodak camera containing film

1900 Brownie camera introduced.

And behind every camera there is a photographer. I stumbled on this page and thought it might be helpful as well. It is a list of 19th century photographers, along with the dates they were in operation and where.

3 cent piece

Yes, you read that correctly back in 1851 a three cent piece was minted. Postage rates had gone down from 5 cents to 3 cents giving people the ability to have a single coin to make small purchases with. The coin was smaller than our current dime and was minted from 1851 - 1873. They were made of silver but also included with cooper so folks wouldn't melt them down for their silver value.

There were two different three cent pieces. The three piece silver and the three cent nickel. The later was produced during the Civil War to help stop the hoarding of silver coins. The nickel was produced from 1865-1889.

You can read more about this at Wikipedia

A three cent piece became the discussion of politicians again in 1911 but that isn't our century of focus.

You can also do a search at Google books and come up with several references of three cent pieces. Along with the "Laws of the United States relating to loans, paper money, banking, and coinage, 1790 - 1895. In there you'll find the percentage of metals to use to produce the coin.

Ice Cream Pioneer

Jacob Fussell a Baltimore dairyman on Jun 15th, 1851 sets up the first Ice Cream factory. He opened the factory to keep a steady demand for his cream. He sold his ice cream at half the price charged by other (25 cents a quart). By 1856 the manufacturing operation sprouted several parlors in Washington, D.C and Boston.

Fussell's development of the ice cream industry is without question. However, there are a couple other people that without their inventions/ice cream making techniques that came before Fussell that I feel should be mentioned.

Augustus Jackson created new recipes for making ice cream in 1832. He was a confectioner.

Secondly, Nancy Johnson patented a hand-cranked freezer that is still the basic design of making ice cream today in 1846.

Posted by Lynn Coleman at 6:51 AM 2 comments
Labels: 1832, 1846, 1851, Food, Industry


WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2010
3 cent piece

Yes, you read that correctly back in 1851 a three cent piece was minted. Postage rates had gone down from 5 cents to 3 cents giving people the ability to have a single coin to make small purchases with. The coin was smaller than our current dime and was minted from 1851 - 1873. They were made of silver but also included with cooper so folks wouldn't melt them down for their silver value.

There were two different three cent pieces. The three piece silver and the three cent nickel. The later was produced during the Civil War to help stop the hoarding of silver coins. The nickel was produced from 1865-1889.

You can read more about this at Wikipedia

A three cent piece became the discussion of politicians again in 1911 but that isn't our century of focus.

You can also do a search at Google books and come up with several references of three cent pieces. Along with the "Laws of the United States relating to loans, paper money, banking, and coinage, 1790 - 1895. In there you'll find the percentage of metals to use to produce the coin.

Morse Code

Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in 1837.
In 1838 he developed morse code.
Here's an image of his original code.



Later this code was altered but only slightly to be International Morse.

May 1, 1844 the first telegraphed news item was sent. The nomination of Henry Clay for the Whig Party.

Western Union started in 1851

by 1854 the telegraph transmitter sound was added and the reader now could "hear" the telegraph which changed the system from a paper-based system to acoustic.

Sailing Ships And Records

Below is a list of Sailing Ships and the time it took for them to sail from point A to point B. These stats come from an 1889 publication the Statistician and Economist.

SAILING VESSELS.
1851, FLYING CLOUD; American clipper ship; New York to San Francisco; 13,610 miles; 89 days; sailed 374 miles in 1 day.
1852, SworDFISH; American ship; same route; to inside of Farallones; 87 days; to port, 90 days.
1853, FLYING FISH; American ship; same route; 92 days.
1854, FLYING CLOUD; American ship; same route; 89 days and 19 hours.
1860, ANDREw JACKsoN; American clipper ship; same route; 90 days and 12 hours.
1853, FLYING DUTCHMAN: American clipper ship; same route, and return; discharged and loaded, wharf to wharf; 27,220 miles; 6 months and 21 days. San Francisco to the Equator; 2,380 miles; 11 days and 9 hours; rounded Cape Horn; 6,380 miles; 35 days.
1853, CoNTEST; American half-clipper ship; San Francisco to New York; 13,619 miles; 79 days.
1853, TRADE WIND; American clipper ship; same route; 75 days. 1857, FLYING DUTCHMAN; American clipper ship; same route; to off Staten Island; inside of 80 days; but was cast away and did not complete the voyage.
1870, YoUNG AMERICA; American clipper ship; same route; to Light-ship off Sandy Hook; loaded; 13,580 miles; 80 days and 20 hours.
1852, NoTHERN LIGHT; American half-clipper ship; San Francisco to Boston; in ballast; 13,950 miles; 75 days.
1854, RED JACKET, Am. ship; Sandy Hook, N. Y., to Liverpool; 13d. 1h. 25m.
1860, PANAMA; American ship; San Francisco to Liverpool; 13,800 miles; 86d. 17h.
1872, OBERoN; British ship; same route; 96 days.
I873, NoHTH.AMERICAN, American ship; same route; 94 days.
1870, GoLDEN GATE; British iron clipper ship; Liverpool to San Francisco; 13,800 miles; 100 days.
1872, ARCHIBALD FULLER: British bark; same route; 101 days.
1873, YoUNG AMERICA; American ship; same route; sailed 16,000 miles; 99 days.
1861, EQUATOR; Swedish ship; London to San Francisco; 14,200 miles; 113 days.
1871, ALLAHABAD; British ship; San Francisco to Sidney; 6,000 miles; 39 days.
1875, GLORY OF THE SEAs; American ship: same route; 38 days.
1862, FLYING DRAGON; American ship; New Castle to San Francisco; 45 days
1871, SwALLow; American ship; San Francisco to New Castle; 39 days.
1854, SIERRA NEvADA; American schooner, Hong Kong to San Francisco; 6,090 miles; 34 days.
1856. BLACK WARRIOR; American Ship; same route; 36 days.
1867, WiscATA; British ship; Yokohama to San Francisco; 4,750 miles; to S. F. bar, 21 days; to port, 23 days.
1884, JAMEs STAFFoRD; American Bark; same route; 1,116 tons; 21d. 12h., arrive Jan. 2d, 1885.
1854, CoMET; American clipper ship; Liverpool to Hong Kong: 13,040 miles; 84d.
1855 EUTERPE; American half-clipper ship; New York to Calcutta; 12,500 miles; 78d.
1861, CoMET; American bark; Honolulu to San Francisco; 2,080 miles; 10d. 20h.
1874, CANADA; American ship; San Francisco to Callao; 5,000 miles; 33d.
1874, NAUTILUs, American brig, Tahiti to San Francisco; 4,200; 23d.
1886, GLENAvoN; English Tea ship; Hong Kong to New York; 13,000 miles, 53 days; sailed May 28th,; arrived July 19th, 1886.
1855, MARY WHITRIDGE: American clipper ship; Baltimore to Liverpool; 3,400 miles; 13 days and 7 hours. 1859, DREADNouGHT; American clipper ship; Sandy Hook to Liverpool, 3,000 miles; 13 days and 8 hours. 1867, THORNTON; American full-ship; same route; 13 days and 9 hours.
1860, DREADNoughT; Sandy Hook to off Queenstown; 2,760 miles; 9 days and 17 hours.
1865, DREADNouGHT, Honolulu to New Bedford; 13,470 miles; 82 days.
1866, HENRIETTA; American schooner yacht; Sandy Hook to the Needles; 3,053 miles; 13 days, 21 hours, 55 minutes and 16 seconds.
1869, SAPPHo; American schooner yacht: Light-ship off Sandy Hook to Kinsale Head; 2,754 miles; 12 days, 7 hours and 51 minutes; to Queenstown; 2,857 miles 12 days, 9 hours and 34 minutes.
1869, DAUNTLEss; American schooner yacht; Light-ship off Sandy Hook to Queenstown; 2,770 miles; 12 days, 17 hours, 6 minutes and 12 seconds.
1866, TAEPING, ARIEL and SERICA; British clipper ships; Foo-chou-foo Bar, China to the Downs, England; 13,500 miles; 98 days. The Taeping reached Blackwall in 99 days.
1882, BAccHUs; British ship; Singapore to San Francisco; 7,700 miles; 49% days.

1851 Fashions

I'm limited in what I could find from 1851 but here are the five images I've found so far and these are French fashions.

Baths & Bathing Part 2 Cold & other types of Baths

This is the second part of the article which I posted last Friday.

I. Affusion of cold water over the surface of the body, has been adopted with success, for arresting the progress of some fevers. In scarlatina, &c, sponging the body with tepid water, or water mixed with vinegar, has been employed instead.

II. Air bath. a. (Cold.) The mere exposure of the body in a state of nudity to the atmosphere, forms the common air bath. It has been found useful in allaying slight degrees of febrile excitement, and to act as a mild tonic, when not too long continued.
b. (Hot.) This consists in placing the patient in an apartment to which heated air is admitted. It is generally considered to be more stimulant than the vapor bath; it produces a powerful perspiration, and has been recommended in cholera, congestive fevers, rheumatism, scaly skin-diseases, &.C.

III. Chlorine bath. Water holding in solution a small quantity of chlorine gas. Its action has not been much examined. I may mention here, that I have seen several cases of itch cured by two or three immersions in a warm bath, to which a little chloride of lime has been added.
IV. Cold bath. The temperature of this bath varies from 45° to 85°. It is considered tonic and stimulant, when not too long continued. To produce its full effects, the patient should feel a pleasant glow upon the surface of the body, immediately on coming out of the water. If a sensation of coldness or shivering follows, it should not be repeated. The duration of the immersion may vary from two minutes to a quarter of an hour, depending upon the temperature of the water, and the feelings of the bather; the latter period not being too long, provided swimming or violent exercise be adopted in the bath. The temperature of the water of the rivers, and on the coast of England, varies in summer from 55° to 70°.

The following hints on cold bathing may be interesting to the reader
1. "In using the cold bath, it is of essential I importance to know that there is no truth in the vulgar opinion, that it is safer to enter the water I when the body is cool, and that persons heated by exercise, and beginning to perspire, should wait till they are perfectly cooled.
"It is a rule liable to no exception, that moderate exercise ought always to precede cold bathing; for neither previous rest, nor exercise to a violent degree, is proper on this occasion.
2. "The duration of cold bathing ought to be short, and must be determined by the bodily constitution and sensation of the individual; for healthy persons may continue in it much longer than valetudinarians. In summer it may be enjoyed for an hour, when in spring or autumn, one or two minutes will be sufficient. Under similar circumstances, cold water acts on aged and lean persons with more violence than on the young and corpulent; hence the former, even in the hottest days of summer, can seldom with safety remain in the bath longer than a quarter of an hour; while the latter are generally able to sustain its impressions for a much longer period.
3. "The head should first come in contact with the water, either by immersion, by being showered upon, or by covering it for a minute with a wet cloth, and then plunging head foremost into the water.
4. "As the immersion will be less felt when it is effected suddenly, and as it is of consequence that the first impression should be uniform over the body, the bath ought not to be entered slowly or timorously, but with a degree of boldness. A contrary method, in some constitutions, is dangerous, as it propels the blood from the upper to the lower parts of the body, and thus predisposes to a fit of apoplexy. For these reasons, the shower bath is attended with considerable advantages, because it transmits the water quickly over the whole body.
5. "The morning is the proper time for using the cold bath, unless it be in a river; in which case the afternoon, or from one to two hours before sunset, will be more eligible. On the whole, one hour after a light breakfast, or two hours before, or four after dinner, are the best periods of the day for this purpose.
6. "While the bather is in the water, he should not remain inactive, but apply brisk and general friction, and move his arms and legs, to promote the circulation of the fluids from the heart to the extremities. It is extremely imprudent to continue in the water till a second chilliness attacks the body.
7. "Immediately after leaving the bath, it is nscessary that the bather should quickly wipe his body dry with a coarse dry cloth. He should not afterwards sit inactive, but if the season permit, he ought to take gentle exercise, till the usual circulation, and the customary action of the muscles, be restored.
8. "The best place for cold bathing is in the sea, or a clear river; but where neither of these can be conveniently had, the shower bath may be used.
9. "The principal advantages to be expected from cold bathing, besides the salutary exercise, •re either the reduction of excessive heat, or the
producing of a salutary reaction of the system. Ia the former, it has been found useful in several fevers. Affusion, however, in those cases, is most advisable, and more efficacious in reducing the morbid temperature, than immersion. But the cold affusion must not be employed in the cold stage. As soon as the hot fit is formed, the cold affusion is to be used immediately, and repeated occasionally. In the sweating stage, it is to be cautiously avoided.
"In nervous diseases, too, the cold bath has sometimes been of service.
"In gouty and rheumatic complaints, in diseases of the hip-joint, lumbago, or sciatica, after the removal of those complaints by the use of the vapor or hot bath, and in conjunction with other remedies, the alternation of the cold with the vapor bath fortifies the constitution against a return of such attacks.
10. "The best preparation for cold bathing, is to begin with a warm, then a tepid, and afterwards a cool bath; after this course the bather may in general plunge with safety into the cold bath. In most cases, a bath every second day, from the commencement of the warm bathing to the end of a fortnight, will be sufficiently frequent; afterwards the cold immersion may be continued daily."

V. The douche consists in the projection of a stream of cold water from a tube upon any part of the body. It is powerfully sedative, and has been long employed in inflammation of the brain. It should be used with caution, as its action is so powerful that a full inflammatory pulse frequently sinks into one almost imperceptible, in a very short Bpace of time. It is one of the principal methods of applying cold water adopted by the hydropathists.
VI. Medicated baths. These consist of water holding in solution various medicinal substances; as wine-baths, milk-baths, soup-baths—these have been used to convey nourishment to the body j sulphureous baths, mercurial baths, &c., used in skin diseases, syphilis, &c.; aromatic and chalybeate baths, employed as tonics; acid baths, sometimes used to remove the effects of mercury, &c.

VII. Nitromuriatic bath. Prep. Mix 3 fluid ounces of muriatic acid with 2 fluid ounces of nitric acid, and 5 fluid ounces of distilled water, and add 3 ounces of the above mixture to every gallon of water in the bath. Should the bath prick the skin, a little more water may be added.
Remarks. This bath was first introduced as a remedy for liver complaints. It must be contained in a wooden vessel, and may be used as a hip, knee, or foot-bath, a knee-bath being the one generally adopted in England. The inventor, Dr. Scott, once plunged the Duke of Wellington up to his chin in a bath of this kind in India, and thus cured him of a severe hepatic affection.

VIII. Sulphur bath. a. The patient is placed (not including the head) in a species of box, at the bottom of which is put a piece of hot iron, on which a little sulphur is thrown, great care being taken to avoid the escape of the fumes, and the inhalation of the same by either the patient or the attendants. Another method is to dissolve a little sulphuret of potassium in the water of a common warm bath. The proportion is 1 oz. of the sul phuret to 8 gallons of water. This form of the bath is not, however, quite as efficient as the gaseous one first described.
6. (Dupuytren's gelatino-sulphurous bath.) This is formed by dissolving 1 oz. of the sulphuret of potassium and 4 oz. of Flanders glue, in every 8 gallons of the water of a warm bath. It is an imitation of the celebrated waters of Bareges, the glue supplying the place of the baregine found in the latter.
Remarks. The sulphur-bath under any form is a powerful remedy in every description of skin disease. Leprosy, the most obstinate of all, has been cured by it. The common itch requires only one or two applications of the sulphur-bath to eradicate it entirely. All forms of scurf, whether on the face, head, or body, yield to its influence. Local irritation occasioned by minute pimples, or inflammatory patches of disordered skin, is speedily subdued and removed. Scrofula, and also those affections for which the warm or vapor baths have been recommended, will derive powerful assistance from the sulphur-bath.

IX. Tepid bath. The temperature of this bath varies from 85° to 92° Fahr., 88° being considered a medium temperature. Its action on the body is intermediate between that of the warm and cold baths, and is admirably adapted for the purposes of cleanliness, and promoting the healthy action of the skin. It is frequently employed as a preparative to cold bathing.

X. The warm bath has a temperature of from 92° to 100° Fahr., or about that of the human body.
Remarks. The warm bath is at once the most luxurious and effective mode of bathing, and if taken under proper restrictions, is highly conducive to health. If only on the grounds of personal cleanliness, this species of bathing has the highest claim on our attention. "The sensations attendant upon immersion in a warm bath are most delicious. Its effect is, first to increase the circulation of the blood, and to determine it to the skin; after a few minutes an agreeable and universal increase of heat is experienced; the face, and forehead generally, are soon bedewed with perspiration: a pleasing and prevailing calm is felt, mentally and physically; and after remaining in some 12 or 15 minutes, coming out and dressing, the refreshing feeling and consciousness of personal purity give rise to associations of the most happy character. The warm bath may be taken at any time during the day: it is perhaps better to employ it upon an empty stomach, or before a meal, rather than after one. The temperature should be from 98° to 100° ; the time of immersion should not exceed 15 minutes. The old idea that it is relaxing, is erroneous, except where persons remain in for hours, as some people do, or where it is taken too often."
The warm bath, in a medical point of view, is especially adapted to general torpor of the system, liver and bowel complaints, hypochondriasis, hysterical affections, morbid suppressions, dry skin, nearly all cutaneous and nervous diseases, chronic rheumatism, &c. As a tonic or stimulant after excessive fatigue, great mental excitement, or physical exertion, it is unequalled, and furnishes one of the most wholesome, and at the same time I
luxurious sources of refreshment we are acquainted with.

XI. The vapor-bath consists in vapor being admitted to the apartment, and thus not only is tha body immersed in it, but it is inhaled as well. It is used at different temperatures, known by the name of tepid, when the temperature varies from 90° to 100°; warm, when from 100° to 112°; and hot, from 110° to 130°; but when the vapor is not inhaled, the heat of the latter may be raised to 160°.

Remarks. The principal action of the vaporbath is to produce a copious diaphoresis. In fact, it is the most powerful diaphoretic agent known. It is a certain specific for a cold; and in all those eases wherein warm bathing is recommended, the vapor-bath ranks highest. It constitutes the most powerful pharmaceutical remedy existent: combined with friction, or shampooing, its utility in cases requiring an additional action, as in contracted muscles, tendons, &c, is much increased; "and instances are numerous, where the lame have thrown aside their crutches, and the bedridden have again mixed with the world, after a few applications of this bath." "It is no uncommon thing to hear a patient start and shriek with agony before entering the bath, and to receive his congratulations and thanks on his coming out: they will oftentimes exclaim,—' It is wonderful! I could not have believed it—/ am well—I can walk—-I can jump .''"
The vapor-bath is administered in chronic rheumatism, stiff joints, long-continued indigestion, gout, lumbago, sciatica, scrofulous swellings, fever, skiu diseases, &c, but should be avoided in acute inflammations, and for persons of a very full and excitable habit of body.

XII. The shower-bath. This may be regarded as a modification of the cold bath or plunge bath, and its effects are similar. The cold shower-bath is however less alarming to nervous persons, and less liable to produce cramp, than cold immersion: it may be considered as the best and safest mode of cold bathing, and is recommended in many nervous complaints. It has also afforded relief in some cases of insanity.

Where the saving of expense is an object, or a regular shower-bath is not to be procured, a large common watering-pot filled with cold water may be used as a substitute. Let the patient sit undressed upon a stool, which may be placed in a large tub, and pour the water from the pot over the head, face, neck, shoulders, and all parts of the body, progressively down to the feet, until the whole has been thoroughly wetted.

Pickled Beef

Preserving foods is an interest of mine for my historical characters. Today's tidbit is about pickling beef. Today's Corned beef is considered a pickling process but commonly called brining.

BEEF, PICKLED. Prep. Rub each piece of beef very lightly with salt; let them lie singly on a tray or board for 24 hours, then wipe them very dry. Pack them closely in a tub, taking care that it is perfectly sweet and clean. Have the pickle ready, made thus: Boil four gallons of soft water with ten pounds of coarse salt, four ounces of saltpetre, and two pounds of coarse brown sugar; let it boil 15 minutes, and skim it while boiling very clean. When perfectly cold pour it on the beef, laying a weight on the top to keep the meat under the pickle. This quantity is sufficient for 100 lbs. of beef if closely packed.
Source: A Cyclopaedia of Six thousand Practical Receipts ©1851

PICKLING BEEF—Rub a quarter of a pound of saltpetre and a little brown sugar on the beef; the following day season it with half a pound of bay salt, one ounce of black pepper, one ounce of allspice. Let the beef lie in pickle fourteen days, turning it every day, adding a little common salt three times per week ; then wash it, and put it into a glazed earthen pipkin, deep enough to cover it. Lay beef suet under it; add one pint of water, cover the top with paste and then paper, or with a plate instead of paste. Bake seven hours in an oven; pour off the liquor, but do not cut till cold. Will keep three months.
The Godey's Lady's Book Receipts and Household Hints ©1870

Here's an interesting tidbit regarding the marketing of pickled beef
5. In pickled beef. For this purpose alum salt is absolutely indispensable. Beef could not be pickled without it; and, therefore, to find a market, the beef cattle were driven off upon the hoof. Mr. B. pronounced it to be a losing business, a most disadvantageous traffic, to any country to drive away its beef cattle to be sold on the hoof. The immediate loss in that operation was nearly one-half the value of the beef, and the whole loss of the hide, tallow, and offal; the consequential loss was, in the purchase of leather and manufactures of leather, and the purchase of soap and candles, and also in the loss of leather, soap, and candles for exportation. Pickled beef in New Orleans was usually from eight to twelve dollars a barrel, which was from four to six cents a pound. The farmers of the West usually sell their cattle at from 1£ to 2j cents per pound; thus suffering a loss of nearly one-half] on the beef; the hide and tallow, which is worth as much as the beef sells for at such rates, being thrown into the bargain, and given away. The disastrous effect of this suicidal business was seen in every town in the West, where foreign hides from South America, foreign leather, boots, shoes, and saddlery, and foreign soap and candles, from Europe and the Atlantic States, were daily exhibited
for sale.
Source: Register of Debates in Congress ©1831

Below are a three ads displaying that is was a commercial item back in the 19th Century

Baths & Bathing

Hi all,
I thought this a rather interesting tidbit regarding baths and bathing taken from "A Cyclopaedia of Six Thousand Practical Receipts" ©1851

BATHS, BATHING. General Remarks. The practice of bathing is not only an act of cleanliness, but is eminently conducive to health. The delicate pores of the skin soon become choked by the solid matter of the perspiration and the accumulation of dirt, and require frequent ablution with water, to preserve their natural functions in a state of activity. The mere wearing of flannel and washing the more exposed parts of the body, and the daily use of clean linen, is but an imperfect attempt at cleanliness, without being accompanied by entire submersion of the body in water. The phlegmatic Englishman, unlike his liveiy French neighbor, seems perfectly incredulous on this point, and would sooner spend his sixpence or his shilling in a glass of grog, or a ride to Greenwich, than in the healthy recreation of the bath.

Bathing is not only conducive to cleanliness, but to both the physical and mental health. The body cannot be in a state of lively health, while the proper offices of the skin are interfered with, any more than would be the case with either of the other excretory organs, placed in a like condi tion. Nor can the mind, dependent as it is on the organization of the body, escape unharmed, when the animal functions are imperfectly performed. Intellectual and moral vigor are universally promoted by the imperceptible yet controlling influence of the physical system, and he who would increase the former, cannot go on a safer method than that which tends to preserve or improve the health.

"On the continent, 'Maisons des Bains' or bathing-houses, are almost as numerous as the chemists and druggists are in this country. The inferenco necessarily is, that bathing in France is as much patronized as physic is in England. The French need the latter less, because they live more temperately, are less ground down to think and work; and because they pertorm general personal ablution (to the benefit of one of the mos* important functions of life, namely, free perspiration) with as much zeal as though it were a religious duty. The inducement to such frequent use of the warm bath among our neighbors, may be fancied to be the low charges for bathing, and the little value the Messieurs attach to their own time. The first notion is a fallacy. Warm bathing on the continent is not cheaper in comparison with all the other necessaries or luxuries of life, viewed in connection with a foreigner's resources, than it is in England. With regard to the apparently little importance they attach to their own time, they are wise enough to discover, that life is not one jot sweeter by passing sixteen hours a day behind the desk or counter, to the exclusion of all recreation, except recreation be to count the gains of such exilement; or to indulge the hope of amassing a sufficiency to do the ' important' at the close of a wearied life, when and which the infirmities of age forbid to enjoy. A Frenchman lives, works, and enjoys himself to the last. Prince Talleyrand died in armor; his life was a bouquet in which all but the sweetest flowers were excluded. A Frenchman takes the bath for the mental and bodily gratification it affords; he can appreciate the luxury of it, while at the same time he is sensible of its healthfulness. An Englishman is such a stiffnecked fellow, that in most things, he will only do that which pleases him best, and his standard of pleasure is estimated by that which adds most to his hoard, and which gives the greatest amount of satisfaction to the inward man. Advise him to take a warm bath; the answer is, he cannot spare the time, and he hates the bother of uncravating, &c. The waste of the one and the trouble of the other add not to his income, whatever they may to his health. The roast beef, the brandied wines, and the London-brewed are his stomach's deities, the minor godships being blue pills and black draughts. The latter are indispensable attendants upon the former, to temper down Mr. Bull, lest he become a giant in noses and carbuncles. A Frenchman knows no ill but what pleasure denies; he rarely has dyspepsia, gout, rheumatism, or fevers. Half his life is spent in Elysium,—half ours in Purgatory. Indigestion, headaches, restless nights—the blues when awake, and the terribles when asleep—fall to the lot of the mind-absorbed and grossly-fed Londoner, while our lively Parisian, with his light meal and still more lightsome body, finds trouble only in broken limbs, or positive starvation."

The warm bath, especially, is one of the most valuable, but most neglected remedies which we possess. It is generally imagined by Englishmen, that bathing is but little fitted for their country, owing to the changefulness of the climate, and that to attempt to place a sick man in a bath in any other than the mildest weather, would be to subject him to all the horrors of " sniffling, sneezing, coughing, and relapse." But that such results of bathing have no existence beyond the minds of the fearful, ignorant, and prejudiced, must be acknowledged by every candid person. Even the cold bath, as in the treatment termed "hydropathy," is beneficial when applied with judgment; and it is only when common discretion is not exercised, that bathing under any shape ever proves injurious.

Some persons are very susceptible of taking cold, and are themselves "living barometers;"
but even to them warm bathing would prove ad. vantageous. One half of the rheumatic twinges, swollen limbs, and cramped joints that occur in such persons, would give way before proper perseverance and confidence in this remedy.
Whenever in delicate persons the cold bath is deemed proper, the warm, tepid, and cool bath may be used as a preparative, and when the former is at length adopted, it should be at first only for one or two minutes at a time, gradually increased to a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes; care being taken never to remain immersed sufficiently long to induce a sensation of cold on coming out. A healthy reaction should follow the bath, and a pleasing glow of warmth should diffuse itself over the surface of the body. If this be not the case, the bath has either been indulged in too long, or been injudiciously taken. When any symptoms appear that contra-indicate the use of the cold bath, the tepid, warm, or vapor bath may be substituted, according to circumstances.

In conclusion, I may remark, that bathing, especially in water at a temperature nearly similar to that of our bodies, (tepid bath,) is at once lie of the most cleanly and health-preserving luxuries, or, I should say, necessaries of life. The following short notice of each description of bath, is all the space that can be spared for this subject.