order him hither & I sholle provoyde for him and Cargos of Mol he he Cargo of molasses & Rom M' pesiote hage yet of yore 4 hhd of tobako Wethe Mr. Peixotto (?) has yet of yours 4 hhd of tobacco which hage avford Me gentlaymain yov May asiovre yore selfe that I Wille has offered me. Gentlemen, you may assure yourself that I will & rum. Dov My otmost indevor to Rekovor the slop & Cargos or pay for it do my utmost endeavor to recover the sloop & cargo or pay for it. thare is No provegion in the playse Nor lekor byt Mol & Rom There is no provision in the place nor liquor, but molasses & rum & Nof & Bille of Extiange Varay skayse & olle so Monay We have enough, & Bills of Exchange very scarce, & also money. We have lost 11 horses Riste in haiste for the slop saille this day Nomore lost 11 horses. Writ in haste for the sloop sails this day. No more at pregent bvt yore homble sarvante at present, but your humble servant, [Endorsed] Copay of a later sent to C Thomas Savage [ ]pa Svryname Novem; y. 27° 1712 JOHN CABOT. A FEBRUARY MEETING, 1907 STATED MEETING of the Society was held at No. 25 Beacon Street, Boston, on Thursday, 28 February, 1907, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the President, GEORGE LYMAN KITTREDGE, LL.D., in the chair. The Records of the last Stated Meeting were read and approved. The CORRESPONDING Secretary reported that a letter had been received from Mr. THOMAS WILLING BALCH accepting Corresponding Membership. Mr. LINDSAY SWIFT exhibited a curious manuscript on vellum dating, perhaps, from the fourteenth century, and containing a variant and a continuation of the romantic chronicle of Britain first written in Latin by Geoffrey of Monmouth, then translated into French and thence into English, and generally known as the Brut. This manuscript, which is in excellent condition and in a fair hand, was bought by one William Naseby in the reign of Edward IV for about seven pounds, equal to eighty or ninety pounds at the present day. On behalf of Mr. WORTHINGTON C. FORD, a Corresponding Member, Mr. HENRY H. EDES communicated a letter of Directions written by Washington to his nephew, Major George Augustine Washington, and some letters, never before published in full, written by Washington to Anthony Whiting, the manager of his Mount Vernon estates. These follow. LETTERS OF WASHINGTON, 1789-1793. I DIRECTIONS FOR MAJOR GEORGE AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON.1 MOUNT VERNON, 31 March, 1789 Having given very full and ample details of the intended crops, and my ideas of the modes of managing them at the several Plantations, little, if these are observed, need be added on this subject. But as the profit of every Farm is greater, or less in proportion to the quantity of manure which is made thereon, or can be obtained, and by keeping the fields in good condition - These two important requisites ought never to be lost sight of. - To effect the first, besides the ordinary means of Farmyards, cowpens, sheepfolds, stables, &c, it would be of essential use if certain proportion of the force of each Plantation could be appropriated in the Summer or early part of Autumn to the purpose of getting up mud to be ameliorated by the frosts of winter for the spring crops whch are to follow. And to accomplish the latter the Gullies in these fields (previous to their being sown with Grain and Grass seeds) ought invariably to be filled up. By so doing and a small sprinkling of manure thereon they will acquire a green-sward, and strength of soil sufficient to preserve them; and these are the only means I know of by which exhausted land can be recovered, and our estates rescued from destruction. Although a precise number of Tobacco hills is, by my general directions, allotted to each Plantation, yet my real intention is, that no more ground shall be appropriated to this crop than what is either naturally very good (for which purpose small spots may be chosen) or which can be made strong by manure of some kind or another, for my object is to labor for profit, and therefore to substitute quality instead of quantity, there being (except in the article of manuring) no difference between attending a good Plantation and an indifferent one- but in any event let the precise number of hills be ascertained that an estimate may be formed of their yield to the thousand. Being thoroughly convinced, from experience, that embezzlement & waste of Crops, (to say nothing of the various accidents to which they are liable to delays) are encreased proportionately to the time they are 1 These Directions are printed in my Writings of Washington, xii. 230–234, and in Sparks's Writings of Washington, xii. 336-339, but are reprinted here as an introduction to the letters to Whiting. suffered to remain on hand. My wish is, as soon as circumstances will permit after the Grain is harvested, that it may be got out of the Straw (especially at the Plantations where there are no Barns) and either disposed of in proper deposits, or sold if the price is tolerable (after, if it is wheat, it has been converted into flour) when this work is set about as the sole, or as a serious business, it will be executed properly. But when a little is done now, and a little then, there is more waste, even if there should be no embezzlement than can well be conceived. There is one or two other matters which I beg may be invariably attended to. The first is, to begin Harvest as soon as the grain can be cut with safety; - and the next to get it in the ground in due season. Wheat should be sown by the last of August, at any rate by the 10th of Sept, and other fall Grain, as soon after as possible. Spring grain & Grass seeds should be sown as soon as the ground can possibly (with propriety) be prepared for their reception. For such essential purposes as may absolutely require the aid of the Ditchers, they may be taken from that work. At all other times they must proceed in the manner which has been directed formerly. And in making the New Roads from the Ferry to the Mill and from the Tumbling Dam across the Neck till it communicates with the Alexandria Road, as has been pointed out on the spot. The Ditch from the Ferry to the Mill along this Road may be a common four foot one. But from the Mill to the Tumbling Dam and thence across the head of the old field by Muddy hole farm, must be five feet wide at top - but no deeper than the four feet one & the same width at bottom as the latter. After the Carpenters have given security to the old Barn in the Neck, they must proceed to the completion of the new one at the Ferry, according to the Plan & the explanations which have been given. Gunner & Tom Davis should get bricks made for this purpose; and if John Knowles could be spared (his work, not only with respect to time, but quantity & quality to be amply returned) to examine the bilged walls, & the security of them; but to level & lay the foundations of the other work when the Bricks are ready, it would be rendering me an essential service, and as the work might be returned in time & proper season would be no detriment to your building. When the Brick work is executed at the Ferry Barn, Gunner & Davis must repair to D[ogue] Run & make bricks there; at the place & in the manner which has been directed that I may have no sammon bricks in that building. Oyster shells should be bought whenever they are offered for sale – if good and reasonable. -- Such monies as you may receive for Flour, Barley, Fish, as also for other things wch can be spared & sold, as also for Rents, the use of the Jacks &c, and the Book debts which may be tried though little is expected from the justice of those who have been long endulged, may be applied to the payment of workmen's wages as they arise, Fairfax, and the Taxes; and likewise to the payment of any just debts which I may be owing (in small sums) & have not been able to discharge previous to my leaving the State. The residue may await further orders. As I shall want shingles, Plank, Nails, Rum for Harvest, Scantling, & such like things which would cost me money at another time, Fish may be bartered for them. The Scantling (if any is taken) must be such as will suit for the barn now about [building], or that at Dogue Run, without waste, and of good quality. I find that it is indispensably necessary for two reasons, to save my own clover & Timothy seed: First, because it is the only certain means of having it good & in due season, and secondly because I find it is a heavy article to purchase. Save all the honey locust seed you can, of that which belongs to me; if more can be obtained the better. And in the fall plant them on the Ditches where they are to remain about 6 inches apart one seed from another. The seeds which are on the case in my study ought without loss of time to be sown & planted in my Botanical garden, & proper mem? kept of the time & places. You will use your best endeavors to obtain the means for the support of G. & L. Washington,' who I expect will board (till something further can be decided on) with Doct! Craik; who must be requested to see that they are decently, and properly provided with cloths from M Porter's store, who will give them a credit on my becoming answerable to him for the payment. And as I know of no resource that Harriott has for supplies but from me, Fanny 2 will, from time to time as occasion may require have such things got for her on my account as she shall judge necessary. Mr Washington will I expect, leave her tolerably well provided with common articles for the present. My memorandum books, which will be left in my study, will inform you of the times and places when, & where, different kinds of Wheat. Grass seeds, &c., were sown. Let particular attention be paid to the quality & quantity of each sort, that a proper judgm! of them may be 1 George Steptoe, Lawrence, and Harriott Washington were children of General Washington's brother, Samuel Washington. 2 The wife of Maj. George A. Washington. |