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and place dunnage between. Keep the bulk of fish all together, and do not stow it over the oil, as the pressure may cause leakage.

601. "In stowing a cargo of oil and skins, if you get the latter loose, make a bulk of them forward or aft in the bottom to trim ship, as they are heavy. If in bundles stow them away among the lower tiers of casks. In loading a cargo of drums for the Brazils, prefer clean stone ballast. A vessel of 200 tons register will require 30 to 40 tons. If you have not drums enough engaged to fill the ship, lay the ballast in the bottom as high as the keelson. If otherwise, stow some in the bottom and the remainder among the lower tiers, say up to the third tier. Ballast the same way for the West Indies, &c., unless you get pickled fish, which will answer the purpose. Use can-hooks for loading dry-fish is casks, or pickled fish, but slings for oil or blubber. The Newfoundland tun of oil is 256 gallons."

602. Labrador Trade. After describing the best mode of loading salt, which will be found under that heading, a gentleman of great experience recommends the management of a vessel of say 120 tons as follows.

603. When chartered for the United Kingdom, you will probably have oil and blubber as well as fish; ascertain how much there is of each, the sizes of the casks, &c. The oil and blubber may go in the fore hold, as there is generally room left forward; should there be a full cargo, some ballast will be required forward among the blubber and oil to trim the vessel; as they take more room than the same weight in fish, there will be a chance of filling her up forward. Arrange the after ends of the casks in a tier; they will not then overhang or leak on the fish in the main hold. Blubber must be put below, as it is heavier than oil, and the casks more likely to burst; a puncheon of blubber should be at least four inches out-commonly called dry inches; when the cask is stowed, entirely remove the vent plug. If the blubber is well boiled before it is put in, it is not so likely to work, and the cask may be filled to within two inches. If it has been rolled any distance, remove the vent plug to let out the air, and replace it before slinging; casks often burst for want of this precaution. The vent plugs of the oil require to be taken out for awhile, when they are stowed, and then replaced; these should be an inch out (dry inch) at least; for if the oil is new and the cask full, it is liable to burst. Let them all be bung up and well bedded and quoined, and secure each tier with salted seal skins, hides, old junk, or firewood.

604. Should the vessel be crank or likely to load by the stern, place ballast under or among the ground tier forward. If she is by

the head, the casks can be worked forward easier. Avoid lowering casks down the main hatchway, for if fish is stowed there and the gear gives way, or a cask bursts, the consequence will be serious; do not use can-hooks. When there is blubber and oil enough to make the vessel safe (presuming she will not stand without ballast), land the remainder of the salt (see the article salt), dry the hold, and lay the longering, small firewood, sticks, &c., fore and aft, next the keelson; and along the bilges lay stout longers, to enable blubber from a bursted cask to get to the pump-well.

605. Dunnage generally consists of boughs of the spruce tree, cut after fine dry weather. A tight vessel will require six inches on the bottom, and nine on the bilges, and so taper off; dunnage most where water is likely to lodge: take the depth by measuring under your feet to the ceiling; lay it athwart the longers, as it will take less and leave the openings free for the passage of liquids. Cover the dunnage with rinds; the lower line of fish will then turn out nearly as well as the other parts, otherwise it will be damp.

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606. Place rinds up and down the sides, by securing the upper ends to the stringers or clamp pieces under the deck beams; let the upper ends come far enough out under the deck to catch leakage from the waterways, which will then descend to the next rind, and so on to the bottom; the rinds should overlap each other an inch or Place the rough or outside, being waterproof, next the ceiling; by keeping the inside, which should be perfectly free from sap, next the fish, it will give the hold a cleaner and lighter appearance; the outside blisters contain turpentine which will impart an unpleasant flavour to the fish. Many however, prefer placing the inside of the rinds next the ceiling as they are more easily fixed, on account of their inclination to curl or roll up.

607. For securing the rinds to the sides, sennet, stout spun-yarn, or old straight wooden hoops, used batten-fashion, will do; fastenings in the middle and at each end may be sufficient, but they ought to be well secured, for if after discharging fish the vessel should load a cargo requiring mats, the rinds may answer that purpose. Against the heads of the casks place sprigs of dunnage, with rinds watershoot, on them. The custom is not to rind on the dunnage for the bottoms (some ships with caulked ceilings do not use rinds when ship and cargo belong to the same person), but to place the rinds fore and aft, over-lapping, to carry the water down between them and the sides, and to place them along as the fish come up the hold, without fastening. The objection to this is, that if the vessel is laden quickly, and gets into a rough sea, with a fair wind, she rolls

from side to side, and the fish not having settled, the rinds will slip down; or, if on a wind, with a strong breeze, the fish settle off from the weather side, the rinds fall and are found in the bilge. Scupper nails will prevent this, but many will be required, as a vessel of 120 tons will take from 700 to 800 rinds. The shipper finds rinds and dunnage wood, &c., for stowing oils, &c.; the ship finds longerings.

608. Should the fish not fill up the deck, spread spruce boughs, old spare sails, &c., on it; let a man go into the hold occasionally, and secure a bucket under any leak which cannot be stopped, and lay swabs, canvas, bread bags, &c., to prevent water from working into the cargo.

609. In stowing commence by laying the first tier or line of fish face up and heads aft; the next back up and so on, laying them regularly fore and aft, and as you come along the sides place the skinny parts next the rinds, as they are better able to bear the wet in case of leakage. Some prefer placing the edges there, because they consider the possible darkening of a dozen fish, about a quarter of an inch each, less injurious than the entire loss of one. Keep the fish solid all along the sides, to prevent cargo from working. In filling up avoid what is called longering or bulking; fill right up to the deck in lines, which can be done by bringing three or four lines along together like steps; the fish turn out better than when in small bulks or longers. Avoid separate bulks; at all events do not bring them to the top separately, as the damp air will get between and spoil the appearance of the fish. When there is not a full cargo bank up in the centre, to prevent shifting at sea.

610. If taking all fish, consider how the vessel will load; say, if to fill her up she would load by the head, first have a bulk in the after hold, and to give it time to settle stow forward till you come up as high, or a line higher, than it, then stow fore and aft. If it is desirable to take all she can and turn her cargo out well, stow singly, and the lines not too thick or stiff; but if you wish to blow her up, stow three or four at a time, and carry along stiff lines. It is usual to begin aft and go on forward, then turn and come aft again, then forward and so on. In a crank or deep vessel, use stone ballast instead of longering, otherwise, if laden quickly with dry fish, she will not be stiff enough to carry her canvas in a breeze.

611. A certain schooner of 80 tons will take 2,100 quintals of dry cod fish, but is obliged to have 10 tons of iron ballast, and is not then stiff enough until she has been to sea a few days, and the cargo is settled. A vessel of 120 tons register will take say from 95 to

100 tons of oil, or 2,800 to 3,000 quintals of Labrador fish, or 2,500 to 2,600 Newfoundland fish. When it is expected to load a cargo of oil, some ballast must be secured for the ground tier, unless there are salted seal skins, hides, and old junk enough for the purpose. With larger ships, of which there are many of from 250 to 300 tons, it is frequently possible to discharge from one hatchway, and load at the others; these vessels trade mostly with the Brazils and the West Indies, and load fish in drums or casks, containing as previously stated, a Portuguese quintal of 128 lbs. of fish. A vessel of 150 tons register carried to the Brazils 2,007 tubs of Gaspè fish; nearly 15 tubs to the register ton.

612. Keep the pumps well watched, for a very little water will by the vessel's motion, cause a damp air to pass and repass continually, and a fish cargo cannot be kept too dry. If once a vessel gets a name for fair passages, and for delivering cargo in good order, it is of great consequence both to the owner and master. When discharging fish, cover the cargo fore and aft every time the hatches are put on, to prevent the damp air from injuring it; see fish, herrings, and pilchards.

613. LAC, a gum resin produced by an insect termed the coccus lacca, which deposits it on the branches of certain trees in India, especially in Assam and Thibet, where it is found in a regular cellular structure, containing the eggs of the insect; its constituent parts are resin, a peculiar red colouring matter, gluten, and wax. It is imported into Europe under three forms, viz.: stick-lac, seed-lac, and shell-lac. Stick-lac is the first or rude state, as found encrusting the twigs and branches. For purification it is broken into small pieces, put into a long narrow canvas bag and exposed to a heat sufficient to liquify the gum, when it is forced out by twisting the bag over a plane-smooth surface, to which the liquid cannot adhere. In India it flows out and consolidates upon the convex surface of a plantain tree prepared expressly; the mucilaginous and smooth surface of this tree prevents it from adhering. In 100 parts of sticklac, in its rude state, there are resin 68 parts, colouring matter 10, wax 6, gluten 5·5, extraneous matter 6.5. The colouring matter is a valuable product, and forms the basis of a beautiful red dye called lac-dye, the constituents of which are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; this colouring approaches that of cochineal, lake, and other pigments. Stick-lac thus purified and consolidated, being pounded in a mortar, reduced into small grains, and a further portion of the colouring matter extracted by the process of boiling, constitutes the substance called seed-lac. The analysis of seed-lac gives, in 100 parts, resin

88-5, colouring matter 2.5, wax 4.5, gluten 2; it is sometimes melted and formed into cakes, and is then called lump-lac. Shell-lac is the lac in its natural state after the process just described of simple purification by heat, and is produced by liquifying, straining, and forming it into thin plates-whence its name shell-lac. Through this process a further proportion of colouring matter becomes extracted, the shell-lac plates being of a more transparent character than the stick or seed-lac. The analysis of shell-lac gives 90.9 resin, •5 colouring matter, 4 wax, and 2.8 gluten. Shell-lac is used for dyeing, and is shipped all the year round. At Calcutta the chief season is in December, January, and February. Very little is shipped during the south-west monsoons-March to September. It ought never to be stowed over castor oil or saltpetre on account of the evaporation; indeed it should be placed at a considerable distance from castor oil to avoid impregnation of its noisome scent. Shell-lac is packed in teak (very similar to indigo cases), lined with thin oil cloth, weighing 150 to 200 lbs.

614. LAC DYE. Co.'s ton 50 cubic feet;

Small square cakes of lac, which see. E. I. a chest 4 cwt. Lac lake, a superior red lake. E. I. Co.'s ton 16 cwt.; Bombay ton 50 cubic feet; see lac.

615. LADEN. The state of a ship when she is charged with a weight or quantity of any sort of materials, proportionate to her tonnage or burthen. Laden in bulk; laden with a loose cargo such as coal, salt, grain, &c.

616. LAMP BLACK, is a soot prepared by burning the dregs and coarser parts of tar in furnaces: the smoke is carried through tubes into boxes covered with linen upon which it settles. When recently made, it is liable to spontaneous combustion without the admixture of oil; with oil the danger is imminent, whether recently made or otherwise. Agree for gross weight if possible, as the tares are very great. Bags of lamp black are represented as being useful to fill up, and from their lightness can be placed where some descriptions of goods will not answer. 20 hogsheads, weighi. g seven tons, or 120 bags six tons, occupy 850 cubic feet or 1 keel. When wheat is 18. quarter freight, lamp black is rated at 4s. 104d. hogshead and 9d.bag.

617. LANDING GOODS. The landing of the goods upon the wharf is a sufficient delivery, if due notice be given to the parties. who are to receive them, and the delivery takes place on a legal working day, such working day being a working day in the country or place at which the goods are delivered. The master is not, how

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