SEASONS AND CHIEF MONTHS OF SHIPMENT, SIZES AND WEIGHTS OF PACKAGES, &c. WEST INDIES.-BRITISH. Jamaica. Hogshead 18 cwt., tierce 12 cwt., barrel 2 cwt.; season of shipment February to August; chief months of shipment April to June. Trinidad. Hogsheads large, truss 40 to 42 inches; season of shipment March to end of August; chief months of shipment May to July. Barbadoes. Hogshead 17 cwt., tierce 10 cwt., bags 2 cwt.; season of shipment March to end of August; chief months of shipment April to August. Antigua and Tobago. Hogshead 16 cwt., tierce 10 cwt., barrel 2 cwt.; season of shipment March to end of August; chief months of shipment April to August. Dominica. Various casks; season of shipment March to end of August; chief months of shipment January to August. Grenada. Hogshead 16 cwt., tierce 10 cwt., barrel 2 cwt.; season of shipment St. Kitts and Nevis. Hogshead 15 cwt., tierce 8 cwt., barrel 2 cwt.; season of shipment March to end of August; chief months of shipment January to August. FRENCH. Martinique. Hogshead 14 cwt., tierce 7 cwt., barrel 2 cwt.; season of shipment March to end of August. Guadaloupe. Hogshead 14 cwt., barrel 2 cwt.; season of shipment March to end of August. SPANISH. Cuba. Season of shipment December to August; chief months of shipment April to September. Havannah. Hogshead 1,300 lbs. ; five boxes about a ton; season of shipment December to August. Matanzas. Hogshead 12 cwt., tierce 8 cwt., barrel 2 cwt., box 4 cwt.; season of shipment 1st March to 31st July. Porto Rico. Shipped in hogsheads and barrels; season of shipment 1st March to 31st July; chief months of shipment May and June. SOUTH AMERICA.-BRITISH. Demerara. Hogshead large, truss 40 to 42 inches; season of shipment nearly all the year; chief months of shipment December to March. Berbice. Hogshead 18 cwt., tierce 12 cwt., barrels and bags 2 cwt.; season of shipment nearly all the year. DUTCH. Surinam. Shipped in hogsheads; season of shipment nearly all the year; chief months of shipment October to December. BRAZILIAN. Bahia, Maceio, Maroim, Pernambuco. Chests 15 to 23 cwt., cases 8 to 10 cwt., and twilled calico bags 14 cwt.; season of shipment October to May; chief months of shipment January to March. Paraiba. Bags 14 cwt.; season of shipment November to March; chief months of shipment January and February. EAST INDIES.-BRITISH. Penang. Double grass mats to cwt.; season of shipment October to March; chief months of shipment December to February. Bengal, cane, date. Low, mats and bags 1 to 2 cwt., 20 cwt. 39 cubic feet; season of shipment October to January; chief months of shipment December to February. Gurpattah, bags 1 to 2 cwt.; season of shipment March to August. Dobah. Manufactory closed. Cossipore, Benares. Bags 1 cwt.; season of shipment March to August; chief months of shipment December to February. Madras. Low, mats and gunny bags 1 to 24 cwt.; chief months of shipment December to February. Bimlipatam. Double gunnies 163s.; season of shipment February to Singapore. Double mats 115 lbs. gross, 112 net; season of shipment January to September. Mauritius. Tierce 7 to 9 cwt.; mats or vacas 1.36 cwt. gross; season of shipment October to March. Port Natal. Large bags 1 to 2 cwt. ; season of shipment November to February. FOREIGN. China, Siam. Bags about 1 cwt.; season of shipment October to March. Manilla. Shipped in bags, bundles, hogsheads, boxes; unclayed, in mats and bags. Phillipine Islands. Bags 56 to 112 lbs. season of shipment October to August. Batavia. DUTCH. Baskets 5 to 6 cwt., and in canisters; season of shipment nearly all the year. Java, Sourabaya. Baskets 3 to 6 cwt., tare 20 to 30 lbs. season of shipment nearly all the year. FRENCH. Bourbon. Bags about 1 cwt.; season of shipment September to April. Sandwich Islands. Bags and barrels 2 to 4 cwt., chiefly shipped to West Coast of North America. EUROPE. France. Thin hempen bags 2 cwt., tare 3 lbs.; season of shipment October to March; chief months of shipment November to January. Germany. Casks about 2 cwt., tare actual; season of shipment October to March; chief months of shipment November to January. Holland. Casks about 10 cwt.; season of shipment October to March; chief months of shipment November to January. Belgium. Thin hempen bags 2 cwt., tare 3 lbs.; season of shipment October to March; chief months of shipment November to January. 1126. SUGAR CANDY should be stowed in the fore or after hold, clear of all other goods; this is the rule in all Bombay ships which carry more of that description of cargo than any others; there is about five cent. loss on the passage from China to Bombay. If the sugar candy is new and the tubs also, many will be empty on delivery. It is made up in Holland in boxes of 25 and 50 lbs. each; the wood is so thin that when passing under the line, for the Cape of Good Hope, leakage ensues and frequently injures woollen and other goods. Merchants recommend the candy to be stowed under such goods. Tubs of liche or Chinese sugar candy, measure three cubic feet, and 163 go to a ton. 1127. SULPHATE OF SODA. Sometimes the article is weighed into carts at a distance from the ship, and then capsized on board, raising a perfect cloud of dust. At port of discharge it may be put into lighters, conveyed a mile, and then weighed. Being of the nature of flour, immense quantities are thus lost both ways. In the spring of 1864, there was an alleged deficiency of 6 tons 17 cwt. in a cargo of 251 tons so laden and discharged. A claim of £3 p ton was made on the master, but he resisted it, being able to prove that the ship delivered all she received. 1128. SULPHUR; specific gravity 2.033. No ship can carry her full stowage in bulk, say a little over three-fourths; it is not desirable to employ vessels with conical holds in this trade, as sulphur has a tendency by its own weight, to wedge itself down when working at sea, and thus strain the ship. A ship laden with sulphur carries on an average four to eight cent. more than if with coal; but if the burthen in keels be known, and compared with the quantity of sulphur, the exact difference may be found, thus; by dividing the quantity delivered by 424 cwt., so many keels of sulphur are obtained, which multiplied by 97 quarters, less the difference of so much cent. will give the exact burthen in quarters. Sulphur is brimstone in its raw state; see brimstone; see also saltpetre. At Ancona, "wrought" sulphur is packed in chests 3 feet 2 inches long by 14 inches broad, containing on an average 3 cwt.; of these a full cargo cannot be taken, say 175 tons by a schooner 108 tons register, n.m., which could carry 185 tons coal. Her sulphur was admidships; the ends nearly clear. Scarcely any dunnage was used, as the article was not supposed to be liable to much injury by salt-water; the cases were wedged to keep them from working, and stowed right up to the decks. This was brought in 1858, in lighters from the coast to Ancona. 1129. SUPERPHOSPHATE (manure). The vapour is very injurious to tea, coffee, cocoa, &c., and by contact with hemp and similar materials, spontaneous combustion may be created; see manures. 1130. SURVEY. By the Merchant Seaman's Act 1873-5, the Board of Trade have the power to survey ships, and if found overladen or otherwise unseaworthy can detain them; see the article protest. After a voyage, while the ship is in dry dock, surveyors, both LLOYD's and Government, usually inspect her. If it has not been done already, the keelson should be cleared fore and aft, allowing a passage on each side, the ends of the ship should be cleared also, and all dirt and damp scraped, and swept from the bow and stern timbers, breast-hooks, knees, transoms, and ports, the beams, stringers, shelf-pieces, and ship's skin. If there is time, a coat of varnish and turps over the skin, &c., would be beneficial, as it hardens the wood and keeps the damp out. Every limber board fore and aft should come off, but those especially next the pumps, before and abaft; if the bottom of the chain locker is not sufficiently high to permit those in its vicinity being taken off, so that a man may crawl under to clear the limbers, it ought to be so fitted, for the cargo must suffer when there is an imperfect waterway to the pumps. Clearing the limbers and placing the limber-boards on again should be attended to by the chief and second officers, and the carpenter; they should see that a piece of hoop or cane is passed through under every floor timber, and that all the dirt is taken out. The foot of the pump should be examined by the hand, and the hand-lead lowered down, so that a person may feel the lead. A pump has been disabled through a quoin getting jammed in it. Some contend that any chief mate who does not himself see the limbers cleared neglects his duty. When the limber boards are put on they should be carefully examined, to see that they are tight if there are any holes the carpenter should let in pieces of wood, or clinch with oakum; the skin must also be looked to and served in a similar manner, if required, then, whatever cargo the ship may take, there will be no chance of the pumps being choked. When any vessel is shifted in dry dock, care must be taken to have equal portions on each side, so that she may be upright. When coppering, there may be occasion to weigh and take account of the copper and nails received; the old copper and nails should be secured, also the surplus, which will have to be returned; the nails should be picked up from the bottom of the dock, as the value is nearly a shilling a pound. 1131. SWEATING BOXES. To prevent injury from the steam or, as it is popularly called, the "sweat" which is generated inside iron ships, the ends of the beams and the knees are sometimes fitted with wood casings called sweating boxes. Steam from under the deck and from the stringers often runs to the beams, the blobs of which form a water-course for the liquid, until it overflows perhaps on some perishable goods. These beams should be well dunnaged. Bags in good condition containing ginger shipped at Calcutta, and placed close to an iron bulkhead, were rotten on arrival in London, owing entirely to the steam generated on the passage home. For more information regarding iron ships and their cargoes, see the article iron ships. |