Part 11

' Dantzic has long been regarded as one of the principal granaries of Europe. It was at one time the only port from which shipments were made to foreign countries of the wheat sent down by the Vistula; and although of late years exportation has also taken place to a considerable extent from Elbing, Riga, and Memel, yet Dantzic still enjoys the greater portion of this trade, exporting occasionally 500,000 quarters of wheat in the year, besides flour, rye, barley, meal, oats, arid pease. There are two modes of conveying wheat to Dantzic by the Vistula. That which grows near the lower parts of the river— comprehending Polish Prussia, and part of the province of Plock, and of Masovia, in the kingdom of Poland— which is generally of an inferior quality, is conveyed in covered boats, with shifting-boards that protect the cargo from the rain but not from, pilfering. These vessels are long, and draw about 15 inches water, and bring about 150 quarters. They are not, however, so well calculated for the upper parts of the river. From Cracow, where the Vistula first becomes navigable, to below the junction of the Bug with that stream, the wheat is mostly conveyed to Dantzic in open flats. These are constructed on the banks, in seasons of leisure, on spots far from the ordinary reach of the water, but which, when the rains of autumn, or the melted snow of the Carpathian mountains in the spring, fill and overflow the river, are easily floated. Barges of this description are about 75 feet long, and 20 feet broad, with a depth of 2J feet. They are made of fir, rudely put together, and fastened with wooden trenails; the corners are dovetailed and secured with slight iron clamps, the only iron employed in the construction. A large tree the length of the vessel runs along the bottom, to which the timbers are secured. This roughly cut keelson rises 9 or 10 inches from the floor, and hurdles are laid on it which extend to the sides. They are covered with mats made of rye straw, and serve the purpose of dunnage; leaving below a space in which the water that leaks through the sides and bottom is received. The bulk is kept from the sides and ends of the barge by a similar plan. The water which these ill-constructed and imperfectly caulked vessels receive is dipped out at the end and sides of the bulk of wheat. Vessels of this description draw from 10 to 12 inches of water, and yet they frequently get aground in descending the river. The cargoes usually consist of from 180 to 200 quarters of wheat. The grain is thrown on the mats, piled as high as the gunwale, and left uncovered, exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather, and to the pilfering of the crew. During the passage, the barge is carried along by the force of the stream, oars being merely used at the head and stern, to steer clear of the sand-banks, which are numerous and shifting, and to direct the vessel in passing under the several bridges. These vessels are conducted by six or seven men. A small boat precedes with a man in it, who is employed in sounding, in order to avoid the shifting shoals. This mode of navigating is necessarily very slow; and during the progress of it — which lasts several weeks, and even months — the rain, if any falls, soon causes the wheat to grow, and the vessel assumes the appearance of a floating meadow. The shooting of the fibres soon forms a thick mat, and prevents the rain from penetrating more than an inch or two. The main bulk is protected by this kind of covering, and when that is thrown aside, is found in tolerable condition. The vessels are broken up at Dantzic and usually sell for about two-thirds of their original cost. The men who conduct them return on foot. When the cargo arrives at Dantzic or at Elbing, all but the grown surface is thrown on the land, spread abroad, exposed to the sun and air, and frequently turned over till any slight moisture that it may have imbibed, is dried. If a shower of rain falls, as well as during the night, the heaps of wheat on the shore are thrown together, in the form of the steep roof of a house, that the rain may run off, and are covered with a linen cloth. It is thus frequently a long time after the wheat has reached Dantzic