[PW] Barrels

[Hadden, Robert L ERDC-TEC-VA]

	Like Tweedle-dee-dee and Tweedle-dee-dum, "Pork barrel" is one of
those terms that means what it means to the person who said it means thus and
so. Originally, it was a method of preserving and transporting pork meat in
brine. Larger barrels, those that held the heads of hogs, were called
hogshead barrels. Those who lived in the forest and were interested in ease
of transport, used large barrels. So did ships that transported large
amounts, either as food for the crew or for transport and sale. Homeowners
who needed smaller lots, used smaller barrels and either transferred smaller
amounts into smaller ones, or were sold smaller lots by butchers, etc.
	Barrels were an easier way to storing and transporting anything that
could be shipped on any side. Admiral Nelson's body was encased in a barrel
after this death at Trafalgar, and was preserved in rum for shipment back to
England and a state funeral (and the start of the bizarre stories about the
sailor's sneaking drinks of "Admiral Nelson's Punch"). So sometimes the
barrels were big. Think also of wine barrels, which often were too large for
transportation, but were reduced in size to fit any market.
	Some size regulation was imposed to help with the standardization of
shipping and transportation requirements. If you search "size of hogshead" on
Google.com you will find some early laws on the subject, such as this one
from Maryland regulating the size of hogshead barrels to transport tobacco:

	Passed Mar 12,1829 "A Further Additional Supplement to an Act to
regulate the Inspection of Tobacco." Size of hogshead regulated:  Sec. 1. Be
it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That hereafter no tobacco
shall be passed, or accounted lawful tobacco, unless the same shall be packed
in hogsheads not exceeding fifty inches in the length of the staves, and
seventy-six inches in the whole diameter with-in the staves, at the crose and
bilge, and the owner of tobacco pocked in any hogshead of greater dimensions
shall repack the same in sizeable hogsheads as herein before expressed and
directed, at his own expense, before the same shall be passed. 
  
	Remember also that barrels can be very heavy. A standard drum
(barrel) of oil is quite heavy. It can also vary in size from 42 gallons to
55 gallons. 50 gallons of water, for example, weigh over 417 pounds, and
would be easier to roll and handle than a square box would be, but it would
weigh as much.
	A tun, the size of the largest barrel, would weigh almost 2,000
pounds, and is the basis for our term "ton". See some more about barrels at:
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2126.htm

Lee

R. Lee Hadden
Geospatial Information Library (GIL)
Topographic Engineering Center
ATTN: CEERD-TO-I (Hadden)
7701 Telegraph Road
Alexandria, VA 22315-3864
(703) 428-9206
Robert.L.Hadden at erdc.usace.army.mil

See some of my writings, both online and on paper, at my author page at:
http://www.librarything.com/author/haddenrobertlee

-----Original Message-----
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2007 13:17:51 -0500
From: "Cramer, Jeff" <Jeff.Cramer at walden.org>
Subject: [PW] ? Size of a pork-barrel

Would anyone happen to know if a nineteenth century pork barrel was of a
standard size and, if so, what it was. 

Jeffrey S. Cramer, Curator of Collections The Thoreau Institute at Walden
Woods
44 Baker Farm, Lincoln, MA 01773-3004
Telephone/Fax: (781) 259-4730
E-mail: Jeff.Cramer at walden.org <mailto:Jeff.Cramer at walden.org>
Website: www.walden.org/Institute <http://www.walden.org/Institute>