The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1863-11-27


during the last two winters reminds US Of
the necessity of preparing in season for the
extensive calls which will soon commence
and will continue throughout the winter, for
warm clothing and bedding. Quits and
blankets, WOODEN underclothing and socks
will, Judging by the past, be the articles of
this kind most in demand after these, bed
and plllow-ticks, warm thick dressing gowns
or wrappers, slippers, sheets, pillow -casses,
towels and handkerchiefs.
Of edibles the chief demand will doubtless
be, as heretofore, for stmulants of evelv
kind, jellies and farinaceous food, dried
fruits and preparations of beef, milk and
vegetables.
| inclose with this schedule, showing the
, amount of stock in the Washington depots
at this date, of these and other articles most
| in demand. In a parallel column is shown
their aggregate amount in the sorehouses of
our branches in Philadelphia, New York and
Boston, according to the latest weekly re-
ports furnished by them to this office By
this you will perceive that our stock of blank
cts, quilts, woolen drawers, bed-tick., pillow
ticks, wrappers, dried fruit, fariEa, stimulants
and jellies, is very low; ard that so far as
most of the articles are concerned, the same
is true of the stock of most Of our branches.
You will not fail to observe that appearances
indicate recurrence Of cur cid trouble in
collecting WOODEN drawers in quantities suti-
cient to match the wo0l-n shilts, for while
we have on hand 1918 of the latter, we have
only 44O of the former. In view of this in
dication, according as it does, with our past
experince on this head, would suggest the
propriety of your calling special attention,
among your correspondents to the fact, and
of requesting them 10 arrange their sewing
labors so as to secure proportions of shirts
and drawers more nearly equal. You will
also observe that We have on hand but %
pillow-ticks, 20 sponges, 3 bottles Of Gin, and
of brandy, while our branches have none
of any of them; that We have bot + wrap
pers and 3 barrels Of dried fruit, and that
the united stock of this depot and those OF
our branches. is of the following articles on
" blankets, 4O1, abdominal bandages. 900,
bed-ticks. $50, I've aad yesterday an order
from the army of the Potomac, f)r 500 bed
ticks.)
Your experience has doubtless led you to
the same conclusion as nv own, namely, that
for our supplies of made up dry goods. by
which l refer to quilts, under clothI"@. socks,
&C.; and of made up edibes, | mean jelies,
preserves, pickles, dried fruit, &C., we shall
have to depead ir great part Oh country con-
trioutors. while for important liquors and
wines, preparations of beef and milk. and
for fine groceries generally, our dependence
must be almost entirely n those i'll the
cities, or rather by tho funds contributed bs
city residents for the major part, | may
say, nearly all, Of this latter extensive de
scription of stock has hitherto been purhas
ed directly from the dealers, by the commits
sion and its branches. Ii would therefore,
think, be well that our met hods and cores
pondence should be simultaneously conduct
ed with reference to these ascertalned facts
a1d that we should make the most of ths
advantages afforded by what nave been dem
onstrated to be the natural channels Of sup
iply rather than that We should endeavOr Il
force the current into those which our theo
ries iucline us to regard as the Legitimate
ones.
The excess Of the stock on hand of liner
rags, lint and bandases. over the current de
mands, in almost ali the depo,s tributary /,
the commission, was in the early part Of III,
year, so great that some of the correspon
dents of this office prepared TO sell thei
overpus to the paper manufactures, and us
the products in the purchase of supplies c
which their existed deficiency. | was i'm
pressed however with the conviction tha
this surplus would be but temporary, ant
that it simply resulted from the accumnlato
Of old linen, made before the cDmmencemea
D of the war, in the households Of the country
: while thought that the exhaustion Of thu
: accumulation, and the nigh prices for the ba
sis of this kind of stock ruling in the mark
ct since the commencement Of hostililie
> would prove an efectua bar to such supiu
o in the future. | stated my impressions o
I this subject to my correspondents. and | al
: happy to say that they were disuad-d fro'
carrying out their intention. On reterenc
to the figures you will perceive that the a!
gregate amount of those materials now o
hand in this depot and those Of our brancl
u es is only as follows: lint, 52S bbls., old lii
en- $50 bbls, bandages, 236 bbls. II tn
< stock should, b. the chances of war, be heav
ly drawn upon within a month or two, a
inclined to think that some exerti,n will
required to repenish it in ,ufficien, guam,
ties throughout the winter.
In rev;-wing our laoors in the past, al
anticipating cur prospects for the future,
at cannot fail to afford remark end congratul
,e ton, to realize the extraordinary suppo
n. which has been extended to the commrssio