Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-12-13
PRESIDENT TYLER.
THE WAY THE EARLY VIRGINIA PRESl-
DENTS BOUGHT THEIR WINE.

Rum From Santa Cruz and Wine From
the Island of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Of
the Virginia Ham white House
Meals.
Gen. John Tyler, the son Of the presi-
dent, who was his fathers private secre-
tary while he was in the White House
and who still lives at Washington, has
given me some interesting facts regarding
the way the early Virginia presidents
bought their wines. Said he: My
fathers cellars were always full Of choice
wines and liquors. all Of which he i'm
ported himself, as WAS the custom of the
old Virginia families Of his day. His
brandy he bought at London through
William Taylor, Of Norfolk, who was a
noted wine dealer forty years ago. 1t cost
n q gallon and was Of q quality which
you could now hardly get for SEQ bottle.
His rum was imported for him in the same
way from Santa Cruz; and his Madeira,
which was the staple wine of the time,
was brought from the island OF Madeira
in the way common among the old Nir-
ginia planters. Every year my father
would set aside ten or twelve acres for
Madeira corn. This was q short cared,
peaTly grained variety noted for its hardi-
ness. IL was the only kind Of corn at
that day which would stand the long
shipment across the ocean. Each of these
acres would produce from fifty TO a hun
dred bushels of corn. When il was har-
vested il would be sent to a ship which a
number Of the planters, such as Chief
Justice Marshall and others, had char
tered to carry their corn to Madeira. At
the island this corn would he exchanged
for wine, the rate being one bushel of
corn to a gallon of wine, and the wine
would be brought back in the same ship
to Virginia. 1t came to us in barrels or
pipes and we bottled it at home.
President Tyler was a light eater"
continued his gray haired son, land he
often ate nothing at dinner but piece Of
toast, a cup of hot water tea and slice
of beef or ham. We always made our
own ham, and the Virginia ham of those
days was the finest in the world. Great
care was exercised as to the breeding of
the pigs. For the first summer and fall
they were allowed TO run wild in the
woods, with a little corn in the evening
and the morning to teach them the call of
their master. During the first winter
ltu COl IL, Dul "tEt SlliI htpL
out in the woods in the daytime, though
carefully housed and bedded at night.
THE FINAL FATTESING.
"The second fall, when they were about
lS months old, they were turned into the
corn fields, which had been loosely har-
vested and in which between the rows
had been planted black eyed peas. Upon
these and the refuse corn they grew fat
Then they were taken up and fed on
selected corn, the ears of which must be
hard and perfect, until Christmas, when
they were killed and cured. The curing
was done by sailing the hams in brine
and then hanging them up in a smoke
house made for the purpose and smoking
them for several months with fires made
Of hickory chips. After they had been
well smoked they were taken down and
rubbed all over with sugar. The fat was
now like white candy in appearance and
the hams were ready for use.
while my father was in the White
House we never thought Of cooking a
slice of ham The meats were always
cooked in joints, and ham, a saddle of
mutton or leg of lamb was never cut
before il came TO the table. When YOU
sat down 10 the table the meats were
served up on 1t and you could see wi at
you were TO eat. At the proper stage the
carver took each joint from the table and
bore it to a side table, where it was cut
up and served with its appropriate vece-
table. President Tyler's style OF living
was that of an English gentleman of the
present day. His meals were served on
the Virginia plan, he maintaining the same
customs at the White House as on his Vir-
ginis estate. Daniel Webster used TO say
the only trouble with my fathers table
was the profuseness with which every
thing was served Prank G. CARPENTER
in Lippincotts Magazine.