Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1886-12-30
PRESIDENT TYLER.
THE WAY THE EARLY VIRGINIA PREel
DENTS BOUGHT THEIR WINE. III
Rum From Santa Crux and wins 1za1A
the Island Of 1Iadsira.Evoluttsa ee
the Virginia Ham . white Hsaoe
Meals,

tho virginia Ham . Wn1gO
Meals.
Gen. John Tyler, the son Of the prssi-
dent, who was his fathers private secre
tary while he was in the White House.
and who still lives at Washington, hAej
given me some interesting facts regarding
the way the early Virginia presidents
bought their wines. Said he: NY
fathers cellars were always full Of choicoE
wines and liquors. all Of which he 1m.l
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 81
noted wine dealer forty years ago. Itcosts
81 gallon and was of quality which
you could now hardly get for $40 bottle.
His rum was imported for him in the same
way from Santa Cruz; and his Madeira,
which was the staple wine Of tho time,
was brought from the Island Of Madeira
in the way common among the old VIE
ginia planters Every year my father
would set aside ten or twelve acres for
Madeira corn. This was short cared,
pearly grained variety noted orits hardf-
ness. 1t was the only kind Of corn e
that day which would stand the long
shipment across the ocean. Each OF these
acres would produce from fifty to hum
dred bushels of corn. When it was har-
vested it would be sent to a ship which =
number of the planters, such as Chief
Justice Marshall cnd others, had char
tered to carry their corn to Madeira. Al
the island this corn would be EXCHANGED
for wine, the rate being one bushel o9
corn to a gallon of wine, and the wine
would be brought back in the same ship
to Virginia. It came to us in barrels Of
pipes and we bottled it at home.
president Tyler was light eater, Il
continued his gray haired son, s.and -
often ate nothing at dinner but piece Of
toast, cup of hot water tea and slice
Of beef or ham. We always made our
own ham, and the Virginia ham Of thoso
days was the finest in the word Great
care was exercised as to the breeding of
the pigs. For the first summer and tall
they were allowed to run wild In the
woods, with little corn in the evening
and the morning to teach them the call Of
their master. During the first winter
they We're fed on corn, but were still kept
out in the woods in the daytime, though
carefully housed and bedded at night.
THE FINAL FATTENING.
"The second fall, when they were about
IL months old, they were turned fntoN&N
corn fields, which had been loosely n
vested and in which between the e.
had been planted black eyed peas. U
these and the refuse corn they grew
Then they were taken up and fed
selected corn, the ears Of which mus
hard and perfect, until Christmas, vi L
they were killed and cured. The cut "
was done by sailing the hams in brfA9
and then hanging them up in 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 fathcc was in the White
House we never thought Of cooking Q
slice Of ham. The meats were always
cooked in joints, ami a ham, saddle Of
mutton or a leg of lamb was never cut
before it came to the table. When you
sat down to the table the meats were
served up on it and you could see what
you were to eat. At the proper stage the
carver took each joint from the table and
bore it to side table, where it was cut
up and served with its appropriate vege-
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-
ginia estate. Dani;l Webster used to say
the only trouble with my fathers table
was the profuseness with which every
thing was served. Frank G. Carpenter
in Lippincott's Magazine.