The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-05-06
SCOTTISH SOIL BY THE TON.
Bring 1t to New York
Regularly Ms Ballast.

NEW YORK. May 5.-one thousand
tons of Scotch soil were imported into
New York on the Allan State Line steam
er Laurentian last week. Almost every
week the ships of this company bring
lover "a portion of the Land of Cakes. 1t
comes as ballast. there being no freight.
The company does not bring it because
it wants TO. but because its ships would
turn turtle If they were not SO weighted
down.
The cost of this importation to the
company is at least 81 a ton The soil
has to be bought at Glasgow. 1t is taken
many miles down to the docks In carts
and then loaded, all of which uses up
money and effort. When it reaches New
York it must be taken out of the hold by
'longshoremen. a whole shoal of them,
who get 50 day apiece for their trouble.
Ii is taken away from the ships side in
lighters by contractors. What they do
with it no one seems to know. but that
they don't lose much money in the deal
is shown by the big diamonds that they
wear and by their plump appearance.
The soil that Scotland sends is the
black-looking stuff. 1t is doubtful If it
would grow even thistles without the
most persistent and conscientious fertil-
care for this. All they want Is weight,
and the soil is bought by the ton a
Every time the agents Of the steamship
companies look at the cargoes of mud
and rubbish they are forced to import
they make emphatic remarks. They talk
of the old DAYS when the balance of trade
was the other way when Glasgow sent
machinery to us and frequently
shipped rock and earth to the Scotch
commercial capital 1t. is long time.
however. since Europe received cargo
of American soil
II is not only the Scotch ships that
bring portions of the earth as ballast
AS this country is made up of the peo-
Piles of different countries, so do the coun-
tries themselves contribute to its soil A
patriot Italian or Frenchman who wants
to see the soil of his native land again
can do so without crossing the Atlantic.
All he need do is to make friends with
some nghterman who takes ballast from
incoming ships and the lighterman Will
take him to the place where he dumps 1t.
Some of fine made land" in New York
harbor has been specially imported In this
way in steel steamships and at great
expense. 1t has not been remarked that
Europe is noticeably getting smaller, but
it must be.
In the imported earth there are often
seeds of plants that do not grow here
and that no one has ever bothered to
bring over Thus the fora of America is
increased. BOtanists know of this fact.
The imported seeds, however, are general
~ the seeds of weeds.
After a steamship has unloaded her
cargo of feudal soil it is necessary to thor
oughly cleanse her before freight can be
put aboard.
Altogether these importations are most
costly, but the expense is not betrayed
by the steamship companies. 1t Is added.
of course, TO the freight charges on ship
ments 10 the East These are large and
rich and there is enough profit on them
to wipe out the loss on the mud traffic.
Most of the steamships have water bal
last tarks 1t is less costly to pump the
sea into the hold than to load up with
earth. but the tanks reduce the freight
carrying space on the eastern trip, ana II
is often cheaper to bring the earth-that
is. when there is plenty of well paying
freight to be had from here to Europe