Alcohol as Currency revisited

     Imagine, the life of a miner. Stepping into an elevator where people are packed so closely you can smell what they had for breakfast on their breath. Then, the elevator jerks into motion and heads down into the cold, dark, earth; the last rays of light disappearing with every second. Now, the only light is from the lanterns they carry. Dirt everywhere, eyes stinging, every breath difficult. The earth rumbles, everyone freezes; a few stones fall from the top of the tunnel. Sighs of relief go around as they realize they are spared, the tunnel did not collapse. Twelve hours later and the early sunset hurts as eyes readjust from the dark cave they just emerged out of. Another day, still alive.
     In my world, there is a colony of miners. Now, these miners are living in the prohibition era where alcohol is forbidden and illegal, but it was not always this way, the miners used to go home after every shift and end the day with some alcohol to release the stress of not knowing if they would survive another day in the deep dark hole someone decided to call a mine. So of course there was some person who figured out how to make homemade alcohol.
     Alcohol would serve as a currency in this situation because everyone wants it, it is easy to make, and it can serve as higher or lower amounts of money depending on the potency of the alcohol. People want alcohol because they have been told they could not have it. Something about human nature makes people want things they are told they can not have, sometimes even more than before it was forbidden.
     Every person in the colony has the potential to make alcohol, all they would need is rye, barley, sugar, yeast, and water. Oh and typically a bathtub, or any container large enough, in the back woods to cook and ferment it in. While everyone has the ability to make alcohol, if it is not done properly the alcohol can be deadly. If rye or barley is used to make the alcohol it becomes whiskey and is very strong. If white sugar is used it makes rum which is less potent and cheaper to make. The difference in the ingredients allows for the different alcohol to represent different amounts of money.
     Since there are few ingredients that are easy to get, it is convenient to use alcohol to buy food and clothing. The wives that stay at home make clothing and other necessary living items, which are then used to trade to other miners for alcohol. The alcohol is then used to trade for more supplies to make more clothing and essential items. Overall, I think that alcohol would be a sustainable currency in this situation.

Sweet Potatoes: Origin and Storage Practices

Thanksgiving is a holiday full of good food. Every year a staple in my holiday meal are sweet potatoes. Whether you steam them up as a side or make a casserole with brown sugar, cinnamon, or marshmallows, sweet potatoes are a tasty and nutritious food. I read an article on sweet potatoes from Economic Botany. It is titled "The Sweet Potato--Its Origin and Primitive Storage Practices" written by J. S. Cooley. J.S. Cooley is from the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

The exact origin of the Sweet Potato is unknown. It is believed that the sweet potato comes from a cross of a few wild plants. Even after using genetic databases to trace the sweet potatoes genetics, there is not one, or even two plants that can be called its ancestors. Without any definitive ancestor it is difficult to say exactly where the sweet potato originated. Scientists can only trace places where plants like the sweet potato were thought to be.

In prehistoric times the sweet potato was eaten by people in the pacific islands and the tropical Americas. Other cultures were eating similar plants from the same family, but scientists do not know exactly if they were sweet potatoes. The sweet potato was spread around the world but the debate is how it was spread and where it was spread to first. One issue in transporting the sweet potato is that it requires special storage to keep it viable to plant or eat after the trip.

In it's native tropical habitat, the sweet potato had no problems storing. When it was taken to other countries with climates where there was a winter, and not enough humidity, the sweet potato would rot. The sweet potato is different from most foods when it is stored. The cold and lack of humidity will make it go bad. When properly curing and storing the sweet potato the room needs to be around 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity of 85-90 percent saturation for at least a week, sometimes longer.

I know when I buy sweet potatoes they always seem to go bad quickly. As with most foods I try to store them in a cool, dry place. Now I know that this will not work for sweet potatoes and that I was actually helping them to go bad. The key is warm storage with humidity.

Color Changing Leaves

In the second observance of the amur honeysuckle, american holly, and the eastern red cedar there has not been much change. The evergreen is as green as it was before. Both the amur honeysuckle and the american holly still have their berries. The amur honeysuckle has started to change the color of some of its leaves slightly to a different color of green, almost a brownish green. We have not had major temperature changes lately and the days are only starting to get shorter. So far there has not really been a reason for the leaves to start to change colors.

The Beginning: Green Trees

This scene comes from one side of the observatory field.
To start off with all of the trees are still green, unless they are dead or dying, as a few in the picture are. Some evergreens are mixed in and they will continue to be the only greenery as the next few weeks and pictures come.

The question of why do leaves change color is one that has not been answered. Some scientists have hypothesized about it and over time some have been proven wrong but none have been proven right. The main idea is that the tree is saving energy by degrading the chlorophyll in the leaves during senescence. The chlorophyll is what causes the green coloring of leaves. When the chlorophyll degrades it allows the xanthophyll pigments to come through giving a yellow color to the leaves. The other color, red, is actually produced during this time and comes from anthocyanins.

 Two species in the picture are the amur honeysuckle, the american holly and the eastern red cedar. The amur honeysuckle is a deciduous shrub. The branches can grow up to 30 feet tall and the tempting red berries are poisonous. The amur honeysuckle is an invasive species and has survived in many different regions because of it's durability. The american holly is a broadleaf evergreen tree. The leaves are alternate and the fruit usually lasts into the winter. It is often used as holiday decorations. The eastern red cedar is an evergreen. It is a medium sized dioecious tree. The wood is very durable and it provides food and shelter to many animals. Many indian tribes used the berries, needles, cones and wood for remedies to cure ailments such as asthma, fever, cough, sore throat, and many more. Since the wood was so durable it was also used for many other purposes such as roofs, canoes, and bedding to name a few.

Alcohol as Currency

     Imagine, the life of a miner. Stepping into an elevator where people are packed so closely you can smell what they had for breakfast on their breath. Then, the elevator jerks into motion and heads down into the cold, dark, earth; the last rays of light disappearing with every second. Now, the only light is from the lanterns they carry. Dirt everywhere, eyes stinging, every breath difficult. The earth rumbles, everyone freezes; a few stones fall from the top of the tunnel. Sighs of relief go around as they realize they are spared, the tunnel did not collapse. Twelve hours later and the early sunset hurts as eyes readjust from the dark cave they just emerged out of. Another day, still alive.
     In my world, there is a colony of miners. Now, these miners are living in the prohibition era where alcohol is forbidden and illegal, but it was not always this way, the miners used to go home after every shift and end the day with some alcohol to release the stress of not knowing if they would survive another day in the deep dark hole someone decided to call a mine. So of course there was some person who figured out how to make homemade alcohol.
     Alcohol would serve as a currency in this situation because everyone wants it, it is easy to make, and you can make different potency and amounts to serve as higher or lower amounts of money. Everyone wants it because when you tell someone they cannot have something, they want it even more. Everyone has the potential to make it, all they would need is rye, barley, or white sugar, as a base and sugar, yeast, and water. Oh and typically a bathtub in the back woods to cook and ferment it in. Now, while everyone has the ability to make it, if it is not done properly the alcohol can be deadly. If rye or barley is used to make the alcohol it becomes whiskey and is very strong. If white sugar is used it makes rum which is less potent and cheaper. The difference in the ingredients allows for the different alcohol to be used as different amounts when representing the worth.
     Since there are few ingredients that are easy to get, it is convenient to use alcohol to buy food and clothing that is made or grown from the other miners and their wives, who stay at home and have some trade that provides for the colony. Overall, I think that alcohol would be a sustainable currency in this situation.