Seventeenth Century Timbering and Building The 1685 engraving shows activities relating to timbering and house building. Similar practices were carried out at Jamestown during the seventeenth century. From _Orbis Sensualium Pictus_ by Johann Comenius (London, 1685).] BARRELS AND CASKS (COOPERING) As early as 1607 barrel staves were made at Jamestown for exporting to England. Later, when tobacco and other crops were grown successfully--and a few commodities were produced in Virginia for export--barrels, casks, and other wooden containers were made by the cooper in large numbers. John Lewes was the first cooper to reach Jamestown, arriving in January, 1608. Others followed him throughout the seventeenth century; and for almost a hundred years their craft was an important one in the "Capital Cittie." The illustration shows a cooper and his helpers making barrels and casks at Jamestown, about the year 1625. [Illustration: Research on painting by author. Photo courtesy National Park Service. Making Barrels and Casks At Jamestown--About 1625 _Conjectural Painting_] [Illustration: The Cooper. The Cooper 1, having an Apron 2 tied about him, maketh Hoops Of Haslel-rods 3, upon a Cutting-block, 4 with a Spoke-shave, 5 and Lags 6 of Timber. He maketh Hogs-heads 7 and Pipes, 8 with two Heads, and Tubs 9, Soes 10, Flaskets 11, Buckets 12, with one Bottom of Lags. Then he bindeth them with Hoops 13, which he tieth fast with small Twigs 15, by means of a Cramp-Iron 14, and he fitteth them on with a Mallet 16, and a Driver. 17. Courtesy Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D. C. Making Barrels in the Seventeenth Century The engraving, made in 1685, shows two coopers making a barrel. A cooper's shop at Jamestown may have been somewhat similar to the one shown. From _Orbis Sensualium Pictus_ by Johann Comenius (London, 1685).] POTASH AND SOAP-ASHES Soap-ashes and potash were among the first commodities produced by the English in America. Potash was made from soap-ashes (wood ashes, especially those obtained from burning ash and elm) and was used at Jamestown for making both soap and glass. Soap-ashes were exported to England as early as 1608, and throughout the remainder of the century it appears that both potash and soap-ashes were shipped to the mother country, As early as 1621 soap-ashes were selling for six shillings to eight shillings per hundred weight, whereas potash was bringing between thirty-five shillings and forty shillings per hundred weight. Although few contemporary records are available which mention the profit made from the sale of soap-ashes and potash by the Virginia planters, it is known that some small returns were made from time to time throughout the seventeenth century. While tobacco was the important money-making crop, the part played in the economy of the Jamestown settlement and environs by other commodities--including soap-ashes and potash--should not be overlooked.