The buildings upon the eastern and western sides of the prison yard, afford accommodations for the cook-house or kitchen, blacksmith and wagon shops, in addition to a range of cells. The meals are all served to the prisoners in the cells—breakfast before they leave in the morning, and supper after their return at night. For dinner they are mustered from their work at the ringing of the bell at noon, marched back to their cells, and after dinner conducted again to their work. The provisions are of good quality and well cooked. The rations per day of each convict are, a pound and a half of beef, or three quarters of a pound of mess pork or bacon, and a pound and a half of corn-meal. Sometimes mutton is furnished in place of the beef, and the fresh meat is given on alternate days. To each hundred rations there are allowed six pounds of sugar, five pounds of coffee, fourteen pounds of flour, three pounds of soap, sufficient salt, vinegar and pepper for seasoning, three gallons of molasses, eight quarts of beans or peas, and vegetables whenever they can be procured. _Each convict who chews tobacco has one half plug per week furnished him._ The floors and ceilings of the cells and the roofs of the prison buildings are of wood, and a few years since the prisoners occupying three cells one over the other, made their escape by cutting through the floors and roof, and so getting down upon the outside. Since that occurrence the prisoners have been searched regularly twice a-day—once when they return to their cells for dinner, and again at supper time. There were one hundred and eighty-two convicts in the Penitentiary at the time of our first visit, and two others were brought in on the day of our second visit. One cannot but be struck with the number of Mexicans, easily distinguishable by their dark complexions; long, straight, jet-black hair, and piercing black eyes. A very large proportion of the convicts are imprisoned for horse stealing, the most common form of larceny in this State; and which is very severely punished, the sentences ranging as high as fifteen years. There were no negroes in the prison. But very few free negroes are met with in the State; and for the higher classes of offences for which a white man or free negro would be sent to the Penitentiary, a slave is hung. The outer clothing of the convicts consists of a round jacket and pantaloons of the goods manufactured in the Penitentiary, cotton in summer and woolen in winter, with black wool hats. The jacket and pantaloons are each one-half dark and the other half light colored—the dark half of the jacket and the light half of the pantaloons being on the same side of the body, and _vice versa_. Osnaburg shirts, brogans, and wool socks complete the dress, each article of which bears a number corresponding with the cell occupied by the wearer; the numbers upon the articles of outer clothing being large and conspicuous.