Posted by Laurence Monkhouse on August 04, 2006 at 22:13:41 from 80.3.128.6 user Laurence_.
In Reply to: Re: S A & Ds Disasters now Grog posted by Pam Adams on August 04, 2006 at 18:42:17:
Puncheon is obviously Nancy type exaggeration
But little wooden barrels holding a gallon or two were common until quite recently - I had one once but couldn't keep it watertight and sold it on. The one used by the Amazons obviously (from the pictures) was one of these, not a jug or a thermos.
Wooden Barrels of all sizes were used all over the place. Beer was sent out in them - as it still is in aluminium barrels. Herring by the countless million were pickled in them And because of this there were coopers all over the place too. In 1930 there wouldn't have been the slightest difficulty in the Blacketts finding somebody to make a little barrel for them.
Don't forget that the barrel was originally intended for drinking water. Anybody who camps will know what a large amount of water is needed, and in the absence of the plastic containers that we use today a little barrel would have been an obvious solution.