The Somerset reporter., 1893-07-20
Colonial New England.

citizen was on the farm. Although
other vacations were followed as necessi-
" required, almost every one owned Il
tract of land for cultivation. our fore
fathers encountered great hardShips
before they could begin to cultivate the
soil. The uiibroken forest had to he
fcllcd by the most primitive methods,
with fire or with axes of briUle iron,
and stone axes were used by the whites
as well AS by the Indians. And this was
done by the puritans, people coming
from land of the highest cultivation.
Experimental farming Is no new fashion.
for in the first century after Plymouth
rock. every farm i'll New England was
AN experiment station. Hemp. indigo,
rice, cotton, millct. mad Ter. lentila, and
spices were tried. Some failed entirely.
others fourished after fashion. Not
single domestic animal and but one
plant, sorghum, had been protitably in
/ PRODUCED since the Revolution. Science
did not help them.
In the formation of town. by per-
sons delegated by the General Court.
| the village was laid out In the order best
adapted to the tillage of the soil and the
maintenance of civil and religious lib
ertv. After tract WAS set apart for
sabbath assembly. each settler was Civ
cn home lot near the village, and mead
ow and upland in the distance. The
poorest had 26 or more acres. In 1903,
Lancaster gave lots equally to the rich
and poor. The towns kept a Jealous
control over the right of entry into the
corporation.
/ Houses were built of logs. perhaps 10
by i feet, with o foot stud, without ell,
with two rooms, kitchen or living
room and family bedroom, with one
or more beds and trundle-bed. The
floors were of earth or logs, and the
roofs were matched. The older chill
drcn climbed to a rough -leeping-room
under the roof for their rest Here and
| there were pits lined with boards and
rooted over, which served IL habitatons.
The large stone chimney gave the wide
domestic hearth. The value of such
house rarely reached Ego.
The next type of New England farm
architecture was the "lean-to," two
story farm house, in 'front.' sloping to
| the rear. the upper story often project
ing to afford better defence in case of
attack. Then came the gambrel or hip
rooted house. These types were solidly
built, with great firepaces and diamond
paneS III the WINDOWS.
The meeting-houses were built as soon
as the barest necessities of life were
provided for. First the little log church,
then came the square tunnclroofed edi-
flee. surmounted in the eighteenth cen
tury by stceplc, which served until
Bullinch's genius conceived the type
with which we are familiar.
The oxen of New Hampshire. descend
Al, l. ~,
sought; but the priyations suffered by
cattle in colonial New England weaken
ed them Some died, aud those that
survived were often so weak that they
could not get up alone aud for many
wears the first exercise of the farmers
in the spring was to help the cattle to
rise to their feet that they might chew
their mcagre fare. All this tended to
stunt the growth and weaken the stock.
An animal weighing 300 pounds was
large and % pounds was good heft for
IA sheep They were subject to the raw
ages OF wild beasts, especially wolves
too cunning to be trapped. black
calf early acquired greater salrn than a
red one, being less likely to be taken tor
deer and shot by settlers and killed by
wild beasts.
Horses were little used at first out
s;i.'ns lar,,o tou,ns Shoe, wore carly
in'n,'r,nd L,t II VA aonn imnossible IN
,rni a,,,, fr,,n, Enal,nd hoc.,se of ber
;o.l,,,: ruardirg Of her woolen mann
features. But the native stock throvc
and each farmer produced wool enough
for his family use. Fine wool sheep
were imported in 1893. Pigs were al
lowed to run at large. but the fight for
life in which they were constantly en-
gagged tended rather TO the development
of speed than fat.
Agricultural implements were of the
rudest kind, mostly made by the farmer
himself. Three or four pieces OF wood
rudely fastened together served Tor
plough, with sometimes piece OF IRON
on the point. The Indians had used the
shoulder bone OF the deer. In lIoS
Thomas Jefferson began the improve
ment which has developed the present
almost perfect instrument. Clam shells
were used for covering and hoeing corn;
s,ckies were useu iol lcap',S '",, a.e'
''cre "er, Nv e."uies "n'il i,'o IAN
was ,'oIco uhi'i Whit '.iu WY" Wa'
'iirus'c"' Noiu Wa .no pi'noiP' S,"n'
me coarse 'ia,i.c Siass was sapi''e-
l,en.cu ny wv '.n1. i.u'o Pe,r w., :,
NioNcp M's in'iou,'oeu ~ 80 ou' T.. :,
was w vi ~ yea i..oi oeiois ~ AZ, Wa III
c"h'''ion usu. ut'',Ps WIZ VI ',.'n "ae
'ec'''sc VI VIZ eoi.'' pe""e WIZ RI ~,
~ cuitNatcu' Po'a!ocs "cio s''''i' "n"
uh)aiataoic'