Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1911-06-10
OLD ACCOUNT BOOKS AND WHAT THEY REVEAL

sNritten Specially for The Bulletin.)
a frieno OIL mine, who mas kept lot
Of family account books, running back
well over d hundred years. was telling
me, the otner Gay, or some queer en-
tries in them. III one book covering
come years before 1855 he found that
his grandfather and father used to pay
from twelve 20 fifteen cents a pound
fe1- sugar as high as thirtyfiv cents
yard for calico, about twenty cents a
pound for nails, and Sc on and on. At
the same time when they did a days
work for a neighbor they charged
wages of -four York shillinss'' a day
fif<y cents. They sold their potatoes
at prices ranging frem two shillfrgs
TO forty cents a bushel, fed out all
their hay and corn, and got about
twelve and Il half cents pound for
their butter.
At which prices the grandfather
bought and paid fer his farm, and the
father enlarged and much improved it.
The son frankly admits that he can't
get Wing Of it, and should have to
sell out if he had no other source of in
come from small Investments.
Yet that same son can get purer SUI
gar at asoHt i've cents a pound-by
the hunSPed-berser ca Eco at six cents
q yard, nails at less than two and
half cents by the keg. And he can
earn Rise day wages-s2 a day in
h1fi1 anu DdTNeSilfrS get lilitN
cents pound for has butter. and from
cdghfy'se ninety cents a bGshel for his
potaR~es from consumer customers.
The same fsrn, the same sun and
rain toe Same manure at command
and ADDITIONAL fertilizers buyabie. of
which the former genera tons knew
nauEfS; higher prices for what he pro-
dwces and smaller prices for what he
bsWs-and yet this generation can't
make The farm support it, where for
Tasr GeDeEatieEs eodned not only a hy
lag, tus mace the farm pay for itself,
isto thu bASEafn. And had some sn,eli
moneys to RNSst. hs sides-What-on
--earfh--is the matter?
You may suggest various reasons.
esrssFs shs ressns farmer is lazy and
werEer snd a es sesul Fellow about his
place. Ferhs<s he hasn't any business
senees Bot he has; he's as sharp at a
saeluA - aay o. US. Perhaps he
drSaENG 90 he does but only water
and. pfsee, where his grandfather and
fa&&tst both fused 20 buy and drink rum.
The4r saccetfst books show that they
boltisfH 1T rs the keg and sometimes
BIZ toe baTFel Perhaps ne mas a bigger
fameeg No; smaller than IN either OF
the preceding generations. Perhaps the
fAsp has 1srome run down? Old resi-
dents VINO have known it for sixty
ysArp rer me it is making as GOOD
crops rs they eser knew it to. Where,
then can ff1e tremendous change come
iMf What N the explaAation?
Well these same account books give
the answer. IL one really wants to
know 1t.
" has to be worked out q little, but
it's fairly illunn3ns tive, when you be-
gin 20 get at Ii. For one instance,
there isn't record for years and years
Of single purchase of a suit of
Clothes or a dress. There is one recoro
of the purchase of so many yards of
broadcloth-rrssumabl for the farm
er's Sunday 20 to meetir'" suit-and
several records of the purchase of cali
co. once Of some Bingham, and once of
a pattern" of black silk. That broad
cleth and silk We're made up at
home by mother and daughters. They
were qIrbte a. proud OF their dizziness
and skill in doing it as their grand
daughter is of her skill at tennis-at
which game. s+hen she plays it, she
wears dress made by a. dreSsD1aker
and costing at least twice as mach a.
the entire clothing bill of her grand
fathers fsnily for q year The usual
everyday clothing of those days was
always home made-and often home
produced rs well Wool was taken to
the local mfss and made into CLOTH so
ma ny sJiardS being given for so many
pounds OF weo1, the factory taking its
pront in a sort of toll" Then the cloth
was cut and made up as needed at
home Some fax was raised and from
tho fiber reUsh but exceedingly SER
viceabee linens were made for summer
use. fffdes stripped from farm killed
animals were tanned at the local tan
merry. apa from tire resultant leather
the foc1gear al the family was made
up BY are uesghborhood cobbler. work
ins at so much day, like any other
workman.
tr this single matter of clothes the
yearly money expenditure of a large
family two generations back was hard
" one-tenfh OF Il q expense of a small
So family pow. That shows where some
Of the money goes.
Anethsr feature Of the former meth
oes Of living is Frequently suggested in
these ofd 5ocdss tn ouah not fully writ
ten out. There is hardly an item show
ing the purchase Of meat. But there
are Items showing exchanges of meat
Efth different mel shbors. 1t is evident
that when JabeZ knied a beef he used
what he could as fresh meat sailed
what he though dssira BILE ard distrib-
uted the rest around among his neigh
bors. Then when they slaughtered they
rettipRed 10 ham equal amount of
fresh meat The same with pork and
occasionally with mutton. When the
sSsd were running in the river they
uSed to buy them by the wagon load
at Ave cents y fish clean and salt them
down like nackerel, and use them
freely during the rest Of the year That
vas about their only actual money out
az for meat ~ fish. The result was
that they usually had all the meat they
wanted. at the exact cost of raising it.
View the meat that is Consumed on
that farm is bought almost wholly from
the butchers. and the price includes
not only the COST of the meat itself,