The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1917-01-12
AN old TIME FARM
And the Methods That Were In
Use In the Year 1910.
DAYS OF THE SIMPLE LIFE.

When All Kinds Of Clothing Were Made
at Home, When Eggs Sold For a
Shilling a Dozen and the High Cost
of Living Was Not Big Problem.
In view of the modern day high cost
Of living and Of the many wonderful
advances made in the last century--the
railroad, telegraph, the ocean cable, the
telephone, the automobile and farm
and labor saving machinery Of all
kinds and the amazing changes these
inventions have necessarily wrought In
all directions In almost every walk of
life-it may be of interest to recall liv
ing conditions on a farm IN the year
1910.
The farm | have In mind consisted Of
200 acres. The stock was fifteen cows,
a yoke OF oxen, twenty sheep, an old
white horse, a dozen pigs, fifty hens.
ten geese, a few ducks and flock of
turkeys
The farm produced practically every.
thing the family consumed, both cloth
ing and food The sheep furnished the
wool, which was carded at a "fulling"
mill and made into rolls for spinning.
At home It was spun into yarn and
woven on a hand loom For beds it
was left white fol clothing 1t was
dyed any color desired a competent
housewife could make dyes Of logwood.
indigo or cochineal The white and
black wool were mixed to produce a
gray likethe Confederate uniform.
There were no ready made clothes;
all clothes were made ln the home
There was 30 woven underwear Stock
ings were knitted lit home as well as
mittens and tippets Caps with ear
laps We're Of rabbit saln There were
no shoes. In the winter boots came up
to the knees.
Several cows were t3Iled each year
There was a tauncry near by where
the skins were tanned 4 shoemaker
made our boots They were usually
too small aud gave murh trouble and
pain
The fax, cut ana laid down until the
fiber Iooseued from the woody part,
was put through a heckle worked by
hnud and hen spun and woven This
strong linen cloth was used for sum
mer clothing. towels, etc The seed
was saved to make 6ayseed tea "a med
icineJ or poultlce fer bruises.
For food we had everything needed
fresh meat potatoes, beets, cabbages,
parsnips. pumpkins for pies, apples,
which lasted from fan to spring; cider.
which gave us vinegar or produced q
cider champagne.
Half dozen PIGS killed In the fall
gave us plenty Of ham and bacon, lard.
sausages and salt pork. The hams and
bacon were hung up In the smokehouse,
a small building with no opening eX-
cept the door a small fire produced
more smoke than heat, but gave the
hams and bacon d very delicious favor
There were plenty Of chickens for
roasting and potpies and eggs, turkeys
for THANKSGIVING and Christmas, occa-
sionally roast goose with apple sauce.
From the cows milk we made both
butter aud cheese What butter and
cheese the family did not consume was
sold in a uear1y village Butter usual
" brought L. cents pound Cheese
was also made at home, MS there were
neither ercameries nor cheese facto-
ries. Cheese was sold at to 6 cents o
pound. All eggs not used went to the
village store and brought 10 cents to Il
4 cents a dozen
Every farmer made his own soap. II
was called soft soap. 1t was soft, but
very strong. and took the dirt of your
hands and face very thoroughly and
some skin also unless YOU were careful
In your ablutious.
Little was heard OF the world at
large. Twenty miles from the railroad
the great four horse stageeoach came
every day, bringing the mails There
We're few newspapers or magazines
The telegraph was unknown The At
lantic cable did not succeed until 1866
There were only twenty three miles o.
railroad in 1880
All the wonderful agencies which
have added to the power of man In The
last century viii not be lost, but vii
! be added to constantly. The many
problems Of the modern day high cos
Of living can only be solved by tim,
and the efforts of our greatest minds