Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1955-09-29

For this and other information
on the far-off time of history, we
are indebted to G.. G.. Griffith of
Laytonsville.
Most of the landowners were
apt to have one or two slaves
but many of the large farms had
many more and some had none
at all.
In general the same crops of
wheat, corn and hay were raised
usually in a rotation which gave
one field of corn, and two of
wheat each year = one wheat
field being planted in the corn
stubble and one in a field which
had grown one crop of wheat.
Unlike today, dairy herds were
small since transportation prob
lens were many and it was diff
ficult to dispose of large guam
titles of milk. Each farm had
enough cattle to provide the fam
nily with milk, butter and in many
cases homemade cheese. There
were a few beef cattle but many
of the cattle killed for family
eating had more milk than beef
COW blood.
The hay and corn raised on
the farm went for the most
part to feed the stock and
wheat was the major cash mon
ey crop. Many purchases car
ried clause that said they
would be paid for when the
wheat crop was sold. Wheat
was hauled in wagons by hOrs-
es to the nearest mill and there
were more mills than today be-
cause of the transportation
problems.
Wheat and corn were brought
to the miller to be exchanged for
flour and cornmeal and the mil
Ter took a certain percentage of
the grain as payment for his
Field work was slow and hard.
work.
Horses were used and many
farms had one or more yoke of
oxen to do the heavy blowing and
hauling. Oxen had the advant-
y ge of being very strong and of
not needing as much grain as
bnycac 10 Hxprly
Reapeps were replacing the old
cradle method of harvesting
wheat but in many cases they
still Graded around the field.
Many county farmers had Dorsey
reapers made by Walter Dorsey
in Howard county. These ma
chimes cut the wheat but did not
tie it in bundles and both the tie
ing and shocking of the grain
was done by hand. AS it cut the
grain, it rolled it around on a
sort of belt and dropped it in a
loose united bundle on the ground.
Each farmer killed several
hogs for his own family use in
the fall and the meat was either
smoked or put down in brine.
The number of hogs raised for
meat each year would depend on
the size of the household and
pork was the staple meat with
lesser amounts of beef or lamb
and supplemented by fish which
could be caught in neighboring
" If the farmer had extra hogs
to butcher and he usually did,
they were killed and dressed and
taken to market in Washington.
We were told that sc a pound
for the dressed hog was a tire;
mendous price and farmers often
received less. The hogs would be
loaded in the wagons in the late
evening at a time which would
allow the horse and driver to
make it to the Washington mar
ket by daylight.
The old method of threSnlng
grain was to fail it by hand on
Il hard surface, usually the barn
floor. Some of the older peO-
pie we talked to can remember
failing out some grain, often
little rye, but the stationary
threshing machine replaced this
old and time consuming harvest
method.
Grain (wheaD originally plant
ed by scattering, was now being
planted by a horse drawn drill.
Corn was still being dropped by
hand. A single row pillow would
Alay off rows down the field and
When so mang inches apart would
be laid off rows across the field
before the planting started. The
cornfield looked like gigantic
checkerboard. Then the corn
would be dropped where the rows
intersected.
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