off, and hung in the smoke-house. On
the earthen floor beech or maple was burned; the oily smoke, given off
by the combustion of these woods in a confined space, not only acted as
a preservative but also lent a special flavour to the meat. Then
ploughing, fencing, sowing, and planting followed in quick succession.
No hands could be spared. The children must drive the cows to and from
pasture. They must also take a hand at churning. It was a weary task, I
well remember, to stand, perhaps for an hour, and drive the dasher up
and down through the thick cream. How often did we examine the handle
for evidence that the butter was forming, and what was the relief when
the monotonous task was at an end. As soon as my legs were long enough,
I had to follow a team; indeed, I drove the horses, mounted on the back
of one of them, when my nether limbs were scarcely sufficiently grown to
give me a grip.

The instruments for the agricultural operations were few and rough. Iron
ploughs with cast-iron mould-boards and shares were commonly employed.
Compared with our modern ploughs, they were clumsy things, but a vast
improvement on the earlier wooden ploughs which, even at that date, had
not wholly gone out of use. For drags, tree-tops were frequently used.

In June came sheep-washing. The sheep were driven to the bay shore and
secured in a pen. One by one they were taken out, and the fleeces
carefully washed. Within a day or two, shearing followed in the barn.
The wool was sorted; some was reserved to be carded by hand; the
remainder was sent to the mills to be turned into rolls. Then, day after
day, for weeks, the noise of the spinning-wheel was heard, accompanied
by the steady beat of the girls' feet, as they walked forward and
backward drawing out and twisting the thread and running it on the
spindle. This was work that required some skill, for on the fineness and
evenness of the thread the character of the fabric largely depended.
Finally, the yarn was carried to the weavers to be converted into cloth.

The women of the family found their hands very full in the "Thirties."
Besides the daily round of housewifely cares, every season brought its
special duties. There were wild strawberries and raspberries to be
picked and prepared for daily consumption, or to be preserved for winter
use. Besides milking, there was the making both of butter and cheese.
There was no nurse to take care of the children, no cook to prepare the
dinner. To