52 EMIGRATION, OR 



irons wear but little. A new iron furnace, and forge, esta 

 blishing on Otter Creek, forty miles below here, where 

 good hands get thirteen dollars wages per month and board 

 now, and fifteen dollars offered for the summer, payable 

 chiefly in their casting ware.* The Colonel has his thrash 

 ing all done by the flail, but a great deal of the grain in 

 the province is trodden out by either horses or oxen. A 

 man with four horses will tread out thirty bushels, or more, 

 in a day, which does very well for grain that is used in the 

 distillery, but is too dirty, though often done, for flour for 

 the merchant, and baking in the family. When flail 

 thrashing is hired, the thrasher gets one-tenth and his 

 board ; and as the dryness of the climate makes it thrash 

 well, one man often thrashes from eight to twelve, or even 

 fifteen bushels in a day. Millers are allowed by law, for 

 grinding, one-twelfth, it has been one-tenth I am told ; but 

 some wise-acres, who thought it was not enough, petitioned 

 for one-twelfth ! 



April 8. This week has been partly wet and cold, and 

 partly fine and pleasant. Sowing spring wheat, with clover, 

 and Timothy grass, on land that was ploughed last fall ; it 

 harrowed pretty well considering 1 the wet undrained state it 

 was in. Ploughed with two yoke of oxen at each plough, 

 yet most people use only one, except in breaking up new 

 land. Sheep began lambing. Pigeons, in great flocks, 

 going out daily northward ; some people, with nets and 

 decoy pigeons, will catch several hundreds in a day, when 

 they sometimes take only their breasts, and salt them down 

 in barrels, and make beds of their feathers. Turned the 

 calves out of the yard to grass. The one, two, and three 

 year old cattle go to the woods, and do very well on the 

 wild leeks and onions, &c. Only the milch cows and 

 horses have any hay now, and the sheep a few oats in the 

 sheaf in a morning. 



April 15. Two or three rather severe frosty days at the 



* Iron ore plentiful and good in various parts of the province, 

 chiefly found in swamps, on sandy land; and forges and furnaces are 

 now so common that iron and cast ware is plentiful, and moderately 

 cheap. Wrought iron, which, if well made, is very tough and good, 

 fetches its price, and mill machinery cast is about 2|c/. per pound. 

 Stoves, pots, kettles, &c., at an advance in proportion to extra work 

 manship, &c. 



