OLD HOMESTEAD 



that those whose ancestors purchased the most spelling-books 

 and English readers have made the best record in the race 

 of life. 



Although the times were hard, there is evidence of a taste for 

 some finery, and ornaments and ribbons, beads and fancy buttons 

 were common. 



Letter-paper was charged at one cent per sheet ; almanacs 

 were six cents apiece, and a lot of them were sold (they were 

 Benjamin Franklin's publications, and, like Webster's spelling- 

 book, were popular and carried much general information); but- 

 ton molds, thirteen cents a dozen; fish-hooks, one cent each; 

 gun-flints, one cent each; pins, one cent for each row; four-foot 

 wood, fifty cents per cord, delivered; chopping same, twenty- 

 five cents per cord; spelling-books, nineteen cents; English 

 readers, sixty-nine cents; Bibles, from seventy-five cents to one 

 dollar and a half; nails, twelve and one-half cents. Prices were 

 not exorbitant, but everything had a value and was carefully 

 saved and cared for. A board, plank or bit of good lumber, old 

 horseshoes, old saws, axes, wagon-tires, etc., were all carefully 

 preserved and made use of. 



Iron was high and scarce, as the trade in old iron indicated. 

 Any old worn-out iron tool had quite a value, as it furnished stock 

 to make something else. It was not an uncommon thing to find 

 a charge of one-half a pound of nails to a good, substantial cus- 

 tomer, and a credit of an old file or an old scythe at a few cents. 

 These in time went to William Carruth or Morris Haight, famous 

 old blacksmiths and tool-makers. An old ax-poll was worth 

 one dollar, and for a dollar it was "■ jumped." These ''jumped " 

 axes were considered quite as good and frequently better than 

 new, as they were made over and shaped by a practical woods- 

 man as well as a first-class blacksmith. The expression of one 



27 



