FARMERS' REGISTER 



657 



eeen a whip saw, a short description of it may not 

 be uninteresting. It was about the lengtli ol tlie 

 common mill saw, with a handle at each end 

 transversely fixed to it. The timber intended to 

 be sawed was first squared with the broad-axe, 

 and then raised on a scaffold six or seven feet high. 

 Two able-bodied men then took hold of the saw, 

 one standing on the top of the log and the other 

 under it, and commenced sawing. The labor was 

 excessively fatiguing, and about one hundred I'eet 

 of plank or scantling was considered a good day's 

 work lor the two hands. The introduction ofsaw 

 mills, however, soon superseded the use of the 

 whip saw, but they were not entirely laid aside 

 until several years after the war of the revolution. 



The dress of the early settlers was of the plain- 

 est materials — generally of their own manufacture; 

 and if a modern " belle" or " beau" were now to 

 witness the extreme plainness and 6imi)licity ol 

 their fashions, the one would be thrown into a fit 

 of the hysterics, and the other frightened at the 

 odd and grotesque appearance of their progfnitors. 



Previous to the war of the revolution, the mar- 

 ried men generally shaved their heads, and either 

 wore wigs or while linen caps. When the war 

 commenced, this fashion was laid aside, partly 

 from patriotic considerations, and partly from ne- 

 cessity. Owing to the entire interruption of the 

 intercourse with England, wigs could not easi- 

 eily be obtained, nor white linen for caps. 



The men's coats were generally made with 

 broad backs, and straight short skirts, with pock- 

 ets on the outside having large flaps. The waist- 

 coats had skirts nearly halfway down to the knees, 

 and very broad pocket flups. The breeches were 

 so short as barely to reacli the knee, with a b ind 

 surroundmg the knee, fastened wiili either bras^ 

 or silver buckles. The stocking was drawn up 

 under the knee-band, and tied with a garter 

 (generally red or blue) below ihe knee, .*o as lo be 

 seen. The shoes were of coarse Iciuher, wiih 

 straps to the quarters, and fiisiencd with either 

 brass or silver buckles. The hat was either of 

 wool or fur, with a round crown not exceeiiini? 

 three or four inches high^ with a broad brim.* 

 The dress lor the neck was usually a narrow col- 

 lar to the shin, with a white linen stock drawn to- 

 gether at the ends, on the back of the neck, with 

 a broad metal buckle. The more wealthy and 

 fashionable were sometimes seen with their stock, 

 knee and shoe buckles, set either in gold or silver 

 with brilliant stones. The author can recollect, 

 when a child, if he happened to see any of tliose 

 finely dressed " great Iblks," as they were then 

 termed, he felt awed in their presence, and viewed 

 them as something more than man. 



The female dress was generally the shor!-2own 

 and petticoat, made of the plainest materials. 

 The German women mostlj'^ wore tiirht calico 

 caps on their heads, and in the summer season 

 they were generally seen with no oilier clothing 

 than a linen shift and petticoat — the feet, hands, 

 and arms bare. In hay and harvest time, they 

 joined the men in the labor of the meadow and 

 grain fields. This custom, of the iemales laboring 

 in the time of harvest, was not exclusively a Ger- 

 man practice, but was common to all the northern 



* The Quakers were remarkable for their broad brim 

 bats. They were sometimes called "Broadbrims," 

 by way of distinguishing them from other people. 



Vol. VII I. -83 



people. Many females were most expert mow- 

 ers and reapers. Within the author's recollection, 

 he has seen several female reapers who were 

 equal to the stoutest males in the harvest field. 

 It was no uncommon thing to see the lemale part 

 of the family at the hoe or the plough ; and some of 

 our now wealthiest citizens frequently boast of 

 their grandmothers, ay, mothers too, perlbrming 

 this kind of heavy labor. 



The natural result ofthis kind of rural !i(e wag, 

 to produce a hardy and vigorous race of people. 

 It was this race of people v/ho had to meet and 

 breast the various Indian wars and the storms of 

 the revolution. 



The Dutchman's barn was usually the best 

 building on his farm. He was sure to erect a 

 fine large barn, before he built any other dwelling- 

 house than his rude \os cabin. There were none 

 of our primitive immigrants more uniform in the 

 I'orm of their buildings than the Germans. Their 

 dwelling-houses were seldom raised more than a 

 single story in height, with a large cellar beneath ; 

 the cliimnt^y in the middle, with a very wide fire- 

 place in one end for the kitchen, in the other end a 

 stove room. Their furniture was of the simplest 

 and plainest kind ; and there was always a long 

 pine table fixed in one corner of the stove room, 

 with permanent benches on one side. On the 

 upper floor .earners (or holding grain were very 

 common. Their bods were generally filled with 

 straw or chafl', with a fine leather bed for covering 

 in the winter. The author has several limes slept 

 in this kind of bed ; and to a person unaccustomed 

 to it, it is attended not unlrrquently with danger 

 to the health. The thick covering of the feathers 

 is pretty certain to produce a profuse perspiration, 

 which an exposure to cold, on rising in the morn- 

 ing, is apt to check suddenly, causing chillnee.? 

 and obsiinate cough. The author, a few years 

 ago, caught in this way the most severe cold, 

 which was followed bj? a long and distressing 

 eoiiojh, he ever was afllicted with. 



Many of the Germins have what they call a 

 drum, through which the stove pipe passes in 

 their upper rooms. It is made of sheet iron, some- 

 thing in the shape of the military drum. It soon 

 tills with heal from the pipe, by which the rooms 

 become agreeably warm in the coldest weather. 

 A piazza is a very common appendage to a 

 Dutchman's dwelling-house, in which his saddles, 

 and very frequently his wagon or plough harness, 

 are hung up. 



The Germans erect slables for their domestic 

 animals of every species ; even their swine are 

 housed in the winter season. Their barns and 

 stables arc well stored with provender, particular- 

 ly fine ha}' : lience their quadrupeds of all kinds 

 are kept througho-ut the year in the finest po.?sible 

 order. This practice of housing slock in the win- 

 ter season is unquestionably great economy in 

 husbandry. Much less food is required to sustain 

 them, and the animals come out in the spring in 

 fine health and condition. It is a rare occurrence 

 to hear of a Dutchman's losing any part of his 

 stock with poverty. The practice of housing 

 stock in the winter is not exclusively a Gernian 

 custom, but is common to most of the northern 

 people, and those descended from immigrants from 

 the north. The author recollccls once ^-eeing the 

 cow stalls adjoining the farmers' dwelling. 



The German women, many of ihcoi;. arc re- 



