8 RURAL SOCIOLOGY 



be so much the better intrinsically. The food that is simple 

 must be well seasoned or well cooked to tempt, while a compli- 

 cated dish disguises its poor cooking by its high seasoning, as a 

 badly cut dress may be made to look well by its many furbe- 

 lows. Baking in a brick oven was an art. The oven was filled 

 with wood, lighted and burned out, making the bricks of the 

 right degree of heat. Then the oven must be cleaned. At the 

 farthest end were put the beans, followed by the brown bread, 

 Indian pudding, white bread, pies, and cake. They were al- 

 lowed to stay, and were taken out in the reverse order from 

 that in which I have named them. All other cooking must be 

 done over the coals of a great wood fire, or in a tin kitchen 

 placed on the hearth. We may imagine that the table service 

 in a country farmhouse was not complicated. It was etiquette 

 to eat with the knife, as forks had not come into use. Pewter 

 and old blue iron ware abounded ; copper, also, was much used, 

 and must have added color to the kitchen. After the inner 

 man was satisfied, the wife must still clothe her husband, her- 

 self, and her children. Cloth could, of course, be bought, but 

 as a rule was far too expensive for anything but a farmer's 

 very best. Homespun was the general wear, and to make home- 

 spun the wool had to be taken from their own sheep oftentimes 

 to make their clothes, and all the process after the shearing and 

 washing fell to the woman's share. I believe that there were 

 itinerant tailoresses later on, but of course only the well-to-do 

 could afford such luxuries. The flax, too, had to be spun and 

 woven. Many houses throughout the country still show the old 

 loom room, where the loom stood for generations. Many parts 

 of old looms can still be found, reeds, shuttles, needles, and 

 heddles. 



Stockings had to be knit and many endless tasks performed 

 to keep the family warm and dry. Often the man of the family 

 did part of the cobbling of his children 's shoes and his own. 



Candles must be made foe light, and candle dipping was a 

 hard and dirty task. It took skill to make them round and 

 even. Later molds came in fashion and made the task easier 

 and less dirty. Soap had to be made for the family use. These 

 were tasks in addition to the ordinary sweeping, cooking, and 

 housework which every house demands. Floors were scrubbed 



