236 EARLY DAY STORIES. 



which were suspended by iron hooks, the pots and kettles 

 containing the things to be boiled. This crane could be 

 swung out away from the fire, the vessel suspended, and 

 then swung back again over the fire. Baking of wheat 

 bread, pies and cakes was mostly done in a tin reflector called 

 a ''baker." This was open faced at one side with a shelf 

 in the center, this open side being placed to the fire, the 

 baking was done by the bright tin reflecting, both from 

 above and below, the rays of heat, thus throwing them upon 

 the bread. Great loaves of corn bread, or of corn meal 

 and rye flour mixed, were baked in a large iron kettle with 

 straight or slightly flaring sides, having a cast iron cover 

 with a phlange to hold the coals. This was placed on the 

 stone hearth, coals put underneath and on top, and allowed 

 to remain ten or twelve hours, cooking slowly with very little 

 fire. Some farmers had an oven out of doors built of 

 brick, or of brick and stone, with an iron door, and a little 

 chimney. At baking time a fire was built in this, and when 

 sufficiently heated the fire was all raked out, the bread 

 pushed in with a flat shovel, the door and chimney closed 

 and the baking left to itself until done. 



Every farmer kept sheep — there were no exceptions, 

 and a part of the wool was worked up at home, and many 

 raised flax for the fibre, prepared it for spinning, and thus 

 the materials were at hand for home made clothing. Every 

 family had its large spinning wheel for wool, and many had 

 the smaller one for flax. 



Let us see — what was there in my mother's house that 

 we do not find in the houses of today ? There was the little 

 wheel, worked by foot power similar to a sewing machine 

 of today, with its distafif, its spindle and its pHers, on which 

 she spun the linen thread to be woven into fine linen cloth 

 for the table and other uses, and also the coarser linen thread 

 from the tow or coarser fibre which would later be made 



