Rural Economy in New England 355 



of them had pea and bean porridge, or broth, made of the liquor 

 of boiled salt meat and pork, and mixed with meal, and sometimes 

 hasty pudding and milk — both morning and evening. "^ Except 

 for the salted cod which made a favorite Saturday dinner for fami- 

 lies a considerable distance inland, the use of fish was probably 

 confined to the seacoast regions and to towns along the rivers where 

 fishing was regularly carried on,^ as a by-industry of agriculture. 

 Beef, pork, and mutton were all supplied from the farmer's own 

 flocks and herds. He was often his own butcher, although at times 

 he called upon some neighbor for this service. Owing to the lack 

 of facilities for refrigeration most of the meat was dried, salted or 

 pickled,^ operations performed by the women of the household. 

 They also supplied the table with butter and cheese, and tried out 

 the lard used in cooking. / 



The common bread of the country people was made of a mixture \ 

 of Indian com meal and rye flour ("rye and Injun"), ground at the \ 

 local grist-mill from the farmer's own grains. Wheat bread was in I y 



common use only in the seaports, whither the grain was brought* i / 

 from the Southern and Middle states, and in the region west of the 

 Connecticut River, where the soil was best suited to the cultivation 

 of this grain. ^ Fruits and vegetables grew everywhere in as great a 

 variety and abundance as the farmer could find time to plant and 

 cultivate. The orchards were especially important for their supplies 

 of cider, the favorite drink of the country population. 



Not only these staples of diet, but even some of the condiments 

 which made them palatable were supplied from the farm. The 

 business of making sugar and syrup from the sap of maple trees 

 was a regular department of the routine operations of inland farms. 



^ History of Ipswich, p. 30. 



^ Supra Chapter II. 



' A somewhat irregular supply of fresh meat was obtained by the practice of 

 slaughtering an animal in alternation with one's neighbors and distributing parts 

 of the carcass to the several families. A quarter of beef or mutton, or a side 

 of pork could be consumed by a single family before it spoiled, whereas a large 

 part of the meat would have been wasted, if not preserved in some way, had it 

 aU remained in one household. This practice still obtains in country districts. 

 It is one of the few surviving remnants of the various forms of coopera.tion which 

 were necessary in those days. 



* Supra p. 303, note 5. 



* Warden, D. B. Statistical, Political and Historical Account of the United 

 States of North America. 3 vols. Edinburgh. 1819. Vol. I., p. 329, estimates 

 that corn and rye bread was eaten by four-fifths of the inhabitants of Massa- 

 chusetts. See also Dwight, Travels, I. 340. 



