Oxen also performed nearly all the animal labor of the farm. There were but few horses. These were chiefly used under the saddle, the women often riding upon pillions behind the men. Until mills for grinding grain were built, the flour was made by hand-grinding in a mortar, and afterward, the mills being few in number, much of the grain was carried long distances upon • the backs of horses. Nearly everything used in the family was raised and manufactured upon the premises. Flax was an important crop and its preparation consumed much time and labor. It was dressed, spun and woven at home. During the greater portion of the year the people wore only linen garments and their beda were also furnished with linen coverings. The fleeces of their sheep were scoured, carded, spun and woven by the hands of those who wore the' woolen clothes in winter and slept under the blankets they had themselves made. The loom occupied a room in nearly every house. The skins of their animals were tanned and dressed at home, the tan-vat being a nec-

THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THP] MANORS.

essary adjunct to every well-regulated establishment. The people made their own shoes or were supplied from leather of their own making by the itinerant shoemaker, who sojourned with the family till his work was completed. In the preparation and manufacture of so many articles all the members of the family were employed, and each home was the scene of busy industries, furnishing all its inmates with a practical education that made them useful and selfreliant.