In 1860 the farm produced most of the food and clothing required for daily living. Cheese, butter, leathers and cloth were all made or manufactured on the farm. Most Freetown farms produced some butter in 1860. That year, John Cairns produced 500 pounds and Ralph Schurman produced 400 pounds. The Ralph Schurman farm also produced eighty-one yards of fulled cloth. John and Christopher Cairns reported the largest quantity of non—fulled cloth at 100 yards each. Cheese was reported as being made on only eight ofthe farms with John Cairns reporting the most at 250 pounds. Leather was reported on five farms with Peter Schurman, at thirty pounds, producing the most.

Marsh Hay Andrew Clark in his excellent book, “Three Centuries and the Island” wrote that, in 1805, almost twice

as much hay was cut on the marshes as on the uplands in Prince Edward Island. This ratio was probably greater on the estuary of the Dunk River in Lower Freetown.

The annual growth of cord grass produces the marsh hay that our forefathers cut and cured for almost 200 years. The French settlers, many ofwhom were Acadian exiles from the Bay of Fundy marshlands, were the first to harvest marsh hay. This hay was also of major importance to the early Loyalist settlers.

Initially the marsh hay was cut by hand with a scythe but as time progressed, farmers used mechanical hay mowers drawn by a team ofoxen. This continued for many years until the oxen were replaced by horses. Cord grass was cut in late summer and piled on racks supported by poles driven into the mud. In winter, when frozen marshes enabled safe travel, the hay was hauled to the farm by sleigh. Though they are disappearing the remains of some of these stacking bases may still be seen. In the latter part of the 18005 more inland fields were being cleared and made available for growing hay, potatoes and turnips. Many farmers around the estuary abandoned marsh haying by 1920, but scattered cutting continued through the 19405.

Shortly after farmers began cutting marsh hay, they undertook to restructure the marsh by digging ditches to improve the drainage and constructing dykes to prevent tidal flooding of the marsh. Major digging on the south side of the Dunk was (it is believed) completed before the first bridge at Ross’ Corner was constructed in 1840 as ditches seemed to follow straight lines through the causeway. The impact ofdyking, draining and haying on the Dunk salt marshes was not monitored and productivity decreased since the annual layer of dead grass leaves was no longer added. Robbed of this natural mulch, the surface was left bare and vulnerable to erosion. Hay can be harvested from salt marshes, in most cases for many years, but not indefinitely, and certainly not without costs to the stability and productivity of the marsh.

Hauling in hay on Lewis’ farm. Earl Blanchard and George Somers on load.

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