Life in Plymouth

Men begin farming in Plymouth as soon as it becomes warm enough in March. They loosen up the soil with plow and harrow. Farmers import their seeds from Europe. Then they begin planting their corn, beans, gourds and pumpkins. In the summer, besides a little weeding and hoeing the farmer doesn’t do much. It becomes the Children’s job to protect the plants from animals.
Women are in charge of milking the cows every morning and every night. Then they clean the house, which is hard to do without running water. The woman must fill buckets of water from springs and take them to their homes so that they can clean their utensils and floors. Then they sweep the floors and burn any waste on the ground. Woman must bring their beds outside everyday so that they can air out and not become musty.
Woman Also preserve meat by salting or smoking them. They also dry vegetables and hang them in lofts for winter. In the spring woman take ashes out of the fire and mix them with water. Then they boil this substance to form soap! Woman also boil clothes to clean very often.

Massachusetts Clothing

In England there were laws telling people what they had to wear. In Plymouth we do not have these laws but society strongly suggests you do not wear luxurious clothes because those are reserved for the wealthy. Men and Woman both have two outfits, one for work and daily uses and the other outfit for church. The everyday outfit is usually made of wool and dyed in simple colors such as brown and russet. But the church outfit is made of drugget (a fine wool fabric) and dyed with elaborate colors such as red and blue.
Children under the age of seven only wear straps around their shoulders so that parents can grab them easily. Children above the age of seven wear the same clothes as their parents except they walk around barefoot. Adults wear leather boots weather male or female. Men also keep their hair short because it is considered sloppy to have long hair.