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cane an abundance of sorghum syrup. Needless to say, the purchases of cane suger was small.
The use of dried fruits and vegetables was a common practice for all of the farm people of this era. The most common fruits, apples, peaches, cherries, etc., would be cut into thin slices, then placed on wooden trays and dried in the sun. Each night the trays would be brought inside and each morning again placed in the sunlight. When dried to the proper stage, they would be stored for the winter, being placed in the sunlight from time to time to insure their preservation. Such items as beans, peppers, etc., would be allowed to dry in the garden and then stored for winter use. Another method for keeping apples, turnips, etc., was known as the kiln method. The kiln was constructed by making a circular platform of earth about one foot above the ground upon which would be placed the apples, potatoes, etc., in the shape of a mound, over which would be placed first a layer of straw, then a mound of earth. This would be covered with some material to protect the earth from washing away. In winter an opening would be made on the south side to retrive the contents. When properly built-, this method was very successful.
In the preservation of food, probably the most used item was the so-called stone crock. These came in many sizes from one quart, to ten gallons. Each farm had a plentiful supply of these crocks and used them in many ways to preserve food. For periods when the supply of butter was not sufficient, there was always at least one crock of butter. Butter would be placed in a crock and then covered completely with a heavy salt brine solution. This same method applied to hog lard.
Then the	same	method was	used to	make pickles, only instead
of salt, they	used	cider vinegar. To	preserve fruits, berries,
etc., the method was somewhat different. To the fruit, etc., they would add large amounts of sugar or honey, or sorghum syrup, and cook until the so-called preserves were as thick as butter. They would then be packed into the crocks to within several inches of the top and then covered with melted lard, over which would be placed a cover most of the time wood, or a cloth. There was no limit to the time these preserves would keep.
The fertility of the soil was fabulous,but there was a limit as to how long this fertility would last. With the absence of commercial fertilizer, using only barnyard waste for fertilizer, the land soon	became sterile.	In the	early days,the main money
crop was tobacco.	On a newly	cleared	piece of ground, one could
raise tobacco for four years, after which it was useless for tobacco. Much of the land either returned to its natural state, or became enormous gullies. Thus, the farm became less and less self-sustaining. This prompted many to move west and south to