nearly all raised vegetables of various sorts, chiefly cabbages, pumpkins, and coarse melons.  Some gave special attention to the cultivation of flax and hemp.  The meadows of the St Lawrence valley were very fertile, and far superior, in Kalm’s opinion, to those of the New England colonies; they furnished fodder in abundance.  Wild hay could be had for the cutting, and every habitant had his conical stack of it on the river marshes.  Hence the raising of cattle and horses became an important branch of colonial husbandry.  The cattle and sheep were of inferior breed, undersized, and not very well cared for.  The horses were much better.  The habitant had a particular fondness for horses; even the poorest tried to keep two or three.  This, as Catalogne pointed out, was a gross extravagance, for there was no work for the horses to do during nearly half the year.

The implements of agriculture were as crude as the methods.  Most of them were made in the colony out of inferior materials and with poor workmanship.  Kalm saw no drains in any part of the colony, although, as he naively remarked, ‘they seemed to be much needed in places.’  The fields were seldom fenced, and the cattle often made their way among the growing grain.  The women usually worked with the men, especially at harvest time, for extra labour was scarce.  Even the wife and daughters of the seigneur might be seen in the fields during the busy season.  Each habitant had a clumsy, wooden-wheeled cart or wagon for workaday use.  In this he trundled his produce to town once or twice a year.  For pleasure there was the celeche and the carriole.  The celeche was a quaint two-wheeled vehicle with its seat set high in the air on springs of generous girth; the carriole, a low-set sleigh on solid wooden runners, with a high back to give protection from the cold.  Both are still used in various parts of Quebec to-day.  The habitant made his own harness, often decorating it gaily and taking great pride in his workmanship.

The feudal folk of New France did not spend all their time or energies in toil.  They had numerous holidays and times of recreation.  Loyal to his Church, the habitant kept every jour de fete with religious precision.  These days came frequently, so much so, according to Catalogne’s report, that during the whole agricultural season from May to October, only ninety clear days were left for labour.  On these numerous holidays were held the various festivals, religious or secular.  Sunday, also, was a day of general rendezvous.  Every one came to Mass, whatever the weather.  After the service various announcements were made at the church door by the local capitaine de la milice, who represented the civil government in the parish.  Then the rest of the day was given over to visiting and recreation.  There was plenty of time, moreover, for hunting and fishing; and the average habitant did both to his heart’s content.  In the winter there was a great deal of visiting back and forth among neighbours,