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FARM IMPLEMENTS.

Almost all the implements used on the plantation were made by the
slaves. Very few things were bought. Boss had a skilled blacksmith,
uncle Ben, for whom he paid $1,800, and there were slaves who were
carpenters and workers in wood who could turn their hands to almost
anything. Wagons, plows, harrows, grubbing hoes, hames, collars,
baskets, bridle bits and hoe handles were all made on the farm and from
the material which it produced, except the iron. The timber used in
these implements was generally white or red oak, and was cut and
thoroughly seasoned long before it was needed. The articles thus
manufactured were not fine in form or finish, but they were durable, and
answered the purposes of a rude method of agriculture. Horse collars
were made from corn husks and from poplar bark which was stripped from
the tree, in the spring, when the sap was up and it was soft and
pliable, and separated into narrow strips which were plaited together.
These collars were easy for the horse, and served the purpose of the
more costly leather collar. Every season at least 200 cotton baskets
were made. One man usually worked at this all the year round, but in the
spring he had three assistants. The baskets were made from oak timber,
grown in the home forests and prepared by the slaves. It was no small
part of the work of the blacksmith and his assistant to keep the farm
implements in good repair, and much of this work was done at night. All
the plank used was sawed by hand from timber grown on the master's land,
as there were no saw mills in that region. Almost the only things not
made on the farm which were in general use there were axes, trace chains
and the hoes used in cultivating the cotton.