The marriage ceremony was generally performed at the minister's residence, and it was he, also, who furnished refreshments, consisting of home-made wine and small cakes. The bride and groom, sometimes attended by friends, usually went on horseback, and wedding trips were unknown to most people. Upon the return of the party to the temporary or future home of the newly wedded couple, dancing and other festivities were indulged in until long after midnight.

It was the custom for the bride to furnish the household linen, bedding, etc., the husband being supposed to have secured a house and plat of ground, either by purchase or renting. The habit was never to take an old broom into a new house, as bad luck was sure to follow. 3 It must be a new broom, and first carried across the meadow, to avert any evil consequences. [134] Both at wedding feasts and upon other occasions it was usual, when dancing to "dance for flax;" that is, the higher the feet were raised from the floor, the higher would be the host's crop of flax at the next harvest. 1

The young, wife, in the absence of farm help, often lent a helping hand in the heavy work of farming, such as plowing, threshing grain, clearing the fields of large stones, etc. From spring until autumn it was her duty, to gather the various herbs, barks, roots, and flowers supposed to contain medicinal properties, which were subsequently employed in domestic practice, as occasion required. Garden-seeds were also selected for the next year's planting, and, altogether, these various packages and bags, suspended from the rafters of the loft or garret of the house, formed quite an important and interesting collection. The subject of folk-medicine and the superstitions relating thereto will be presented later on.

"Quiltings" and apple-butter parties were looked forward to by the young folks with much interest. At the former the young women assisted in finishing bed-quilts, which consisted of many-colored patches of calico, and sometimes silks, the evening terminating with a dance and a supper; while, at the latter, much of the day was spent in boiling down cider and paring apples, which were subsequently reduced therein to the proper consistency. As this required constant stirring to avoid burning, the labors sometimes extended far into the night, and were then followed by a dance.

In some localities it is believed that if vinegar be disturbed while the apple-trees bloom it will again turn to cider.

With the exception of very few articles, nearly every variety of food was of farm production. Such as was obtained at the country stores was received in exchange for butter and eggs.

The housewife sometimes found difficulty in butter-making, the "spell" being believed to be the work of a witch, as every locality boasted of such a personage. The remedy was to plunge a red-hot poker into the contents of the churn, when the spell was broken, and the butter immediately began to form.

To refuse a witch any request was sure to be followed by misfortune. The following incident was related to the writer by Mr. A. F. Berlin, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, who received it at first hand. A farmer who lives at Alburtis, Lehigh County, had two cows. One [135] day an old woman, who lived but a short distance away, and who was suspected of being a witch, came to the house, and, during the course of conversation, asked which of the two cows gave the greater quantity of milk. The one which was indicated was then with calf. Upon the following day the two cows were driven, as usual, into the fields to pasture, but on attempting to drive them home, later in the day, the milch cow was found lying helpless upon the ground. The farmer, upon hearing of this, went into the field with his sons, to endeavor to get the animal upon her feet. The sons took hold of the horns, while the father grasped the tail, but all attempts to move the cow were ineffectual. The father then directed the boys to gather some wood to make a fire, which was to be placed near the cow. During all this time the witch was standing on the portico of the farmer's house, watching the proceedings; but the instant she saw that fire was to be kindled, she came forward, and inquired after the purpose of the proceedings. The farmer accused her of bewitching the cow, but this she denied most vigorously. The witch then bade the farmer call his wife, who, upon her arrival, was told to take hold of the cow's tail while the witch went to the head. After a few caresses and the utterance of some words of endearment and encouragement, the cow rose from the ground, and walked away as if nothing had occurred.
W. J. Hoffman, M. D.

Footnotes :
126:1 Of two brothers, one retained the original form, another changed to Jaeger.
130:1 That a similar belief obtained in Great Britain is observed from the following passage in Tusser's Poems (printed 1744), quoted by Mr. Folkard in his Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics (London, 1884), p. 168, viz.: "It must be granted the moon is an excellent clock, and, if not the cause of many surprising accidents, gives a just indication of them, whereof this Pease and Beans may be one instance; for Pease and Beans sown during the increase do run more to hawm and straw, and during the declension more to cod, according to the common consent of countrymen."
130:2 A similar belief obtains in Devonshire, England. Parsley was regarded by the Greeks as a funeral herb, and. they frequently strewed the tombs of their dead with it.
130:3 "Do not kill your pig until full moon, or the pork will be ruined," is a West Sussex superstition. The Folk-Lore Record, 1878, i. II.
133:1 This information, not published in the Reports in extenso, was given to the writer by a gentleman present at the trial and practising before the court.
133:2 Hollis v. Wells, opinion by Judge Banks, Common Pleas of Lehigh County, August Term, 1845.
133:3 A New England saying, noted in the London Folk-Lore Journal (1884, ii. 24), is, "He who proposes moving into a new house must send in beforehand bread and a new broom."
134:1 In one part of Germany it is customary "for the bride to place flax in her shoes, that she may never come to want" (Flowers and Flower-Lore, by Hilderic Friend, i. 134). Another custom, from the same authority, is to the effect that a bride will "tic a string of flax around her left leg, in the belief that she will thereby enjoy the full blessing of the married state."
"Flax is the symbol of free and abundant vegetable life" (Mythologie des Plantes, by Count A. de Gubernatis, ii. 199).