PREFACE_A Day in a Colonial Home

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[Illustration: Plate I. Colonial Kitchen in the Newark Museum]

A DAY IN A

COLONIAL HOME

DELLA R. PRESCOTT

_EDITED BY

JOHN COTTON DANA_

[Illustration: Publisher logo]

MARSHALL JONES COMPANY

FRANCESTOWN, NEW HAMPSHIRE

BY MARSHALL JONES COMPANY

First printing, July, 1921

Second printing, March, 1922

Third printing, September, 1922

Fourth printing, November, 1926

Fifth printing, January, 1929

Sixth printing, November, 1929

Seventh printing, November, 1938

Eighth printing, March, 1949

_To_

MY MOTHER, MARY JANE

PREFACE

The average home to-day has conveniences to meet the demands of

comfortable living. The heating and lighting are good. In nearly every

home may be found a living room where the family assembles for rest and

recreation. Here they read, sew, chat, and discuss the news. Similar

scenes occurred in the colonial days, but in quite a different room. The

kitchen took the place of our modern living room. The life of the

colonists centered in it, for in the kitchen was the fireplace, often

the one source of heat in the whole house. Its warmth and cheer and its

use as a place for cooking made it the heart of the home. Here it was

that the family interests and activities were centered; all the family

group collected here to share the joys and sorrows of life.