together, each four at the place where the corners of their four lots joined, so that the open spaces would be larger than if each farmer made a separate clearing. Thus also four men could work near each other with more security against savages.
Charcoal has been mentioned as one of the products of the colonists. Though at this time pit coal (or sea coal, as it was then called) was considerably used in London, it was unpopular, and its use had been prohibited by parliament. Charcoal was then and for a generation later universally used for smelting iron. Wood was becoming scarce in England, and timber for shipbuilding was in great demand. The use of any wood fit for shipbuilding in making charcoal was prohibited. Under these circumstances charcoal could he profitably made for export by the colonists of Mortonia, where wood was a thing to be gotten rid of in clearing fields. Some men skilled in making charcoal came in the "last supply," and the art was easily learned by all.
The colonists learned from the Indians to expedite the clearing of land by girdling the large trees: that is, cutting off a wide ring of bark around the trunks. A well-girdled tree
