ginia, mild except for occasional freezes, with now
and then snowfall during the three winter months, proved less arduous to
the Englishmen than the two months of midsummer, when the mercury
reaching into the nineties brought discomfort, especially since the men
and women were clothed in the bunglesome garments, necessary in a cool
zone frequently overhung with fog. The many open, pleasant months in the
Colony made life out of doors a continuing pleasurable experience, when
hunting, fishing, horse-racing and games could be indulged in freely.

Yet, living indoors in Virginia in the coldest weather was always
cheerful. The land, heavily forested, yielded an ample supply of
firewood of all sorts, and the necessity of clearing the ground, for the
plantation homes and agricultural areas, kept heaps of wood at hand at
all times. The earliest open fires of the primitive shelters as well as
the great brick fireplaces later in the century, and the smaller hearths
in every room of the affluent planters' homes, always diffused that glow
of comfort instinctively sought, when the sun retreats. Before the
burning logs of hickory and oak the families gathered. There could be no
extravagance in the use of the abundant supply of wood, contrasting with
the necessity to preserve fuel in England, as the forests there, even in
the seventeenth century, were disappearing. Often, there were generous
pots of walnuts and hickory nuts to crack on the hearth, as family and
friends sipped from their pewter mugs the aging cider, pressed from
apples gathered in nearby orchards.

In addition to the flaming hearth, the soft glow of the candle, used
for illumination in the seventeenth century, lent charm to the evening
scene, as wanton shadows stood off in the room. Moreover, there was an
elusive aroma from the candles, often made from the wax of berries,
taken from the prolific growth of myrtle bushes about the Virginia
waterways. This redolence, together with the clear light which the
myrtle wax gave forth, made that candle popular in the evening;
notwithstanding, both beef and deer suet were in use for candle making,
and some candles were imported. All were held in candlesticks, made of
wire, brass, pewter, copper, or iron, the more elegant, of silver, with
snuffers of the same metals. In the very modest homes, the pine-knot
served as a means of illumination, the turpentine in the wood fibers
causing it to burn brightly until consumed.

[Illustrat