ime of death of members of his
household; for friendly advice; for culinary aids to a halting appetite;
for the preparation for feasting an exceptional number of persons; in
short, in any unusual emergency, as well as in frequent every-day
cooeperation in log-rolling, stone-piling, stump-pulling, wall-building,
house-raising, etc.,--all the hard and exhausting labor on the farm.

The word "cooeperation" is modern, but the thing itself is as old as
civilization. In a new country where there was much work to be done
which one man or one family could not do, under the mechanical
conditions which then existed, a working together, or union of labor was
necessary for progress, indeed, almost for obtaining a foothold.

The term "log-rolling" is frequently employed in its metaphorical sense
in politics, both by English and American writers who have vague
knowledge of the original meaning of the word. A log-rolling in early
pioneer days, in the Northern colonies and in western Virginia and the
central states, was a noble example of generous cooeperation, where each
gave of his best--his time, strength, and good will; and where all
worked to clear the ground in the forest for a home-farm for a neighbor
who might be newly come and an entire stranger, but who in turn would
just as cheerfully and energetically give his work for others when it
was needed.

With the vanishing of the log-rolling, and a score of similar kindly
usages and customs, has gone from our communities all traces of the
old-time exalted type of neighborliness. We nowadays have generalized
our sentiments; we have more philanthropy and less neighborliness; we
have more love for mankind and less for men. We are independent of our
neighbors, but infinitely more dependent on the world at large. The
personal element has been removed to a large extent from our social
ethics. We buy nursing and catering just as we hire our houses built and
buy our corn ready ground. Doubtless everything we buy is infinitely
better; nevertheless, our loss in affectionate zeal is great.

The plantation was the unit in Virginia; in New England it was the town.
The neighborly helpfulness of the New England settlers extended from
small to great matters; it formed communal privileges and entered into
every department of town life. For instance, the town of Gloucester in
1663 granted a right to a citizen for running a small sawmill for
twenty-one years. In return for this right the grantee w