The earliest fences were usually made of five rails and must be up by early in April when the cattle and hogs were turned out to roam at large. The New England farmer, clearing his land for cultivation, soon devised another form of fence where stones were plentiful and by piling up these stones into walls divided off his fields and gave them substantial protection. The well-built stone wall must have a foundation of small stones laid in a trench to prevent its being thrown by the frost and when carefully built it would last for generations. Meanwhile the adjoining field had been cleared of stones and made useful for cultivation. Hedge fences were also in frequent use as in parts of England whence the settlers had emigrated. The roads outside the villages were seldom fenced. In fact, the early roads were little more than ill-defined paths winding their way across pastures and cultivated fields and whenever a dividing farm was reached, there would be a gate or bars to be opened and closed by the traveler. CHAPTER VIII MANNERS AND CUSTOMS When the first considerable emigration ceased about the year 1640, of the 25,000 settlers then living in the Colony, probably ninety-five per cent were small farmers or workmen engaged in the manual trades, together with many indentured servants who had come over under the terms of a contract whereby they were bonded to serve their masters for a term of years--usually five or seven. The remaining five per cent of the population was composed of those governing the colony--the stockholders in the Company, so to speak; ministers enough to supply the spiritual needs of each town and settlement, however small; a few of social position and comparative wealth; one lawyer; and a sprinkling of shopkeepers and small merchants living in the seaport towns. Here and there a physician or chirurgeon might be found, but the physical welfare of the smaller towns was usually cared for by some ancient housewife with a knowledge of herbs and simples. Sometimes it was the minister who practiced two professions and cared for the bodies as well as the souls of his congregation.