Saxon and Merino sheep were raised to obtain the finest wool for weaving. Thoroughbred horses and cattle were raised for sale. Some of the first thoroughbred Guernseys were purchased by the Canterbury Shakers from the English Isle of Guernsey. The brothers looked upon the soil as something to be redeemed from rugged barrenness into smiling fertility and beauty. So their vast acreage yielded abundantly as proof of their devotion. From early records of farming, we learn that wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn, flax and potatoes were the first crops cultivated. Fruit trees were planted at an early date. Shakers were taught that agriculture was a part of their religion. A Gardener’s Manual was published in 1843. In this one writer expressed the Shakers’ belief that “if you would have a lovely garden, you should live a lovely life”. Among the inventions was a Screw-Propeller, a rotary or disk harrow, automatic spring, the sash balance and threshing machine. The Shakers were among the first to use water power to run their various mills, this led to the invention of a governor of the overshot water wheel, also a Turbine water wheel. Many inventions influence our homes today such as the machinery for making the tongue and groove boards and the first flat broom invented by Theodore Bates of Watervliet. Broom corn was raised and brushes manufactured as early as 1798. Table swifts for winding yarn was a helpful contribution of the Hancock Shakers. Other inventions included a machine for filling seed bags, and one for filling herb packages, the apple paring machine, the common clothes pin, the self-acting cheese press. Did you know the first one-horse wagon used in this country was a Shaker product of Enfield, Conn.? The Shakers not believing in patents or monopolies of any type were, however, forced because of lawsuits from unscrupulous money grabbers, to patent a few items such as the Revolving oven, which may still be seen in the Canterbury Bakery, and the far-famed Wash Mill, which won a gold medal at the Philadelphia exposition in 1876.