Much of New England has thin, rocky soil. The hilly land and the long hard winters made it difficult to grow crops. Many farmers had to cut down all the trees and take all of the stones out of the ground before they could plant any crops. There were a few areas in Massachusetts that were good for farming. In the Connecticut River Valley the soil was very good and deep and not as rocky. Farmers could also use the river to ship their goods to other towns. The land near Cape Cod was good for growing cranberries.
Most farmers turned to raising animals instead of crops. They raised horses, cows, pigs, sheep, and oxen. A lot of the land was used for pastures and for growing hay.
If you came to Massachusetts looking to do farm work, you might start farming cranberries, especialy if you lived near the ocean or near a bog. There were many farmers who grew cranberries in the 1800's. Growing cranberries requires a lot of water. They grow in what is commonly known as "bogs".
Working on a farm required a lot of hard work. Farmers were usually up at sunrise tending to the animals and cleaning the barn. Then they hard to work the fields to make sure their crops were growing nicely. Many farms were too big to work alone. Many farmers had to hire strong men to help. Sometimes the children would help, too.
In many of these farming towns there would be a gristmill and a sawmill. This helped make some of the farming life a little easier. A gristmill turned grains into flour, and the sawmill turned logs into wooden planks for building. Water was the main source of power for these mills, so they needed to be built along a river or stream. Strong men were also needed to run the gristmill and the sawmill.