The man was the leader of the family and distributed the functions of each member of the family group. He, the "boss-father," and his older sons were responsible for the heavier work of carpentry and blacksmithing, and for clearing the forest and opening crops, which, together with the vegetable gardens and the animal husbandry, were later left mainly to the wife and the younger sons and daughters, who were used to the hard work on the land from morning to night. And as their survival depended on them, families tended to be numerous to have more hands for work. The small profits were saved for the purchase of land to guarantee the future of the descendants or invested in small domestic industry.
