A sexual division of labor was practiced, with women engaged in home manufactures and food preparation while men were occupied with agriculture, hunting, and construction. Since a great percentage of the land of Woodford County was tillable, farming was the principal occupation of the early settlers. Plowing was by means of wooden plows with iron shares; corn was planted by hand and covered using a hoe. Hay, often using wild rather than cultivated grass, was cut with a scythe and taken up with rakes and pitchforks.