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AT THE FORKS OF THE GRAND a thing of wonder. They were entranced by the roar of the bellows and fire, the red glare of molten metal, and the breaking open of moulds to bring forth pots, kettles, and stoves. During the winter months, when sleighs could glide smoothly over the snow-filled roads, the pioneers came for many miles to gaze upon the fiery sights. They also came to exchange farm-produce for iron ware and other manu- factured articles; and, if they were so inclined, they came to take part in the dances that were frequently held nearby. Often a young man, if he was in a courting mood and wished to please his girl, would take her for a visit to the Furnace. On March 7, 1823, a young man of the Norwich settlement, Joseph Throckmorton by name, took a pretty, vivacious girl of eighteen years to Long Point. Her name was Mary De Long. She was the daugh- ter of David De Long, one of the early settlers in the Norwich district. Hiram met Mary. Keen grey eyes gazed into soft blue ones. Hiram and Mary fell in love. Less than a year later, on February i 12, 1824, they were married in Townshend. How did Joseph Throckmorton like losing his girl and playing the role of an unwitting cupid? For a while, he probably sulked. But by March io, 1824, almost on the anniversary of his losing Mary, he took another girl to the Furnace. She, too, was pretty and viv- acious. Her name was Adeline De Long, and she was a cousin of Mary's. In 1826, Joseph and Adeline were married. They were very happy, and for some years they enjoyed visiting back and forth with the happily married Caprons. Before his marriage to Mary De Long, Capron was a business acquaintance of William Holme. As early as 1823, he had visited the Forks of the Grand and sold Holme iron ware. The marriage made them social acquaintances. David De Long (Mary's father), William Curtis, and William Holme were all Quakers, and had all migrated to Canada from Dutchess County, New York State. According to Throckmorton's diary, William Holmne and William Curtis sometimes went to Nor- wich to visit Caleb and Henry Sutton, who lived close to David De Long. And according to the same diary, Hiram and Mary some- times visited David De Long and Joseph and Adeline Throckmorton. Thus Capron and Holme met socially in Norwich, and possibly the meetings there had something to do with their reaching an agreement about the sale of Holme's estate. Enterprise in business and love were not the only distinctive char- acteristics of Capron. He also had some of the characteristics of a scientist. This characteristic sometimes led him to doubt popular superstitions. For example, in a letter published in a magazine for farmers, he wrote as follows concerning the causes of smut: "Smoot," one man says, [in a magazine] is caused by an insect puncturing the kernel." I once raised smut as follows: 30