that gems the starry girdle of the year

Peas are scarce; good marrowfats are in better demand.

The Age of Innocence is based on an Edith Wharton novel and set in the very unmean streets of upper-crust New York, circa 1870.

Yet these contractual forms of labor exchange (i.e. hired herding and share herding), described in detail below, exist alongside other forms of inter-household cooperation and interaction including forms of patron-clientelism and, as such, have a diverse array of political effects and implications.