On the whole, even in the humbler homes there was no need for any one to go hungry.  The daily fare of the people was not of great variety, but it was nourishing, and there was plenty of it save in rare instances.  More than one visitor to the colony was impressed by the rude comfort in which the people lived, even though they made no pretense of being well-to-do.  “In New France,” wrote Charlevoix, “poverty is hidden behind an air of comfort,” while the gossipy La Hontan was of the opinion that “the boors of these seigneuries live with, greater comfort than an infinity of the gentlemen in France.”  Occasionally, when the men were taken from the fields to serve in the defense of the colony against the English attacks, the harvests were small and the people had to spend the ensuing winter on short rations.  Yet, as the authorities assured the King, they were “robust, vigorous, and able in time of need to live on little.”

As for beverages, the habitant was inordinately fond of sour milk.  Tea was scarce and costly.  Brandy was imported in huge quantities, and not all this eau-de-vie, as some writers imagine, went into the Indian trade.  The people themselves consumed most of it.  Every parish in the colony had its grog-shop; in 1725 the King ordered that no parish should have more than two.  Quebec had a dozen or more, and complaint was made that the people flocked to these resorts early in the morning, thus rendering themselves unfit for work during most of the day, and soon ruining their health into the bargain.  There is no doubt that the people of New France were fond of the flagon, for not only the priests but the civil authorities complained of this failing.  Idleness due to the numerous holidays and to the long winters combined with the tradition of hospitality to encourage this taste.  The habitants were fond of visiting one another, and hospitality demanded on every such occasion the proffer of something to drink.  On the other hand, the scenes of debauchery which a few chroniclers have described were not typical of the colony the year round.  When the ships came in with their cargoes, there was a great indulgence in feasting and drink, and the excesses at this time were sure to impress the casual visitor.  But when the fleet had weighed anchor and departed for France, there was a quick return to the former quietness and to a reasonable measure of sobriety.

Tobacco was used freely.  “Every farmer,” wrote Kalm, “plants a quantity of tobacco near his house because it is universally smoked.  Boys of twelve years of age often run about with the pipe in their mouths.”  The women were smokers, too, but more commonly they used tobacco in the form of snuff.  In those days, as in our own, this French-Canadian tobacco was strong stuff, cured in the sun till the leaves were black, and when smoked emitting an odor that scented the whole parish.  The art of smoking a pipe was one of several profitless habits which, the Frenchman lost little time in acquiring from his Indian friends.