Almanacs provided the reader with information useful for farming, such as times for tidal flows and for the rising and setting of the sun and moon. They also contained, according to the cover of Edward Hitchcock's almanac, "other Instructive, Useful, and Entertaining Matter." Hitchcock's "almanack" was created especially for his hometown of Deerfield. Note that on the cover, just under the year 1815, he gives the year "according to Scripture, 5777." In this excerpt, Hitchcock describes where and when stars, planets, and constellations can be seen and explains how to read his calendar pages.