The methods of preparing the grain for distillation in the early times were as primitive as the erection of the still itself. Usually, and perhaps always, the stills were built near water courses and the power for grinding the grain was derived from the water, which was usually impounded by dams. The grain was crushed in old-fashioned mill stones. Often the stills were placed on small water courses in which there was only a sufficient amount of water in the rainy seasons, that is the winter and spring, to keep the distillery in motion. In fact, the old still was not a business but an incident, hence the farmer did not care to operate it except during winter and spring when outdoor farming operations were unpleasant or impossible.