Employment was booming, and many who could not find work in their homeland could now support themselves and their growing families. Many different types of jobs and jobs were formed in colonial times, mostly determined by the climate and natural resources available to the particular department of work in the different regions of the first 13 colonies. The rich forested areas of colonial America allowed colonial workers to be employed in lumbering and lumbering activities. Large quantities of lumber were needed in the colonies and for commercial exports. Pines, oaks, maples, beech, birch, hickory, ash, and cypress were all abundant in colonial America. (Colonial Work) The northeast Atlantic coastline gave rise to many opportunities for the fishing industry. Coastal waters gave rise to whaling. Whale oil was a valuable resource as it could be used in oil lamps and to make soap. (Colonial work) Spermaceti was a white waxy substance produced by the sperm whale used in candles and ointments. As many more job opportunities began to arise for the hard-working men of the old worlds, many began to develop for women who traveled alongside their husbands. Receiving more freedom than before in their home countries, women living on farms engaged in colonial labor and such jobs as cleaning, cooking, growing vegetables, raising children, and spinning. (Colonial Work) These simple jobs gave women greater purpose and meaning, allowing for a push over the centuries to allow women to seek the same freedom and opportunity as men. New jobs and opportunities gave men and women a strong foothold in the new world to expand their horizons and explore more factors of life, to seek more and experiment with the little they had, extending each element to its limits and chasing it.