At each canal lock, about a half acre of ground was set aside for a lock-house, generally a rent-free home that offered attractive housing because the lock-tender's pay seldom rose above $20 a month. The lock-tenders lived busy lives centered on the daily movement of canal boats, assisting boatmen in safely passing through the locks by day and night when necessary, and maintaining both the lock and the level stretch of canal below it. The lock-tender was effectively on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unable to go beyond hailing distance of the lock or take time off during the boating season. Most cargo boats traveled on weekdays and stopped for at least part of each night, but passenger packets could arrive at any hour, signaling their approach with a conch shell or tin horn. To supplement his meager wages, the lock-tender might fish or garden and sell extra fish or produce to boatmen, while his wife might bake bread or pies and the children might sell fresh water drawn from the well.