| Mihelmas
in September was the traditional time for taking over
new farms
SEPTEMBERS
HUSBANDRIE
Barne
locked, gofe ladder, short pitchfork and long, Barne
furniture:
flaile,
strawfork and rake, with a fan that is strong:
Wing,
cartnave and bushel, peck, strike ready hand,
get
casting sholve, broome, and a sack with a band.
A
stable well planked, with key and a lock, Stable
furniture
walles
stronglie wel lyned, to bear off a knock:
A
rack and a manger, good litter and haie,
sweet
chaffe and some provinder everie day.
A
pitchfork and doongfork, seeve skep and a bin,
a
broome and a paile to put water therein:
A
handbarow, wheelebarow, sholve and a spade,
a
currie combe, mainecombe, and whip for a Jade.
A
buttrice and pincers, a hammer and naile,
an
aperne and siszers for head and for taile:
Hole
bridle and saddle, whit lether and nall,
with
collers and harneis, for thriller and all.
A
panel and wantey, packsaddle and ped,
A
line to fetch litter, and halters for hed,
With
crotchis and pinnes, to hang trinkets theron,
and
stable fast chained, that nothing be gon.
Strong
exeltred cart, that is clouted and shod, Cart
furniture
cart
ladder and wimble, with percer and pod:
Wheele
ladder for harvest, light pitchfork and tough,
shave,
whiplash wel knotted, and cartrope ynough.
Ten
sacks, whereof everie one holdeth a coome, A
Coeme is half a quarter
a
pulling hook handsome, for bushes and broome:
Light
tumbrel and doong crone, for easing sir wag,
sholve,
pickaxe, and mattock, with bottle and bag.
A
grinstone, a whetstone, a hatcher and bil,
with
hamer and english naile, sorted and skil:
A
frower of iron, for cleaving of lath,
with
roule for a sawpit, good husbandrie hath.
A
short saw and long saw, to cut a too logs, Husbandry
tooles.
an
ax and a nads, to make troffe for thy hogs:
A
Dovercourt beetle, and wedges with steele,
stronh
lever to raise up the blocks fro the wheele.
Two
ploughs and a plough chein, ij culters and iij shares,
Plough furniture
woth
ground cloutes and side clouts for soil that so tares:
With
ox bowes and oxyokes, and other things mo,
for
oxteeme and horseteeme, in plough for to go.
A
plough beetle, ploughstaff, to further the plough,
great
clod to a sunder that breaketh so rough;
A
sled for a plough, and another for blocks,
for
chimney in winter, to burn up their docks.
Sedge
collers for ploughhorse, for lightness of neck,
goode
seede and good sower, and also seede peck:
Strong
oxen and horses, wel shod and wel clad,
wel
meated and used, for making the sad.
A
barie rake toothed, with iron and steele,
like
paier of harrowes, and roler doth wheel:
A
sling for a moether, a bowe for a boy,
a
whip for a carter, is hoigh de la roy.
A
brush sithe and grass sither, with rifle to stand, Harvest
tooles.
a
cradle for barlie, with rubstone and sand:
Sharpe
sikle and weeding hook, haie fork and rake,
a
meake for the pease, and to swing up the brake.
Short
rakes for to gather up barlie to binde,
and
greater to rake up such leavings behinde:
A
rake for to hale up the fitchis that lie,
a
pike for to pike them up handsome to drie.
A
skuttle or skreine, to rid soile fro the corne,
and
sharing shears ready for sheep to be shorne:
A
fork and a hooke, to be tampring in claie,
a
lath hammer trowel, a hod or a traie.
Strong
yoke for a hog, with twitcher and rings,
with
tar in a tarot, for dangerous things:
A
sheepe marke, a atr kettle, little or mitch,
two
pottles of tar to a pottle of pitch.
Long
ladder to hang al along by the wal,
to
reach for a neede to the top of thy hal:
Beame,
scales, with the weights, that be sealed and true,
sharp
moulspare with barbs, that the moules do so rue.
Sharpe
cutting spade, for the deviding of mow,
with
skuppat and skavel, that marsh men alow:
A
sickle to cut with a didall and crome,
for
draining of ditches, that noies thee at home.
A
chavestock and rabetstock, carpenters crave,
and
seasoned timber, for pinwood to have:
A
jack for to saw upon fewell for fier,
for
sparing of firewood, a sticks fro the mier.
Soles,
fetters, and shakles, with horselock and pad,
a
cow house for winter, so meete to be had:
A
stie for a bore, and a hogscote for a hog,
a
roost for thy hennes, and a couch for thy dog.
Thesh
seed and to fanning Dowing
of rie
plough
to the field, and be sowing of rie
to
harrow the ridges
Sow
timely thy whitewheat
let
rie be partaker of Mihelmas spring
to
beare out the hardness that winter doth bring
Some
mixeth to miller the rie with the wheat Myslen
temmes
lofe on his table to have for to eat
But
sowe it not mixed, to grow so on the land,
least
rie tarie wheat, till it shed as it stand.
If
soile do desire to have rie with the wheat,
by
growing togither, for safetie more great,
Let
white wheat be ton, be it deare, be it cheape,
the
sooner to ripe, for sickle to reap.
Though
beanes be in sowing but scattered in, Sowing
yet
wheat rie and peason, I love not too thin,
Sowe
barlie and dredge, with a plentiful hand,
least
weede, stead of seede, over groweth thy land.
No
sooner a sowing, but out by and by,
with
mother or boy that Alarum can cry:
And
let them be armed with sling or with bowe, Keeping
of crowes
to
scare away piggen, the rooke and the crowe.
Seed
sowen draw a forrough, the water to draine, Water
forough
and
dike up such ends as in harmes doe remain:
For
driving of cattell or roving that waie,
which
being prevented, ye hinder their praie.
Saint
Mihel doth bid thee amend the marsh wal, Amend
marsh walles
the
breke and the crab hole, the foreland and al:
One
noble in season bestowed thereon,
may
save thee a hundred er winter be gon.
Now
geld with the gelder the ram and the bul, Gelding
of rams
sew
ponds, amend dammes, and sel webster thy wul:
Out
fruit and go gather, but not in the deaw,
with
crab and the wal nut, for feare of the shreaw.
The
Moone in the wane,gather fruit for to last, Gathering
of fruit
but
winter fruit gather when Mihel is past:
Though
michers that love not to buy nor to crave,
makes
some gather sooner, else few for to have.
Fruit
gathered too timely wil taste of the wood, Too
early gathering
wil
shrink and be bitter, and seldome proove good: is
not best
So
fruit that is shaken, or beat off the tree,
with
bruising in falling, soone faultie will bee.
Now
burne up the bees that ye mind for to drive, Driving
of hives
at
Midsomer drive them and save them alive:
Place
hive in good ayer, set southly and warme,
and
take in due season, wax, honie and swarme.
Set
hive on a plank, (not too low by the ground), Preserving
of bees
where
herb with the flowers may compass it round:
And
boordes to defend it from north and noth east,
from
showers and rubbish, from vermin and beast.
At
Mihelmas safely go stie up thy Bore, Stie
up the bore
least
straying abrode, ye do see him no mre:
The
sooner the better for Halontide nie,
and
better he brawneth if hard he do lie.
Shify
bore (for il aire) as best ye do think,
and
twise a day give him fresh vittle to drink:
And
diligent Cislye, my dayrie good wench,
make
cleanly his cabbben, for mealsing and stench.
Now
pluck up thy hempe, and go beat out the seed, Gathering
of Winter hempe
and
afterward water it as ye see need:
But
not in the river where cattle would drinke,
for
poisoning them and the people with stinke.
Hempe
huswifely used looks cleerely and bright, Whitest
hemp best sold.
and
selleth itself by the colour so whight:
Some
useth to water it, some do it not,
be
skilful in dooing, for fear it do rot.
Wife,
into thy garden, and set me a plot, Setting
of strawberries
with
strawbery rootes, of the best to be got: &
roses &tc.
Such
growing abroade, among thornes in the wood,
wel
chosen and picked proove excellent and good.
The
Barbery, Respis, and Goosebery too,
Gooseberies & Respis
looke
now to be planted as other things do:
The
Goosebery, Respis and Roses al three,
with
Strawberies under them trimly agree.
To
gather some mast, it shall stand thee upon, Gathering
of mast
with
servant and children, er mast be al gon:
Some
left among bushes shal pleasure thy swine,
for
feare of a mischiefe keepe acorns fro kine.
For
rooting of pasture ring hog ye have neede, Rooting
of hogs
which
being well ringled the better do feede:
Though
yong with their elders wil lightly keepe best,
yet
spare not to ringle both great and the rest.
Yoke
seldom thy swine while the shacktime doth last, Yoking
of swine
for
divers misfortunes that happen too fast:
Or
if ye do fancie whole eare of the hog,
give
eie to il neighbour and eare to his dog.
Keepe
hog I advise thee from medow and corne Hunting
of hogs
for
out aloude crying that ere he was borne:
Such
lawles, so haunting, both often and long,
if
dog set him chaunting he doth thee no wrong.
Where
love among neighbours do beare any stroke,
whiles
shacktime indureth men use not to yoke:
Yet
surely ringling is needful and good, Ringling
of hogs
til
frost do enuite them to brakes in the wood.
Get
home with thy brakes, er sommer be gom, Carriage
of brakes
for
teddered cattle to sit there upon:
To
cover thy hovel, to brewe and to bake,
to
lie in the bottome, where hovel ye make.
Now
sawe out thy timber, for board and for pale, Sawe
out thy timber
to
have it unshaken, and ready for sale:
Bestowe
it and stick it, and lay it aright,
to
find it in March, to be ready in plight.
Save
slab of thy timber for stable and stie, Slabs
of timber
for
horse and for hog the more clenly to lie:
Save
saw dust, and brick dust, and ashes so fine,
for
alley to walke in, with neighbour of thine.
Keepe
safely and warely thine uttermost fence, Hedge
breakers
with
ope gap and brake hedge do seldome dispence:
Such
runabout prowlers, by night and by day,
see
punished justly for prowling away.
At
noone if it bloweth, at night if it shine, Learne
to knowe:
out
trodgeth Hew make shift, with hooke & with line:
Hewe prowler
Whiles
Gillet, his blouse, is milking thy cow,
Sie
Hew is a rigging thy gate or thy plow.
Such
walke with a black or a red little cur Black
or red dogs
that
open wil quickly, if anything stur;
The
squatteth the master, or trodgeth away,
and
after dog runneth as facst as he may.
Some
prowelth for fewel, and some away rig
fat
goose, and the capon, duck hen and the pig:
Some
prowleth for acornes, to fat up their swine,
for
corne and for apples, and al that is thine.
|