33.

1Was not Christ our Sauioursent to vs fro God aboue?not for our good behauiour,but onely of his mercie and loue.If this be true, as true it is,truely in deede,great thanks to God to yeeld for this,then had we neede.2This did our God for very troth,totraineto him the soule of man,and iustly to performe his othto Sara and to Abram than,That through his seed all nations shouldmost blessed bee:As in due time performe he would,as now wee see.[1]3Which woonderously is brought to pas,and in our sight alredie donne,by sending as his promise was(to comfort vs) his onely sonne,Euen Christ (I meane) that virgins child,in Bethlem[2]borne,that Lambe of God, that Prophet mild,with crowned thorne.4Such was his loue to saue vs all,from dangers of the curse of God,that we stood in by Adams fall,and by our owne deserued rod,That through his blood and holie namewho so beleeues,[3]and flie from sinne and abhors the same,[E143]free mercie he geeues.5For these glad newes this feast doth bring:to God the Sonne and holy Ghostlet man giue thanks, reioice, and sing,from world to world, fromcostto cost:for all good gifts so many waiesthat God doth send,let vs in Christ giue God the praies,till life shall end.T. Tusser.[6]At Christmas be merie and thankfull withall,And feast thy poore neighbors, the great with the small,Yea, all the yeere long, to the poore let vs giue,Gods blessing to folow vs while wee doo liue.

2This did our God for very troth,totraineto him the soule of man,and iustly to performe his othto Sara and to Abram than,That through his seed all nations shouldmost blessed bee:As in due time performe he would,as now wee see.[1]

3Which woonderously is brought to pas,and in our sight alredie donne,by sending as his promise was(to comfort vs) his onely sonne,Euen Christ (I meane) that virgins child,in Bethlem[2]borne,that Lambe of God, that Prophet mild,with crowned thorne.

4Such was his loue to saue vs all,from dangers of the curse of God,that we stood in by Adams fall,and by our owne deserued rod,That through his blood and holie namewho so beleeues,[3]and flie from sinne and abhors the same,[E143]free mercie he geeues.

5For these glad newes this feast doth bring:to God the Sonne and holy Ghostlet man giue thanks, reioice, and sing,from world to world, fromcostto cost:for all good gifts so many waiesthat God doth send,let vs in Christ giue God the praies,till life shall end.

T. Tusser.

[6]At Christmas be merie and thankfull withall,And feast thy poore neighbors, the great with the small,Yea, all the yeere long, to the poore let vs giue,Gods blessing to folow vs while wee doo liue.

[1]all flesh should see. 1577.

[2]Bethelem. 1577.

[3]to such as beleues. 1577.

1Bid Christmas adew,thy stock now renew.2Who killeth a neat,hath cheaper his meat.Fat home fed souse,is good in a house.3Who dainties loue,a begger shall proue.Who alway selles,in hunger dwelles.4Who nothing saue,shall nothing haue.5Lay durt vpon heapes,some profit it reapes.When weather is hard,get muck out of yard.A fallow bestowe,where pease shall growe.Good peason and white,a fallow will quite.6Go gather quickset,the yongest go get.Dig garden, stroymallow,set willow and sallow.Gréene willow for stakein bank will take.[1]7Let Doe go to buck,with Conie[2]good luck.Spare labour nor monie,storeboroughwith conie.Getwarrenerboundtoverminthy ground.Féed Doues, but kill not,if loose them ye will not.Doue house repaire,make Douehole faire.For hop ground cold,Doue doong woorth gold.8Good gardiner mine,make garden fine.Set garden pease,and beanes if ye please.Set Respis and Rose,yoong rootes of those.9The timelie buierhath cheaper his fier.10Some burns without wit,some fierles sit.11Now season is goodto lop or fell wood.Prune trées some allowsfor cattle tobrows.12Giue shéepe to theirféesthemistleof trées.13Letlopbe shornethat hindreth corne.Saueedderand stake,strong hedge to make.14For sap as ye knowe,let one bough growe.Next yéere ye maythat bough cut away.15A lesson goodto encrease more wood.16[3]Saue crotchis ofwud,sauesparsandstud.Saue hop for hisdole,the strong long pole.17How euer yescotch,saue pole and crotch.18From Christmas to May,weake cattle decay.19With vergis acquaintpoore bullock so faint;Thismedcinapproouedis for to be looued.20Let plaister liethrée daies to trie:too long if ye stay,taile rots away.21Eawes readie toyeanecraues ground rid cleane.Kéepe shéepe out of briers,Kéepe beast out of miers.22Kéepe bushes frombill,till hedge ye will:Best had for thy turne,their rootes go and burne.23No bushes of mine,if fence be thine.24In stubbed plot,fill hole withclot.[4]25Rid grasse of bones,of sticks and stones.26Warmebarthgiue lams,good food to their dams,Look daily well to them,least dogs vndoo them.27Yoong lamb well sold,fat lamb woorth goold.28Kéepe twinnes for bréed,as eawes haue néed.[5]29One calfe if it please ye,now reared shall ease ye.Calues likely reare,at rising of yeare.Calfe large and leaneis best to weane.30Calfe lickt take away,and howse it[6]ye may.This point Iallowfor seruant and cow.31Calues yonger than otherlearne one of another.32No danger at allto geld as they fall.YetMichelcries[E144]please butchers eies.33Sow ready tofare,craues huswiues[7]care.34Leaue sow but fiue,the better to thriue.35Weane such for storeas sucks before.Weane onely but thréelarge bréeders to bée.36Lamb,bulchin,[E145]and pig,geld vnder thebig.37Learne wit, sirdolt,in gelding of colt.38Geld yoong thy filly,else perish willginny.Let gelding alone,so large of bone.Bybreathelytitsfew profit hits.39Bréede euer the best,anddoo ofthe rest,Of long and large,take huswife a charge.40Good cow & good ground[8]yéelds yéerely a pound.Good faring sowholdsprofit with cow.41Who kéepes but[9]twaine,the more may gaine.42[10]Tith iustly,good garson,elsedriuewill the parson.43Thy garden twifallow,stroy hemlock and mallow.44Like practise they prooue,that hops doe looue.45Now make andwandintrim bower to stand in.Leaue wadling about,till arbor be out.46Who now sowes otes,gets gold andgrotes.Who sowes in Maygets little that way.47Go breake vp land,get mattock in hand,Stubroote so tough,for breaking of plough.48What greater crimethen losse of time?49[11]Lay landor[12]leasebreake vp if ye please.But fallow not yet,that hast any wit.50Where drink ye sowe,good tilth bestowe.51Small profit is found,bypéelingof ground.52Land past the bestcastvp to[13]rest.

1Bid Christmas adew,thy stock now renew.

2Who killeth a neat,hath cheaper his meat.Fat home fed souse,is good in a house.

3Who dainties loue,a begger shall proue.Who alway selles,in hunger dwelles.

4Who nothing saue,shall nothing haue.

5Lay durt vpon heapes,some profit it reapes.When weather is hard,get muck out of yard.A fallow bestowe,where pease shall growe.Good peason and white,a fallow will quite.

6Go gather quickset,the yongest go get.Dig garden, stroymallow,set willow and sallow.Gréene willow for stakein bank will take.[1]

7Let Doe go to buck,with Conie[2]good luck.Spare labour nor monie,storeboroughwith conie.Getwarrenerboundtoverminthy ground.Féed Doues, but kill not,if loose them ye will not.Doue house repaire,make Douehole faire.For hop ground cold,Doue doong woorth gold.

8Good gardiner mine,make garden fine.Set garden pease,and beanes if ye please.Set Respis and Rose,yoong rootes of those.

9The timelie buierhath cheaper his fier.

10Some burns without wit,some fierles sit.

11Now season is goodto lop or fell wood.Prune trées some allowsfor cattle tobrows.

12Giue shéepe to theirféesthemistleof trées.

13Letlopbe shornethat hindreth corne.Saueedderand stake,strong hedge to make.

14For sap as ye knowe,let one bough growe.Next yéere ye maythat bough cut away.

15A lesson goodto encrease more wood.

16[3]Saue crotchis ofwud,sauesparsandstud.Saue hop for hisdole,the strong long pole.

17How euer yescotch,saue pole and crotch.

18From Christmas to May,weake cattle decay.

19With vergis acquaintpoore bullock so faint;Thismedcinapproouedis for to be looued.

20Let plaister liethrée daies to trie:too long if ye stay,taile rots away.

21Eawes readie toyeanecraues ground rid cleane.Kéepe shéepe out of briers,Kéepe beast out of miers.

22Kéepe bushes frombill,till hedge ye will:Best had for thy turne,their rootes go and burne.

23No bushes of mine,if fence be thine.

24In stubbed plot,fill hole withclot.[4]

25Rid grasse of bones,of sticks and stones.

26Warmebarthgiue lams,good food to their dams,Look daily well to them,least dogs vndoo them.

27Yoong lamb well sold,fat lamb woorth goold.

28Kéepe twinnes for bréed,as eawes haue néed.[5]

29One calfe if it please ye,now reared shall ease ye.Calues likely reare,at rising of yeare.Calfe large and leaneis best to weane.

30Calfe lickt take away,and howse it[6]ye may.This point Iallowfor seruant and cow.

31Calues yonger than otherlearne one of another.

32No danger at allto geld as they fall.YetMichelcries[E144]please butchers eies.

33Sow ready tofare,craues huswiues[7]care.

34Leaue sow but fiue,the better to thriue.

35Weane such for storeas sucks before.Weane onely but thréelarge bréeders to bée.

36Lamb,bulchin,[E145]and pig,geld vnder thebig.

37Learne wit, sirdolt,in gelding of colt.

38Geld yoong thy filly,else perish willginny.Let gelding alone,so large of bone.Bybreathelytitsfew profit hits.

39Bréede euer the best,anddoo ofthe rest,Of long and large,take huswife a charge.

40Good cow & good ground[8]yéelds yéerely a pound.Good faring sowholdsprofit with cow.

41Who kéepes but[9]twaine,the more may gaine.

42[10]Tith iustly,good garson,elsedriuewill the parson.

43Thy garden twifallow,stroy hemlock and mallow.

44Like practise they prooue,that hops doe looue.

45Now make andwandintrim bower to stand in.Leaue wadling about,till arbor be out.

46Who now sowes otes,gets gold andgrotes.Who sowes in Maygets little that way.

47Go breake vp land,get mattock in hand,Stubroote so tough,for breaking of plough.

48What greater crimethen losse of time?

49[11]Lay landor[12]leasebreake vp if ye please.But fallow not yet,that hast any wit.

50Where drink ye sowe,good tilth bestowe.

51Small profit is found,bypéelingof ground.

52Land past the bestcastvp to[13]rest.

53Get pulling hooke (sirs),for broome and firs.Pluck broome, broomestill,cut broome, broome kill.54Broome pluckt by and by,breake vp for rie.Friendringlethy hog,or looke for a dog.55In casting prouide,for séede lay aside.Get doong, friend mine,for stock and vine.56If earth be not soft,go dig italoft.Forquamierget bootes,stub alders and rootes.57Hop poles waxe scant,for polesmoplant.Set chestnut and walnut,set filbeard andsmalnut.58Peach, plumtrée, &cherie,yoong bay and his berie.Or set their stone,vnset leaue out none.59Sowe kirnels to beare,of apple and peare.All trées that bearegoomset now as they coom.60Now set or remoouesuch stocks as ye looue.[14]

53Get pulling hooke (sirs),for broome and firs.Pluck broome, broomestill,cut broome, broome kill.

54Broome pluckt by and by,breake vp for rie.Friendringlethy hog,or looke for a dog.

55In casting prouide,for séede lay aside.Get doong, friend mine,for stock and vine.

56If earth be not soft,go dig italoft.Forquamierget bootes,stub alders and rootes.

57Hop poles waxe scant,for polesmoplant.Set chestnut and walnut,set filbeard andsmalnut.

58Peach, plumtrée, &cherie,yoong bay and his berie.Or set their stone,vnset leaue out none.

59Sowe kirnels to beare,of apple and peare.All trées that bearegoomset now as they coom.

60Now set or remoouesuch stocks as ye looue.[14]

[1]Green set as a stakein banke they wil take. 1577.

[1]

Green set as a stakein banke they wil take. 1577.

[2]conney. 1577.

[3]St. 16 and the second couplets in sts. 21 and 22 are not here in 1577.

[4]Here follows in 1577,Take for thy turne,their roots go burne.

[4]Here follows in 1577,

Take for thy turne,their roots go burne.

[5]feede. 1577.

[6]if. 1577.

[7]huswifes. 1577.

[8]Good milch kow and sound. 1577.

[9]both. 1577.

[10]St. 42 is not in 1577.

[11]Sts. 49 and 50 are not in 1577.

[12]for. M.

[13]the. 1577.

[14]And set or remouewhat fruite ye loue. 1577.

[14]

And set or remouewhat fruite ye loue. 1577.

[28]Now set ye maythe box and bay,Haithorneand prim,for clothes trim.

[1]Damisens. 1577.

[2]sicalso in 1577.

A kindly good Janiuéere,Fréesethpot by the féere.Forgotten month past,Doe now at the last.Husbandly lessons.1When Christmas is ended, bid feasting adue,goe play the good husband, thy stock to renue.Be mindfull of rearing, in hope of a gaine,dame profit shall giue thee reward for thy paine.2Who both by his calfe and his lamb will be knowne,may well kill a neate and a sheepe of his owne.And he that can reare vp a pig in his house,hath cheaper his bacon and sweeter his souse.3Who eateth his veale, pig and lamb beingfroth,[E167]shall twise in a weeke go to bed without broth.[1]Vnskilfull that passe not, but sell away sell,shall neuer haue plentie where euer they dwell.4Be greedie in spending, andcarelesto saue,and shortly be needie and readie to craue.Bewilfullto kill and vnskilfull to store,and looke for nofoison[2], I tell thee before.[E168]5Lay dirt vpon heapes, faire yard to be seene,if frost will abide it, to feeld with it cleene.[E169]In winter a fallow some loue to bestowe,where pease for the pot[3]they intend for to sowe.Quick set now.6In making or mending as needeth thy ditch,get set to quick set it, learne cunninglywhitch.[4]In hedging (where clay is) get stake as ye knowe,of popler and willow, for fewell to growe.Kéepe cleane thy douehous.7Leaue killing of conie,[5]let Doe go to buck,and vermine thy burrow, for feare of ill luck.Feed Doue (no more killing), old Doue house[E170]repaire,saue doue dong for hopyard, when house ye make faire.¶ Runciual peason.8Dig garden, stroy mallow, now may ye at ease,and set (as a daintie) thy runciuall pease.[6]Go cut and set roses, choose aptly thy plot,the rootes of the yoongest are best to be got.Timelie prouision for fewell.9In time go and bargaine, least woorser doo fall,for fewell, for making, for carriage and all.To buie at thestub[E171]is the best for the buier,more timelie prouision, the cheaper is fier.Ill husbandrie.10Some burneth a lode at a time in his hall,some neuer leaue burning til burnt they haue all.Some making of hauock, without any wit,make many poore soules without fire to sit.Pruning of trées.11If frost doo continue, this lesson doth well,for comfort of cattel the fewell to fell:From euerie tree the superfluous bowsnow prune for thy neat therevpon to go brows.[7]Mistle and iuie.12In pruning and trimming all maner of trees,reserue to ech cattel their properly fees.If snowe doo continue, sheepe hardly that farecraue Mistle and Iuie for them for to spare.Lopping of pollengers.13Now lop for thy fewell oldpollengergrowen,that hinder the corne or the grasse to be mowen.In lopping and felling, saue edder and stake,[E172]thine hedges as needeth to mend or to make.14In lopping,[8]old Jocham, for feare of mishap,one bough stay vnlopped, to cherish the sap:The second yeere after then boldly ye may,fordripinghis fellowes, that bough cut away.The propertie of soft wood.15Lop popler and sallow, elme, maple, andprie,well saued from cattle, till Sommer to lie.So far as in lopping, their tops ye doo fling,so far without planting yoong copie will spring.[E173]16[9]Such fewell as standing a late ye haue bought,now fell it, and make it, and doo as ye ought.Giue charge to the hewers (that many things mars),to hew out for crotches, for poles, and for spars.Hoppoles and crotches.17If hopyard or orchard ye mind for to haue,for hoppoles and crotches in lopping go saue.Which husbandlie spared may serue at a push,and stop by so hauing two gaps with a bush.18From Christmas, till May be well entered in,some cattle waxe faint, and looke poorely and thin.And cheefly whenprime[E174]grasse[10]at first doth appeere,then most is the danger of all the whole yeere.A medicen for faint cattell.19Take vergis and heate it, a pint for a cow,bay salt a hand full,[11]to rub tong ye wot how.That done, with the salt, let hir drinke off the rest:this manie times raiseth the feeble vp best.To fasten loose téeth in a bullock.20Poore bullock with browsing and naughtily fed,scarce feedeth, hir teeth be so loose in hir hed:Thensliseye the taile where ye feele it so soft,with soote and with garlike bound to it aloft.[12]Ewes vpon eaning.21By brembles and bushes, in pasture too full,poore sheepe be in danger and loseth theirwull.[13]Now therefore thine ewe, vponlammingso neere,desireth in pasture that all may be cleere.22Leaue grubbing or pulling of bushes (my sonne)till timely thy fences require to be donne.Then take of the best, for to furnish thy turne,and home with the rest, for the fier to burne.Stubbing of gréenes.23In euerie greene,[14]if the fence be not thine,now stub vp the bushes, the grasse to be fine.Least neighbour doo dailie so hack[15]them beliue,[E175]that neither thy bushes nor pasture can thriue.24In ridding[16]of pasture with turfes that lie by,[17]fill euerie hole vp, as close as ady.The labour is little, the profit is gay,what euer the loitering labourers say.25The sticks and the stones go and gather vp cleene,for hurting ofsiethor for harming of greene.[18]For feare ofHew prowler,[E176]get home with the rest,when frost is at hardest, then carriage is best.Yoong lambes.26Yoong broome or good pasture thy ewes doo require,warme barth and in safetie their lambes doo desire.Looke often well to them, for foxes and dogs,for pits and for brembles, for vermin and hogs.27More daintie[19]the lambe, the more woorth to be sold,the sooner the better for eaw that is old.But if ye doo minde to haue milke of the dame,till Maie doo not seuer the lambe fro the same.Rearing of lambes.28Ewes yeerly bytwinningrich maisters doo make,the lamb of such twinners for breeders go take.Fortwinlings[E177]betwiggers, encrease for to bring,though som for theirtwiggingPeccantem[E178]may sing.Rearing of calues.29Calues likely that come between Christmas and Lent,take huswife to reare, or else after repent:Of such as doo fall betweene change and the prime,[20]no rearing, but sell or go kill them in time.Howsing of cattel.30Howse calfe, and gosockleit twise in a day,and after a while, set it water and hay.Stake ragged to rub on, no such as will bend,then weane it well tended, at fiftie daies end.[21]31The senior weaned his yoonger shall teach,how both to drinke water and hay for to reach.[22]Morestrokenand made of when ought it dooaile,more gentle ye make it, for yoke or the paile.[E179]Of gelding.32Geld bulcalfe and ram lamb, as soone as theyfall,for therein is lightly no danger at all.Some spareth the ton for to pleasure the eie,to haue him shew greater when butcher shall bie.¶33Sowes readie to farrow this time of the yeereare for to be made of and counted full deere.For now is the losse of a fare of the sowmore great then the losse of two calues of thy cow.¶ Rearing of pigs.34Of one sow togither reare few aboue fiue,and those of the fairest andlikestto thriue.Ungelt of the best keepe a couple for store,one bore pig and sow pig, that sucketh before.[E180]¶ A way to haue large bréed of hogs.35Who hath a desire to haue store verie large,at Whitsontide let him giue huswife a charge,To reare of a sow at once onely but three,and one of them also a bore let it bee.¶ Gelding time.36Geld vnder the dam, within fortnight at least,and saue both thy monie and life of the beast.Geld later with gelders as many one do,and looke of a doozen to geld away two.Gelding of horse coltes.37Thy colts for thysaddlegeld yoong to be light,for cart doo not so, if thou iudgest aright.Nor geld not but when they be lustie and fat:for there is a point, to be learned in that.Gelding of fillies.38Geld fillies (but tits) er an nine daies of age,they die else of gelding (or gelders doo rage).Yoong fils[E181]so likelie of bulke and of bone:keepe such to be breeders, let gelding alone.Reare the fairest of al things.39For gaining a trifle, sell neuer thy store,what ioy to acquaintance, what pleasureth more?The larger of bodie, the better for breede:more forward of growing, the better they speede.¶ Of cow and sow.40Good milchcow, well fed, that is faire and sound,is yeerely for profit as good as a pound:And yet by the yeere, I haue prooued er[23]now,as good to the purse is a sow as a cow.¶41Keepe one and keepe both, with as little a cost,then all shall be saued and nothing be lost.Both hauing togither what profit is caught,good huswifes (I warrant ye) need not be taught.¶42[24]For lamb, pig and calfe, and for other the like,tithe so as thy cattle the Lord doo not strike.Or if yee deale guilefully, parson willdreue,and so to your selfe a worse turne ye may geue.43Thy garden plot latelie well trenched and muckt,would now be twifallowd, the mallowes out pluckt,[25]Well clensed and purged of roote and of stone,thatfalttherein afterward found may be none.Wéeding of hopyard.44Remember thy hopyard, if season be drie,now dig it and weed it, and so let it lie.Morefenniethe laier the better his lust,more apt to beare hops when it crumbles like dust.Trimming up arbors.45Toarborbegun, andquick setted[26]about,nopolingnorwadling[27]tillsetbe far out.For rotten and aged may stand for a shew,but hold to their tackling there doe but a few.[28][E182]Sowing of otes. Late sowing not good.46In Janiuere[29]husband thatpoucheththe groteswill break vp hislaie, or be sowing of otes,Otes sowen in Janiuere, laie[30]by the wheat,in May by the hay for the cattle to eat.[31][E183]47Let seruant be readie, with mattock in hand,to stub out the bushes that noieth the land:And cumbersome rootes, so annoieng the plough,turne vpward their arses with sorrow inough.Breaking up lay in som countrie.48Who breaketh vp timelie his fallow orlay,sets forward his husbandrie many a way.This trimlie well ended doth forwardly bring,[32]not onelie thy tillage, but all other thing.49[33]Though lay land ye breke vp when Christmas is gon,for sowing of barlie[34]or otes therevpon,Yet hast[e] not to fallow til March be begun,least afterward wishing it had ben vndun.50Such land as ye breake vp for barlie to sowe,twoearthesat the least er ye sowe it bestowe.[35]If land be thereafter, set oting apart,and follow this lesson, to comfort thine hart.51Some breaking vp laie soweth otes to begin,[36]to suck out the moisture sosowertherein.Yet otes withhirsucking apeeleris found,both ill to the maister and worse to som ground.52Land arable driuen or worne to the proofe,and[37]craueth some rest for thy profits behoofe.With otes ye may sowe it, the sooner to grasse,more soone to be pasture to bring it to passe.

A kindly good Janiuéere,Fréesethpot by the féere.

Forgotten month past,Doe now at the last.

Husbandly lessons.

1When Christmas is ended, bid feasting adue,goe play the good husband, thy stock to renue.Be mindfull of rearing, in hope of a gaine,dame profit shall giue thee reward for thy paine.

2Who both by his calfe and his lamb will be knowne,may well kill a neate and a sheepe of his owne.And he that can reare vp a pig in his house,hath cheaper his bacon and sweeter his souse.

3Who eateth his veale, pig and lamb beingfroth,[E167]shall twise in a weeke go to bed without broth.[1]Vnskilfull that passe not, but sell away sell,shall neuer haue plentie where euer they dwell.

4Be greedie in spending, andcarelesto saue,and shortly be needie and readie to craue.Bewilfullto kill and vnskilfull to store,and looke for nofoison[2], I tell thee before.[E168]

5Lay dirt vpon heapes, faire yard to be seene,if frost will abide it, to feeld with it cleene.[E169]In winter a fallow some loue to bestowe,where pease for the pot[3]they intend for to sowe.

Quick set now.

6In making or mending as needeth thy ditch,get set to quick set it, learne cunninglywhitch.[4]In hedging (where clay is) get stake as ye knowe,of popler and willow, for fewell to growe.

Kéepe cleane thy douehous.

7Leaue killing of conie,[5]let Doe go to buck,and vermine thy burrow, for feare of ill luck.Feed Doue (no more killing), old Doue house[E170]repaire,saue doue dong for hopyard, when house ye make faire.

¶ Runciual peason.

8Dig garden, stroy mallow, now may ye at ease,and set (as a daintie) thy runciuall pease.[6]Go cut and set roses, choose aptly thy plot,the rootes of the yoongest are best to be got.

Timelie prouision for fewell.

9In time go and bargaine, least woorser doo fall,for fewell, for making, for carriage and all.To buie at thestub[E171]is the best for the buier,more timelie prouision, the cheaper is fier.

Ill husbandrie.

10Some burneth a lode at a time in his hall,some neuer leaue burning til burnt they haue all.Some making of hauock, without any wit,make many poore soules without fire to sit.

Pruning of trées.

11If frost doo continue, this lesson doth well,for comfort of cattel the fewell to fell:From euerie tree the superfluous bowsnow prune for thy neat therevpon to go brows.[7]

Mistle and iuie.

12In pruning and trimming all maner of trees,reserue to ech cattel their properly fees.If snowe doo continue, sheepe hardly that farecraue Mistle and Iuie for them for to spare.

Lopping of pollengers.

13Now lop for thy fewell oldpollengergrowen,that hinder the corne or the grasse to be mowen.In lopping and felling, saue edder and stake,[E172]thine hedges as needeth to mend or to make.

14In lopping,[8]old Jocham, for feare of mishap,one bough stay vnlopped, to cherish the sap:The second yeere after then boldly ye may,fordripinghis fellowes, that bough cut away.

The propertie of soft wood.

15Lop popler and sallow, elme, maple, andprie,well saued from cattle, till Sommer to lie.So far as in lopping, their tops ye doo fling,so far without planting yoong copie will spring.[E173]

16[9]Such fewell as standing a late ye haue bought,now fell it, and make it, and doo as ye ought.Giue charge to the hewers (that many things mars),to hew out for crotches, for poles, and for spars.

Hoppoles and crotches.

17If hopyard or orchard ye mind for to haue,for hoppoles and crotches in lopping go saue.Which husbandlie spared may serue at a push,and stop by so hauing two gaps with a bush.

18From Christmas, till May be well entered in,some cattle waxe faint, and looke poorely and thin.And cheefly whenprime[E174]grasse[10]at first doth appeere,then most is the danger of all the whole yeere.

A medicen for faint cattell.

19Take vergis and heate it, a pint for a cow,bay salt a hand full,[11]to rub tong ye wot how.That done, with the salt, let hir drinke off the rest:this manie times raiseth the feeble vp best.

To fasten loose téeth in a bullock.

20Poore bullock with browsing and naughtily fed,scarce feedeth, hir teeth be so loose in hir hed:Thensliseye the taile where ye feele it so soft,with soote and with garlike bound to it aloft.[12]

Ewes vpon eaning.

21By brembles and bushes, in pasture too full,poore sheepe be in danger and loseth theirwull.[13]Now therefore thine ewe, vponlammingso neere,desireth in pasture that all may be cleere.

22Leaue grubbing or pulling of bushes (my sonne)till timely thy fences require to be donne.Then take of the best, for to furnish thy turne,and home with the rest, for the fier to burne.

Stubbing of gréenes.

23In euerie greene,[14]if the fence be not thine,now stub vp the bushes, the grasse to be fine.Least neighbour doo dailie so hack[15]them beliue,[E175]that neither thy bushes nor pasture can thriue.

24In ridding[16]of pasture with turfes that lie by,[17]fill euerie hole vp, as close as ady.The labour is little, the profit is gay,what euer the loitering labourers say.

25The sticks and the stones go and gather vp cleene,for hurting ofsiethor for harming of greene.[18]For feare ofHew prowler,[E176]get home with the rest,when frost is at hardest, then carriage is best.

Yoong lambes.

26Yoong broome or good pasture thy ewes doo require,warme barth and in safetie their lambes doo desire.Looke often well to them, for foxes and dogs,for pits and for brembles, for vermin and hogs.

27More daintie[19]the lambe, the more woorth to be sold,the sooner the better for eaw that is old.But if ye doo minde to haue milke of the dame,till Maie doo not seuer the lambe fro the same.

Rearing of lambes.

28Ewes yeerly bytwinningrich maisters doo make,the lamb of such twinners for breeders go take.Fortwinlings[E177]betwiggers, encrease for to bring,though som for theirtwiggingPeccantem[E178]may sing.

Rearing of calues.

29Calues likely that come between Christmas and Lent,take huswife to reare, or else after repent:Of such as doo fall betweene change and the prime,[20]no rearing, but sell or go kill them in time.

Howsing of cattel.

30Howse calfe, and gosockleit twise in a day,and after a while, set it water and hay.Stake ragged to rub on, no such as will bend,then weane it well tended, at fiftie daies end.[21]

31The senior weaned his yoonger shall teach,how both to drinke water and hay for to reach.[22]Morestrokenand made of when ought it dooaile,more gentle ye make it, for yoke or the paile.[E179]

Of gelding.

32Geld bulcalfe and ram lamb, as soone as theyfall,for therein is lightly no danger at all.Some spareth the ton for to pleasure the eie,to haue him shew greater when butcher shall bie.

33Sowes readie to farrow this time of the yeereare for to be made of and counted full deere.For now is the losse of a fare of the sowmore great then the losse of two calues of thy cow.

¶ Rearing of pigs.

34Of one sow togither reare few aboue fiue,and those of the fairest andlikestto thriue.Ungelt of the best keepe a couple for store,one bore pig and sow pig, that sucketh before.[E180]

¶ A way to haue large bréed of hogs.

35Who hath a desire to haue store verie large,at Whitsontide let him giue huswife a charge,To reare of a sow at once onely but three,and one of them also a bore let it bee.

¶ Gelding time.

36Geld vnder the dam, within fortnight at least,and saue both thy monie and life of the beast.Geld later with gelders as many one do,and looke of a doozen to geld away two.

Gelding of horse coltes.

37Thy colts for thysaddlegeld yoong to be light,for cart doo not so, if thou iudgest aright.Nor geld not but when they be lustie and fat:for there is a point, to be learned in that.

Gelding of fillies.

38Geld fillies (but tits) er an nine daies of age,they die else of gelding (or gelders doo rage).Yoong fils[E181]so likelie of bulke and of bone:keepe such to be breeders, let gelding alone.

Reare the fairest of al things.

39For gaining a trifle, sell neuer thy store,what ioy to acquaintance, what pleasureth more?The larger of bodie, the better for breede:more forward of growing, the better they speede.

¶ Of cow and sow.

40Good milchcow, well fed, that is faire and sound,is yeerely for profit as good as a pound:And yet by the yeere, I haue prooued er[23]now,as good to the purse is a sow as a cow.

41Keepe one and keepe both, with as little a cost,then all shall be saued and nothing be lost.Both hauing togither what profit is caught,good huswifes (I warrant ye) need not be taught.

42[24]For lamb, pig and calfe, and for other the like,tithe so as thy cattle the Lord doo not strike.Or if yee deale guilefully, parson willdreue,and so to your selfe a worse turne ye may geue.

43Thy garden plot latelie well trenched and muckt,would now be twifallowd, the mallowes out pluckt,[25]Well clensed and purged of roote and of stone,thatfalttherein afterward found may be none.

Wéeding of hopyard.

44Remember thy hopyard, if season be drie,now dig it and weed it, and so let it lie.Morefenniethe laier the better his lust,more apt to beare hops when it crumbles like dust.

Trimming up arbors.

45Toarborbegun, andquick setted[26]about,nopolingnorwadling[27]tillsetbe far out.For rotten and aged may stand for a shew,but hold to their tackling there doe but a few.[28][E182]

Sowing of otes. Late sowing not good.

46In Janiuere[29]husband thatpoucheththe groteswill break vp hislaie, or be sowing of otes,Otes sowen in Janiuere, laie[30]by the wheat,in May by the hay for the cattle to eat.[31][E183]

47Let seruant be readie, with mattock in hand,to stub out the bushes that noieth the land:And cumbersome rootes, so annoieng the plough,turne vpward their arses with sorrow inough.

Breaking up lay in som countrie.

48Who breaketh vp timelie his fallow orlay,sets forward his husbandrie many a way.This trimlie well ended doth forwardly bring,[32]not onelie thy tillage, but all other thing.

49[33]Though lay land ye breke vp when Christmas is gon,for sowing of barlie[34]or otes therevpon,Yet hast[e] not to fallow til March be begun,least afterward wishing it had ben vndun.

50Such land as ye breake vp for barlie to sowe,twoearthesat the least er ye sowe it bestowe.[35]If land be thereafter, set oting apart,and follow this lesson, to comfort thine hart.

51Some breaking vp laie soweth otes to begin,[36]to suck out the moisture sosowertherein.Yet otes withhirsucking apeeleris found,both ill to the maister and worse to som ground.

52Land arable driuen or worne to the proofe,and[37]craueth some rest for thy profits behoofe.With otes ye may sowe it, the sooner to grasse,more soone to be pasture to bring it to passe.

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