Chapter 26

[E257]"Veluet flowers," according to Dr. Prior, the "love-lies-bleeding,"Amaranthus caudatus, Linn., from its crimson velvety tassels; according to Lyte, the same as the Flower Gentle, or Floramor, Fr.passevelours, A. tricolor, Linn.

[E258]"Eyebright." "Divers Authours write that goldfinches, linnets, and some other Birds make use of this Herb for the repairing of their own and their young ones sight."—Coles, "Adam in Eden," 1657, p. 46. It is the "Euphrasy" of Milton, P. L. xi. 414. A similar story is told of the Hawk-weed. See Pliny (lib. xx. c. 7).

[E259]"Fumetorie," Fr.fume terre, Lat.fumus terræ, earth-smoke, it being believed to be produced without seed from vapours arising from the earth, as stated by Platearius: "Diciturfumus terræ, quod generatur a quadam fumositate grossâ, a terrâ resolutâ, et circasuperficiem terræ adherente." Pliny (lib. xxv. c. 13) says that it takes its name from causing the eyes to water when applied to them, as smoke does;"Take youre laxativesOf lauriol, centaure, andfumytere."—Chaucer, Nonnes Prestes Tale, 143.See Burton's Anat. of Melancholy, pp. 432-3 and 438, ed. 1845.

"Take youre laxativesOf lauriol, centaure, andfumytere."—Chaucer, Nonnes Prestes Tale, 143.

See Burton's Anat. of Melancholy, pp. 432-3 and 438, ed. 1845.

[E260]"Woodrofe," spelt according to an old distich thus:"Double U, double O, double D, E,R, O, double U, double F, E."It derives its name originally from the Fr.roue= a wheel, dimin.rouelle, the leaves being set on the stems so as to resemble the largerowelsof ancient spurs.

[E260]"Woodrofe," spelt according to an old distich thus:

"Double U, double O, double D, E,R, O, double U, double F, E."

It derives its name originally from the Fr.roue= a wheel, dimin.rouelle, the leaves being set on the stems so as to resemble the largerowelsof ancient spurs.

[E261]"Archangel." This isArchangelica officinalis, the stalks of which "were formerly blanched and eaten as Celeri.... The gardeners near London, who have ditches of water running through their gardens, propagate great quantities of this plant, for which they have a great demand from the confectioners, who make a sweetmeat with the tender stalks of it cut in May."—Martyn's ed. of Miller's Gardener's Dictionary. It is still sometimes grown in gardens for use in the above-mentioned manner. According to Cogan (Haven of Health, p. 71), it will cure the bite of a mad dog.

[E262]According to Cogan "Cummin" was extensively used for washing the face, it having the effect, if not used too often, of making the complexion clear; if used to excess, it caused paleness. He continues, "In Matthiolus (lib. 3, cap. 60) I reade a practise to be wrought withCummineseedes, and (as I thinke) hath been vsed in time past of Monkes and Friers. They that counterfait holinesse and leannesse of bodie, doe often vse Cummine seedes in their meates, and be perfumed therewith."—Haven of Health, p. 47.

[E263]"Detanie." Dittany (Origanum onites, Linn.) was commonly cultivated in gardens at this period. Gerard, p. 795, says it is "a hot and sharpe hearbe," and speaks of it as biting the tongue.

[E264]Gromell, Grummel, or Gray myle, as Turner says it should be written, fromgranum solisandmilium solistogether. "That is al one," says the Grete Herbal, "granum solisandmilium solis." The commongromwellor gray millet,Lithospermum officinale, Linn., was formerly esteemed as a remedy for the stone and other diseases. In a treatise on the virtues of plants, written in the 15th century, Roy. MS. 18 A. vi. f. 766, the following description is given: "Granum solisys an herbe þat me clepyþgromel, or lyþewale: thys herbe haþ leuys þat be euelong, and a lytyl white flour, and he haþ whyte seede ischape as a ston that me clepyþ margery perl." Cotgrave gives "Gremil, grenil, the hearbgromill, grummell, orgraymill, peare-plant, lichewall." The word is derived by Skinner "a granis sc. lapideis, quæ pro seminibus habet, q.d. granile."—Way,in Prompt. Parv. "Grumelle,milium, gramen solis."—Catholicon Anglicum.

[E265]"Louage," spelt in Prompt. Parv. and in Holland's Trans. of Pliny,love-ache, as though it were love-parsley. Frenchlevesche, A.S.lufestice, Levisticum officinale, Koch.

[E266]"Mandrake." Matthioli (lib. iv. c. 61) tells us that Italian ladies in his own time had been known to pay as much as 25 and 30 ducats for one of the artificial mandrakes (common white bryony) of itinerant quacks, and describes the process of their manufacture. They were supposed to remove sterility; hence Rachel's anxiety to obtain them (Genesis xxx. 14). There were numerous other superstitions regarding this plant; amongst others it was said to shriek when torn up. See Gerard's Herbal, 1597, p. 280, and Peacock's Glossary of Manley, etc., E. D. Soc. Lupton (Book of Notable Things, iii. 39) gives instructions for the manufacture of Mandrakes from bryony roots. The true Mandrake isAtropa Mandragora, Linn.

[E267]Mogwort. "Mugwort, a name that corresponds in meaning with its synonymwyrmwyrt, wormwood, from O.E.mough, moghe, ormoughte, a maggot or moth.'And wormes andmogheson þe same manereSal þat day be in wittenes broght;'—Hampole, Pricke of Conscience, l. 5572;and Wycliffe (Matt. vi. 20):'Where neþer ruste nemoughtedestruyeþ.'The name was given to this plant from its having been recommended by Dioscorides to ward off the attacks of these insects. 'Mogwort, al on as seyn some, modirwort: lewed folk þat in manye wordes conne no rygt sownynge, but ofte shortyn wordys, and changyn lettrys and silablys, þey corruptyn þeointou, anddintog, and syncopyni, smytyn aweyiandr, and seyn mugwort.'—MS. Arundel, 42, f. 35. It is unnecessary to have recourse to this singular process. The plant was known both as amoth-wortand as amother-wort, but while it was used almost exclusively as amother-wort, it still retained, at the same time, the name ofmugwort, a synonym ofmoth-wort. In Ælfric's glossary it is calledmatrum herba—Dr. R. A. Prior. See Brand's Pop. Antiq. for an account of the superstitious custom of seeking under the root of this plant on Midsummer-eve for a coal, to serve as a talisman against many disasters.

[E267]Mogwort. "Mugwort, a name that corresponds in meaning with its synonymwyrmwyrt, wormwood, from O.E.mough, moghe, ormoughte, a maggot or moth.

'And wormes andmogheson þe same manereSal þat day be in wittenes broght;'—Hampole, Pricke of Conscience, l. 5572;

and Wycliffe (Matt. vi. 20):

'Where neþer ruste nemoughtedestruyeþ.'

The name was given to this plant from its having been recommended by Dioscorides to ward off the attacks of these insects. 'Mogwort, al on as seyn some, modirwort: lewed folk þat in manye wordes conne no rygt sownynge, but ofte shortyn wordys, and changyn lettrys and silablys, þey corruptyn þeointou, anddintog, and syncopyni, smytyn aweyiandr, and seyn mugwort.'—MS. Arundel, 42, f. 35. It is unnecessary to have recourse to this singular process. The plant was known both as amoth-wortand as amother-wort, but while it was used almost exclusively as amother-wort, it still retained, at the same time, the name ofmugwort, a synonym ofmoth-wort. In Ælfric's glossary it is calledmatrum herba—Dr. R. A. Prior. See Brand's Pop. Antiq. for an account of the superstitious custom of seeking under the root of this plant on Midsummer-eve for a coal, to serve as a talisman against many disasters.

[E268]"Rew." Shakspere, Hamlet, iv. 5. 181: "There's rue for you; and here's some for me: we may call it herb-grace o' Sundays." And Winter's Tale, iv. 4. 74:"For you there's rosemary and rue; these keepSeeming and savour all the winter long:Grace and remembrance be to you both."Some suppose it to have been called "herb of grace" on account of the many excellent properties it was held to possess, being aspecific against poison, the bites of venomous creatures, etc.; but probably it was so called because "rue" means "repent." Cf. also Richard II. Act iii. sc. 4. 105:"Here in this placeI'll set a bank ofrue, sour herb of grace."

[E268]"Rew." Shakspere, Hamlet, iv. 5. 181: "There's rue for you; and here's some for me: we may call it herb-grace o' Sundays." And Winter's Tale, iv. 4. 74:

"For you there's rosemary and rue; these keepSeeming and savour all the winter long:Grace and remembrance be to you both."

Some suppose it to have been called "herb of grace" on account of the many excellent properties it was held to possess, being aspecific against poison, the bites of venomous creatures, etc.; but probably it was so called because "rue" means "repent." Cf. also Richard II. Act iii. sc. 4. 105:

"Here in this placeI'll set a bank ofrue, sour herb of grace."

[E269]"Bots." "Pease an beanes are as danke here as a dog, and this is the next way to give poor jades thebottes."—Shakspere King Henry IV. Act ii. sc. 1. "Begnawne withbots."—Taming of Shrew, Act iii. sc. 2."Sauin." "It is often put into horses' drenches, to helpe to cure them of the bots, and other diseases."—Parkinson, Paradisus, p. 607.

"Sauin." "It is often put into horses' drenches, to helpe to cure them of the bots, and other diseases."—Parkinson, Paradisus, p. 607.

[E270]"Stitchwort," speltStich-wurtin Mayer and Wright, Nat. Antiquities, 1857, and given from a thirteenth century MS. as the translation of "Valeriane." Supposed to possess the power of curing a pain orstitchin the sides.—See Gerard's Herbal, 1597, p. 43.Stellaria Holostea, Linn.

[E271]"Woodbine," not abinethatgrows in woods, but a creeper that binds or entwines trees, the honeysuckle. A.S.wudu-windeandwudu-bind, fromwudu= a tree, andwindan, bindan= to entwine. In Shakspere (Mids. Night Dr. Act iv. sc. 1) it seems to mean the bittersweet:"So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckleGently entwist."

"So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckleGently entwist."

[E272]"Gregorie." "This day (12th March) seems to have been much used as a date for agricultural observances: cf.37. 3. In connexion with this it is worth while to note the Suabian saying, 'Säe Erbsen Gregori' (sow cabbage on St. Gregory's Day). See Swainson's Weather Folklore, p. 168."—Note by Mr. J. Britten, F.L.S.

[E273]"Mastiues and Mungrels." Although the influence of a very patriotic sumptuary tax has diminished the number of dogs, we have still 'thousands too manie.' [This may with truth be said even still.] However, as Lent now makes little difference in the mode of living, which it certainly did in the earlier period of the Reformation, our dogs are not driven by our meagre fare to prey on the lambs; and therefore need not be particularly watched on this account.—M. Mastif is derived from O. Fr.mestif= a mongrel (Cotgrave). In the Craven dialect a great dog is still called amasty. See noteE35.

[E274]By "hooke or by crooke" occurs in Spenser, Faery Queene, Bk. v. Canto 2, stanza 27; also in Heywood's Works, 1562, reprint 1867, p. 35.

[E275]No trees appear preferable to willows for fencing hop grounds; and none are said to be worse than elms, as they attract mildews.—M.

[E276]"What better to skilfull," etc., that is, what can be more profitable to the experienced farmer than to know when to be bold, that is, to venture the early sowing of barley?

[E277]The Mayweed (Anthemis cotula) is common in corn-fields and hedgerows. "May-weed or stinking camomile."—T.R. "Resembling cammomil but of a stinking savour and odious to bees." Coles' Dict. 1676.

[E278]Cockle orCokylwas used by Wycliffe and other old writers in the sense of a weed generally, but in later works has been confined to thegithorcorn-pink.

[E279]Our author's meaning is, sow barley, oats and pease above furrows and harrow them in; while rye is best ploughed in with a shallow furrow.

[E280]"Without cost," that is, on which no expense has been incurred.

[E281]Watering is necessary in dry seasons for what is freshsetor planted, but not for what is newly sown.

[E282]It is to be lamented, both on account of the health and the finances of the poor, that they are so much attached, either to solid food, or to watery infusions of tea. Herbs, pulse and roots might often supersede more expensive articles of diet. Spoonmeat, in this part of the island at least, is in no high request at this period, though it appears to have been indispensable formerly.—M.

[E283]"There remaineth yet a third kinde of meats, which is neither fish nor flesh, commonly calledwhite meats, as egges, milk, butter, cheese, which notwithstanding proceede and come of flesh, as egges from the henne, and milk from the cowe. Yet because they are not plainely flesh, they are permitted to be eaten upon the fish daies."—Cogan's Haven of Health, ed. 1612, p. 149."But how soeuer this case standeth,white meats, as milke, butter and cheese, which were neuer so deere as in my time, and woont to be accounted of as one of the chiefe staies throughout the Iland, are now reputed as foods appertinent onelie to the inferiour sort, whilest such as are more wealthie, doo feed vpon the flesh of all kinds of cattell accustomed to be eaten, all sorts of fish taken vpon our coasts and in our fresh rivers, and such diuersitie of wild and tame foules as are either bred in our Iland or brought ouer vnto vs from other countries of the maine."—Harrison, Descript. of England, ed. Furnivall, Part I. p. 144.White meatsin Lincoln now mean the flesh of lamb, veal, rabbits, chickens, pheasants, etc.

"But how soeuer this case standeth,white meats, as milke, butter and cheese, which were neuer so deere as in my time, and woont to be accounted of as one of the chiefe staies throughout the Iland, are now reputed as foods appertinent onelie to the inferiour sort, whilest such as are more wealthie, doo feed vpon the flesh of all kinds of cattell accustomed to be eaten, all sorts of fish taken vpon our coasts and in our fresh rivers, and such diuersitie of wild and tame foules as are either bred in our Iland or brought ouer vnto vs from other countries of the maine."—Harrison, Descript. of England, ed. Furnivall, Part I. p. 144.White meatsin Lincoln now mean the flesh of lamb, veal, rabbits, chickens, pheasants, etc.

[E284]"Count best the best cheape": "For it doth the buyer more credit and service."—Ray. We still say "Cheap and nasty;" and in the Towneley Mysteries, p. 102, there is the same sentiment:"Men say lyght chepeletherly for yeeldys,"equivalent to our English proverb: "Light cheap, litter yield."

[E284]"Count best the best cheape": "For it doth the buyer more credit and service."—Ray. We still say "Cheap and nasty;" and in the Towneley Mysteries, p. 102, there is the same sentiment:

"Men say lyght chepeletherly for yeeldys,"

equivalent to our English proverb: "Light cheap, litter yield."

[E285]It is always advisable to pay carpenters their fair wages, without any allowance of chips, which is a great temptation for them to waste timber.—M. In hewing timber, if the workman hews square, the seller of the timber loses all the gain of theWane edges,which gain in short is a cheat, although a very customary one.—T.R.

[E286]"Within these fortie yeeres we shall haue little great timber growing aboue fortie yeeres old; for it is commonlie seene that those yongstaddleswhich we leaue standing at one and twentie yeeres fall, are vsuallie at the next sale cut downe without any danger of the statute, and serue for fire bote, if it please the owner to burne them."—Harrison, Part I. p. 345. "There is a Statute made, 35 Henry the 8, and the 1 Eliz. for the presentation of timber trees, Oake, Ash, Elme, Aspe, and Beech: and that 12 storers andstandilsshould bee left standing at euery fall, vpon an acre."—Norden's Surveyor's Dialogue, 1607, p. 213. On the decrease in woods, etc., in England, see Harrison's Description of England (New Shakspere Soc. edit. F. J. Furnivall, Part I. p. 344) and Norden's Surveyor's Dialogue, 1607, p. 214, in the latter of which one cause is stated to be the large number of hammers and furnaces for the manufacture of iron, and the quantity of charcoal used in the glass-houses; there being, as he says: "now or lately in Sussex, neere 140 hammers and furnaces for iron, and in it, and Surry adjoyning 3,400 glasse houses: the hammers and furnaces spend, each of them, in every 24 houres 2, 3 or foure loades of charrcoale."—p. 215. "There is a Law in Spaine, that he that cuts downone Tree, shall plantthreefor it."—A Treatise of Fruit Trees, R. A. Austin, Oxford, 1657, p. 128.

[E287]"Leaue oxen abrode," etc. The Author of Tusser Redivivus is supported in his reading of this line by the edition of 1597, which has "leauenotoxe abrode." The sense, however, may possibly be, "keep oxen at a distance, for fear of injuring the young shoots." "Springeor ympe that commeth out of the rote."—Huloet's Abcedarium, 1552. "Keep from biting, treading underfoot, or damage of beasts ... whereby mischief may be done to theSprings, during the time limited by the statute for such kind of wood."—Brumby Lease, 1716, in Peacock's Glossary, E. Dial. Soc.

[E288]"Meet with a bootie," etc., that is, as we say, find something which was never lost.

[E289]Wanteth = is without, does not keep.

[E290]"Waine her to mee." Perhaps = waggon, that is, "drive, carry her to me," but it is a forced expression.

[E291]"Such maister such man." Another form of the proverb is, "Trim, Tram; like master, like man." "Tel maître, tel valet" (Fr.).

[E292]Compare with Tusser's description of the faults to be avoided in the making of cheese the following extracts on the same subject:"Now what cheese is well made or otherwise may partly be perceiued by this old Latine verse:Non nix, non Argos, Methusalem, Magdaleneve,Esaus, non Lazarus, caseus ille bonus.That is to say, Cheese should not be white as Snowe is, nor full of eyes as Argos was, nor old as Methusalem was, nor full of whey or weeping as Marie Magdalen was, nor rough as Esau was, nor full of spots as Lazarus. Master Tusser in his Booke of husbandrie addeth other properties also of Cheese well made, which who so listeth may read. Of this sort for the most part is that which is made about Banbury in Oxfordshire: for of all cheese (in my judgement) it is the best, though some preferre Cheshire Cheese made about Nantwich: and other also commend the Cheese of other countries: But Banbury Cheese shall goe for my money: for therein (if it be of the best sort) you shall neither tast the renet nor salt, which be two speciall properties of good Cheese. Now who so is desirous to eate Cheese, must eate it after other meat, and in little quantitie. A pennyweight, according to the old saying, is enough."—Cogan's Haven of Health, ed. 1612, pp. 158-9.Andrew Boorde, in his Dyetary already referred to, p. 266, mentions 5 kinds of cheese, namely: "grene chese, softe chese, harde chese and spermyse. Besyde these iiij natures of chese, there is a chese called a rewene chese, the whiche, yf it be well orderyd, doth passe all other cheses, none excesse taken." ... "Chese that is good oughte not be to harde nor to softe, but betwyxt both; it shuld not be towgh nor brultell; it ought not to be swete, nor tarte, nor to salt, nor to fresshe; it must be of good savour and taledge, nor full of iyes, nor mytes, nor magottes.""Yf a chees is drie,Hit is a vyce, and so is many an eyeYf it see with, that cometh yf sounyng brendde,Or moche of salt, or lite of presse, it shende."—-Palladius on Husbondrie, E. E. Text Soc. ed. Lodge, p. 154.With these extracts showing the essentials of good cheese, compare the following description of Suffolk Cheese, locally termedBang and Thump, and made of milk several times skimmed:"Unrivall'd stands thy county cheese, O Giles!Whose very name alone engenders smiles;Whose fame abroad by every tongue is spoke,The well-known butt of many a flinty joke,Its name derision and reproach pursue,And strangers tell of 'three times skimm'd skye blue.'"—Blomfield.Its toughness has given rise to a number of local illustrations. In one the cheese exclaims:"Those that made me were uncivil,For they made me harder than the devil;Knives won't cut me; fire won't sweat me;Dogs bark at me, but can't eat me.""Hunger will break through stone walls, or anything except Suffolk cheese," is a proverb from Ray. Mowbray says "it is onlyfit to be cut up for gate latches, a use to which it is often applied." Other writers represent it as most suitable for making wheels for wheelbarrows.

[E292]Compare with Tusser's description of the faults to be avoided in the making of cheese the following extracts on the same subject:

"Now what cheese is well made or otherwise may partly be perceiued by this old Latine verse:

Non nix, non Argos, Methusalem, Magdaleneve,Esaus, non Lazarus, caseus ille bonus.

That is to say, Cheese should not be white as Snowe is, nor full of eyes as Argos was, nor old as Methusalem was, nor full of whey or weeping as Marie Magdalen was, nor rough as Esau was, nor full of spots as Lazarus. Master Tusser in his Booke of husbandrie addeth other properties also of Cheese well made, which who so listeth may read. Of this sort for the most part is that which is made about Banbury in Oxfordshire: for of all cheese (in my judgement) it is the best, though some preferre Cheshire Cheese made about Nantwich: and other also commend the Cheese of other countries: But Banbury Cheese shall goe for my money: for therein (if it be of the best sort) you shall neither tast the renet nor salt, which be two speciall properties of good Cheese. Now who so is desirous to eate Cheese, must eate it after other meat, and in little quantitie. A pennyweight, according to the old saying, is enough."—Cogan's Haven of Health, ed. 1612, pp. 158-9.

Andrew Boorde, in his Dyetary already referred to, p. 266, mentions 5 kinds of cheese, namely: "grene chese, softe chese, harde chese and spermyse. Besyde these iiij natures of chese, there is a chese called a rewene chese, the whiche, yf it be well orderyd, doth passe all other cheses, none excesse taken." ... "Chese that is good oughte not be to harde nor to softe, but betwyxt both; it shuld not be towgh nor brultell; it ought not to be swete, nor tarte, nor to salt, nor to fresshe; it must be of good savour and taledge, nor full of iyes, nor mytes, nor magottes."

"Yf a chees is drie,Hit is a vyce, and so is many an eyeYf it see with, that cometh yf sounyng brendde,Or moche of salt, or lite of presse, it shende."—-Palladius on Husbondrie, E. E. Text Soc. ed. Lodge, p. 154.

With these extracts showing the essentials of good cheese, compare the following description of Suffolk Cheese, locally termedBang and Thump, and made of milk several times skimmed:

"Unrivall'd stands thy county cheese, O Giles!Whose very name alone engenders smiles;Whose fame abroad by every tongue is spoke,The well-known butt of many a flinty joke,Its name derision and reproach pursue,And strangers tell of 'three times skimm'd skye blue.'"—Blomfield.

Its toughness has given rise to a number of local illustrations. In one the cheese exclaims:

"Those that made me were uncivil,For they made me harder than the devil;Knives won't cut me; fire won't sweat me;Dogs bark at me, but can't eat me."

"Hunger will break through stone walls, or anything except Suffolk cheese," is a proverb from Ray. Mowbray says "it is onlyfit to be cut up for gate latches, a use to which it is often applied." Other writers represent it as most suitable for making wheels for wheelbarrows.

[E293]"Argusses eies." The mythical Argus, surnamed Panoptes (the All-seer), had a hundred eyes; he was placed by Juno to guard Io, and at his death his eyes were transplanted to the peacock's tail.

[E294]To fleet or skim the cream is a verb still in use in East Anglia, and the utensil used for the purpose is termed afleeting-dish. "I flete mylke, take away the creame that lyeth above it whan it hath rested."—Palsgr. "Esburrer, to fleet the creame potte;laict esburré, fleeted milk;maigne, fleeted milke or whaye."—Hollyband's Treasurie. "Yeflotedtoo nie" = you skimmed off too much of the cream.

[E295]If cheeses are full of eyes, it is a proof that the curd was not properly worked.

[E296]Hoven cheese is occasioned by negligence in breaking the curd; and therefore Cisley deserves to be driven tocreeks, or holes and corners, for her idleness and inattention.—M.

[E297]Tough or leathery cheese may arise from its being set too hot, or not worked up, and the curd broken in proper time.—M.

[E298]Various causes may bring on corruption in cheese, such as the use of beastings, or milk immediately after calving, moisture, bruises and such like.

[E299]Hairs in cheese can only arise from inexcusable carelessness, or from Cisley's combing and decking her hair in the dairy.

[E300]Magget the py = the magpie, a pun on the word magget, in its two meanings of 1. a maggot, 2. a magpie, commonly called in Prov. Eng.magot-pie, maggoty-pie, frommag, maggot = Meg, Maggie = Margery, Margaret, andpie; Fr.margot, old dimin. ofMarguerite, and common name of the magpie. The line, therefore, reads, "If maggots be crawling in the cheese, fetch magget the py." "Pie, meggatapie."—Cotgrave. Cf. Shakspere, Macbeth, Act iii. sc. 4, 125.

[E301]"Cisley, in running after the Bishop in passing, as was the practice in former times, in order to obtain his blessing, might accidentally leave her milk on the fire; and on her return, finding it burnt to the pan, might probably curse the prelate for her mishap, which conduct deserved correction, or a left-handed blessing from her mistress." So Dr. Mavor. Mr. Skeat remarks in reference to it: "That stupid story makes me cross; it is such an evident invention, and no soul has ever adduced the faintest proof of any such practice. The allusion is far less circuitous, viz. to the bishops who burnt people for heresy. That they did so is too notorious." The following extract appears strongly to bear out Mr. Skeat's view: "When a thynge speadeth not well we borowe speach and say 'the byshope hath blessed it,' because that nothynge speadethwell that they medyll withall. If the podech be burned to, or the meate over rosted, we say 'the byshope has put his fote in the potte,' or 'the byshope hath played the coke,' because the byshopes burn who they lust, and whosoever displeaseth them."—Quotation from Tyndale's Obedyence of a Chrystene Man, 1528, p. 166, in Brockett, North Country Glossary, 1825, page 16. If we consider that these verses were written while the memory of the numbers who had suffered death at the stake for their religion was still fresh in the minds of the people, Mr. Skeat's view, borne out, as it is, by the foregoing extract, certainly appears the more reasonable and probable.

[E302]"Here reede": we may take this as meaning either "here read," or, adopting the older meaning of the wordreede(A.S.ræd= advice, warning), as "hear my advice or warning."

[E303]"Take nothing to halues," that is, do nothing by halves.

[E304]"Tell fagot and billet," etc.; count your faggots and fire-wood, to prevent the boys and girls from pilfering it, so that when you come to fetch it you find "a quarter be gone." So also in the next stanza, watch the coal men filling the sacks, lest you should get short weight; and, when the coals are delivered, see the sacks opened, for fear the coal dealer and the carman should be 'two in a pack,' or 'harp on one string,' and between them you be defrauded.

[E305]"Philip and Jacob," that is, St. Philip and St. James' Day, May 1st. "When flocks were more uniform as to breed and management, lambs used to be separated from their dams on this day, for the purpose of tithing as well as milking."—M. "Requiem æternam," a portion of the Roman Catholic Service for the dead, hence "leastrequiem æternamin winter they sing" = lest they die in the winter from not having been allowed to become sufficiently strong before being taken from their dams, and thus being incapable of enduring the severity of the weather.

[E306]"Barberlie handled," that is, "secundum artem, as a barber surgeon would do, by first cutting away extraneous substances, and then rubbing the part with dust."—M. Tusser Redivivus calls the lumps of dirt and worms which gather on the wool under a sheep's tail "treddles."

[E307]During the summer season, hollow and decayed pollards in particular, or woodsere, cannot be lopped without danger. Ivy, however, is to be removed; or it will, by the closeness of its embraces, prevent trees fromaddling, that is, growing or increasing in size.—M.

[E308]The Thrasher serves the Cattle with fresh Straw, the Hogs with Risk (offal, corn and weeds, and short knotty straw).—T.R. (May).

[E309]"A weede hooke, a crotch, and a gloue." Fitzherbert (Boke of Husbandry, 1586) enumerates, as "yechyef instrumentesfor weeding, a paier of tonges made of wood and in the farther end it is nicked to hold ye wede faster ... yf it be drye wether then must ye have awedying hokewith a socket set upon a lytle staffe a yard longe. And this hoke wolde be wel steled and grounde sharpe bothe behynde and before. And in his other hande he hath aforked styckea yarde long." The whole account of weeding in the "Boke" is very quaint. In former days thistles were gathered from the corn for the feeding of cattle, and the left hand of the reaper was guarded with a leathern glove: there is an entry among the expenses of the Priory of Holy Island for 1344-5 of "gloves for 14 servants when they gathered the tythe corn, 2s.8d." See Johnston's "Botany of the Eastern Borders."—Note by Mr. J. Britten, F.L.S.

[E310]"The May weed doth burn" (Anthemis cotula, L.). The juice of this plant is possessed of an acrid blistering property which renders it extremely noxious to reapers. The irritating effects are produced in a still greater degree by the seed when ripe, and are mostly manifested in the lower extremities, from the close adhesion of the seeds by their rough surface, aided by the friction of the shoe, causing first abrasion, then active inflammation, and even ulceration. Dr. Bromfield (Flora Vectensis) says: "I have been repeatedly assured by the peasantry that they have known men incapacitated for work, and laid up, from the injurious operation of this noxious weed, for days together in harvest time."

[E311]"The thistle doth fret." Fitzherbert (Boke of Husbandry) says: "The thystell is an yll wede rough and sharpe to handle, andfreateth away the cornesnyghe it."

[E312]"The fitches pul downward." The hairy tare,Vicia hirsuta, L. Fitch = vetch.

[E313]"The cockle,"Lychnis Githago, L. "Cockolehath a large smal [sic] leafe and wyll beare v or vi floures purple colloure as brode as a grote, and the sede is rounde and blacke."—Fitzherbert, Boke of Husbandry.

[E314]"Boddle." The corn marigold,Chrysanthemum segetum, L., more usually called boodle or buddle in the East of England; in Kent, yellow bottle; in Scotland, gools, gules, or goolds, in allusion to the colour of the flower. This is a very noxious weed, the non-extirpation of which in Scotland was formerly a punishable offence: certain persons (hence called "gool-riders") were appointed to ride through the fields on a certain day, and impose a fine of three shillings and fourpence, or a wether sheep, for every stalk of the plant found growing in the corn. The custom is of great antiquity, and exists in a modified form at the present day, the fine being reduced to a penny. Linnæus states that a similar law exists in Denmark.—Note by Mr. J. Britten, F.L.S.

[E315]Buckwheat, Dutchboekweit, Ger.buckwaitzen, from the resemblance of its triangular seeds to beech-nuts, a name adoptedwith its culture from the Dutch.—It is a tender plant, and must be sown late.—M. It is also very proper to sow it (bucke) before wheat, the ground is made clean and fine by it, and it sufficing itself with a Froth leaves the solid Strength for the Wheat.—T.R. (May).Polygonum Fagopyrum, Linn.

[E316]"Brank" = buckwheat, from a Latin word,brance, that occurs in Pliny lib. xviii. cap. 7, where it seems rather to mean a barley. "Galliæ quoque suum genus farris dedere, quod illicbrancevocant, apud nos sandalam, nitidissimi grani." The word will be identical withblanc, white, Port.branco, and equivalent towheat, which properly means "white."—Popular Names of British Plants, Dr. R. A. Prior, 1870, p. 28. Pancakes are made of it in Holland.—T.R.

[E317]Pidgeons, Rooks, and other Vermine, about that time begin to be scanted, and will certainly find them [peas] out, be they in never so by a Corner.—T.R. (May).

[E318]Fimble, or Female Hemp, so called, I suppose, because it falls to the Female's share totew-tawit, that is, to dress it and to spin it, etc. The Fimble Hemp is that which is ripe soonest and fittest for spinning, and is not worth above half as much as theCarlewith its seed.—T.R. "The male is calledCharle Hempe, andWinter Hempe; the FemaleBarren HempeandSommer Hempe."—Gerard's Herball, p. 572. "Hemp was much cultivated here until the end of the great war with France. TheCarlor male hemp was used for ropes, sackcloth, and other coarse manufactures: thefimble, or female hemp, was applied to making sheets and other domestic purposes."—Peacock's Gloss. of Manley, etc., E. D. Soc.It is curious that the Karl or male hemp should be in reality the female plant, but other authors use the names in the same way. "The femell hempe ... beareth no sede."—Fitzherbert, "Boke of Husbandry." See also 55. 8. Gerard says the female hemp is "barren and without seede, contrarie to the nature of that sexe."—Note by Mr. J. Britten, F.L.S.

It is curious that the Karl or male hemp should be in reality the female plant, but other authors use the names in the same way. "The femell hempe ... beareth no sede."—Fitzherbert, "Boke of Husbandry." See also 55. 8. Gerard says the female hemp is "barren and without seede, contrarie to the nature of that sexe."—Note by Mr. J. Britten, F.L.S.

[E319]The fact of the Hop being one of the plants which twine from left to right had thus been observed as early as Tusser's time.—Note by Mr. J. Britten, F.L.S.

[E320]The tine tare ["a tare thattinesor encloses and imprisons other plants,Vicia hirsuta."—Prior] is now seldom attempted to be raked out, for fear of greater mischief from the practice than from its neglect. The safest way is certainly to cut the tine near the root, but the operation is extremely tedious.—M.

[E321]"The Fawy riseth in Fawy moore in a veriequaue mire, on the side of an hill."—Harrison, ed. 1587, Bk. i. c. 12.Cf. "The wal wagged and clef, and al the worldequaved."—Piers Plowman, ed. Skeat, B Text, Passus xviii. 61."Quave of a myre (quaue as of a myre),Labina. Quavyn, as myre,Tremo."—Prompt. Parv. Horman, in his chapterde re edificatoriâ, observes that "aquaueryor a maris and unstable foundation mustbe holpe with great pylys of alder rammed downe, and with a frame of tymbre called a crossaundre (fistucâ)." In Caxton's Mirrour of the World, Part II. c. 22, it is said, "understande ye how the erthe quaueth and shaketh, that somme peple calle an erthe quaue, by cause they fele the erthe meue and quaue vnder their feet." "Quaue myre,foundriere crouliere."—Palsgrave. Forby gives Quavery-mavery = undecided, hesitating.—Way, Note in Prompt. Parv.,s.v.Quave.

[E321]"The Fawy riseth in Fawy moore in a veriequaue mire, on the side of an hill."—Harrison, ed. 1587, Bk. i. c. 12.

Cf. "The wal wagged and clef, and al the worldequaved."—Piers Plowman, ed. Skeat, B Text, Passus xviii. 61.

"Quave of a myre (quaue as of a myre),Labina. Quavyn, as myre,Tremo."—Prompt. Parv. Horman, in his chapterde re edificatoriâ, observes that "aquaueryor a maris and unstable foundation mustbe holpe with great pylys of alder rammed downe, and with a frame of tymbre called a crossaundre (fistucâ)." In Caxton's Mirrour of the World, Part II. c. 22, it is said, "understande ye how the erthe quaueth and shaketh, that somme peple calle an erthe quaue, by cause they fele the erthe meue and quaue vnder their feet." "Quaue myre,foundriere crouliere."—Palsgrave. Forby gives Quavery-mavery = undecided, hesitating.—Way, Note in Prompt. Parv.,s.v.Quave.

[E322]The meaning is, make your dunghill on the headland, especially where shaded with trees and bushes, as they will prevent the moisture from exhaling.—M."I see in some meddowesgaullyplaces where little or no grasse at al groweth, by reason (as I take it) of the too long standing of the water, for such places are commonly low, where the water standeth, not hauing vent to passe away, and therefore meanes must be first made for the evacuation of the water: for the continual standing of the water consumeth the grasse, and makes the place bare, and sinketh it. In such a place, therefore, sow in the Spring-time some hay-seed, especially the seed of the claver grasse [clover], or the grasse hony-suckle [trefoil], and other seeds that fall out of the finest and purest hay: and in the sowing of it, mingle with it some good earth; but sow not the hony-suckle grasse in too moist a ground, for it liketh it not."—Norden's Surveyor's Dialogue, 1607, pp. 201-2. Gauls are void spaces in Coppices which serve for nothing but to entice the Cattel into it, to its great Damage.—T.R.

[E322]The meaning is, make your dunghill on the headland, especially where shaded with trees and bushes, as they will prevent the moisture from exhaling.—M.

"I see in some meddowesgaullyplaces where little or no grasse at al groweth, by reason (as I take it) of the too long standing of the water, for such places are commonly low, where the water standeth, not hauing vent to passe away, and therefore meanes must be first made for the evacuation of the water: for the continual standing of the water consumeth the grasse, and makes the place bare, and sinketh it. In such a place, therefore, sow in the Spring-time some hay-seed, especially the seed of the claver grasse [clover], or the grasse hony-suckle [trefoil], and other seeds that fall out of the finest and purest hay: and in the sowing of it, mingle with it some good earth; but sow not the hony-suckle grasse in too moist a ground, for it liketh it not."—Norden's Surveyor's Dialogue, 1607, pp. 201-2. Gauls are void spaces in Coppices which serve for nothing but to entice the Cattel into it, to its great Damage.—T.R.

[E323]If the land is overstocked in summer, you may, perhaps, be obliged to assist your cattle to rise in winter; or, in other words, "to lift at their tails."—M. Cf.21. 14.

[E324]It appears to have been the custom formerly to allow, in warm weather, sleep for an hour or two. In Norfolk we are told the practice is not quite obsolete on churning days when the mistress and maids get up early; and likewise among the ploughmen, where two journies a day are performed with their teams, and an interval allowed for rest.—M. Compare the expression in the Paston Letters, i. 390, "Writan in my slepyng tyme at after none, on Wytsonday."

[E325]"Patch." Cf. Shakspere, Mid. Night's Dr., Act iii. sc. 2; and Merchant of Venice, Act ii. sc. 5.

[E326]"Growthed" = grout-hed = thick head, fat head. Cf.growtnoul= a blockhead. "Growte nowlecome to the King."—Promos and Cassandra, p. 81.

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