_Of the time of Haruest and the gathering in of Corne._
{SN: The getting in of Masline.}
{SN: The getting in of Wheate.}
Next vnto plowing, it is necessary that I place Reaping, sith it is the
end, hope, and perfection of the labour, and both the merit and
incouragement which maketh the toyle both light and portable: then to
proceede vnto the time of Haruest. You shall vnderstand that it is
requisite for euery good Husband about the latter end of Iuly, if the
soyle wherein he liueth be of any hot temper, or about the beginning of
August, if it be of temperate warmth, with all dilligence constantly to
beholde his Rye, which of all graines is the first that ripeneth, and if
he shall perceiue that the hull of the eare beginneth to open, and that
the blacke toppes of the Corne doth appeare, he may then be assured that
the Corne is fully ripe, and ready for the Sickle, so that instantly he
shall prouide his Reapers, according to the quantitie of his graine: for
if hee shall neglect his Rye but one day more then is fit, it is such a
hasty graine, that it will shale forth of the huske to the ground, to
the great losse of the Husbandman. When hee hath prouided his shearers,
which he shall be carefull to haue very good, he shall then looke that
neither out of their wantonnesse nor emulation, they striue which shall
goe fastest, or ridd most ground, for from thence proceedeth many errors
in their worke, as namely, scattering, and leauing the Corne vncut
behind them, the cutting the heads of the Corne off so that they are not
possible to be gathered, and many such like incommodities, but let them
goe soberly and constantly, and sheare the Rye at least fourteene inches
aboue the ground. Then he must looke that the gatherers which follow the
Reapers doe also gather cleane, & the binders binde the Sheafes fast
from breaking, then if you finde that the bottomes of the Sheafes be
full of greenes, or weedes, it shall not be amisse to let the Sheafes
lye one from another for a day, that those greenes may wither, but if
you feare any Raine or foule weather, which is the onely thing which
maketh Rye shale, then you shall set it vp in Shockes, each Shocke
containing at least seauen Sheafes, in this manner: first, you shall
place foure Sheafes vpright close together, and the eares vpwards, then
you shall take other three Sheafes and opening them and turning the
eares downeward couer the other foure Sheafes that stoode vpwards, and
so let them stand, vntill you may with good conueniencie lead them home,
which would be done without any protraction. Next after your cleane Rye,
you shall in the selfe-same sort reape your blend-Corne, or Masline: and
albeit your Wheate will not be fully so ripe as your Rye, yet you shall
not stay your labour, being well assured that your Rye is ready, because
Wheate will harden of it selfe after it is shorne, with lying onely.
After you haue got in your Rye and blend-Corne, you shall then looke
vnto your cleane Wheate, and taking heare and there an eare thereof,
rubbe them in your hand, and if you finde that the Corne hath all
perfection saue a little hardning onely, you shall then forthwith set
your Reapers vnto it, who shall sheare it in all things as they did
sheare your Rye, onely they shall not put it in Shockes for a day or
more, but let the Sheafes lye single, that the winde and Sunne may both
wither the greenes, and harden the Corne: which done, you shall put the
Sheafes into great Shockes, that is to say, at least twelue or
foureteene Sheafes in a Shocke, the one halfe standing close together
with the eares vpward, the other halfe lying crosse ouerthwart those
eares, and their eares downeward, and in this sort you shall let your
Wheate stand for at least two dayes before you lead it.
Now it is a custome in many Countries of this kingdome, not to sheare
their Wheate, but to mow it, but in my conceit and in generall
experience, it is not so good: for it both maketh the Wheate foule, and
full of weede, and filleth vp a great place with little commoditie, as
for the vse of thacking, which is the onely reason of such disorderly
cutting, there is neither the straw that is shorne, nor the stubble
which is left behinde, but are both of sufficiencie inough for such an
imployment, if it passe through the hands of a workman, as we see in
dayly experience.
{SN: The getting in of Barly.}
Next to your Wheate, you shall haue regard to your Barly, for it
sodainely ripeneth, and must be cut downe assoone as you perceiue the
straw is turned white, to the bottome, and the eares bended downe to the
groundward. Your Barly you shall not sheare, although it is a fashion in
some Country, both because it is painefull and profitlesse, but you
shall Mowe it close to the ground, and although in generall it be the
custome of our kingdome, after your Barly is mowen and hath lyne a day
or two in swathe, then with rackes to racke it together, and make it
into great cockes, and so to leade it to the Barne, yet I am of this
opinion that if your Barly be good and cleane without thistles or
weedes, that if then to euery sitheman, or Mower you alot two followers,
that is to say, a gatherer, who with a little short rake and a small
hooke shall gather the Corne together, and a binder, who shall make
bands and binde vp the Barly in smale Sheafes, that questionlesse you
shall finde much more profit thereby: and although some thinke the
labour troublesome and great, yet for mine owne part, I haue seene very
great croppes inned in this manner, and haue seene two women, that with
great ease, haue followed and bound after a most principall Mower, which
made me vnderstand that the toyle was not so great as mine imagination;
and the profit ten-fold greater then the labour: but if your Corne be
ill Husbanded, and full of thistles, weedes, and all filthinesse, then
this practise is to be spared, and the loose cocking vp of your Corne is
much better. Assoone as you haue cleansed any Land of Barly, you shall
then immediatly cause one with a great long rake, of at least thirtie
teeth, being in a sling bound bauticke-wise crosse his body, to draw it
from one end of the Land to the other, all ouer the Land, that he may
thereby gather vp all the loose Corne which is scattered, and carry it
where your other Corne standeth, obseruing euer, as your cheifest rule,
that by no meanes you neither leade Barly, nor any other graine
whatsoeuer, when it is wet, no although it be but moistned with the dew
onely: for the least dankishnesse, more then the sweate which it
naturally taketh, will soone cause it to putrifie.
{SN: The getting in of Oates.}
Now for the gathering in of your Oates, they be a graine of such
incertaintie, ripening euer according to the weather, & not after any
setled or naturall course, that you are to looke to no constant season,
but to take them vpon the first show of ripenesse, and that with such
diligence that you must rather take them before, then after they be
ripe, because if they tarry but halfe a day too long, they will shed
vpon the ground, & you shal loose your whole profit. The time then
fittest to cut your Oates is, assoone as they be somewhat more then
halfe changed, but not altogether changed, that is, when they are more
then two parts white, and yet the greene not vtterly extinguished, the
best cutting of them is to mow them (albeit I haue seene them shorne in
some places) & being mowen to let them dry and ripen in the swathe, as
naturally they will doe, and then if you bind them vp in Sheafes, as you
should binde your Barly, it is best: for to carry them in the loose
cocke, as many doe, is great losse and hindrance of profit.
{SN: The getting in of Pulse.}
After you haue got in your white Corne, you shall then looke vnto your
Pulse, as Beanes, Pease, Fitches, and such like, which you shall know to
be ready by the blacknesse of the straw: for it is a rule, whensoeuer
the straw turnes, the Pulse is ripe. If then it be cleane Beanes, or
Beanes and Pease mixt, you shall mowe them, and being cleane Beanes rake
them into heapes, and so make them vp into cockes, but if they be mixt
you shall with hookes fould the Beanes into the Pease, and make little
round reapes thereof, which after they haue beene turned and dryed, you
may put twenty reapes together, and thereof make a cocke, and so lead
them, and stacke them: but if they be cleane Pease, or Pease and
Fitches, then you shall not mowe them, but with long hookes cut them
from the ground, which is called Reaping, and so foulding them together
into small reapes, as you did your Pease and Beanes, let them be turned
and dryed, and so cocked, and carried either to the Barne, stacke, or
houell.
Now hauing thus brought in, and finished your Haruest, you shall then
immediately mowe vp the stubble, both of your Wheate, Rye, and Masline,
and with all expedition there-with thacke, and couer from Raine and
weather, all such graine as for want of house-roome, you are compeld to
lay abroad, either in stacke, or vpon houell: but if no such necessitie
be, and that you haue not other more necessary imployment for your
stubble, it shall be no part of ill Husbandry to let the stubble rot
vpon the Land, which will be a reasonable Manuring or fatting of the
earth.
Now hauing brought your Corne into the Barne, it is a lesson needlesse
to giue any certaine rules how to spend or vtter it forth, sith euery
man must be ruled according to his affaires, and necessitie, yet sith in
mine owne experience I haue taken certaine setled rules from those who
haue made themselues great estates by a most formall and strickt course
in their Husbandry, I thinke it not amisse to show you what I haue noted
from them, touching the vtterance and expence of their graine: first,
for your expence in your house, it is meete that you haue euer so much
of euery seuerall sort of graine thresht, as shall from time to time
maintaine your family: then for that which you intend shall returne to
particular profit, you shall from a fortnight before Michaelmas, till a
fortnight after, thresh vp all such Wheate, Rye, & Masline, as you
intend to sell for seede, which must be winnowed, fand, and drest so
cleane as is possible, for at that time it will giue the greatest price;
but as soone as seede-time is past, you shall then thresh no more of
those graines till it be neare Midsummer, but begin to thresh vp all
such Barly as you intend to conuert and make into Malt, and so from
Michaelmas till Candlemas, apply nothing but Malting, for in that time
graine is euer the cheapest, because euery Barne being full, some must
sell for the payment of rents, some must sell to pay seruants wages, and
some for their Christmas prouisions: in which time Corne abating and
growing scarse, the price of necessitie must afterwards rise: at
Candlemas you shall begin to thresh all those Pease which you intend to
sell for seede, because the time being then, and euery man, out of
necessitie, inforced to make his prouision, it cannot be but they must
needes passe at a good price and reckoning.
After Pease seede-time, you shall then thresh vp all that Barly which
you meane to sell for seede, which euer is at the dearest reckoning of
any graine whatsoeuer, especially if it be principally good and cleane.
After your seede-Barly is sould, you may then thresh vp all such Wheate,
Rye, and Masline, as you intend to sell: for it euer giueth the greatest
price from the latter end of May vntill the beginning of September. In
September you shall begin to sell your Malt, which being old and hauing
lyne ripening the most part of the yeere, must now at the latter end of
the yeere, when all old store is spent, and the new cannot be come to
any perfection, be most deare, and of the greatest estimation: and thus
being a man of substance in the world, and able to put euery thing to
the best vse, you may by these vsuall obseruations, and the helpe of a
better iudgement, imploy the fruits of your labours to the best profit,
and sell euery thing at the highest price, except you take vpon you to
giue day and sell vpon trust, which if you doe, you may then sell at
what vnconscionable reckoning you will, which because such vnnaturall
exactions neither agree with charitie, nor humanitie, I will forbeare to
giue rules for the same, and referre euery man that is desirous of such
knowledge, to the examples of the world, wherein he shall finde
presidents inough for such euill customes. And thus much for the first
part of this worke, which containeth the manner of Plowing and tillage
onely.
THE SECOND PART
OF THE FIRST BOOKE OF
the English Husbandman,
Contayning the Art of Planting, Grafting and Gardening, either for
pleasure or profit; together with the vse and ordering of Woodes.