52 THE APPLE TREE WASSAIL. 



that it had been practised in our own county in recent times. 

 However, our Vice- President, Judge Udal, has very kindly 

 forwarded to me an extract from the manuscript of his forth- 

 coming book on Dorset Folklore with permission to make 

 use of it for the purposes of this paper. 



Judge Udal refers to an article in Folklore for 1918 from 

 which it appears that the ceremony observed in Dorset did 

 not differ in any important particular from those still to be 

 found in the sister county of Somerset. When we turn to the 

 latter county, there is an abundance of material for consider- 

 ation ; and I propose to take as a representative account, and 

 one which forms an excellent basis for discussion, the 

 description of the ceremony given by Mr. Cecil Sharp in his 

 note to Song 128, Folk Songs, from Somerset, 5th Series. 



The rite appears to have been observed at Bratton on the 

 17th January, and the procedure as described by several 

 witnesses is roughly as follows : 



Meeting about seven in the evening, the wassailers proceed 

 to the orchard which is to be the scene of their first celebration, 

 and, forming a ring round one of the oldest of the trees, dance 

 round, singing a particular song, to the words of which I will 

 presently revert. Cider, sometimes warmed, is then thrown 

 upon the tree or poured over the roots to the accompaniment 

 of much shouting, stamping of feet, and firing of guns. 

 Before leaving the tree a piece of toast soaked in cider is 

 placed in the fork of the branches. Mr. Sharp states that, on 

 enquiry of one of the revellers as to what became of the toast, 

 he was informed that " some say that the birds eat it, but I 

 don't know." 



There are five points in this ceremony which are worth 

 considering : 



(1) The Tree. 



(2) The Song and Dance. 



(3) The Libation of Cider. 



(4) The Noise. 



(5) The Offering of Toast, 



