ON THE PRICE OF STOCK AND MEAT. 341 



weight and price given. But the Winchester accounts gener- 

 ally give the weight, number, and price of the sheep, and as I 

 have stated Eton always states the weight of the Election ram. 

 There is very little difference between the price of beef and 

 mutton. 



Besides the general names of sheep, ewes, rams, wethers or 

 muttons, and lambs, I find tups, tegs, yeans, paria (this being a 

 Magdalen College name), crones and hoggs. Paria are probably 

 two-tooths. Crones do not always mean old sheep, for the term 

 is sometimes given to lambs, but sheep of all ages, provided 

 they do not seem serviceable for the flock, or like to do well. 

 In the old accounts these sheep were called 'kebb,' a word 

 now not only obsolete but forgotten. Under 1642, kids are 

 purchased at Winchester. 



Lambs are found in only sixty-eight years of this period. The 

 term appears to be used of all produce which is under a year 

 old. They do not seem to be very generally purchased at the 

 Colleges, unless indeed they are occasionally included under 

 the generic name of sheep. It was long a custom for lamb to 

 be served up at the Easter feasts. 



SwiNE, ETC. The price of boars or brawns is very fully 

 given, only seven years being wanting in my accounts. They 

 are purchased at Oxford, Cambridge, and Eton. Every care 

 was taken to secure the fullest size and weight for the animal, 

 and I imagine that it was due to the expenditure on this 

 Christmas dish that the great difference between the price 

 of boars, or brawns in the earlier and later parts of the period 

 is traceable. It would seem that the purchaser stipulated 

 for a certain weight. I have given in the subjoined table the 

 highest price only, but very often there are several entries 

 from the same place in the same year. The term boar is 

 probably used for any full-sized swine which was fattened in 

 the stye. 



Besides boars, full-grown fattened swine, our forefathers 

 \vcrc great consumers of sucking-pigs, the porcclli of the old 

 accounts, and now generally called pigs, the larger animal 



