342 ON THE PRICE OF STOCK AND MEAT. 



going generally by the name of hog. I have by no means 

 a continuous price of pigs in the old sense of the word, though 

 had the Commons books survived, the information would have 

 been abundant. 



Sucking-pigs, sometimes called by this name, appear in the 

 accounts for fifty-six years, for the first eleven years uninter- 

 ruptedly, and again for seventeen years after 1598. But there 

 is no entry for thirty years, between 1654 and 1684. Only 

 two of the decades are however unrepresented, though one 

 entry in 1654 of 'a pig' at 4^. probably represents a larger 

 animal than was ordinarily served up. The averages of the 

 several decades, omitting this entry, are is. i\d., is. 4^., 

 is. 6\d., is. nd., is. 9^., zs. old., is.^d., is.^\d. and is. z\d., 

 most of these entries coming from the Commons books, though 

 between 1601 and 1620 Theydon Gernon supplies several. I 

 have very little evidence of the price of pork by weight in the 

 earlier period. There is in 1586 one by the stone at Worksop, 

 i.e. a little over \\d. the Ib. If this is any guide, I should infer 

 that these sucking-pigs were served when they were about ten or 

 twelve pounds weight. In the later part of the period, when the 

 average is about is. 4^., pork is regularly quoted at $d. a pound, 

 and this price does not give a materially different conclusion. 

 The facts are further illustrated by the price of * weanyer ' pigs 

 in 1685 and 1693 at Cuckfield, they being described as small 

 in the latter entry. This word is plainly synonymous with 

 the Hampshire name for young pigs, ' shoot', 1 which I find at 

 Foxcombe in 1700, priced at Js. $d. These are no doubt young 

 pigs of five to six months old, and are also to be identified 

 with the little swine, priced at 6s. 8d. in 1634, and perhaps a 

 ' pork ' at 2J. 4< in 1605, and the little hogs of 1602 at 4s. 6d. 



Boars and sows purchased in pairs for stock have been 

 found twice, in 1615 and i63i,at4oj. and 33 s. the pair. Sows, 

 evidently lean, are found in 1588 and 1589, at los. yd. and IDS. ; 

 and great swine in 1634, at i$s. 8d. Sows with farrows have 



1 This word is not in Halliwell, but is quite familiar to me, from my early 

 Hampshire experiences. 



