488 



A FARMER'S YEAR 



YEAR, the farmer's : 

 Jamiary : mildness of the season, 

 45. 49, 79, 88, 95; preparing 

 land for sowing, 46-8, 60, 64, 

 79, 80, 88, 95, 96 ; inspection 

 and management of live stock, 

 47, 56-6o, 63, 64, 82, 87, 89, 

 95, 96 ; ditching, fencing, and 

 draining, 48, 61, 65, 76, 78, 97 ; 

 the rent audit, 49-56 ; first 

 lambs, 56, 89 ; new pastures, 61 ; 

 reserving a bullock for the Christ- 

 mas show, 64 ; death of the best 

 ox, 82 ; ploughing barley land, 

 88 ; old saws referring to the 

 month, 99 



February : drilling oats and barley, 

 101, 103, 120; Candlemas Day : 

 weather proverbs, 102 ; frosts, 

 snow, and hail storms, 103, 105, 

 1 08, 114-6; sale of cattle to 

 the butcher, 106, 117 ; amateur 

 ploughing, 1 06 ; carting yard 

 litter to the fields, 108, no; 

 sale of wheat, 109 ; misfortunes 

 among the live stock, 1 14 ; 

 County Council election, 117 



March : severity of the weather : 

 partial suspension of farming 

 operations, 124 ; a good fall of 

 lambs, 126 ; three mares in foal, 

 126 



April: frosts, high winds, and 

 rain storms, 128, 129, 132, 137, 

 J 56, 159, 174; work on the 

 arable lands, 132-4, 137, 141, 

 145, 148, 155, 158, 161, 173; 

 first signs of spring, 133, 149, 

 162 ; the pastures, 133, 141, 

 149, 156 ; the Bedingham drink- 

 ing water, 135 ; condition of the 

 show bullock, 136 ; tree cutting 

 and felling, 137 ; lambs killed 

 by a dog, 142, 152; Easter 

 vestry meeting, 144 ; foals and 

 calves, 145, 146, 1 60, 162 ; tail- 

 cutting : loss of lambs, 146-50 ; 

 a missionary bazaar, 152 ; Bun- 

 gay Races, 154 ; increasing 

 price of wheat, 158, 169 



May : uncertainty of the weather, 



178, 180, 182, 184, 187, 196, 

 2OI, 206, 207 ; a further rise in 

 wheat, 179 ; snakes and snake 

 bites, 1 80, 196-8 ; an egg-eating 

 turkey, 183 ; gilling timber, 185 ; 

 sales of cattle and lambs, 187, 

 206-7 ; low price of butter, 189 ; 

 South Norfolk election, 200, 

 201, 205 ; increase of labourers' 

 wages, 204 ; backward state of 

 crops, 206 ; May sayings, 210 



Jiine : progress of vegetation, 212, 

 216-7, 223, 225, 246, 252-3 ; 

 thunder storms, 213, 229, 245, 

 247 ; the show bullock, 213, 

 253 ; sale of cattle, pigs, and 

 lambs, 213, 220, 229; a frost, 

 213 ; work on land and crops, 

 213, 214, 219, 222-5, 230, 234, 

 238, 240, 245, 247, 249 ; steam 

 sawing timber, 213, 221, 238 ; 

 shearing sheep, 214-6; fall in 

 wheat, 222 ; pasture lands, 

 225-6, 252 ; sheep dipping, 

 234 ; hay harvesting, 249, 250, 

 252 



: condition of the crops, 255, 

 284, 286, 289 ; unseasonableness 

 of the weather, 256, 270, 277-8, 

 284, 290 ; the hay harvest, 256, 

 261-6, 271-4, 277, 286-8; 

 sheeping pastures, 260 ; weaning 

 the lambs, 263 ; general farm 

 work, 264, 278, 284, 289 ; stack 

 building and thatching, 265, 271, 

 272, 282-4, 286-7 5 young wil- 

 lows destroyed by live stock, 

 274-6 ; St. Swithun's-day, 277 ; 

 sale of steers, 282 ; visit to Den- 

 ton Farm, 290 



August : variations in the weather, 

 292, 301, 306, 308, 312,314, 317, 

 325 ; end of the hay harvest, 

 293 ; the growing crops, 293, 

 301, 307 ; sale of red poll heifers, 

 293 ; the harvest bargain, 294-5 ; 

 purchase of a reaper, 295 ; death 

 of a foal, 302, 316 ; new South- 

 down sheep and rams, 306 ; the 

 grain harvest, 307, 312, 317, 

 322 ; visiting outlying farms, 



