14 THE MANORIAL SYSTEM 



aftermath of the hay meadows, and the stubble and haulm of the 

 arable lands. During this reason they were at their best. They 

 only survived the winter months in a state of semi-starvation on 

 hay, straw, and tree-loppings. It was, therefore, the practice at 

 the end of June to draft the aged cows, worn-out oxen, and tooth- 

 less sheep, or " crones," prepare them as far as possible for" the 

 butcher, slaughter them in the autumn, and either eat them fresh 

 or throw them into the powdering tub to be salted for winter con- 

 sumption. " For Easter at Martilmas (November 11) hange up a 

 biefe " is the advice of Tusser. 



The dairy produce was a greater source of money revenue, though 

 the home consumption of cheese must have been very large. But 

 the management was necessarily controlled, like the management 

 of the stock, by the winter scarcity. The yield of a cow during 

 the twenty-four weeks from the middle of April to Michaelmas was 

 estimated at four-fifths of her total annual yield. Six to ten ewes 

 gave as much milk as one cow ; but the best practice was to cease 

 milking ewes at Lammas Day (August 12). Cheese-making formed 

 an important part of the dairywoman's duties, and the purchase 

 of the cloths and utensils used in its manufacture are a serious 

 item in estate accounts. Cheese seems generally to have been 

 made of skim-milk, though superior varieties were doubtless found 

 on the lord's table. Most of the butter made in the summer months 

 was either sold, or salted and preserved in pots and barrels for 

 winter use. 1 The butter-milk was either drunk, made into curds, 

 or more rarely used to fatten pigs. The curds were eaten with wine 

 or ale ; the whey, under the name of " whig," made a cool and 

 wholesome summer drink. During the winter months, milk 

 fetched three times its summer price, and was generally sold. For 

 this, among other reasons, calves were timed to fall before autumn. 

 In the scarce months of winter, the price obtained for milk during 

 eight weeks was supposed to be worth more than the calf. Small 

 open-field farmers must usually have sold their calves as soon as 

 possible. The same practice prevailed 011 the demesne. The total 



1 Rogers, noticing that butter was sold by the gallon, seems to have con- 

 cluded that it was melted (Six Centuries of Work and Wages, ed. 1890, pp. 

 94-5). But it would seem from the thirteenth century writings of Walter of 

 Henley and the anonymous author of Hosebonderie, that two pottles of butter 

 made 1 gallon of 7 Ibs., 2 gallons made 1 stone ; and 14 stone 1 wey. What- 

 ever inference may be founded on the use of a liquid measure, it is discounted 

 by the use of the pottle and the stone. 



