RURAL ECONOMY IN YORKSHIRE IN 1641. 75 



also a pease-stacke sette on the grownde ; the hey was some- 

 thing course, and had gotten wette, soe that it was not allto- 

 geather sweete, soe that wee weare affi-ayd that it woidde have 

 deceived our fatte-sheepe, and that they woulde not have taken 

 likinge to it, yett om- hopes was that they woulde take some 

 holde on the pease-stacke, and worke att it sometimes, which 

 woulde bee a meanes to keepe them from loosinge what they 

 had formerly gotten ; but as for the three poore hogges, the 

 course which wee tooke with them, was this : on the day time 

 wee putte them into one close or other, and lette them eate 

 snowe, and gette the weekinesse on the grownde, and att night 

 wee fetched them in, and putte them into the hey-house, and 

 lette them lye att the mowe-brest aU night ; and then in the 

 morninge, if wee knewe of any banke-sides that lay against the 

 sunne, wheare the sunne had melted away the snowe, wee 

 tooke them and carryed them to them, and lette them pingle 

 aboute, and worke theire all the day ; and att night brought 

 them in againe, and layd them in the howse ; and this was the 

 way which wee thought woulde bringe them over winter. 



Our hey for our sheepe was (this yeare) layd in the limer 

 leath ; our fatte sheepe weare wintered att the pyke in the south 

 ende of the New-haU East close ; our fielde-sheepe in the East 

 close, and our hogges in the West close ; soe that they weare all 

 neare theire fother, and one to another ; that the shepheard 

 coulde (without any trouble) see to them aU, and lielpe them 

 with what was wantinge. The course wliich our shepheard 

 tooke in fotheringe his sheepe, was this : in a thicke snowe, 

 when they coulde gette nothinge on the grounde, liee fothered 

 them fower times a day ; for fii'st he gave them a bottle att sun- 

 rise or afore sun-rise, then hee gave them another aboute tenne 

 of the clocke, then hee gave them another bottle againe aboute 

 two of the clocke, and the fowerth and last bottle of hey, hee 

 allwayes gave them after sunsette, and usually aboute the time 

 our threshers leave worke or a little before ; hee had for this 

 use two bearinge bandes with rackes ; the one was for the 

 hogges, and the other for the field-sheepe ; that which was for 

 the hogges was two yards and an halie in length, that which 

 was for the olde sheepe was full five yards in leng-th ; but hee 

 seldome filled eyther of them, for hee sayd that the bande of 

 two yards and an halfe woulde (if it weare fiUed) holde fother 

 sufficient for 100 or sixe score hogges, and the bigger-bande of 

 five yards for 13 or 14 score if it weare filled ; if upon any oc- 

 casion his bigger bande weare filled or neare fiUed, it was as 

 much as hee coulde possibly carry. Wee allwayes give our 

 sheepe of the shortest and best hey. and the com-se hee tooke 



