Fiue hundred pointes of good husbandrie
yard cleane to lie.
No labour, no sweate,
go labour for heate.
Féede dooues, but kill not,
if stroy them ye will not.
Fat hog or ye kill it,
or else ye doo spill it.
[26]
Put oxe in stall,
er oxe doo fall.
Who séetheth hir graines,
hath profit for paines.
Rid garden of mallow,
plant willow and sallow.
[27]
Let bore life render,
sée brawne sod tender,
For wife, fruit bie,
for Christmas pie.
Ill bread and ill drinke,
makes many ill thinke.
Both meate and cost
ill dressed halfe lost.
[28]
Who hath wherewithall,
may chéere when he shall:
But charged man,
must chéere as he can.
Here ends Decembers short remembrances.
[1] chearrey. 1577.
[2] St. 15.
Wind north, north east
bids stock to il feast. 1577.
[3] Sts. 19 and 20 are not in 1573 (M.); sts. 19, 20, and 24 are not in
1577.
23.
¶ _Decembers husbandrie.
Chap._ 21.
O dirtie December
For Christmas remember.
Forgotten month past,
Doe now at the last.
[Sidenote: Béetle and wedges.]
1
When frost will not suffer to dike and to hedge,
then get thee a heat with thy beetle and wedge
Once Hallomas come, and a fire in the hall,
such sliuers doo well for to lie by the wall.
[Sidenote: Grinding stone and whetston.]
2
Get grindstone and whetstone, for toole that is dull,
or often be letted and freat bellie full.
A wheele barrow also be readie to haue
at hand of thy seruant, thy compas to saue.
[Sidenote: Seruing of cattle.]
3
Giue cattle their fodder in plot drie and warme,
and count them for miring or other like harme.
Yoong colts with thy wennels together go serue,
least lurched by others they happen to sterue.[1]
[Sidenote: Woodland countrie.]
4
The rack is commended for sauing of doong,
so set as the old cannot mischiefe the yoong:[E129]
In tempest (the wind being northly or east)
warme barth[E130] vnder hedge is a sucker[2] to beast.
[Sidenote: Housing of cattel.]
[Sidenote: Champion.]
5
The housing of cattel while winter doth hold,
is good for all such as are feeble and old:
It saueth much compas, and many a sleepe,
and spareth the pasture for walke of thy sheepe.[3]
[Sidenote: Champion.]
6
For charges so little much quiet is won,
if strongly and handsomly al thing be don:
But vse to vntackle them once in a day,
to rub and to lick them, to drink and to play.
[Sidenote: Ordering of cattel.]
7
Get trustie to tend them, not lubberlie squire,
that all the day long hath his nose at the fire.[E131]
Nor trust vnto children poore cattel to feede,
but such as be able to helpe at a neede.
8
Serue riestraw out first, then wheatstraw and pease,
then otestraw and barlie, then hay if ye please:
But serue them with hay while the straw stouer last,
then loue they no straw, they had rather to fast.
[Sidenote: Forkes and yokes.]
9
Yokes, forks, and such other, let bailie spie out,
and gather the same as he walketh about.
And after at leasure let this be his hier,
to beath[E132] them and trim them at home by the fier.
[Sidenote: Going of cattel in marshes.]
10
As well at the full of the moone as the change,
sea rages in winter be sodainly strange.
Then looke to thy marshes, if doubt be to fray,
for feare of (_ne forte_) haue cattel away.
[Sidenote: Looke to thy ling and saltfish.]
11
Both saltfish and lingfish (if any ye haue)
through shifting and drieng from rotting go saue:
Least winter with moistnes doo make it relent,
and put it in hazard before[4] it be spent.
[Sidenote: How to vse ling and haberden.]
12
Broome fagot is best to drie haberden on,
lay boord vpon ladder if fagots be gon.
For breaking (in turning) haue verie good eie,
and blame not the wind, so the weather be drie.
[Sidenote: Remoouing of trées.]
13
Good fruit and good plentie doth well in the loft,
then make thee an orchard and cherish it oft:
For plant or for stock laie aforehand to cast,
but set or remooue it er Christmas be past.
[Sidenote: An orchard point.]
14
Set one fro other full fortie foote wide,
to stand as he stood is a part of his pride.
More faier, more woorthie, of cost to remooue,
more steadie ye set it, more likely to prooue.
[Sidenote: Orchard and hopyard.]
15
To teach and vnteach in a schoole is vnmeete,
to doe and vndoe to the purse is vnsweete.
Then orchard or hopyard, so trimmed with cost,
should not through follie be spoiled and lost.
[Sidenote: Letting horse blood.]
16
Er Christmas be passed let horse be let blood,
for many a purpose it doth them much good.
The daie of S. Stephen old fathers did vse:
if that doe mislike thee some other daie chuse.
[Sidenote: Bréeding of the bots.]
17
Looke wel to thy horses in stable thou must,
that haie be not foistie, nor chaffe ful of dust:
Nor stone in their prouender, feather, nor clots,
nor fed with greene peason, for breeding of bots.
[Sidenote: Hog and hennes meate.]
18
Some horsekeeper lasheth out prouender so,
some Gillian spendal so often doth go.
For hogs meat and hens meat, for that and for this,
that corne loft is empted er chapman hath his.
19[5]
Some countries are pinched of medow for hay,
yet ease it with fitchis as well as they may.
Which inned and threshed and husbandlie dight,
keepes laboring cattle in verie good plight.
20
In threshing out fitchis one point I will shew,
first thresh out for seede of the fitchis a few:
Thresh few fro thy plowhorse, thresh cleane for the cow,
this order in Norfolke good husbands alow.
[Sidenote: ¶ Strawberies.]
21
If frost doe continue, take this for a lawe,
the strawberies looke to be couered with strawe.
Laid ouerly trim vpon crotchis and bows,
and after vncouered as weather allows.
[Sidenote: ¶ Gilleflowers.]
22
The gilleflower also, the skilful doe knowe,
doe looke to be couered, in frost and in snowe.
The knot, and the border, and rosemarie gaie,
do craue the like succour for dieng awaie.
[Sidenote: ¶ How to preserue bees.]
23
Go looke to thy bees, if the hiue be too light,
set water and honie, with rosemarie dight.
Which set in a dish ful of sticks in the hiue,
from danger of famine[6] yee saue them aliue.
24[7]
In medow or pasture (to growe the more fine)
let campers be camping[8][E133] in any of thine:
Which if ye doe suffer when lowe is the spring,
you gaine to your selfe a commodious thing.
Thus endeth Decembers husbandrie.
[1] "The old will be apt to hunge or gore the younger."--T.R.
[2] succor. 1620.
[3] and trimly refresheth the walk of the sheepe. 1577.
[4] er ere. 1577.
[5] Sts. 19 and 20 are not in 1577.
[6] from famen and daunger. 1577.
[7] St. 24 is not in 1577.
[8] "Football playing, at which they are very dextrous in
Norfolk."--T.R.
24.
¶ _A digression to hospitalitie.
Chap._ 22.[1]
Leaue husbandrie sleeping a while ye must doo,
to learne of housekeeping a lesson or twoo.
What euer is sent thee by trauell and paine,
a time there is lent thee to rendrit againe.
Although ye defend it, vnspent for to bee,
another shall spend it, no thanke vnto thee.
How euer we clime, to accomplish the mind,
we haue but a time thereof profit to find.
[1] Chap. 22 is wanting in 1573 (M). In 1577 it is printed in twice the
number of lines.
25.
¶ _A description of time, and the yeare.
Chap._ 23.
1
Of God to thy dooings a time there is sent,
which endeth with time that in dooing is spent.
For time is it selfe but a time for a time,
forgotten ful soone, as the tune of a chime.
[Sidenote: Spring.]
[Sidenote: Sommer.]
[Sidenote: Haruest.]
[Sidenote: Winter.]
2
In Spring time we reare, we doo sowe, and we plant,
in Sommer get vittels, least after we want.
In Haruest we carie in corne and the fruit,
in Winter to spend as we neede of ech suit.
[Sidenote: Childhood.]
[Sidenote: Youth.]
[Sidenote: Manhood.]
[Sidenote: Age.]
3
The yeere I compare, as I find for a truth,
the Spring vnto childhood, the Sommer to youth,
The Haruest to manhood, the Winter to age:
all quickly forgot as a play on a stage.[E134]
4
Time past is forgotten, er men be aware,
time present is thought on with woonderfull care,
Time comming is feared, and therefore we saue,
yet oft er it come, we be gone to the graue.
26.
¶ _A description of life and riches.
Chap._ 24.
1
Who liuing but daily discerne it he may,
how life as a shadow doth vanish away;
And nothing to count on so suer to trust
as suer of death and to turne into dust.[E135]
2
The lands and the riches that here we possesse
be none of our owne, if a God we professe,
But lent vs of him, as his talent of gold,
which being demanded, who can it withhold?
[Sidenote: Atrop, or death.]
3
God maketh no writing that iustly doth say
how long we shall haue it, a yeere or a day;
But leaue it we must (how soeuer we leeue)
when Atrop[E136] shall pluck vs from hence by the sleeue.
4
To death we must stoupe, be we high, be we lowe,
but how and how sodenly, few be that knowe:
What carie we then, but a sheete to the graue,
to couer this carkas, of all that we haue?
27.
¶ _A description of housekeeping.
Chap._ 25.
1
What then of this talent, while here we remaine,
to studie to yeeld it to God with a gaine?
And that shall we doo, if we doo it not hid,
but vse and bestow it, as Christ doth vs bid.
2
What good to get riches by breaking of sleepe,
but (hauing the same) a good house for to keepe?
Not onely to bring a good fame to thy doore,
but also the praier to win of the poore.
3
Of all other dooings house keeping is cheefe,
for daily it helpeth the poore with releefe;
The neighbour, the stranger, and all that haue neede,
which causeth thy dooings the better to speede.
4
Though harken[1] to this we should euer among,[E137]
yet cheefly at Christmas, of all the yeare long.
Good cause of that vse may appeare by the name,
though niggerly niggards doo kick at the same.
[1] hardnes. 1577
28.
¶ _A description of the feast of the birth of Christ, commonly called
Christmas.[1]
Chap._ 26.
1
Of Christ cometh Christmas, the name with the feast,
a time full of ioie to the greatest and least:
At Christmas was Christ (our Sauiour) borne,
the world through sinne altogether forlorne.
2
At Christmas the daies doo[2] begin to take length,
of Christ doth religion cheefly[3] take strength.
As Christmas is onely a figure or trope,
so onely in Christ is the strength of our hope.
3
At Christmas we banket, the rich with the poore,
who then (but the miser) but openeth [h]is doore?
At Christmas of Christ many Carols we sing,
and giue many gifts in the ioy of that King.
4.
At Christmas in Christ we reioice and be glad,
as onely of whom our comfort is had;[E138]
At Christmas we ioy altogether with mirth,
for his sake that ioyed vs all with his birth.
[1] A description of Christmas. 1577.
[2] the day doth. 1577.
[3] Of Christ our faith doth begin, etc. 1577.
29.
¶ _A description of apt time to spend.
Chap._ 27.
1
Let such (so fantasticall) liking not this,
nor any thing honest that ancient is,
Giue place to the time that so meete we doo see
appointed of God as it seemeth to bee.
2
At Christmas good husbands[E139] haue corne on the ground,
in barne, and in soller, woorth many a pound,
With plentie of other things,[1] cattle and sheepe,
all sent them (no doubt on) good houses to keepe.
3
At Christmas the hardnes of Winter doth rage,
a griper of all things and specially age:
Then lightly[E140] poore people, the yoong with the old,
be sorest oppressed with hunger and cold.
4
At Christmas by labour is little to get,