The Book of Husbandry

Act Iv. Sc. 4--

“Crowned with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds, With hor-docks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers, Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow In our sustaining corn”--

I cannot help being reminded of Fitzherbert’s list of weeds in sect. 20 (p. 29), in which he includes haudoddes, i.e. corn blue-bottles, as is obvious from his description; see also Britten and Holland’s English Plant-names. It is certainly remarkable that the haudod is precisely one of “the idle weeds that grow in corn,” and that its bright colour would be particularly attractive to the gatherer of a wild garland. We must not, however, overlook the form hardhake, which Mr. Wright has found in a MS. herbal as a name for the knapweed; see his note upon the passage. The two results do not, however, greatly differ, and it is conceivable that the same name could be applied at different times to both these flowers, the latter being Centaurea nigra, and the former Centaurea Cyanus. We also find the term hardewes, occurring as a name for the wild succory; see Hawdod in the Glossarial Index, p. 156. In any case, the proposal of Dr. Prior to explain hordock by the burdock (Arctium lappa), merely because he thinks the burs were sometimes entangled with flax, and so formed lumps in it called hards, is a wild guess that should be rejected. Hards are simply the coarse parts of flax, without any reference to burdocks whatever.

The wood-cut on the title-page is copied from the edition of 1598. The longer handle of the plough is on the left. See the description on p. 128.

FOOTNOTES:

“And [I give] to euery of my seruentes that be used to Ryde with me,” etc.; Sir A. Fitzherbert’s Will, quoted below at p. xviii.

“Of late by experience I contriued, compyled, and made a Treatyse, ... and callyd it the booke of husbandrye;” Prol. to Book of Surveying.

I.e. the Books on Husbandry and Surveying.

Read thus.

The date is 1539; the words here quoted appear also in Berthelet’s edition of 1546.

I am quoting from an article by Mr. A. Wallis entitled “Relics of Literature,” which appeared in the Derby Mercury, Nov. 1869. It contains some useful information about the editions of Fitzherbert’s works. It should be observed that 1538 was the very year of Sir Anthony Fitzherbert’s death, which took place on May 27.

In an edition printed by T. Petit in 1541, a copy of which is in the Cambridge University Library, the title is--“The Newe Booke of Justyces of Peas, made by Anthony Fitzherbard Judge, lately translated out of Frenche into Englyshe, The yere of our Lord God MDXLI.”

Canon Simmons kindly tells me--“I find from the Ordnance Map that Grimbald Bridge is the one over the Nidd below the town, i.e. a mile or a mile and a quarter from the town. There are two crossing to the town. The upper one is on the Harrogate Road, a second ‘Low Bridge,’ and then the third, ‘Grimbald bridge’.”

It is the family tradition (which should go for something), that the author of the Book of Husbandry was Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, and no other.

The date is, therefore, October 12, 1537.--W.W.S.

See p. 81.--W.W.S.

See p. 93.--W.W.S.

This early edition, clearly the second, and using Pynson’s woodcut, was kindly pointed out to me by Mr. Bradshaw. It is not noticed in the usual books upon early printing, but a copy of it exists in the Cambridge University Library. The woodcut on the title-page is (as I have just said) the same as that on the title-page of the first edition.

Probably printed in 1531, as it professes to be “amended, with dyuerse other thynges added thervnto;” for observe, that after this date, editions follow in quick succession.

Mr. Wallis (see p. xiii, note 2) mentions also an undated edition, printed by James Roberts for E. White.

The volume also contains a translation of Xenophon’s Treatise of Household (Λόγος οἰκονομικός), written by “Gentian Heruet.”

The colophon is the same. The Book on Surveying is dated 1539. The copy in the Cambridge Univ. Library contains the Husbandry (1534); Surveying (1539); and Xenophon (1537); all bound together.

Possibly James Roberts; see p. xxiv, note 1.

ERRATA.

In the first side-note on p. 18, for Beating read Beeting. See Beate in the Glossary, p. 150.

P. 120, sect. 169, l. 36. For a ut read aut.

P. 136. Headline. For Notes (=34.= 1-=43=) read Notes (=34.= 1-43).

P. 140, last line. For Hellebor read Hellybor.

THE BOKE OF HVSBANDRY.

==> The aucthors prologue.

Finis.

¶ The table.

PAGE

=1.= First wherby husbande-men do lyue. fo. i. 9

=2.= Of dyuers maner of plowes. fol. eod. 9

=3.= To knowe the names of all the partes of the ploughe. fol. ii. 10

=4.= The temprynge of plowes. fo. iii. 12

=5.= ¶ The necessary thynges that belonge to a plowe, carte, or wayne. fol. iiii. 14

=6.= ¶ Whether is better, a plowe of oxen or a plowe of horses. fol. v. 15

=7.= ¶ The dylygence and the attendaunce that a husbande shulde gyue to his warke, in maner of an other prologue, and a specyall grounde of all this treatyse. fol. vi. 16

=8.= ¶ Howe a manne shulde plowe all maner of landes all tymes of the yere. fo. vii. 17

=9.= To plowe for pees and beanes. fol. viii. 18

=10.= Howe to sowe bothe pees and beanes. fol. viii. 18

=11.= Sede of Discrecyon. fol. ix. 20

=12.= Howe all maner of corne shulde be sowen. folio eodem 21

=13.= To sowe barley. fol. x. 22

=14.= To sowe otes. fol. xi. 23

=15.= To harowe all maner of cornes. fol. xii. 24

=16.= To falowe. fol. xiii. 25

=17.= To carry out donge or mucke, and to sprede it. fol. xiiii. 27

=18.= To set out the shepe-folde. fol. xv. 28

=19.= To cary wode and other necessaries. fol. xvi. 29

=20.= To knowe dyuers maner of wedes. fol. eod. 29

=21.= To wede corne. fol. xvii. 31

=22.= The fyrste sturrynge: and (=23=) to mowe grasse. foli. xviii. 32

=24.= How forkes and rakes shuld be made. fo. xix. 33

=25.= To tedde and make hey. fol. eod. 33

=26.= Howe rye shulde be shorne. fol. xx. 35

=27.= Howe to shere whete. fol. xxi. 35

=28.= To mowe or shere barley and otes. fol. eod. 36

=29.= To repe or mowe pees and beanes. fol. xxii. 36

=30.= Howe all maner of corne shoulde be tythed. folio eodem 37

=31.= Howe all maner of corne shoulde be couered. fol. xxiii. 38

=32.= To lode corne and mowe it. fol. eod. 38

=33.= The seconde sturrynge. fo. xxiiii. 39

=34.= To sowe whete and rye. fol. eodem 39

=35.= To thresshe and wynowe corne. fol. xxv. 41

=36.= To seuer beanes, pees, and fetches. fol. eod. 41

=37.= Of shepe, and what tyme of the yere the rammes shulde be put to the ewes. fol. xxvi. 42

=38.= To make a ewe to loue her lambe. fol. xxvii. 43

=39.= What tyme lambes shulde be wayned. fo. eod. 44

=40.= To drawe shepe and seuer them in dyuerse partes. fol. xxviii. 44

=41.= To belte shepe. fol. xxix. 45

=42.= To grece shepe. fol. eod. 46

=43.= To medle terre. fol. eodem 46

=44.= To make brome salue. fol. eod. 46

=45.= If a shepe haue mathes. fol. xxx. 47

=46.= Blyndenes of shepe and other dyseases, and remedyes therfore. fo. eod. 47

=47.= The worme in a shepes fote, and helpe therfore. fol. xxxi. 48

=48.= The bloudde, and remedye if he comme betyme. fol. eodem 48

=49.= The pockes, and remedy therfore. fol. eod. 49

=50.= The wode euyl, and remedy therfore. fol. xxxii. 49

=51.= To washe shepe. fol. eod. 49

=52.= To shere shepe. fol. eod. 50

=53.= To drawe and seuer the bad shepe frome the good. fol. eod. 50

=54.= What thynge rotteth shepe. fol. xxxiii. 50

=55.= To knowe a rotten shepe dyuerse maner ways, wherof some of them wyll not fayle. fol. xxxiiii. 51

=56.= To by leane cattell. fol. eod. 52

=57.= To bye fatte cattell. fol. xxxv. 53

=58.= Dyuerse sickenesses of cattell, and remedies therfore, and fyrste of murren. fol. eod. 53

=59.= Long sought, and remedy therfore. fo. xxxvi. 54

=60.= Dewbolue, and the harde remedye therfore. fol. eod. 55

=61.= Ryson vppon, and the remedye therfore. fol. xxxvii. 55

=62.= The turne, and remedy therfore. fol. eod. 56

=63.= The warribred, & remedy therfore. fol. xxxviii. 56

=64.= The foule, and remedy therfore. fol. eod. 57

=65.= The goute without remedy. fol. eod. 57

=66.= To rere calues. fol. eod. 57

=67.= To gelde calues. fol. xxxix. 58

=68.= Horses and mares to drawe. fol. xl. 59

=69.= ¶ The losse of a lambe, a calfe, or a foole. fol. xli. 61

=70.= What cattell shulde go together in oone pasture. fol. xlii. 62

=71.= The properties of horses. fol. xliii. 63

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