FOR MAKINGE AND MENDINGE OF EARTHEN FLOORES. When they are to make a newe barne floore, they grave it all over, and then rake it all over with hey rakes or yron waine rakes till the mowles bee indifferent small, then they bringe water in seas and in greate tubbes or hogsheads on sleddes, and water it till it bee as soft as morter, or allmost as a puddle; then lette it lye a fortnight, till the water bee sattled in that it beginne to waxe hard againe, and then beate it downe smooth with broad flatte peeces of wood. When a floore is decayed, that there are holes worne, they usually leade as many coupe loades of redde clay, or else of clottes from the faugh field, as will serve, but they must leade theire clottes from such places where the clay is not mixed with sande; and then when it commeth, theire manner is for one to stande with a mell and breake the clottes small, another hath a showle and showleth the mowles into the hole, the third and all the rest have rammers for ramminge and beatinge of the earth downe into the hole; these rammers are made of old everinges, harrowe balls, or such like thinges as have holes; they putte into the holes two rungs to hold by, the lowest for the right hand more then three quarters of a yard from the foote of the rammer; the uppermost aboute a quarter of a yard higher then it, for the left hand; then they water it, and lette it lye three or fower dayes to mawme, for if they should ramme it presently it would cleame to the beater: wee use to digge and leade clay for our barne from John Bonwickes hill.

FOR DESTROYINGE OF ROBBERS FROM AMONGST BEES.

Robbers beginne to play theire parts aboute or before the 10th of September; when yow see that they are gone into an hive, your best way is to twine a small wreath of longe grasse and stoppe all alonge the mouth of the hive to keepe them in from spoylinge any more hives; then att night bringe a lantorne and a candle, two bowles, a sheete, an old wheate riddle, halfe a chafinge dish full of good lastinge coales, and an handfull of brimstone beaten small; sette the chafinge dish of coales into one of the bowles, throwe the brimstone upon the coales, turne the riddle downe over the chafinge dish, and turne the mouth of the hive downe upon the riddle, and lappe the sheete aboute the edge of the hive, and it will suffocate the bees that they will fall downe dead into the riddle immediately.

CERTEINE VERY REMARKABLE OBSERVATIONS CONCERNINGE HEYTIME AND HARVEST, FOR TAKINGE AND LETTINGE OF OUR TYTHE CORNE AND HEY, AND ALSOE FOR LETTINGE OF CORNE TO RAKE BY THE ACRE.

Those that take the tythe of theire owne corne of the proctor pay usually 118. and 128. for the tythe of an oxegang, by reason that the lands weare sowne to the very dale-browe; but when wee used to take the tythe corne of the farmes which wee had in our owne handes, wee neaver payd above 10s. for the tythe of an oxegang, because that in the middle of West Field, wee seldome sowe further then the Spellowe heads, and in the East Field to Doghill flatte. Wee payd alsoe just three pence and two quarters for the tythe of an oxegang of hey, and oftentimes the tythe of all the cottages into the bargaine. Simon Huson close hayth neaver payd tythe, time out of minde, and soe keepeth the custome; and Lilly-garth, that was once an hempgarth apperteininge to the manner and tythe free, doth nowe paye tythe. Lawrence Middleton hath sixe pence a day for traylinge of the sweathrake; they goe but once over haver, and twice over barley; they will rake an haver lande att twice up and twice downe; a man will rake, ordinarily, twelve acre in a day aboute the beginninge of September, and sometimes fowerteene acre a day, if hee ply. Wee neaver sende none to rake after the waines when wee leade winter corne and oates, but the forkers carry rakes to field with them and give first up the rakinges with theire forke, then the sheaves, and then sticke downe the forke and rake the staddle. Wee have allwayes sixe or seaven shearers on a lande, and one man to binde and stooke after them all; and when there is eight hee will not grudge to binde and stooke after them all, if they bee all on a lande; yow must call to them to stoupe and to cutte lowe and rownd. When wee mowe haver wee allowe to every three sythes a binder, and to every two binders a stooker; wee have had binders that did not grudge to binde up fower sweathes, and stookers to stooke after eight sythes. Wee ledde twenty-one loades of winter-corne in a day, with three waines, from the flatte betwixt Pocklington gate and Kellithorpe heads, and as many the nexte day of oates from the Bricke close flatte. mowers were just thrice aboute the demaine flattes betwixt the Bricke close and Keldie-gate in a day when they first beganne on it, and the next day more. When wee lead, our foreman onely is on the mowe; and when wee allowe the haver waines rakers-after, they come farre more ridde, and there is better helpe on the mowe; one will rake sixe acre of barley a day.

Our

FOR BREEDINGE OF PARTRIDGES.

Partridges sitte oftentimes on fifteene or seaventeene egges, and seldome have above one or two rotten egges att the most; and very fewe of them that bringe forth fewer then nine or tenne younge ones att a time; which are not called a brood but a covy of partridges, and that is the terme of arte. When par

tridges are putte to an henne and turned abroad, yow must have a speciall eye to the henne, to cutte the one of her winges as shorte as possibly yow can; or else, soone after the partridges are fortnights old, shee will beginne to fly up and sitte in trees, and leave them belowe, and soe perish them for wante of broodinge.

FOR BRINGINGE UP OF PARTRIDGES

If one chance to find a nest, when they cutte grasse or otherwise, that hath younge ones newe hatched or egges, take them and carry and putte under a henne that hath sitten a fortnight or more, and take but away her owne egges, and if they bee hatched shee will take to them presently. Partridges hatch usually aboute the 10th of August; after that the henne hath taken to them, yow must take the henne and them and putte them togeather into some close howse, where the partridges cannot gette away; and for the space of two or three dayes yow must take a spade and a pecke, or some such like thinge, and goe twice a day to the aunt-hills, and there digge on the south side of the hill for pismire egges, and those pisinires which have winges like unto flyes, both which partridges love exceedingly; in the forenoone yow shall finde the pismire egges towards the south-east corner of the hill, and in the afternoone towards the south-west corner; where yow see them, there take up the moules and alltogeather and putte into the pecke; but as for the little pismires, take as few up as yow can, for they will gette to the head and feete of the partridges, and make them soe smarte till the partridges bee allmost madde, and fitte to leape out; yow must take up the partridges and sette them into the pecke, and soe feede them three or fower times a day. Att the ende of two or three dayes wee used to carry the henne and them into the Fore Orchard, and sette them downe amongst the nutte trees, and neaver gave the henne noe meate, because that seekinge aboute for her owne livinge shee provided better for them. When they are aboute fortnights olde (for they must bee driven noe longer) yow must watch where the henne useth to sitte on nights, and come when it beginneth to bee darke and throwe somethinge over the henne, as shee broodeth them; then

take and clippe every of theire right winges; then, when they are aboute moneths olde, yow must come, after the same manner, and pinnion or cutte a joynt of every of theire right winges; then lette them alone another weeke or more, till theire winges bee whole, and then take the henne and them and putte them into some close bordered place, and sette them but a wheate sheafe with the head downewards, and water, and they will doe well enough: but when they are in the howse neaver throwe pismire mowles downe to the henne, for shee will scratch the mowles, and throwe the partridges against the walles with her feete; for they, beinge not above two or three dayes olde, will keepe continually aboute her; and shee will alsoe bashe her in the dust, and soe oftentimes crush them to death.

FOR FINDINGE OF IMPLOYMENT FOR OUR MOORE FOLKES WHEN THERE IS ANY LETTE WEATHER IN HARVEST TIME.

If our barnes bee empty, then wee sometimes make them leade clay, and mende the floores wheare they are badd; or, otherwise, lead in an old pease stacke, and make them thresh on morninges till it bee time to goe to field; and on rainy day, wee (this yeare) yoaked up three waines on latter Lady day morninge, and ledde an olde stacke to the West halls barne. There went with every waine one, and to that office wee then appoynted those that wee thought weare most used to go with draughts; then wee had two of the lustyest fellowes on the stacke with two longe forkes to forke from the stacke to the waine; they went up Linsley lane with theire waines, and came downe the barley close, and brought the waines into the barne, and hee that loaded teamed; then stood theire two men with forkes on the ground that forked up to the mowe," and two on the mowe with shorte forkes that tooke the reapes and placed them the same morninge, before they fell to leadinge of : they carryed a greate deale of barley strawe out into the yard, with forkes, that had lyen in the barne a greate while.

FOR CHOOSINGE AND BUYINGE OF FIRRE-DEALES.

pease,

It is allready sette downe in the other treatise of this subjeckt, what thinges are to bee considered in the choise of good deales, to which may be added two thinges more, viz; that they bee sortable, i, e. all of one length, all of one breadth, and all of one thickenesse; and then are they ready without any

• See page 46. Every body knows the old song "The Barley Mow." In an Inventory of 1629 is this entry, "a piece of a mewstead of wheate and maslin unthresht 67." Mousteads is yet a name for a field.

See the note on pages 31, and 86.

further cuttinge or waste, for that whatsoever joyst or other thinge is made fitte and agreeable to the length of one of them, the same is fitte for all secondly that they bee seasoned deale, and not greene; for such deales as have had a winters seasoninge, as some of them lye oftentimes two or three yeares in the pile before they gette vente for them, such deales (I say) are farre more profittable and fitter for present use then those newe-deales, which are bought and sold immediately after they be brought over, whiles the shippe that brought them is yett in the haven. For in buyinge of seasoned deale, the buyer cannot be deceived in his size; besides that to whatsoever use hee putteth them, they will keepe att the marke, and not shrinke; then againe for carriage, they are much lighter then newe and greene deale; for the sixty greene boardes which weare brought in each waine had allmost broken all our waines in comminge of five miles; and, lastly, such boardes as are (in any sorte) defective, may ere nowe bee discovered. Robert Bonwicke of Wansworth demaunded for everie deale a pennie, for bringinge them from Hull to Parson-pooles, alledginge that every deale weighed three stone, and that he went purposely for them, and had noe other carriage, and that hee was above two dayes and two nights in goinge and comminge: hee would have had the two hundreth to have come just to 20s., but wee gotte him putte of with 13s. 4d. The deales which are piled up are neyther the best, nor the worst, but the middle sorte, and such as are most for table, viz; 12 feete in length and 12 ynches in breadth; for the narrowest and shortest, and oftentimes the white deale, are sette up on ende against soine wall or howse side, and bought att a cheap rate by the half-score or score; such deales as are extraordinary, for eyther length, breadth, or thicknesse, are usually carryed and layd into some chamber, and solde to the joyners for makinge of tables, joysts, or sealinge worke: the common deales, which they putte in theire piles, may be bought usually for 9d. a deale i. e. l. 10s. the hundreth; there are deales againe, of 14 foote longe and 14 ynches broad, att 12. a peece, and soe up to 18. and five groates a deale; but these are extraordinary every way. Robert Bonwicke will not (now of late) take under 8d. the hundreth for bringinge of firr-deales from Hull hither; hee seldome goeth above once a weeke, unlesse hee unload aboute Parson-pooles, or that it bee upon some speciall

Neither my own enquiries, nor those of Mr. Brown, an intelligent local antiquary, to whom I am indebted for information, (especially in the Glossary) have ascertained the position of Parson-pooles. Possibly it disappeared at the time some alteration was made in the navigable course of the river Hull. Arthur Jegon, of Wansworth, was second husband of Anne, daughter of Robert Crompton, of Great Driffield, by his third wife Ceziah, daughter of Walter Strickland, of Boynton. She