Agriculture -- England; Conduct of life; Home economics, Rural
[Sidenote: Barley.]
Every good housbande hath his barleye-falowe well
dounged, and lyenge rygged all the depe and colde of
wynter; the whiche ryggynge maketh the lande to be
[Sidenote: [Fol. 11.]]
drye, and the dongynge maketh it to be melowe and 4
ranke. And if a drye season come before Candelmasse,
or sone after, it wolde be caste downe and waterforowed
bytwene the landes, that the wete rest not in the raine:
and in the begynnynge of Marche, rydge it vppe agayne, 8
[Sidenote: Sow five bushels to the acre.]
and to sowe in euery acre fyue London bushelles, or
foure at the leaste. And some yeres it maye so fortune,
that there cometh no seasonable wether before Marche,
to plowe his barley-erthe. And as soone as he hath 12
sowen his pees and beanes, than let hym caste his barley-erthe,
and shortly after rygge it agayne: soo that it be
sowen before Apryll. And if the yere-tyme be paste,
than sowe it vpon the castynge. 16
¶ It is to be knowen that there be thre maner of barleys,
that is to say, sprot-barleye, longe-eare, and beare-barley,
[Sidenote: Sprot-barley.]
that some menne call bigge. Sprot-barley hath a flat
eare most comonly, thre quarters of an inche brode, 20
and thre inches long, and the cornes be very great
[Sidenote: Long-ear.]
and white, and it is the best barley. Long-eare hath
a flatte eare, halfe an inche brode, and foure inches
and more of length: but the corne is not so greate 24
nor soo whyte, and sooner it wyll turne and growe
[Sidenote: Bear-barley.]
to otes. Bere-barleye or bygge wolde be sowen vppon
[Sidenote: [Fol. 11_b_.]]
lyghte and drye grounde, and hathe an eare thre ynches of
lengthe or more, sette foure-square, lyke pecke-whete, 28
small cornes, and lyttel floure, and that is the worste
barley, and foure London bushels are suffycient for an
acre. And in some countreyes, they do not sowe theyr
barley tyll Maye, and that is mooste commonly vpon 32
grauel or sandy grounde. But that barley generally is
[Sidenote: Sow in March.]
neuer soo good as that that is sowen in Marche. For if it
be verye drie wether after it be sowen, that corne that
lyeth aboue, lyeth drie, and hath noo moysture, and that 36
that lyeth vndernethe, commeth vp: and whan rayne
cometh, than sprutteth that that lyeth aboue, and often-tymes
it is grene whan the other is rype: and whan it is
thresshen, there is moche lyghte corne, &c. 40
14. ==> To sowe otes.
[Sidenote: Oats.]
And in Marche is tyme to sowe otes, and specially vpon
lyght grounde & drie, howe-be-it they wylle grow on
weter grounde than any corne els: for wete grounde
is good for no maner of corne; and thre London bushels 4
wyl sowe an acre.
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