Previous to the arrival of the Romans, the ancient Britons paid but little attention to agriculture. Their intestine discords left them scarcely any leisure to cultivate their fields, or apply themselves to the improvement of an art which flourishes only in peaceful times. They reared a great number of cattle; but their chief corn was barley, of which they made their favourite drink. They put the grain in the ear into barns, and beat it out as they wanted it. Those inhabitants of the island who were the least civilized subsisted solely on milk and the flesh of animals, [Illustration: _Pl. 3_] which they had learned to master by their skill.[I-50] But the people of this nation, for which Heaven had in reserve such a brilliant destiny, knew how to endure hunger, cold, and fatigue, without a murmur. A Briton passed entire days immersed to the neck in the stagnant waters of a marsh; a few roots sufficed for his nourishment, and, if we are to believe Dio, his frugal habits enabled him to appease the craving of his stomach with an aliment composed of ingredients no longer known, and of which he took each time, at long intervals, a quantity not exceeding in size that of a bean.[I-51] Let us add that the art of gardening was known rather early in Great Britain, and that marl was employed to manure the land.[I-52] The Anglo-Saxons employed themselves diligently in the cultivation of the soil; they established farms, sowed grain, and reared cattle. The fleece of their sheep furnished them with precious wool, which they spun, and then converted into sumptuous clothing.[I-53] Strutt gives us a curious detail of rural occupations at that epoch. We will cite the original text: “January exhibits the husbandman in the fields at plough, while his attendant, diligently following, is sowing the grain. “February. The grain being put into the earth, the next care was to prune their trees, crop their vines, and place them in order. “March. Then we follow them into the garden, where the industrious labourer is digging up the ground, and sowing the vegetables for the ensuing season. “April. Now, taking leave of the laborious husbandman, we see the nobleman regaling with his friends, and passing the pleasant month in carousings, banquetings, and music. “May brings the lord into the field to examine his flock, and superintend the shearing of the sheep. “June. With this month comes the gladsome time of harvest. Here are some cutting down the corn, while it is, by others, bound up in sheaves and laid into the carts, to be conveyed to the barns and granaries; in the meantime they are spirited up to their labours by the shrill sound of the enlivening horn. “July. Here we find them employed in lopping the trees and felling of timber, &c. “August. In this month they cut down the barley with which they made their old and best beloved drink (ale).