Page:History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages vol1.djvu/341

AGRICULTURAL LIFE 329 thresher he selected the grain best fitted for seed, for malting, or for grinding, and in season gave out the proper quantity to be sown, keeping exact tally on two sticks of how much was delivered daily. One of the sticks was retained by the agriculturist, while the other was placed in the seed bin. The same formality was observed with regard to the grain for bread or for stock feeding, and for malting. The double-stick tally was brought into requisition in the latter case also, and a close watch kept on the miller. The same care and exactness were observed in the kitchen, stables, and storehouses, and as the inventories are still extant we can form a good idea of the imple- ments used. In summer the cattle were put out to graze, and the herdsmen were instructed to ' use much vigilance ' in preventing their doing any injury to the crops. The milch cows were driven at midday to the manor to be milked ; the cheese-woman (die Kasemutter) saw that the dairymaid fed and milked them well, that she took the milk to the cellar and put it in pans. In winter the cattle were housed ; the herdsmen gave them fodder and straw to sleep on, helped the maid to remove the manure, and saw that the animals were not hurt in their stalls. Besides the butter that was sent in to the kitchen, much was salted down in tubs. The land was worked on the ' three-year-succession ' system — that is, fallow, seeding, and rolling. Owing to the winter housing of the cattle there was always an abundance of manure. At reaping and harvest time the peasants were obliged to assist — as day-labourers working by contract. Wheat and rye were cut with the sickle, but barley, oats, and lentils were mown.