La Maison Rustique - December

From: L'agriculture et maison rustique, Charles Estienne (Rouen, 1658).

The works that the laborer should do for each month of the year.

(Chapter 10)

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December

In December visit oftentimes fields, in order to drain the water that will be gathered by the large rains.

Make water courses as close to the old ones as possible, and smoke them if necessary.

Make a supply of hay for smoking the fields.

Cover with hay the roots of trees and grasses that you want to keep until spring.

Top off and remove the branches of the willows, poplars, and other trees, so they can easily branch out and grow when winter is passed.

Cut wood, both for framing and for heating.

Draw up the nets to catch birds, and make the warrens for the hares, for when the fields are icy, or snow-covered, or flooded with rain. So that there can be no need.

Also make while it is raining, a thousand small wooden tools, such as those dishes, trenchers, spindles, tubs, bowls, and other things specific to husbandry.

Similarly, the harrows, rakes and hafts for the tools, repair the poles, yokes, plows and all instruments necessary for the stables of beasts of labor, so that they are in order to be worked.

Also make a supply of hoes, spades, picks, shovels, axes, hatchets, saws and other such tools for the husbandry of the fields.