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+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #53219 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53219)
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Bread From Pre-historic to
-Modern Times, by John Ashton
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: The History of Bread From Pre-historic to Modern Times
-
-Author: John Ashton
-
-Release Date: October 5, 2016 [EBook #53219]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF BREAD ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by deaurider, Turgut Dincer and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-file was produced from images generously made available
-by The Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-THE HISTORY OF BREAD
-
-
-[Illustration: EGYPTIANS THRESHING CORN BY HAND.]
-
-[Illustration: EGYPTIANS WINNOWING AND STORING CORN IN SACKS, AND A
-SCRIBE NOTING THE QUANTITIES.]
-
-
-
-
- The History of Bread
- From Pre-historic to Modern Times
-
- BY
- JOHN ASHTON
-
- [Illustration]
-
- LONDON
- THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY
- 4 Bouverie Street and 65 St. Paul’s Churchyard, E.C.
- 1904
-
- LONDON:
- PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED.
- DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND GREAT WINDMILL STREET, W.
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE
-
-
-It seems extraordinary, but it is, nevertheless, a fact, that, up to
-this present time, there has not been written, in the English language,
-a History of _Bread_, although it is called ‘the Staff of Life,’ and
-really is a large staple of food.
-
-There have been small _brochures_ on the subject, and large volumes on
-the Chemistry of Bread, its making and baking; and long controversies
-as to the merits of whole meal, and other kindred questions, but no
-History. It is to remedy this that I have written this book, in which I
-have endeavoured to trace Bread from Pre-historic to Modern Times.
-
- JOHN ASHTON.
-
-
-
-CONTENTS
-
-
- PAGE.
-
- CHAPTER I. PRE-HISTORIC BREAD 13
-
- ” II. CORN IN EGYPT AND ASSYRIA 20
-
- ” III. BREAD IN PALESTINE 29
-
- ” IV. THE BREAD OF THE CLASSIC LANDS 43
-
- ” V. BREAD IN EASTERN LANDS 56
-
- ” VI. BREAD IN EUROPE AND AMERICA 69
-
- ” VII. EARLY ENGLISH BREAD 83
-
- ” VIII. HOW GRAIN BECOMES FLOUR 103
-
- ” IX. THE MILLER AND HIS TOLLS 114
-
- ” X. BREAD-MAKING AND BAKING 123
-
- ” XI. OVENS ANCIENT AND MODERN 136
-
- ” XII. THE RELIGIOUS USE OF BREAD 142
-
- ” XIII. GINGER BREAD AND CHARITY BREAD 150
-
- ” XIV. BREAD RIOTS 162
-
- ” XV. LEGENDS ABOUT BREAD 170
-
-
-
-
-LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
-
-
- EGYPTIANS THRESHING CORN BY HAND; WINNOWING
- AND STORING IT IN SACKS, AND A SCRIBE NOTING
- THE QUANTITIES _Frontispiece._
-
- _Page_.
-
- PRE-HISTORIC MILLS AND CORN-CRUSHERS 17
-
- EGYPTIAN REAPERS 20
-
- EGYPTIANS STACKING CORN 21
-
- EGYPTIANS CARRYING GRAIN TO THE THRESHING-FLOOR
- AND THRESHING 23
-
- EGYPTIAN METHODS OF BREAD-MAKING 25
-
- ASSYRIAN BREAD-MAKING 26
-
- EGYPTIAN CAKE SELLER AND BREAD 27
-
- A PALESTINE HAND-MILL 36
-
- DEMETER AND TRIPTOLEMUS 45
-
- PITHOI FOUND AT HISSARLIK 47
-
- ETRUSCAN WOMEN POUNDING GRAIN 49
-
- A BAKE-HOUSE AT POMPEII 51
-
- ROMAN METHODS OF BREAD-MAKING 53
-
- A BAKER’S SHOP (_from Pompeii_) 54
-
- CHINESE METHOD OF HUSKING GRAIN 59
-
- EARLY SCANDINAVIAN BAKERIES 70-71
-
- A MEDIÆVAL BAKERY 79
-
- THE ARMS OF THE WHITE BAKERS 86
-
- THE ARMS OF THE BROWN BAKERS 87
-
- AN EARLY BAKERY 91
-
- A POST MILL 104
-
- A WATER-WHEEL MILL 105
-
- THE GRINDING SURFACE OF A MILLSTONE 107
-
- ‘HOT GINGERBREAD, SMOKING HOT’ 152
-
- HOGARTH’S PICTURE OF FORD 154
-
- THE BIDDENDEN MAIDS 160
-
-
-THE
-
-HISTORY OF BREAD
-
-FROM PRE-HISTORIC TO MODERN TIMES.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-PRE-HISTORIC BREAD.
-
-
-Man, as is evidenced by his teeth, was created graminivorous, as well
-as carnivorous, and the earliest skull yet found possesses teeth
-exactly the same as modern man, the carnivorous teeth not being bigger,
-whilst in many cases the whole of the teeth have been worn down, as if
-by masticating hard substances, such as parched grain.
-
-In the history of bread, the lake dwellings of Switzerland are most
-useful, as from them we can gather the cereals their inhabitants used,
-their bread, and the implements with which they crushed the corn. The
-men who lived in them are the earliest known civilised inhabitants
-of Europe—by which I mean that they cultivated several kinds of
-cereals—wove cloth, made mats, baskets, and fishing nets, and, besides,
-baked bread.
-
-The cereals known to us, and made use of, are the result of much
-cultivation, improved by selection; and Hallett’s pedigree wheat would
-be hardly recognised when put by the side of its humble progenitor of
-pre-historic times. We now use wheat, barley, oats, Indian corn or
-maize, rye, rice, millet, and Guinea corn, or Indian millet, besides
-such odds and ends as the sea lyme grass (_Elymus arenarius_), which,
-though uncultivated, affords seed which is used in Iceland as a food,
-for want of something better.
-
-We have been enabled to trace with certainty the cereals used by
-pre-historic man, as they have been found lying in the lake mud, or
-buried under a bed of peat several feet thick, when they had to be
-collected out of a soft, dark-coloured mud, which formed the ancient
-lake-bottom, and is now called the relic bed. Dr. Oswald Heer, in his
-_Treatise on the Plants of the Lake Dwellings_, says: ‘Stones and
-pottery, domestic implements and charcoal ashes, grains of corn and
-bones, lie together in a confused mass. And yet they are by no means
-spread regularly over the bottom, but are frequently found in patches.
-The places where bones are plentiful, where the seeds of raspberries
-and blackberries, and the stones of sloes and cherries are found in
-heaps, probably indicate where there were holes in the wooden platform,
-through which the refuse was thrown into the lake; whilst those places
-where burnt fruits, bread, and plaited and woven cloth are found,
-indicate the position of store rooms in the very places where they were
-burnt, and thus the contents fell into the water. The burnt fruits
-and seeds, therefore, unquestionably belong to the age of the lake
-dwellings; and a portion of them are in very good preservation, for
-the process of burning has not essentially changed their form. Many
-of the remains of plants, however, have been preserved in an unburnt
-state.’
-
-He gives the following list of cereals that have been found, and
-it is a somewhat extensive one: ‘(1) Small lake-dwelling barley
-(_Hordeum hexastichum sanctum_), (2) Compact six-rowed barley (_Hordeum
-hexastichum densum_), (3) Two-rowed barley (_Hordeum distichum_),
-(4) Small lake-dwelling wheat (_Triticum vulgare antiquorum_), (5)
-Beardless compact wheat (_Triticum vulgare compactum muticum_), (6)
-Egyptian wheat (_Triticum turgidum_), (7) Spelt (_Triticum spelta_),
-(8) Two-grained wheat (_Triticum dicoccum_), (9) One-grained wheat
-(_Triticum monococcum_), (10) Rye (_Secale cereale_), (11) Oat (_Avena
-sativa_), (12) Millet (_Panicum miliaceum_), and (13) Italian millet
-(_Setaria Italicum_).’
-
-Of these Nos. 1 and 4 were the most ancient, most important, and most
-generally cultivated, and next to them come Nos. 5, 12, and 13. Nos. 6,
-8, and 9 were, probably, like No. 3, only cultivated, as experiments,
-in a few places. Nos. 7 and 11 appeared later, not until the Bronze
-Age, whilst No. 10 (rye) was entirely unknown amongst the lake
-dwellings of Switzerland.
-
-At the lake settlement at Wangen a remarkable quantity of charred corn
-was dug up. Mr. Löhle believes that, altogether, and at various times,
-he has collected as much as 100 bushels. Sometimes he found the entire
-ears, at other times the grain only. Any of my readers can see for
-themselves some of this wheat, and also some raspberry seeds, found
-at Wangen. In the same case in the Prehistoric Saloon of the British
-Museum may be seen specimens of beans, peas, charred straw, acorns,
-hazel nuts, barley in the ear, millet in ear, in seed, and made into
-cakes, one showing the pattern of the bottom of a basket, and another
-the impress of a rush mat. The cakes or bread of millet are very solid,
-and are made of meal coarsely crushed.
-
-We know how this was crushed, for we have found their corn-crushers and
-mealing-stones. Of these the rude corn-crushers are undoubtedly the
-earliest. These stones, with their rounded ends, for a time somewhat
-puzzled the archæologist as to their use; but that was at once apparent
-when they were taken in conjunction with the hollowed stones. They were
-corn-crushers, which were used for pounding the parched corn or raw
-grain to make a thick gruel or porridge.
-
-Later on they improved upon them by using mealing-stones, which
-ground out the meal by rubbing one stone on another, accompanied with
-pressure. The stones are in the British Museum. Such mealing-stones
-were used by the Egyptians and Assyrians, as we shall see, and are
-employed to this day in Central Africa. ‘The mill consists of a block
-of granite, syenite, or even mica schist, 15in. or 18in. square and
-five or six thick, with a piece of quartz or other hard rock about
-the size of a half-brick, one side of which has a convex surface,
-and fits into a concave hollow in the larger, and stationary, stone.
-The workwoman, kneeling, grasps this upper millstone with both
-hands, and works it backwards and forwards in the hollow of the lower
-millstone, in the same way that a baker works his dough, when pressing
-it and pushing from him. The weight of the person is brought to bear
-on the movable stone, and while it is pressed and pushed forwards and
-backwards one hand supplies, every now and then, a little grain, to be
-thus at first bruised, and then ground on the lower stone, which is
-placed on the slope, so that the meal, when ground, falls on to a skin
-or mat spread for the purpose. This is, perhaps, the most primitive
-form of mill, and anterior to that in Oriental countries, where two
-women grind at one mill, and may have been that used by Sarah of old
-when she entertained the angels.’[1]
-
-[Illustration: PRE-HISTORIC MILLS AND CORN-CRUSHERS.]
-
-To these mealing-stones succeeded the quern. This was a basin, or
-hollowed stone, with another—oviform—for grinding. The quern has
-survived to this day. In London, at the west end of Cheapside, by
-Paternoster Row, was a church, destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666,
-and never rebuilt, called St. Michael le Quern. It was close by Panyer
-Alley, so called from the baker’s basket, and a stone is still in the
-alley on which is sculptured a naked boy sitting on a panyer. Querns
-have been found in the remains of the lake dwellings in Switzerland,
-and in the Crannoges, or lake dwellings of Scotland and Ireland.
-They are still in use in out-of-the-way places in Norway, in remote
-districts in Ireland, and some parts of the western islands of
-Scotland. In the latter country, as early as 1284, an effort was made
-by the Legislature to supersede the quern by the water-mill, the use of
-the former being prohibited, except in case of storm, or where there
-was a lack of mills of the new species. Whoever used the quern was to
-’gif the threttein measure as multer[2];’ and the transgressor was to
-‘time[3] his hand mylnes perpetuallie.’ Querns were not always made of
-stone, for one made of oak was found in 1831, whilst removing Blair
-Drummond Moss. It is 19 in. in height by 14 in. in diameter, and the
-centre is hollowed about a foot, so as to form a mortar.
-
-To sum up this notice of pre-historic bread, I may mention that at
-Robenhausen, Meisskomer discovered 8lbs. weight of bread, and also at
-Wangen has been found baked bread or cake made of crushed corn exactly
-similar. Of course, it has been burnt, or charred, and thus these
-interesting specimens have been preserved to the present day. The form
-of these cakes is somewhat round, and about an inch to an inch and a
-half thick; one small specimen, nearly perfect, is about four or five
-inches in diameter. The dough did not consist of meal, but of grains
-of corn more or less crushed. In some specimens the halves of grains
-of barley are plainly discernible. The under side of these cakes is
-sometimes flat, sometimes concave, and there appears no doubt that the
-mass of dough was baked by being laid on hot stones, and covered over
-with glowing ashes.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-CORN IN EGYPT AND ASSYRIA.
-
-
-The ancient Egyptians had as cereals three kinds of wheat—_Triticum
-sativa_, _zea_ and _spelta_; barley, _Hordeum vulgare_, and doura,
-_Holcus sorghum_, specimens of which may be seen in the Egyptian
-Gallery at the British Museum. The so-called ‘mummy-wheat’ is a
-fallacy, as far as its name goes; it is the _Triticum turgidum
-compositum_, cultivated in Egypt, Abyssinia, and elsewhere.
-
-[Illustration: EGYPTIAN REAPERS.]
-
-In this fertile land the cultivation of corn was very primitive;
-the sower had his seed in a basket, which he held in his left hand,
-or suspended it either on his arm or by a strap round his neck, and
-he threw the seed broadcast with his right hand. According to the
-paintings in the tombs, he immediately followed the plough, the light
-earth needing no further treatment, and the harrow, in any form, was
-unknown. Wheat was cut in about five months after planting, and barley
-in about four. We have here a representation of harvesting, showing the
-reaping, with the length of stubble left, and its being tied up into
-sheaves, or rather bundles. We next see the bundles being made into
-pyramidal stacks.
-
-[Illustration: EGYPTIANS STACKING CORN.]
-
-Here it remained until it was required for threshing, and then it was
-transported to the threshing floor in wicker baskets, upon asses, or in
-rope nets borne by two men. These threshing floors were circular level
-plots of land, near the field, or in the vicinity of the granary; and,
-the floor being well swept, the ears were laid down and oxen driven
-over it in order to tread out the grain, which was swept up by an
-attendant.
-
-And, like their modern brethren, they were merry at their work and sang
-songs, several of which may be seen in the sculptured tombs of Upper
-Egypt. Champollion gives the following, found in a tomb at Eileithyia:
-
- ‘Thresh for yourselves (twice repeated),
- O oxen,
- Thresh for yourselves (twice repeated);
- Measures for yourselves,
- Measures for your masters.’
-
-Sometimes the cattle were bound by their horns to a piece of wood,
-which compelled them to move in unison, and tread the corn regularly.
-But it was also threshed out by manual labour, with curious implements.
-The next operation was to winnow the corn, which was done with wooden
-shovels; it was then carried to the granary in sacks, each containing
-a certain quantity, which was determined by wooden measures, a scribe
-noting down the number as called by the tellers, who superintended its
-removal. Herodotus (book II., 14) says that the Egyptians trod out
-their corn by means of swine.
-
-Besides the growing and gathering of wheat, the doura is also
-represented in paintings in tombs at Thebes, Eileithyia, Beni-Hassan,
-and Saggára. Both it and wheat are represented as growing in the same
-field, but the doura is the taller of the two. It was not reaped, but
-was pulled up by the roots by men, and sometimes women, who struck off
-the earth which adhered with their hands, bound it in sheaves, and
-carried it to a place where it was rippled, as flax is done.
-
-[Illustration: EGYPTIANS THRESHING.]
-
-[Illustration: EGYPTIANS CARRYING GRAIN TO THE THRESHING FLOOR.]
-
-In the ordinary life of the Egyptians, the woman mealed the flour—in
-as primitive a form as the prehistoric man—and in the British Museum
-are two wooden models, which show the first process of converting
-the cereal into meal; and then we have two figures of men kneading
-dough—from the Museum at Ghizeh (formerly at Boulak). The bread
-itself was both leavened and unleavened—as may be seen by the many
-examples—round, triangular, and square—in the British Museum, some of
-which must have been a foot across, and over an inch thick; the three
-examples given on page 27 being 5in. in diameter, and 1/2in. thick; 7
-ditto and 1/2 ditto; whilst the ornamented cake is 3-1/2in. in diameter
-and 3/4in. thick.
-
-But there were professional bakers in Egypt, as we see in some of
-the tomb-pictures. In the Biblical story of Joseph we find that ‘the
-butler of the King of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the
-King of Egypt’; and the Rabbi Solomon says their offences were the
-butler not having perceived a fly in Pharaoh’s cup, and the baker
-having got a stone into the royal bread, so that Pharaoh thought they
-were conspiring against his life. We know they were put in prison with
-Joseph, and related their dreams to him. The dream of the Opheh, or
-chief baker, was that he ‘had three white baskets on his head, and in
-the uppermost basket there was all manner of bake meats for Pharaoh.’
-The Bible story of Joseph goes on to tell us how, in the years of
-plenty, he providentially stored up the excess of corn to meet the
-years of famine, and how the Israelites sent to Egypt for food, and
-subsequently abode in that land.
-
-[Illustration: EGYPTIAN METHODS OF BREAD-MAKING.]
-
-Thanks to Assyrian art, and to the enduring qualities of bronze, we are
-able to see how that ancient people made their bread (at least in the
-camp) during the reign of Shalmaneser II., son of Assur-nasir-abli,
-who began to govern Assyria about the year 860 B.C., and died in 825
-B.C. On the bronze bands of the great gates of Balawat are recorded the
-warlike doings of Shalmaneser II. in detail. In almost every camp that
-is represented are men depicted as preparing bread against the return
-of the, of course, victorious soldiery: we see them mealing the corn,
-kneading the dough, making it into flat, round cakes, and, finally,
-piling these up in large heaps ready for the hungry warriors.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-These gates were found in the year 1877 by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, who,
-whilst excavating for the Trustees of the British Museum on the site
-of ancient Nineveh, began also excavations at a mound called Balawat,
-about 15 miles east of Mosul, and nine miles from Nimroud. Having
-received, as a present, before his departure for the East, some
-fragments of chased bronze, said to have been found in this mound, he
-naturally had the greatest wish to follow up the indication of a new
-store of antiquities. He experienced some difficulty from the villagers
-of Balawat, as the mound had been used by them for some years as a
-burial ground, and their scruples having been overcome, the result
-was the finding of these beautiful bronzes in fragments. They were
-skilfully restored at the British Museum, where they now are, and rank
-among the best of Assyrian antiquities.
-
-[Illustration: EGYPTIAN BREAD.]
-
-[Illustration: EGYPTIAN CAKE SELLER.]
-
-The old Assyrians knew the value of irrigation in growing their crops,
-and the remains of aqueducts and hydraulic machines which remain
-in Babylonia bear witness to an advanced civilisation; these are
-constructed of masonry, which slanted up to the height of two feet,
-and, disposed at right angles to the river, they conducted the water
-from 200 to 2000 yards into the interior.
-
-The food of the poor seems to have consisted of grain, such as wheat,
-or barley, moistened with water, kneaded in a bowl, rolled into cakes
-and baked in the hot ashes.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-BREAD IN PALESTINE.
-
-
-Of the bread of the ancient Hebrews we know nothing, except from their
-sacred books; but these contain a large store of knowledge. Their
-cereals seem to have consisted only of wheat, barley, rye (or it may
-be spelt), and millet, but they cultivated leguminous plants, such as
-beans and lentils. It is impossible to say accurately when these books
-were written, so that in the following notices respecting the bread
-of the Hebrews I take the sequence in which I find them placed in the
-Bible. It is impossible to do otherwise, as their chronology is such an
-open question.
-
-At first, in all probability, the normal course of pre-historic man was
-followed—wheat and barley grew wild, were first eaten raw, and then
-parched. Of this latter and primitive method of cooking cereals we have
-several notices. It was used as a sacrifice, as we see in Leviticus ii.
-16: ‘And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten
-corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense
-thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord.’ That parched
-corn was at that time a food we find in Levit. xxiii. 14: ‘And ye
-shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the
-self-same day that ye have brought an offering unto your God.’ We next
-find it as the food of labouring people in Ruth ii. 14, when Boaz
-‘reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.’
-
-Mention is again made of it in I. Sam. xvii., when Goliath of Gath
-challenged the men of Israel. Jesse’s three sons had followed Saul to
-the battle, and the anxious father had sent his youngest son David,
-with provisions for them, and a present to their commander, vv. 17,
-18: ‘And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an
-ephah[4] of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the
-camp to thy brethren; and carry these ten cheeses unto the captain
-of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their
-pledge.’ We see, I. Sam. xxv. 18, how Abigail, Nabal’s wife, in order
-to propitiate David, ‘made haste, and took 200 loaves, and two bottles
-of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched
-corn, and 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs, and laid
-them on asses.’ The last we hear of parched corn as food is in II.
-Sam. xvii. 27, 28, when David arrived at Mahanaim. Shobi, Machir, and
-Barzillai ‘brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat,
-and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and
-parched pulse.’ In England this parching is sometimes applied to peas,
-and, indeed, there is a saying comparing an extremely lively person ‘to
-a parched pea in a frying pan,’ and in America ‘pop corn,’ or parched
-maize, is very popular.
-
-Threshing corn we first read of in Deut. xxv. 4, when we find the
-following direction given: ‘Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he
-treadeth out the corn,’ a practice which the natives of Aleppo, and
-some other Eastern places, still religiously observe.
-
-How Gideon (Jud. vi. 11) or Oman (I. Chron. xxi. 20) threshed, whether
-by oxen or by flail, we cannot tell, but in Isaiah xxviii. 27, 28, we
-find five methods of threshing then in vogue. ‘For the fitches [this
-is supposed to be the _Nigella sativa_, whose seeds are used as a
-condiment, like coriander or caraway] are not threshed with a threshing
-instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but
-the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
-Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor
-break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.’
-In Lowth on _Isaiah_ we find this passage made somewhat clearer:
-
- ‘The dill is not beaten out with the _corn-drag_;
- Nor is the _Wheel of the Wain_ made to turn upon the cummin.
- But the dill is beaten out with _the Staff_,
- And the cummin with the _Flail_, but
- The bread corn with the _Threshing-Wain_;
- And not for ever will he continue thus to thresh it,
- Nor vex it with the Wheel of its Wain,
- Nor to bruise it with the _Hoofs of his Cattle_.’
-
-The _Staff_ and _Flail_ were used for that grain that was too tender
-to be treated in any other method. The _Drag_ consisted of a sort of
-frame of strong planks, made rough at the bottom with hard stones or
-iron; it was drawn by horses or oxen over the corn sheaves spread on
-the threshing floor, the driver sitting upon it. The _Wain_ was much
-like the former, but had wheels with iron teeth, or edges like a saw;
-the axle was armed with iron teeth or serrated wheels throughout; it
-moved upon three rollers, armed with iron teeth, or wheels, to cut the
-straw. In Syria they make use of the drag constructed in the very same
-manner—and this not only forces out the grain, but cuts the straw in
-pieces for fodder for the cattle; for in Eastern countries there is no
-hay.
-
-Sir R. K. Porter, in his _Travels in Georgia_,[5] speaks of this method
-of threshing, which he saw in the early part of the last century.
-‘The threshing operation is managed by a machine composed of a large
-square frame of wood, which contains two wooden cylinders placed
-parallel to each other, and which have a turning motion. They are
-stuck full of splinters, with sharp square points, but not all of a
-length. These barrels have the appearance of the barrels in an organ,
-and their projections, when brought in contact with the corn, break
-the stalk and disengage the ear. They are put in motion by a couple of
-cows or oxen, yoked to the frame, and guided by a man sitting on the
-plank that covers the frame which contains the cylinders. He drives
-this agricultural equipage in a circle round any great accumulation
-of just-gathered harvest, keeping at a certain distance from the
-verge of the heap, close to which a second peasant stands, holding
-a long-handled 20-pronged fork, shaped like the spread sticks of a
-fan, and with which he throws the unbound sheaves forward to meet the
-rotary motion of the machine. He has a shovel also ready, with which he
-removes to a considerable distance the corn that has already passed
-the wheel. Other men are on the spot with the like implement, which
-they fill with the broken material, and throw it aloft in the air,
-where the wind blows away the chaff, and the grain falls to the ground.
-The latter process is repeated till the corn is completely winnowed
-from its refuse, when it is gathered up, carried home, and deposited
-for use in large earthen jars. The straw is preserved with care, being
-the sole winter food of the horses and mules. But while I looked on
-at the patriarchal style of husbandry, and at the strong yet docile
-animal, which for so many ages had been the right hand of man in his
-business of tilling and reaping the ground, I could not but revere the
-beneficent law which pronounced, “Muzzle not the ox when he treadeth
-out the corn.”’
-
-It was probably one of these that Araunah meant (II. Sam. xxiv. 22)
-when he said unto David: ‘Let my lord the king take and offer up what
-seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and
-threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.’ And
-it is certainly mentioned in Isaiah xli. 15: ‘Behold, I will make thee
-a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth.’
-
-The threshing-floor is many times mentioned in the Bible. There were
-those of Atad, Nachon, and Araunah (or Ornan), the value of whose
-floor, etc., is variously stated in II. Sam. xxiv. 24, where it says
-that David bought the flour and oxen for 50 shekels of silver, or about
-6_l_ of our money; whilst in I. Chron. xxi. 25, he gave him 600 shekels
-of gold in weight, or 1200_l_ of our currency, which seems a large sum
-for a small level piece of ground; for the floors, so-called, were out
-of doors, so that the wind might carry away the chaff, as we read in
-Hosea xiii. 3: ‘They shall be ... as the chaff that is driven with the
-whirlwind out of the floor.’ See also Psalm i. 4.
-
-These floors were used for other purposes than threshings, as we read
-in I. Kings xxii. 10: ‘And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king
-of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void
-place (_or floor_) in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the
-prophets prophesied before them,’ a statement which is repeated in II.
-Chron. xviii. 9.
-
-Harvest-time was appointed by Moses as one of the great
-festivals—Exodus xxiii. 14, etc.: ‘Three times thou shalt keep a feast
-unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread:
-(thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee,
-in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out
-from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty). And the feast of
-harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the
-field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year,
-when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.’ And again, in
-Exodus xxxiv., this is repeated, with the addition (v. 21): ‘Six days
-thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time
-and in harvest thou shalt rest.’ This holiday was, and is, called the
-feast of tabernacles, and we read in Deut. xvi. 13, etc.: ‘Thou shalt
-observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast
-gathered in thy corn and thy wine: and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast,
-thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy
-maid-servant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the
-widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn
-feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose:
-because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in
-all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.’
-
-In the story of Ruth we get an idyllic picture of a Hebrew harvest
-field, with its kindly greetings between master and man, and its
-gleaners. Naomi, a native of Bethlehem, returned thither from Moab,
-after the death of her husband, Elimelech, accompanied by her
-daughter-in-law Ruth, who was also a widow, ‘and they came to Bethlehem
-in the beginning of barley harvest.’
-
-Special favour was accorded to Ruth. She might glean ‘among the
-sheaves’—_i.e._, following the reapers, instead of waiting until the
-corn had been carried; but the Jews were enjoined to be liberal in the
-matter of gleaning, as we see by Lev. xix. 9: ‘And when ye reap the
-harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy
-field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest’; and in
-Deut. xxiv. 19, ‘When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and
-hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it;
-it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow:
-that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.’
-
-There were no public mills at which flour could be ground, but, as
-now, in the unchangeable East, every family ground their own corn, and
-this task, as well as the making and baking of bread, was left to the
-women. See Matt. xxiv. 41: ‘Two women shall be grinding at the mill;
-the one shall be taken, and the other left.’ Again we find that it
-was a woman who was grinding corn on a housetop in Thebez who (Judges
-ix. 53) ‘cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all
-to brake his skull.’ An Eastern flour mill consists of two stones,
-the upper one rotating on the lower. In Shaw’s _Travels_, p. 297, he
-says: ‘Most families grind their wheat and barley at home, having two
-portable millstones for that purpose. The uppermost is turned round
-by a small handle of wood or iron placed in the edge of it. When this
-stone is large, or expedition is required, then a second person is
-called in to assist. It is usual for the women alone to be concerned in
-this employ, setting themselves down over against each other, with the
-millstones between them.’
-
-[Illustration: A PALESTINE HAND-MILL.]
-
-And Dr. Clarke, in his _Travels_,[6] says, that at Nazareth: ‘Scarcely
-had we reached the apartment prepared for our reception, when, looking
-into the courtyard belonging to the house, we beheld _two women_
-grinding at the mill in a manner most forcibly illustrating the saying
-of our Saviour. They were preparing flour to make our bread, as it
-is always customary in the country when strangers arrive. The two
-women, seated upon the ground opposite to each other, held between
-them two round, flat stones, such as are seen in Lapland, and such as
-in Scotland are called querns. In the centre of the upper stone was
-a cavity for pouring in the corn, and by the side of this an upright
-wooden handle for moving the stone. As the operation began, one of the
-women with her right hand pushed this handle to the woman opposite, who
-again sent it to her companion, thus communicating a rotary and very
-rapid motion to the upper stone, their left hands being all the while
-employed in supplying fresh corn as fast as the bran and flour escaped
-from the sides of the machine.’
-
-Of such importance among the household treasures of the Hebrews was the
-flour mill esteemed that Moses laid it down (Deut. xxiv. 6): ‘No man
-shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a
-man’s life to pledge.’
-
-The first mention of bread in the Bible, with the exception of Adam’s
-curse, is in Gen. xiv. 18: ‘And Melchizedek, King of Salem, brought
-forth bread and wine’; but it is pre-supposed, in Chap. xii. 10: ‘And
-there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to
-sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.’ When the three
-angels visited him on the plains of Mamre, he offered them hospitality
-(Gen. xviii. 5, 6): ‘I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye
-your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come
-to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham
-hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three
-measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.’ And
-to this day in Syria cakes are made upon the hearth, and the breaking
-of bread together is a token of amity and protection extended by the
-stronger to the weaker.
-
-Of what shape the Hebrew bread was we do not know, for no
-representation of it has come down to us. As a rule it was possibly in
-the form of thin flat round cakes—similar to those unleavened biscuits
-now used by the Jews during their Passover, and the form and dimensions
-of which are probably traditional—but they also had _loaves_ of bread,
-as we read in many places. The Shew, or Presence bread, must have been
-loaves, because of the quantity of flour in each—between five and six
-pints. The directions for making it, etc., are plain enough (Lev. xxiv.
-5-9): ‘And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof:
-two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two
-rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord. And thou shalt
-put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a
-memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Every Sabbath he
-shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the
-children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron’s
-and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most
-holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual
-statute.’
-
-This shew bread must have been leavened, for a cake containing nearly
-three quarts of flour, and unleavened, could hardly be. We have no
-certainty as to the shape of these twelve loaves, typical of the tribes
-of Israel; for, although the gold table on which it was placed figures
-in a _bas relief_ on the Arch of Titus at Rome, there is no bread upon
-it. The Rabbis say that the loaves were square, and covered with leaves
-of gold; and that they were placed in two piles of six each, one upon
-another, on the opposite ends of the table; and that between every two
-loaves were laid three semi-tubes, like slit canes, of gold, for the
-purpose of keeping the cakes the better from mouldiness and corruption
-by admitting the air between them; and it is also said, but upon what
-authority I know not, that each end of the table was furnished with
-a tall, three-pronged fork of gold, one at each corner, standing
-perpendicularly, for the purpose of keeping the loaves in their proper
-places.
-
-The new bread was set on the table with much ceremony every Sabbath,
-and it was so ordered that the new bread should be set on one end of
-the table before the old was taken away from the other, in order that
-the table might not be for a moment without bread. Jewish tradition
-states that, to render the bread more peculiar and consecrated from
-its origin, the priests themselves performed all the operations of
-sowing, reaping and grinding the corn for the shew bread, as well as of
-kneading and baking the bread itself. On the table was, probably, some
-salt, as we read in Lev. ii. 13: ‘With all thine offerings thou shalt
-offer salt.’
-
-There seems to be little doubt but that the Israelites knew nothing
-about leavened bread until they went into Egypt, and that they obtained
-that knowledge from the civilised Egyptians. That they did leaven their
-bread we learn from Exodus xii. 34-39: ‘And the people took their dough
-before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their
-clothes upon their shoulders.... And they baked unleavened cakes of the
-dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened;
-because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had
-they prepared for themselves any victual.’
-
-Bread was sometimes dipped in oil as a relish, and in this state
-it was also used in sacrifice. Lev. viii. 26: ‘And out of the
-basket of unleavened bread, that was before the Lord, he took one
-unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer,’ etc.; and,
-occasionally, as we see in Ruth, it was dipped in vinegar. The Jew
-thanked God for all His good gifts, and with his bread, he took it
-in his hands, and pronounced the following benediction: ‘Blessed art
-Thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, that produceth bread out
-of the earth.’ If there were many at table, one asked a blessing for
-the rest. The blessing always preceded the breaking of the bread. The
-rules concerning the breaking of bread were—the master of the house
-recited and finished the blessing, and after that he broke the bread;
-he did not break a small piece, lest he should seem to be sparing;
-nor a large piece, lest he should be thought to be famished; it was
-a principal command to break a whole loaf. He that broke the bread
-put a piece before everyone, and the other took it into his hand. The
-master of the family ate first of the bread after blessing. Maimonides,
-writing on _Halacoth_, or legal formulæ (_Beracoth_, c. 7), says the
-guests were not to eat or taste anything till he who broke had tasted
-first, nor was it permitted at festivals for any of the guests to drink
-of the cup till the master of the family had done so.
-
-There are several unleavened bread bakeries in London, and one each in
-Birmingham and Leeds, to supply the Jews resident in the neighbourhood
-with Passover cakes, or _Matzos_. Of course, there is an enormous
-demand for this sort of unleavened bread, and to meet it these bakeries
-begin baking two months before the commencement of the Passover. These
-_Matzos_ look like ordinary large water biscuits, except that they
-are a foot or more in diameter. They are made of flour and water, and
-contain no other ingredient.
-
-After the flour has been kneaded into a very stiff dough, a lump of it,
-weighing about 50 lb., is placed on a great block of wood and pressed
-into a thick sheet by a heavy beam, which is fastened to the block at
-one end by an iron link and staple. This sheet is next placed under an
-iron roller, from which it emerges in a long ribbon. It passes under
-another roller, and another, and then it is thin enough for baking. It
-is now stamped and cut into the unbaked _Matzos_, which are placed upon
-a large peel, or wooden tray, having a long handle, and deposited in
-an oven. Three minutes later they are taken out, white, but crisp. From
-the oven they are conveyed to the packing room, where they are allowed
-to cool, after which they are put up in stacks, and thus kept ready for
-delivery. Of course, during the whole of Passover week the Jews eat no
-other bread.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-THE BREAD OF THE CLASSIC LANDS.
-
-
-As an introduction to the bread of the Romans and Greeks, let us
-begin with the pretty myth of Demeter (or Ceres, as the Romans called
-her), and her daughter Persephone. Zeus, or Jupiter, had promised
-his daughter Persephone to Pluto, without informing Demeter of his
-plan, and whilst the girl was plucking flowers which Zeus had caused
-to grow, in order to fix her attention, Pluto seized her, and, the
-earth opening, they disappeared, and went to his kingdom of Hades.
-Many places have been assigned as the spot where this took place; but
-the ancient Eleusis, not far from Salamis or Athens, now the little
-village of Lefsina, has, if such a thing were possible, perhaps
-the prior claim, for here stood the famous temple of Demeter, now
-lately (1882-89) excavated and surveyed, and here were performed the
-Eleusinian mysteries in her honour.
-
-The shrieks of Persephone were heard only by Hecate and Helios; and
-her mother, hearing only the echo of her voice, at once darted down
-to earth in search of her beloved child. Hopelessly and aimlessly she
-wandered about, caring nothing for herself; and for nine whole days and
-nights neither ate nor drank, tasted neither nectar nor ambrosia, nor
-did she even bathe herself. On the tenth day she met Hecate, who told
-her all she knew of her daughter’s disappearance, which was not much,
-as she had heard but her piercing cries. But, thinking that Helios,
-the all-seeing sun, might have viewed the scene, they hastened to him,
-and he told them how it all happened: how Pluto had carried off her
-daughter, with the approval and consent of Zeus.
-
-Heart-broken at this conduct of the father of her child, she would have
-no more of the society of the gods, and forswore Olympus, preferring to
-live rather among men on earth. And so she dwelt among them, rewarding
-those who were kind to her and severely punishing those who did not
-treat her well; and in this way, still wandering and mourning for her
-lost child, she came to Eleusis, where Celeus was king.
-
-But her wrath was still as fierce as ever, and, by withholding her
-gifts, the fields produced no crops, and there was famine upon earth,
-and so sore indeed did it become that Zeus, perceiving it, feared that
-the race of man might become extinct for lack of food, and sent Iris
-as ambassador to try and persuade Demeter to return to Olympus. But
-she was firm, although all the gods were sent to her to induce her to
-relent, and nothing would she do to mitigate the evil she had wrought,
-save on the condition that her daughter should be restored to her.
-
-[Illustration: THE LEGEND OF DEMETER AND TRIPTOLEMUS.]
-
-Hermes was sent to Pluto, and his mission met with partial success.
-Persephone had eaten of the pomegranate seed, which sacredly pledged
-her to her dread lord; and for three months in the year she must
-leave her mother and the fair earth and go to live in Pluto’s dreary
-kingdom. Hermes fulfilled his mission by restoring her to her loving
-mother, who rejoiced over her with an exceeding joy. Zeus, choosing
-this happy moment, sent Rhea to Demeter to conciliate her and prevail
-upon her to return to Olympus—a task which she happily effected. The
-earth smiled once more and became fertile, and Demeter, with her
-daughter, to whom she was lent for nine months in the year, went to
-dwell once more in the companionship of the gods; but, before she left
-the earth, she rewarded Celeus, the King of Eleusis, who had been kind
-to her, by giving his son, Triptolemus, a chariot with winged dragons
-and seeds of wheat. His chariot was useful, for by means of it he was
-able to ride all over the earth, and instruct men in growing corn.
-He established the worship of Demeter at Eleusis, and instituted the
-mysteries in honour of the goddess.
-
-And in this pretty myth of Demeter and Persephone we may trace the
-story of the seasons; how for nine months the earth is smiling and
-fertile, and for the remaining three is dead.
-
-Dr. Schliemann claimed to have found the site of ancient Troy when he
-uncovered the hill of Hissarlik. It was undoubtedly the remains of a
-pre-historic city, and one which had advanced to a considerable amount
-of civilisation. And this is shown particularly in one instance, in the
-huge earthenware jars, or _pithoi_, that were used for storing corn and
-wine. The following illustration gives a graphic description of them
-as they appeared _in situ_: ‘One of the compartments of the uppermost
-houses below the Temple of Athené, and belonging to the third, the
-burnt city, appears to have been used as a magazine for storing corn
-or wine, for there are in it nine enormous earthenware jars of various
-forms, about 5 ft. high and 4-3/4 ft. across, their mouths being from
-29-1/2 in. to 35-1/4 in. broad. Each of them has four handles 3-3/4
-in. broad, and the clay of which they are made is as much as 2-1/4 in.
-thick.’[7]
-
-Dr. Schliemann says [p. 279]: ‘The number of large jars which I brought
-to light in the burnt stratum of the third city certainly exceeds
-600. By far the larger number of them were empty, the mouth being
-covered by a large flag of schist or limestone. This leads me to the
-conclusion that the jars were filled with wine or water at the time
-of the catastrophe, for there appears to have been hardly any reason
-for covering them if they had been empty. Had they been used to contain
-anything else but liquids, I should have found traces of the fact, but
-only in a very few cases did I _find some carbonised grain_ in the
-jars, and only twice a small quantity of a white mass, the nature of
-which I could not determine.’
-
-[Illustration: PITHOI FOUND AT HISSARLIK.]
-
-So that we see that this pre-historic nation not only grew corn, but
-stored it for future use.
-
-The means this pre-historic people had of crushing or mealing the grain
-was the same as usual: the saddle querns, or two stones with flat
-surfaces, between which the grain was crushed and roughly triturated—so
-frequently found on the Continent, and the pestle and mortar of the
-lake dwellings, as also round stones for fitting into hollows such as
-are found in the lakes, the cave dwellings of the Dordogne and in the
-dolmens of France. Dr. Schliemann, in describing ‘the Trojan saddle
-querns,’ says they ‘are either of trachyte or of basaltic lava, but
-by far the larger number are of the former material. They are of oval
-form, flat on one side and convex on the other, and resemble an egg
-cut longitudinally through the middle. Their length is from 7 in. to
-14 in., and even as much as 25 in.; the very long ones are generally
-crooked longitudinally, their breadth is from 5 in. to 14 in. The grain
-was bruised between the flat sides of two of these querns; but only
-a kind of groats can have been produced in this way, not flour. The
-bruised grain could not have been used for making bread. In _Homer_
-we find it used for porridge (_Il._ xviii., 558-560), and also for
-strewing on the roasted meat (_Od._ xiv., 76-77).’
-
-In Homeric times the corn was evidently ground by millstones (which
-were, probably, precisely similar to those found by Dr. Schliemann),
-as we see in _Il._ vii. 270, xii., 161, and _Od._ vii., 104, xx.,
-105. Pliny N.H., xxxvi., 30, speaking of millstones says: ‘In no
-country are the molar stones superior to those of Italy; stones, be
-it remembered, not fragments of rock; there are some provinces, too,
-where they are not to be found at all. Some stones of this class are
-softer than others, and admit of being smoothed with the whetstone, so
-as to present all the appearance, at a distance, of serpentine. There
-is no more durable stone than this; for, in general, stone, like wood,
-suffers from the action, more or less, of rain, heat, and cold....
-Some persons give this molar stone the name of _pyrites_, from the
-circumstance that it has a great affinity to fire.’
-
-[Illustration: POUNDING GRAIN.]
-
-In book xviii., 23, Pliny gives us _the mode of grinding corn_. ‘All
-the grains are not easily broken. In Etruria they first parch the
-spelt in the ear, and then pound it with a pestle shod with iron at
-the end. In this instrument the iron is notched at the bottom, sharp
-ridges running out like the edge of a knife, and concentrating in
-the form of a star, so that, if care is not taken to hold the pestle
-perpendicularly while pounding, the grains will only be splintered and
-the iron teeth broken. Throughout the greater part of Italy, however,
-they employ a pestle that is only rough at the end, and wheels turned
-by water, by means of which the corn is gradually ground. I shall here
-set forth the opinions given by Mago as to the best method of pounding
-corn. He says that the wheat should be steeped first of all in water,
-and then cleaned from the husk, after which it should be dried in the
-sun and then pounded with the pestle; the same plan, he says, should be
-adopted in the preparation of barley.’
-
-This was how corn was prepared in some parts of Italy at the time of
-the Christian era, by the same method as that described by Livingstone:
-‘The corn is pounded in a large wooden mortar, like the ancient
-Egyptian one, with a pestle six feet long and about four inches thick.
-The pounding is performed by two or even three women at one mortar.
-Each, before delivering a blow with her pestle, gives an upward jerk
-of the body, so as to put strength into the stroke, and they keep
-exact time, so that two pestles are never in the mortar at the same
-moment.... By the operation of pounding, with the aid of a little
-water, the hard outside scale or husk of the grain is removed, and the
-corn is made fit for the millstone. The meal irritates the stomach
-unless cleared from the husk; without considerable energy in the
-operation the husk sticks fast to the corn. Solomon thought that still
-more vigour than is required to separate the hard husk or bran from
-the wheat would fail to separate “a fool from his folly.” “Though thou
-shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will
-not his foolishness depart from him.”’
-
-[Illustration: A BAKEHOUSE AT POMPEII.]
-
-We have noticed the primitive Homeric millstones and the Etruscan
-pestles and mortars, but at the time of the Christian era things
-molinary were somewhat more advanced. Doubtless in parts of the
-country the hand mill or quern, called _Mola manuaria_, _versatilis_ or
-_trusatilis_, was in use, and it was worked by slaves, who were sent to
-the _pistorineum_ as a punishment. But the usual corn mill was worked
-by animals, and was called _Mola iumentaria_ or _Mola asinaria_.
-
-Both Greeks and Romans originally ground their flour and baked their
-bread at home, and mills and bakeries have been found in several
-private houses in Pompeii. One of these bakeries was attached to the
-house of Sallust, on the south side, being divided from it only by
-a narrow street. Its front is the main street, or Via Consularis,
-leading from the gate of Herculaneum to the Forum. Entering by a small
-vestibule, the visitor finds himself in a portico of ample dimensions,
-considering the character of the house, being about 36 feet by 30
-feet. At the end of the portico is an opening through which the
-bake-house is entered, which is at the back of the house, and opens
-into a smaller street, which, diverging from the main street at the
-fountain by Pansa’s house, runs straight up to the city walls. The
-work room of the mill and bakery is about 33 feet long by 26 feet. The
-centre is occupied by four stone mills, and when it was uncovered, the
-ironwork, though entirely rust eaten, was yet perfect enough to explain
-satisfactorily the method of construction.
-
-Not only were the flour mills, kneading troughs and other utensils
-for baking found in Pompeii, but there were also loaves of bread,
-of round form, and sub-divided, some of which were stamped with the
-baker’s name. That this was the usual form of loaf is also shown by a
-painting on the walls of the Temple of Augustus, where we see the bread
-partially broken, and by the representation of a baker’s shop, where
-all the loaves are similarly shaped.
-
-[Illustration: ROMAN METHODS OF BREAD-MAKING.]
-
-[Illustration: A BAKER’S SHOP AT POMPEII.]
-
-This, at all events, seems to have been the shape in vogue about the
-time of the Christian era; but in the _bas reliefs_ on the tomb of
-Eurysaces, who was a baker in a large way of business at Rome, they
-seem to be globular. These _bas reliefs_ are most interesting, as they
-show the whole history of baking. First there is the purchase of the
-corn, and payment being made for it; then we see it ground, and sifted
-to separate the bran. Next a man is buying some flour. Then we see the
-dough being kneaded by horse-power, the bakers making it into loaves,
-the baker with his peel baking the loaves, which are afterwards carried
-in paniers to be weighed. Then there are the customers, and the bread
-being sent out for delivery.
-
-Pliny tells us that there were no bakers at Rome until the war with
-King Perseus of Macedon, more than 580 years after the building of the
-city. The ancient Romans used to make their own bread, it being an
-occupation which belonged to the women, as we see is the case in many
-nations even at the present day. In those times they had no cooks in
-the number of their slaves, but used to hire them for the occasion from
-the market. The Gauls were the first to employ the bolter that is made
-of horse-hair; while the people of Spain made their sieves and meal
-dressers of flax, and the Egyptians of papyrus and rushes.
-
-Many freedmen were engaged as bakers, and under the Republic it was
-one of the duties of the œdiles to see that the bread was properly
-prepared and correct in weight. Grain was delivered into public
-granaries by enrolled _Saccarii_, and it was distributed to the bakers
-by a corporation called the _Catabolenses_. A bakers’ guild (_corpus_
-or _collegium pistorum_), which long existed, was organised by Trajan,
-and this body, through its connection with the _cura amonæ_, became of
-much importance, and enjoyed various privileges. There were guilds of
-_pistores_ and _clibanarii_ at Pompeii. A great increase in the number
-of bakeries (_pistrinæ_, _officinæ pistoriæ_) afterwards took place at
-Rome, owing, probably, to the action of Aurelian in introducing a daily
-distribution of bread, instead of the old monthly distribution of grain
-that had been usual since the time of Gracchi.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-BREAD IN EASTERN LANDS.
-
-
-Agriculture has always taken a prominent part in Chinese polity, and
-is incorporated in their religious observances; and a deep veneration
-for it is inscribed on all the institutions in China. Among the several
-grades of society the cultivators of mind rank first, then those of
-land, third come the manufacturers, and lastly the merchants. Homage
-to agriculture is done annually by the Emperor, who makes a show of
-performing its operations.
-
-This ceremony, which originated more than 2000 years ago, had been
-discontinued by degenerate princes, but was revived by Yong-tching,
-the third of the Mantchoo dynasty. This anniversary takes place on the
-24th day of the second moon, coinciding with our month of February. The
-monarch prepares himself for it by fasting three days; he then repairs
-to the appointed spot with three princes, nine presidents of the high
-tribunals, forty old and forty young husbandmen. Having performed a
-preliminary sacrifice of the fruits of the earth to Shang-ti, the
-supreme deity, he takes in his hand the plough, and makes a furrow of
-some length, in which he is followed by the princes and other grandees.
-A similar course is observed in sowing the field, and the operations
-are completed by the husbandmen.
-
-An annual festival in honour of Agriculture is also celebrated in the
-capital of each province. The governor marches forth, crowned with
-flowers, and accompanied by a numerous train, bearing flags adorned
-with agricultural emblems and portraits of eminent husbandmen, while
-the streets are decorated with lanterns and triumphal arches.
-
-Although rice is the staple grain in use in China, wheat-growing is
-one of the principal industries in the northern and middle parts of
-that country. The winter wheat is planted at about the same time that
-wheat is planted here. The soil, especially in the northern provinces,
-is so well worn that it is unfitted for wheat-growing, and the Chinese
-farmers, appreciating this fact, and the fact that all kinds of
-fertilisers are excessively dear, make the least money do the most good
-by mixing the seed with finely-prepared manure.
-
-A man with a basket swung upon his shoulders follows the plough, and
-plants the mixture in large handsful in the furrows, so that when the
-crop grows up it looks like young celery. Immediately after the first
-melting of snow, and when the ground has become sufficiently hardened
-by frost, these wheat-fields are turned into pastures, under the theory
-that, by a timely clipping of the tops of these plants, the crops will
-grow up with additional strength in the spring.
-
-Wheat-threshing is the principal interest in Chinese farming. Owing
-to the scarcity of fuel, the wheat is usually pulled up by the root,
-bundled in sheaves, and carted to the _mien-chong_, a smooth and
-hardened space of ground near the home of the farmer. The top of the
-sheaves is then clipped off by a hand machine. The wheat is then left
-in the _mien-chong_ to dry, whilst the headless sheaves are piled in
-a heap for fuel or thatching. When the wheat is thoroughly dry it is
-beaten under a great stone roller pulled by horses, while the places
-thus rolled are constantly tossed over with pitchforks. The stalks left
-untouched by the roller are threshed with flails by women and boys. The
-beaten stalks and straws are then taken out by an ingenious arrangement
-of pitchforks, and the chaff is removed by a systematic tossing of the
-grain into the air until the wind blows every particle of chaff or
-dust out of the wheat. Even the chaff is carefully swept up and stowed
-away for fuel or other useful purposes, such as stuffing mattresses
-or pillows. After the wheat is allowed to dry for a few hours in the
-burning sun, it is stowed away in airy bamboo bins.
-
-The milling process is a very ancient one. Two large round bluestone
-wheels, with grooves neatly cut in the faces on one side, and in the
-centre of the lower wheel a solid wooden plug is used. The process
-of making flour out of wheat by this machinery is called _mob-mien_.
-Usually a horse or mule is employed; the poor, having no animals, grind
-the grain themselves.
-
-Three distinct qualities of flour are thus produced. The _shon-mien_,
-or A grade, is the first siftings; the _nee-mien_, or second grade, is
-the grindings of the rough leavings from the first siftings, which is
-of a darker and redder colour than the first grade; and _mod_ is the
-finely-ground last siftings of all grades. When bread is made from
-this grade it resembles rough gingerbread. This is usually the food of
-the poorest families. The bread of the Chinese is usually fermented,
-and then steamed. Only a very small quantity is baked in ovens. But the
-staple articles of food in Northern China are wheat, millet, and sweet
-potatoes. Wheat and rice are the food of the rich, while the middle
-classes of the Empire eat millet and rice. In the southern provinces
-the entire bread-stuff is rice.
-
-[Illustration: CHINESE METHOD OF HUSKING GRAIN.]
-
-At King-Kiang wheat is served as rice. It is first threshed with flails
-made of bamboo, and then pounded by a rough stone hammer, working in a
-mortar which rests on a pivot, and is operated like a treadle by the
-human foot. This separates the husks, and it is then winnowed, the
-grain being afterwards ground in the usual way.
-
-Rice is undoubtedly the staple food of those parts of China where it
-will grow, in spite of its being a precarious crop, the failure of
-which means famine. A drought in its early stages withers it, and an
-inundation, when nearly ripe, is equally destructive; whilst the birds
-and locusts, which are fearfully numerous in China, infest it more than
-any other grain. Rice requires not only intense heat, but moisture
-so abundant that the field in which it grows must be repeatedly laid
-under water. These requisites exist only in the districts south of
-the Yang-tse Kiang (the Yellow River) and its several tributaries.
-Here a vast extent of land is perfectly fitted for this valuable crop.
-Confined by powerful dykes, these rivers do not generally, like the
-Nile, overflow and cover the country; but by means of canals their
-waters are so widely distributed that almost every farmer, when he
-pleases, can inundate his field. This supplies not only moisture, but
-a fertilising mud or slime, washed down from the distant mountains.
-The cultivator thus dispenses with manure, of which he labours under
-a great scarcity, and considers it enough if the grain be steeped in
-liquid manure.
-
-The Chinese always transplant their rice. A small space is enclosed,
-and very thickly sown, after which a thin sheet of water is led or
-pumped over it; in the course of a few days the shoots appear, and when
-they have attained the height of six or seven inches the tops are cut
-off, and the roots transplanted to a field prepared for the purpose,
-when they are set in rows about six inches from each other. The whole
-surface is again supplied with moisture, which continues to cover the
-plants till they approach maturity, when the ground is allowed to
-become dry.
-
-The first harvest is reaped in the end of May or beginning of June,
-the grain being cut with a small sickle, and carried off the field in
-frames suspended from bamboo poles placed across a man’s shoulders.
-Barrow (p. 565) thus describes one: ‘The machine usually employed for
-clearing rice from the husk, in the large way, is exactly the same as
-that now used in Egypt for the same purpose, only that the latter is
-put in motion by oxen and the former commonly by water. This machine
-consists of a long horizontal axis of wood, with cogs, or projecting
-pieces of wood or iron, fixed upon it at certain intervals, and it is
-turned by a water-wheel. At right angles to this axis are fixed as many
-horizontal levers as there are circular rows of cogs; these levers act
-on pivots that are fastened into a low brick wall, but parallel to the
-axis and at the distance of about two feet from it. At the further
-extremity of each lever, and perpendicular to it, is fixed a hollow
-pestle, directly over a large mortar of stone or iron sunk into the
-ground; the other extremity extending beyond the wall, being pressed
-upon by the cogs of the axis in its rotation, elevates the pestle,
-which by its own gravity falls into the mortar. An axis of this kind
-sometimes gives motion to 15 or 20 levers.’
-
-Meantime the stubble is burnt on the land, over which the ashes are
-spread as its only manure; a second crop is immediately sown, and
-reaped about the end of October, when the straw is left to putrify
-on the ground, which is allowed to rest till the commencement of the
-ensuing spring.
-
-As the cereal food of the Chinese is principally boiled rice, it
-stands to reason that bakers are not numerous, bread only appearing at
-the tables of high-class mandarins. It is chiefly replaced by fancy
-biscuits and numberless kinds of pastry, made not only with wheaten
-flour, but also that of rice—these serve as vehicles for the various
-jams and fruit _compotes_ for which the Chinese are famous, and which
-they know so well how to make; in fact, the bakers are more strictly
-confectioners, and they can be seen any day busy in their shops baking
-cakes of rice flour and ground almonds of every imaginable shape and
-varied in quality by spices. Not only so, but these cakes are sold,
-already baked, in the peripatetic cookeries which go about the streets.
-Out of wheaten flour they make a kind of vermicelli, which is much
-esteemed by the Chinese.
-
-Failure of the rice crops, and consequent famine in Japan, have been
-the means of introducing wheaten flour into this country more rapidly
-than anything else could have done. Most remarkable is the universal
-favour that bread and similar floury concoctions are beginning to
-enjoy in the treaty ports. This article of food has become completely
-Japanized, and sells in forms unknown to Europeans. _Tsuke-pau_,
-sold by peripatetic vendors, who push their wares along in a tiny
-roofed hand-cart, is much liked by the poorer classes. It consists of
-slices—thick, generous slices—of bread dipped in soy and brown sugar,
-and then fried or toasted. Each slice has a skewer passed through it,
-which the buyer returns after demolishing the bread.
-
-Flour is now used in many other ways besides the manufacture of simple
-bread. There is _Kash-pau_, cake bread, which is sold everywhere. As
-the name implies, it is a sort of sweet breadstuff made into cakes of
-various sizes and artistic figures, according to the skill and fancy
-of the baker. To an European palate this _Kash-pau_ is rather dry and
-tasteless, but it is very cheap, and for five _sen_ (three-halfpence)
-a huge paper bagful can be bought. _Kasuteira_, or sponge cake, is not
-so much sought after as it used to be. Yet some bakeries, such as the
-_Fugetsu-do_ and _Tsuboya_, excel in producing the lightest and most
-delicious sponge cake.
-
-Millet, in China, is only used as food by the very poor.
-
-Wheat is not the primary article of food among the natives of India,
-and hitherto only enough has been produced for home consumption; but of
-late years much has been grown for export, and being of a particularly
-hard nature is useful for mixing with the softer kinds. Still, it is
-used by itself, and is made into unleavened cakes called _Chupatees_.
-These are made by mixing flour and water together, with a little salt,
-into a paste or dough, kneading it well; sometimes _ghee_ (clarified
-butter) is added. They may also be made with milk instead of water.
-They are flattened into thin cakes with the hand, smeared with a small
-quantity of _ghee_, and baked on an iron pan, or sheet of iron, over
-the fire.
-
-Historic, too, is the _Chupatee_, for by its means the message was
-sent round throughout the length and breadth of British India for the
-rising against the English rule—known as the Indian Mutiny. Its true
-meaning was not at first understood, as we may read in the Indian
-correspondence of the _Times_, dated Bombay, March 3, 1857: ‘From
-Cawnpore to Allahabad, and onwards towards the great cities of the
-North-West, the _chokedars_, or policemen, have been of late spreading
-from village to village—at whose command, or for what object, they
-themselves, it is said, are ignorant—little plain cakes of wheaten
-flour. The number of cakes, and the mode of their transmission, is
-uniform. _Chokedar_ of village A enters village B, and, addressing
-its _chokedar_, commits to his charge two cakes, with directions to
-have other two similar to them prepared; and, leaving the old in his
-own village, to hie with the new to village C, and so on. English
-authorities of the districts through which these edibles passed looked
-at, handled, and probably tasted them; and finding them, upon the
-evidence of all their senses, harmless, reported accordingly to the
-Government. And it appears, I think, with tolerable clearness, that the
-mysterious mission is not of political but of superstitious origin;
-and is directed simply to the warding off of diseases, such as the
-choleraic visitation of twelve months ago, in which point of view it
-is noteworthy and characteristic, and not unworthy to be remembered
-together with last year’s grim and picturesque legend of the horseman,
-who rode down to the river at dead of night and was ferried across,
-announcing that the pestilence was in his train.’
-
-_Apropos_ of Indian flour, Col. Meadows Taylor, in _The Story of My
-Life_, tells a story anent the adulteration of flour in India.
-
-‘During that day my tent was beset by hundreds of pilgrims and
-travellers, crying loudly for justice against the flour-sellers,
-who not only gave short weight in flour, but adulterated it so
-distressingly with sand that the cakes made with it were uneatable,
-and had to be thrown away. That evening I told some reliable men of my
-escort to go quietly into the bazaars and each buy flour at a separate
-shop, being careful to note whose shop it was.
-
-‘The flour was brought to me. I tested every sample, and found it
-full of sand as I passed it under my teeth. I then desired that all
-the persons named in my list should be sent to me with their baskets
-of flour, their weights and scales. Shortly afterwards they arrived,
-evidently suspecting nothing, and were placed in a row seated on the
-grass before my tent.
-
-‘“Now,” said I gravely, “each of you is to weigh out a ser (two pounds)
-of your flour,” which was done. “Is it for the pilgrims?” asked one.
-
-‘“No,” said I quietly, though I had much difficulty to keep my
-countenance. “You must eat it yourselves.”
-
-‘They saw that I was in earnest, and offered to pay any fine that I
-imposed.
-
-‘“Not so,” I returned, “you have made many eat your flour; why should
-you object to eat it yourselves?”
-
-‘They were horribly frightened, and, amid the jeers and screams of
-laughter of the bystanders, some of them actually began to eat,
-spluttering out the half-moistened flour, which could be heard
-crunching between their teeth. At last some of them flung themselves on
-their faces, abjectly beseeching pardon.
-
-‘“Swear!” I cried, “swear by the Holy Mother in yonder temple that you
-will not fill the mouths of her worshippers with dirt! You have brought
-this on yourselves, and there is not a man in all the country who will
-not laugh at the _bunnais_ (flour-sellers) who could not eat their own
-flour because it broke their teeth.”
-
-‘So this episode terminated, and I heard no more complaints of bad
-flour.’
-
-The Indian flour mill is very primitive, consisting of two great
-mill-stones, of which the lower is fast, and the upper is usually
-turned by two women, who feed the wheat by handfuls into a hole which
-passes through the stone. The meal so obtained is simply mixed with
-palm yeast, and baked in very hot ovens, which have been heated for
-several days. The small European householder finds it more convenient
-to patronise the Mohammedan bakers, of whom, however, the bread has to
-be ordered in advance. Sometimes two or three English families combine,
-and hire a baker, paying him a monthly salary, and providing him with
-the raw material.
-
-The yeast mentioned above is made from the sap of the date palm. In
-April, before the flowers appear, a Hindoo climbs the naked trunk—for
-the leaves, as in all palm trees, are borne on the top. The man’s feet
-are bound together by a rope, and about his hips are fastened two pots
-for the reception of the sap. As he climbs, he calls out, ‘_Darpor,
-darpor ata hain_,’ which, being interpreted, means, ‘The palm-tapper
-is coming.’ This is for the benefit of the Mohammedan women who might
-be sitting unveiled in the courtyards of the houses exposed to the
-view of the climber after he has risen above the tops of the walls. A
-tapper who once fails to give this warning cry is thenceforth forbidden
-to ply his trade. When the tapper has reached the crown of the tree he
-cuts two gashes in opposite sides of the trunk with an axe, which he
-has carried up in his mouth. Then he fastens the pots under the gashes
-and descends. The full pots are taken away and empty ones put in their
-place twice daily. The sap has a sweet taste, and contains some alcohol
-even when fresh. After standing in the sun in great earthen pots for a
-few days it begins to ferment, after which it deposits a thick white
-substance. This, taken at the proper time, is used as yeast.
-
-But rice is, in India, the staff of life, being used to a greater
-extent than any grain in Europe. It is, in fact, the food of the
-highest and the lowest, the principal harvest of every climate. Its
-production, generally speaking, is only limited by the means of
-irrigation, which is essential to its growth. The ground is prepared
-in March and April; the seed is sown in May and reaped in August. If
-circumstances are favourable there are other harvests, one between July
-and November, another between January and April. These also sometimes
-consist of rice, but more commonly of other grain or pulse. In some
-parts millet is used as food. Many are the ways of cooking rice—there
-are powder of cucumber seeds and rice, lime juice and rice, orange
-juice and rice, jack fruit and rice, rice and milk, and sweet cakes
-made of rice flour, with or without green ginger.
-
-The Bombay baker is a man of a different stamp altogether to the Bengal
-baker. He is invariably a Goanese and a native Christian, and adopts
-his profession not from choice but by heredity. For generations past
-his fathers have been bakers, and have, in accordance with the rules
-of the Society of Bakers, to which they must have belonged, studied
-some portion at least of the art of manufacturing bread. The Bombay
-baker is, moreover, a man of substance. To begin with, he grows his own
-wheat, and has it conveyed to his factories, where as many as 200 hands
-are employed in converting it into raw material for cooking. He retains
-a staff of _chefs_, who also hail from Goa, and who attend exclusively
-to the baking. Greater comparative intelligence and a love for his
-trade enable him to turn out a far superior article to that of his
-ignorant contemporary in Upper India; but even in Bombay the same fault
-has to be found with the manufacturer: either the bread is too fine, or
-it is too ‘brown’—that is, it contains too much bran.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-BREAD IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.
-
-
-Olaus Magnus, Archbishop of Upsala, who lived in the first half of
-the 16th century, has left behind him, in his _Historia de Gentibus
-Septentrionalibus_, a long and lucid account of Scandinavian life
-and manners. Respecting harvest, he tells us that in the Northern
-countries, in many fields of the Visigoths, on that part that lies
-southward, barley is ripe and mown in 36 days from the date of
-sowing—that is, from the end of June to the middle of August, and
-sometimes sooner; and other corn sown in the beginning of May is reaped
-in the middle of August—‘by the mutual help of the countrymen, not with
-any great pains, but with alacrity and willing minds, lest cold wind
-should blow upon it and blast the corn. And they desire no other reward
-for their daily labour than a merry feast at night, where the young
-people of both sexes, by reason of their faithful labours in the field,
-by the judgment, consent, and permission of their provident parents,
-are made choice of for to be married.’
-
-He tells us that the farther North you go the less wheat is grown, but
-there is more towards the South, the Swedes having plenty of wheat
-but more rye. ‘But the Goths, both East and West, who feed on barley
-and oats, have an infinite abundance given them by the mercy of God.
-Yet there is use made of all these sorts of corn in both places. But
-the Swedes provide most of rye, where their women know so well how to
-winnow rye, that for colour, taste, and for health it surpasses the
-goodness of wheat.’
-
-[Illustration: EARLY SCANDINAVIAN BAKERIES.]
-
-In order to preserve their corn they carefully dried it. ‘On the
-hottest days, when the sun shines strong, they spread cloths like
-ships’ sails, or else the sails themselves, upon the ground, or on the
-tops of mountains where there is no grass, and they lay the corn out to
-dry for six, or more, or fewer days, as the sun shines hot; then when
-it is cleaned they lay it up in vessels of oak, or else they grind it,
-and so lay it up safe, and when it is so dried it will last good for
-years. But if it be not ground meal, but corn, it is convenient once a
-year to set it in the sun to be again dried, and thus new-dried corn
-may be mingled with it prudently. But the meal thrust into the oaken
-vessels, or tuns, by strong ramming it in with wooden mallets, and laid
-up in a dry place, will last many years, and never be worm-eaten.’
-
-[Illustration: EARLY SCANDINAVIAN BAKERIES.]
-
-He also discourses on the variety of mills for grinding corn in
-use. How there was the windmill, that turned by running water, by
-horse-power, by hands and feet—backwards and forwards, like the
-pre-historic mealing stones, and also the quern; but he mostly extols
-the windmills of Holland.
-
-The grain being ground, it was ready for making into bread, and he
-minutely describes the operation—how it was kneaded into a round shape,
-then rolled very thin, and finally baked on a sheet of iron, like a
-warrior’s shield, supported by a tripod, and heated by a slow fire—in
-fact, the griddle, or girdle, cakes of North Britain. But there was
-other bread which was baked in an oven; and here the artist seems
-to have drawn somewhat upon his imagination for his cockroaches and
-blackbeetles. It seems that bread was not sold by weight, and that they
-were in the habit, about Christmas time, of making what we should call
-dough babies, about the size of a five-year-old child, of which they
-made presents, and similar, but smaller, babies of wheat-flour, which
-they sold.
-
-They also made a gingerbread of flour, honey, and spices, which
-travellers in the winter made use of; another bread of flour, milk,
-butter, eggs, and ginger. Then, also, they baked biscuits for shipboard
-and for victualling forts, but he pathetically points out that these
-biscuits, if kept for a length of time, especially in a damp place,
-developed dangerous energy in the shape of weevils, which were harmless
-(_non tamen noxii_). He says of the griddle cakes that they would keep
-good for twenty or more years, by which time they would be reasonably
-stale.
-
-Scarcely two centuries have passed since rye flour, by itself, or mixed
-with wheat, furnished nearly all the bread consumed by the labouring
-classes of England. With the exception of wheat, rye contains a greater
-proportion of gluten than any other cereal, to which fact it owes its
-capability of being converted into a spongy bread; and if anyone wishes
-to try it for themselves, here is a recipe for making _Grislex Surbröd_
-or _Husholdinngsbröd_ (bread for the household), which is the ordinary
-bread for the eastern parts of Norway.
-
-‘Contrary to our expectations we found white bread everywhere, but the
-common bread is a heavy bread, the chief ingredient of which is rye.
-It is always sour—the goodwife intends it to be so. They also have
-“flat bread” (_flad bröd_) made of potatoes and rye. It was this kind
-of bread that the two women whom we happened in upon were making. They
-were in a little underground room, unlighted except from the door.
-
-‘The women making the bread were seated on either side of a long, low
-table, upon which were huge mounds of dough. The one nearest the door
-cut off a piece of this, and moulded it, and rolled it out to a certain
-degree of thinness; then the other one took it, and, with the greatest
-care, rolled it still more. At her right hand was the fireplace, and
-upon the coal was a red piece of iron, forming a huge griddle more than
-half a yard across. The bread matched this very nearly in size when
-it was ready to be baked, and it was spread out and turned upon the
-griddle with great dexterity, and as soon as it was baked it was added
-to a great heap on the floor.
-
-‘The woman said she should continue to bake bread for thirty days. She
-had a large family of men who consumed a great deal, and they had to
-bake very often in consequence. In many places they do not bake bread
-oftener than twice a year, then it is a circumstance like haying or
-harvesting. We heard an Englishman say of this bread of the country:
-“One might eat an acre of it and then not be satisfied.”’
-
-In Denmark, too, rye bread is the rule among the peasantry and small
-farmers—wheaten bread being to them a luxury, and used as cake is
-with us. In Russia, although its chief export is wheat from the Black
-Sea, and oats and rye from the Baltic, the peasant eats but rye bread
-dipped in hemp oil, and even then, as but a few years since, famine
-visits this granary, and the hapless peasants being reduced to mix
-orach and bark with their wretched bread, have at times been unable to
-procure even this, and have died in thousands of starvation. Although
-Austria-Hungary produces wheat which makes the finest bread-flour in
-the world, yet throughout the Austrian Empire the peasantry eat rye
-bread, whilst at Vienna the wheaten bread, especially the _Kaiser
-semmel_, which is what we should term a dinner roll or manchet, is
-simply perfection.
-
-The excellence of the Viennese bread is said to be owing to the bakers,
-the ovens, and the yeast. The men work according to the traditions of
-the past, which have been handed down to them. The ovens are heated
-by wood fires lit inside them during four hours; the ashes are then
-raked out, and the oven is carefully wiped with wisps of damp straw.
-On the vapour thus generated, as well as that produced by the baking
-of the dough, lies the whole art of the browning and the success of
-the _semmel_. An ounce of yeast (three decagrammes) and as much salt
-is taken for every gallon of milk used for the dough. The yeast is
-a Viennese speciality, known as _St. Marxner Pressheffe_, and its
-composition is a secret. It keeps two days in summer and a little
-longer in winter.
-
-Viennese bread is noted for the fantastic shapes into which it is
-made, but concerning the crescent shape the following legend is told:
-‘Many years ago, when there was war between the Austrians and the
-Turks, the city of Vienna was besieged, and so closely invested that
-famine seemed inevitable unless the inhabitants yielded and surrendered
-to the hated Turks. One day a baker in his cellar noticed a peculiar
-noise, and, looking about, discovered that a boy’s drum on the ground
-in a corner had some marbles on the parchment, which every little while
-danced about and caused the odd sound. Surprised, he listened intently,
-and found that the noise was repeated at regular intervals. He put
-his ear to the ground and could distinguish a thumping sound, which,
-on reflection, he concluded must be produced by the enemy undermining
-the city. He went to the authorities with his story, but at first it
-was discredited. At last the general in command made an investigation,
-and found the baker’s suspicions correct. A counter-mine was made and
-exploded, and the Turks repulsed.
-
-On the restoration of peace, the Emperor of Austria sent for the baker,
-and expressing his gratitude to him for having saved the city, asked
-what reward he could claim. The modest baker refused riches or rank,
-but only asked the privilege of making his bread hereafter in the form
-of the crescent, which had so long been their terror, so that it might
-be a reminder to those who ate it that the God of the Christian is
-greater than the God of the Infidel. So the Imperial order was issued
-granting the baker and his descendants the sole right to make their
-bread in the shape of the Turkish crescent.’
-
-As in Austria, so in Germany. Good wheaten bread can be got in towns
-and cities, though not so fine as in Austria, by reason of the
-flour, and the peasantry are content to have rye and barley bread.
-_Pumpernickel_, to wit, is one of the oldest varieties of bread, and
-the first to come into general use. It is made of barley, and must be
-baked in an oven especially made for the purpose. This kind of bread
-is considered very nutritious, and is of a sweet taste. In many parts
-of Germany there are large bakeries where _pumpernickel_ is baked as a
-speciality, whence it is sent into the smaller towns, and even exported
-to other countries in loaves of 4 lbs., 8 lbs., and 12 lbs. weight. At
-Soest, Unna, and Brostadt large quantities are made for exportation,
-for the expatriated German carries his love of Fatherland with him, and
-at Berlin there is also a bakery for making _pumpernickel_.
-
-The Gauls reaped their wheat, and then threshed it out by means of oxen
-and horses; but they also cut off the ears, and then reaped the straw.
-To gather in the panic and millet, they held the stalks by means of a
-kind of comb, and then cut off the heads with shears. To prevent its
-being stolen, the corn was hidden in underground storehouses, and often
-in natural caves, which were afterwards walled up. They used mealing
-stones, as before described, in order to crush and roughly grind their
-grain, which was made into an unleavened cake, dry and thin, which was
-not cut, but was broken when served. They also had a kind of bread
-called ‘plate bread,’ which they ate soaked with sauce or meat gravy.
-The Gauls made beer from barley, and used it instead of water to mix
-their dough with. Thus, unconsciously, they discovered the secret of
-leavened bread; and, by-and-by, noticing that the beer if let alone
-frothed, and that when used for bread-making in this state the bread
-was lighter, they left off using the beer, and only employed the yeast.
-
-Barley they called _gru_, which, in Latin, became _grudum_. _Gruellum_
-was husked barley, which the Gauls ate in soup and with boiled meat.
-This is the origin of the French word _gruau_ (groats), which is
-equally applied to husked oats. Rye was used in the northern part of
-Gaul; and, from the time of Strabo, millet was in use among the Gauls
-as well as panic, but especially in Aquitaine. They also certainly
-knew of buck-wheat, which had been cultivated from time immemorial in
-Africa, for it has been found in several Celtic remains in the Camp de
-Chalons.
-
-The Romans brought millstones with them, and introduced the
-water-wheel, which saved them the exertion of personally grinding their
-corn, and with the arrival of the Franks came Christianity, and they
-were taught the prayer, ‘Our Father, which art in Heaven ... give us
-this day our daily bread.’
-
-In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in France, noblemen, the
-middle-class, and shopkeepers did not eat much white bread, and their
-best was equal to the ‘household bread’ of to-day, whilst whitey-brown,
-brown, and bran breads were to be found on their tables. The common
-folk fed on bread made of barley, rye, maslin, a mixture of wheat and
-rye, brown bread, black bread, and enormous pasties, of which the thick
-crust was composed of rye, bran, and flour mixed together.
-
-Maize was introduced into France from America in 1560. Champier speaks
-of it as a plant recently imported, and says: ‘Some poor people, in
-default of corn, have made bread of it, especially in the Beaujolais,
-but it is less fitted for men than for animals, which fatten quickly
-upon it, and especially for pigeons who love it much.’
-
-Vermicelli, macaroni, lazagnes (riband vermicelli) and other Italian
-pastas were brought into France during the wars of Charles VIII., and
-had no other rivals than rice.
-
-At this time, in making bread, the yeast of beer was partially
-abandoned, and other ferments were made use of. The Flemings boiled
-wheat, and, after having skimmed off the froth, used it as a leaven,
-which gave them a bread much lighter than hitherto, or, according to
-Champier and Liébaut, who wrote in 1589, they employed vinegar, wine,
-and rennet; and from their writings we find that the farmers were their
-own millers and bakers.
-
-‘It would be useless for the labourer to take so much pains with his
-land, if he only derived a profit from a sale of the grain which he
-has harvested, if he could not himself make cakes, flammèches (_flaky
-pastry_), flans (_cakes made with flour, eggs, milk and butter_),
-fritters, and a thousand other dainties, which he can make with a
-flour from his own corn; and it would be very unbecoming in him were
-he to borrow them from his neighbours, or buy them of the bakers or
-pastrycooks.
-
-[Illustration: A MEDIÆVAL BAKERY.
-
-(_From an engraving by Jost Amman._)]
-
-‘The farmer’s duty is to choose his corn, have it ground, and to keep
-the flour in the granary, whence he will soon take it in order to make
-bread. The handling of the flour and kneading the dough is entirely the
-care of the wife, who ought to give all her best energies to it, for of
-all food bread is the best; one gets tired of the most delicate meats,
-but never of bread.’
-
-From this time till the present there is no great story to tell of
-bread in France. It has progressed in quality, as in every other
-country, until French bread is famous throughout the civilised world.
-But this is mainly in the towns; black bread is still in use in some of
-the rural parts of France, and one can imagine the relish with which
-the peasant tastes once more the bread of his youth after having been
-deprived of it for some time.
-
-In Paris, at one time, the monks controlled the bakery business; they
-had the monopoly of the public ovens, where housewives brought the
-dough to be baked, just as nowadays they take a shoulder of mutton
-and potatoes. But no baking was allowed on Sundays and fête days.
-France thus observed Sunday as a whole holiday, and the oven-tax went
-towards the support and burial of the poor. Up to 1789 the bakers
-were compelled to sell nearly all their bread at stalls in the public
-markets, and 900 master bakers monopolised the privilege; for it
-was only in 1863 that the trade became free and thrown open to all.
-Previous to that, in order to qualify for a master baker, it was
-necessary to graduate five years as an apprentice, and four more as a
-journeyman; also the sale of fancy bread was obliged to be carried on
-in an underhand way, and it was delivered in secret, being subject to a
-tax, and the baker not being able to make it of exact weight, without
-prejudice, on account of its great extent of crust.
-
-American flour is celebrated all over the world, and is more
-extensively used in England, especially the finest sorts for pastry;
-but, of course, the demand for it in the immense continent itself
-is something enormous. Take one instance, Philadelphia, which is
-celebrated for its good bread. Over one million barrels are sold in
-that city annually for home consumption, and two-thirds of this is
-made into bread. The 1300 bakers in Philadelphia use 600,000 barrels,
-a barrel of good flour making from 270 to 280 five cent. loaves, and
-the best flour is the cheapest to use. As a rule, the bakers use choice
-brands, and mix four grades to get the proper alloy, so to speak—two
-‘Minnesota springs’ and two ‘Indiana winters.’ Some bakers, especially
-those who make the best breads, use only one grade of spring wheat and
-two of winter. In the olden time yeast was made of malt, potatoes, and
-hops, and it is still largely used, but the bakers of fancy breads use
-a patent yellow compressed yeast. There are seven large steam bread
-bakeries in Philadelphia, giving employment to three or four hundred
-hands. One large establishment manufactures the different varieties
-of Vienna bread exclusively. It is made of the best flour, and milk
-instead of water is used to mix the flour. The baking is done in
-air-tight ovens, and the steam generated in baking settles back on the
-bread instead of escaping. This makes the outer crust thin and tender,
-and gives the bread a particularly rich taste and pleasant aroma.
-
-With the addition of maize and buckwheat, the Americans use the same
-cereals for making bread as we do; but, of course, as is the case with
-every nation, there are specialities which do not travel abroad. Graham
-bread is our wholemeal bread, and should be made with the unbolted
-meal of wheat, and not only that, but the wheat of which it is made
-should be good plump grain, otherwise there would be a disproportionate
-quantity of bran.
-
-Then there is Boston brown bread, for which the following is the
-formula: One quart Indian corn meal, one quart Graham, one quart rye
-flour, one quart white flour, one quart boiling water, one pint yeast,
-one small cup of molasses, two teaspoonfuls of salt, half-cup of burnt
-sugar colouring. For rye and Indian corn bread it is only necessary to
-change the above recipe by leaving out the Graham and white flour and
-doubling the proportions of Indian corn meal and rye in their place.
-
-Of rolls there are very many varieties besides the ordinary French
-rolls. Many hotels have their speciality in this class of bread, and,
-consequently, we have Parker, Tremont, Revere, Brunswick, Clarendon,
-St. James, Windsor, &c., rolls, besides which there are twist and
-sandwich rolls.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-EARLY ENGLISH BREAD.
-
-
-When the culture of grain in Britain really commenced we cannot
-possibly tell, but we know that the Phœnicians traded with this
-island in very early times for tin. All that we really know is from
-the fragments of writing left by Pytheas, who may, in one sense, be
-said to have been the discoverer of Britain. About 340 B.C. the Greek
-colony which the Greeks had planted at Massilia (Marseilles) wished to
-extend their trade, and, whether at their expense or his own, Pytheas,
-a learned man, a geographer and astronomer, set sail for parts unknown
-in the Western Ocean.
-
-Diodorus Siculus, who lived just before the Christian era, must have
-taken his account of the Britons from Pytheas. In Book V., c. 2, he
-says: ‘They dwell in mean cottages, covered for the most part with
-reeds and sticks. In reaping their corn, they cut the ears from off the
-stalk, and house them in repositories under ground; thence they take
-and pluck out the grains of as many of the oldest of them as may serve
-them for the day, and, after they have bruised the corn, make it into
-bread,’
-
-It is said, also, that about this time the Britons exported corn
-to Gaul and also up the Rhine. On Cæsar’s arrival he found them
-an agricultural people, with abundance of wheat and barley; and
-during the time of the Roman occupation they made great advances in
-agriculture. After their departure a hide of land was 180 acres if
-it was cultivated on the Roman three-field system, or 160 if on the
-English plan of two-field course. In the former, one portion was sown
-with winter wheat, a second with spring wheat, whilst the third lay
-fallow. The English way was to divide the hide, and in each half to
-sow alternately spring and winter wheat, and the chief crops raised
-were rye, oats, barley, wheat, beans and peas. In social rank, the
-yeoman, or geneat (tenant farmer), ranked next after the thegn and the
-priest, whilst even the baker was an important member of a thegn’s
-household—the bread being made in round flat cakes from wholemeal (for
-there is no mention of bolting it), ground in a hand-mill or quern.
-Such were doubtless the storied cakes which Alfred watched for the
-neatherd’s wife.
-
-The peasants’ bread was principally made of rye, oats, and beans, the
-wheat being used by the ‘gentry’ only—ordinary bread being made of
-barley; and, connected with the latter, are derived our names of Lord
-and Lady, the first from _Llaford_, originator of bread, or bread-ward,
-the latter from _Llæfdige_, bread-maid, or bread-maker. So, too, we
-owe our wedding cake to the great loaf made by the bride to show her
-inauguration into housewifery, which was partaken of by the wedding
-guests.
-
-The peasant baked his bread on iron plates or in rude ovens, and ground
-his coarse meal in hand-mills; but in later times water was made the
-principal motive power for grinding corn, and about 5000 mills are
-mentioned in Domesday Book; but they are not particularised as to what
-power they were worked by.
-
-As a trade, the bakers of London rank from a very early date. They
-formed a brotherhood, or guild, in the reign of Henry II., about 1155.
-Stow says of them: ‘The Company of White Bakers are of great antiquity,
-as appeareth by their Records, and divers other things of antiquity,
-extant in their Common Hall. They were a Company of this City in the
-first year of Edward II., and had a new Charter granted unto them in
-the first year of Henry VII., the which Charter was confirmed unto
-them by Henry VIII., Edward VI., Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and King
-James I. Their Arms were anciently borne; the crest and supporters
-were granted to them by Robert Cook, _Clarencieux_, the Letters Patent
-bearing date November 8 (32 Eliz.), 1590. The Cloud on the Chief thro’
-which the Hand holding the Scales Cometh, hath a Glory, omitted in the
-edition printed 1633; and on each side of the Hand are two Anchors,
-here also omitted; as by the Visitation Book, _Anno_ 1634, appears.’
-
-Stow describes the Company of the Brown Bakers as ‘A Society of long
-standing and continuance, prevailed to have their Incorporating granted
-the ninth day of June, in the 19th year of the Reign of our Sovereign
-Lord King James I.’
-
-The Arms of both White and Brown Bakers are copied from Harl. MSS.
-1464, 57e. (73), A.D. 1634—the Arms of these and other Companies
-being copied from the Herald’s Visitation of that year, by Rd. Price,
-Armes-Painter.
-
-[Illustration: THE ARMS OF THE WHITE BAKERS.]
-
-Heraldically described, the Arms of the White Bakers are—Gules, three
-Garbs Or, a chief barry wavy of four, argent and azure, an arm issuing
-from clouds radiated of the second, the hand holding a pair of scales
-depending between the upper Garbs, also of the second. _Crest_: Two
-Arms embowed issuing out of clouds, proper, holding in the hands a
-chaplet of wheat, or. _Supporters_: Two Stags, proper, attired, or,
-each gorged with a chaplet of wheat, of the last.
-
-[Illustration: ARMS OF THE BROWN BAKERS.]
-
-The Arms of the Brown Bakers closely resemble those of their white
-brethren, but are not so dignified, as lacking supporters and motto:
-Vert, a chevron quarterly, or and gules, charged with a pair of
-balances, azure, holden by a hand out of a cloud, proper, between three
-garbs of beans, rye and wheat, or. On a chief barry of five, wavy,
-argent and azure, an Anchor couchant, or. _Crest_: An Arm quarterly of
-the second, the hand holding a bean sheaf, proper.
-
-W. Carew Hazlitt, in his _Livery Companies of the City of London_
-(Lond. 1892) says: ‘In the Elizabeth, as in the Henry VIII. Charter,
-the White Bakers had taken the initiative in drawing the makers of
-brown bread, whose business was far more limited and unimportant, into
-union with them on unequal terms, and the latter body dissented and
-renounced; whereupon the Queen was advised by the Lords of the Council
-to recall her patent. This proceeding seems, for a time, to have caused
-the matter to drop; but in 19 James I., June 6, 1622, the Brown Bakers
-succeeded in securing separate incorporation, with a common seal, a
-Master, three Wardens, and sixteen Assistants, as well as all other
-usual rights and powers. We hear nothing further of the matter till
-1629, when the two bodies were still separate, the White Bakers being
-assessed for a levy by the City in that year at £25 16_s._, the other
-at £4. 6_s._, a proof of the relative weight and resources of the
-disputants, which is confirmed by the proportions contributed by each
-to the Ulster scheme a few years prior, namely, £480 and £90. In 1654
-the Brown Bakers had apparently relinquished their independent quarters
-at Founders’ Hall, Lothbury, as if an union had been arranged; and in
-2 James II. the charter was received with the usual restrictions in
-regard to the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and conformity to the
-Church of England, but otherwise in such a form as to lead to the
-belief that it comprehended both sections of the trade.’
-
-The Bakers’ Company ranks very high after the twelve great City
-Companies, on account of its great antiquity. Its Hall, in Stow’s time,
-was in ‘Hart Lane, or Harp Lane, which likewise runneth (_from Tower
-Street_) into Thames Street. In this Hart Lane is the Bakers’ Hall,
-some time the dwelling-house of John Chichley, Chamberlain of London.’
-And in Harp Lane it still is. According to Whitaker’s Almanack for 1904
-its livery numbers 152 and its total income is only £1900.
-
-Much early legislation was passed regarding bakers and their calling,
-but, in spite of it all, some bakers did not amend their ways, and an
-amusing grievance was made by Fabyan as to their punishment. In his
-_Chronicles_, under date of 1268, and speaking of the harshness of Sir
-Hugh Bigod, justice, he says: ‘In processe of tyme after, the sayde
-syr Hughe, wt. other, came to Guylde hall, and kepte his courte and
-plees there withoute all ordre of lawe, and contrarye to the lybertyes
-of the cytie, and there punysshed the bakers for lacke of syze, by the
-tumberell, where before tymes they were punysshed by the pyllery, and
-orderynge many thynges at his wyll, more than by any good ordre of
-lawe.’ And Holinshed repeats the story.
-
-Nor were their misdeeds confined to their trade, as we may learn from
-the Archives of the City of London. In fact, their evil deeds were so
-notorious that the King himself had to take cognizance of them.
-
-That the bakers wanted looking after is well evidenced by the following
-extracts from the City archives:
-
-26 Edward I., A.D. 1298. ‘Be it remembered that on Wednesday next
-after the Feast of St. Lawrence (August 10), in the 26th year of the
-reign of King Edward, Juliana, la Pestour of Neutone (_the baker of
-Newington_), brought a cart laden with six shillings’ worth of bread
-into West Chepe; of which bread, that which was light bread was wanting
-in weight, according to the assise of the halfpenny loaf, to the amount
-of 25 shillings in weight. [The shilling of silver being three-fifths
-of an ounce in weight, this deficiency would be 15 ounces.] And of the
-said six shillings’ worth, three shillings’ worth was brown bread;
-which brown bread was of the right assise. It was, therefore, adjudged
-that the same should be delivered to the aforesaid Juliana, by Henry
-le Galeys, Mayor of London, Thomas Romeyn, and other Aldermen. And the
-other three shillings’ worth, by award of the said Mayor and Aldermen,
-was ordered to be given to the prisoners in Newgate.’
-
-[Illustration: AN EARLY BAKERY.]
-
-3. Edward II., A.D. 1310. ‘On the Monday next before the Feast of St
-Hilary (13th January), in the third year of the reign of Edward, the
-son of King Edward, the bread of Sarra Foting, Christina Terrice,
-Godiyeva Foting, Matilda de Bolingtone, Christina Pricket, Isabella
-Sperling, Alice Pegges, Joanna de Cauntebrigge, and Isabella Pouvestre,
-bakeresses of Stratford [The bread of London, in these times, was
-extensively made in the villages of Bromley (_Bremble_), Middlesex, and
-Stratford-le-Bow.] Stow says, ‘And because I have here before spoken of
-the bread carts coming from Stratford at the Bow, ye shall understand
-that of old time the bakers of bread at Stratford were allowed to bring
-daily (except the Sabbath and principal feasts) divers long carts laden
-with bread, the same being two ounces in the penny wheat loaf heavier
-than the penny wheat loaf baked in the City, the same to be sold in
-Cheape, three or four carts standing there, between Gatheron’s Lane
-and Fauster’s Lane end, one cart on Cornhill, by the Conduit, and
-one other in Grasse Street. And I have read that in the fourth year
-of Edward II., Richard Reffeham being Mayor, a baker named John, of
-Stratforde, for making bread less than the assise, was, with a fool’s
-hood on his head and loaves of bread about his neck, drawn on a hurdle
-through the streets of the City. Moreover, in the 44th of Edward III.,
-John Chichester being Mayor of London, I read in the _Visions of Piers
-Plowman_, a book so called, as followeth:
-
- At Londone I leve,
- Liketh wel my waires;
- And louren whan thei lakken hem.
- It is noght long y passed,
- There was a careful commune,
- Whan no cart came to towne
- With breed fro Stratforde:
- Tho gennen beggaris wepe,
- And werkmen were agast a lite;
- This wole be thought longe.
- In the date of oure Drighte,
- In a drye Aprill.
- A thousand and thre hundred
- Twies twenty and ten,
- My waires were gesene
- Whan Chichestre was Maire.’]
-
-was taken by Roger le Paumer, Sheriff of London, and weighed before the
-Mayor and Aldermen; and it was found that the halfpenny loaf weighed
-less than it ought by eight shillings. But, seeing that the bread was
-cold, and ought not to have been weighed in such state, by the custom
-of the City, it was agreed that it should not be forfeited this time.
-But, in order that such an offence as this might not pass unpunished,
-it was awarded as to bread so taken that three halfpenny loaves should
-always be sold for a penny, but that the bakeresses aforesaid should
-this time have such penny.’
-
-5. Edward II., A.D. 1311. ‘The bread taken from William de Somersete,
-baker, on the Thursday next before the Feast of St. Laurence (10th
-August) in the fifth year of the reign of King Edward, was examined and
-adjudged upon befor Richer de Refham, Mayor, Thomas Romayn, John de
-Wengrave, and other Aldermen; and, because it was found that such bread
-was putrid, and altogether rotten, and made of putrid wheat, so that
-persons by eating that bread would be poisoned and choked, the Sheriff
-was ordered to take him, and have him here on the Friday next after the
-Feast of St. Laurence; then to receive judgment for the same.’
-
-In the 1 Ed. III. (1327) a curious fraud was brought to light, and
-John Brid and seven other bakers, and two bakeresses, were tried
-before the Mayor and Aldermen, ‘for that the said John, for falsely
-and maliciously obtaining his own private advantage, did skilfully and
-artfully cause a certain hole to be made upon a table of his, called
-a _molding borde_ pertaining to his bakehouse, after the manner of a
-mouse-trap, in which mice are caught, there being a certain wicket
-warily provided for closing and opening such hole.
-
-‘And when his neighbours and others, who were wont to bake their bread
-at his oven, came with their dough, or material for making bread, the
-said John used to put the said dough or other material upon the said
-table, called a _molding borde_, as aforesaid, and over the hole before
-mentioned, for the purpose of making loaves therefrom for baking;
-and such dough or material being so placed upon the table aforesaid,
-the same John had one of his household, ready provided for the same,
-sitting in secret beneath such table; which servant of his, so seated
-beneath the hole, and carefully opening it, piecemeal, and bit by bit,
-craftily withdrew some of the dough aforesaid, frequently collecting
-great quantities of such dough, falsely, wickedly, and maliciously, to
-the great loss of all his neighbours and persons living near, and of
-others who had come to him with such dough to bake, and to the scandal
-and disgrace of the whole City, and, in especial, of the Mayor and
-Bailiffs for the safe keeping of the assizes of the City assigned.
-Which hole, so found in his table, aforesaid, was made of aforethought;
-and, in like manner, a great quantity of such dough that had been drawn
-through the said hole was found beneath the hole, and was, by William
-de Hertynge, serjeant-at-mace, and Thomas de Morle, clerk of Richard de
-Rothynge, one of the Sheriffs of the City aforesaid, who had found such
-material, or dough, in the suspected place before mentioned, upon oath
-brought here into Court.’
-
-All the prisoners pleaded _Not Guilty_; but the case was too clear
-against them, and ‘It was agreed, and ordained, that all those of the
-bakers aforesaid, beneath whose tables with holes dough had been found,
-should be put upon the pillory, with a certain quantity of such dough
-hung from their necks; and that those bakers in whose houses dough was
-not found beneath the tables aforesaid, should be put upon the pillory,
-but without dough hung from their necks; and that they should so remain
-upon the pillory until Vespers at St. Paul’s in London should be
-ended.’ The women were committed to Newgate.
-
-There was another punishment by which bakers, in common with all who
-told lies, or libelled, or scandalised their neighbour, had to stand in
-the pillory with a whetstone hung round their neck.
-
-England suffered much from dearth. Holinshed tells us how, in 1149,
-‘The great raine that fell in the summer season did much hurt unto
-corne standing on the ground, so that a great dearth followed.
-1175.—The same yeare both England and the countries adjoining were sore
-vexed with great mortalitie of people, and immediatlie after followed
-a sore dearth and famine. 1196.—Here is also to be noted, that in this
-seventh yeare of King Richard, chanced a dearth through this realme
-of England, and in the coasts about the same. 1199.—Furthermore I
-find that in the daies of this King Richard a great dearth reigned in
-England, and also in France, for the space of three or foure yeares
-during the wars betweene him and King Philip, so that, after his
-returne out of Germaine, and from imprisonment, a quarter of wheat was
-sold at eighteen shillings eight pence, no small price in those daies,
-if you consider the alay of monie then currant.
-
-‘1222.—Likewise on the day of the exaltation of the Crosse, a generall
-thunder happened throughout the realme, and thereupon followed a
-continuall season of foule weather and wet, till Candlemas next
-after, which caused a dearth of corne, so as wheat was sold at twelve
-shillings the quarter.
-
-‘1245.—Again the King, of purpose, had consumed all the provision of
-corne and vittels which remained in the marshes, so that in Cheshire,
-and other parts adjoining, there was such dearth that the people scarse
-could get sufficient vittels to susteine themselves withall.
-
-‘1258.—In this yeare was an exceeding great dearth, insomuch that a
-quarter of wheat was sold at London for foure and twentie shillings,
-whereas within two or three yeares before, a quarter was sold at two
-shillings. It had been more dearer, if great store had not come out
-of Almaine; for in France and in Normandie it also failed. But there
-came fiftie great ships fraught with wheat and barlie, with meale
-and bread out of Dutch land, by the procurement of Richard, King of
-Almaine, which greatlie releeved the poore; for proclamation was made,
-and order taken by the King, that none of the citizens of London should
-buy anie of that graine to laie it up in store, whereby it might be
-sold at an higher price unto the needie. But, though this provision
-did much ease, yet the want was great over all the realme. For it was
-certainlie affirmed that in three shires within the realme there was
-not found so much graine of that yeare’s growth as came over in those
-fiftie ships. The proclamation was set forth to restrein the Londoners
-from ingrossing up that graine, and not without cause; for the wealthie
-citizens were evill spoken of in that season, bicause in time of
-scarcitie they would either staie such ships as, fraught with vittels,
-were comming towards the citie, and send them some other way forth,
-or else buy the whole, that they might sell it by retaile, at their
-pleasure, to the needie. By means of this great dearth and scarcitie,
-the common people were constrained to live upon herbs and roots, and
-a great number of the poore people died through famine. They died so
-thicke that there were great pits made in churchyards to laie the dead
-bodies in, one upon another.
-
-‘1289.—There insued such continuall raine, so distempering the ground,
-that corne waxed verie deare, so that whereas wheat was sold before at
-three pence a bushell, the market so rose by little and little that it
-was sold for two shillings a bushell, and so the dearth increased still
-almost for the space of 40 yeares, till the death of Edward the Second,
-in so much that sometimes a bushel of wheat, London measure, was sold
-at ten shillings. 1294.—This yeare in England was a great dearth and
-scarcity of corne, so that a quarter of wheat in manie places was sold
-for thirtie shillings; by reason whereof poor people died in manie
-places for lack of sustnance.
-
-‘1316.—The dearth, by reason of the unseasonable weather in the summer
-and harvest last past, still increased, for that which with much ado
-was inned, after, when it came to the proofe, yeelded nothing to the
-value of that which in sheafe it seemed to conteine, so that wheat and
-other graine which was at a sore price before, now was inhanced to a
-farre higher rate, the scarcitie thereof being so great that a quarter
-of wheat was sold for fortie shillings, which was a great price, if we
-shall consider the allaie of monie then currant. Also, by reason of the
-murren that fell among cattell, beefes and muttons were unreasonablie
-priced.... In this season vittles were so scant and deere, and wheat
-and other graine brought to so high a price, that the poore people were
-constreined through famine to eat the flesh of horses, dogs, and other
-vile beasts, which is wonderfull to beleeve, and yet, for default,
-there died a great multitude of people in divers places of the land.
-Foure pence in bread of the coarser sort would not suffice one man a
-daie. Wheat was sold at London for foure marks a quarter and above.
-Then after this dearth and scarcitie of vittels issued a great death
-and mortalitie of people; so that what by warres of the Scots, and what
-by this mortalitie and death, the people of the land were wonderfullie
-wasted and consumed. O pitifull depopulation!
-
-‘1335.—This yeare there fell great abundance of raine, and thereupon
-insued morren of beasts; also corne so failed this yeare that a quarter
-of wheat was sold at fortie shillings. 1353.—In the summer of this
-season and twentieth yeare, was so great a drought that from the latter
-end of March fell little raine till the latter end of Julie, by reason
-whereof manie inconveniences insued; and one thing is specially to be
-noted, that corne the yeare following waxed scant, and the price began
-this yeare to be greatlie inhanced. Also beeves and muttons waxed deare
-for the want of grasse; and this chanced both in England and France,
-so that this was called the deere summer. The Lord William, Duke of
-Baviere or Bavaria, and Earl of Zelund brought manie ships in London
-fraught with rie for the releefe of the people, who otherwise had,
-through their present pinching penurie, if not utterlie perished yet
-pittifullie pined.
-
-‘1370.—By reason of the great wet and raine that fell this yeare in
-more abundance than had been accustomed much corne was lost, so that
-the price thereof was sore inhanced, in so much that wheat was sold at
-three shillings four pence the bushell. 1389.—Herewith followed a great
-dearth of corne, so that a bushell of wheat in some places was sold at
-thirteen pence, which was thought to be a great price. 1394.—In this
-yeare was a great dearth in all parts of England, and this dearth or
-scarcitie of corne began under the sickle, and lasted till the feast
-of Saint Peter _ad Vincula_—to wit, till the time of new corne. This
-scarcitie did greatly oppresse the people, and chieflie the commoners
-of the poorer sort. For a man might see infants and children in streets
-and houses, through hunger, howling, crieing, and craving bread, whose
-mothers had it not (God wot) to breake unto them. But yet there was
-such plentie and abundance of manie years before, that it was thought
-and spoken of manie housekeepers and husbandmen, that if the seed were
-not sowen in the ground, which was hoorded up and stored in barnes,
-lofts, and garners, there would be enough to find and susteine all
-the people by the space of five years following.... The scarcity of
-victuals was of greatest force in Leicestershire, and in the middle
-parts of the realme. And although it was a great want, yet was not
-the price of corne out of reason. For a quarter of wheat, when it was
-at the highest, was sold at Leicester for 16 shillings 8 pence at one
-time, and at other times for a market of 14 shillings; at London and
-other places of the land a quarter of wheat was sold for 10 shillings,
-or for little more or lesse. For there arrived eleven ships laden
-with great plentie of victuals at diverse places of the land, for the
-reliefe of the people. Besides this, the citizens of London laid out
-two thousand marks to buy food out of the common chest of orphans,
-and the foure and twentie aldermen, everie of them put in his twentie
-pounds apeece for necessarie provision, for feare of famine likelie to
-fall upon the cities. And they laid up their store in sundrie of the
-fittest and most convenient places they could choose, that the needie
-and such as were wrong with want might come and buy at a certaine
-price so much as might suffice them and their families; and they which
-had not readie monie to paie downe presentlie in hand, their word and
-credit was taken for a yeare’s space next following, and their turn
-served. Thus was provision made that people should be relieved, and
-that none might perish for hunger.
-
-‘1439.—This yeare (by reason of great tempests, raging winds, and
-raine) there arose such scarsitie that wheat was sold at three
-shillings foure pence the bushell.... Whereupon Steven Browne, at the
-same season maior of London, tendering the state of the Citie in this
-want of bread corne, sent into Pruse certeine ships, which returned
-laden with plentie of rie; wherewith he did much good to the people
-in that hard time, speciallie to them of the Citie, where the want of
-corne was not so extreame as in some other places of the land, where
-the poore distressed people that were hunger-bitten made them bred of
-ferne roots, and used other hard shifts, till God provided remedie
-for their penurie by good successe of husbandrie. 1527.—By reason of
-the great wet that fell in the sowing time of the corne, and in the
-beginning of the last yeare; now, in the beginning of this, corne so
-failed, that in the Citie of London, for a while, bread was scant, by
-reason that the commissioners appointed to see order taken in shires
-about, ordeined that none should be conveied out of one shire into
-another. Which order had like to have bred disorder, for that everie
-countrie and place was not provided alike, and namelie London, that
-maketh her provision out of other places, felt great inconvenience
-thereby, till the merchants of the Stillard and others out of the Dutch
-countries brought such plentie that it was better cheape in London than
-in anie other part of England, for the King also releeved the citizens
-in time of their need with a thousand quarters, by waie of lone, of his
-owne provision.’
-
-By the foregoing we see that the bad dearths came at longer intervals,
-probably owing to better husbandry, and the regular importation of
-foreign corn before a scarcity could arise. But, on the other side, I
-have to chronicle a few (unfortunately only too few) years of exceeding
-plenty. The first one recorded was in 1288, and is thus recorded by
-Stow: ‘The summer was so exceeding hote this yeere that many men died
-through heate, and yet wheate was solde at London for three shillings
-foure pence the quarter when it was dearest, and in other partes abroad
-the same was sold for twentie pence or sixteen pence the quarter; yea,
-for twelve pence the quarter, and in the west and north parts for eight
-pence the quarter; barley for six pence, and oats for foure pence the
-quarter, and such cheapnesse of beanes and pease as the like had not
-been heard. 1317.—This yeere was an early harvest, so that all the
-corne was inned before St Giles day (Sep. 1). A bushel of wheat that
-was before for X shillings was solde for ten pence; and a bushel of
-otes that before was eyght shillings was solde for eyght pence.’
-
-Holinshed tells us that in 1493 wheat was sold in London at 6d. the
-bushel; and in 1557.—‘This yeare, before harvest wheat was sold for
-foure marks the quarter, malt at foure and fortie shillings the
-quarter, and pease at six and fortie shillings and eight pence; but,
-after harvest, wheat was sold for five shillings the quarter, malt at
-six shillings eight pence, rie at three shillings foure pence. So that
-the penie wheat loafe that weied in London the last yeere but eleven
-ounces Troie weied now six and fiftie ounces Troie. In the countrie
-wheat was sold for foure shillings the quarter, malt at foure shillings
-eight pence; and, in some places a bushell of rie for a pound of
-candles, which were foure pence.’
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-HOW GRAIN BECOMES FLOUR.
-
-
-In order to make bread, the first operation is to grind the corn, be
-it wheat, rye, barley, or oats, and we have already seen the rough
-methods used by primitive man and others to effect this; we have noted
-the mealing stones, the pestle and mortar, the hand quern, and the
-grinding of corn by the Greeks and Romans. They soon gave up man as a
-motive power, and substituted mules or horses; these in their time gave
-place to water, which is a cheap and, if there be anything like a fall,
-a very powerful motor—hence the mills dotted all over the country, by
-the side of brook or river, with their water-wheels either over or
-undershot Very picturesque are they mostly, and the drowsy murmur of
-the wheel and the gentle splashing of the water are very pleasant We
-are seeing the last of them; they have done their work and must be
-thrown aside, for no one in his senses, who had water-power, would now
-erect water-wheels when he could get a turbine.
-
-As with the water-wheel, so its congener, the windmill, beloved of
-artists, is going. A motive power as cheap as water is the wind, but,
-unfortunately, it is not so reliable. It is believed that the Chinese
-were the first to use the wind as a motive power for mills, and we
-have no record as to when they were introduced into Europe; we only
-know they were in use in the twelfth century. As a rule, in England,
-windmills have four arms, or ‘whips,’ but sometimes they have six.
-These arms are generally covered with strong canvas, but occasionally
-they are covered with thin boarding; they are set at an angle, which
-varies according to the fancy of the miller, but the shaft to which
-they are attached (called the ‘wind shaft’) is invariably placed at
-an inclination of 10 or 15 degrees, in order that the revolving arms
-should clear the bottom portion of the mill.
-
-[Illustration: A POST MILL.]
-
-[Illustration: A WATER-WHEEL MILL.]
-
-The oldest kind of windmill is called a _post_ mill, because the
-whole structure is centred on a post, or pivot, and, when the wind
-shifts, the mill has to be turned bodily to meet it, by means of a long
-lever. The _smock_, or _frock_, windmill is an improvement upon the
-post mill; the building itself is stationary and permanent, but the
-head or cap, where is the wind shaft, rotates, and this is more easily
-managed.
-
-For hundreds of years people were contented with the four and six arms
-to their windmills, and it was only in modern times that Messrs. J.
-Warner and Sons, of Cripplegate, London, patented their annular sails,
-which, as is plain to the meanest capacity, are vastly superior. The
-shutters, or ‘vanes,’ are connected with spiral springs, which keep
-them up to the best angle of ‘weather, for light winds. If the strength
-of the wind increases, the vanes give to the wind, forcing back the
-springs, and thus the area on which the wind acts diminishes. In
-addition, there are a striking lever and tackle for setting the vanes
-edgeways to the wind, when the mill is stopped, or a storm expected.
-
-We have seen how from the very first man used stones wherewith to
-triturate his corn, and to this day stones are still used for grinding,
-although their days are in all probability numbered, and in a very
-little time they, with the windmill, will be relegated to limbo. The
-_Encyclopædia Britannica_ gives such an excellent description of these
-mill-stones, that I quote it in its entirety.
-
-[Illustration: THE GRINDING SURFACE OF A MILLSTONE.]
-
-‘They consist of two flat cylindrical masses inclosed within a wooden
-or sheet metal case, the lower, or _bed-stone_, being permanently
-fixed, while the upper, or _runner_, is accurately pivoted and
-balanced over it The average size of millstones is about four feet two
-inches in diameter, by twelve inches in thickness, and they are made
-of a hard but cellular siliceous stone, called buhr-stone, the best
-qualities of which are obtained from La-Ferté-sous-Jouarre, department
-of Seine et Marne, France. Millstones are generally built up of
-segments, bound together round the circumference by an iron hoop, and
-backed with plaster of Paris. The bed-stone is dressed to a perfectly
-flat plane surface, and a series of grooves, or shallow depressions,
-are cut in it, generally in the manner shown, which represents the
-grinding surface of an upper or running stone. The grooves on both are
-made to correspond exactly, so that when the one is rotated over the
-other the sharp edges of the grooves, meeting each other, operate like
-a rough pair of scissors, and thus the effect of the stones on grain
-submitted to their action is at once that of cutting, squeezing, and
-crushing. The dressing and grooving of millstones is generally done
-by hand picking, but sometimes black amorphous diamonds (_carbonado_)
-are used, and emery wheel dressers have likewise been suggested. The
-upper stone, or runner, is set in motion by a spindle on which it is
-mounted, which passes up through the centre of the bed-stone, and there
-are screws and other appliances for adjusting and balancing the stone.
-Further provision is made within the stone case for passing through air
-to prevent too high a heat being developed in the grinding operation,
-and sweepers for conveying the flour to the meal spout are also
-provided.
-
-‘The ground meal delivered by the spout is carried forward in a
-conveyor, or creeper box, by means of an Archimedean screw, to the
-elevators, by which it is lifted to an upper floor to the bolting or
-flour-dressing machine. The form in which this apparatus was formerly
-employed consisted of a cylinder mounted on an inclined plane, and
-covered externally with wire cloth of different degrees of fineness,
-the finest being at the upper part of the cylinder, where the meal
-is admitted. Within the cylinder, which was stationary, a circular
-brush revolved, by which the meal was pressed against the wire cloth,
-and, at the same time, carried gradually towards the lower extremity,
-sifting out, as it proceeded, the mill products into different grades
-of fineness, and finally delivering the coarse bran at the extremity of
-the cylinder. For the operation of bolting or dressing, hexagonal or
-octagonal cylinders, about three feet in diameter, and from 20 to 25
-feet long, are now commonly employed. These are mounted horizontally
-on a spindle for revolving, and externally they are covered with silk
-of different degrees of fineness, whence they are called “silks,” or
-“silk dressers.” Radiating arms or other devices for carrying the
-meal gradually forward as the apparatus revolved, are fixed within
-the cylinders; and there is also an arrangement of beaters, which
-gives the segments of cloth a sharp tap, and thereby facilitates the
-sifting action of the apparatus. Like all other mill machines, the
-modifications of the silk dresser are numerous,’
-
-We have seen the ordinary operation of grinding flour in the
-old-fashioned way; now let us notice the improvements in making wheat
-into flour.
-
-‘We will suppose that the wheat has arrived by lighter at one of the
-large mills on the Thames, and that it has been shovelled into sacks
-and hoisted into the warehouse. The process by which it is turned into
-flour may be divided into three stages: (1) cleaning, (2) breaking, (3)
-grinding; but the number and complexity of the operations included in
-these stages are astounding. It must be understood that the following
-description refers to a first-class London mill—that is, one which has,
-certainly no superior, and, probably, no equal, in the world.
-
-‘In the first stage the wheat is merely prepared for the mill,
-and this is done in the cleaning department, which is separate
-from the mill proper. From the warehouse the grain is passed to a
-sifter or “separator,” which is a kind of sieve. Here the grosser
-impurities—straw, sticks, stones, earth, seeds, and what not—are
-removed. Thence to an “elevator,” precisely similar in principle to
-that previously described, and by the elevator straight to the top of
-the building. Here it enters a wire sieve in the form of a revolving
-hexagonal “reel,” by which the smaller heavy impurities with which it
-is still mixed are separated. Passing through this, it drops into the
-next storey, to be subjected to the “aspirator,” an apparatus by means
-of which currents of air are blown through the grain as it falls and
-carry off the lighter and more volatile rubbish mixed with it. In the
-next floor is an ingenious instrument with a special purpose. Among
-the wheat is still a quantity of small black seeds, known as “cockle”
-seeds, and to get rid of these the “cockle cylinder” is employed. It is
-a revolving metal cylinder, the inner surface of which is fitted with
-small holes; the grain passes into the interior of the cylinder, and
-as the latter goes round and round the cockle seeds stick in the small
-holes and are carried up to a certain height, when they fall out and
-are caught by an “apron”; while the wheat, which is too large to stick
-in the holes, continually falls back into the bottom of the cylinder.
-Again our corn drops a storey, and encounters the “decorcitator.” The
-object of this apparatus is to knock off the dust and dirt adhering
-to the grains, and it is effected by agitating them between two metal
-surfaces at a high rate of speed. The amount of dust removed by this
-method from apparently clean grain is astonishing. In the next storey
-is another decorcitator, and below that a second aspirator, which
-brings us once more to the ground.
-
-‘On reaching the ground floor again, our now clean wheat is first
-passed through the “grading” or “sizing” reels, which separate it into
-two sizes, and then it enters the mill proper. It should be said here
-that the milling industry of the world has been revolutionised within
-the past few years by the substitution of steel rollers for the old
-millstones. The process of crushing or grinding, however, by steel
-rollers is accomplished in a very gradual manner, as will be explained:
-First come the “break rolls.” These are solid steel rollers set in
-pairs, with corrugated surfaces; this gives them a cutting action.
-Wheat is passed through five successive pairs of these rollers. The
-first are about 1/16th inch apart, and only break or bruise the grain
-slightly. Each successive pair is set closer, and carries the bruising
-a step further. But this is only half the business. After each set of
-rollers the grain goes through a “purifier,” which is either a sieve of
-some kind or an aspirator, or both together, and the object is always
-the same—namely, to separate the solid particles of the broken wheat
-from the lighter ones. The former are, or rather will eventually be,
-flour; the latter constitute “offal.” And the whole art of milling is
-merely an extension of this process; first reduction, then separation,
-repeated over and over again. As the grain passes through each
-successive set of rollers it is broken up finer and ever finer, and the
-separating action of the “purifier” accompanies it step by step. The
-solid particles grow smaller and smaller, the “offal” correspondingly
-finer and finer. This is the process in brief, but there are endless
-complications and refinements on the way. For instance, the solid
-particles are not only separated but are themselves divided into groups
-according to size. Then the offal often undergoes a further purifying
-process. Then the purifiers differ—some are complex, others simple;
-some of wire, others of silk; some revolve, others oscillate; some are
-“aspirated,” others not; and so forth. Meanwhile, at the end of the
-five rolls and five purifiers, which make up our breaking department,
-we have got three products: (_a_) semolina; (_b_) middlings; (_c_)
-offal. The first two are practically varieties of the same—_i.e._,
-both solid particles, which will afterwards be flour, but of different
-sizes. They are half way between grain and flour—hence the term
-“middlings.”
-
-‘Grinding is only a continuation of the above process, but the rollers
-are different; their surfaces are smooth, and they are set closer
-together. The purifiers, too, are, for the most part, more elaborate.
-A look at one of them will show the extreme ingenuity expended on
-these operations. It consists primarily of an oscillating sieve made
-of silk, through the meshes of which the particles of flour fall into
-a wooden bin. On the floor of the bin is a “worm” which continually
-works the flour along to one end; on the under surface of the sieve is
-a travelling brush which brushes off the adhering flour and prevents
-the meshes from getting clogged. Above the sieve is an apparatus which,
-with the aid of currents blown by an aspirator, catches the volatile
-offal; and above that again a travelling blanket which arrests the
-still more volatile particles. Finally, the blanket, as it reaches the
-end, is tapped automatically to knock out what has stuck to it. By the
-time a handful of grain has been converted into a handful of fine flour
-it has gone through some 50 different machines, including 18 sets of
-rollers and 18 purifiers.
-
-‘The following points may be of interest: A first-class London mill
-working 100 sets of rollers can turn out 45 sacks of flour per hour.
-Offal, according to its fineness or coarseness, forms bran, pollard,
-etc., and is worth from 5_l._ to 6_l._ a ton. The qualities of flour
-are whiteness and strength. The former is tested by the eye, the
-latter only really by baking capacity. There seems to be a general
-consensus of opinion in favour of flour made from Hungarian wheat. The
-best English is of sweeter flavour, but lacks “strength.” It has been
-reckoned that 300 sacks are made per hour in London mills, all of which
-is consumed in London. The flour mill industry owes nothing to American
-inventive genius; on the contrary, that country is behind the times.
-The steel rollers came originally from Hungary—always a great milling
-country.’
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-THE MILLER AND HIS TOLLS.
-
-
-In old times corn mills were always important factors in manors, and a
-source of considerable profit to the lord of the same. All the tenants
-of the manor were bound by custom to have their corn ground at the
-manor mill, paying a toll to the lord, for the mill was part of his
-demesne. The tenants owed suit to the mill in the same manner as they
-owed suit and service at the Manor Court. This, however, did not apply
-to the grinding or bruising of malt, and there were probably two good
-reasons for it—one, that the tenants could perform the operation on
-their own premises; and the second, that if it were done at the mill it
-would be likely to spoil the flour next ground.
-
-Very many instances of these mills may be given, but one will suffice,
-more especially as in this case it was carried down to modern times.
-There was at Wakefield, Yorkshire, a corn mill which was a franchise
-of the Pilkington family, of Chevel Park, by charters from one of the
-Edwards. The monopoly of grinding the corn at this mill was a great
-sore to the inhabitants, and the cause of much litigation, but the
-holders of the rights always came off the victors. They claimed the
-right of grinding not only for the town of Wakefield, but for some
-miles round, including the villages of Horbury, Ossett, Newmillardam,
-and others; so that all the corn used in this district was obliged
-to be ground at the ‘Soke Mill,’ or, as it was otherwise called, the
-‘King’s Mill,’ and neither meal nor flour could be sold unless it
-were ground there. The tenant of the mill demanded a ‘mulcture’ of
-one-sixteenth—that is, out of 16 sacks of corn he kept one for himself
-for grinding the other 15.
-
-Some time about 1850 the inhabitants of Wakefield and the adjacent
-villages determined to purchase the rights, and this was done by a rate
-spread over a series of years, and called the ‘Soke Rate.’ The purchase
-money amounted to about £20,000. The same kind of property existed at
-Leeds and at Bradford; but from neglect on the part of the owners, and
-lapse of time, the inhabitants turned restive and independent, and
-‘broke the Soke,’ without compensating the Lords of the Manors. These
-mills are still called the King’s Mills.
-
-Nor was this custom confined to England. In Scotland, in feudal
-times, it was common for the tenants of a barony to be bound to have
-their corn ground at the barony mill. Centuries ago the erection of a
-substantial building, with the millstones, driving machinery, and other
-plant necessary for a mill, together with the drying-kilns, mill-dams,
-lades, weirs, and watercourses requisite for a corn mill involved the
-expenditure of a considerable sum of money, such as only the baron
-could find. He, therefore, assured himself of a return for his capital
-invested by binding his tenants to use his mill. Of course, he got
-a good rent for his mill, which was the manner in which the benefit
-arising from the bondage of his tenants found its way into his coffers.
-
-Sir James A. Picton, in his _City of Liverpool_ selections from the
-municipal archives and records, states that in 1558 the Corporation
-of the Borough ordered that ‘every miller, on warning, shall bring
-his toll-dish to Mr. Mayor, to a lawful size thereof sealed, under
-a penalty of 6d.’ That this toll-taking on the part of millers was
-occasionally perverted there can be but little doubt, and it was
-sometimes very severely commented on, as we may see in this passage
-from a tragedy by Wm. Sampson (1636), called _The Vow-Breaker; or, the
-Fair Maid of Clifton_. ‘Fellow Bateman, farewell; commend me to my old
-windmill at Rudington. Oh! the mooter dish—[Multure or Toll-dish]—the
-miller’s thumbe, and the maide behind the hopper!’
-
-In the Roxburghe ballads (vol. iii., 681) we have The Miller’s Advice
-to his _Three Sons in Taking of Toll_:
-
- ‘There was a miller who had three sons,
- And knowing his life was almost run,
- He called them all, and asked their will,
- If that to them he left his mill.
-
- He called first for his eldest son,
- Saying, “My life is almost run,
- If I to you this mill do make,
- What toll do you intend to take?”
-
- “Father,” said he, “my name is Jack.
- Out of a bushel I’ll take a peck,
- From every bushel that I grind,
- That I may a good living find.”
-
- “Thou art a fool,” the old man said.
- “Thou hast not well learned thy trade.
- This mill to thee I ne’er will give,
- For by such toll no man can live.”
-
- He called for his middlemost son,
- Saying, “My life is almost run.
- If I to thee the mill do make,
- What toll do you intend to take?”
-
- “Father,” says he, “my name is Ralph.
- Out of a bushel I’ll take it half,
- From every bushel that I grind,
- So that I may a good living find.”
-
- “Thou art a fool,” the old man said;
- “Thou hast not learned well thy trade.
- This mill to you I ne’er can give,
- For by such toll no man can live.”
-
- He called for his youngest son,
- Saying, “My life is almost run.
- If I to you this mill do make,
- What toll do you intend to take?”
-
- “Father,” said he, “I am your only boy,
- For taking toll is all my joy.
- Before I will a good living lack,
- I’ll take it all, and forswear the sack.”
-
- “Thou art my boy,” the old man said,
- “For thou has well learned thy trade.
- This mill to thee I’ll give,” he cried,
- And then he clos’d his eyes, and died.’
-
-To show the popular idea of a miller’s integrity, I may mention that
-the children in Somersetshire, when they have caught a certain kind
-of large white moth, which they call a _Miller_, chant over it this
-refrain:
-
- ‘Millery! millery! Dousty Poll!
- How many sacks of corn hast thou stole?’
-
-and then they put the poor insect to death on account of its imaginary
-misdeeds.
-
-Even Chaucer must have his gird at the miller:
-
- ‘The millere was a stout carl for the nones,
- Ful byg he was of brawn and eek of bones;
- That proved wel, for over al ther he cam
- At wrastlygne he wolde have alwey the ram[8].
- He was short sholdred, brood, a thikke knarre[9],
- There was no dore that he ne wolde heve of harre[10].
- Or breke it at a reunying with his head
- His berd, or any sowe or fox was reed,
- And ther to brood, as though it were a spade
- Upon the cope right of his nose he hade
- A werte, and ther on stood a toft of herys,
- Reed as the brustles of a sowes crys;
- His nose thirles[11] blake were and wyde;
- A swerd and a bokeler bar he by his syde;
- His mouth as greet was as a greet forneys,
- He was a janglere and a goliardeys[12],
- And that was moost of synne and harlotries,
- Wel konde he stelen corne and totten thries[13],
- And yet he hadde ‘a thombe of gold’ _pardee_
- A whit cote and a blew hood wered he,
- A bagge pipe wel konde he blowe and sowne,
- And ther with al he broghte us out of towne.’
-
-The ‘thombe of gold’ has somewhat puzzled commentators on Chaucer. One
-thing is certain: that a miller has been traditionally credited with a
-broad thumb, and the little fish the _Bullhead_ is called _The Millers’
-Thumb_, from a fancied resemblance. Every one connected with the navy
-knows what the ‘purser’s thumb’ is, from the legend that, when serving
-out their tots of rum to the men, his thumb was invariably inside the
-measure (doubtless necessitated by the rolling of the old men-of-war),
-which resulted in a large profit to himself during a long cruise, and
-this seems to illustrate Chaucer’s meaning, especially as it occurs
-immediately after the miller’s ill-gotten gains, that by putting his
-broad thumb into every measure he made thereby gold during the year.
-
-But there is another and a kindlier explanation of the term, which
-rests on the authority of Constable, the painter, according to Yarrell,
-in his _History of British Fishes_, when writing of the Bullhead. ‘The
-head of the fish is smooth, broad, and rounded, and is said to resemble
-exactly the form of a miller’s thumb, as produced by a peculiar and
-constant action of the muscles in the exercise of a particular and
-most important part of his occupation. It is well known that all the
-science and tact of a miller are directed so to regulate the machinery
-of his mill that the meal produced shall be of the most valuable
-description that the operation of grinding will permit, when performed
-under the most advantageous circumstances. His profit or his loss,
-even his fortune or his ruin, depend upon the exact adjustment of all
-the various parts of the machinery in operation. The miller’s ear
-is constantly directed to the note made by the running-stone in its
-circular course over the bed-stone, the exact parallelism of their two
-surfaces, indicated by a particular sound, being a matter of the first
-consequence; and his hand is as constantly placed under the meal spout
-to ascertain, by actual contact, the character and qualities of the
-meal produced. The thumb, by a particular movement, spreads the sample
-over the fingers; the thumb is the gauge of the value of the produce,
-and hence have arisen the saying of _worth a miller’s thumb_, and _an
-honest miller hath a golden thumb_, in reference to the amount of
-profit that is the reward of his skill.’
-
-Any notice of flour would, of course, be valueless without an analysis
-of its constituent parts, which, as anyone can understand, will vary in
-different wheats; there can be no standard, because of the difference
-of the soils on which it grows, a fact which is fully borne out by the
-following tables by famous analysts. Jago (_The Chemistry of Wheat,
-Flour, and Bread, &c._ Brighton, 1886), quoting Bell, says:—
-
- —-—-——-——————-—+——————————————-——+—————-——+—-——————+—-——————+—-—————-+—-——————
- │ │ │ │ │ │Caroline
- Constituents. │ Wheat │ Long- │ English│ Maize. │ Rye. │ rice
- +—-——————+—-——————+ eared │ Oats. │ │ │ without
- │Winter. │Spring. │ Barley.│ │ │ │ husk.
- —-—-—-———————-—+—-——————+—-——————+—-——————+—-——————+—-—————-+—-—————-+—-———-——
- Fat │ 1·48 │ 1·56 │ 1·03 │ 5·14 │ 3·58 │ 1·43 │ 0·19
- │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- Starch │ 63·71 │ 65·86 │ 63·51 │ 49·78 │ 64·66 │ 61·87 │ 77·66
- │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- Cellulose │ 3·03 │ 2·93 │ 7·28 │ 13·53 │ 1·86 │ 3·23 │ Tr’ces
- │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- Sugar │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- (as Cane) │ 2·57 │ 2·24 │ 1·34 │ 2·36 │ 1·94 │ 4·30 │ 0·38
- │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- Albumin, &c. ╮ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- insoluble │ │ 10·70 │ 7·19 │ 8·18 │ 10·62 │ 9·67 │ 9·78 │ 7·94
- in Alcohol ╯ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- Other ╮│ │ │ │ │ │ │
- nitrogenous ││ │ │ │ │ │ │
- matter ││ 4·83 │ 4·40 │ 3·28 │ 4·05 │ 4·60 │ 5·09 │ 1·40
- soluble in ││ │ │ │ │ │ │
- Alcohol ╯│ │ │ │ │ │ │
- │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- Mineral ╮ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- matter ╯ │ 1·60 │ 1·74 │ 2·32 │ 2·66 │ 1·35 │ 1·85 │ 0·28
- │ │ │ │ │ │ │
- Moisture │ 12·08 │ 14·08 │ 13·06 │ 11·86 │ 12·34 │ 12·45 │ 12·15
- —-—-—-———————-—+—-——————+—————-——+—-——————+—-——————+—————-—-+————-——-+—-—-————
- Total │ 100·00 │ 100·00 │ 100·00 │ 100·00 │ 100·00 │ 100·00 │ 100·00
- —-—-—-———————-—+—-——————+—-——————+—-——————+—————-——+———————-+—————-—-+—-—-————
-
-Professor Graham, in a lecture delivered at the International Health
-Exhibition, London, July 3, 1884, quoting Lawes and Gilbert, says:—
-
- —-—-—-—-————————+—-—————+————-——+————-——+————-——+————-——+—-————
- Constituents. │ Old │Barley.│ Oats. │ Rye. │ Maize.│ Rice.
- │ Wheat.│ │ │ │ │
- —-—-———————-—-——+————-——+————-——+—-—————+————-——+—-—————+—-————
- │ │ │ │ │ │
- Water │ 11·1 │ 12·0 │ 14·2 │ 14·3 │ 11·5 │ 10·8
- Starch │ 62·3 │ 52·7 │ 66·1 │ 54·9 │ 54·8 │ 78·8
- Fat │ 1·2 │ 2·6 │ 4·6 │ 2·0 │ 4·7 │ 0·1
- Cellulose │ 8·3 │ 11·5 │ 1·0 │ 6·4 │ 14·9 │ 0·2
- Gum and Sugar │ 3·8 │ 4·2 │ 5·7 │ 11·3 │ 2·9 │ 1·6
- Albuminoids │ 10·9 │ 13·2 │ 16·0 │ 8·8 │ 8·9 │ 7·2
- Ash │ 1·6 │ 2·8 │ 2·2 │ 1·8 │ 1·6 │ 0·9
- Loss, &c. │ 0·8 │ 1·0 │ 0·2 │ 0·5 │ 7·0 │ 0·4
- +————-——+—-—————+—-—————+—-—————+—-—————+—-————
- Total │ 100·0 │ 100·0 │ 100·0 │ 100·0 │ 100·0 │ 100·0
- —-—-—-———————-——+—-—————+————-——+————-——+————-——+————-——+—-————
-
-Messrs. Wanklyn and Cooper (_Bread Analysis, &c._, London, 1881)
-say that, according to their analysis, this wheaten flour, which is
-the flour commonly to be bought in this country, has the following
-composition:—
-
- Water 16·5
- Ash 0·7
- Fat 1·5
- Gluten 12·0
- Vegetable Albumen 1·0
- Modified Starch 3·5
- Starch Granules 64·8
- —-—
- 100·0
-
-A comparison of these tables by well-known analysts shows us, if we
-only take the single article of wheat, how the grain varies. Let me now
-say something about the constituents of wheat in as simple a form as
-possible.
-
-The fat is of a yellow colour, and, as far as is known, is not a
-particularly valuable component part; but as all fats are foods, of
-course, it is of service.
-
-The starch in wheat is the ordinary starch (of the best kind)
-of commerce; and, seeing that it forms the greater part of all
-breadstuffs, it naturally is an important element in them. In good,
-sound wheat the starch granules are whole; in sprouted wheat, or
-that heated by damp, they are rotted, and, consequently, the starch
-they contain is changed, more or less, into dextrin and sugar, and,
-consequently, a difference is made in the food value of the wheat.
-
-Dextrin and sugar are small components of good wheat. The dextrin, no
-doubt, has a beneficial effect in small quantities, but not in large.
-Sugar, such as is found in wheat, affords the necessary amount of
-saccharine matter for fermentation.
-
-Cellulose is more useful to the plant than to the miller, to whom it is
-as so much bran.
-
-There are two kinds of albuminoids, or gluten, present in wheat—one
-insoluble, the other soluble in alcohol. The former makes what is
-called a ‘strong bread,’ and the latter acts, in bread-making, on the
-former, and, under the influence of yeast, it attacks the starch,
-converting it into dextrin and maltose.
-
-The ash of wheat contains principally phosphoric acid and potassium;
-magnesium ranks next; then lime, silica, phosphate of iron, soda,
-chlorine, and sulphuric and carbonic acids.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X.
-
-BREAD MAKING AND BAKING.
-
-
-The ordinary method of bread-making in London is as follows: The first
-process, when the bread is made with thick yeast, being to prepare
-a mixture of potatoes, yeast, and flour, by which the process of
-fermentation is to be produced in the dough.
-
-Mr. George W. Austin, in his pamphlet on _Bread, Baking, and Bakers_,’
-says about the ferment: ‘For each sack of flour (280 lbs.) about 8
-lbs. or 10 lbs. of dry, mealy potatoes are taken, well boiled and
-mashed and washed through a strainer to take away the skin; to this
-is added 12 or 14 quarts of water, at a temperature varying from 80
-deg. to 90 deg., and a quart of thick brewers’ yeast, or 1 lb. of
-compressed yeast—which is equal. Having well dissolved the yeast, and
-added 2 lbs. of flour, the mass is allowed to stand some three or four
-hours, until the head falls in through the escape of gas.’ The next
-process is the preparation of the sponge. The trough and flour being
-ready, the ferment is taken, and, with the addition of 28 quarts of
-clear water, at a temperature of 80 deg. to 90 deg., is passed into
-the trough through a sieve or strainer, and the mass, being kept well
-together, is made up into a nice dry sponge. It is allowed to remain
-thus and ferment for another five or six hours, when it will have risen
-and formed a head, which is allowed to break. As soon as this head is
-broken it commences to rise again, and as soon as it has broken the
-second time the remainder of the flour is added, and the dough made as
-follows:
-
-Two and a half pounds of salt dissolved in 28 quarts of clear water,
-at a temperature of 80 deg., and mixed well into what is termed ‘the
-sponge,’ with the remainder of the flour, the whole being broken up and
-well and thoroughly mixed and kneaded until the dough is uniform in
-material and consistency. It is then left to rise for another hour or
-more, when the dough is weighed out in pieces of the requisite size and
-speedily manipulated into the required shape. As the loaves are moulded
-they are placed on trays, covered with a light cloth (to prevent the
-dry and colder air forming a dry crust on the surface), and left to
-dry sufficiently before being placed in the oven. Before this is done
-the loaves are slightly brushed over with a small quantity of milk and
-water to improve the appearance of the outside of the loaf when it
-comes from the oven.
-
-The oven is, for the purpose of baking bread, brought up to a heat
-of 400 deg. Fahr., and the bread, although seemingly baked by dry
-heat, is in reality boiled in the steam of the water which the bread
-contains.[14]
-
-Salt is added to make the bread more palatable; but it has also another
-effect. With inferior flour dextrin is formed inside the loaf to some
-extent as well as on the outside, consequently bread made from inferior
-flour rises badly and is darker in colour. This inferior flour is made
-sometimes from wheat that has been damp, the dampness causing the
-soluble albumenoids which the grain contains to act on the insoluble
-gluten, decomposing it into soluble bodies, and producing dextrin by
-their action on the starch in the grain. The further decomposition
-of these albumenoids is checked by the action of the salt during the
-fermentation of the bread.
-
-And now it will be well to say something about the leaven of bread. We
-have already seen the modern method of making a ferment with flour,
-potatoes, and brewer’s yeast; but there are other substances which
-do not cause fermentation, and yet lighten the bread, such as the
-different baking powders, and the American _sal eratus_, a mixture of
-bi-carbonate of soda and salt. Carbonate of ammonia, which entirely
-evaporates in baking, is used in confectionery to raise the paste by
-the bubbles it forms in its volatilisation. The unfermented breads,
-such as those made by the late Dr. Dauglish’s patent (of which more
-anon), are rendered light upon the same principle, the usual method
-being to mix soda with the flour, and hydrochloric acid with the water,
-in the proportions in which they unite to form chloride of sodium, or
-common salt. The effervescence, like that produced in mixing seidlitz
-powders, converts the paste into a porous sponge, which, however,
-requires to be very quickly placed in the oven. The salt formed by
-the mixture replaces that ordinarily added to the dough in making
-bread; but this method is seldom used by practical bakers. Whatever,
-therefore, be the method by which bread is made light, the object to be
-attained is to pervade the dough with numerous cavities, which keep the
-particles of flour asunder, instead of forming a compact and unyielding
-mass.
-
-The science which gave an insight into the cause of the ‘rising’ of
-bread, and suggested substitutes for the ordinary fermenting materials,
-is but of recent date. These ferments operate by generating an infinity
-of gas bubbles, which honeycomb the dough. The earliest process was
-to employ leaven, which is still largely used in the manufacture of
-the black rye bread of the Continent, and consists of dough which
-has become more or less sour by over-fermentation. This is kept from
-one baking to another, to inoculate a fresh bulk of paste with its
-fermenting influence. No sooner does it come into contact with the
-fresh dough than it communicates its own properties, as by contagion.
-Probably the discovery of leavening has, in many countries, been owing
-to accident, through neglected paste having been attacked by the fungus
-which is the cause of fermentation.
-
-Many of my readers probably do not know that yeast is a plant. It
-belongs to the class of _fungi_, and, in accordance with the general
-habit of its kind, it differs from the green forms of vegetable life
-by feeding upon organic substances. The yeast plant represents one
-condition of a species of fungus remarkable for the diversity of
-forms it exhibits, its wide, nay, universal distribution, and the
-magnitude of the effects, sometimes beneficial, sometimes mischievous,
-which it is capable of producing. The forms in which it is familiar to
-most persons, although its nature may be unsuspected, are yeast, the
-gelatinous vinegar plant, the ‘mother’ of vinegar, and many decomposing
-vegetable infusions, and the common blue or green mould (_penicillium
-glaucum_) which occurs everywhere on sour paste, decaying fruits, and,
-in general, on all dead organic matters exposed to combined moisture
-and moderate heat.
-
-Yeast and the vinegar plant are the forms in which it vegetates under
-various circumstances when well supplied with food. Mildew is its
-fruit, formed on the surfaces exposed to air at certain epochs, like
-the flowers and seeds of the higher plants, to enable it to diffuse
-itself, which it does most effectually, for the microscopic germs,
-invisible singly to the naked eye, are produced in myriads, and are so
-diminutive that ordinary motes floating in the atmosphere are large in
-comparison.
-
-Yeast, when examined under the microscope, is found to consist of
-globular vesicles about 1/2300th part of an inch in diameter when fully
-grown. They are multiplied by little vesicles budding out from the
-sides of the parent. These soon acquire an equal size, and repeat the
-reproduction, either while attracted to the parent globule or after
-separating from it. The multiplication goes on to an indefinite extent
-with a fitting supply of food and at a moderately warm temperature
-(70 deg.-90 deg. Fahr.). The vesicles are nourished by sucking in a
-portion of the organic liquid in which they exist, decomposing this
-chemically, and either actually giving off, or causing the separation
-of their outer surface, of carbonic acid in the form of gas. To give
-a familiar illustration of the action of the carbonic acid which is
-evolved from yeast on the dough, I may say that it is analogous to the
-froth formed on a tumbler of bottled ale or ginger-beer. The cavities
-or bubbles in the dough are produced in an exactly similar manner; but
-two circumstances occur in bread to render them permanent—first, the
-fact that they are slowly formed; secondly, that they are generated
-in a substance which, while it is soft enough to allow the bubbles to
-expand, is tough enough to retain them.
-
-There are several kinds of yeast besides barm, or brewer’s yeast,
-which, in spite of its bitter taste, is generally used by bakers
-because it is the least expensive. Next in consumption is what is
-termed press yeast, in German _press hefe_ or _pfund hefe_, commonly
-known in commerce as German yeast, so called because it originally
-was a monopoly of that country, but it is now largely manufactured in
-Scotland. Of these yeasts Mr. Austin says:
-
-‘Press yeast is obtained partly by the brewing of beer or distillation
-of spirits as a by-product, partly it is made artificially. In the
-former case, the beer upper yeast is mixed with ten times its quantity
-of water, to which one per cent. of carbonate of ammonia is added,
-macerated and well washed for an hour, and then mixed with a compound
-of two parts of finely-powdered malt and ten parts starch, so that
-we have a firm mass, which is made into cakes half-an-inch thick.
-This yeast must be made fresh every two or three days, and must be
-kept in a cool place. A better press yeast is made from the yeast of
-the distilleries. The pasty residue of the mash tub is passed through
-a hair sieve to get rid of the grain husks. The filtrate is allowed
-to settle, and the sediment is put into linen cloths and washed with
-water, and the water squeezed out again under gentle pressure. The
-yeast is thus obtained in the form of cakes.’
-
-Very many people prefer to make their own bread instead of buying
-it from the baker; not that there is a great saving, but there is a
-certain satisfaction in knowing by whom it is made, and as, doubtless,
-many of my readers have never attempted to make and bake their own
-bread, I venture to give Miss Acton’s ‘very plain directions to a quite
-inexperienced learner for making bread.’[15]
-
-‘If you have never yet attempted to make bread, and wish to try to do
-it well, and have nobody to show you the proper manner of setting about
-it, you may yet succeed perfectly by attending with great exactness to
-the directions which are given here; but, as a large baking is less
-easily managed than a small one quite at first, and as the loss would
-be greater if the bread were spoiled, I would advise you to begin with
-merely a loaf or two.
-
-‘Take, then, let us say, half a gallon of flour, or a quartern, as it
-is called in some places. This will weigh three pounds and a half, and
-will make two loaves of nearly two pounds and a quarter each. There
-are two ways of making the dough, either of which, in experienced
-hands, will generally be attended with success. The most common mode
-of proceeding is to mix the yeast carefully with part of the liquid
-required for the whole of the bread, and to stir it into the centre
-of the flour; then to add by degrees what more of the liquid may be
-necessary, and to convert the whole with thorough, steady kneading
-into a firm but flexible paste, which, after standing in a suitable
-place until it has swollen to nearly double its original size, is again
-thoroughly kneaded, and once more left to “rise” or become porous
-before it is moulded into loaves and despatched to the oven.
-
-‘_To Make Dough by Setting a Sponge._—This method of making dough is
-usually followed when there is any doubt either of the goodness or of
-the sufficient quantity of the yeast which is used for it, because if
-it should not become light after standing a certain time, more yeast,
-mixed with a little warm liquid, can easily be added to it, and the
-chance of having heavy bread be thus avoided.
-
-‘If you are sure of the goodness of the yeast you use it will not much
-matter which of them you follow. The quickest and easiest mode is to
-wet it up at once; the safest to guard against failure is to set a
-sponge thus: Put the flour into a large earthenware bowl or deep pan,
-then with a strong metal or wooden spoon hollow out the middle, but
-do not clear it entirely away from the bottom of the pan, as in that
-case the sponge (or leaven as it was formerly termed) would stick to
-it, which it ought not to do. Next take either a large tablespoonful
-of brewer’s yeast, which has been rendered solid by mixing it with
-cold water and letting it afterwards stand to settle for a day and a
-night, or nearly an ounce of fresh German yeast. Put it into a large
-basin and then proceed to mix it, so that it shall be as smooth as
-cream, with three-quarters of a pint or even a whole pint of just warm
-milk and water or water only, though even a very little milk will much
-improve the bread. To have it quite free from lumps you must pour
-in the liquid by spoonfuls just at the beginning, and stir and work
-it round well to mix it perfectly with the yeast before you add the
-remainder, otherwise it would probably cause the bread to be full of
-large holes, which ought never to be seen in it. Pour the yeast into
-the hole in the middle of the flour, and stir into it as much of that
-which lies around it as will make a thick batter, in which, remember,
-there must be no lumps. If there should seem to be any you must beat
-them out with the spoon. Strew plenty of flour on the top, throw a
-thick clean cloth over, and set it where the air is warm; but if there
-is a large fire do not place it upon the kitchen fender in front of it,
-as servants often do, for it will become too much heated there; but
-let it always be raised from the floor, and protected from constant
-draughts of air passing over it. Look at it from time to time when it
-has been laid for nearly an hour, and when you perceive that the yeast
-has risen and broken through the flour, and that bubbles appear in it,
-you will know that it is ready to be made up into dough. Then place
-the pan on a strong chair or dresser, or table of convenient height;
-pour into the sponge a little warm milk and water (about a pint and a
-quarter will be required altogether for the quartern of bread), so that
-if three-quarters of a pint was mixed with the yeast at first there
-will be half a pint to add. Sometimes a little more will be needed;
-but be always careful not to make the dough too moist; stir into it as
-much flour as you can with the spoon, then wipe it out clean with your
-fingers and lay it aside.
-
-‘Next take plenty of the remaining flour, throw it on the top of the
-leaven, and begin with the knuckles of both hands to knead it well.
-Quick movement in this will do no good. It is strong, steady kneading
-which is required. Keep throwing up the flour which lies under and
-round the dough on to the top of it, that it may not stick to your
-fingers. You should always try to prevent its doing this, for you will
-soon discover that attention to these small particulars will make a
-great difference in the quality of your bread and in the time required
-to make it. When the flour is nearly all kneaded in begin to draw
-the edges of the dough towards the middle, in order to mix the whole
-thoroughly, and continue to knead it in every part spreading it out,
-and then turning it constantly from the side of the pan to the middle,
-and pressing the knuckles of your closed hands well into and over it.
-When the whole of the flour is worked in, and the outside of the dough
-is free from it and from all lumps and crumbs, and does not stick to
-the hands when touched, it will be done, and may be again covered with
-the cloth and left to rise a second time.
-
-‘In three-quarters of an hour look at it, and should it have swollen
-very much, and begin to crack, it will be light enough to bake. Turn
-it then on to a paste-board, or very clean dresser, and, with a large
-sharp knife, divide it into two, when, if it has been carefully and
-properly made, you will find it full throughout of small holes like a
-fine sponge. When it is thus far ready make it up quickly into loaves,
-and despatch it to the oven. If it is to be baked in a flat tin or on
-the oven floor, dust a little flour on the board, and make them up
-lightly in the form of dumplings, drawing together the parts which are
-cut, and turning them downwards. Give them a good shape by working them
-round quickly between your hands without raising them from the board,
-and pressing them slightly as you do so; then take a knife in the right
-hand, and, turning each loaf quickly with the left, just draw the edge
-of it round the middle of the dough, but do not cut deeply into it;
-make also two or three slight incisions across the tops of the loaves,
-as they will rise more easily when this is done.
-
-‘Should it be put into earthen pans, the dough must be cut with the
-_point_ of the knife just below the edge of the dishes after it is
-laid into them. To prevent it sticking to them, and being turned out
-with difficulty after it is baked, the pans should be rubbed in every
-part with a morsel of butter laid on a bit of clean paper. When they
-are only floured, the loaves cannot sometimes be loosened from these
-without being broken. All bread should be turned upside down or on its
-side as soon as it is drawn from the oven; if this be neglected, the
-under part of the loaves will become wet and blistered from the steam,
-which cannot then escape from them. They should remain until they are
-perfectly cold before they are put away and covered down.
-
-‘The only difference between this and the other way of making dough,
-mentioned at the beginning of these directions, is the mixing all the
-flour at first with the yeast and liquid into a firm smooth paste,
-which must be thoroughly kneaded down when it has become quite light,
-and then left to rise a second time before it is prepared for baking. A
-pint of warm milk and water, or of water only, may be stirred gradually
-to the yeast, which should then be poured into the middle of the flour,
-and worked with it into a stiff batter with a spoon, which should then
-be withdrawn, and the kneading with the hands commenced. Until a little
-experience has been gained, the mass of dough which will be formed
-with the pint of liquid, may be lifted from the pan into a dish, while
-sufficient warm water is added to wet up the remainder of the flour.
-This should afterwards be perfectly mingled with that which contains
-the yeast. A better plan is to use at once from a pint and a quarter
-to a pint and a half of liquid; but learners are very apt to pour in
-heedlessly more than is required, or to be inexact in the measure,
-and then more flour has to be used to make the bread of a proper
-consistence than is allowed for by the proportion of yeast named in the
-receipt. It is a great fault in bread-making to have the dough so moist
-that it sticks to the fingers when touched, and cannot be formed into
-loaves which will retain their shape without much flour being kneaded
-into them when they are made up for the oven.
-
-‘When it is to be _home baked_ as well as home made, you must endeavour
-to calculate correctly the time at which it will be ready, and have the
-oven in a fit state for it when it is so. Should it have to be carried
-to the baker’s, let a thick cloth or two be thrown over it before it is
-sent.’
-
-In these very plain directions I do not find that Miss Acton specifies
-the quantity of salt to be used. Some, however, is absolutely
-necessary, to make good bread—say half an ounce to a quartern of flour.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XI.
-
-OVENS ANCIENT AND MODERN.
-
-
-We have now got the loaf made, and the next thing is to bake it; for
-the home-baked loaf, the oven of a kitchener or gas stove will do very
-well, and the heat should be about 400 deg. Fahr. A baker’s oven is a
-thing _per se_. For hundreds of years they were made on the same old
-pattern, but now, except in many of the small underground bakeries,
-they are scientifically built, fitted with pyrometers, and with
-internal lamps. Mr. Austin writes thus of the oven:
-
-‘The baker’s oven is generally a brick oven, heated thoroughly with
-coal or wood according to construction; if made for coal, the damper
-will be on the one side and the furnace on the other, so that the
-flames play all round the oven; if constructed for wood, it must be
-heated with a good solid heat, with wood burnt in the interior of the
-oven, and then well cleaned out with a scuffle. As to the degrees
-of heat of the oven the laborious explanations and number of them
-may be reduced to three—viz., sharp or “flash,” as named in recipes;
-the second degree, moderate or “solid,” as used for large or solid
-articles, as wedding cakes, &c.; then slack or cool.
-
-‘The baker’s old-fashioned method of testing the temperature of his
-oven is instructive. He throws flour on the floor. If it blackens
-without taking fire the heat is sufficient. It might be supposed that
-this is too high a temperature, as the object is to cook the bread, not
-to burn it; but we must remember that the flour which has been prepared
-for baking is mixed with water, and the evaporation of this water will
-materially lower the temperature of the dough itself. Besides this, we
-must bear in mind that another object is to be attained. A hard shell
-or crust has been formed, which will so encase and support the lump
-of dough as to prevent it from subsiding when the further evolution,
-carbonic gas, shall cease, which will be the case some time before the
-cooking of the mass is completed. It will happen when the temperature
-reaches the point at which the yeast cells can no longer germinate,
-when the temperature is below the boiling point of water.
-
-‘In spite of all this outside temperature, that of the inner part of
-the loaf is kept down to a little above 212 degrees by the evaporation
-of the water contained in the bread; the escape of this vapour and the
-expansion of carbonic acid bubbles by heat increasing the porosity of
-the loaf. The outside being heated considerably above the temperature
-of the inner part, this variation produces the difference between the
-crust and the crumb. The action of the high temperature indirectly
-converting some of the starch into dextrin will be understood from what
-is already stated, and also the partial conversion of this dextrin into
-caramel. Thus we have in the crust an excess of dextrin as compared
-with the crumb, and the addition of a variable quantity of caramel. In
-lightly baked bread, with the crust of uniform pale yellowish colour,
-the conversion of the dextrin into caramel has barely commenced, and
-the gummy character of the dextrin coating is well displayed. So much
-bread, especially the long staves of life common in France, appears as
-though they had been varnished, and their crust is partially soluble
-in water. This explains the apparent paradox that hard crust or dry
-toast is more easily digested than the soft crumb of bread, the cookery
-of the crumb not having been carried beyond the mere hydration of the
-gluten and the starch and such degree of dextrin formation as was due
-to the action of the diastaste of grain during the preliminary period
-of “rising.”’
-
-A form of oven now much in vogue is borrowed from Vienna. It is built
-of stone or brick; the roof is very low, and the floor slopes upwards
-towards the far end. The effect of this form of construction is to
-drive the steam rising from the loaves down on to the top of them
-again, thereby giving them the glazed surface so much admired in
-foreign bread. Steam is sometimes driven in with the same object; being
-lighter than that rising from the bread, it drives the latter down. The
-ovens are heated from below. Loaves remain in for one and a half or two
-hours.
-
-As in everything connected with baking, during the past few years great
-improvements have been made in bakers’ ovens. Science has been brought
-to bear upon them, and we now have them heated by gas or steam in
-addition to coal and coke, besides improved alterations in many ways.
-
-Nor do modern improvements in baking appliances stop short at ovens.
-Most bakers doing a good business use kneading machines, of which
-there are many in the market. With one exception—that of the Adair
-mixer, which has no arms nor beaters, but simply rotates, and by
-this action the flour and water pass through the rods of iron,
-which are placed crosswise in the machine, and become perfectly
-and proportionately mixed—they are all, more or less, on the same
-principle, of revolving arms, blades, or knives by which the
-flour and water are properly mixed, and the position of the dough
-being perpetually changed, it is effectually kneaded without the
-objectionable intervention of manual labour.
-
-The earliest kneading machine that I can find mentioned is in 1850,
-when the illustrious philosopher, Arago, presented and recommended
-to the Institute of France the kneading and baking apparatus of M.
-Rolland, then a humble baker of the Twelfth Arrondissement. The
-kneading machine was described as exceedingly simple, and capable of
-being worked, when under a full charge, by a young man from 15 to 20
-years old, the necessity for horse labour or steam power being thus
-obviated; and it was claimed that in less than twenty minutes a sack
-of flour could be converted into a perfect homogeneous and aërated
-dough altogether superior to any dough that could be obtained by manual
-kneading.
-
-Another attempted improvement in the manufacture of bread was aërating
-the dough without using any ferment, such as yeast, etc., and this has
-been accomplished by means of mixing hydrochloric acid and carbonate
-of soda with the dough, or using bicarbonate of ammonia, or forcing
-carbonic acid into the water with which the flour is mixed. The
-latter is called the Dauglish system, from its inventor, the late John
-Dauglish, M.D. (born 1824, died January 14, 1866), and it is now in
-full working operation.
-
-By this system carbonic acid gas is generated as if for making soda
-water, and, supposing a sack of flour was to be converted into dough,
-the following would be the treatment: A lid at the top of the mixer
-is opened, and the flour passed down into it through a spout from the
-floor above. The lid of the mixer is then fitted tightly on, and the
-air within it exhausted by the pump. The requisite quantity of water,
-about 17 gallons, is drawn into the water vessel, and carbonic acid is
-forced into it till the pressure amounts to from 15lb. to 25lb. per
-square inch. The aërated water is then passed into the mixer, and the
-mixing arms are set in motion, by which, in about seven minutes, the
-flour and water are incorporated into a perfectly uniform paste. At the
-lower end of the mixer a cavity is arranged, gauged to hold sufficient
-dough for a 2lb. loaf, and by a turn of a lever that quantity is
-dropped into a pan ready for at once depositing in the oven. The whole
-of the operations can be performed in less than half an hour.
-
-The advantages of this system are absolute purity and cleanliness, but
-it is simply porous dough, and has not got the flavour of fermented
-bread. The plant, too, is very expensive, which renders it impossible
-for the ordinary baker to adopt it.
-
-Certainly, machinery has been applied with very great advantage to the
-manufacture of another kind of bread, on which they that go down upon
-the sea in ships were wont to depend—namely, ship’s biscuits. Badly
-made of bad materials, and ofttimes full of weevils were they, so hard
-that they had to be soaked in some liquid before they could be eaten,
-or else broken up and boiled with the pea soup.
-
-Up to the year 1833 the ships of the Royal Navy were supplied with
-biscuits made at Gosport by gangs of five men, severally named the
-_furner_, the _mate_, the _driver_, the _brakeman_, and the _idleman_.
-The _driver_ made the dough in a trough with his naked arms. The
-rough dough was then placed on a wooden platform, to be worked by the
-_brakeman_, who kneaded it by riding and jumping on it. Then it was
-taken to a moulding board, cut into slips, moulded by hand, docked, or
-pierced full of holes, and pitched into the oven by the joint action
-of the gang. The nine ovens in the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard
-required the labour of 45 men to keep them in full operation, and the
-product was about 14cwt. of biscuit per hour, at a cost for labour
-and utensils of 1_s._ 7_d._ per cwt. This system was superseded by
-machinery, and biscuits have been for many years past produced with
-almost incredible rapidity, perfect in kneading, moulding, and baking,
-and at a cost for labour and utensils of less than a third of the old
-outlay.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XII.
-
-THE RELIGIOUS USE OF BREAD.
-
-
-Of the many breads that are not in common use, that used in the
-celebration of the Communion should be placed first. There seems no
-room for doubt that, at the Last Supper, our Lord broke unleavened
-bread—St Luke xxii. is, apparently, conclusive on this point; and,
-to this day, the whole Latin, Armenian, and Maronite Churches use
-unleavened bread, and it is also used in many churches of the Anglican
-communion. Dr. Lee[16] says: ‘The Ethiopic Christians also use
-unleavened bread at their Mass on Maundy Thursday, but leavened bread
-on other occasions. The Greek and other Oriental Churches use leavened
-bread, which is especially made for the purpose, with scrupulous care
-and attention. The Christians of St. Thomas likewise make use of
-leavened bread, composed of fine flour, which, by an ancient rule of
-theirs, ought to be prepared on the same day upon which it is to be
-consecrated. It is circular in shape, stamped with a large cross, the
-border being edged with smaller crosses, so that, when it is broken
-up, each fragment may contain the holy symbol. In the Roman Catholic
-Church the bread is made thin and circular, and bears upon it either
-the impressed figure
-
-of the crucifix, or the letters I.H.S. Pope St. Zephyrinus, who lived
-in the third century, terms the Sacramental bread, _Corona sive oblata,
-sphericæ, figuræ_, “a crown, or oblation, of a spherical figure,” the
-circle being indicative of the Divine presence after consecration. The
-Orientals, occasionally, make their altar breads square, on which is
-stamped a cross, with an inscription. The square form of the bread is
-a mystical indication that, by the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross,
-salvation is purchased for the four comers of the earth.’ And Dr. Lee
-gives illustrations of the altar bread, or wafers, in use in the Latin,
-Armenian, Coptic, and Greek Churches.
-
-It seems certain that, in the Primitive Church, neither unleavened
-bread nor wafers were used. Ancient writers say that the bread used
-was common bread, such as was made for their own use. It was also a
-charge against the Ebionites that they celebrated in unleavened bread
-and water only. The bread generally used was called _fermentum_, and
-though this is explained by the schoolmen, who claimed primitive custom
-for unleavened bread, as the _eulogia_, or _panis benedictus_, which
-was blessed for such as did not communicate, Pope Innocent I. plainly
-says that it refers to the Sacrament itself. Moreover, no Greek writer
-before Michael Cerularius, who lived A.D. 1051, objected to the use of
-unleavened bread in the Roman Church, which would seem to show that
-it was not extensively used before that time. Even some Roman writers
-speak of the custom as erroneous.
-
-How the change in this matter was made, and the exact time when,
-is not easily determined. Cardinal Bona’s conjecture seems probable
-enough: that it crept in when the people began to leave off making
-their oblations in common bread. This occasioned the clergy to provide
-it themselves, and they, under pretence of decency and respect, brought
-it from leaven to unleaven, and from a loaf of common bread, that might
-be broken, to a nice and delicate wafer, formed in the figure of a
-_denarius_, or penny, to represent the pence for which our Saviour was
-betrayed; and then, also, the people, instead of offering a loaf of
-bread, as formerly, were ordered to offer a penny, which was either to
-be given to the poor, or to be expended upon something pertaining to
-the sacrifice of the altar.
-
-The alteration in the Communion bread occasioned great disputes between
-the Eastern and Western Churches.
-
-The first Common Prayer Book of Edward VI. enjoins unleavened bread
-to be used throughout the whole kingdom for the celebration of the
-Eucharist. It was ordered to be _round_, in imitation of the wafers
-used in the Greek and Roman Churches; but it was to be _without all
-manner of print_, the wafers usually having the impression either of
-a crucifix or the Holy Lamb; and _something more large and thicker_
-than the wafers, which were the size of a penny. This rubric, affording
-matter for scruple, was set aside at the review of the Liturgy, in the
-fifth year of King Edward; and another inserted in its room, which
-still exists, by which it is declared sufficient that _the bread be
-such as is usually eaten_.
-
-It was the custom in Westminster Abbey, and in the Royal chapels,
-and the practice of such men as Bishop Andrewes, to use wafers, but
-‘for peace sake,’ where wafers were objected to, plain and pure
-wheaten bread was allowed. It has been decided by the Privy Council
-that it not only may, but must, be common bread; the Injunctions,
-according to them, being of no validity against the rubric; while the
-Advertisements, having been made under Act of Parliament, and not
-contrary to the rubric, are an indication of its meaning—_i.e._, of the
-word ‘retained in the Ornaments rubric.’
-
-The bread now used is common wheaten bread in most Protestant Churches.
-In some Presbyterian Churches a special kind of wafer is prepared for
-the purpose. In the Roman Church thin wafers are used. In the Eastern
-Churches they are of different sizes and thicknesses.
-
-They are thus classified by the Rev. F. E. Brightman in _Liturgies
-Eastern_:
-
-1. Byzantine; a round leavened cake 5 × 2 in., stamped with a square
-(2 in.); itself divided by a cross into four squares in which are
-severally inscribed IC, XC, NI, KA.
-
-2. The Syrian Jacobite and Syrian Uniat; a round cake, leavened with
-the holy leaven, 3 × 3/4, stamped like a wheel with four diameters (the
-alternate radii being cut off half way from the circumference by a
-concentric circle).
-
-3. The Marionite; the Latin unleavened wafer.
-
-4. The Coptic; a round leavened cake, 3-1/2 × 3/4, stamped round the
-edge with the legend, Αγιος ο θεος, αγιος ισχυρος, αγιος αθανατος,
-and within with a cross consisting of twelve little squares, each of
-which and the remaining spandrels are marked with a little cross placed
-diagonally.
-
-5. The Abyssinian; a flat round leavened cake, 4 × 3/4, stamped with
-a cross of nine squares with four squares added in the angles of the
-cross.
-
-6. The Nestorian; a round leavened cake, 2 × 1/2, stamped with a
-cross-crosslet and four small crosses.
-
-7. The Armenian; a round unleavened wafer, 3 × 1/8, stamped with an
-ornamental border, the crucifix and the sacred name and sometimes with
-two diameters at right angles to the back.
-
-In regard to the Protestant Non-Episcopal Churches, it is stated in
-Herzog’s _Religious Encyclopædia_ that the administration follows
-one of two types. These are the Lutheran and the Calvinistic. In the
-Lutheran, the elements are consecrated with the sign of the cross, a
-wafer of unleavened bread is given whole to the communicant, and white
-wine, instead of red, is used. The communicants kneel and receive the
-elements into their mouths instead of their hands. The Calvinistic
-type simplifies the service as much as possible, and assimilates it
-to a common meal. ‘In the French Reformed Church the elements are
-placed—the bread in two silver dishes, and the wine in two silver
-cups—on a table spread with a white linen cloth. From twenty-five to
-thirty communicants approach the table at a time. The officiating
-minister makes a free prayer, and then, while repeating the words of
-institution, presents the elements to his neighbours on the left and
-on the right, after which the dish and the cup pass from hand to
-hand. With various modifications this type has been adopted by all the
-Reformed (Non-Episcopal) Churches.’
-
-This is practically the method adopted in most of the British
-Non-Episcopal Churches; instead, however, of the communicants coming
-forward to the table, they remain in their pews, the bread and wine
-being handed round by elders or deacons. In the American Non-Episcopal
-Churches the same plan is usually adopted.
-
-These divergencies of method illustrate the strange fact in the
-Christian life, that around the simple and beautiful institution of
-the Lord’s Supper there have raged the fiercest controversies in
-religious history. So divergent are the views held about it, that the
-Roman Catholic Church asserts that in every celebration of the Mass
-our Saviour is again actually offered as a sacrifice, and the bread
-and wine become the actual body and blood of the Lord, this miracle of
-transformation being wrought through the consecrating prayer of the
-priest. The Quakers, at the other extreme, do not observe the service
-at all, and do not consider it to be a binding ordinance. Here, as so
-often in life, the truth lies between the extremes. The bread and the
-wine are the symbols of our Lord’s body and blood. We do not feed on
-Him by the mere physical eating of the consecrated elements, but we
-partake of Him through faith as we remember that His body was broken
-for us, and His blood shed for the remission of our sins. His own
-loving command as He sat at the table with His disciples was, ‘This
-do in remembrance of Me,’ and it is through fellowship with Him in
-spirit—in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary—that ‘we
-feed on Him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving.’
-
-
-There is a semi-sacred bread eaten by the English race, and by no one
-else—the hot-cross bun—millions of which are devoured in England on
-Good Friday. Its origin is obscure, as is also that of the word ‘bun.’
-Most dictionaries derive it from the old French _bigne_, or _bugne_—a
-swelling; but it certainly occurs in an early _Promptorium Parvulorum_,
-as ‘bunne-brede.’ Anent ‘Eating Buns on Good Friday,’ a correspondent
-in the _Athenæum_ of April 4, 1857, p. 144, wrote:
-
-‘In the _Museo Lapidario_ of the Vatican, on the Christian side of
-it, and not far off from the door leading into the library, there
-is a tablet representing in a rude manner the miracle of the five
-barley loaves. Every visitor must have seen it, for it has been there
-for years. The loaves are round, like cakes, and have a cross upon
-them, such as our cakes bear, which are broken and eaten on Good
-Friday morning, symbolical of the sacrifice of the body of our Lord.
-Five of these cakes, explanatory of the scene, are ranged beneath
-an arch-shaped table, at which recline five people, while another,
-with a basket full, is occupied in serving them. The cakes are so
-significant of the Bread of Life that one might almost regard the
-repast as intended to prefigure the sacrifice that was to follow, and
-the institution connected with it. Having, from the earliest period of
-memory, cherished a particular regard for hot-cross buns and all their
-pleasing associations, it was a source of gratifying reflection to
-see my old favourites thus brought into intimate association with the
-pious thoughts of the primitive Christians, and to know that at home
-we cherished an ancient usage on Good Friday which the more Catholic
-nations of Europe no longer observed. But, alas! there is always some
-drawback to our full satisfaction in this world, and knowledge is often
-a cruel dissipation of favourite convictions; my faith in the Christian
-biography of these buns has recently received a very rude shock.
-
-‘It would appear that they have descended to us, not from any Popish
-practice, as some _pious_ souls affirm, but from one which was
-actually, and, like the word which we use to signify the great festival
-of the Church, _Easter_, to a paganism as ancient as the worship of
-_Astarte_, in honour of whom, about the time of the Passover, our pagan
-ancestors, the Saxons, baked and offered up a particular kind of cake.
-We read in Jeremiah (vii. 17, 18): “Seest thou not what they do in the
-cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather
-wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough,
-to make cakes to the Queen of Heaven.” [See also Jeremiah xliv. 18,
-19.] Dr. Stukeley, in his _Medallic History of Valerius Carausius_,
-remarks that they were “assiduous to knead the Easter cakes for her
-service.” The worship of a Queen of Heaven, under some significant name
-or other, was an almost universal practice, and exists still in various
-parts of the globe. She is usually represented, like the Madonna,
-bearing her son in her lap, or like Isis, with the infant Horus. We
-may see such images in the Louvre, and in the great Ethnographical
-Museum at Copenhagen, where the Queen of Heaven of the Chinese,
-_Tien-how_, figures in white porcelain, side by side with _Schling-mu_,
-the Holy Mother. Certain metaphysical ideas are apt to flow in a common
-channel, and get clothed in the same symbolical dress. Hence we find
-a Queen of Heaven, no less in Mexico than in China, in Egypt, Greece,
-Italy, and England; and, under the pagan title of a Christian festival,
-preserve, along with our buns, the memorial of her ancient reign.’
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII.
-
-GINGER BREAD AND CHARITY BREAD.
-
-
-But there is a bread which must not escape notice—a true bread—although
-somewhat sweet and spiced. When it was first introduced into England no
-one can tell, but it was well known in the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
-for Shakespeare, in _Love’s Labour Lost_ (Act V., S. 1), makes Costard
-say: ‘An I had but one penny in the world, thou shouldst have it to buy
-gingerbread.’ And we find it used in a similar way to the educational
-biscuits of the present day; for Matthew Prior, in his _Alma_ says:
-
- ‘To Master John, the English maid
- A horn-book gives, of gingerbread;
- And, that the child may learn the better,
- As he can name, he eats the letter.’
-
-It was made with honey, before the introduction of sugar, and must be
-of remote antiquity and intimately allied to our friend the _Bous_.
-The Rhodians made bread with honey which was so pleasant that it was
-eaten as cake after dinner. The German gingerbread and the French _pain
-d’épice_ used both to be made with honey. The use of gingerbread is
-widely spread, and wherever it is eaten it is popular, even in the
-far East Indies, where both natives and Anglo-Indians rejoice in it.
-In Holland it is in more request than in any other country in Europe,
-and the recipe for its manufacture is guarded as a jealous secret and
-descends as an heirloom from father to son.
-
-[Illustration: Hot Gingerbread, Smoking Hot.]
-
-In its early days gingerbread was an unleavened cake, and the first
-attempt to make it light was to introduce pearl-ash or potash;
-afterwards alum was introduced, now it is made of ordinary fermented
-dough, or with carbonate of ammonia. When well made, gingerbread will
-last good for years; but if not well made, and of good materials, it
-will last no time, but will get soft with the first damp weather. Such
-was the stuff sold at fairs—both thick gingerbread and nuts—booths
-being erected for the sale of nothing else. The background of these
-booths was ornamented by gingerbread crowns, kings and queens, cocks,
-etc., dazzlingly resplendent with _pseudo_ gold leaf, or, as it was
-then called, ‘Dutch metal.’ I do not think that anybody ever ate any of
-these works of art, I think they were solely for ornament; and, when
-combined with bows and streamers of bright-coloured ribbons, they made
-the gingerbread booths the most attractive in the fair.
-
-In the last century it was a great institution, and Swift, writing to
-Stella, says: ‘’Tis a loss you are not here, to partake of three weeks’
-frost, and eat gingerbread in a booth by a fire on the Thames.’ There
-was a famous itinerant vendor of this article named Ford, but who was
-more generally known as ‘Tiddy Diddy Doll,’ from a song he used to
-sing whose words were but those. He flourished in the middle of last
-century, and Hogarth painted him in one of the scenes of ‘Industry and
-Idleness,’ where the idle apprentice is going to his doom.
-
-[Illustration: HOGARTH’S PICTURE OF FORD.]
-
-Hone, in his _Every Day Book_, vol. i., p. 375, etc., gives a very
-good account of Ford. He says: ‘This celebrated vendor of gingerbread,
-from his eccentricity of character, and extensive dealings in his
-way, was always hailed as the king of itinerant tradesmen.[17] In his
-person he was tall, well made, and his features handsome. He affected
-to dress like a person of rank—white and gold suit of clothes, laced
-ruffled shirt, laced hat and feathers, white silk stockings, with the
-addition of a fine white apron. Among his harangues to gain customers,
-take this as a specimen: ‘Mary, Mary, where are you now, Mary? I
-live, when I am at home, at the second house in Little Ball Street,
-two steps underground, with a wiscum, riscum, and a why-not. Walk in,
-ladies and gentlemen, my shop is on the second floor backwards, with
-a brass knocker at the door. Here’s your nice gingerbread, your spice
-gingerbread; it will melt in your mouth like a red-hot brick-bat, and
-rumble in your inside like Punch and his wheel-barrow.’... For many
-years (and perhaps at present) allusion was made to his name, as thus:
-‘You are so fine, you look like Tiddy Doll. You are as tawdry as Tiddy
-Doll. You are quite Tiddy Doll,’ etc.
-
-But there is a use for badly-made gingerbread which perhaps some of us
-do not know—a gingerbread barometer. It is nothing more than the figure
-of a General made of gingerbread, which Clavette buys every year at the
-_Place du Trone_. When he gets home he hangs his purchase on a nail.
-You know the effect of the atmosphere on gingerbread; the slightest
-moisture renders it soft; in dry weather, on the contrary, it grows
-hard and tough. Every morning, on going out, Clavette asks his servant,
-‘What does the General say?’ The man forthwith applies his thumb to the
-figure, and replies, ‘The General feels flabby about the chest; you’d
-better take your umbrella!’ On the other hand, when the symptoms are
-hard and unyielding, our worthy colleague sallies forth in his new hat.
-
-A curious use of dough, somewhat sweetened, was made at Christmas, when
-it was manufactured into _Yule doughs_, or dows, or _Yule babies_,
-small images like dolls with currants for eyes, intended probably to
-represent the infant Jesus, which were presented by bakers to the
-children of their customers. Another Christmas custom connected with
-dough used to obtain in Wiltshire, where a hollow loaf, containing an
-apple, and ornamented on the top with the head of a cock or a dragon,
-with currant eyes, and made of paste, was baked, and put by a child’s
-bedside on Christmas morning to be eaten before breakfast. This was
-called a _Cop-a-loaf_, or _Cop-loaf_.
-
-Much land in England was held by tenure, in which bread plays a part,
-as the following instances out of many will show.[18]
-
-Apelderham, Sussex.—John Aylemer holds by court roll one messuage and
-one yard [thirty acres] land.... And he ought to find at three reap
-days, in autumn, every day, two men, and was to have for each of the
-said men, on every of such reap days, viz., on each of the two first
-days, one loaf of wheat and barley mixed, weighing eighteen pounds of
-wax, every loaf to be of the price of a penny farthing; and at the
-third reap day each man was to have a loaf of the same weight, all of
-wheat, of the price of a penny halfpenny.
-
-Chakedon, Oxon.—Every mower on this manor was to have a loaf of the
-price of a halfpenny, besides other things.
-
-Glastonbury, Somerset.—In the thirty-third year of Edward I., William
-Pasturell held twelve ox-gangs of land there from the abbot, by service
-of finding a cook in the kitchen of the said abbot and a baker for the
-bakehouse.
-
-Hallaton, Leicester.—A piece of land was bequeathed to the use and
-advantage of the rector, who was there to provide ‘two hare pies, a
-quantity of ale, and two dozen of penny loaves, to be scrambled for on
-Easter Monday annually.’
-
-Lenneston or Loston, Devon.—Geoffrey de Alba-Marlia held this hamlet of
-the King, rendering therefore to the King, as often as he should hunt
-in the Forest of Dartmoor, one loaf of oat bread of the value of half a
-farthing, and three barbed arrows, feathered with peacock’s feathers,
-and fixed in the aforesaid loaf.
-
-Liston, Essex.—In the forty-first year of Edward III., Nan, the wife
-of William Leston, held the manor of Overhall, in this parish, by the
-service of paying for, bringing in, and placing of five wafers before
-the King, as he sits at dinner, upon the day of his coronation.
-
-Twickenham, Middlesex.—There was an ancient custom here of dividing
-two great cakes in the church among the young people on Easter Day;
-but, it being looked upon as a superstitious relic, it was ordered by
-Parliament, in 1645, that the parishioners should forbear that custom,
-and instead thereof buy loaves of bread for the poor of the parish
-with the money that should have bought the cakes. It is probable that
-the cakes were bought at the vicar’s expense; for it appears that the
-sum of one pound per annum is still charged upon the vicarage for the
-purpose of buying penny loaves for poor children on the Thursday before
-Easter. Within the memory of man they were thrown from the church
-steeple to be scrambled for.
-
-Wells, Dorset.—Richard de Wells held this manor ever since the Conquest
-by the service of being baker to our Lord the King.
-
-Witham, Essex.—By an inquisition made in the reign of Henry III., it
-appears that one Geoffrey de Lyston held land at Witham by the service
-of carrying flour to make wafers on the King’s birthday, whenever his
-Majesty was in the Kingdom.
-
-Of bread, as given away in charity or by dole, the examples in England
-are almost numberless; still a few somewhat redeemed from common place,
-and extracted from the Report on Charities, may interest the reader.[19]
-
-Assington, Suffolk.—John Winterflood, by will dated April 2, 1593,
-gave to the poor of Assington four bushels of meslin (wheat and rye)
-payable out of the manor of Aveley Hall, to be distributed in bread at
-Christmas; and four bushels of meslin, out of the rectory or priory
-of Assington, to be distributed in bread at Easter; and under this
-donation four bushels of wheat are brought to Assington Church and
-distributed among the poor at Christmas, and the like quantity of wheat
-at Easter.
-
-St. Bartholomew by the Exchange, London.—Several benefactors have given
-bread to the poor of this parish. Richard Crowshaw, goldsmith, by will,
-April 26, 1531, directed that 100_l._ should be paid to provide 2_s._
-weekly for ever, to be laid out in good cheese, to be delivered to the
-poor parishioners of this parish, according as they received the bread,
-which then was and had been long given them.
-
-[Illustration: THE BIDDENDEN MAIDS.]
-
-Another bread and cheese charity still obtains in the village of
-Biddenden, Kent, about four miles from Tenterden; and it is noticeable
-on account of the tradition which assigns its foundation to a _lusus
-naturæ_ similar to the Siamese twins of our day. The founders of the
-charity, according to tradition, were Eliza and Mary Chulkhurst, who
-were born in 1100, and lived together, joined at hips and shoulders,
-for 34 years. To perpetuate their memory, biscuits, measuring 3-1/2 in.
-by 2 in. and about 1/4 in. thick, are made and distributed with the
-dole of bread on Easter Sunday. On these biscuits is stamped a rude
-representation of the ‘Biddenden Maids.’ There are two moulds, one made
-of beech-wood, judging from the twins’ costume of _commode_, or cap,
-and laced bodice, dates from the time of William and Mary or Anne; the
-other, which is of boxwood, although an attempted copy, is undoubtedly
-more modern. The writer has the biscuits, and with them came the
-following paper, headed by a rough woodcut:
-
-‘A short and concise history of Eliza and Mary Chulkhurst, who were
-both joined together by the hips and shoulders, in the year of our
-Lord 1100, at Biddenden, in the County of Kent, commonly called “The
-Biddenden Maids.”’
-
-The reader will observe by the plate that they lived together in the
-above state 34 years, at the expiration of which time one of them was
-taken ill, and in a short time died; the surviving one was advised to
-be separated from the body of her deceased sister by dissection, but
-she absolutely refused the separation by saying these words, ‘As we
-came together we will also go together’; and in the space of about six
-hours after her sister’s decease she was taken ill and died also.
-
-By their will they bequeathed to the churchwardens of the parish of
-Biddenden and their successor churchwardens, for ever, certain pieces
-or parcels of land in the parish of Biddenden, containing 20 acres,
-more or less, which are now let at 40 guineas per annum. There are
-usually made, in commemoration of these wonderful phenomena of Nature,
-about 1000 rolls (_sic_) with their impressions printed on them, and
-given away to all strangers on Easter Sunday, after Divine Service
-in the afternoon; also about 500 quartern loaves, and cheese in
-proportion, to all the poor inhabitants of the said parish.
-
-Hasted, in his _History of the County of Kent_ (edit. 1790, Vol. III.,
-p. 66), says, with regard to this benefaction: ‘There is a vulgar
-tradition in these parts that the figures on the cakes represent the
-donors of this gift, being two women—twins—who were joined together in
-their bodies, and lived together so till they were between 20 and 30
-years of age. But this seems without foundation. The truth seems to be
-that it was the gift of two maidens of the name of _Preston_, and that
-the print of the women on the cakes has only taken place within these
-50 years, and was made to represent two poor widows, as the general
-objects of a charitable benefaction. _William Horner_, rector of this
-parish, in 1656, brought a suit in the Exchequer for the recovery of
-these lands, as having been given for an augmentation of his glebe
-land; but he was nonsuited.’
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV.
-
-BREAD RIOTS.
-
-
-Bread riots are of comparatively modern date. In the olden days people
-suffered from scarcity, but they suffered without making senseless
-riots. There was no Free Trade in corn, and the people had to depend
-upon home-grown cereals; so that in times of drought or failure of
-crops they felt the pinch terribly. True, they had a certain amount of
-protection against overcharge and combination in the form of the Assize
-of Bread, which, while it gave the baker a working profit, gave the
-consumer the benefit of a sliding-scale according to the market value
-of wheat.
-
-It is not worth while going very far back to write the history of hard
-times and how they were met; a hundred years is quite long enough for
-retrospect. Suffice it, then, that the years 1795-96 were years of
-great scarcity, and all classes, from the peasant to the King, felt it,
-and met it like men. To cope with this dearth, the best way seemed to
-them to diminish, as far as possible, the use of wheaten flour, and to
-provide substitutes therefor. The King set his subjects a good example.
-
-‘His Majesty has given orders for the bread used in his household to
-be made of meal and rye mixed. No other sort is permitted to be baked,
-and the royal family eat bread of the same quality as their servants
-do. It is extremely sweet and palatable.
-
-‘One half flour, and half potatoes, also make a very excellent bread.’
-(_Times_, July 22, 1795.)
-
-‘The writer of this paragraph has seen the bread that is eaten at
-his Majesty’s table. It consists of two sorts only, the one composed
-of wheaten flour and rye mixed; the other is half wheaten flour,
-half potato flour. If ever example deserved imitation, it is this.’
-(_Times_, July 30, 1795.)
-
-People were requested to discontinue the use of hair powder, which was
-made of starch obtained from wheat, and very many did so; in fact, this
-movement extended to the Army, for we read in the _Times_, Feb. 10,
-1795: ‘In consequence of the scarcity of wheat, arising partly from
-such quantities of it being used for hair powder, several regiments
-have, very patriotically, discontinued the use of hair powder, which,
-in these instances, was generally nothing but flour.’
-
-Potatoes came very much to the fore as a substitute for wheat, and the
-Parliamentary Board of Agriculture proposed a premium of one thousand
-pounds to the person who would grow the largest breadth of potatoes on
-lands never before applied to the culture of that plant.
-
-The City authorities watched the bakers narrowly as to short weight
-and amerced them 5_s._ per ounce short, one man having to pay, with
-costs, £106 5_s._ on 420 ounces deficient in weight. Wheat in August,
-1795, was 13_s._ 6_d._ per bushel, and the price of the quartern loaf
-should then have been 1_s._ 6_d._, as it was 1_s._ 3_d._ in January,
-1796, when wheat was 11_s._ 6_d._ per bushel. It fell rapidly after
-harvest and in December, 1796, was 7_s._ 4_d._ per bushel. It must be
-remembered that money then had twice its present value.
-
-In 1800 there was another scarcity, and in February of that year a
-Bill passed into law which enacted ‘That it shall not be lawful for
-any baker, or other person, or persons, residing within the cities of
-London and Westminster, and the Bills of Mortality, and within ten
-miles of the Royal Exchange, after the 26th day of February, 1800, or
-residing in any part of Great Britain after the 4th day of March, 1800,
-to sell, or offer to expose for sale, any bread, until the same shall
-have been baked 24 hours at the least.’
-
-The average price of wheat this year was 14_s._ 1_d._ per bushel, and
-in July, just before harvest, it rose to 16_s._ 10_d._ or 134_s._ 8_d._
-per quarter, and other provisions were very dear. The people were less
-patient than in 1795-6, and in August and September several riots took
-place at Birmingham, Oxford, Nottingham, Coventry, Norwich, Stamford,
-Portsmouth, Sheffield, Worcester, and many other places. The markets
-were interrupted, and the populace compelled the farmers, etc., to sell
-their provisions at a low price.
-
-At last these riots extended to London, beginning in a very small way.
-Late at night on Saturday, September 13, or early on Sunday, the 14th,
-two large, written placards were pasted on the Monument, the text of
-which was—
-
- ‘Bread will be sixpence the quartern, if the people will
- assemble at the Corn Market on Monday.
-
- ‘FELLOW COUNTRYMEN,
-
-‘How long will ye quietly and cowardly suffer yourselves to be imposed
-upon and half-starved by a set of mercenary slaves and Government
-hirelings? Can you still suffer them to proceed in their extensive
-monopolies while your children are crying for bread? No! let them
-not exist a day longer. We are the sovereignty; rise then from your
-lethargy. Be at the Corn Market on Monday.’
-
-By means of these placards, and handbills to the same effect, a mob
-of over a thousand was collected in Mark Lane by nine a.m., and their
-number was doubled in another hour. They hissed and pelted the corn
-factors; but, about eleven a.m., when they began to break windows, the
-Lord Mayor appeared upon the spot. In vain he assured them that their
-behaviour could in no way affect the market. They only yelled at him,
-‘Cheap bread!’ ‘Birmingham and Nottingham for ever!’ ‘Three loaves for
-eighteen-pence,’ etc. They even hissed the Lord Mayor and smashed the
-windows close by him. This was more than he could bear, and he ordered
-the Riot Act to be read. The constables charged the mob, who, of
-course, fled, and the Lord Mayor returned to the Mansion House.
-
-They only went to other parts of the City, and, when night fell, they
-began smashing windows, etc. At last, fear of their firing the City
-induced the authorities to invoke the assistance of some Volunteers and
-Militia, and by their efforts the mob was driven over London Bridge
-into Southwark, where they rendered the night lively by breaking
-windows, etc.
-
-For a day or two there was peace; but on the morning and during the
-day and night of the 18th of September the mob had it all their own
-way, breaking windows and pillaging. A royal proclamation was issued,
-calling on the civil authorities to suppress these riots, which was
-done at last by means of cavalry and Volunteers, but only after the mob
-having two more days’ uncontrolled possession of London. But the people
-in the country were not so quickly satisfied; their wages were smaller
-than those of their London brethren, and they proportionately felt the
-pinch more acutely. In some instances they were put down by force, in
-others the price of bread was lowered; but it is impossible at this
-time to take up a newspaper and not find some notice of or allusion to
-a food riot.
-
-The importation of foreign corn supplied the deficiency of the English
-crops, and bread was moderately cheap; but in 1815, probably with a
-view to assuage the agricultural distress then prevalent, a measure was
-proposed and passed by which foreign corn was to be prohibited, except
-when wheat had reached 80_s._ a quarter—a price considered by the great
-body of consumers as exorbitant. A resolution was passed ‘That it is
-the opinion of the Committee that any sort of foreign corn, meal, or
-flour, which may by law be imported into the United Kingdom shall at
-all times be allowed to be brought into the United Kingdom, and to be
-warehoused there, without payment of any duty whatever.’
-
-The popular feeling was well worked on; and on March 6 groups of people
-assembled near the Houses of Parliament, about the usual time of
-meeting, hooting or cheering the members, and occasionally stopping a
-carriage and making its occupant walk through the crowd, which at last
-got so unruly that it was obliged to be dispersed by the military. Yet
-the whole night they were parading the streets, breaking windows, and
-yelling: ‘No Corn Bill!’ This conduct continued for two nights longer,
-until the rioters had almost worn themselves out, when an increase of
-military force finally extinguished the rising. But there were riots
-all over the country.
-
-In 1828 an Act of Parliament was passed which fixed the duty on foreign
-wheat according to a ‘sliding scale,’ whereby it was diminished from
-1_l._ 5_s._ 8_d._ per quarter whenever the average price of all England
-was under 62_s._, and was gradually reduced, as wheat rose in price,
-until the duty stood at 1_s._ when wheat was 73_s._ and upwards.
-
-Great agitation prevailed as to free corn; and on September 18, 1838,
-the Anti-Corn Law League, for procuring the repeal of the laws charging
-duty upon the importation of corn, was founded at Manchester. This
-organisation lectured, harangued, distributed pamphlets, and was
-perpetually in evidence—and at last succeeded in its object.
-
-The 5 Vict., c. 14 (April 29, 1842), was a revised sliding scale. When
-wheat was under 51_s._ the duty to be 1_l_.; when 73_s._ and over,
-1_s._; and this lasted until the Corn Importation Bill (9, 10, Vic.,
-c. 22) was passed on June 26, 1846, which reduced the duty on wheat to
-4_s._ when imported at or above 53_s._, until Feb. 1, 1849, when 1_s._
-duty per quarter only was to be levied on all kinds of imported grain.
-This shilling was taken off on June 24, 1869, and there is now no
-hindrance of any sort to the importation of foreign corn.
-
-Although there was fierce political contention over the Anti-Corn Law
-agitation physical force was not resorted to, and the next bread riots
-we hear of were in 1855. They seem to have begun at Liverpool, where,
-on Feb. 19, an unruly mob took possession of the city, clamouring for
-bread and looting the bakers’ shops. The police were unable to cope
-with the riot; therefore, special constables were sworn in and peace
-was restored towards evening. Next day about 60 prisoners were brought
-before the magistrates; some were committed for trial, others sentenced
-to one, two, or three months’ imprisonment.
-
-The riot spread to London, and during the night of Feb. 21 and the
-whole day of Feb. 22 the East End and South of London were terrorised
-by bands of men perambulating the streets and demanding bread and money
-from the inhabitants; some shops were looted, but, thanks to the police
-and the distribution of a large quantity of bread, serious consequences
-were averted. Several arrests were made and punishment duly meted out.
-
-On September 14, 1855, there were bread riots in Nottingham, where the
-mob broke the bakers’ windows and proceeded to such extremities that
-special constables were sworn in and peace was restored.
-
-On three successive Sundays, October 14, 21, and 28, 1855, there were
-disorderly meetings on account of the dearness of bread held in Hyde
-Park; the windows of many houses were smashed, but the disturbances
-hardly amounted to riot; and the same occurred on November 4, 11, and
-18, but the police prevented the mob from doing much mischief. Since
-then we have never known a _bread riot_, although the unemployed,
-Anarchists, etc., have at times been troublesome.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XV.
-
-LEGENDS ABOUT BREAD.
-
-
-As might be expected in an article of such worldwide consumption
-as bread, there is a considerable amount of folk-lore and sayings
-attendant on it. We can even find it in Shakespeare, for, in _Hamlet_
-(Act iv. s. 5), Ophelia says: ‘They say the owl was a baker’s
-daughter.’ This, unless one knew the Gloucestershire legend, would be
-unintelligible, but the bit of folk-lore makes it all clear. The story
-goes that our Saviour went into a baker’s shop, where they were baking,
-and asked for some bread to eat. The mistress of the shop immediately
-put a piece of dough into the oven to bake for Him, but was reprimanded
-by her daughter, who, insisting that the piece of dough was too large,
-reduced it to a very small size. The dough, however, immediately
-afterwards began to swell, and presently became a most enormous loaf;
-whereupon the baker’s daughter cried out: ‘Heugh! heugh! heugh!’ which
-owl-like noise probably induced our Saviour to transform her into that
-bird. This tradition is also current in Wales; but, there, the baker’s
-daughter altogether refuses to give Jesus a bit of dough, for which
-He changed her into the _Cassek gwenwyn, lilith, lamia, strix_, the
-night-spectre, _mara_, the screech-owl.
-
-In the catalogue of the pictures at Kenilworth, belonging to Queen
-Elizabeth’s Earl of Leicester at the time of his death (September 4,
-1588), are ‘The Picture of King Philip, with a Curtaine,’ and ‘The
-Picture of the Baker’s Daughter, with a Curtaine.’ And he had a copy of
-the same, or another picture of ‘The Baker’s Daughter,’ at his house at
-Wanstead. Whether this was a picture of the foregoing legend or not, no
-one can tell; but it has been suggested, from the fact of King Philip
-and the baker’s daughter coming in sequence in the catalogue, that it
-was the portrait of a female respecting whom there was some scandal
-current during Mary’s lifetime; it being said in an old ballad that
-Philip loved
-
- ‘The baker’s daughter, in her russet gown,
- Better than Queen Mary, with her crown.’
-
-Here is another story of miraculous bread. The _Mirakel Steeg_ (Miracle
-Street), at Leyden, derives its name from a miracle which happened
-there in 1315, and which is thus related in the _Kronyk van Holland van
-den Klerk_: ‘In the aforesaid year of famine, in the town of Leyden,
-there occurred a signal miracle to two women who lived next door to
-each other; for one having bought a barley loaf she cut it into two
-pieces and laid one half by, for that was all her living, because of
-the great dearness and famine that prevailed. And as she stood, and was
-cutting off the one half for her children, her neighbour, who was in
-great want and need through hunger, saw her, and begged her, for God’s
-sake, to give her the other half, and she would pay her well. But she
-denied again and again, and affirmed mightily and by oath that she had
-no other bread, and as her neighbour would not believe her, she said in
-an angry mood: “If I have any bread in my house more than this, I pray
-God that it may turn to stone.” Then her neighbour left her and went
-away. But when the first half of the loaf was eaten up, and she went
-for the other half which she had laid by, that bread was become stone,
-which stone, just as the bread was, is now at Leyden, at St. Peter’s
-Church, and as a sign they are wont, on all high feast days, to lay it
-before the Holy Ghost.’
-
-A stone loaf, supposed to be this one, is now shown at the hospital in
-Middelburg, where, in the vestibule, hangs an old picture representing
-the miracle at Leyden. The original stone loaf, it is believed,
-disappeared from Leyden about the time of the Reformation.
-
-Of all extraordinary uses to which a loaf of bread could be put is that
-of ‘sin eating,’ by which, at a funeral, a man was found who would for
-a small fee eat a loaf of bread, in the eating of which he was supposed
-to take the dead man’s sins upon himself. In a letter from John
-Bagford, a famous bookseller, dated February 1, 1714-15, relating to
-the antiquities of London, which is printed in Leland’s _Collectanea_,
-he says: ‘Within the memory of our fathers in Shropshire, in those
-villages adjoyning to Wales, when a person dyed there was notice given
-to an old sire (for so they called him), who presently repaired to the
-place where the deceased lay, and stood before the door of the house,
-when some of the family came out and furnished him with a cricket, on
-which he sat down, facing the door. Then they gave him a groat, which
-he put in his pocket; a crust of bread, which he eat; and a full bowle
-of ale, which he drank off at a draught. After this he got up from the
-cricket and pronounced, with a composed gesture, _the ease and rest of
-the soul departed, for which he would pawn his own soul_. This I had
-from the ingenious John Aubrey, Esq., who made a collection of curious
-observations, which I have seen, and is now remaining in the hands of
-Mr. Churchill, the bookseller. How can a man think otherwise of this
-than it proceeded from the ancient heathens?’
-
-This MS. of Aubrey’s, of which Bagford speaks, is, most probably, that
-now preserved in the British Museum (Lansdowne MSS. 231) entitled
-‘Romains of Gentilisme and Judaisme,’ and dated February, 1686-7. In it
-he thus writes:
-
-‘SINNE-EATERS.—In the County of Hereford was an old custom at funeralls
-to have poor people, who were to take upon them all the sinnes of the
-party deceased. One of them, I remember, lived in a cottage on Rosse
-Highway. (He was a long, lean, ugly, lamentable poor raskal.) The
-manner was, that when the Corps was brought out of the house, and layd
-on the Biere, a Loafe of bread was brought out, and delivered to the
-Sinne-eater over the corps, as also a Mazar-bowle of Maple (Gossips’
-bowle) full of beer, which he was to drinke up, and sixpence in money,
-in consideration whereof he tooke upon him (_ipso facto_) all the
-Sinnes of the Defunct, and freed him (or her) from walking after they
-were dead. This custome alludes (methinkes) something to the Scapegoate
-in ye old Lawe. Leviticus, cap. xvi. verse 21-22: “And Aaron shall lay
-both his hands on the head of the live goate, and confesse over him all
-ye iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions
-in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall
-send him away, by the hand of a fitt man, into the wildernesse.” This
-custome (though rarely used in our dayes) yet by some people was
-continued even in the strictest time of ye Presbyterian government; as
-at Dynder, _nolens volens_ the Parson of ye Parish, the relations of a
-woman deceased there had the ceremonie punctually performed according
-to her Will; also the like was done at ye City of Hereford, in these
-times, when a woman kept, manie yeares before her death, a Mazard bowle
-for the sinne-eater; and the like as in other places in this Countie,
-as also in Brecon, _e.g._, at Llangors, where Mr. Givin, the minister,
-about 1640, could no hinder ye performing of this ancient custome. I
-believe this custome was, heretofore, used all over Wales’.
-
-‘See _Juvenal_, Satyr vi. (519-521) where he speaks of throwing purple
-thread into the river to carry away one’s sinnes.
-
-‘In North Wales the Sinne-eaters are frequently made use of; but there,
-instead of a Bowle of Beere, they have a bowle of Milke.
-
-‘Methinkes, Doles to Poore people with money at Funeralls have some
-resemblance to that of ye Sinne-eater. Doles at Funeralls were
-continued at gentlemen’s funerals in the West of England till the
-Civil-warre. And so in Germany at rich men’s funerals Doles are in use,
-and to everyone a quart of strong and good beer.’
-
-Anent these doles, Pennant says it was customary, when the corpse was
-brought out of the house and laid upon the bier, for the next-of-kin,
-be it widow, mother, sister, or daughter (for it must be a female), to
-give over the coffin a quantity of white loaves in a great dish, and
-sometimes a cheese, with a piece of money stuck in it, to certain poor
-persons. After that they presented in the same manner a cup of drink,
-and required the person to drink a little of it immediately.
-
-Sin-eating survived the times of Aubrey and Bagford, for in a book,
-_Christmas Evans, the Preacher of Wild Wales_, by the Rev. Paxton Hood,
-Lond., 1881, he says: ‘The superstition of the Sin-eater is said to
-linger, even now, in the secluded vale of Cwm-Aman, in Carmarthenshire.
-The meaning of this most singular institution of superstition was,
-that when a person died, the friends sent for the Sin-Eater of the
-district, who, on his arrival, placed a plate of salt and bread on the
-breast of the deceased person; he then uttered an incantation over the
-bread, after which he proceeded to eat it, thereby eating the sins of
-the dead person; this done, he received a fee of two and sixpence,
-which, we suppose, was much more than many a preacher received for a
-long and painful service. Having received this, he vanished as quickly
-as possible, all the friends and relatives of the departed aiding his
-exit with blows and kicks, and other indications of their faith in the
-service he had rendered. A hundred years since, and through the ages
-before that time, we suppose this curious superstition was everywhere
-prevalent.’
-
-Bread and salt are used in several ways. In Russia, Servia, and
-wherever the Greek Church holds sway, they are presented to
-honoured guests as a welcome. The custom even obtains in England. A
-correspondent of _Notes and Queries_ (5 Series ix. 48), says: ‘Some
-years since I called for the first time on Canon Percy, of Carlisle, at
-his residence there. When refreshments had been offered and declined,
-he said: “You must have some bread and salt,” with some remarks to
-imply that it was the way to establish a friendship. These were then
-brought in and eaten, without anything to lead one to suppose that this
-was an unusual custom in the house.’
-
-There was another curious custom in the North of England, as another
-correspondent shows in the same volume (p. 138): ‘In the North Riding,
-20 or 30 years ago, a roll of new bread, a pinch of table salt, and a
-new silver groat, or fourpenny-piece, were offered to every babe on
-its first visit to a friend’s house. The gift was certainly made, more
-than once, to me, and I recollect seeing it made to other babies. The
-groat was reserved for its proper owner, but the nurse, who carried
-that owner, appropriated the bread and salt, and was gratified with
-a half-crown or so.’ Several other correspondents confirm this, and
-somewhat enlarge upon it, including in the gift an egg and a match. One
-(5 Ser. x. 216) thus explains the custom: ‘The custom of presenting an
-egg, etc., is widely distributed. I can answer for it in Lincolnshire,
-Yorkshire, and Durham. In Lincolnshire, at the first visit of a new
-baby at a friendly house, it is presented with “an egg, both meat and
-drink; salt, which savours everything; bread, the staff of life; a
-match, to light it through the world; and a coin, that it may never
-want money.” This is the case at Winterton, where it is still done. In
-Durham, a piece of christening-cake is hidden under the child’s robe,
-and given to the first person of the opposite sex met on coming out
-of church. This is wholly distinct from the egg presentation.’ It is
-common at Edinburgh, and in other parts of Scotland, to give bread and
-cheese, on the Sabbath, to the first person of the opposite sex met
-with when the baby is taken to church to be baptised.
-
-One of the most peculiar uses to which a loaf of bread could be put is
-the discovery of the bodies of drowned persons. The earliest instance I
-can find is in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for 1767, p. 189. (It is also
-in the _Annual Register_ for the same year.) ‘Wednesday, April 8.—An
-inquisition was taken, at Newbery, Berks, on the body of a child, near
-two years old, who fell into the river Kennet and was drowned. The jury
-brought in their verdict, Accidental death. The body was discovered by
-a very singular experiment, which was as follows: After diligent search
-had been made in the river for the child, to no purpose, a twopenny
-leaf, with a quantity of quicksilver put into it, was set floating
-from the place where the child, it was supposed, had fallen in, which
-steered its course down the river, upwards of half a mile, before a
-great number of spectators, when the body, happening to lay on the
-contrary side of the river, the loaf suddenly tacked about, and swam
-across the river, and gradually sunk near the child, when both the
-child and loaf were immediately brought up with grubbers ready for that
-purpose.’
-
-This superstition has survived till modern times, as the following
-three or four instances will show. On January 24, 1872, a boy named
-Harris fell into the stream at Sherborne, Dorsetshire, near Dark Hole
-Mill, and was drowned. The body not having been found for some days,
-the following expedient was adopted to discover its whereabouts: On
-January 30, a four-pound loaf, of the best flour, was procured, and a
-small piece cut out of its side, forming a cavity, into which a little
-quicksilver was poured. The piece was then replaced and tied firmly in
-its original position. The loaf, thus prepared, was then thrown into
-the river at the spot where the boy fell in, and was expected to float
-down the stream until it came to the place where the body was supposed
-to have lodged, when it began to eddy round and round, thus indicating
-the sought-for spot; but on this occasion there was no result.
-
-A writer in _Notes and Queries_, January 3, 1878, p. 8, says: ‘A young
-woman has singularly disappeared at Swinton, near Sheffield. The canal
-has been unsuccessfully dragged, and the Swinton folk are now going
-to test the merits of a local superstition which afirms that a loaf
-of bread containing quicksilver, if cast upon the water, will drift
-to, keep afloat, and remain stationary over any dead body which may be
-lying immersed out of sight.’
-
-The _Leeds Mercury_, October 26, 1883, has the following: ‘A Press
-Association despatch says: Adelaide Amy Terry, servant to Dr. Williams,
-of Brentford, was sent to a neighbour with a message on Sunday
-evening, and as she did not return, and was known to be short-sighted,
-it was feared she had fallen into the canal, which was dragged, but
-without success. On Tuesday an old bargewoman suggested that a loaf of
-bread, in which some quicksilver had been placed, should be floated in
-the water. This was done, and the loaf became stationary at a certain
-spot The dragging was resumed there, and the body was discovered.’
-
-The following is from the _Stamford Mercury_, December 18, 1885:
-‘At Ketton, on Tuesday, an inquest was held by Mr. Shield, coroner,
-touching the death of Harry Baker, aged twenty-three, who was missed
-on the night of November 27, after the termination of the polling for
-the county election, and was believed to have walked into the ford,
-near the stone bridge, during the darkness. The river at that time
-was running strongly, and deceased had no companions with him. The
-dragging-irons from Stamford were obtained, and a protracted search
-was made in the river, but without result. However, in obedience to
-the wish of Baker’s mother, a loaf charged with quicksilver (said to
-have been scraped from an old looking-glass) was cast upon the waters,
-and it came to a standstill in the river at the bottom of Mr. Lewin’s
-field. Here the grappling-hooks were put in, and at four o’clock on
-Monday afternoon last the corpse was brought to the surface, having
-been in the water seventeen days. The river had been dragged several
-times before at this spot.’
-
-Nor is this superstition confined to England, for in Brittany, when
-the body of a drowned man cannot be found, a lighted taper is fixed
-in a loaf consecrated to St. Nicholas, which is then abandoned to the
-retreating current, and where the loaf stops there they expect to find
-the body. In Germany the name of the drowned person is inscribed on the
-bread. And a somewhat similar idea seems to obtain among the Canadian
-Indians, for Sir Jas. E. Alexander, in his _L’Acadie_ (p. 26), says:
-‘The Indians imagine that in the case of a drowned body its place may
-be discovered by floating a chip of cedar-wood, which will stop and
-turn round over the exact spot. An instance occurred within my own
-knowledge in the case of Mr. Lavery, of Kingston Mill, whose boat
-overset, and the person was drowned near Cedar Island; nor could the
-body be discovered until the experiment was resorted to.’
-
-Aubrey (_Remains of Gentilisme and Judaisme_) says he had the following
-from old Mr. Frederick Vaughan: ‘The Friar’s Mendicant heretofore would
-take their opportunity to come to the houses when the good woemen did
-bake, and would _read a Ghospel over the batch_, and the good woman
-would give them a cake, etc. It should seem by Chaucer’s tale that they
-had a fashion to beg in rhyme—
-
- “Of your white bread I would desire a shiver,
- And of your hen, the liver.”’
-
-And Aubrey’s friend, Dr. White Kennet, says in the same book: ‘In Kent
-and many other parts the women when they have kneaded their dough into
-a loaf cut ye form of a cross on the top of it.’
-
-I have been favoured by the Rev. T. F. Thiselton-Dyer, whose works on
-folk-lore are so deservedly well known, with the following notes on
-superstitions about bread:
-
-‘Throughout the world a special respect has always been paid to
-bread as the “staff of life.” Hence, according to a trite and common
-saying: “The man who wastes bread will live to want.” It is not
-surprising, indeed, that this food of man, which in some form or other
-is indispensable, should have from time immemorial been invested with
-an almost sacred character, anyone who is recklessly careless of the
-household loaf incurring risk of poverty one day himself.
-
-‘At the outset, it may be noticed that, as a precautionary measure
-against mishaps of any kind, many housewives were formerly in the habit
-of making the sign of the cross on their loaves of bread before placing
-them in the ovens, a practice which is still kept up in some parts of
-the country. Various explanations have been assigned for this custom,
-the common one being “that it prevents the bread turning out heavy.” In
-Shropshire one day remarked an elderly maidservant: “We always make a
-cross on the flour before baking, and on the malt before mashing up for
-brewing. It’s to keep it from being bewitched.” Some, again, maintain
-that the sign of the cross “keeps the bread from getting mouldy,” but
-whatever the true reason, it is persistently adhered to in the West of
-England. As, however, evil spirits and malicious fairies were generally
-supposed to be powerless when confronted with the sign of the cross,
-there is every reason to suppose that this is the origin of this
-superstition.
-
-‘In days gone by, too, bread was used as a charm against witches, no
-doubt from its being stamped with the sign of the holy cross. Herrick,
-for instance, in his _Hesperides_, alludes to this usage in the
-following rhyme:
-
- “Bring the holy crust of bread,
- Lay it underneath the head;
- ’Tis a certain charm to keep
- Hags away while children sleep.”
-
-‘Bread, too, has long been employed as a physical charm for the
-cure of various complaints. Thus, an old book, entitled _A Work for
-Householders_, written in the early part of the 16th century, gives
-this charm as in use for the toothache. “The Charmer taketh a piece of
-white bread, and saith over that bread the Pater Noster, and maketh a
-cross upon the bread; then doth he lay that piece of bread upon the
-tooth that acheth or unto any sore, turning the cross unto the sore or
-disease, and so is the person healed.” Then there was the famous Good
-Friday bread, which was in request for its medicinal virtues, being
-considered a sovereign remedy for diarrhœa when grated in a small
-quantity of water. An anecdote is told of a cottager who lamented that
-her poor neighbour must certainly die, because she had already given
-her two doses of this bread, but, unfortunately, without any success.
-Indeed, in days gone by, so much importance was attached to bread thus
-baked, that there were in most parts few country houses in which it was
-not to be found. At the present day also one may occasionally find the
-custom kept up, especially in the Northern counties, where so many of
-the old beliefs survive.
-
-‘But these are not the only ways in which bread has been the source
-of superstition, it having held a prominent place in numerous curious
-ceremonies. Thus sailors used it as offerings to propitiate the
-elements; and we are told how the seafaring community of Greece, in
-the 17th century, were accustomed to take to sea 30 loaves of bread,
-consecrated and named St. Nicholas’ loaves. In case of a storm these
-were thrown into the sea one by one, until they had succeeded in
-calming the waves.
-
-‘Oblations of this kind were of frequent occurrence in past years. The
-Russian sailor, in order to appease the angry spirit that troubled the
-waters of the White Sea, would cast into the water a small cake or loaf
-made of flour and butter. Again, a Norwegian story states that a sailor
-wished, according to custom, to give on Christmas Day a cake to the
-spirit that presided over the waters; but, when he came to the shore,
-lo! the waters were frozen over. Unwilling to leave his little offering
-on the ice, the sailor tried to make a hole; but in spite of all his
-efforts it was not large enough for him to put his cake through.
-Suddenly, to his surprise, a tiny hand, as white as snow, was stretched
-through the hole, and seizing the offering withdrew with it.
-
-‘To give a further illustration, we are told by a correspondent of
-_Mélusine_ (Jan., 1885) that in the Isle de Sein “a little ship made
-of bread crusts is suspended over the table, and on Holy Thursday it
-is lowered down and burnt, while all uncover and the _Veni Creator_
-is sung. Another bread ship is then suspended over the table. This
-ceremony is known as the Ship Feast, and is designed to insure the
-safety of the family fishing boat.” Among further beliefs current among
-sailors in our own country is the notion that it is unlucky to turn a
-loaf upside down after helping oneself from it, the idea being that for
-every loaf so turned a ship will be wrecked. It is also said that if
-a loaf parts in the hand while being cut it bodes dissensions in the
-family—the separation of husband and wife.
-
-‘Once more, bread is not without its many traditions and legendary
-lore. According to a popular tale told of the City of Stavoreen,
-Holland, there resided in it a certain rich virgin, who owned many
-ships. One day she entertained a wizard, but gave him no bread. In
-consequence of this serious omission he predicted her downfall,
-remarking that bread was the most useful and necessary thing. Soon
-after a shipmaster was bidden to procure the most valuable cargo in the
-world. He chose a load of wheat; but on arriving with his cargo, he
-was ordered to throw it overboard. It was in vain that he begged to be
-allowed to give it to the poor. Accordingly it was thrown into the sea;
-but the wheat sprouted, and a bank grew up, the harbour being ruined
-for ever. A Welsh legend tells how, many years ago, a man who dwelt
-in the parish of Myddvai saw three beautiful nymphs in the water, and
-courted them. They, however, called him “Eater of Hard-baked Bread,”
-and refused to have anything to do with him. One day, however, he
-saw floating on the lake a substance resembling unbaked bread, which
-he fished up and ate, and was thereby possessed of one of the lovely
-water-nymphs.
-
-‘Thus, in one form or another, bread can boast of an extensive and
-widespread folk-lore, besides having in our own and other countries
-been made the subject of numerous proverbs, many of which are
-well-known from daily use as incorporating familiar truths. The common
-saying, for instance, which says:
-
-‘Never turn a loaf in the presence of a Menteith,’ originated with Sir
-Walter Scott, in his _Tales by a Grandfather_, thus: Sir John Stewart
-de Menteith was the person who betrayed Sir William Wallace to King
-Edward. His signal was, when he turned a loaf set upon the table, the
-guests were to rush on the patriot and seize him. Then there is the
-phrase, “to cut large slices out of another man’s loaf,” referring to
-those who look after themselves at their neighbour’s expense. A popular
-Scotch proverb tells us that ‘Bread’s house skailed never”; in other
-words, a full or hospitable house never wants visitors; and, according
-to another old proverb, “Bread and milk is bairns’ meat, I wish them
-sorry that lo’e it.”’
-
-
-
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] _Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries_, by
-David Livingstone. Lond. 1865, p. 543.
-
-[2] Mulcture—fine.
-
-[3] Lose.
-
-[4] A measure containing 10 homers, or about 60 pints.
-
-[5] Vol. II., 89.
-
-[6] Vol. IV., 167, 168.
-
-[7] _Ilios._ By Dr. H. Schliemann. London, 1880, pp. 32, 33.
-
-[8] Prize.
-
-[9] Knot.
-
-[10] Hinges.
-
-[11] Nostrils.
-
-[12] Jongleur and joker.
-
-[13] Took toll thrice.
-
-[14] Some careful investigations have been made by M. Balland on the
-temperature which is reached in the interior of a loaf of bread during
-baking, and the results are published in the _Comptes Rendus_, Paris.
-Delicate thermometers were inserted in the dough before placing it in
-the oven, and on the removal of the loaf the temperature recorded was
-carefully noted. It seems that, contrary to the opinions expressed
-by some investigators—that the heat generated in the crumb of the
-bread never exceeds 212° Fahr.—that is to say, the temperature of
-boiling water—M. Balland finds that it invariably attains from 212° to
-216° Fahr., while that of the outer crust, which cannot form at this
-temperature, is very much higher.
-
-[15] _The English Bread Book for Domestic Use, &c._, by Eliza Acton,
-London, 1857. 8vo.
-
-[16] _A Glossary of Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Terms._ By the Rev.
-F. G. Lee. London: 1877; p. 17.
-
-[17] He was a constant attendant in the crowds at Lord Mayor’s Day.
-
-[18] _Tenures of Land and Customs of Manors_, originally collected by
-Thomas Blount. London, 1874, 8vo.
-
-[19] _A Collection of Old English Customs, etc._ By H. Edwards. London,
-1842.
-
-
- THE END.
-
-
- LONDON:
-
- PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
-
- DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND GREAT WINDMILL STREET, W.
-
-
-
-
-=Popular Natural History of the Lower Animals.=
-
-=Invertebrates.=
-
-By HENRY SCHERREN, F.Z.S.,
-
-Author of ‘Through a Pocket Lens,’ etc.
-
-With 169 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth. 3s. 6d.
-
- ‘It gives in simple language many details concerning
- the structure and habits of “backboneless animals.”
- The text is profusely illustrated, and altogether the
- publication is a practical elementary treatise on the
- invertebrates.’—_The Morning Post._
-
- ‘It is carefully written, and quite intelligible to the
- ignorant. An excellent handbook.’—_The British Weekly._
-
- ‘Interspersed with a large number of scientific facts
- will be found a quantity of amusing reading.’—_The Field._
-
-
-=Creatures of the Sea.=
-
-=Being the Life Stories of Some Sea Birds, Beasts, and Fishes.=
-
-By FRANK T. BULLEN, F.R.G.S.,
-
-Author of ‘The Cruise of the “Cachalot,”’ etc.
-
-With Forty Illustrations by THEO. CARRERAS.
-
-Demy 8vo. Cloth gilt, gilt top, 7s. 6d.
-
- Mr. Bullen takes his readers long and pleasant voyages
- over the vast expanse of the Ocean, and enables them to
- see with something of his own keenness of observation and
- sympathetic interest the wonderful varieties of animate
- life that are found upon and beneath its mighty waters.
- _Those familiar with Mr. Bullen’s style hardly need to
- be told that there is nothing of the dry scientific
- character about these studies. His vivid and glowing
- pictures of the wonderful and varied life of the Deep
- Sea possess a human and lifelike quality often absent
- from the elaborate descriptions of severer scientific and
- technical treatises._
-
-
-=The Trees and Plants of the Bible.=
-
-By W. H. GROSER, B.Sc.
-
-Illustrated. Cloth. 2s.
-
- ‘Apart from its religious value, this little volume must
- approve itself to all lovers of botany.’—_The Times._
-
-
-=The Animals of the Bible.=
-
-By H. CHICHESTER HART,
-
-Naturalist to Sir G. Nares’ Arctic Expedition and Professor Hull’s
-Palestine Expedition.
-
-Illustrated. Cloth. 2s.
-
- ‘One feels in reading the book that much of the
- information has been obtained at first hand.’—_The
- Schoolmaster._
-
- ‘A capital handbook for teachers.’—_The Saturday Review._
-
-
-=Plants of the Bible.=
-
-By Rev. GEORGE HENSLOW, M.A., F.L.S., etc.
-
-Illustrated from Photographs of the Plants themselves.
-
-Foolscap 8vo. Cloth, 1s.
-
- ‘A brief but reasonable introduction to Scriptural
- botany.’—_The Manchester Guardian._
-
-
-LONDON: THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY.
-
-_SOME STANDARD WORKS._
-
-
-=The Bible Handbook.=
-
-=An Introduction to the Study of Holy Scripture.=
-
-By the late JOSEPH ANGUS, D.D.
-
-New Edition thoroughly Revised, and in part Re-written by SAMUEL G.
-GREEN, D.D.
-
-Author of ‘A Handbook of Church History,’ etc.
-
-Large crown 8vo. Cloth gilt. 6s. net.
-
-
-=The Tabernacle.=
-
-=Its History and Structure.=
-
-By the Rev. W. SHAW CALDECOTT.
-
-With a preface by Professor SAYCE, LL.D.
-
-With a Map and Eighteen Illustrations and Diagrams.
-
-Large crown 8vo. Cloth gilt. 5s.
-
- In regard to the precise form of the Tabernacle, so
- much necessarily depended upon a true understanding of
- the various linear measures of the Old Testament, that
- reconstruction was always attended with some doubt. Mr.
- Caldecott believes, however, that he has solved the last
- difficulty. =The Bible reader will find the volume of
- absorbing interest. Its text is finely illustrated by
- maps and plans specially prepared for the work. Professor
- Sayce contributes a commendatory Preface.=
-
-
-=A Handbook of Church History.=
-
-=From the Apostolic Era to the Dawn of the Reformation.=
-
-By SAMUEL G. GREEN, D.D.
-
-Author of ‘A Handbook of Old Testament Hebrew,’ etc.
-
-With Full Dates, Chronological Tables, and Index.
-
-640 pages. 6s. net.
-
- For the purposes of the student it will be found simple
- in arrangement, lucid in style, and entirely without
- bias; while careful chronological and other tables will
- facilitate its use as a text-book. At the same time the
- history is eminently adapted for the general reader, who
- will find a subject, which is often rendered for him
- unapproachable by the dry and technical method of its
- treatment, dealt with in a style at once popular and
- exact.
-
- ‘It is a capable and lucid narrative, which seems to
- succeed in treating a history which covers 14-1/2
- centuries in not too sketchy a manner, and which is not
- intent in establishing any partizan doctrine.’—_The
- Times._
-
- ‘It is an interesting synoptic view of the history of the
- Western Church.’—_The Daily News._
-
- ‘It gives an able and interesting presentation of a
- subject which has often been made repellant by the manner
- in which it was treated.’—_The Scotsman._
-
- ‘It is a marvel of cheapness.’—_The Glasgow Herald._
-
-
-LONDON: THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY.
-
-=The Slave In History.=
-
-=His Sorrows and his Emancipation.=
-
-By WILLIAM STEVENS,
-
-Some time Editor of _The Leisure Hour_.
-
-With Portraits and with Six Illustrations by J. FINNEMORE, R.A.
-
-Large Crown 8vo. Cloth gilt. 6s.
-
- _In this work Mr. Stevens presents a vivid picture of
- the life and circumstances of the slave in all ages and
- lands._ The influence of Christianity on the slave life,
- and the steps by which Christian nations successfully
- shook themselves free from complicity in slave-holding
- are carefully detailed; whilst the chief workers in
- the great emancipation movements of modern times are
- in turn brought before the reader’s attention. _The
- volume furnishes at once the most comprehensive and the
- most up-to-date survey of the slavery question._ The
- illustrations include some vivid pictures of slave-life,
- and incidents in the emancipation movement.
-
-
-=The China Martyrs of 1900.=
-
-=A Complete Roll of the Christian Heroes Martyred in China in 1900,
-with Narratives of Survivors.=
-
-Compiled and Edited by ROBERT COVENTRY FORSYTH, For 18 years a
-Missionary in China of the Baptist Missionary Society.
-
-With 144 Portraits and other Illustrations.
-
-Demy 8vo. Cloth gilt 7s. 6d.
-
- This volume seeks to place on record in a permanent
- form a complete account of the terrible convulsion in
- China in the year 1900, known as the Boxer Movement. It
- contains the thrilling story of how death, for Christ’s
- sake, was bravely met in many of its most hideous forms
- by missionaries and native Christians alike. _It also
- describes some of the most miraculous escapes from death
- on the part of missionaries and native Christians._
- The story of the siege of Peking is described from a
- Christian point of view, and the author sums up his study
- of the great episode in the conviction that in China of
- to-day, as in other parts of the world in all ages, the
- blood of the martyrs will prove to be the seed of the
- Church.
-
-
-=Thirty Years In Madagascar.=
-
-By the Rev. T. T. MATTHEWS, Of the London Missionary Society.
-
-With Sixty-Two Portraits and other Illustrations from Photographs and
-Sketches. Demy 8vo. Cloth gilt. 6s.
-
- ‘Mr. Matthews’ story forms a splendid record of good
- work accomplished, and the volume is by far the most
- interesting and entertaining of all the books which have
- been published lately concerning missionary life in the
- great African island.’ _The Athenæum._
-
- ‘It is a remarkable record of Christian activity.’—_The
- Pall Mall Gazette._
-
- ‘The intrinsic worth of the book ought to ensure its
- success, for it takes a place of its own among Missionary
- volumes.’—_The Examiner._
-
-_BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS._
-
-
-=Champions of the Truth.=
-
-=Short Lives of Christian Leaders in Thought and Action. By various
-Writers.=
-
-Edited by A. R. BUCKLAND, M.A.
-
-With Portraits. Crown 8vo. Cloth gilt. 3s. 6d.
-
- ‘Here are pen portraits of eighteen Evangelical teachers,
- beginning with Wyclif and ending with Spurgeon. It need
- hardly be said, perhaps, that their eighteen biographers
- treat them from about the same point of view. The
- admirable thing is that, though that point of view is
- one with which a given reader may not be so fortunate
- as to find himself in sympathy, it is one which has the
- advantage of showing the subject of the biography at his
- best. A very pleasant volume, and the more to be valued
- for the sake of its fifteen portraits.’—_The Academy._
-
-
-=Hugh Latimer.=
-
-By ROBERT DEMAUS, M.A.
-
-Author of ‘William Tindale,’ etc.
-
-New Edition, Revised. With a Portrait. Large crown 8vo.
-
-Cloth gilt. 3s. 6d.
-
- The First Edition of this work was published by the
- Society in 1869, but so careful was the Author in his
- method and research that it still ranks as the STANDARD
- LIFE OF THE GREAT REFORMER.
-
-
-=The Homes and Haunts of Luther.=
-
-By JOHN STOUGHTON, D.D.
-
-Third Edition. Thoroughly Revised by C. H. IRWIN, M.A.
-
-With Eleven Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth gilt. 2s. 6d.
-
- Several new Illustrations appear in this Third Edition,
- including a fine reproduction of a very rare portrait
- of Luther by Cranach. The reviser’s notes contain a
- considerable amount of new material, especially in regard
- to Wittenberg and the restoration of its historic Castle
- Church.
-
- ‘The teaching of this sturdy Protestant Reformer
- re-shaped the Religious history of the world; and the
- story of his life as told in these fascinating pages
- cannot be too often enforced.’—_The Record._
-
-A SELECTION FROM THE
-
-LIST OF WORKS OF TRAVEL
-
-
-=An Artist’s Walks in Bible Lands.=
-
-By HENRY A. HARPER, Author of “Walks in Palestine,” etc.
-
-With a Photogravure Frontispiece, and 55 other fine Illustrations from
-Drawings by the Author. Super royal 8vo. Cloth gilt, 6s. net.
-
- “Mr. Harper could give a capital pen-picture of what
- he saw, and by the aid of his pencil was enabled to
- represent still more vividly the aspects of Eastern
- travel which most strikingly impressed him.”—_The
- Scotsman._
-
- “Mr. Harper had a ready and powerful pen, and to this
- gift he added that of artistic drawing. We are in the
- hands of a guide who knows his way, and tells what to see
- and how best to see it.”—_The Spectator._
-
-
-=In Scripture Lands.=
-
-=New Views of Sacred Places.=
-
-By EDWARD L. WILSON.
-
-With 150 Original Illustrations engraved from Photographs taken by the
-Author. Crown 4to. Cloth elegant, gilt top, 15s.
-
- Mr. Wilson’s journey in Scripture Lands was the first
- instance in which a fully equipped artist photographer
- has visited the scenes made memorable by the Bible
- narratives, and has reproduced both by camera and by
- word-painting the people, the ruins, and the famous spots
- which have become household words throughout Christendom.
-
-
-=A Visit to Bashan and Argob.=
-
-By Major ALGERNON HEBER-PERCY.
-
- With an Introduction by the Rev. Canon TRISTRAM. With
- many Illustrations from hitherto unpublished Photographs,
- taken by the Author. Small 4to. Cloth, 6s. Cloth, extra
- gilt, gilt edges, 7s. 6d.
-
- “It furnishes in a pleasing style many very interesting
- particulars of the people, their habits, customs,
- laws, and religious faith, with many photographs of
- architecture and other relics of the past grandeur of the
- land of King Og and the ‘Cities of the Giants.’”—_Daily
- News._
-
-
-=Ten Years’ Digging In Egypt, 1881-1891.=
-
-By W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE,
-
-Author of “Pyramids of Gizeh,” “Hawara,” “Medum,” etc.
-
-Illustrated. Crown 8vo. Cloth, 6s.
-
- “A popular summary of the results attained by one of the
- most capable and successful explorers of Egypt. He tells
- his story so well and so instructively, and it is so
- well worth telling, that his little book will doubtless
- command the wide popularity it certainly deserves.”—_The
- Times._
-
-TRAVEL—
-
-
-=Rambles In Japan: The Land of the Rising Sun.=
-
-By the Rev. Canon TRISTRAM, D.D., LL.D., Author of “The Land of Moab,”
-“The Natural History of the Bible,” etc. With many Illustrations by
-EDWARD WHYMPER, from Photographs and Sketches. Demy 8vo. Cloth, gilt
-top, 10s. 6d.
-
- “Dr. Tristram is an experienced traveller, keen in
- observation and kindly in appreciation, an accomplished
- field-naturalist, and an enthusiastic collector of
- things rare or beautiful both in nature and art. These
- qualities have stood him in good stead during his visit
- to Japan.”—_The Times._
-
-
-=Thirty Years in Madagascar.=
-
-By the Rev. T. T. MATTHEWS, of the London Missionary Society.
-
-With 60 portraits and other Illustrations. Demy 8vo, 6s.
-
- “The great merit of the work lies in the many pleasing
- descriptions of the country and of the people—their
- customs, religion, language, and social life. The
- illustrations are in all respects admirable.”—_The
- Scotsman._
-
-
-=The Chronicles of the Sid; Or, The Life and Travels of Adelia Gates.=
-
-By ADELA E. ORPEN, Author of “Stories of Precious Stones,” “Margareta
-Colberg,” etc.
-
-With many Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, 7s. 6d.
-
- This book is a record of a very remarkable series of
- travels undertaken by a lady named Adelia Gates. Alone
- and unaided she has trodden, not only the beaten tracks,
- but has also traversed the Desert of Sahara, the Nile
- as far as Wady Halfa, Palestine, and all parts of
- Iceland—these later trips beginning at an age when most
- ladies consider their life-work done.
-
-
-=Our Journey to Sinai.=
-
-=A Visit to the Convent of St. Catarina.=
-
-By Mrs. R. L. BENSLY.
-
-With a Chapter on some Readings of the Sinai Palimpsest, by F. C.
-BURKITT, M.A. Illustrated from Photographs taken by the Author. Crown
-8vo. Cloth, 3s. 6d.
-
- “The scholarly enthusiasm which attracted Professor
- Bensly to Mount Sinai, and the perennial fascinations
- of oriental travel are well reflected in Mrs. Bensly’s
- pages, and a concluding chapter by Mr. Burkitt,
- containing a part of the account of the Sinai Palimpsest
- which he gave at the Church Congress, adds not a little
- to the value and interest of the volume.”—_The Times._
-
-
-=Among the Tibetans.=
-
-By ISABELLA BIRD BISHOP, F.R.G.S.
-
-With Illustrations by EDWARD WHYMPER. Crown 8vo. Cloth, 1_s._ 6_d._;
-paper cover, 1_s._
-
- With her power of vivid description Mrs. Bishop enables
- the reader to realise much of the daily life and many of
- the strange scenes to be witnessed in that far-off land.
-
-
-LONDON: THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY.
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Bread From Pre-historic
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of Bread From Pre-historic to
-Modern Times, by John Ashton
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-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
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-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: The History of Bread From Pre-historic to Modern Times
-
-Author: John Ashton
-
-Release Date: October 5, 2016 [EBook #53219]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
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-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF BREAD ***
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-
-
-<p class="center padt2 f12">THE HISTORY OF BREAD</p>
-
-<hr />
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="f" id="f">
-<img src="images/i_004a.jpg" width="500" height="173" alt="Egyptians Threshing Corn by Hand." /></a>
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Egyptians Threshing Corn by Hand.</span></p></div>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_004b.jpg" width="500" height="469" alt="Egyptians Winnowing and Storing Corn in Sacks, and a Scribe
-Noting the Quantities." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Egyptians Winnowing and Storing Corn in Sacks, and a Scribe
-Noting the Quantities.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<hr />
-
-<h1>The History of Bread</h1>
-<p class="center">From Pre-historic to Modern Times</p>
-
-<p class="center">BY</p>
-<p class="center">JOHN ASHTON</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_005.jpg" width="500" height="278" alt="Lady with flower basket" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="center">LONDON</p>
-<p class="center">THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY</p>
-<p class="center">4 Bouverie Street and 65 St. Paul’s Churchyard, E.C.</p>
-<p class="center">1904</p>
-
-<p class="center f07">
-LONDON:<br />
-PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED.<br />
-DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND GREAT WINDMILL STREET, W.</p>
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">&nbsp;</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>PREFACE</h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">It</span> seems extraordinary, but it is, nevertheless, a fact,
-that, up to this present time, there has not been
-written, in the English language, a History of <i>Bread</i>,
-although it is called ‘the Staff of Life,’ and really
-is a large staple of food.</p>
-
-<p>There have been small <i>brochures</i> on the subject,
-and large volumes on the Chemistry of Bread, its
-making and baking; and long controversies as to the
-merits of whole meal, and other kindred questions,
-but no History. It is to remedy this that I have
-written this book, in which I have endeavoured to
-trace Bread from Pre-historic to Modern Times.</p>
-
-<p class="right padr1">
-<span class="smcap">John Ashton.</span></p>
-
-<hr />
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
-
-
-<table summary="contents"><tr>
-<td class="tdr f07" colspan="4"><span class="smcap">Page.</span></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span></td><td class="tdr">I.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Pre-historic Bread</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">II.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Corn in Egypt and Assyria</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">III.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Bread in Palestine</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">IV.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Bread of the Classic Lands</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">V.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Bread in Eastern Lands</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">VI.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Bread in Europe and America</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">VII.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Early English Bread</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">VIII.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">How Grain becomes Flour</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">IX.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Miller and His Tolls</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">X.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Bread-Making and Baking</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">XI.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ovens Ancient and Modern</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">XII.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Religious Use of Bread</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">XIII.</td><td class="tdl padr2"><span class="smcap">Ginger Bread and Charity Bread</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">XIV.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Bread Riots</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc">”</td><td class="tdr">XV.</td><td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Legends about Bread</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td></tr>
-</table>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">10-11</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
-
-
-<table summary="list of illustrations"><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><p class="indent"><span class="smcap">Egyptians Threshing Corn by Hand; Winnowing
-and Storing it in Sacks, and a Scribe Noting
-the Quantities</span></p></td><td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#f"><i>Frontispiece.</i></a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdr f07" colspan="2"><i>Page</i>.</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Pre-historic Mills and Corn-Crushers</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Egyptian Reapers</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Egyptians Stacking Corn</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><p class="indent"><span class="smcap">Egyptians Carrying Grain to the Threshing-Floor and Threshing</span></p></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Egyptian Methods of Bread-Making</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Assyrian Bread-Making</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Egyptian Cake Seller and Bread</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Palestine Hand-Mill</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Demeter and Triptolemus</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Pithoi found at Hissarlik</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Etruscan Women Pounding Grain</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Bake-House at Pompeii</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Roman Methods of Bread-Making</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Baker’s Shop</span> (<i>from Pompeii</i>)</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Chinese Method of Husking Grain</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Early Scandinavian Bakeries</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_70">70</a>-71</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Mediæval Bakery</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Arms of the White Bakers</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Arms of the Brown Bakers</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">An Early Bakery</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Post Mill</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Water-Wheel Mill</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Grinding Surface of a Millstone</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">‘Hot Gingerbread, Smoking Hot’</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Hogarth’s Picture of Ford</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Biddenden Maids</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_160">160</a></td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<hr />
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">12-13</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="center f12">THE</p>
-
-<p class="center f2">HISTORY OF BREAD</p>
-
-<p class="center">FROM PRE-HISTORIC TO MODERN TIMES.<br /><br /></p>
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER I.<br />
-
-<small><small>PRE-HISTORIC BREAD.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Man</span>, as is evidenced by his teeth, was created
-graminivorous, as well as carnivorous, and the earliest
-skull yet found possesses teeth exactly the same as
-modern man, the carnivorous teeth not being bigger,
-whilst in many cases the whole of the teeth have
-been worn down, as if by masticating hard substances,
-such as parched grain.</p>
-
-<p>In the history of bread, the lake dwellings of
-Switzerland are most useful, as from them we can
-gather the cereals their inhabitants used, their bread,
-and the implements with which they crushed the
-corn. The men who lived in them are the earliest
-known civilised inhabitants of Europe—by which I
-mean that they cultivated several kinds of cereals—wove
-cloth, made mats, baskets, and fishing nets, and,
-besides, baked bread.</p>
-
-<p>The cereals known to us, and made use of, are
-the result of much cultivation, improved by selection;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span>
-and Hallett’s pedigree wheat would be hardly
-recognised when put by the side of its humble
-progenitor of pre-historic times. We now use wheat,
-barley, oats, Indian corn or maize, rye, rice, millet,
-and Guinea corn, or Indian millet, besides such odds
-and ends as the sea lyme grass (<i>Elymus arenarius</i>),
-which, though uncultivated, affords seed which is
-used in Iceland as a food, for want of something
-better.</p>
-
-<p>We have been enabled to trace with certainty the
-cereals used by pre-historic man, as they have been
-found lying in the lake mud, or buried under a bed of
-peat several feet thick, when they had to be collected
-out of a soft, dark-coloured mud, which formed the
-ancient lake-bottom, and is now called the relic bed.
-Dr. Oswald Heer, in his <i>Treatise on the Plants of the
-Lake Dwellings</i>, says: ‘Stones and pottery, domestic
-implements and charcoal ashes, grains of corn and
-bones, lie together in a confused mass. And yet they
-are by no means spread regularly over the bottom,
-but are frequently found in patches. The places
-where bones are plentiful, where the seeds of raspberries
-and blackberries, and the stones of sloes and
-cherries are found in heaps, probably indicate where
-there were holes in the wooden platform, through
-which the refuse was thrown into the lake; whilst
-those places where burnt fruits, bread, and plaited
-and woven cloth are found, indicate the position of
-store rooms in the very places where they were burnt,
-and thus the contents fell into the water. The burnt
-fruits and seeds, therefore, unquestionably belong to
-the age of the lake dwellings; and a portion of them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span>
-are in very good preservation, for the process of
-burning has not essentially changed their form.
-Many of the remains of plants, however, have been
-preserved in an unburnt state.’</p>
-
-<p>He gives the following list of cereals that have
-been found, and it is a somewhat extensive one:
-‘(1) Small lake-dwelling barley (<i>Hordeum hexastichum
-sanctum</i>), (2) Compact six-rowed barley
-(<i>Hordeum hexastichum densum</i>), (3) Two-rowed barley
-(<i>Hordeum distichum</i>), (4) Small lake-dwelling wheat
-(<i>Triticum vulgare antiquorum</i>), (5) Beardless compact
-wheat (<i>Triticum vulgare compactum muticum</i>),
-(6) Egyptian wheat (<i>Triticum turgidum</i>), (7) Spelt
-(<i>Triticum spelta</i>), (8) Two-grained wheat (<i>Triticum
-dicoccum</i>), (9) One-grained wheat (<i>Triticum monococcum</i>),
-(10) Rye (<i>Secale cereale</i>), (11) Oat (<i>Avena
-sativa</i>), (12) Millet (<i>Panicum miliaceum</i>), and (13)
-Italian millet (<i>Setaria Italicum</i>).’</p>
-
-<p>Of these Nos. 1 and 4 were the most ancient,
-most important, and most generally cultivated, and
-next to them come Nos. 5, 12, and 13. Nos. 6, 8,
-and 9 were, probably, like No. 3, only cultivated, as
-experiments, in a few places. Nos. 7 and 11 appeared
-later, not until the Bronze Age, whilst No. 10 (rye)
-was entirely unknown amongst the lake dwellings of
-Switzerland.</p>
-
-<p>At the lake settlement at Wangen a remarkable
-quantity of charred corn was dug up. Mr. Löhle
-believes that, altogether, and at various times, he has
-collected as much as 100 bushels. Sometimes he
-found the entire ears, at other times the grain
-only. Any of my readers can see for themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span>
-some of this wheat, and also some raspberry seeds,
-found at Wangen. In the same case in the Prehistoric
-Saloon of the British Museum may be seen
-specimens of beans, peas, charred straw, acorns, hazel
-nuts, barley in the ear, millet in ear, in seed, and
-made into cakes, one showing the pattern of the
-bottom of a basket, and another the impress of a rush
-mat. The cakes or bread of millet are very solid,
-and are made of meal coarsely crushed.</p>
-
-<p>We know how this was crushed, for we have
-found their corn-crushers and mealing-stones. Of
-these the rude corn-crushers are undoubtedly the
-earliest. These stones, with their rounded ends, for
-a time somewhat puzzled the archæologist as to their
-use; but that was at once apparent when they were
-taken in conjunction with the hollowed stones. They
-were corn-crushers, which were used for pounding the
-parched corn or raw grain to make a thick gruel or
-porridge.</p>
-
-<p>Later on they improved upon them by using
-mealing-stones, which ground out the meal by
-rubbing one stone on another, accompanied with
-pressure. The stones are in the British Museum.
-Such mealing-stones were used by the Egyptians
-and Assyrians, as we shall see, and are employed to
-this day in Central Africa. ‘The mill consists of a
-block of granite, syenite, or even mica schist, 15in. or
-18in. square and five or six thick, with a piece of
-quartz or other hard rock about the size of a half-brick,
-one side of which has a convex surface, and fits
-into a concave hollow in the larger, and stationary,
-stone. The workwoman, kneeling, grasps this upper
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a><br /><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span>millstone with both hands, and works it backwards
-and forwards in the hollow of the lower millstone, in
-the same way that a baker works his dough, when
-pressing it and pushing from him. The weight of the
-person is brought to bear on the movable stone, and
-while it is pressed and pushed forwards and backwards
-one hand supplies, every now and then, a little
-grain, to be thus at first bruised, and then ground on
-the lower stone, which is placed on the slope, so that
-the meal, when ground, falls on to a skin or mat
-spread for the purpose. This is, perhaps, the most
-primitive form of mill, and anterior to that in Oriental
-countries, where two women grind at one mill, and
-may have been that used by Sarah of old when she
-entertained the angels.’<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">1</a></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_017.jpg" width="500" height="723" alt="Pre-Historic Mills and Corn-Crushers." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Pre-Historic Mills and Corn-Crushers.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>To these mealing-stones succeeded the quern.
-This was a basin, or hollowed stone, with another—oviform—for
-grinding. The quern has survived to
-this day. In London, at the west end of Cheapside,
-by Paternoster Row, was a church, destroyed by
-the Great Fire of 1666, and never rebuilt, called St.
-Michael le Quern. It was close by Panyer Alley, so
-called from the baker’s basket, and a stone is still in
-the alley on which is sculptured a naked boy sitting
-on a panyer. Querns have been found in the remains
-of the lake dwellings in Switzerland, and in the Crannoges,
-or lake dwellings of Scotland and Ireland.
-They are still in use in out-of-the-way places in
-Norway, in remote districts in Ireland, and some parts
-of the western islands of Scotland. In the latter
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span>country, as early as 1284, an effort was made by the
-Legislature to supersede the quern by the water-mill,
-the use of the former being prohibited, except
-in case of storm, or where there was a lack of mills of
-the new species. Whoever used the quern was to
-’gif the threttein measure as multer<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">2</a>;’ and the
-transgressor was to ‘time<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> his hand mylnes perpetuallie.’
-Querns were not always made of stone,
-for one made of oak was found in 1831, whilst
-removing Blair Drummond Moss. It is 19 in. in
-height by 14 in. in diameter, and the centre is hollowed
-about a foot, so as to form a mortar.</p>
-
-<p>To sum up this notice of pre-historic bread, I may
-mention that at Robenhausen, Meisskomer discovered
-8lbs. weight of bread, and also at Wangen has been
-found baked bread or cake made of crushed corn
-exactly similar. Of course, it has been burnt, or
-charred, and thus these interesting specimens have
-been preserved to the present day. The form of
-these cakes is somewhat round, and about an inch
-to an inch and a half thick; one small specimen,
-nearly perfect, is about four or five inches in diameter.
-The dough did not consist of meal, but of grains of
-corn more or less crushed. In some specimens the
-halves of grains of barley are plainly discernible.
-The under side of these cakes is sometimes flat,
-sometimes concave, and there appears no doubt that
-the mass of dough was baked by being laid on hot
-stones, and covered over with glowing ashes.</p>
-
-<hr />
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span></p>
-
-<h2>CHAPTER II.<br />
-
-<small><small>CORN IN EGYPT AND ASSYRIA.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">The</span> ancient Egyptians had as cereals three kinds
-of wheat—<i>Triticum sativa</i>, <i>zea</i> and <i>spelta</i>; barley,
-<i>Hordeum vulgare</i>, and doura, <i>Holcus sorghum</i>,
-specimens of which may be seen in the Egyptian
-Gallery at the British Museum. The so-called
-‘mummy-wheat’ is a fallacy, as far as its name goes;
-it is the <i>Triticum turgidum compositum</i>, cultivated in
-Egypt, Abyssinia, and elsewhere.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_020.jpg" width="500" height="251" alt="Egyptian Reapers." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Egyptian Reapers.</span></p>
-</div>
-
-<p>In this fertile land the cultivation of corn was
-very primitive; the sower had his seed in a basket,
-which he held in his left hand, or suspended it either
-on his arm or by a strap round his neck, and he
-threw the seed broadcast with his right hand.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span>
-According to the paintings in the tombs, he immediately
-followed the plough, the light earth needing no
-further treatment, and the harrow, in any form, was
-unknown. Wheat was cut in about five months after
-planting, and barley in about four. We have here a
-representation of harvesting, showing the reaping,
-with the length of stubble left, and its being tied up
-into sheaves, or rather bundles. We next see the
-bundles being made into pyramidal stacks.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_021.jpg" width="500" height="219" alt="Egyptians Stacking Corn." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Egyptians Stacking Corn.</span></p></div>
-
-<p>Here it remained until it was required for threshing,
-and then it was transported to the threshing
-floor in wicker baskets, upon asses, or in rope nets
-borne by two men. These threshing floors were
-circular level plots of land, near the field, or in the
-vicinity of the granary; and, the floor being well
-swept, the ears were laid down and oxen driven over
-it in order to tread out the grain, which was swept up
-by an attendant.</p>
-
-<p>And, like their modern brethren, they were merry
-at their work and sang songs, several of which may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span>
-be seen in the sculptured tombs of Upper Egypt.
-Champollion gives the following, found in a tomb at
-Eileithyia:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="stanza">
-<div class="line i04">‘Thresh for yourselves (twice repeated),</div>
-<div class="line">O oxen,</div>
-<div class="line">Thresh for yourselves (twice repeated);</div>
-<div class="line">Measures for yourselves,</div>
-<div class="line">Measures for your masters.’</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>Sometimes the cattle were bound by their horns
-to a piece of wood, which compelled them to move
-in unison, and tread the corn regularly. But it was
-also threshed out by manual labour, with curious
-implements. The next operation was to winnow the
-corn, which was done with wooden shovels; it was
-then carried to the granary in sacks, each containing
-a certain quantity, which was determined by wooden
-measures, a scribe noting down the number as
-called by the tellers, who superintended its removal.
-Herodotus (book II., 14) says that the Egyptians
-trod out their corn by means of swine.</p>
-
-<p>Besides the growing and gathering of wheat, the
-doura is also represented in paintings in tombs at
-Thebes, Eileithyia, Beni-Hassan, and Saggára. Both
-it and wheat are represented as growing in the same
-field, but the doura is the taller of the two. It was
-not reaped, but was pulled up by the roots by men,
-and sometimes women, who struck off the earth which
-adhered with their hands, bound it in sheaves, and
-carried it to a place where it was rippled, as flax is
-done.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_023a.jpg" width="500" height="325" alt="Egyptians Threshing." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Egyptians Threshing.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_023b.jpg" width="500" height="304" alt="Egyptians Carrying Grain to the Threshing Floor." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Egyptians Carrying Grain to the Threshing Floor.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>In the ordinary life of the Egyptians, the woman
-mealed the flour—in as primitive a form as the pre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a><br /><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span>historic
-man—and in the British Museum are two
-wooden models, which show the first process of converting
-the cereal into meal; and then we have two
-figures of men kneading dough—from the Museum
-at Ghizeh (formerly at Boulak). The bread itself was
-both leavened and unleavened—as may be seen by
-the many examples—round, triangular, and square—in
-the British Museum, some of which must have
-been a foot across, and over an inch thick; the three
-examples given on page 27 being 5in. in diameter, and
-1/2in. thick; 7 ditto and 1/2 ditto; whilst the ornamented
-cake is 3-1/2in. in diameter and 3/4in. thick.</p>
-
-<p>But there were professional bakers in Egypt, as
-we see in some of the tomb-pictures. In the Biblical
-story of Joseph we find that ‘the butler of the King
-of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the
-King of Egypt’; and the Rabbi Solomon says their
-offences were the butler not having perceived a fly in
-Pharaoh’s cup, and the baker having got a stone into
-the royal bread, so that Pharaoh thought they were
-conspiring against his life. We know they were put
-in prison with Joseph, and related their dreams to
-him. The dream of the Opheh, or chief baker, was
-that he ‘had three white baskets on his head, and
-in the uppermost basket there was all manner of bake
-meats for Pharaoh.’ The Bible story of Joseph
-goes on to tell us how, in the years of plenty, he
-providentially stored up the excess of corn to meet
-the years of famine, and how the Israelites sent to
-Egypt for food, and subsequently abode in that land.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_025.jpg" width="500" height="763" alt="Egyptian Methods of Bread-Making." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Egyptian Methods of Bread-Making.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>Thanks to Assyrian art, and to the enduring
-qualities of bronze, we are able to see how that
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a><br /><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span>ancient people made their bread (at least in the camp)
-during the reign of Shalmaneser II., son of Assur-nasir-abli,
-who began to govern Assyria about the
-year 860 <span class="smcap lowercase">B.C.</span>, and died in 825 <span class="smcap lowercase">B.C.</span> On the bronze
-bands of the great gates of Balawat are recorded the
-warlike doings of Shalmaneser II. in detail. In
-almost every camp that is represented are men
-depicted as preparing bread against the return of the,
-of course, victorious soldiery: we see them mealing
-the corn, kneading the dough, making it into flat,
-round cakes, and, finally, piling these up in large
-heaps ready for the hungry warriors.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_026.jpg" width="500" height="277" alt="Assyrians preparing bread." />
-</div>
-
-<p>These gates were found in the year 1877 by Mr.
-Hormuzd Rassam, who, whilst excavating for the
-Trustees of the British Museum on the site of ancient
-Nineveh, began also excavations at a mound called
-Balawat, about 15 miles east of Mosul, and nine
-miles from Nimroud. Having received, as a present,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a><br /><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span>before his departure for the East, some fragments
-of chased bronze, said to have been found in this
-mound, he naturally had the greatest wish to follow
-up the indication of a new store of antiquities. He
-experienced some difficulty from the villagers of
-Balawat, as the mound had been used by them for
-some years as a burial ground, and their scruples
-having been overcome, the result was the finding of
-these beautiful bronzes in fragments. They were
-skilfully restored at the British Museum, where they
-now are, and rank among the best of Assyrian
-antiquities.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_027a.jpg" width="500" height="132" alt="Egyptian Bread." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Egyptian Bread.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_027b.jpg" width="500" height="531" alt="Egyptian Cake Seller." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Egyptian Cake Seller.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>The old Assyrians knew the value of irrigation in
-growing their crops, and the remains of aqueducts
-and hydraulic machines which remain in Babylonia
-bear witness to an advanced civilisation; these are
-constructed of masonry, which slanted up to the
-height of two feet, and, disposed at right angles to
-the river, they conducted the water from 200 to 2000
-yards into the interior.</p>
-
-<p>The food of the poor seems to have consisted of
-grain, such as wheat, or barley, moistened with water,
-kneaded in a bowl, rolled into cakes and baked in the
-hot ashes.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER III.<br />
-
-<small><small>BREAD IN PALESTINE.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Of</span> the bread of the ancient Hebrews we know
-nothing, except from their sacred books; but these
-contain a large store of knowledge. Their cereals
-seem to have consisted only of wheat, barley, rye (or
-it may be spelt), and millet, but they cultivated
-leguminous plants, such as beans and lentils. It is
-impossible to say accurately when these books were
-written, so that in the following notices respecting
-the bread of the Hebrews I take the sequence in
-which I find them placed in the Bible. It is impossible
-to do otherwise, as their chronology is such an
-open question.</p>
-
-<p>At first, in all probability, the normal course of
-pre-historic man was followed—wheat and barley grew
-wild, were first eaten raw, and then parched. Of this
-latter and primitive method of cooking cereals we
-have several notices. It was used as a sacrifice, as
-we see in Leviticus ii. 16: ‘And the priest shall burn
-the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof,
-and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense
-thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the
-Lord.’ That parched corn was at that time a food
-we find in Levit. xxiii. 14: ‘And ye shall eat neither
-bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the self-same
-day that ye have brought an offering unto your
-God.’ We next find it as the food of labouring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span>
-people in Ruth ii. 14, when Boaz ‘reached her parched
-corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.’</p>
-
-<p>Mention is again made of it in I. Sam. xvii.,
-when Goliath of Gath challenged the men of Israel.
-Jesse’s three sons had followed Saul to the battle,
-and the anxious father had sent his youngest son
-David, with provisions for them, and a present to their
-commander, vv. 17, 18: ‘And Jesse said unto David
-his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> of this
-parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the
-camp to thy brethren; and carry these ten cheeses
-unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy
-brethren fare, and take their pledge.’ We see,
-I. Sam. xxv. 18, how Abigail, Nabal’s wife, in order
-to propitiate David, ‘made haste, and took 200
-loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready
-dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and
-100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of figs, and laid
-them on asses.’ The last we hear of parched corn as
-food is in II. Sam. xvii. 27, 28, when David arrived at
-Mahanaim. Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai ‘brought
-beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and
-barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and
-lentils, and parched pulse.’ In England this parching
-is sometimes applied to peas, and, indeed, there is a
-saying comparing an extremely lively person ‘to a
-parched pea in a frying pan,’ and in America ‘pop
-corn,’ or parched maize, is very popular.</p>
-
-<p>Threshing corn we first read of in Deut. xxv. 4,
-when we find the following direction given: ‘Thou
-shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span>corn,’ a practice which the natives of Aleppo, and
-some other Eastern places, still religiously observe.</p>
-
-<p>How Gideon (Jud. vi. 11) or Oman (I. Chron.
-xxi. 20) threshed, whether by oxen or by flail, we
-cannot tell, but in Isaiah xxviii. 27, 28, we find five
-methods of threshing then in vogue. ‘For the fitches
-[this is supposed to be the <i>Nigella sativa</i>, whose
-seeds are used as a condiment, like coriander or
-caraway] are not threshed with a threshing instrument,
-neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the
-cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff,
-and the cummin with a rod. Bread corn is bruised;
-because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it
-with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his
-horsemen.’ In Lowth on <i>Isaiah</i> we find this passage
-made somewhat clearer:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="stanza">
-<div class="line i04">‘The dill is not beaten out with the <i>corn-drag</i>;</div>
-<div class="line">Nor is the <i>Wheel of the Wain</i> made to turn upon the cummin.</div>
-<div class="line">But the dill is beaten out with <i>the Staff</i>,</div>
-<div class="line">And the cummin with the <i>Flail</i>, but</div>
-<div class="line">The bread corn with the <i>Threshing-Wain</i>;</div>
-<div class="line">And not for ever will he continue thus to thresh it,</div>
-<div class="line">Nor vex it with the Wheel of its Wain,</div>
-<div class="line">Nor to bruise it with the <i>Hoofs of his Cattle</i>.’</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>The <i>Staff</i> and <i>Flail</i> were used for that grain that
-was too tender to be treated in any other method.
-The <i>Drag</i> consisted of a sort of frame of strong
-planks, made rough at the bottom with hard stones or
-iron; it was drawn by horses or oxen over the corn
-sheaves spread on the threshing floor, the driver
-sitting upon it. The <i>Wain</i> was much like the former,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span>
-but had wheels with iron teeth, or edges like a saw;
-the axle was armed with iron teeth or serrated wheels
-throughout; it moved upon three rollers, armed with
-iron teeth, or wheels, to cut the straw. In Syria they
-make use of the drag constructed in the very same
-manner—and this not only forces out the grain, but
-cuts the straw in pieces for fodder for the cattle; for in
-Eastern countries there is no hay.</p>
-
-<p>Sir R. K. Porter, in his <i>Travels in Georgia</i>,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">5</a>
-speaks of this method of threshing, which he saw
-in the early part of the last century. ‘The threshing
-operation is managed by a machine composed of a
-large square frame of wood, which contains two
-wooden cylinders placed parallel to each other, and
-which have a turning motion. They are stuck full of
-splinters, with sharp square points, but not all of a
-length. These barrels have the appearance of the
-barrels in an organ, and their projections, when
-brought in contact with the corn, break the stalk
-and disengage the ear. They are put in motion by a
-couple of cows or oxen, yoked to the frame, and
-guided by a man sitting on the plank that covers the
-frame which contains the cylinders. He drives this
-agricultural equipage in a circle round any great
-accumulation of just-gathered harvest, keeping at a
-certain distance from the verge of the heap, close to
-which a second peasant stands, holding a long-handled
-20-pronged fork, shaped like the spread sticks of a
-fan, and with which he throws the unbound sheaves
-forward to meet the rotary motion of the machine.
-He has a shovel also ready, with which he removes to
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span>a considerable distance the corn that has already
-passed the wheel. Other men are on the spot with
-the like implement, which they fill with the broken
-material, and throw it aloft in the air, where the wind
-blows away the chaff, and the grain falls to the
-ground. The latter process is repeated till the corn
-is completely winnowed from its refuse, when it is
-gathered up, carried home, and deposited for use in
-large earthen jars. The straw is preserved with care,
-being the sole winter food of the horses and mules.
-But while I looked on at the patriarchal style of
-husbandry, and at the strong yet docile animal, which
-for so many ages had been the right hand of man in
-his business of tilling and reaping the ground, I could
-not but revere the beneficent law which pronounced,
-“Muzzle not the ox when he treadeth out the corn.”’</p>
-
-<p>It was probably one of these that Araunah meant
-(II. Sam. xxiv. 22) when he said unto David: ‘Let
-my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth
-good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt
-sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments
-of the oxen for wood.’ And it is certainly
-mentioned in Isaiah xli. 15: ‘Behold, I will make
-thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth.’</p>
-
-<p>The threshing-floor is many times mentioned in
-the Bible. There were those of Atad, Nachon, and
-Araunah (or Ornan), the value of whose floor, etc., is
-variously stated in II. Sam. xxiv. 24, where it says
-that David bought the flour and oxen for 50 shekels
-of silver, or about 6<i>l</i> of our money; whilst in
-I. Chron. xxi. 25, he gave him 600 shekels of gold in
-weight, or 1200<i>l</i> of our currency, which seems a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span>
-large sum for a small level piece of ground; for the
-floors, so-called, were out of doors, so that the wind
-might carry away the chaff, as we read in Hosea xiii.
-3: ‘They shall be ... as the chaff that is driven
-with the whirlwind out of the floor.’ See also Psalm
-i. 4.</p>
-
-<p>These floors were used for other purposes than
-threshings, as we read in I. Kings xxii. 10: ‘And
-the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of
-Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their
-robes, in a void place (<i>or floor</i>) in the entrance of the
-gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied
-before them,’ a statement which is repeated in
-II. Chron. xviii. 9.</p>
-
-<p>Harvest-time was appointed by Moses as one of
-the great festivals—Exodus xxiii. 14, etc.: ‘Three
-times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
-Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread:
-(thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I
-commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month
-Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none
-shall appear before me empty). And the feast of
-harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours, which thou hast
-sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which
-is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in
-thy labours out of the field.’ And again, in Exodus
-xxxiv., this is repeated, with the addition (v. 21):
-‘Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day
-thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou
-shalt rest.’ This holiday was, and is, called the feast
-of tabernacles, and we read in Deut. xvi. 13, etc.:
-‘Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span>
-days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and
-thy wine: and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou,
-and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant,
-and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, the stranger,
-and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy
-gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast
-unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord
-shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless
-thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine
-hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.’</p>
-
-<p>In the story of Ruth we get an idyllic picture of
-a Hebrew harvest field, with its kindly greetings
-between master and man, and its gleaners. Naomi, a
-native of Bethlehem, returned thither from Moab,
-after the death of her husband, Elimelech, accompanied
-by her daughter-in-law Ruth, who was also a
-widow, ‘and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning
-of barley harvest.’</p>
-
-<p>Special favour was accorded to Ruth. She might
-glean ‘among the sheaves’—<i>i.e.</i>, following the reapers,
-instead of waiting until the corn had been carried; but
-the Jews were enjoined to be liberal in the matter of
-gleaning, as we see by Lev. xix. 9: ‘And when ye
-reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly
-reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather
-the gleanings of thy harvest’; and in Deut. xxiv. 19,
-‘When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field,
-and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go
-again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the
-fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God
-may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.’</p>
-
-<p>There were no public mills at which flour could be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span>
-ground, but, as now, in the unchangeable East, every
-family ground their own corn, and this task, as well
-as the making and baking of bread, was left to the
-women. See Matt. xxiv. 41: ‘Two women shall be
-grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the
-other left.’ Again we find that it was a woman who
-was grinding corn on a housetop in Thebez who
-(Judges ix. 53) ‘cast a piece of a millstone upon
-Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull.’ An
-Eastern flour mill consists of two stones, the upper
-one rotating on the lower. In Shaw’s <i>Travels</i>, p. 297,
-he says: ‘Most families grind their wheat and barley
-at home, having two portable millstones for that
-purpose. The uppermost is turned round by a small
-handle of wood or iron placed in the edge of it.
-When this stone is large, or expedition is required,
-then a second person is called in to assist. It is usual
-for the women alone to be concerned in this employ,
-setting themselves down over against each other, with
-the millstones between them.’</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
-<img src="images/i_036.jpg" width="400" height="118" alt="A Palestine Hand-mill." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Palestine Hand-mill.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>And Dr. Clarke, in his <i>Travels</i>,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> says, that at
-Nazareth: ‘Scarcely had we reached the apartment
-prepared for our reception, when, looking into the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span>courtyard belonging to the house, we beheld
-<i>two women</i> grinding at the mill in a manner most
-forcibly illustrating the saying of our Saviour. They
-were preparing flour to make our bread, as it is always
-customary in the country when strangers arrive. The
-two women, seated upon the ground opposite to each
-other, held between them two round, flat stones, such
-as are seen in Lapland, and such as in Scotland are
-called querns. In the centre of the upper stone was
-a cavity for pouring in the corn, and by the side of
-this an upright wooden handle for moving the stone.
-As the operation began, one of the women with her
-right hand pushed this handle to the woman opposite,
-who again sent it to her companion, thus communicating
-a rotary and very rapid motion to the upper stone,
-their left hands being all the while employed in
-supplying fresh corn as fast as the bran and flour
-escaped from the sides of the machine.’</p>
-
-<p>Of such importance among the household treasures
-of the Hebrews was the flour mill esteemed that
-Moses laid it down (Deut. xxiv. 6): ‘No man shall
-take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for
-he taketh a man’s life to pledge.’</p>
-
-<p>The first mention of bread in the Bible, with the
-exception of Adam’s curse, is in Gen. xiv. 18: ‘And
-Melchizedek, King of Salem, brought forth bread and
-wine’; but it is pre-supposed, in Chap. xii. 10: ‘And
-there was a famine in the land: and Abram went
-down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was
-grievous in the land.’ When the three angels visited
-him on the plains of Mamre, he offered them hospitality
-(Gen. xviii. 5, 6): ‘I will fetch a morsel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span>
-of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye
-shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your
-servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
-And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and
-said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal,
-knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.’ And to
-this day in Syria cakes are made upon the hearth,
-and the breaking of bread together is a token of amity
-and protection extended by the stronger to the
-weaker.</p>
-
-<p>Of what shape the Hebrew bread was we do not
-know, for no representation of it has come down to
-us. As a rule it was possibly in the form of thin flat
-round cakes—similar to those unleavened biscuits now
-used by the Jews during their Passover, and the form
-and dimensions of which are probably traditional—but
-they also had <i>loaves</i> of bread, as we read in many
-places. The Shew, or Presence bread, must have
-been loaves, because of the quantity of flour in each—between
-five and six pints. The directions for
-making it, etc., are plain enough (Lev. xxiv. 5-9):
-‘And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve
-cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.
-And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row,
-upon the pure table before the Lord. And thou shalt
-put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be
-on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made
-by fire unto the Lord. Every Sabbath he shall set it
-in order before the Lord continually, being taken from
-the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.
-And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall
-eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span>
-of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual
-statute.’</p>
-
-<p>This shew bread must have been leavened, for a
-cake containing nearly three quarts of flour, and unleavened,
-could hardly be. We have no certainty
-as to the shape of these twelve loaves, typical of the
-tribes of Israel; for, although the gold table on which
-it was placed figures in a <i>bas relief</i> on the Arch of
-Titus at Rome, there is no bread upon it. The
-Rabbis say that the loaves were square, and covered
-with leaves of gold; and that they were placed in two
-piles of six each, one upon another, on the opposite
-ends of the table; and that between every two loaves
-were laid three semi-tubes, like slit canes, of gold, for
-the purpose of keeping the cakes the better from
-mouldiness and corruption by admitting the air
-between them; and it is also said, but upon what
-authority I know not, that each end of the table was
-furnished with a tall, three-pronged fork of gold, one
-at each corner, standing perpendicularly, for the
-purpose of keeping the loaves in their proper places.</p>
-
-<p>The new bread was set on the table with much
-ceremony every Sabbath, and it was so ordered that
-the new bread should be set on one end of the table
-before the old was taken away from the other, in
-order that the table might not be for a moment
-without bread. Jewish tradition states that, to render
-the bread more peculiar and consecrated from its
-origin, the priests themselves performed all the
-operations of sowing, reaping and grinding the corn
-for the shew bread, as well as of kneading and baking
-the bread itself. On the table was, probably, some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span>
-salt, as we read in Lev. ii. 13: ‘With all thine
-offerings thou shalt offer salt.’</p>
-
-<p>There seems to be little doubt but that the
-Israelites knew nothing about leavened bread until
-they went into Egypt, and that they obtained that
-knowledge from the civilised Egyptians. That they
-did leaven their bread we learn from Exodus xii.
-34-39: ‘And the people took their dough before
-it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound
-up in their clothes upon their shoulders....
-And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which
-they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not
-leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt,
-and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for
-themselves any victual.’</p>
-
-<p>Bread was sometimes dipped in oil as a relish,
-and in this state it was also used in sacrifice. Lev.
-viii. 26: ‘And out of the basket of unleavened bread,
-that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened
-cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer,’ etc.;
-and, occasionally, as we see in Ruth, it was dipped in
-vinegar. The Jew thanked God for all His good
-gifts, and with his bread, he took it in his hands, and
-pronounced the following benediction: ‘Blessed art
-Thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, that
-produceth bread out of the earth.’ If there were
-many at table, one asked a blessing for the rest. The
-blessing always preceded the breaking of the bread.
-The rules concerning the breaking of bread were—the
-master of the house recited and finished the
-blessing, and after that he broke the bread; he did
-not break a small piece, lest he should seem to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span>
-sparing; nor a large piece, lest he should be thought
-to be famished; it was a principal command to
-break a whole loaf. He that broke the bread put a
-piece before everyone, and the other took it into his
-hand. The master of the family ate first of the bread
-after blessing. Maimonides, writing on <i>Halacoth</i>, or
-legal formulæ (<i>Beracoth</i>, c. 7), says the guests were
-not to eat or taste anything till he who broke had
-tasted first, nor was it permitted at festivals for any
-of the guests to drink of the cup till the master of the
-family had done so.</p>
-
-<p>There are several unleavened bread bakeries in
-London, and one each in Birmingham and Leeds, to
-supply the Jews resident in the neighbourhood with
-Passover cakes, or <i>Matzos</i>. Of course, there is an
-enormous demand for this sort of unleavened bread,
-and to meet it these bakeries begin baking two
-months before the commencement of the Passover.
-These <i>Matzos</i> look like ordinary large water biscuits,
-except that they are a foot or more in diameter.
-They are made of flour and water, and contain no
-other ingredient.</p>
-
-<p>After the flour has been kneaded into a very stiff
-dough, a lump of it, weighing about 50 lb., is placed
-on a great block of wood and pressed into a thick
-sheet by a heavy beam, which is fastened to the block
-at one end by an iron link and staple. This sheet is
-next placed under an iron roller, from which it
-emerges in a long ribbon. It passes under another
-roller, and another, and then it is thin enough for
-baking. It is now stamped and cut into the unbaked
-<i>Matzos</i>, which are placed upon a large peel, or wooden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span>
-tray, having a long handle, and deposited in an oven.
-Three minutes later they are taken out, white, but
-crisp. From the oven they are conveyed to the
-packing room, where they are allowed to cool, after
-which they are put up in stacks, and thus kept ready
-for delivery. Of course, during the whole of Passover
-week the Jews eat no other bread.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER IV.<br />
-
-<small><small>THE BREAD OF THE CLASSIC LANDS.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">As</span> an introduction to the bread of the Romans and
-Greeks, let us begin with the pretty myth of
-Demeter (or Ceres, as the Romans called her), and
-her daughter Persephone. Zeus, or Jupiter, had
-promised his daughter Persephone to Pluto, without
-informing Demeter of his plan, and whilst the girl
-was plucking flowers which Zeus had caused to grow,
-in order to fix her attention, Pluto seized her, and,
-the earth opening, they disappeared, and went to his
-kingdom of Hades. Many places have been assigned
-as the spot where this took place; but the ancient
-Eleusis, not far from Salamis or Athens, now the
-little village of Lefsina, has, if such a thing were
-possible, perhaps the prior claim, for here stood the
-famous temple of Demeter, now lately (1882-89)
-excavated and surveyed, and here were performed
-the Eleusinian mysteries in her honour.</p>
-
-<p>The shrieks of Persephone were heard only by
-Hecate and Helios; and her mother, hearing only the
-echo of her voice, at once darted down to earth in
-search of her beloved child. Hopelessly and aimlessly
-she wandered about, caring nothing for herself; and
-for nine whole days and nights neither ate nor drank,
-tasted neither nectar nor ambrosia, nor did she even
-bathe herself. On the tenth day she met Hecate, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span>
-told her all she knew of her daughter’s disappearance,
-which was not much, as she had heard but her piercing
-cries. But, thinking that Helios, the all-seeing sun,
-might have viewed the scene, they hastened to him,
-and he told them how it all happened: how Pluto
-had carried off her daughter, with the approval and
-consent of Zeus.</p>
-
-<p>Heart-broken at this conduct of the father of her
-child, she would have no more of the society of the
-gods, and forswore Olympus, preferring to live
-rather among men on earth. And so she dwelt
-among them, rewarding those who were kind to her
-and severely punishing those who did not treat her
-well; and in this way, still wandering and mourning
-for her lost child, she came to Eleusis, where Celeus
-was king.</p>
-
-<p>But her wrath was still as fierce as ever, and, by
-withholding her gifts, the fields produced no crops,
-and there was famine upon earth, and so sore indeed
-did it become that Zeus, perceiving it, feared that
-the race of man might become extinct for lack of
-food, and sent Iris as ambassador to try and persuade
-Demeter to return to Olympus. But she was firm,
-although all the gods were sent to her to induce her
-to relent, and nothing would she do to mitigate the
-evil she had wrought, save on the condition that her
-daughter should be restored to her.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_045.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="The Legend of Demeter and Triptolemus." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Legend of Demeter and Triptolemus.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>Hermes was sent to Pluto, and his mission met
-with partial success. Persephone had eaten of the
-pomegranate seed, which sacredly pledged her to her
-dread lord; and for three months in the year she
-must leave her mother and the fair earth and go to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span>
-live in Pluto’s dreary kingdom. Hermes fulfilled his
-mission by restoring her to her loving mother, who
-rejoiced over her with an exceeding joy. Zeus,
-choosing this happy moment, sent Rhea to Demeter
-to conciliate her and prevail upon her to return to
-Olympus—a task which she happily effected. The
-earth smiled once more and became fertile, and
-Demeter, with her daughter, to whom she was lent
-for nine months in the year, went to dwell once more
-in the companionship of the gods; but, before she
-left the earth, she rewarded Celeus, the King of
-Eleusis, who had been kind to her, by giving his son,
-Triptolemus, a chariot with winged dragons and
-seeds of wheat. His chariot was useful, for by means
-of it he was able to ride all over the earth, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span>
-instruct men in growing corn. He established the
-worship of Demeter at Eleusis, and instituted the
-mysteries in honour of the goddess.</p>
-
-<p>And in this pretty myth of Demeter and Persephone
-we may trace the story of the seasons; how
-for nine months the earth is smiling and fertile, and
-for the remaining three is dead.</p>
-
-<p>Dr. Schliemann claimed to have found the site of
-ancient Troy when he uncovered the hill of Hissarlik.
-It was undoubtedly the remains of a pre-historic
-city, and one which had advanced to a considerable
-amount of civilisation. And this is shown particularly
-in one instance, in the huge earthenware jars, or
-<i>pithoi</i>, that were used for storing corn and wine.
-The following illustration gives a graphic description
-of them as they appeared <i>in situ</i>: ‘One of the
-compartments of the uppermost houses below the
-Temple of Athené, and belonging to the third, the
-burnt city, appears to have been used as a magazine
-for storing corn or wine, for there are in it nine
-enormous earthenware jars of various forms, about
-5 ft. high and 4-3/4 ft. across, their mouths being from
-29-1/2 in. to 35-1/4 in. broad. Each of them has four
-handles 3-3/4 in. broad, and the clay of which they are
-made is as much as 2-1/4 in. thick.’<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">7</a></p>
-
-<p>Dr. Schliemann says [p. 279]: ‘The number of
-large jars which I brought to light in the burnt
-stratum of the third city certainly exceeds 600. By
-far the larger number of them were empty, the mouth
-being covered by a large flag of schist or limestone.
-This leads me to the conclusion that the jars were
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span>filled with wine or water at the time of the catastrophe,
-for there appears to have been hardly any reason for
-covering them if they had been empty. Had they
-been used to contain anything else but liquids, I
-should have found traces of the fact, but only in a
-very few cases did I <i>find some carbonised grain</i> in
-the jars, and only twice a small quantity of a white
-mass, the nature of which I could not determine.’</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_047.jpg" width="500" height="259" alt="Pithoi found at Hissarlik." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Pithoi found at Hissarlik.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>So that we see that this pre-historic nation not
-only grew corn, but stored it for future use.</p>
-
-<p>The means this pre-historic people had of crushing
-or mealing the grain was the same as usual: the saddle
-querns, or two stones with flat surfaces, between which
-the grain was crushed and roughly triturated—so
-frequently found on the Continent, and the pestle
-and mortar of the lake dwellings, as also round stones
-for fitting into hollows such as are found in the
-lakes, the cave dwellings of the Dordogne and in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span>
-dolmens of France. Dr. Schliemann, in describing
-‘the Trojan saddle querns,’ says they ‘are either of
-trachyte or of basaltic lava, but by far the larger
-number are of the former material. They are of
-oval form, flat on one side and convex on the other,
-and resemble an egg cut longitudinally through the
-middle. Their length is from 7 in. to 14 in., and
-even as much as 25 in.; the very long ones are
-generally crooked longitudinally, their breadth is
-from 5 in. to 14 in. The grain was bruised between
-the flat sides of two of these querns; but only
-a kind of groats can have been produced in this
-way, not flour. The bruised grain could not
-have been used for making bread. In <i>Homer</i> we
-find it used for porridge (<i>Il.</i> xviii., 558-560), and
-also for strewing on the roasted meat (<i>Od.</i> xiv.,
-76-77).’</p>
-
-<p>In Homeric times the corn was evidently ground
-by millstones (which were, probably, precisely similar
-to those found by Dr. Schliemann), as we see in <i>Il.</i>
-vii. 270, xii., 161, and <i>Od.</i> vii., 104, xx., 105. Pliny
-N.H., xxxvi., 30, speaking of millstones says: ‘In no
-country are the molar stones superior to those of
-Italy; stones, be it remembered, not fragments of
-rock; there are some provinces, too, where they are
-not to be found at all. Some stones of this class are
-softer than others, and admit of being smoothed with
-the whetstone, so as to present all the appearance, at
-a distance, of serpentine. There is no more durable
-stone than this; for, in general, stone, like wood,
-suffers from the action, more or less, of rain, heat, and
-cold.... Some persons give this molar stone the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span>
-name of <i>pyrites</i>, from the circumstance that it has a
-great affinity to fire.’</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
-<img src="images/i_049.jpg" width="400" height="367" alt="Pounding Grain." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Pounding Grain.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>In book xviii., 23, Pliny gives us <i>the mode of
-grinding corn</i>. ‘All the grains are not easily broken.
-In Etruria they first parch the spelt in the ear, and
-then pound it with a pestle shod with iron at the end.
-In this instrument the iron is notched at the bottom,
-sharp ridges running out like the edge of a knife, and
-concentrating in the form of a star, so that, if care is
-not taken to hold the pestle perpendicularly while
-pounding, the grains will only be splintered and the
-iron teeth broken. Throughout the greater part of
-Italy, however, they employ a pestle that is only
-rough at the end, and wheels turned by water, by
-means of which the corn is gradually ground. I shall
-here set forth the opinions given by Mago as to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span>
-best method of pounding corn. He says that the
-wheat should be steeped first of all in water, and then
-cleaned from the husk, after which it should be dried
-in the sun and then pounded with the pestle; the same
-plan, he says, should be adopted in the preparation of
-barley.’</p>
-
-<p>This was how corn was prepared in some parts of
-Italy at the time of the Christian era, by the same
-method as that described by Livingstone: ‘The corn
-is pounded in a large wooden mortar, like the ancient
-Egyptian one, with a pestle six feet long and about
-four inches thick. The pounding is performed by
-two or even three women at one mortar. Each,
-before delivering a blow with her pestle, gives an
-upward jerk of the body, so as to put strength into
-the stroke, and they keep exact time, so that two
-pestles are never in the mortar at the same moment....
-By the operation of pounding, with the aid of
-a little water, the hard outside scale or husk of the
-grain is removed, and the corn is made fit for the
-millstone. The meal irritates the stomach unless
-cleared from the husk; without considerable energy
-in the operation the husk sticks fast to the corn.
-Solomon thought that still more vigour than is
-required to separate the hard husk or bran from
-the wheat would fail to separate “a fool from his
-folly.” “Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a
-mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his
-foolishness depart from him.”’</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_051.jpg" width="500" height="528" alt="A Bakehouse at Pompeii." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Bakehouse at Pompeii.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>We have noticed the primitive Homeric millstones
-and the Etruscan pestles and mortars, but at
-the time of the Christian era things molinary were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span>
-somewhat more advanced. Doubtless in parts of the
-country the hand mill or quern, called <i>Mola manuaria</i>,
-<i>versatilis</i> or <i>trusatilis</i>, was in use, and it was worked
-by slaves, who were sent to the <i>pistorineum</i> as a
-punishment. But the usual corn mill was worked by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span>
-animals, and was called <i>Mola iumentaria</i> or <i>Mola
-asinaria</i>.</p>
-
-<p>Both Greeks and Romans originally ground their
-flour and baked their bread at home, and mills and
-bakeries have been found in several private houses in
-Pompeii. One of these bakeries was attached to the
-house of Sallust, on the south side, being divided from
-it only by a narrow street. Its front is the main
-street, or Via Consularis, leading from the gate of
-Herculaneum to the Forum. Entering by a small
-vestibule, the visitor finds himself in a portico of
-ample dimensions, considering the character of the
-house, being about 36 feet by 30 feet. At the end of
-the portico is an opening through which the bake-house
-is entered, which is at the back of the house,
-and opens into a smaller street, which, diverging from
-the main street at the fountain by Pansa’s house, runs
-straight up to the city walls. The work room of the
-mill and bakery is about 33 feet long by 26 feet. The
-centre is occupied by four stone mills, and when it
-was uncovered, the ironwork, though entirely rust
-eaten, was yet perfect enough to explain satisfactorily
-the method of construction.</p>
-
-<p>Not only were the flour mills, kneading troughs
-and other utensils for baking found in Pompeii, but
-there were also loaves of bread, of round form, and
-sub-divided, some of which were stamped with the
-baker’s name. That this was the usual form of loaf
-is also shown by a painting on the walls of the Temple
-of Augustus, where we see the bread partially broken,
-and by the representation of a baker’s shop, where all
-the loaves are similarly shaped.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_053.jpg" width="500" height="261" alt="Roman Methods of Bread-Making." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Roman Methods of Bread-Making.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
-<img src="images/i_054.jpg" width="400" height="430" alt="A Baker's Shop at Pompeii." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Baker’s Shop at Pompeii.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>This, at all events, seems to have been the shape
-in vogue about the time of the Christian era; but in
-the <i>bas reliefs</i> on the tomb of Eurysaces, who was a
-baker in a large way of business at Rome, they seem
-to be globular. These <i>bas reliefs</i> are most interesting,
-as they show the whole history of baking. First there
-is the purchase of the corn, and payment being made
-for it; then we see it ground, and sifted to separate
-the bran. Next a man is buying some flour. Then
-we see the dough being kneaded by horse-power, the
-bakers making it into loaves, the baker with his peel
-baking the loaves, which are afterwards carried in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span>
-paniers to be weighed. Then there are the customers,
-and the bread being sent out for delivery.</p>
-
-<p>Pliny tells us that there were no bakers at Rome
-until the war with King Perseus of Macedon, more
-than 580 years after the building of the city. The
-ancient Romans used to make their own bread, it
-being an occupation which belonged to the women,
-as we see is the case in many nations even at the
-present day. In those times they had no cooks in
-the number of their slaves, but used to hire them for
-the occasion from the market. The Gauls were the
-first to employ the bolter that is made of horse-hair;
-while the people of Spain made their sieves and meal
-dressers of flax, and the Egyptians of papyrus and
-rushes.</p>
-
-<p>Many freedmen were engaged as bakers, and
-under the Republic it was one of the duties of the
-œdiles to see that the bread was properly prepared
-and correct in weight. Grain was delivered into
-public granaries by enrolled <i>Saccarii</i>, and it was
-distributed to the bakers by a corporation called the
-<i>Catabolenses</i>. A bakers’ guild (<i>corpus</i> or <i>collegium
-pistorum</i>), which long existed, was organised by
-Trajan, and this body, through its connection with
-the <i>cura amonæ</i>, became of much importance, and
-enjoyed various privileges. There were guilds of
-<i>pistores</i> and <i>clibanarii</i> at Pompeii. A great increase
-in the number of bakeries (<i>pistrinæ</i>, <i>officinæ pistoriæ</i>)
-afterwards took place at Rome, owing, probably, to
-the action of Aurelian in introducing a daily distribution
-of bread, instead of the old monthly distribution
-of grain that had been usual since the time of Gracchi.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER V.<br />
-
-<small><small>BREAD IN EASTERN LANDS.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Agriculture</span> has always taken a prominent part in
-Chinese polity, and is incorporated in their religious
-observances; and a deep veneration for it is inscribed
-on all the institutions in China. Among the several
-grades of society the cultivators of mind rank first,
-then those of land, third come the manufacturers, and
-lastly the merchants. Homage to agriculture is done
-annually by the Emperor, who makes a show of
-performing its operations.</p>
-
-<p>This ceremony, which originated more than 2000
-years ago, had been discontinued by degenerate
-princes, but was revived by Yong-tching, the third
-of the Mantchoo dynasty. This anniversary takes
-place on the 24th day of the second moon, coinciding
-with our month of February. The monarch prepares
-himself for it by fasting three days; he then repairs to
-the appointed spot with three princes, nine presidents
-of the high tribunals, forty old and forty young husbandmen.
-Having performed a preliminary sacrifice
-of the fruits of the earth to Shang-ti, the supreme
-deity, he takes in his hand the plough, and makes a
-furrow of some length, in which he is followed by the
-princes and other grandees. A similar course is
-observed in sowing the field, and the operations are
-completed by the husbandmen.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span></p>
-
-<p>An annual festival in honour of Agriculture is
-also celebrated in the capital of each province. The
-governor marches forth, crowned with flowers, and
-accompanied by a numerous train, bearing flags
-adorned with agricultural emblems and portraits of
-eminent husbandmen, while the streets are decorated
-with lanterns and triumphal arches.</p>
-
-<p>Although rice is the staple grain in use in China,
-wheat-growing is one of the principal industries in
-the northern and middle parts of that country. The
-winter wheat is planted at about the same time that
-wheat is planted here. The soil, especially in the
-northern provinces, is so well worn that it is unfitted
-for wheat-growing, and the Chinese farmers, appreciating
-this fact, and the fact that all kinds of fertilisers
-are excessively dear, make the least money do the
-most good by mixing the seed with finely-prepared
-manure.</p>
-
-<p>A man with a basket swung upon his shoulders
-follows the plough, and plants the mixture in large
-handsful in the furrows, so that when the crop grows
-up it looks like young celery. Immediately after the
-first melting of snow, and when the ground has
-become sufficiently hardened by frost, these wheat-fields
-are turned into pastures, under the theory that,
-by a timely clipping of the tops of these plants, the
-crops will grow up with additional strength in the
-spring.</p>
-
-<p>Wheat-threshing is the principal interest in Chinese
-farming. Owing to the scarcity of fuel, the wheat is
-usually pulled up by the root, bundled in sheaves,
-and carted to the <i>mien-chong</i>, a smooth and hardened<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span>
-space of ground near the home of the farmer. The
-top of the sheaves is then clipped off by a hand
-machine. The wheat is then left in the <i>mien-chong</i>
-to dry, whilst the headless sheaves are piled in a heap
-for fuel or thatching. When the wheat is thoroughly
-dry it is beaten under a great stone roller pulled by
-horses, while the places thus rolled are constantly
-tossed over with pitchforks. The stalks left untouched
-by the roller are threshed with flails by women and
-boys. The beaten stalks and straws are then taken
-out by an ingenious arrangement of pitchforks, and
-the chaff is removed by a systematic tossing of the
-grain into the air until the wind blows every particle
-of chaff or dust out of the wheat. Even the chaff is
-carefully swept up and stowed away for fuel or other
-useful purposes, such as stuffing mattresses or pillows.
-After the wheat is allowed to dry for a few hours in
-the burning sun, it is stowed away in airy bamboo
-bins.</p>
-
-<p>The milling process is a very ancient one. Two
-large round bluestone wheels, with grooves neatly cut
-in the faces on one side, and in the centre of the lower
-wheel a solid wooden plug is used. The process of
-making flour out of wheat by this machinery is called
-<i>mob-mien</i>. Usually a horse or mule is employed; the
-poor, having no animals, grind the grain themselves.</p>
-
-<p>Three distinct qualities of flour are thus produced.
-The <i>shon-mien</i>, or A grade, is the first siftings; the
-<i>nee-mien</i>, or second grade, is the grindings of the
-rough leavings from the first siftings, which is of a
-darker and redder colour than the first grade; and
-<i>mod</i> is the finely-ground last siftings of all grades.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span>
-When bread is made from this grade it resembles
-rough gingerbread. This is usually the food of the
-poorest families. The bread of the Chinese is usually
-fermented, and then steamed. Only a very small
-quantity is baked in ovens. But the staple articles
-of food in Northern China are wheat, millet, and
-sweet potatoes. Wheat and rice are the food of the
-rich, while the middle classes of the Empire eat millet
-and rice. In the southern provinces the entire bread-stuff
-is rice.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
-<img src="images/i_059.jpg" width="400" height="350" alt="Chinese Method of Husking Grain." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Chinese Method of Husking Grain.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>At King-Kiang wheat is served as rice. It is first
-threshed with flails made of bamboo, and then
-pounded by a rough stone hammer, working in a
-mortar which rests on a pivot, and is operated like a
-treadle by the human foot. This separates the husks,
-and it is then winnowed, the grain being afterwards
-ground in the usual way.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Rice is undoubtedly the staple food of those parts
-of China where it will grow, in spite of its being a
-precarious crop, the failure of which means famine.
-A drought in its early stages withers it, and an inundation,
-when nearly ripe, is equally destructive;
-whilst the birds and locusts, which are fearfully
-numerous in China, infest it more than any other
-grain. Rice requires not only intense heat, but
-moisture so abundant that the field in which it
-grows must be repeatedly laid under water. These
-requisites exist only in the districts south of the
-Yang-tse Kiang (the Yellow River) and its several
-tributaries. Here a vast extent of land is perfectly
-fitted for this valuable crop. Confined by powerful
-dykes, these rivers do not generally, like the Nile,
-overflow and cover the country; but by means of
-canals their waters are so widely distributed that
-almost every farmer, when he pleases, can inundate
-his field. This supplies not only moisture, but a
-fertilising mud or slime, washed down from the
-distant mountains. The cultivator thus dispenses
-with manure, of which he labours under a great
-scarcity, and considers it enough if the grain be
-steeped in liquid manure.</p>
-
-<p>The Chinese always transplant their rice. A small
-space is enclosed, and very thickly sown, after which
-a thin sheet of water is led or pumped over it; in
-the course of a few days the shoots appear, and when
-they have attained the height of six or seven inches
-the tops are cut off, and the roots transplanted to a
-field prepared for the purpose, when they are set in
-rows about six inches from each other. The whole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span>
-surface is again supplied with moisture, which continues
-to cover the plants till they approach maturity,
-when the ground is allowed to become dry.</p>
-
-<p>The first harvest is reaped in the end of May or
-beginning of June, the grain being cut with a small
-sickle, and carried off the field in frames suspended
-from bamboo poles placed across a man’s shoulders.
-Barrow (p. 565) thus describes one: ‘The machine
-usually employed for clearing rice from the husk, in
-the large way, is exactly the same as that now used
-in Egypt for the same purpose, only that the latter is
-put in motion by oxen and the former commonly by
-water. This machine consists of a long horizontal
-axis of wood, with cogs, or projecting pieces of wood
-or iron, fixed upon it at certain intervals, and it is
-turned by a water-wheel. At right angles to this
-axis are fixed as many horizontal levers as there are
-circular rows of cogs; these levers act on pivots that
-are fastened into a low brick wall, but parallel to the
-axis and at the distance of about two feet from it.
-At the further extremity of each lever, and perpendicular
-to it, is fixed a hollow pestle, directly over a
-large mortar of stone or iron sunk into the ground;
-the other extremity extending beyond the wall, being
-pressed upon by the cogs of the axis in its rotation,
-elevates the pestle, which by its own gravity falls
-into the mortar. An axis of this kind sometimes
-gives motion to 15 or 20 levers.’</p>
-
-<p>Meantime the stubble is burnt on the land, over
-which the ashes are spread as its only manure; a
-second crop is immediately sown, and reaped about
-the end of October, when the straw is left to putrify<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span>
-on the ground, which is allowed to rest till the
-commencement of the ensuing spring.</p>
-
-<p>As the cereal food of the Chinese is principally
-boiled rice, it stands to reason that bakers are not
-numerous, bread only appearing at the tables of high-class
-mandarins. It is chiefly replaced by fancy
-biscuits and numberless kinds of pastry, made not
-only with wheaten flour, but also that of rice—these
-serve as vehicles for the various jams and fruit
-<i>compotes</i> for which the Chinese are famous, and which
-they know so well how to make; in fact, the bakers
-are more strictly confectioners, and they can be seen
-any day busy in their shops baking cakes of rice
-flour and ground almonds of every imaginable shape
-and varied in quality by spices. Not only so, but
-these cakes are sold, already baked, in the peripatetic
-cookeries which go about the streets. Out of wheaten
-flour they make a kind of vermicelli, which is much
-esteemed by the Chinese.</p>
-
-<p>Failure of the rice crops, and consequent famine
-in Japan, have been the means of introducing wheaten
-flour into this country more rapidly than anything
-else could have done. Most remarkable is the
-universal favour that bread and similar floury concoctions
-are beginning to enjoy in the treaty ports.
-This article of food has become completely Japanized,
-and sells in forms unknown to Europeans. <i>Tsuke-pau</i>,
-sold by peripatetic vendors, who push their wares
-along in a tiny roofed hand-cart, is much liked by the
-poorer classes. It consists of slices—thick, generous
-slices—of bread dipped in soy and brown sugar, and
-then fried or toasted. Each slice has a skewer passed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span>
-through it, which the buyer returns after demolishing
-the bread.</p>
-
-<p>Flour is now used in many other ways besides the
-manufacture of simple bread. There is <i>Kash-pau</i>,
-cake bread, which is sold everywhere. As the name
-implies, it is a sort of sweet breadstuff made into
-cakes of various sizes and artistic figures, according
-to the skill and fancy of the baker. To an European
-palate this <i>Kash-pau</i> is rather dry and tasteless, but
-it is very cheap, and for five <i>sen</i> (three-halfpence) a
-huge paper bagful can be bought. <i>Kasuteira</i>, or
-sponge cake, is not so much sought after as it used to
-be. Yet some bakeries, such as the <i>Fugetsu-do</i> and
-<i>Tsuboya</i>, excel in producing the lightest and most
-delicious sponge cake.</p>
-
-<p>Millet, in China, is only used as food by the
-very poor.</p>
-
-<p>Wheat is not the primary article of food among
-the natives of India, and hitherto only enough has
-been produced for home consumption; but of late
-years much has been grown for export, and being of
-a particularly hard nature is useful for mixing with
-the softer kinds. Still, it is used by itself, and is made
-into unleavened cakes called <i>Chupatees</i>. These are
-made by mixing flour and water together, with a little
-salt, into a paste or dough, kneading it well; sometimes
-<i>ghee</i> (clarified butter) is added. They may
-also be made with milk instead of water. They are
-flattened into thin cakes with the hand, smeared
-with a small quantity of <i>ghee</i>, and baked on an iron
-pan, or sheet of iron, over the fire.</p>
-
-<p>Historic, too, is the <i>Chupatee</i>, for by its means the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span>
-message was sent round throughout the length and
-breadth of British India for the rising against the
-English rule—known as the Indian Mutiny. Its
-true meaning was not at first understood, as we may
-read in the Indian correspondence of the <i>Times</i>,
-dated Bombay, March 3, 1857: ‘From Cawnpore to
-Allahabad, and onwards towards the great cities of
-the North-West, the <i>chokedars</i>, or policemen, have
-been of late spreading from village to village—at
-whose command, or for what object, they themselves,
-it is said, are ignorant—little plain cakes of wheaten
-flour. The number of cakes, and the mode of their
-transmission, is uniform. <i>Chokedar</i> of village A
-enters village B, and, addressing its <i>chokedar</i>, commits
-to his charge two cakes, with directions to have other
-two similar to them prepared; and, leaving the old in
-his own village, to hie with the new to village C, and
-so on. English authorities of the districts through
-which these edibles passed looked at, handled, and
-probably tasted them; and finding them, upon the
-evidence of all their senses, harmless, reported
-accordingly to the Government. And it appears, I
-think, with tolerable clearness, that the mysterious
-mission is not of political but of superstitious origin;
-and is directed simply to the warding off of diseases,
-such as the choleraic visitation of twelve months ago,
-in which point of view it is noteworthy and characteristic,
-and not unworthy to be remembered together
-with last year’s grim and picturesque legend of the
-horseman, who rode down to the river at dead of
-night and was ferried across, announcing that the
-pestilence was in his train.’</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span></p>
-
-<p><i>Apropos</i> of Indian flour, Col. Meadows Taylor, in
-<i>The Story of My Life</i>, tells a story anent the adulteration
-of flour in India.</p>
-
-<p>‘During that day my tent was beset by hundreds
-of pilgrims and travellers, crying loudly for justice
-against the flour-sellers, who not only gave short
-weight in flour, but adulterated it so distressingly
-with sand that the cakes made with it were uneatable,
-and had to be thrown away. That evening I told
-some reliable men of my escort to go quietly into the
-bazaars and each buy flour at a separate shop, being
-careful to note whose shop it was.</p>
-
-<p>‘The flour was brought to me. I tested every
-sample, and found it full of sand as I passed it under
-my teeth. I then desired that all the persons named
-in my list should be sent to me with their baskets of
-flour, their weights and scales. Shortly afterwards
-they arrived, evidently suspecting nothing, and were
-placed in a row seated on the grass before my tent.</p>
-
-<p>‘“Now,” said I gravely, “each of you is to weigh
-out a ser (two pounds) of your flour,” which was done.
-“Is it for the pilgrims?” asked one.</p>
-
-<p>‘“No,” said I quietly, though I had much difficulty
-to keep my countenance. “You must eat it yourselves.”</p>
-
-<p>‘They saw that I was in earnest, and offered to
-pay any fine that I imposed.</p>
-
-<p>‘“Not so,” I returned, “you have made many eat
-your flour; why should you object to eat it yourselves?”</p>
-
-<p>‘They were horribly frightened, and, amid the
-jeers and screams of laughter of the bystanders, some
-of them actually began to eat, spluttering out the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span>
-half-moistened flour, which could be heard crunching
-between their teeth. At last some of them flung
-themselves on their faces, abjectly beseeching pardon.</p>
-
-<p>‘“Swear!” I cried, “swear by the Holy Mother in
-yonder temple that you will not fill the mouths of her
-worshippers with dirt! You have brought this on
-yourselves, and there is not a man in all the country
-who will not laugh at the <i>bunnais</i> (flour-sellers) who
-could not eat their own flour because it broke their
-teeth.”</p>
-
-<p>‘So this episode terminated, and I heard no more
-complaints of bad flour.’</p>
-
-<p>The Indian flour mill is very primitive, consisting
-of two great mill-stones, of which the lower is fast,
-and the upper is usually turned by two women, who
-feed the wheat by handfuls into a hole which passes
-through the stone. The meal so obtained is simply
-mixed with palm yeast, and baked in very hot ovens,
-which have been heated for several days. The small
-European householder finds it more convenient to
-patronise the Mohammedan bakers, of whom, however,
-the bread has to be ordered in advance. Sometimes
-two or three English families combine, and hire
-a baker, paying him a monthly salary, and providing
-him with the raw material.</p>
-
-<p>The yeast mentioned above is made from the sap
-of the date palm. In April, before the flowers appear,
-a Hindoo climbs the naked trunk—for the leaves, as
-in all palm trees, are borne on the top. The man’s
-feet are bound together by a rope, and about his hips
-are fastened two pots for the reception of the sap.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span>As he climbs, he calls out, ‘<i>Darpor, darpor ata hain</i>,’
-which, being interpreted, means, ‘The palm-tapper is
-coming.’ This is for the benefit of the Mohammedan
-women who might be sitting unveiled in the courtyards
-of the houses exposed to the view of the
-climber after he has risen above the tops of the walls.
-A tapper who once fails to give this warning cry is
-thenceforth forbidden to ply his trade. When the
-tapper has reached the crown of the tree he cuts two
-gashes in opposite sides of the trunk with an axe,
-which he has carried up in his mouth. Then he
-fastens the pots under the gashes and descends. The
-full pots are taken away and empty ones put in their
-place twice daily. The sap has a sweet taste, and
-contains some alcohol even when fresh. After standing
-in the sun in great earthen pots for a few days it
-begins to ferment, after which it deposits a thick
-white substance. This, taken at the proper time, is
-used as yeast.</p>
-
-<p>But rice is, in India, the staff of life, being used to
-a greater extent than any grain in Europe. It is, in
-fact, the food of the highest and the lowest, the
-principal harvest of every climate. Its production,
-generally speaking, is only limited by the means of
-irrigation, which is essential to its growth. The
-ground is prepared in March and April; the seed is
-sown in May and reaped in August. If circumstances
-are favourable there are other harvests, one between
-July and November, another between January and
-April. These also sometimes consist of rice, but
-more commonly of other grain or pulse. In some
-parts millet is used as food. Many are the ways of
-cooking rice—there are powder of cucumber seeds and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span>
-rice, lime juice and rice, orange juice and rice, jack
-fruit and rice, rice and milk, and sweet cakes made of
-rice flour, with or without green ginger.</p>
-
-<p>The Bombay baker is a man of a different stamp
-altogether to the Bengal baker. He is invariably a
-Goanese and a native Christian, and adopts his profession
-not from choice but by heredity. For
-generations past his fathers have been bakers, and
-have, in accordance with the rules of the Society of
-Bakers, to which they must have belonged, studied
-some portion at least of the art of manufacturing
-bread. The Bombay baker is, moreover, a man of
-substance. To begin with, he grows his own wheat,
-and has it conveyed to his factories, where as many
-as 200 hands are employed in converting it into raw
-material for cooking. He retains a staff of <i>chefs</i>, who
-also hail from Goa, and who attend exclusively to the
-baking. Greater comparative intelligence and a love
-for his trade enable him to turn out a far superior
-article to that of his ignorant contemporary in Upper
-India; but even in Bombay the same fault has to be
-found with the manufacturer: either the bread is too
-fine, or it is too ‘brown’—that is, it contains too
-much bran.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER VI.<br />
-
-<small><small>BREAD IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Olaus Magnus</span>, Archbishop of Upsala, who lived in
-the first half of the 16th century, has left behind him,
-in his <i>Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus</i>, a long
-and lucid account of Scandinavian life and manners.
-Respecting harvest, he tells us that in the Northern
-countries, in many fields of the Visigoths, on that
-part that lies southward, barley is ripe and mown in
-36 days from the date of sowing—that is, from the
-end of June to the middle of August, and sometimes
-sooner; and other corn sown in the beginning of
-May is reaped in the middle of August—‘by the
-mutual help of the countrymen, not with any great
-pains, but with alacrity and willing minds, lest cold
-wind should blow upon it and blast the corn. And
-they desire no other reward for their daily labour
-than a merry feast at night, where the young people
-of both sexes, by reason of their faithful labours in
-the field, by the judgment, consent, and permission of
-their provident parents, are made choice of for to be
-married.’</p>
-
-<p>He tells us that the farther North you go the less
-wheat is grown, but there is more towards the South,
-the Swedes having plenty of wheat but more rye. ‘But
-the Goths, both East and West, who feed on barley
-and oats, have an infinite abundance given them by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span>
-the mercy of God. Yet there is use made of all these
-sorts of corn in both places. But the Swedes provide
-most of rye, where their women know so well how to
-winnow rye, that for colour, taste, and for health it
-surpasses the goodness of wheat.’</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_070.jpg" width="500" height="316" alt="Early Scandinavian Bakeries." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Early Scandinavian Bakeries.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>In order to preserve their corn they carefully dried
-it. ‘On the hottest days, when the sun shines strong,
-they spread cloths like ships’ sails, or else the sails
-themselves, upon the ground, or on the tops of
-mountains where there is no grass, and they lay the
-corn out to dry for six, or more, or fewer days, as the
-sun shines hot; then when it is cleaned they lay it up
-in vessels of oak, or else they grind it, and so lay it
-up safe, and when it is so dried it will last good for
-years. But if it be not ground meal, but corn, it is
-convenient once a year to set it in the sun to be again
-dried, and thus new-dried corn may be mingled with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span>
-it prudently. But the meal thrust into the oaken
-vessels, or tuns, by strong ramming it in with wooden
-mallets, and laid up in a dry place, will last many
-years, and never be worm-eaten.’</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_071.jpg" width="500" height="319" alt="Early Scandinavian Bakeries." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Early Scandinavian Bakeries.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>He also discourses on the variety of mills for
-grinding corn in use. How there was the windmill,
-that turned by running water, by horse-power, by
-hands and feet—backwards and forwards, like the
-pre-historic mealing stones, and also the quern; but
-he mostly extols the windmills of Holland.</p>
-
-<p>The grain being ground, it was ready for making
-into bread, and he minutely describes the operation—how
-it was kneaded into a round shape, then
-rolled very thin, and finally baked on a sheet of iron,
-like a warrior’s shield, supported by a tripod, and
-heated by a slow fire—in fact, the griddle, or girdle,
-cakes of North Britain. But there was other bread<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span>
-which was baked in an oven; and here the artist
-seems to have drawn somewhat upon his imagination
-for his cockroaches and blackbeetles. It seems that
-bread was not sold by weight, and that they were in
-the habit, about Christmas time, of making what we
-should call dough babies, about the size of a five-year-old
-child, of which they made presents, and
-similar, but smaller, babies of wheat-flour, which
-they sold.</p>
-
-<p>They also made a gingerbread of flour, honey,
-and spices, which travellers in the winter made
-use of; another bread of flour, milk, butter, eggs,
-and ginger. Then, also, they baked biscuits for
-shipboard and for victualling forts, but he pathetically
-points out that these biscuits, if kept for a length of
-time, especially in a damp place, developed dangerous
-energy in the shape of weevils, which were harmless
-(<i>non tamen noxii</i>). He says of the griddle cakes
-that they would keep good for twenty or more
-years, by which time they would be reasonably
-stale.</p>
-
-<p>Scarcely two centuries have passed since rye flour,
-by itself, or mixed with wheat, furnished nearly all
-the bread consumed by the labouring classes of
-England. With the exception of wheat, rye contains
-a greater proportion of gluten than any other cereal,
-to which fact it owes its capability of being converted
-into a spongy bread; and if anyone wishes to try it
-for themselves, here is a recipe for making <i>Grislex
-Surbröd</i> or <i>Husholdinngsbröd</i> (bread for the household),
-which is the ordinary bread for the eastern
-parts of Norway.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span></p>
-
-<p>‘Contrary to our expectations we found white
-bread everywhere, but the common bread is a heavy
-bread, the chief ingredient of which is rye. It is
-always sour—the goodwife intends it to be so. They
-also have “flat bread” (<i>flad bröd</i>) made of potatoes
-and rye. It was this kind of bread that the two
-women whom we happened in upon were making.
-They were in a little underground room, unlighted
-except from the door.</p>
-
-<p>‘The women making the bread were seated on
-either side of a long, low table, upon which were huge
-mounds of dough. The one nearest the door cut off
-a piece of this, and moulded it, and rolled it out to a
-certain degree of thinness; then the other one took
-it, and, with the greatest care, rolled it still more. At
-her right hand was the fireplace, and upon the coal
-was a red piece of iron, forming a huge griddle more
-than half a yard across. The bread matched this
-very nearly in size when it was ready to be baked,
-and it was spread out and turned upon the griddle
-with great dexterity, and as soon as it was baked it
-was added to a great heap on the floor.</p>
-
-<p>‘The woman said she should continue to bake
-bread for thirty days. She had a large family of men
-who consumed a great deal, and they had to bake
-very often in consequence. In many places they do
-not bake bread oftener than twice a year, then it is a
-circumstance like haying or harvesting. We heard
-an Englishman say of this bread of the country:
-“One might eat an acre of it and then not be
-satisfied.”’</p>
-
-<p>In Denmark, too, rye bread is the rule among the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span>
-peasantry and small farmers—wheaten bread being to
-them a luxury, and used as cake is with us. In
-Russia, although its chief export is wheat from the
-Black Sea, and oats and rye from the Baltic, the
-peasant eats but rye bread dipped in hemp oil, and
-even then, as but a few years since, famine visits this
-granary, and the hapless peasants being reduced to
-mix orach and bark with their wretched bread, have
-at times been unable to procure even this, and have
-died in thousands of starvation. Although Austria-Hungary
-produces wheat which makes the finest
-bread-flour in the world, yet throughout the Austrian
-Empire the peasantry eat rye bread, whilst at Vienna
-the wheaten bread, especially the <i>Kaiser semmel</i>,
-which is what we should term a dinner roll or
-manchet, is simply perfection.</p>
-
-<p>The excellence of the Viennese bread is said to
-be owing to the bakers, the ovens, and the yeast.
-The men work according to the traditions of the past,
-which have been handed down to them. The ovens
-are heated by wood fires lit inside them during four
-hours; the ashes are then raked out, and the oven is
-carefully wiped with wisps of damp straw. On the
-vapour thus generated, as well as that produced by
-the baking of the dough, lies the whole art of the
-browning and the success of the <i>semmel</i>. An ounce
-of yeast (three decagrammes) and as much salt is
-taken for every gallon of milk used for the dough.
-The yeast is a Viennese speciality, known as <i>St.
-Marxner Pressheffe</i>, and its composition is a secret. It
-keeps two days in summer and a little longer in winter.</p>
-
-<p>Viennese bread is noted for the fantastic shapes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span>
-into which it is made, but concerning the crescent
-shape the following legend is told: ‘Many years ago,
-when there was war between the Austrians and the
-Turks, the city of Vienna was besieged, and so closely
-invested that famine seemed inevitable unless the
-inhabitants yielded and surrendered to the hated
-Turks. One day a baker in his cellar noticed a
-peculiar noise, and, looking about, discovered that a
-boy’s drum on the ground in a corner had some
-marbles on the parchment, which every little while
-danced about and caused the odd sound. Surprised,
-he listened intently, and found that the noise was
-repeated at regular intervals. He put his ear to the
-ground and could distinguish a thumping sound,
-which, on reflection, he concluded must be produced
-by the enemy undermining the city. He went to the
-authorities with his story, but at first it was discredited.
-At last the general in command made
-an investigation, and found the baker’s suspicions
-correct. A counter-mine was made and exploded,
-and the Turks repulsed.</p>
-
-<p>On the restoration of peace, the Emperor of
-Austria sent for the baker, and expressing his gratitude
-to him for having saved the city, asked what
-reward he could claim. The modest baker refused
-riches or rank, but only asked the privilege of
-making his bread hereafter in the form of the
-crescent, which had so long been their terror, so
-that it might be a reminder to those who ate it
-that the God of the Christian is greater than the
-God of the Infidel. So the Imperial order was issued
-granting the baker and his descendants the sole right<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span>
-to make their bread in the shape of the Turkish
-crescent.’</p>
-
-<p>As in Austria, so in Germany. Good wheaten
-bread can be got in towns and cities, though not so
-fine as in Austria, by reason of the flour, and the
-peasantry are content to have rye and barley bread.
-<i>Pumpernickel</i>, to wit, is one of the oldest varieties of
-bread, and the first to come into general use. It is
-made of barley, and must be baked in an oven
-especially made for the purpose. This kind of bread
-is considered very nutritious, and is of a sweet taste.
-In many parts of Germany there are large bakeries
-where <i>pumpernickel</i> is baked as a speciality, whence
-it is sent into the smaller towns, and even exported
-to other countries in loaves of 4 lbs., 8 lbs., and 12 lbs.
-weight. At Soest, Unna, and Brostadt large quantities
-are made for exportation, for the expatriated German
-carries his love of Fatherland with him, and at Berlin
-there is also a bakery for making <i>pumpernickel</i>.</p>
-
-<p>The Gauls reaped their wheat, and then threshed it
-out by means of oxen and horses; but they also cut
-off the ears, and then reaped the straw. To gather in
-the panic and millet, they held the stalks by means of
-a kind of comb, and then cut off the heads with shears.
-To prevent its being stolen, the corn was hidden in
-underground storehouses, and often in natural caves,
-which were afterwards walled up. They used mealing
-stones, as before described, in order to crush and
-roughly grind their grain, which was made into an
-unleavened cake, dry and thin, which was not cut, but
-was broken when served. They also had a kind of
-bread called ‘plate bread,’ which they ate soaked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span>
-with sauce or meat gravy. The Gauls made beer
-from barley, and used it instead of water to mix their
-dough with. Thus, unconsciously, they discovered
-the secret of leavened bread; and, by-and-by, noticing
-that the beer if let alone frothed, and that when used
-for bread-making in this state the bread was lighter,
-they left off using the beer, and only employed the
-yeast.</p>
-
-<p>Barley they called <i>gru</i>, which, in Latin, became
-<i>grudum</i>. <i>Gruellum</i> was husked barley, which the
-Gauls ate in soup and with boiled meat. This is the
-origin of the French word <i>gruau</i> (groats), which is
-equally applied to husked oats. Rye was used in the
-northern part of Gaul; and, from the time of Strabo,
-millet was in use among the Gauls as well as panic,
-but especially in Aquitaine. They also certainly
-knew of buck-wheat, which had been cultivated
-from time immemorial in Africa, for it has been
-found in several Celtic remains in the Camp de
-Chalons.</p>
-
-<p>The Romans brought millstones with them, and
-introduced the water-wheel, which saved them the
-exertion of personally grinding their corn, and with
-the arrival of the Franks came Christianity, and they
-were taught the prayer, ‘Our Father, which art in
-Heaven ... give us this day our daily bread.’</p>
-
-<p>In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in France,
-noblemen, the middle-class, and shopkeepers did not
-eat much white bread, and their best was equal to
-the ‘household bread’ of to-day, whilst whitey-brown,
-brown, and bran breads were to be found on their
-tables. The common folk fed on bread made of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span>
-barley, rye, maslin, a mixture of wheat and rye,
-brown bread, black bread, and enormous pasties, of
-which the thick crust was composed of rye, bran, and
-flour mixed together.</p>
-
-<p>Maize was introduced into France from America
-in 1560. Champier speaks of it as a plant recently
-imported, and says: ‘Some poor people, in default
-of corn, have made bread of it, especially in the
-Beaujolais, but it is less fitted for men than for
-animals, which fatten quickly upon it, and especially
-for pigeons who love it much.’</p>
-
-<p>Vermicelli, macaroni, lazagnes (riband vermicelli)
-and other Italian pastas were brought into France
-during the wars of Charles VIII., and had no other
-rivals than rice.</p>
-
-<p>At this time, in making bread, the yeast of beer
-was partially abandoned, and other ferments were
-made use of. The Flemings boiled wheat, and, after
-having skimmed off the froth, used it as a leaven,
-which gave them a bread much lighter than hitherto,
-or, according to Champier and Liébaut, who wrote in
-1589, they employed vinegar, wine, and rennet; and
-from their writings we find that the farmers were
-their own millers and bakers.</p>
-
-<p>‘It would be useless for the labourer to take so
-much pains with his land, if he only derived a profit
-from a sale of the grain which he has harvested, if
-he could not himself make cakes, flammèches (<i>flaky
-pastry</i>), flans (<i>cakes made with flour, eggs, milk and
-butter</i>), fritters, and a thousand other dainties, which
-he can make with a flour from his own corn; and it
-would be very unbecoming in him were he to borrow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span>
-them from his neighbours, or buy them of the bakers
-or pastrycooks.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
-<img src="images/i_079.jpg" width="400" height="511" alt="A Mediæval Bakery." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Mediæval Bakery.</span><br />
-(<i>From an engraving by Jost Amman.</i>)</p></div>
-
-
-<p>‘The farmer’s duty is to choose his corn, have it
-ground, and to keep the flour in the granary, whence
-he will soon take it in order to make bread. The
-handling of the flour and kneading the dough is entirely
-the care of the wife, who ought to give all her best
-energies to it, for of all food bread is the best; one gets
-tired of the most delicate meats, but never of bread.’</p>
-
-<p>From this time till the present there is no great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span>
-story to tell of bread in France. It has progressed in
-quality, as in every other country, until French bread
-is famous throughout the civilised world. But this is
-mainly in the towns; black bread is still in use in
-some of the rural parts of France, and one can
-imagine the relish with which the peasant tastes once
-more the bread of his youth after having been deprived
-of it for some time.</p>
-
-<p>In Paris, at one time, the monks controlled the
-bakery business; they had the monopoly of the public
-ovens, where housewives brought the dough to be
-baked, just as nowadays they take a shoulder of
-mutton and potatoes. But no baking was allowed on
-Sundays and fête days. France thus observed Sunday
-as a whole holiday, and the oven-tax went towards
-the support and burial of the poor. Up to 1789 the
-bakers were compelled to sell nearly all their bread at
-stalls in the public markets, and 900 master bakers
-monopolised the privilege; for it was only in 1863
-that the trade became free and thrown open to all.
-Previous to that, in order to qualify for a master
-baker, it was necessary to graduate five years as an
-apprentice, and four more as a journeyman; also the
-sale of fancy bread was obliged to be carried on in an
-underhand way, and it was delivered in secret, being
-subject to a tax, and the baker not being able to
-make it of exact weight, without prejudice, on account
-of its great extent of crust.</p>
-
-<p>American flour is celebrated all over the world,
-and is more extensively used in England, especially
-the finest sorts for pastry; but, of course, the demand
-for it in the immense continent itself is something<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span>
-enormous. Take one instance, Philadelphia, which
-is celebrated for its good bread. Over one million
-barrels are sold in that city annually for home consumption,
-and two-thirds of this is made into bread.
-The 1300 bakers in Philadelphia use 600,000 barrels,
-a barrel of good flour making from 270 to 280 five
-cent. loaves, and the best flour is the cheapest to use.
-As a rule, the bakers use choice brands, and mix four
-grades to get the proper alloy, so to speak—two
-‘Minnesota springs’ and two ‘Indiana winters.’
-Some bakers, especially those who make the best
-breads, use only one grade of spring wheat and two
-of winter. In the olden time yeast was made of malt,
-potatoes, and hops, and it is still largely used, but the
-bakers of fancy breads use a patent yellow compressed
-yeast. There are seven large steam bread bakeries
-in Philadelphia, giving employment to three or four
-hundred hands. One large establishment manufactures
-the different varieties of Vienna bread
-exclusively. It is made of the best flour, and milk
-instead of water is used to mix the flour. The
-baking is done in air-tight ovens, and the steam
-generated in baking settles back on the bread instead
-of escaping. This makes the outer crust thin and
-tender, and gives the bread a particularly rich taste
-and pleasant aroma.</p>
-
-<p>With the addition of maize and buckwheat, the
-Americans use the same cereals for making bread as
-we do; but, of course, as is the case with every
-nation, there are specialities which do not travel
-abroad. Graham bread is our wholemeal bread, and
-should be made with the unbolted meal of wheat, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span>
-not only that, but the wheat of which it is made
-should be good plump grain, otherwise there would
-be a disproportionate quantity of bran.</p>
-
-<p>Then there is Boston brown bread, for which the
-following is the formula: One quart Indian corn meal,
-one quart Graham, one quart rye flour, one quart
-white flour, one quart boiling water, one pint yeast,
-one small cup of molasses, two teaspoonfuls of salt,
-half-cup of burnt sugar colouring. For rye and Indian
-corn bread it is only necessary to change the above
-recipe by leaving out the Graham and white flour and
-doubling the proportions of Indian corn meal and rye
-in their place.</p>
-
-<p>Of rolls there are very many varieties besides
-the ordinary French rolls. Many hotels have their
-speciality in this class of bread, and, consequently,
-we have Parker, Tremont, Revere, Brunswick,
-Clarendon, St. James, Windsor, &amp;c., rolls, besides
-which there are twist and sandwich rolls.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER VII.<br />
-
-<small><small><span class="smcap">Early English Bread.</span></small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">When</span> the culture of grain in Britain really commenced
-we cannot possibly tell, but we know that
-the Phœnicians traded with this island in very early
-times for tin. All that we really know is from the
-fragments of writing left by Pytheas, who may, in one
-sense, be said to have been the discoverer of Britain.
-About 340 <span class="smcap lowercase">B.C.</span> the Greek colony which the Greeks
-had planted at Massilia (Marseilles) wished to extend
-their trade, and, whether at their expense or his own,
-Pytheas, a learned man, a geographer and astronomer,
-set sail for parts unknown in the Western Ocean.</p>
-
-<p>Diodorus Siculus, who lived just before the
-Christian era, must have taken his account of the
-Britons from Pytheas. In Book V., c. 2, he says:
-‘They dwell in mean cottages, covered for the most
-part with reeds and sticks. In reaping their corn,
-they cut the ears from off the stalk, and house them
-in repositories under ground; thence they take and
-pluck out the grains of as many of the oldest of them
-as may serve them for the day, and, after they have
-bruised the corn, make it into bread,’</p>
-
-<p>It is said, also, that about this time the Britons
-exported corn to Gaul and also up the Rhine. On
-Cæsar’s arrival he found them an agricultural people,
-with abundance of wheat and barley; and during the
-time of the Roman occupation they made great
-advances in agriculture. After their departure a hide<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span>
-of land was 180 acres if it was cultivated on the
-Roman three-field system, or 160 if on the English
-plan of two-field course. In the former, one portion
-was sown with winter wheat, a second with spring
-wheat, whilst the third lay fallow. The English way
-was to divide the hide, and in each half to sow
-alternately spring and winter wheat, and the chief
-crops raised were rye, oats, barley, wheat, beans and
-peas. In social rank, the yeoman, or geneat (tenant
-farmer), ranked next after the thegn and the priest,
-whilst even the baker was an important member of
-a thegn’s household—the bread being made in round
-flat cakes from wholemeal (for there is no mention of
-bolting it), ground in a hand-mill or quern. Such
-were doubtless the storied cakes which Alfred watched
-for the neatherd’s wife.</p>
-
-<p>The peasants’ bread was principally made of rye,
-oats, and beans, the wheat being used by the ‘gentry’
-only—ordinary bread being made of barley; and,
-connected with the latter, are derived our names of
-Lord and Lady, the first from <i>Llaford</i>, originator of
-bread, or bread-ward, the latter from <i>Llæfdige</i>, bread-maid,
-or bread-maker. So, too, we owe our wedding
-cake to the great loaf made by the bride to show her
-inauguration into housewifery, which was partaken of
-by the wedding guests.</p>
-
-<p>The peasant baked his bread on iron plates or in
-rude ovens, and ground his coarse meal in hand-mills;
-but in later times water was made the principal motive
-power for grinding corn, and about 5000 mills are
-mentioned in Domesday Book; but they are not
-particularised as to what power they were worked by.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span></p>
-
-<p>As a trade, the bakers of London rank from a
-very early date. They formed a brotherhood, or guild,
-in the reign of Henry II., about 1155. Stow says of
-them: ‘The Company of White Bakers are of great
-antiquity, as appeareth by their Records, and divers
-other things of antiquity, extant in their Common
-Hall. They were a Company of this City in the first
-year of Edward II., and had a new Charter granted
-unto them in the first year of Henry VII., the which
-Charter was confirmed unto them by Henry VIII.,
-Edward VI., Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and
-King James I. Their Arms were anciently borne;
-the crest and supporters were granted to them by
-Robert Cook, <i>Clarencieux</i>, the Letters Patent bearing
-date November 8 (32 Eliz.), 1590. The Cloud on the
-Chief thro’ which the Hand holding the Scales
-Cometh, hath a Glory, omitted in the edition printed
-1633; and on each side of the Hand are two Anchors,
-here also omitted; as by the Visitation Book, <i>Anno</i>
-1634, appears.’</p>
-
-<p>Stow describes the Company of the Brown Bakers
-as ‘A Society of long standing and continuance,
-prevailed to have their Incorporating granted the
-ninth day of June, in the 19th year of the Reign of
-our Sovereign Lord King James I.’</p>
-
-<p>The Arms of both White and Brown Bakers are
-copied from Harl. MSS. 1464, 57e. (73), <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 1634—the
-Arms of these and other Companies being copied
-from the Herald’s Visitation of that year, by Rd.
-Price, Armes-Painter.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_086.jpg" width="500" height="568" alt="The Arms of the White Bakers." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Arms of the White Bakers.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>Heraldically described, the Arms of the White
-Bakers are—Gules, three Garbs Or, a chief barry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span>
-wavy of four, argent and azure, an arm issuing from
-clouds radiated of the second, the hand holding a
-pair of scales depending between the upper Garbs,
-also of the second. <i>Crest</i>: Two Arms embowed
-issuing out of clouds, proper, holding in the hands a
-chaplet of wheat, or. <i>Supporters</i>: Two Stags, proper,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span>
-attired, or, each gorged with a chaplet of wheat, of
-the last.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
-<img src="images/i_087.jpg" width="450" height="551" alt="Arms of the Brown Bakers." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Arms of the Brown Bakers.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>The Arms of the Brown Bakers closely resemble
-those of their white brethren, but are not so dignified,
-as lacking supporters and motto: Vert, a chevron
-quarterly, or and gules, charged with a pair of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span>
-balances, azure, holden by a hand out of a cloud,
-proper, between three garbs of beans, rye and wheat,
-or. On a chief barry of five, wavy, argent and azure,
-an Anchor couchant, or. <i>Crest</i>: An Arm quarterly
-of the second, the hand holding a bean sheaf, proper.</p>
-
-<p>W. Carew Hazlitt, in his <i>Livery Companies of the
-City of London</i> (Lond. 1892) says: ‘In the Elizabeth,
-as in the Henry VIII. Charter, the White Bakers
-had taken the initiative in drawing the makers of
-brown bread, whose business was far more limited
-and unimportant, into union with them on unequal
-terms, and the latter body dissented and renounced;
-whereupon the Queen was advised by the Lords of
-the Council to recall her patent. This proceeding
-seems, for a time, to have caused the matter to drop;
-but in 19 James I., June 6, 1622, the Brown Bakers
-succeeded in securing separate incorporation, with a
-common seal, a Master, three Wardens, and sixteen
-Assistants, as well as all other usual rights and powers.
-We hear nothing further of the matter till 1629,
-when the two bodies were still separate, the White
-Bakers being assessed for a levy by the City in that
-year at £25 16<i>s.</i>, the other at £4. 6<i>s.</i>, a proof of the
-relative weight and resources of the disputants, which
-is confirmed by the proportions contributed by each
-to the Ulster scheme a few years prior, namely, £480
-and £90. In 1654 the Brown Bakers had apparently
-relinquished their independent quarters at Founders’
-Hall, Lothbury, as if an union had been arranged;
-and in 2 James II. the charter was received with the
-usual restrictions in regard to the oaths of allegiance
-and supremacy, and conformity to the Church of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span>
-England, but otherwise in such a form as to lead to
-the belief that it comprehended both sections of the
-trade.’</p>
-
-<p>The Bakers’ Company ranks very high after the
-twelve great City Companies, on account of its great
-antiquity. Its Hall, in Stow’s time, was in ‘Hart
-Lane, or Harp Lane, which likewise runneth (<i>from
-Tower Street</i>) into Thames Street. In this Hart
-Lane is the Bakers’ Hall, some time the dwelling-house
-of John Chichley, Chamberlain of London.’
-And in Harp Lane it still is. According to Whitaker’s
-Almanack for 1904 its livery numbers 152 and its
-total income is only £1900.</p>
-
-<p>Much early legislation was passed regarding
-bakers and their calling, but, in spite of it all, some
-bakers did not amend their ways, and an amusing
-grievance was made by Fabyan as to their punishment.
-In his <i>Chronicles</i>, under date of 1268, and speaking
-of the harshness of Sir Hugh Bigod, justice, he says:
-‘In processe of tyme after, the sayde syr Hughe, wt.
-other, came to Guylde hall, and kepte his courte and
-plees there withoute all ordre of lawe, and contrarye
-to the lybertyes of the cytie, and there punysshed the
-bakers for lacke of syze, by the tumberell, where
-before tymes they were punysshed by the pyllery, and
-orderynge many thynges at his wyll, more than by
-any good ordre of lawe.’ And Holinshed repeats the
-story.</p>
-
-<p>Nor were their misdeeds confined to their trade,
-as we may learn from the Archives of the City of
-London. In fact, their evil deeds were so notorious
-that the King himself had to take cognizance of them.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span></p>
-
-<p>That the bakers wanted looking after is well
-evidenced by the following extracts from the City
-archives:</p>
-
-<p>26 Edward I., <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 1298. ‘Be it remembered
-that on Wednesday next after the Feast of St.
-Lawrence (August 10), in the 26th year of the reign
-of King Edward, Juliana, la Pestour of Neutone (<i>the
-baker of Newington</i>), brought a cart laden with six
-shillings’ worth of bread into West Chepe; of which
-bread, that which was light bread was wanting in
-weight, according to the assise of the halfpenny loaf,
-to the amount of 25 shillings in weight. [The
-shilling of silver being three-fifths of an ounce in
-weight, this deficiency would be 15 ounces.] And of
-the said six shillings’ worth, three shillings’ worth
-was brown bread; which brown bread was of the
-right assise. It was, therefore, adjudged that the
-same should be delivered to the aforesaid Juliana, by
-Henry le Galeys, Mayor of London, Thomas Romeyn,
-and other Aldermen. And the other three shillings’
-worth, by award of the said Mayor and Aldermen,
-was ordered to be given to the prisoners in Newgate.’</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
-<img src="images/i_091.jpg" width="400" height="441" alt="An Early Bakery." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">An Early Bakery.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>3. Edward II., <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 1310. ‘On the Monday next
-before the Feast of St Hilary (13th January), in the
-third year of the reign of Edward, the son of King
-Edward, the bread of Sarra Foting, Christina Terrice,
-Godiyeva Foting, Matilda de Bolingtone, Christina
-Pricket, Isabella Sperling, Alice Pegges, Joanna de
-Cauntebrigge, and Isabella Pouvestre, bakeresses
-of Stratford [The bread of London, in these times,
-was extensively made in the villages of Bromley
-(<i>Bremble</i>), Middlesex, and Stratford-le-Bow.] Stow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span>
-says, ‘And because I have here before spoken of the
-bread carts coming from Stratford at the Bow, ye
-shall understand that of old time the bakers of bread
-at Stratford were allowed to bring daily (except the
-Sabbath and principal feasts) divers long carts laden
-with bread, the same being two ounces in the penny
-wheat loaf heavier than the penny wheat loaf baked
-in the City, the same to be sold in Cheape, three or
-four carts standing there, between Gatheron’s Lane<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span>
-and Fauster’s Lane end, one cart on Cornhill, by the
-Conduit, and one other in Grasse Street. And I have
-read that in the fourth year of Edward II., Richard
-Reffeham being Mayor, a baker named John, of
-Stratforde, for making bread less than the assise, was,
-with a fool’s hood on his head and loaves of bread
-about his neck, drawn on a hurdle through the streets
-of the City. Moreover, in the 44th of Edward III.,
-John Chichester being Mayor of London, I read in
-the <i>Visions of Piers Plowman</i>, a book so called, as
-followeth:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="stanza">
-<div class="line">At Londone I leve,</div>
-<div class="line">Liketh wel my waires;</div>
-<div class="line">And louren whan thei lakken hem.</div>
-<div class="line">It is noght long y passed,</div>
-<div class="line">There was a careful commune,</div>
-<div class="line">Whan no cart came to towne</div>
-<div class="line">With breed fro Stratforde:</div>
-<div class="line">Tho gennen beggaris wepe,</div>
-<div class="line">And werkmen were agast a lite;</div>
-<div class="line">This wole be thought longe.</div>
-<div class="line">In the date of oure Drighte,</div>
-<div class="line">In a drye Aprill.</div>
-<div class="line">A thousand and thre hundred</div>
-<div class="line">Twies twenty and ten,</div>
-<div class="line">My waires were gesene</div>
-<div class="line">Whan Chichestre was Maire.’]</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>was taken by Roger le Paumer, Sheriff of London,
-and weighed before the Mayor and Aldermen; and
-it was found that the halfpenny loaf weighed less than
-it ought by eight shillings. But, seeing that the
-bread was cold, and ought not to have been weighed
-in such state, by the custom of the City, it was
-agreed that it should not be forfeited this time. But,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span>
-in order that such an offence as this might not pass
-unpunished, it was awarded as to bread so taken
-that three halfpenny loaves should always be sold for
-a penny, but that the bakeresses aforesaid should this
-time have such penny.’</p>
-
-<p>5. Edward II., <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 1311. ‘The bread taken from
-William de Somersete, baker, on the Thursday next
-before the Feast of St. Laurence (10th August) in the
-fifth year of the reign of King Edward, was examined
-and adjudged upon befor Richer de Refham, Mayor,
-Thomas Romayn, John de Wengrave, and other
-Aldermen; and, because it was found that such
-bread was putrid, and altogether rotten, and made
-of putrid wheat, so that persons by eating that bread
-would be poisoned and choked, the Sheriff was
-ordered to take him, and have him here on the
-Friday next after the Feast of St. Laurence; then
-to receive judgment for the same.’</p>
-
-<p>In the 1 Ed. III. (1327) a curious fraud was
-brought to light, and John Brid and seven other
-bakers, and two bakeresses, were tried before the
-Mayor and Aldermen, ‘for that the said John, for
-falsely and maliciously obtaining his own private
-advantage, did skilfully and artfully cause a certain
-hole to be made upon a table of his, called a <i>molding
-borde</i> pertaining to his bakehouse, after the manner of
-a mouse-trap, in which mice are caught, there being
-a certain wicket warily provided for closing and
-opening such hole.</p>
-
-<p>‘And when his neighbours and others, who were
-wont to bake their bread at his oven, came with their
-dough, or material for making bread, the said John<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span>
-used to put the said dough or other material upon
-the said table, called a <i>molding borde</i>, as aforesaid,
-and over the hole before mentioned, for the purpose
-of making loaves therefrom for baking; and such
-dough or material being so placed upon the table
-aforesaid, the same John had one of his household,
-ready provided for the same, sitting in secret beneath
-such table; which servant of his, so seated beneath
-the hole, and carefully opening it, piecemeal, and bit
-by bit, craftily withdrew some of the dough aforesaid,
-frequently collecting great quantities of such dough,
-falsely, wickedly, and maliciously, to the great loss
-of all his neighbours and persons living near, and of
-others who had come to him with such dough to
-bake, and to the scandal and disgrace of the whole
-City, and, in especial, of the Mayor and Bailiffs for
-the safe keeping of the assizes of the City assigned.
-Which hole, so found in his table, aforesaid, was
-made of aforethought; and, in like manner, a great
-quantity of such dough that had been drawn through
-the said hole was found beneath the hole, and
-was, by William de Hertynge, serjeant-at-mace, and
-Thomas de Morle, clerk of Richard de Rothynge,
-one of the Sheriffs of the City aforesaid, who had
-found such material, or dough, in the suspected
-place before mentioned, upon oath brought here
-into Court.’</p>
-
-<p>All the prisoners pleaded <i>Not Guilty</i>; but the
-case was too clear against them, and ‘It was agreed,
-and ordained, that all those of the bakers aforesaid,
-beneath whose tables with holes dough had been
-found, should be put upon the pillory, with a certain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span>
-quantity of such dough hung from their necks; and
-that those bakers in whose houses dough was not
-found beneath the tables aforesaid, should be put
-upon the pillory, but without dough hung from their
-necks; and that they should so remain upon the
-pillory until Vespers at St. Paul’s in London should
-be ended.’ The women were committed to Newgate.</p>
-
-<p>There was another punishment by which bakers,
-in common with all who told lies, or libelled, or
-scandalised their neighbour, had to stand in the
-pillory with a whetstone hung round their neck.</p>
-
-<p>England suffered much from dearth. Holinshed
-tells us how, in 1149, ‘The great raine that fell in
-the summer season did much hurt unto corne standing
-on the ground, so that a great dearth followed.
-1175.—The same yeare both England and the
-countries adjoining were sore vexed with great
-mortalitie of people, and immediatlie after followed
-a sore dearth and famine. 1196.—Here is also to be
-noted, that in this seventh yeare of King Richard,
-chanced a dearth through this realme of England,
-and in the coasts about the same. 1199.—Furthermore
-I find that in the daies of this King Richard a
-great dearth reigned in England, and also in France,
-for the space of three or foure yeares during the wars
-betweene him and King Philip, so that, after his
-returne out of Germaine, and from imprisonment, a
-quarter of wheat was sold at eighteen shillings eight
-pence, no small price in those daies, if you consider
-the alay of monie then currant.</p>
-
-<p>‘1222.—Likewise on the day of the exaltation of
-the Crosse, a generall thunder happened through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span>out
-the realme, and thereupon followed a continuall
-season of foule weather and wet, till Candlemas next
-after, which caused a dearth of corne, so as wheat was
-sold at twelve shillings the quarter.</p>
-
-<p>‘1245.—Again the King, of purpose, had consumed
-all the provision of corne and vittels which
-remained in the marshes, so that in Cheshire, and
-other parts adjoining, there was such dearth that the
-people scarse could get sufficient vittels to susteine
-themselves withall.</p>
-
-<p>‘1258.—In this yeare was an exceeding great
-dearth, insomuch that a quarter of wheat was sold
-at London for foure and twentie shillings, whereas
-within two or three yeares before, a quarter was sold
-at two shillings. It had been more dearer, if great
-store had not come out of Almaine; for in France
-and in Normandie it also failed. But there came
-fiftie great ships fraught with wheat and barlie, with
-meale and bread out of Dutch land, by the procurement
-of Richard, King of Almaine, which greatlie
-releeved the poore; for proclamation was made, and
-order taken by the King, that none of the citizens of
-London should buy anie of that graine to laie it up
-in store, whereby it might be sold at an higher price
-unto the needie. But, though this provision did much
-ease, yet the want was great over all the realme.
-For it was certainlie affirmed that in three shires
-within the realme there was not found so much graine
-of that yeare’s growth as came over in those fiftie
-ships. The proclamation was set forth to restrein the
-Londoners from ingrossing up that graine, and not
-without cause; for the wealthie citizens were evill<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span>
-spoken of in that season, bicause in time of scarcitie
-they would either staie such ships as, fraught with
-vittels, were comming towards the citie, and send
-them some other way forth, or else buy the whole,
-that they might sell it by retaile, at their pleasure, to
-the needie. By means of this great dearth and
-scarcitie, the common people were constrained to live
-upon herbs and roots, and a great number of the
-poore people died through famine. They died so
-thicke that there were great pits made in churchyards
-to laie the dead bodies in, one upon another.</p>
-
-<p>‘1289.—There insued such continuall raine, so
-distempering the ground, that corne waxed verie
-deare, so that whereas wheat was sold before at
-three pence a bushell, the market so rose by little
-and little that it was sold for two shillings a bushell,
-and so the dearth increased still almost for the
-space of 40 yeares, till the death of Edward the
-Second, in so much that sometimes a bushel of
-wheat, London measure, was sold at ten shillings.
-1294.—This yeare in England was a great dearth and
-scarcity of corne, so that a quarter of wheat in
-manie places was sold for thirtie shillings; by reason
-whereof poor people died in manie places for lack of
-sustnance.</p>
-
-<p>‘1316.—The dearth, by reason of the unseasonable
-weather in the summer and harvest last past,
-still increased, for that which with much ado was
-inned, after, when it came to the proofe, yeelded
-nothing to the value of that which in sheafe it seemed
-to conteine, so that wheat and other graine which was
-at a sore price before, now was inhanced to a farre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span>
-higher rate, the scarcitie thereof being so great that a
-quarter of wheat was sold for fortie shillings, which
-was a great price, if we shall consider the allaie of
-monie then currant. Also, by reason of the murren
-that fell among cattell, beefes and muttons were
-unreasonablie priced.... In this season
-vittles were so scant and deere, and wheat and other
-graine brought to so high a price, that the poore
-people were constreined through famine to eat the
-flesh of horses, dogs, and other vile beasts, which is
-wonderfull to beleeve, and yet, for default, there died
-a great multitude of people in divers places of the
-land. Foure pence in bread of the coarser sort
-would not suffice one man a daie. Wheat was sold
-at London for foure marks a quarter and above. Then
-after this dearth and scarcitie of vittels issued a
-great death and mortalitie of people; so that what by
-warres of the Scots, and what by this mortalitie and
-death, the people of the land were wonderfullie
-wasted and consumed. O pitifull depopulation!</p>
-
-<p>‘1335.—This yeare there fell great abundance of
-raine, and thereupon insued morren of beasts; also
-corne so failed this yeare that a quarter of wheat was
-sold at fortie shillings. 1353.—In the summer of this
-season and twentieth yeare, was so great a drought
-that from the latter end of March fell little raine till
-the latter end of Julie, by reason whereof manie
-inconveniences insued; and one thing is specially to
-be noted, that corne the yeare following waxed scant,
-and the price began this yeare to be greatlie inhanced.
-Also beeves and muttons waxed deare for the want
-of grasse; and this chanced both in England and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span>
-France, so that this was called the deere summer.
-The Lord William, Duke of Baviere or Bavaria,
-and Earl of Zelund brought manie ships in London
-fraught with rie for the releefe of the people, who
-otherwise had, through their present pinching penurie,
-if not utterlie perished yet pittifullie pined.</p>
-
-<p>‘1370.—By reason of the great wet and raine that
-fell this yeare in more abundance than had been
-accustomed much corne was lost, so that the price
-thereof was sore inhanced, in so much that wheat
-was sold at three shillings four pence the bushell.
-1389.—Herewith followed a great dearth of corne, so
-that a bushell of wheat in some places was sold
-at thirteen pence, which was thought to be a great
-price. 1394.—In this yeare was a great dearth in all
-parts of England, and this dearth or scarcitie of
-corne began under the sickle, and lasted till the feast
-of Saint Peter <i>ad Vincula</i>—to wit, till the time of
-new corne. This scarcitie did greatly oppresse the
-people, and chieflie the commoners of the poorer
-sort. For a man might see infants and children in
-streets and houses, through hunger, howling, crieing,
-and craving bread, whose mothers had it not (God
-wot) to breake unto them. But yet there was such
-plentie and abundance of manie years before, that it
-was thought and spoken of manie housekeepers and
-husbandmen, that if the seed were not sowen in the
-ground, which was hoorded up and stored in barnes,
-lofts, and garners, there would be enough to find and
-susteine all the people by the space of five years following....
-The scarcity of victuals was of greatest
-force in Leicestershire, and in the middle parts of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span>
-the realme. And although it was a great want, yet
-was not the price of corne out of reason. For a
-quarter of wheat, when it was at the highest, was sold
-at Leicester for 16 shillings 8 pence at one time, and
-at other times for a market of 14 shillings; at London
-and other places of the land a quarter of
-wheat was sold for 10 shillings, or for little more or
-lesse. For there arrived eleven ships laden with
-great plentie of victuals at diverse places of the land,
-for the reliefe of the people. Besides this, the
-citizens of London laid out two thousand marks to
-buy food out of the common chest of orphans, and
-the foure and twentie aldermen, everie of them put
-in his twentie pounds apeece for necessarie provision,
-for feare of famine likelie to fall upon the
-cities. And they laid up their store in sundrie of the
-fittest and most convenient places they could choose,
-that the needie and such as were wrong with want
-might come and buy at a certaine price so much as
-might suffice them and their families; and they which
-had not readie monie to paie downe presentlie in
-hand, their word and credit was taken for a yeare’s
-space next following, and their turn served. Thus
-was provision made that people should be relieved,
-and that none might perish for hunger.</p>
-
-<p>‘1439.—This yeare (by reason of great tempests,
-raging winds, and raine) there arose such scarsitie
-that wheat was sold at three shillings foure pence
-the bushell.... Whereupon Steven Browne, at
-the same season maior of London, tendering the state
-of the Citie in this want of bread corne, sent into
-Pruse certeine ships, which returned laden with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span>
-plentie of rie; wherewith he did much good to the
-people in that hard time, speciallie to them of the
-Citie, where the want of corne was not so extreame
-as in some other places of the land, where the poore
-distressed people that were hunger-bitten made them
-bred of ferne roots, and used other hard shifts, till
-God provided remedie for their penurie by good successe
-of husbandrie. 1527.—By reason of the great
-wet that fell in the sowing time of the corne, and in
-the beginning of the last yeare; now, in the beginning
-of this, corne so failed, that in the Citie of London,
-for a while, bread was scant, by reason that the commissioners
-appointed to see order taken in shires
-about, ordeined that none should be conveied out of
-one shire into another. Which order had like to
-have bred disorder, for that everie countrie and place
-was not provided alike, and namelie London, that
-maketh her provision out of other places, felt great
-inconvenience thereby, till the merchants of the
-Stillard and others out of the Dutch countries
-brought such plentie that it was better cheape in
-London than in anie other part of England, for the
-King also releeved the citizens in time of their need
-with a thousand quarters, by waie of lone, of his owne
-provision.’</p>
-
-<p>By the foregoing we see that the bad dearths
-came at longer intervals, probably owing to better
-husbandry, and the regular importation of foreign
-corn before a scarcity could arise. But, on the other
-side, I have to chronicle a few (unfortunately only too
-few) years of exceeding plenty. The first one recorded
-was in 1288, and is thus recorded by Stow: ‘The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span>
-summer was so exceeding hote this yeere that many
-men died through heate, and yet wheate was solde at
-London for three shillings foure pence the quarter when
-it was dearest, and in other partes abroad the same was
-sold for twentie pence or sixteen pence the quarter;
-yea, for twelve pence the quarter, and in the west and
-north parts for eight pence the quarter; barley for six
-pence, and oats for foure pence the quarter, and such
-cheapnesse of beanes and pease as the like had not
-been heard. 1317.—This yeere was an early harvest,
-so that all the corne was inned before St Giles day
-(Sep. 1). A bushel of wheat that was before for
-X shillings was solde for ten pence; and a bushel of
-otes that before was eyght shillings was solde for
-eyght pence.’</p>
-
-<p>Holinshed tells us that in 1493 wheat was sold in
-London at 6d. the bushel; and in 1557.—‘This yeare,
-before harvest wheat was sold for foure marks the
-quarter, malt at foure and fortie shillings the quarter,
-and pease at six and fortie shillings and eight pence;
-but, after harvest, wheat was sold for five shillings
-the quarter, malt at six shillings eight pence, rie at
-three shillings foure pence. So that the penie wheat
-loafe that weied in London the last yeere but eleven
-ounces Troie weied now six and fiftie ounces Troie.
-In the countrie wheat was sold for foure shillings
-the quarter, malt at foure shillings eight pence; and,
-in some places a bushell of rie for a pound of candles,
-which were foure pence.’</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER VIII.<br />
-
-<small><small>HOW GRAIN BECOMES FLOUR.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">In</span> order to make bread, the first operation is to grind
-the corn, be it wheat, rye, barley, or oats, and we have
-already seen the rough methods used by primitive
-man and others to effect this; we have noted the
-mealing stones, the pestle and mortar, the hand quern,
-and the grinding of corn by the Greeks and Romans.
-They soon gave up man as a motive power, and
-substituted mules or horses; these in their time gave
-place to water, which is a cheap and, if there be anything
-like a fall, a very powerful motor—hence the
-mills dotted all over the country, by the side of brook
-or river, with their water-wheels either over or undershot
-Very picturesque are they mostly, and the
-drowsy murmur of the wheel and the gentle splashing
-of the water are very pleasant We are seeing the last
-of them; they have done their work and must be
-thrown aside, for no one in his senses, who had water-power,
-would now erect water-wheels when he could
-get a turbine.</p>
-
-<p>As with the water-wheel, so its congener, the windmill,
-beloved of artists, is going. A motive power as
-cheap as water is the wind, but, unfortunately, it is
-not so reliable. It is believed that the Chinese were
-the first to use the wind as a motive power for mills,
-and we have no record as to when they were introduced
-into Europe; we only know they were in use
-in the twelfth century. As a rule, in England, windmills
-have four arms, or ‘whips,’ but sometimes they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span>
-have six. These arms are generally covered with
-strong canvas, but occasionally they are covered
-with thin boarding; they are set at an angle, which
-varies according to the fancy of the miller, but the
-shaft to which they are attached (called the ‘wind
-shaft’) is invariably placed at an inclination of 10 or
-15 degrees, in order that the revolving arms should
-clear the bottom portion of the mill.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_104.jpg" width="500" height="447" alt="A Post Mill." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Post Mill.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_105.jpg" width="500" height="676" alt="A Water-Wheel Mill." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Water-Wheel Mill.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>The oldest kind of windmill is called a <i>post</i> mill,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a><br /><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span>because the whole structure is centred on a post, or
-pivot, and, when the wind shifts, the mill has to be
-turned bodily to meet it, by means of a long lever.
-The <i>smock</i>, or <i>frock</i>, windmill is an improvement upon
-the post mill; the building itself is stationary and
-permanent, but the head or cap, where is the wind
-shaft, rotates, and this is more easily managed.</p>
-
-<p>For hundreds of years people were contented with
-the four and six arms to their windmills, and it was
-only in modern times that Messrs. J. Warner and
-Sons, of Cripplegate, London, patented their annular
-sails, which, as is plain to the meanest capacity, are
-vastly superior. The shutters, or ‘vanes,’ are connected
-with spiral springs, which keep them up to
-the best angle of ‘weather, for light winds. If the
-strength of the wind increases, the vanes give to the
-wind, forcing back the springs, and thus the area on
-which the wind acts diminishes. In addition, there
-are a striking lever and tackle for setting the vanes
-edgeways to the wind, when the mill is stopped, or a
-storm expected.</p>
-
-<p>We have seen how from the very first man used
-stones wherewith to triturate his corn, and to this day
-stones are still used for grinding, although their days are
-in all probability numbered, and in a very little time
-they, with the windmill, will be relegated to limbo.
-The <i>Encyclopædia Britannica</i> gives such an excellent
-description of these mill-stones, that I quote it in its
-entirety.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
-<img src="images/i_107.jpg" width="400" height="288" alt="The Grinding Surface of a Millstone." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Grinding Surface of a Millstone.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>‘They consist of two flat cylindrical masses inclosed
-within a wooden or sheet metal case, the lower,
-or <i>bed-stone</i>, being permanently fixed, while the upper,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span>
-or <i>runner</i>, is accurately pivoted and balanced over it
-The average size of millstones is about four feet two
-inches in diameter, by twelve inches in thickness, and
-they are made of a hard but cellular siliceous stone,
-called buhr-stone, the best qualities of which are
-obtained from La-Ferté-sous-Jouarre, department of
-Seine et Marne, France. Millstones are generally
-built up of segments, bound together round the circumference
-by an iron hoop, and backed with plaster
-of Paris. The bed-stone is dressed to a perfectly flat
-plane surface, and a series of grooves, or shallow
-depressions, are cut in it, generally in the manner
-shown, which represents the grinding surface of an
-upper or running stone. The grooves on both are
-made to correspond exactly, so that when the one is
-rotated over the other the sharp edges of the grooves,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span>
-meeting each other, operate like a rough pair of
-scissors, and thus the effect of the stones on grain
-submitted to their action is at once that of cutting,
-squeezing, and crushing. The dressing and grooving
-of millstones is generally done by hand picking, but
-sometimes black amorphous diamonds (<i>carbonado</i>) are
-used, and emery wheel dressers have likewise been
-suggested. The upper stone, or runner, is set in
-motion by a spindle on which it is mounted, which
-passes up through the centre of the bed-stone, and
-there are screws and other appliances for adjusting
-and balancing the stone. Further provision is made
-within the stone case for passing through air to prevent
-too high a heat being developed in the grinding
-operation, and sweepers for conveying the flour to the
-meal spout are also provided.</p>
-
-<p>‘The ground meal delivered by the spout is carried
-forward in a conveyor, or creeper box, by means of
-an Archimedean screw, to the elevators, by which it
-is lifted to an upper floor to the bolting or flour-dressing
-machine. The form in which this apparatus
-was formerly employed consisted of a cylinder
-mounted on an inclined plane, and covered externally
-with wire cloth of different degrees of fineness, the
-finest being at the upper part of the cylinder, where
-the meal is admitted. Within the cylinder, which was
-stationary, a circular brush revolved, by which the
-meal was pressed against the wire cloth, and, at
-the same time, carried gradually towards the lower
-extremity, sifting out, as it proceeded, the mill
-products into different grades of fineness, and finally
-delivering the coarse bran at the extremity of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span>
-cylinder. For the operation of bolting or dressing,
-hexagonal or octagonal cylinders, about three feet in
-diameter, and from 20 to 25 feet long, are now commonly
-employed. These are mounted horizontally
-on a spindle for revolving, and externally they are
-covered with silk of different degrees of fineness,
-whence they are called “silks,” or “silk dressers.”
-Radiating arms or other devices for carrying the
-meal gradually forward as the apparatus revolved,
-are fixed within the cylinders; and there is also an
-arrangement of beaters, which gives the segments of
-cloth a sharp tap, and thereby facilitates the sifting
-action of the apparatus. Like all other mill machines,
-the modifications of the silk dresser are numerous,’</p>
-
-<p>We have seen the ordinary operation of grinding
-flour in the old-fashioned way; now let us notice the
-improvements in making wheat into flour.</p>
-
-<p>‘We will suppose that the wheat has arrived by
-lighter at one of the large mills on the Thames, and
-that it has been shovelled into sacks and hoisted into
-the warehouse. The process by which it is turned
-into flour may be divided into three stages: (1)
-cleaning, (2) breaking, (3) grinding; but the number
-and complexity of the operations included in these
-stages are astounding. It must be understood that
-the following description refers to a first-class London
-mill—that is, one which has, certainly no superior,
-and, probably, no equal, in the world.</p>
-
-<p>‘In the first stage the wheat is merely prepared for
-the mill, and this is done in the cleaning department,
-which is separate from the mill proper. From the
-warehouse the grain is passed to a sifter or “separator,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span>”
-which is a kind of sieve. Here the grosser impurities—straw,
-sticks, stones, earth, seeds, and what not—are
-removed. Thence to an “elevator,” precisely
-similar in principle to that previously described, and
-by the elevator straight to the top of the building.
-Here it enters a wire sieve in the form of a revolving
-hexagonal “reel,” by which the smaller heavy impurities
-with which it is still mixed are separated. Passing
-through this, it drops into the next storey, to be
-subjected to the “aspirator,” an apparatus by means
-of which currents of air are blown through the grain
-as it falls and carry off the lighter and more volatile
-rubbish mixed with it. In the next floor is an
-ingenious instrument with a special purpose. Among
-the wheat is still a quantity of small black seeds,
-known as “cockle” seeds, and to get rid of these
-the “cockle cylinder” is employed. It is a revolving
-metal cylinder, the inner surface of which is fitted with
-small holes; the grain passes into the interior of the
-cylinder, and as the latter goes round and round the
-cockle seeds stick in the small holes and are carried up
-to a certain height, when they fall out and are caught
-by an “apron”; while the wheat, which is too large
-to stick in the holes, continually falls back into the
-bottom of the cylinder. Again our corn drops a
-storey, and encounters the “decorcitator.” The object
-of this apparatus is to knock off the dust and dirt
-adhering to the grains, and it is effected by agitating
-them between two metal surfaces at a high rate of
-speed. The amount of dust removed by this method
-from apparently clean grain is astonishing. In the
-next storey is another decorcitator, and below that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span>
-a second aspirator, which brings us once more to the
-ground.</p>
-
-<p>‘On reaching the ground floor again, our now
-clean wheat is first passed through the “grading” or
-“sizing” reels, which separate it into two sizes, and
-then it enters the mill proper. It should be said here
-that the milling industry of the world has been
-revolutionised within the past few years by the
-substitution of steel rollers for the old millstones.
-The process of crushing or grinding, however, by steel
-rollers is accomplished in a very gradual manner, as
-will be explained: First come the “break rolls.”
-These are solid steel rollers set in pairs, with corrugated
-surfaces; this gives them a cutting action.
-Wheat is passed through five successive pairs of these
-rollers. The first are about 1/16th inch apart, and only
-break or bruise the grain slightly. Each successive
-pair is set closer, and carries the bruising a step
-further. But this is only half the business. After
-each set of rollers the grain goes through a “purifier,”
-which is either a sieve of some kind or an aspirator,
-or both together, and the object is always the same—namely,
-to separate the solid particles of the broken
-wheat from the lighter ones. The former are, or
-rather will eventually be, flour; the latter constitute
-“offal.” And the whole art of milling is merely an
-extension of this process; first reduction, then separation,
-repeated over and over again. As the grain
-passes through each successive set of rollers it is
-broken up finer and ever finer, and the separating
-action of the “purifier” accompanies it step by step.
-The solid particles grow smaller and smaller, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span>
-“offal” correspondingly finer and finer. This is the
-process in brief, but there are endless complications
-and refinements on the way. For instance, the solid
-particles are not only separated but are themselves
-divided into groups according to size. Then the offal
-often undergoes a further purifying process. Then
-the purifiers differ—some are complex, others simple;
-some of wire, others of silk; some revolve, others
-oscillate; some are “aspirated,” others not; and so
-forth. Meanwhile, at the end of the five rolls and five
-purifiers, which make up our breaking department, we
-have got three products: (<i>a</i>) semolina; (<i>b</i>) middlings;
-(<i>c</i>) offal. The first two are practically varieties of
-the same—<i>i.e.</i>, both solid particles, which will afterwards
-be flour, but of different sizes. They are half
-way between grain and flour—hence the term
-“middlings.”</p>
-
-<p>‘Grinding is only a continuation of the above
-process, but the rollers are different; their surfaces
-are smooth, and they are set closer together. The
-purifiers, too, are, for the most part, more elaborate.
-A look at one of them will show the extreme ingenuity
-expended on these operations. It consists primarily
-of an oscillating sieve made of silk, through the
-meshes of which the particles of flour fall into a
-wooden bin. On the floor of the bin is a “worm”
-which continually works the flour along to one end;
-on the under surface of the sieve is a travelling brush
-which brushes off the adhering flour and prevents
-the meshes from getting clogged. Above the sieve
-is an apparatus which, with the aid of currents blown
-by an aspirator, catches the volatile offal; and above<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span>
-that again a travelling blanket which arrests the
-still more volatile particles. Finally, the blanket,
-as it reaches the end, is tapped automatically to
-knock out what has stuck to it. By the time a handful
-of grain has been converted into a handful of fine
-flour it has gone through some 50 different machines,
-including 18 sets of rollers and 18 purifiers.</p>
-
-<p>‘The following points may be of interest: A first-class
-London mill working 100 sets of rollers can
-turn out 45 sacks of flour per hour. Offal, according
-to its fineness or coarseness, forms bran, pollard, etc.,
-and is worth from 5<i>l.</i> to 6<i>l.</i> a ton. The qualities of
-flour are whiteness and strength. The former is
-tested by the eye, the latter only really by baking
-capacity. There seems to be a general consensus of
-opinion in favour of flour made from Hungarian
-wheat. The best English is of sweeter flavour, but
-lacks “strength.” It has been reckoned that 300
-sacks are made per hour in London mills, all of which
-is consumed in London. The flour mill industry
-owes nothing to American inventive genius; on the
-contrary, that country is behind the times. The steel
-rollers came originally from Hungary—always a great
-milling country.’</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER IX.<br />
-
-<small><small>THE MILLER AND HIS TOLLS.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">In</span> old times corn mills were always important factors
-in manors, and a source of considerable profit to the
-lord of the same. All the tenants of the manor were
-bound by custom to have their corn ground at the
-manor mill, paying a toll to the lord, for the mill was
-part of his demesne. The tenants owed suit to the
-mill in the same manner as they owed suit and service
-at the Manor Court. This, however, did not apply
-to the grinding or bruising of malt, and there were
-probably two good reasons for it—one, that the
-tenants could perform the operation on their own
-premises; and the second, that if it were done at the
-mill it would be likely to spoil the flour next ground.</p>
-
-<p>Very many instances of these mills may be given,
-but one will suffice, more especially as in this case it
-was carried down to modern times. There was at
-Wakefield, Yorkshire, a corn mill which was a franchise
-of the Pilkington family, of Chevel Park, by charters
-from one of the Edwards. The monopoly of grinding
-the corn at this mill was a great sore to the inhabitants,
-and the cause of much litigation, but the holders of
-the rights always came off the victors. They claimed
-the right of grinding not only for the town of Wakefield,
-but for some miles round, including the villages of
-Horbury, Ossett, Newmillardam, and others; so that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span>
-all the corn used in this district was obliged to be
-ground at the ‘Soke Mill,’ or, as it was otherwise
-called, the ‘King’s Mill,’ and neither meal nor flour
-could be sold unless it were ground there. The
-tenant of the mill demanded a ‘mulcture’ of one-sixteenth—that
-is, out of 16 sacks of corn he kept
-one for himself for grinding the other 15.</p>
-
-<p>Some time about 1850 the inhabitants of Wakefield
-and the adjacent villages determined to purchase
-the rights, and this was done by a rate spread over a
-series of years, and called the ‘Soke Rate.’ The
-purchase money amounted to about £20,000. The
-same kind of property existed at Leeds and at
-Bradford; but from neglect on the part of the owners,
-and lapse of time, the inhabitants turned restive and
-independent, and ‘broke the Soke,’ without compensating
-the Lords of the Manors. These mills are
-still called the King’s Mills.</p>
-
-<p>Nor was this custom confined to England. In
-Scotland, in feudal times, it was common for the
-tenants of a barony to be bound to have their corn
-ground at the barony mill. Centuries ago the
-erection of a substantial building, with the millstones,
-driving machinery, and other plant necessary for a
-mill, together with the drying-kilns, mill-dams, lades,
-weirs, and watercourses requisite for a corn mill
-involved the expenditure of a considerable sum of
-money, such as only the baron could find. He,
-therefore, assured himself of a return for his
-capital invested by binding his tenants to use his
-mill. Of course, he got a good rent for his mill,
-which was the manner in which the benefit arising<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span>
-from the bondage of his tenants found its way into his
-coffers.</p>
-
-<p>Sir James A. Picton, in his <i>City of Liverpool</i>
-selections from the municipal archives and records,
-states that in 1558 the Corporation of the Borough
-ordered that ‘every miller, on warning, shall bring his
-toll-dish to Mr. Mayor, to a lawful size thereof sealed,
-under a penalty of 6d.’ That this toll-taking on the
-part of millers was occasionally perverted there can
-be but little doubt, and it was sometimes very
-severely commented on, as we may see in this passage
-from a tragedy by Wm. Sampson (1636), called <i>The
-Vow-Breaker; or, the Fair Maid of Clifton</i>. ‘Fellow
-Bateman, farewell; commend me to my old windmill
-at Rudington. Oh! the mooter dish—[Multure or
-Toll-dish]—the miller’s thumbe, and the maide behind
-the hopper!’</p>
-
-<p>In the Roxburghe ballads (vol. iii., 681) we have
-The Miller’s Advice to his <i>Three Sons in Taking of
-Toll</i>:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="stanza">
-<div class="line i04">‘There was a miller who had three sons,</div>
-<div class="line">And knowing his life was almost run,</div>
-<div class="line">He called them all, and asked their will,</div>
-<div class="line">If that to them he left his mill.</div>
-<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
-<div class="line">He called first for his eldest son,</div>
-<div class="line">Saying, “My life is almost run,</div>
-<div class="line">If I to you this mill do make,</div>
-<div class="line">What toll do you intend to take?”</div>
-<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
-<div class="line">“Father,” said he, “my name is Jack.</div>
-<div class="line">Out of a bushel I’ll take a peck,</div>
-<div class="line">From every bushel that I grind,</div>
-<div class="line">That I may a good living find.”</div>
-<div class="line"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span>&nbsp;</div>
-<div class="line">“Thou art a fool,” the old man said.</div>
-<div class="line">“Thou hast not well learned thy trade.</div>
-<div class="line">This mill to thee I ne’er will give,</div>
-<div class="line">For by such toll no man can live.”</div>
-<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
-<div class="line">He called for his middlemost son,</div>
-<div class="line">Saying, “My life is almost run.</div>
-<div class="line">If I to thee the mill do make,</div>
-<div class="line">What toll do you intend to take?”</div>
-<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
-<div class="line">“Father,” says he, “my name is Ralph.</div>
-<div class="line">Out of a bushel I’ll take it half,</div>
-<div class="line">From every bushel that I grind,</div>
-<div class="line">So that I may a good living find.”</div>
-<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
-<div class="line">“Thou art a fool,” the old man said;</div>
-<div class="line">“Thou hast not learned well thy trade.</div>
-<div class="line">This mill to you I ne’er can give,</div>
-<div class="line">For by such toll no man can live.”</div>
-<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
-<div class="line">He called for his youngest son,</div>
-<div class="line">Saying, “My life is almost run.</div>
-<div class="line">If I to you this mill do make,</div>
-<div class="line">What toll do you intend to take?”</div>
-<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
-<div class="line">“Father,” said he, “I am your only boy,</div>
-<div class="line">For taking toll is all my joy.</div>
-<div class="line">Before I will a good living lack,</div>
-<div class="line">I’ll take it all, and forswear the sack.”</div>
-<div class="line">&nbsp;</div>
-<div class="line">“Thou art my boy,” the old man said,</div>
-<div class="line">“For thou has well learned thy trade.</div>
-<div class="line">This mill to thee I’ll give,” he cried,</div>
-<div class="line">And then he clos’d his eyes, and died.’</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>To show the popular idea of a miller’s integrity, I
-may mention that the children in Somersetshire,
-when they have caught a certain kind of large white
-moth, which they call a <i>Miller</i>, chant over it this
-refrain:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="stanza">
-<div class="line i04">‘Millery! millery! Dousty Poll!</div>
-<div class="line">How many sacks of corn hast thou stole?’</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span></p>
-
-<p>and then they put the poor insect to death on account
-of its imaginary misdeeds.</p>
-
-<p>Even Chaucer must have his gird at the miller:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="stanza">
-<div class="line i04">‘The millere was a stout carl for the nones,</div>
-<div class="line">Ful byg he was of brawn and eek of bones;</div>
-<div class="line">That proved wel, for over al ther he cam</div>
-<div class="line">At wrastlygne he wolde have alwey the ram<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">8</a>.</div>
-<div class="line">He was short sholdred, brood, a thikke knarre<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">9</a>,</div>
-<div class="line">There was no dore that he ne wolde heve of harre<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">10</a>.</div>
-<div class="line">Or breke it at a reunying with his head</div>
-<div class="line">His berd, or any sowe or fox was reed,</div>
-<div class="line">And ther to brood, as though it were a spade</div>
-<div class="line">Upon the cope right of his nose he hade</div>
-<div class="line">A werte, and ther on stood a toft of herys,</div>
-<div class="line">Reed as the brustles of a sowes crys;</div>
-<div class="line">His nose thirles<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> blake were and wyde;</div>
-<div class="line">A swerd and a bokeler bar he by his syde;</div>
-<div class="line">His mouth as greet was as a greet forneys,</div>
-<div class="line">He was a janglere and a goliardeys<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">12</a>,</div>
-<div class="line">And that was moost of synne and harlotries,</div>
-<div class="line">Wel konde he stelen corne and totten thries<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">13</a>,</div>
-<div class="line">And yet he hadde ‘a thombe of gold’ <i>pardee</i></div>
-<div class="line">A whit cote and a blew hood wered he,</div>
-<div class="line">A bagge pipe wel konde he blowe and sowne,</div>
-<div class="line">And ther with al he broghte us out of towne.’</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>The ‘thombe of gold’ has somewhat puzzled commentators
-on Chaucer. One thing is certain: that a
-miller has been traditionally credited with a broad
-thumb, and the little fish the <i>Bullhead</i> is called <i>The
-Millers’ Thumb</i>, from a fancied resemblance. Every
-one connected with the navy knows what the ‘purser’s
-thumb’ is, from the legend that, when serving out their
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span>tots of rum to the men, his thumb was invariably
-inside the measure (doubtless necessitated by the
-rolling of the old men-of-war), which resulted in a
-large profit to himself during a long cruise, and this
-seems to illustrate Chaucer’s meaning, especially as it
-occurs immediately after the miller’s ill-gotten gains,
-that by putting his broad thumb into every measure
-he made thereby gold during the year.</p>
-
-<p>But there is another and a kindlier explanation of
-the term, which rests on the authority of Constable,
-the painter, according to Yarrell, in his <i>History of
-British Fishes</i>, when writing of the Bullhead. ‘The
-head of the fish is smooth, broad, and rounded, and is
-said to resemble exactly the form of a miller’s thumb,
-as produced by a peculiar and constant action of the
-muscles in the exercise of a particular and most
-important part of his occupation. It is well known
-that all the science and tact of a miller are directed so
-to regulate the machinery of his mill that the meal
-produced shall be of the most valuable description
-that the operation of grinding will permit, when performed
-under the most advantageous circumstances.
-His profit or his loss, even his fortune or his ruin,
-depend upon the exact adjustment of all the various
-parts of the machinery in operation. The miller’s
-ear is constantly directed to the note made by the
-running-stone in its circular course over the bed-stone,
-the exact parallelism of their two surfaces,
-indicated by a particular sound, being a matter of
-the first consequence; and his hand is as constantly
-placed under the meal spout to ascertain, by actual
-contact, the character and qualities of the meal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span>
-produced. The thumb, by a particular movement,
-spreads the sample over the fingers; the thumb is
-the gauge of the value of the produce, and hence
-have arisen the saying of <i>worth a miller’s thumb</i>, and
-<i>an honest miller hath a golden thumb</i>, in reference to
-the amount of profit that is the reward of his skill.’</p>
-
-<p>Any notice of flour would, of course, be valueless
-without an analysis of its constituent parts, which, as
-anyone can understand, will vary in different wheats;
-there can be no standard, because of the difference of
-the soils on which it grows, a fact which is fully borne
-out by the following tables by famous analysts. Jago
-(<i>The Chemistry of Wheat, Flour, and Bread, &amp;c.</i>
-Brighton, 1886), quoting Bell, says:—<br /><br /></p>
-
-<table summary="bread" border="0"><tr>
-<td class="tdl bt bb" rowspan="2" colspan="2">Constituents</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl" colspan="2">Wheat</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl" rowspan="2">Long-<br />eared<br />Barley</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl" rowspan="2">English<br />Oats.</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl" rowspan="2">Maize.</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl" rowspan="2">Rye.</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl" rowspan="2">Caroline<br />rice<br />without<br />husk.</td>
-</tr><tr>
-<td class="tdc bl bb">Winter.</td><td class="tdc bl bb">Spring.</td>
-</tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl" colspan="2">Fat</td><td class="tdr bl">1·48</td><td class="tdr bl">1·56</td><td class="tdr bl">1·03</td><td class="tdr bl">5·14</td><td class="tdr bl">3·58</td><td class="tdr bl">1·43</td><td class="tdr bl">0·19</td>
-</tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl" colspan="2">Starch</td><td class="tdr bl">63·71</td><td class="tdr bl">65·86</td><td class="tdr bl">63·51</td><td class="tdr bl">49·78</td><td class="tdr bl">64·66</td><td class="tdr bl">61·87</td><td class="tdr bl">77·66</td>
-</tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl" colspan="2">Cellulose</td><td class="tdr bl">3·03</td><td class="tdr bl">2·93</td><td class="tdr bl">7·28</td><td class="tdr bl">13·53</td><td class="tdr bl">1·86</td><td class="tdr bl">3·23</td><td class="tdr bl">Tr’ces</td>
-</tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Sugar<br />(as Cane)</td><td class="tdl f2">}</td><td class="tdr bl">2·57</td><td class="tdr bl">2·24</td><td class="tdr bl">1·34</td><td class="tdr bl">2·36</td><td class="tdr bl">1·94</td><td class="tdr bl">4·30</td><td class="tdr bl">0·38</td>
-</tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Albumin, &amp;c.<br />insoluble<br />in Alcohol</td><td class="tdl f3">}</td><td class="tdr bl">10·70</td><td class="tdr bl">7·19</td><td class="tdr bl">8·18</td><td class="tdr bl">10·62</td><td class="tdr bl">9·67</td><td class="tdr bl">9·78</td><td class="tdr bl">7·94</td>
-</tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Other&nbsp;nitrogenous<br />matter&nbsp;soluble<br />in&nbsp;Alcohol</td><td class="tdl f3">}</td><td class="tdr bl">4·83</td><td class="tdr bl">4·40</td><td class="tdr bl">3·28</td><td class="tdr bl">4·05</td><td class="tdr bl">4·60</td><td class="tdr bl">5·09</td><td class="tdr bl">1·40</td>
-</tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl" colspan="2">Mineral&nbsp;matter</td><td class="tdr bl">1·60</td><td class="tdr bl">1·74</td><td class="tdr bl">2·32</td><td class="tdr bl">2·66</td><td class="tdr bl">1·35</td><td class="tdr bl">1·85</td><td class="tdr bl">0·28</td>
-</tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl" colspan="2">Moisture</td><td class="tdr bl">12·08</td><td class="tdr bl">14·08</td><td class="tdr bl">13·06</td><td class="tdr bl">11·86</td><td class="tdr bl">12·34</td><td class="tdr bl">12·45</td><td class="tdr bl">12·15</td>
-</tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl bb padl2" colspan="2">Total</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·00</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·00</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·00</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·00</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·00</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·00</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·00</td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span><br /></p>
-
-<p>Professor Graham, in a lecture delivered at the
-International Health Exhibition, London, July 3,
-1884, quoting Lawes and Gilbert, says:—<br /><br /></p>
-
-<table summary="bread" border="0"><tr>
-<td class="tdc bt bb">Constituents.</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl">Old<br />Wheat.</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl">Barley.</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl">Oats.</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl">Rye.</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl">Maize.</td><td class="tdc bt bb bl">Rice.</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Water</td><td class="tdr bl">11·1</td><td class="tdr bl">12·0</td><td class="tdr bl">14·2</td><td class="tdr bl">14·3</td><td class="tdr bl">11·5</td><td class="tdr bl">10·8</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Starch</td><td class="tdr bl">62·3</td><td class="tdr bl">52·7</td><td class="tdr bl">66·1</td><td class="tdr bl">54·9</td><td class="tdr bl">54·8</td><td class="tdr bl">78·8</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Fat</td><td class="tdr bl">1·2</td><td class="tdr bl">2·6</td><td class="tdr bl">4·6</td><td class="tdr bl">2·0</td><td class="tdr bl">4·7</td><td class="tdr bl">0·1</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Cellulose</td><td class="tdr bl">8·3</td><td class="tdr bl">11·5</td><td class="tdr bl">1·0</td><td class="tdr bl">6·4</td><td class="tdr bl">14·9</td><td class="tdr bl">0·2</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Gum and Sugar</td><td class="tdr bl">3·8</td><td class="tdr bl">4·2</td><td class="tdr bl">5·7</td><td class="tdr bl">11·3</td><td class="tdr bl">2·9</td><td class="tdr bl">1·6</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Albuminoids</td><td class="tdr bl">10·9</td><td class="tdr bl">13·2</td><td class="tdr bl">16·0</td><td class="tdr bl">8·8</td><td class="tdr bl">8·9</td><td class="tdr bl">7·2</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Ash</td><td class="tdr bl">1·6</td><td class="tdr bl">2·8</td><td class="tdr bl">2·2</td><td class="tdr bl">1·8</td><td class="tdr bl">1·6</td><td class="tdr bl">0·9</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Loss, &amp;c.</td><td class="tdr bl">0·8</td><td class="tdr bl">1·0</td><td class="tdr bl">0·2</td><td class="tdr bl">0·5</td><td class="tdr bl">7·0</td><td class="tdr bl">0·4</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl bb padl2">Total</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·0</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·0</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·0</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·0</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·0</td><td class="tdr bl bb bt">100·0</td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<p><br />Messrs. Wanklyn and Cooper (<i>Bread Analysis,
-&amp;c.</i>, London, 1881) say that, according to their
-analysis, this wheaten flour, which is the flour
-commonly to be bought in this country, has the
-following composition:—</p>
-
-<table summary="bread" border="0"><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Water</td><td class="tdr">16·5</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Ash</td><td class="tdr">0·7</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Fat</td><td class="tdr">1·5</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Gluten</td><td class="tdr">12·0</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Vegetable Albumen</td><td class="tdr">1·0</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Modified Starch</td><td class="tdr">3·5</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdl">Starch Granules</td><td class="tdr">64·8</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdr" colspan="2">–––––</td></tr><tr>
-<td class="tdr" colspan="2">100·0</td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<p>A comparison of these tables by well-known
-analysts shows us, if we only take the single article
-of wheat, how the grain varies. Let me now say<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span>
-something about the constituents of wheat in as
-simple a form as possible.</p>
-
-<p>The fat is of a yellow colour, and, as far as is
-known, is not a particularly valuable component
-part; but as all fats are foods, of course, it is of
-service.</p>
-
-<p>The starch in wheat is the ordinary starch (of the
-best kind) of commerce; and, seeing that it forms
-the greater part of all breadstuffs, it naturally is an
-important element in them. In good, sound wheat
-the starch granules are whole; in sprouted wheat, or
-that heated by damp, they are rotted, and, consequently,
-the starch they contain is changed, more or
-less, into dextrin and sugar, and, consequently, a
-difference is made in the food value of the wheat.</p>
-
-<p>Dextrin and sugar are small components of good
-wheat. The dextrin, no doubt, has a beneficial effect
-in small quantities, but not in large. Sugar, such as
-is found in wheat, affords the necessary amount of
-saccharine matter for fermentation.</p>
-
-<p>Cellulose is more useful to the plant than to the
-miller, to whom it is as so much bran.</p>
-
-<p>There are two kinds of albuminoids, or gluten,
-present in wheat—one insoluble, the other soluble in
-alcohol. The former makes what is called a ‘strong
-bread,’ and the latter acts, in bread-making, on the
-former, and, under the influence of yeast, it attacks
-the starch, converting it into dextrin and maltose.</p>
-
-<p>The ash of wheat contains principally phosphoric
-acid and potassium; magnesium ranks next;
-then lime, silica, phosphate of iron, soda, chlorine,
-and sulphuric and carbonic acids.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER X.<br />
-
-<small><small>BREAD MAKING AND BAKING.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">The</span> ordinary method of bread-making in London is
-as follows: The first process, when the bread is made
-with thick yeast, being to prepare a mixture of
-potatoes, yeast, and flour, by which the process of
-fermentation is to be produced in the dough.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. George W. Austin, in his pamphlet on <i>Bread,
-Baking, and Bakers</i>,’ says about the ferment: ‘For
-each sack of flour (280 lbs.) about 8 lbs. or 10 lbs. of
-dry, mealy potatoes are taken, well boiled and mashed
-and washed through a strainer to take away the skin;
-to this is added 12 or 14 quarts of water, at a temperature
-varying from 80 deg. to 90 deg., and a quart
-of thick brewers’ yeast, or 1 lb. of compressed yeast—which
-is equal. Having well dissolved the yeast, and
-added 2 lbs. of flour, the mass is allowed to stand
-some three or four hours, until the head falls in
-through the escape of gas.’ The next process is the
-preparation of the sponge. The trough and flour
-being ready, the ferment is taken, and, with the
-addition of 28 quarts of clear water, at a temperature
-of 80 deg. to 90 deg., is passed into the trough
-through a sieve or strainer, and the mass, being kept
-well together, is made up into a nice dry sponge. It
-is allowed to remain thus and ferment for another
-five or six hours, when it will have risen and formed
-a head, which is allowed to break. As soon as this
-head is broken it commences to rise again, and as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span>
-soon as it has broken the second time the remainder
-of the flour is added, and the dough made as follows:</p>
-
-<p>Two and a half pounds of salt dissolved in 28 quarts
-of clear water, at a temperature of 80 deg., and mixed
-well into what is termed ‘the sponge,’ with the
-remainder of the flour, the whole being broken up
-and well and thoroughly mixed and kneaded until
-the dough is uniform in material and consistency. It
-is then left to rise for another hour or more, when the
-dough is weighed out in pieces of the requisite size and
-speedily manipulated into the required shape. As the
-loaves are moulded they are placed on trays, covered
-with a light cloth (to prevent the dry and colder air forming
-a dry crust on the surface), and left to dry sufficiently
-before being placed in the oven. Before this is done the
-loaves are slightly brushed over with a small quantity
-of milk and water to improve the appearance of the
-outside of the loaf when it comes from the oven.</p>
-
-<p>The oven is, for the purpose of baking bread,
-brought up to a heat of 400 deg. Fahr., and the
-bread, although seemingly baked by dry heat, is in
-reality boiled in the steam of the water which the
-bread contains.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">14</a></p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span></p>
-<p>Salt is added to make the bread more palatable;
-but it has also another effect. With inferior flour
-dextrin is formed inside the loaf to some extent as
-well as on the outside, consequently bread made from
-inferior flour rises badly and is darker in colour. This
-inferior flour is made sometimes from wheat that has
-been damp, the dampness causing the soluble albumenoids
-which the grain contains to act on the
-insoluble gluten, decomposing it into soluble bodies,
-and producing dextrin by their action on the starch
-in the grain. The further decomposition of these
-albumenoids is checked by the action of the salt
-during the fermentation of the bread.</p>
-
-<p>And now it will be well to say something about
-the leaven of bread. We have already seen the
-modern method of making a ferment with flour,
-potatoes, and brewer’s yeast; but there are other
-substances which do not cause fermentation, and yet
-lighten the bread, such as the different baking
-powders, and the American <i>sal eratus</i>, a mixture
-of bi-carbonate of soda and salt. Carbonate of ammonia,
-which entirely evaporates in baking, is used
-in confectionery to raise the paste by the bubbles it
-forms in its volatilisation. The unfermented breads,
-such as those made by the late Dr. Dauglish’s patent
-(of which more anon), are rendered light upon the
-same principle, the usual method being to mix soda
-with the flour, and hydrochloric acid with the water,
-in the proportions in which they unite to form chloride
-of sodium, or common salt. The effervescence, like
-that produced in mixing seidlitz powders, converts
-the paste into a porous sponge, which, however,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span>
-requires to be very quickly placed in the oven. The
-salt formed by the mixture replaces that ordinarily
-added to the dough in making bread; but this
-method is seldom used by practical bakers. Whatever,
-therefore, be the method by which bread is made
-light, the object to be attained is to pervade the
-dough with numerous cavities, which keep the particles
-of flour asunder, instead of forming a compact
-and unyielding mass.</p>
-
-<p>The science which gave an insight into the cause
-of the ‘rising’ of bread, and suggested substitutes for
-the ordinary fermenting materials, is but of recent
-date. These ferments operate by generating an infinity
-of gas bubbles, which honeycomb the dough.
-The earliest process was to employ leaven, which is
-still largely used in the manufacture of the black rye
-bread of the Continent, and consists of dough which
-has become more or less sour by over-fermentation.
-This is kept from one baking to another, to inoculate
-a fresh bulk of paste with its fermenting influence.
-No sooner does it come into contact with the fresh
-dough than it communicates its own properties, as by
-contagion. Probably the discovery of leavening has,
-in many countries, been owing to accident, through
-neglected paste having been attacked by the fungus
-which is the cause of fermentation.</p>
-
-<p>Many of my readers probably do not know that
-yeast is a plant. It belongs to the class of <i>fungi</i>,
-and, in accordance with the general habit of its kind,
-it differs from the green forms of vegetable life by
-feeding upon organic substances. The yeast plant
-represents one condition of a species of fungus re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span>markable
-for the diversity of forms it exhibits, its
-wide, nay, universal distribution, and the magnitude
-of the effects, sometimes beneficial, sometimes mischievous,
-which it is capable of producing. The forms
-in which it is familiar to most persons, although its
-nature may be unsuspected, are yeast, the gelatinous
-vinegar plant, the ‘mother’ of vinegar, and many
-decomposing vegetable infusions, and the common
-blue or green mould (<i>penicillium glaucum</i>) which
-occurs everywhere on sour paste, decaying fruits, and,
-in general, on all dead organic matters exposed to
-combined moisture and moderate heat.</p>
-
-<p>Yeast and the vinegar plant are the forms in
-which it vegetates under various circumstances when
-well supplied with food. Mildew is its fruit, formed
-on the surfaces exposed to air at certain epochs,
-like the flowers and seeds of the higher plants, to
-enable it to diffuse itself, which it does most effectually,
-for the microscopic germs, invisible singly
-to the naked eye, are produced in myriads, and are
-so diminutive that ordinary motes floating in the
-atmosphere are large in comparison.</p>
-
-<p>Yeast, when examined under the microscope, is
-found to consist of globular vesicles about 1/2300th part
-of an inch in diameter when fully grown. They are
-multiplied by little vesicles budding out from the
-sides of the parent. These soon acquire an equal
-size, and repeat the reproduction, either while attracted
-to the parent globule or after separating from it.
-The multiplication goes on to an indefinite extent
-with a fitting supply of food and at a moderately warm
-temperature (70 deg.-90 deg. Fahr.). The vesicles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span>
-are nourished by sucking in a portion of the organic
-liquid in which they exist, decomposing this chemically,
-and either actually giving off, or causing the
-separation of their outer surface, of carbonic acid
-in the form of gas. To give a familiar illustration
-of the action of the carbonic acid which is evolved
-from yeast on the dough, I may say that it is
-analogous to the froth formed on a tumbler of
-bottled ale or ginger-beer. The cavities or bubbles
-in the dough are produced in an exactly similar
-manner; but two circumstances occur in bread to
-render them permanent—first, the fact that they
-are slowly formed; secondly, that they are generated
-in a substance which, while it is soft enough to allow
-the bubbles to expand, is tough enough to retain
-them.</p>
-
-<p>There are several kinds of yeast besides barm, or
-brewer’s yeast, which, in spite of its bitter taste, is
-generally used by bakers because it is the least
-expensive. Next in consumption is what is termed
-press yeast, in German <i>press hefe</i> or <i>pfund hefe</i>, commonly
-known in commerce as German yeast, so called
-because it originally was a monopoly of that country,
-but it is now largely manufactured in Scotland. Of
-these yeasts Mr. Austin says:</p>
-
-<p>‘Press yeast is obtained partly by the brewing of
-beer or distillation of spirits as a by-product, partly
-it is made artificially. In the former case, the beer
-upper yeast is mixed with ten times its quantity of
-water, to which one per cent. of carbonate of ammonia
-is added, macerated and well washed for an
-hour, and then mixed with a compound of two parts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span>
-of finely-powdered malt and ten parts starch, so that
-we have a firm mass, which is made into cakes half-an-inch
-thick. This yeast must be made fresh every
-two or three days, and must be kept in a cool place.
-A better press yeast is made from the yeast of the
-distilleries. The pasty residue of the mash tub is
-passed through a hair sieve to get rid of the grain
-husks. The filtrate is allowed to settle, and the
-sediment is put into linen cloths and washed with
-water, and the water squeezed out again under gentle
-pressure. The yeast is thus obtained in the form of
-cakes.’</p>
-
-<p>Very many people prefer to make their own bread
-instead of buying it from the baker; not that there is
-a great saving, but there is a certain satisfaction in
-knowing by whom it is made, and as, doubtless, many
-of my readers have never attempted to make and
-bake their own bread, I venture to give Miss Acton’s
-‘very plain directions to a quite inexperienced learner
-for making bread.’<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">15</a></p>
-
-<p>‘If you have never yet attempted to make bread,
-and wish to try to do it well, and have nobody to
-show you the proper manner of setting about it, you
-may yet succeed perfectly by attending with great
-exactness to the directions which are given here; but,
-as a large baking is less easily managed than a small
-one quite at first, and as the loss would be greater
-if the bread were spoiled, I would advise you to begin
-with merely a loaf or two.</p>
-
-<p>‘Take, then, let us say, half a gallon of flour, or a
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span>quartern, as it is called in some places. This will
-weigh three pounds and a half, and will make two
-loaves of nearly two pounds and a quarter each.
-There are two ways of making the dough, either of
-which, in experienced hands, will generally be
-attended with success. The most common mode of
-proceeding is to mix the yeast carefully with part of
-the liquid required for the whole of the bread, and to
-stir it into the centre of the flour; then to add by
-degrees what more of the liquid may be necessary,
-and to convert the whole with thorough, steady
-kneading into a firm but flexible paste, which, after
-standing in a suitable place until it has swollen to
-nearly double its original size, is again thoroughly
-kneaded, and once more left to “rise” or become
-porous before it is moulded into loaves and despatched
-to the oven.</p>
-
-<p>‘<i>To Make Dough by Setting a Sponge.</i>—This
-method of making dough is usually followed when
-there is any doubt either of the goodness or of the
-sufficient quantity of the yeast which is used for it,
-because if it should not become light after standing
-a certain time, more yeast, mixed with a little warm
-liquid, can easily be added to it, and the chance of
-having heavy bread be thus avoided.</p>
-
-<p>‘If you are sure of the goodness of the yeast you
-use it will not much matter which of them you follow.
-The quickest and easiest mode is to wet it up at once;
-the safest to guard against failure is to set a sponge
-thus: Put the flour into a large earthenware bowl or
-deep pan, then with a strong metal or wooden spoon
-hollow out the middle, but do not clear it entirely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span>
-away from the bottom of the pan, as in that case the
-sponge (or leaven as it was formerly termed) would
-stick to it, which it ought not to do. Next take
-either a large tablespoonful of brewer’s yeast, which
-has been rendered solid by mixing it with cold water
-and letting it afterwards stand to settle for a day and
-a night, or nearly an ounce of fresh German yeast.
-Put it into a large basin and then proceed to mix it,
-so that it shall be as smooth as cream, with three-quarters
-of a pint or even a whole pint of just warm
-milk and water or water only, though even a very
-little milk will much improve the bread. To have it
-quite free from lumps you must pour in the liquid by
-spoonfuls just at the beginning, and stir and work it
-round well to mix it perfectly with the yeast before
-you add the remainder, otherwise it would probably
-cause the bread to be full of large holes, which ought
-never to be seen in it. Pour the yeast into the hole
-in the middle of the flour, and stir into it as much of
-that which lies around it as will make a thick batter,
-in which, remember, there must be no lumps. If there
-should seem to be any you must beat them out with
-the spoon. Strew plenty of flour on the top, throw
-a thick clean cloth over, and set it where the air is
-warm; but if there is a large fire do not place it upon
-the kitchen fender in front of it, as servants often do,
-for it will become too much heated there; but let it
-always be raised from the floor, and protected from
-constant draughts of air passing over it. Look at it
-from time to time when it has been laid for nearly
-an hour, and when you perceive that the yeast has
-risen and broken through the flour, and that bubbles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span>
-appear in it, you will know that it is ready to be
-made up into dough. Then place the pan on a
-strong chair or dresser, or table of convenient height;
-pour into the sponge a little warm milk and water
-(about a pint and a quarter will be required altogether
-for the quartern of bread), so that if three-quarters of
-a pint was mixed with the yeast at first there will be
-half a pint to add. Sometimes a little more will be
-needed; but be always careful not to make the dough
-too moist; stir into it as much flour as you can with
-the spoon, then wipe it out clean with your fingers
-and lay it aside.</p>
-
-<p>‘Next take plenty of the remaining flour, throw it
-on the top of the leaven, and begin with the knuckles
-of both hands to knead it well. Quick movement in
-this will do no good. It is strong, steady kneading
-which is required. Keep throwing up the flour which
-lies under and round the dough on to the top of it,
-that it may not stick to your fingers. You should
-always try to prevent its doing this, for you will soon
-discover that attention to these small particulars will
-make a great difference in the quality of your bread
-and in the time required to make it. When the flour
-is nearly all kneaded in begin to draw the edges of
-the dough towards the middle, in order to mix the
-whole thoroughly, and continue to knead it in every
-part spreading it out, and then turning it constantly
-from the side of the pan to the middle, and pressing
-the knuckles of your closed hands well into and over
-it. When the whole of the flour is worked in, and
-the outside of the dough is free from it and from all
-lumps and crumbs, and does not stick to the hands<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span>
-when touched, it will be done, and may be again
-covered with the cloth and left to rise a second time.</p>
-
-<p>‘In three-quarters of an hour look at it, and should
-it have swollen very much, and begin to crack, it will
-be light enough to bake. Turn it then on to a paste-board,
-or very clean dresser, and, with a large sharp
-knife, divide it into two, when, if it has been carefully
-and properly made, you will find it full throughout of
-small holes like a fine sponge. When it is thus far
-ready make it up quickly into loaves, and despatch
-it to the oven. If it is to be baked in a flat tin or
-on the oven floor, dust a little flour on the board,
-and make them up lightly in the form of dumplings,
-drawing together the parts which are cut, and turning
-them downwards. Give them a good shape by working
-them round quickly between your hands without
-raising them from the board, and pressing them
-slightly as you do so; then take a knife in the right
-hand, and, turning each loaf quickly with the left,
-just draw the edge of it round the middle of the
-dough, but do not cut deeply into it; make also two
-or three slight incisions across the tops of the loaves,
-as they will rise more easily when this is done.</p>
-
-<p>‘Should it be put into earthen pans, the dough
-must be cut with the <i>point</i> of the knife just below
-the edge of the dishes after it is laid into them. To
-prevent it sticking to them, and being turned out
-with difficulty after it is baked, the pans should be
-rubbed in every part with a morsel of butter laid on
-a bit of clean paper. When they are only floured,
-the loaves cannot sometimes be loosened from these
-without being broken. All bread should be turned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span>
-upside down or on its side as soon as it is drawn
-from the oven; if this be neglected, the under part
-of the loaves will become wet and blistered from the
-steam, which cannot then escape from them. They
-should remain until they are perfectly cold before
-they are put away and covered down.</p>
-
-<p>‘The only difference between this and the other
-way of making dough, mentioned at the beginning of
-these directions, is the mixing all the flour at first
-with the yeast and liquid into a firm smooth paste,
-which must be thoroughly kneaded down when it has
-become quite light, and then left to rise a second time
-before it is prepared for baking. A pint of warm
-milk and water, or of water only, may be stirred
-gradually to the yeast, which should then be poured
-into the middle of the flour, and worked with it into
-a stiff batter with a spoon, which should then be withdrawn,
-and the kneading with the hands commenced.
-Until a little experience has been gained, the mass of
-dough which will be formed with the pint of liquid,
-may be lifted from the pan into a dish, while sufficient
-warm water is added to wet up the remainder of the
-flour. This should afterwards be perfectly mingled
-with that which contains the yeast. A better plan
-is to use at once from a pint and a quarter to a
-pint and a half of liquid; but learners are very apt
-to pour in heedlessly more than is required, or to be
-inexact in the measure, and then more flour has to
-be used to make the bread of a proper consistence
-than is allowed for by the proportion of yeast named
-in the receipt. It is a great fault in bread-making
-to have the dough so moist that it sticks to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span>
-fingers when touched, and cannot be formed into
-loaves which will retain their shape without much
-flour being kneaded into them when they are made
-up for the oven.</p>
-
-<p>‘When it is to be <i>home baked</i> as well as home
-made, you must endeavour to calculate correctly the
-time at which it will be ready, and have the oven in a
-fit state for it when it is so. Should it have to be
-carried to the baker’s, let a thick cloth or two be
-thrown over it before it is sent.’</p>
-
-<p>In these very plain directions I do not find that
-Miss Acton specifies the quantity of salt to be used.
-Some, however, is absolutely necessary, to make good
-bread—say half an ounce to a quartern of flour.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER XI.<br />
-
-<small><small>OVENS ANCIENT AND MODERN.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">We</span> have now got the loaf made, and the next thing
-is to bake it; for the home-baked loaf, the oven of a
-kitchener or gas stove will do very well, and the heat
-should be about 400 deg. Fahr. A baker’s oven is a
-thing <i>per se</i>. For hundreds of years they were made
-on the same old pattern, but now, except in many of
-the small underground bakeries, they are scientifically
-built, fitted with pyrometers, and with internal lamps.
-Mr. Austin writes thus of the oven:</p>
-
-<p>‘The baker’s oven is generally a brick oven,
-heated thoroughly with coal or wood according to
-construction; if made for coal, the damper will be on
-the one side and the furnace on the other, so that the
-flames play all round the oven; if constructed for
-wood, it must be heated with a good solid heat, with
-wood burnt in the interior of the oven, and then well
-cleaned out with a scuffle. As to the degrees of heat
-of the oven the laborious explanations and number
-of them may be reduced to three—viz., sharp or
-“flash,” as named in recipes; the second degree,
-moderate or “solid,” as used for large or solid articles,
-as wedding cakes, &amp;c.; then slack or cool.</p>
-
-<p>‘The baker’s old-fashioned method of testing the
-temperature of his oven is instructive. He throws
-flour on the floor. If it blackens without taking fire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span>
-the heat is sufficient. It might be supposed that this
-is too high a temperature, as the object is to cook the
-bread, not to burn it; but we must remember that
-the flour which has been prepared for baking is mixed
-with water, and the evaporation of this water will
-materially lower the temperature of the dough itself.
-Besides this, we must bear in mind that another object
-is to be attained. A hard shell or crust has been
-formed, which will so encase and support the lump
-of dough as to prevent it from subsiding when the
-further evolution, carbonic gas, shall cease, which will
-be the case some time before the cooking of the mass
-is completed. It will happen when the temperature
-reaches the point at which the yeast cells can no
-longer germinate, when the temperature is below the
-boiling point of water.</p>
-
-<p>‘In spite of all this outside temperature, that of the
-inner part of the loaf is kept down to a little above
-212 degrees by the evaporation of the water contained
-in the bread; the escape of this vapour and the
-expansion of carbonic acid bubbles by heat increasing
-the porosity of the loaf. The outside being heated
-considerably above the temperature of the inner part,
-this variation produces the difference between the crust
-and the crumb. The action of the high temperature
-indirectly converting some of the starch into dextrin
-will be understood from what is already stated, and
-also the partial conversion of this dextrin into
-caramel. Thus we have in the crust an excess of
-dextrin as compared with the crumb, and the addition
-of a variable quantity of caramel. In lightly baked
-bread, with the crust of uniform pale yellowish colour,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span>
-the conversion of the dextrin into caramel has barely
-commenced, and the gummy character of the dextrin
-coating is well displayed. So much bread, especially
-the long staves of life common in France, appears
-as though they had been varnished, and their crust is
-partially soluble in water. This explains the apparent
-paradox that hard crust or dry toast is more easily
-digested than the soft crumb of bread, the cookery
-of the crumb not having been carried beyond the
-mere hydration of the gluten and the starch and such
-degree of dextrin formation as was due to the action
-of the diastaste of grain during the preliminary period
-of “rising.”’</p>
-
-<p>A form of oven now much in vogue is borrowed
-from Vienna. It is built of stone or brick; the roof
-is very low, and the floor slopes upwards towards the
-far end. The effect of this form of construction is
-to drive the steam rising from the loaves down on to
-the top of them again, thereby giving them the glazed
-surface so much admired in foreign bread. Steam is
-sometimes driven in with the same object; being
-lighter than that rising from the bread, it drives the
-latter down. The ovens are heated from below.
-Loaves remain in for one and a half or two hours.</p>
-
-<p>As in everything connected with baking, during
-the past few years great improvements have been
-made in bakers’ ovens. Science has been brought to
-bear upon them, and we now have them heated by
-gas or steam in addition to coal and coke, besides
-improved alterations in many ways.</p>
-
-<p>Nor do modern improvements in baking appliances
-stop short at ovens. Most bakers doing a good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span>
-business use kneading machines, of which there are
-many in the market. With one exception—that of the
-Adair mixer, which has no arms nor beaters, but
-simply rotates, and by this action the flour and water
-pass through the rods of iron, which are placed
-crosswise in the machine, and become perfectly and
-proportionately mixed—they are all, more or less,
-on the same principle, of revolving arms, blades, or
-knives by which the flour and water are properly
-mixed, and the position of the dough being perpetually
-changed, it is effectually kneaded without the
-objectionable intervention of manual labour.</p>
-
-<p>The earliest kneading machine that I can find
-mentioned is in 1850, when the illustrious philosopher,
-Arago, presented and recommended to the Institute
-of France the kneading and baking apparatus of M.
-Rolland, then a humble baker of the Twelfth Arrondissement.
-The kneading machine was described as
-exceedingly simple, and capable of being worked,
-when under a full charge, by a young man from 15
-to 20 years old, the necessity for horse labour or
-steam power being thus obviated; and it was claimed
-that in less than twenty minutes a sack of flour could
-be converted into a perfect homogeneous and aërated
-dough altogether superior to any dough that could
-be obtained by manual kneading.</p>
-
-<p>Another attempted improvement in the manufacture
-of bread was aërating the dough without using
-any ferment, such as yeast, etc., and this has been
-accomplished by means of mixing hydrochloric acid
-and carbonate of soda with the dough, or using
-bicarbonate of ammonia, or forcing carbonic acid into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span>
-the water with which the flour is mixed. The latter
-is called the Dauglish system, from its inventor, the
-late John Dauglish, M.D. (born 1824, died January
-14, 1866), and it is now in full working operation.</p>
-
-<p>By this system carbonic acid gas is generated as if
-for making soda water, and, supposing a sack of flour
-was to be converted into dough, the following would
-be the treatment: A lid at the top of the mixer is
-opened, and the flour passed down into it through a
-spout from the floor above. The lid of the mixer is
-then fitted tightly on, and the air within it exhausted
-by the pump. The requisite quantity of water, about
-17 gallons, is drawn into the water vessel, and
-carbonic acid is forced into it till the pressure
-amounts to from 15lb. to 25lb. per square inch. The
-aërated water is then passed into the mixer, and the
-mixing arms are set in motion, by which, in about
-seven minutes, the flour and water are incorporated
-into a perfectly uniform paste. At the lower end of
-the mixer a cavity is arranged, gauged to hold
-sufficient dough for a 2lb. loaf, and by a turn of a lever
-that quantity is dropped into a pan ready for at once
-depositing in the oven. The whole of the operations
-can be performed in less than half an hour.</p>
-
-<p>The advantages of this system are absolute purity
-and cleanliness, but it is simply porous dough, and has
-not got the flavour of fermented bread. The plant,
-too, is very expensive, which renders it impossible
-for the ordinary baker to adopt it.</p>
-
-<p>Certainly, machinery has been applied with very
-great advantage to the manufacture of another kind
-of bread, on which they that go down upon the sea<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span>
-in ships were wont to depend—namely, ship’s biscuits.
-Badly made of bad materials, and ofttimes full of
-weevils were they, so hard that they had to be soaked
-in some liquid before they could be eaten, or else
-broken up and boiled with the pea soup.</p>
-
-<p>Up to the year 1833 the ships of the Royal Navy
-were supplied with biscuits made at Gosport by gangs
-of five men, severally named the <i>furner</i>, the <i>mate</i>,
-the <i>driver</i>, the <i>brakeman</i>, and the <i>idleman</i>. The
-<i>driver</i> made the dough in a trough with his naked
-arms. The rough dough was then placed on a
-wooden platform, to be worked by the <i>brakeman</i>,
-who kneaded it by riding and jumping on it. Then
-it was taken to a moulding board, cut into slips,
-moulded by hand, docked, or pierced full of holes,
-and pitched into the oven by the joint action of the
-gang. The nine ovens in the Royal Clarence
-Victualling Yard required the labour of 45 men to
-keep them in full operation, and the product was
-about 14cwt. of biscuit per hour, at a cost for labour
-and utensils of 1<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i> per cwt. This system was
-superseded by machinery, and biscuits have been for
-many years past produced with almost incredible
-rapidity, perfect in kneading, moulding, and baking,
-and at a cost for labour and utensils of less than a
-third of the old outlay.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER XII.<br />
-
-<small><small>THE RELIGIOUS USE OF BREAD.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p>Of the many breads that are not in common use,
-that used in the celebration of the Communion should
-be placed first. There seems no room for doubt
-that, at the Last Supper, our Lord broke unleavened
-bread—St Luke xxii. is, apparently, conclusive on
-this point; and, to this day, the whole Latin,
-Armenian, and Maronite Churches use unleavened
-bread, and it is also used in many churches of
-the Anglican communion. Dr. Lee<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">16</a> says: ‘The
-Ethiopic Christians also use unleavened bread at
-their Mass on Maundy Thursday, but leavened
-bread on other occasions. The Greek and other
-Oriental Churches use leavened bread, which is
-especially made for the purpose, with scrupulous
-care and attention. The Christians of St. Thomas
-likewise make use of leavened bread, composed of
-fine flour, which, by an ancient rule of theirs, ought
-to be prepared on the same day upon which it is
-to be consecrated. It is circular in shape, stamped
-with a large cross, the border being edged with
-smaller crosses, so that, when it is broken up, each
-fragment may contain the holy symbol. In the
-Roman Catholic Church the bread is made thin and
-circular, and bears upon it either the impressed figure</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span></p>
-<p>of the crucifix, or the letters I.H.S. Pope St.
-Zephyrinus, who lived in the third century, terms
-the Sacramental bread, <i>Corona sive oblata, sphericæ,
-figuræ</i>, “a crown, or oblation, of a spherical figure,”
-the circle being indicative of the Divine presence
-after consecration. The Orientals, occasionally, make
-their altar breads square, on which is stamped a
-cross, with an inscription. The square form of the
-bread is a mystical indication that, by the sacrifice
-of Christ upon the cross, salvation is purchased for
-the four comers of the earth.’ And Dr. Lee gives
-illustrations of the altar bread, or wafers, in use in
-the Latin, Armenian, Coptic, and Greek Churches.</p>
-
-<p>It seems certain that, in the Primitive Church,
-neither unleavened bread nor wafers were used.
-Ancient writers say that the bread used was common
-bread, such as was made for their own use. It
-was also a charge against the Ebionites that they
-celebrated in unleavened bread and water only. The
-bread generally used was called <i>fermentum</i>, and
-though this is explained by the schoolmen, who
-claimed primitive custom for unleavened bread, as
-the <i>eulogia</i>, or <i>panis benedictus</i>, which was blessed
-for such as did not communicate, Pope Innocent I.
-plainly says that it refers to the Sacrament itself.
-Moreover, no Greek writer before Michael Cerularius,
-who lived <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 1051, objected to the use of unleavened
-bread in the Roman Church, which would seem to
-show that it was not extensively used before that
-time. Even some Roman writers speak of the
-custom as erroneous.</p>
-
-<p>How the change in this matter was made, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span>
-exact time when, is not easily determined. Cardinal
-Bona’s conjecture seems probable enough: that it
-crept in when the people began to leave off making
-their oblations in common bread. This occasioned
-the clergy to provide it themselves, and they, under
-pretence of decency and respect, brought it from
-leaven to unleaven, and from a loaf of common bread,
-that might be broken, to a nice and delicate wafer,
-formed in the figure of a <i>denarius</i>, or penny, to
-represent the pence for which our Saviour was
-betrayed; and then, also, the people, instead of
-offering a loaf of bread, as formerly, were ordered
-to offer a penny, which was either to be given to the
-poor, or to be expended upon something pertaining
-to the sacrifice of the altar.</p>
-
-<p>The alteration in the Communion bread occasioned
-great disputes between the Eastern and Western
-Churches.</p>
-
-<p>The first Common Prayer Book of Edward VI.
-enjoins unleavened bread to be used throughout the
-whole kingdom for the celebration of the Eucharist.
-It was ordered to be <i>round</i>, in imitation of the wafers
-used in the Greek and Roman Churches; but it was
-to be <i>without all manner of print</i>, the wafers usually
-having the impression either of a crucifix or the Holy
-Lamb; and <i>something more large and thicker</i> than the
-wafers, which were the size of a penny. This rubric,
-affording matter for scruple, was set aside at the
-review of the Liturgy, in the fifth year of King
-Edward; and another inserted in its room, which
-still exists, by which it is declared sufficient that
-<i>the bread be such as is usually eaten</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span></p>
-
-<p>It was the custom in Westminster Abbey, and in
-the Royal chapels, and the practice of such men as
-Bishop Andrewes, to use wafers, but ‘for peace sake,’
-where wafers were objected to, plain and pure wheaten
-bread was allowed. It has been decided by the
-Privy Council that it not only may, but must, be
-common bread; the Injunctions, according to them,
-being of no validity against the rubric; while the
-Advertisements, having been made under Act of
-Parliament, and not contrary to the rubric, are an
-indication of its meaning—<i>i.e.</i>, of the word ‘retained
-in the Ornaments rubric.’</p>
-
-<p>The bread now used is common wheaten bread in
-most Protestant Churches. In some Presbyterian
-Churches a special kind of wafer is prepared for the
-purpose. In the Roman Church thin wafers are used.
-In the Eastern Churches they are of different sizes
-and thicknesses.</p>
-
-<p>They are thus classified by the Rev. F. E.
-Brightman in <i>Liturgies Eastern</i>:</p>
-
-<p>1. Byzantine; a round leavened cake 5 × 2 in.,
-stamped with a square (2 in.); itself divided by a
-cross into four squares in which are severally inscribed
-IC, XC, NI, KA.</p>
-
-<p>2. The Syrian Jacobite and Syrian Uniat; a
-round cake, leavened with the holy leaven, 3 × 3/4,
-stamped like a wheel with four diameters (the alternate
-radii being cut off half way from the circumference by
-a concentric circle).</p>
-
-<p>3. The Marionite; the Latin unleavened wafer.</p>
-
-<p>4. The Coptic; a round leavened cake, 3-1/2 × 3/4,
-stamped round the edge with the legend, Αγιος ο θεος, αγιος ισχυρος, αγιος αθανατος,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span>
-and within with a cross
-consisting of twelve little squares, each of which and
-the remaining spandrels are marked with a little cross
-placed diagonally.</p>
-
-<p>5. The Abyssinian; a flat round leavened cake,
-4 × 3/4, stamped with a cross of nine squares with four
-squares added in the angles of the cross.</p>
-
-<p>6. The Nestorian; a round leavened cake, 2 × 1/2,
-stamped with a cross-crosslet and four small crosses.</p>
-
-<p>7. The Armenian; a round unleavened wafer,
-3 × 1/8, stamped with an ornamental border, the
-crucifix and the sacred name and sometimes with two
-diameters at right angles to the back.</p>
-
-<p>In regard to the Protestant Non-Episcopal Churches,
-it is stated in Herzog’s <i>Religious Encyclopædia</i> that
-the administration follows one of two types. These
-are the Lutheran and the Calvinistic. In the Lutheran,
-the elements are consecrated with the sign of the
-cross, a wafer of unleavened bread is given whole to
-the communicant, and white wine, instead of red,
-is used. The communicants kneel and receive the
-elements into their mouths instead of their hands.
-The Calvinistic type simplifies the service as much as
-possible, and assimilates it to a common meal. ‘In
-the French Reformed Church the elements are placed—the
-bread in two silver dishes, and the wine in two
-silver cups—on a table spread with a white linen cloth.
-From twenty-five to thirty communicants approach
-the table at a time. The officiating minister makes a
-free prayer, and then, while repeating the words of
-institution, presents the elements to his neighbours on
-the left and on the right, after which the dish and the cup<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span>
-pass from hand to hand. With various modifications
-this type has been adopted by all the Reformed
-(Non-Episcopal) Churches.’</p>
-
-<p>This is practically the method adopted in most of
-the British Non-Episcopal Churches; instead, however,
-of the communicants coming forward to the table,
-they remain in their pews, the bread and wine being
-handed round by elders or deacons. In the American
-Non-Episcopal Churches the same plan is usually
-adopted.</p>
-
-<p>These divergencies of method illustrate the strange
-fact in the Christian life, that around the simple and
-beautiful institution of the Lord’s Supper there have
-raged the fiercest controversies in religious history.
-So divergent are the views held about it, that the
-Roman Catholic Church asserts that in every celebration
-of the Mass our Saviour is again actually offered
-as a sacrifice, and the bread and wine become the
-actual body and blood of the Lord, this miracle of
-transformation being wrought through the consecrating
-prayer of the priest. The Quakers, at the other
-extreme, do not observe the service at all, and do not
-consider it to be a binding ordinance. Here, as so
-often in life, the truth lies between the extremes.
-The bread and the wine are the symbols of our
-Lord’s body and blood. We do not feed on Him by
-the mere physical eating of the consecrated elements,
-but we partake of Him through faith as we remember
-that His body was broken for us, and His blood
-shed for the remission of our sins. His own loving
-command as He sat at the table with His disciples
-was, ‘This do in remembrance of Me,’ and it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span>
-through fellowship with Him in spirit—in the Garden
-of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary—that
-‘we feed on Him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving.’</p>
-
-
-
-<p class="tb">There is a semi-sacred bread eaten by the English
-race, and by no one else—the hot-cross bun—millions
-of which are devoured in England on Good Friday.
-Its origin is obscure, as is also that of the word ‘bun.’
-Most dictionaries derive it from the old French <i>bigne</i>,
-or <i>bugne</i>—a swelling; but it certainly occurs in an
-early <i>Promptorium Parvulorum</i>, as ‘bunne-brede.’
-Anent ‘Eating Buns on Good Friday,’ a correspondent
-in the <i>Athenæum</i> of April 4, 1857, p. 144, wrote:</p>
-
-<p>‘In the <i>Museo Lapidario</i> of the Vatican, on the
-Christian side of it, and not far off from the door
-leading into the library, there is a tablet representing
-in a rude manner the miracle of the five barley
-loaves. Every visitor must have seen it, for it has
-been there for years. The loaves are round, like
-cakes, and have a cross upon them, such as our cakes
-bear, which are broken and eaten on Good Friday
-morning, symbolical of the sacrifice of the body of
-our Lord. Five of these cakes, explanatory of the
-scene, are ranged beneath an arch-shaped table, at
-which recline five people, while another, with a basket
-full, is occupied in serving them. The cakes are so
-significant of the Bread of Life that one might almost
-regard the repast as intended to prefigure the sacrifice
-that was to follow, and the institution connected with
-it. Having, from the earliest period of memory,
-cherished a particular regard for hot-cross buns and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span>
-all their pleasing associations, it was a source of
-gratifying reflection to see my old favourites thus
-brought into intimate association with the pious
-thoughts of the primitive Christians, and to know that
-at home we cherished an ancient usage on Good
-Friday which the more Catholic nations of Europe no
-longer observed. But, alas! there is always some
-drawback to our full satisfaction in this world, and
-knowledge is often a cruel dissipation of favourite
-convictions; my faith in the Christian biography of
-these buns has recently received a very rude shock.</p>
-
-<p>‘It would appear that they have descended to us,
-not from any Popish practice, as some <i>pious</i> souls
-affirm, but from one which was actually, and, like the
-word which we use to signify the great festival of
-the Church, <i>Easter</i>, to a paganism as ancient as the
-worship of <i>Astarte</i>, in honour of whom, about the time
-of the Passover, our pagan ancestors, the Saxons,
-baked and offered up a particular kind of cake. We
-read in Jeremiah (vii. 17, 18): “Seest thou not what
-they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of
-Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the
-fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their
-dough, to make cakes to the Queen of Heaven.”
-[See also Jeremiah xliv. 18, 19.] Dr. Stukeley, in
-his <i>Medallic History of Valerius Carausius</i>, remarks
-that they were “assiduous to knead the Easter cakes
-for her service.” The worship of a Queen of Heaven,
-under some significant name or other, was an almost
-universal practice, and exists still in various parts of
-the globe. She is usually represented, like the
-Madonna, bearing her son in her lap, or like Isis, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span>
-the infant Horus. We may see such images in the
-Louvre, and in the great Ethnographical Museum at
-Copenhagen, where the Queen of Heaven of the
-Chinese, <i>Tien-how</i>, figures in white porcelain, side by
-side with <i>Schling-mu</i>, the Holy Mother. Certain
-metaphysical ideas are apt to flow in a common
-channel, and get clothed in the same symbolical dress.
-Hence we find a Queen of Heaven, no less in Mexico
-than in China, in Egypt, Greece, Italy, and England;
-and, under the pagan title of a Christian festival,
-preserve, along with our buns, the memorial of her
-ancient reign.’</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER XIII.<br />
-
-<small><small>GINGER BREAD AND CHARITY BREAD.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p>But there is a bread which must not escape notice—a
-true bread—although somewhat sweet and spiced.
-When it was first introduced into England no one can
-tell, but it was well known in the reign of Queen
-Elizabeth, for Shakespeare, in <i>Love’s Labour Lost</i>
-(Act V., S. 1), makes Costard say: ‘An I had but
-one penny in the world, thou shouldst have it to buy
-gingerbread.’ And we find it used in a similar way
-to the educational biscuits of the present day; for
-Matthew Prior, in his <i>Alma</i> says:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="stanza">
-<div class="line i04">‘To Master John, the English maid</div>
-<div class="line">A horn-book gives, of gingerbread;</div>
-<div class="line">And, that the child may learn the better,</div>
-<div class="line">As he can name, he eats the letter.’</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>It was made with honey, before the introduction
-of sugar, and must be of remote antiquity and intimately
-allied to our friend the <i>Bous</i>. The Rhodians
-made bread with honey which was so pleasant that it
-was eaten as cake after dinner. The German gingerbread
-and the French <i>pain d’épice</i> used both to be
-made with honey. The use of gingerbread is widely
-spread, and wherever it is eaten it is popular, even
-in the far East Indies, where both natives and Anglo-Indians
-rejoice in it. In Holland it is in more request
-than in any other country in Europe, and the recipe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span>
-for its manufacture is guarded as a jealous secret and
-descends as an heirloom from father to son.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;">
-<img src="images/i_152.jpg" width="350" height="522" alt="Hot Gingerbread, Smoking Hot" />
-</div>
-
-<p>In its early days gingerbread was an unleavened
-cake, and the first attempt to make it light was to
-introduce pearl-ash or potash; afterwards alum was
-introduced, now it is made of ordinary fermented
-dough, or with carbonate of ammonia. When well
-made, gingerbread will last good for years; but if not
-well made, and of good materials, it will last no time,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span>
-but will get soft with the first damp weather. Such
-was the stuff sold at fairs—both thick gingerbread
-and nuts—booths being erected for the sale of nothing
-else. The background of these booths was ornamented
-by gingerbread crowns, kings and queens,
-cocks, etc., dazzlingly resplendent with <i>pseudo</i> gold
-leaf, or, as it was then called, ‘Dutch metal.’ I do
-not think that anybody ever ate any of these works
-of art, I think they were solely for ornament; and,
-when combined with bows and streamers of bright-coloured
-ribbons, they made the gingerbread booths
-the most attractive in the fair.</p>
-
-<p>In the last century it was a great institution, and
-Swift, writing to Stella, says: ‘’Tis a loss you are not
-here, to partake of three weeks’ frost, and eat gingerbread
-in a booth by a fire on the Thames.’ There
-was a famous itinerant vendor of this article named
-Ford, but who was more generally known as ‘Tiddy
-Diddy Doll,’ from a song he used to sing whose
-words were but those. He flourished in the middle
-of last century, and Hogarth painted him in one of
-the scenes of ‘Industry and Idleness,’ where the idle
-apprentice is going to his doom.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_154.jpg" width="500" height="630" alt="Hogarth's Picture of Ford." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Hogarth’s Picture of Ford.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>Hone, in his <i>Every Day Book</i>, vol. i., p. 375,
-etc., gives a very good account of Ford. He says:
-‘This celebrated vendor of gingerbread, from his
-eccentricity of character, and extensive dealings in
-his way, was always hailed as the king of itinerant
-tradesmen.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> In his person he was tall, well made,
-and his features handsome. He affected to dress like
-a person of rank—white and gold suit of clothes,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a><br /><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span>laced ruffled shirt, laced hat and feathers, white silk
-stockings, with the addition of a fine white apron.
-Among his harangues to gain customers, take this
-as a specimen: ‘Mary, Mary, where are you now,
-Mary? I live, when I am at home, at the second
-house in Little Ball Street, two steps underground,
-with a wiscum, riscum, and a why-not. Walk in,
-ladies and gentlemen, my shop is on the second floor
-backwards, with a brass knocker at the door. Here’s
-your nice gingerbread, your spice gingerbread; it
-will melt in your mouth like a red-hot brick-bat, and
-rumble in your inside like Punch and his wheel-barrow.’...
-For many years (and perhaps
-at present) allusion was made to his name, as thus:
-‘You are so fine, you look like Tiddy Doll. You
-are as tawdry as Tiddy Doll. You are quite Tiddy
-Doll,’ etc.</p>
-
-<p>But there is a use for badly-made gingerbread
-which perhaps some of us do not know—a gingerbread
-barometer. It is nothing more than the
-figure of a General made of gingerbread, which
-Clavette buys every year at the <i>Place du Trone</i>.
-When he gets home he hangs his purchase on a
-nail. You know the effect of the atmosphere on
-gingerbread; the slightest moisture renders it soft;
-in dry weather, on the contrary, it grows hard and
-tough. Every morning, on going out, Clavette
-asks his servant, ‘What does the General say?’
-The man forthwith applies his thumb to the figure,
-and replies, ‘The General feels flabby about the
-chest; you’d better take your umbrella!’ On the
-other hand, when the symptoms are hard and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span>
-unyielding, our worthy colleague sallies forth in his
-new hat.</p>
-
-<p>A curious use of dough, somewhat sweetened, was
-made at Christmas, when it was manufactured into
-<i>Yule doughs</i>, or dows, or <i>Yule babies</i>, small images
-like dolls with currants for eyes, intended probably
-to represent the infant Jesus, which were presented
-by bakers to the children of their customers. Another
-Christmas custom connected with dough used to
-obtain in Wiltshire, where a hollow loaf, containing
-an apple, and ornamented on the top with the head
-of a cock or a dragon, with currant eyes, and made
-of paste, was baked, and put by a child’s bedside on
-Christmas morning to be eaten before breakfast.
-This was called a <i>Cop-a-loaf</i>, or <i>Cop-loaf</i>.</p>
-
-<p>Much land in England was held by tenure, in
-which bread plays a part, as the following instances
-out of many will show.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">18</a></p>
-
-<p>Apelderham, Sussex.—John Aylemer holds by
-court roll one messuage and one yard [thirty acres]
-land.... And he ought to find at three reap days,
-in autumn, every day, two men, and was to have for
-each of the said men, on every of such reap days,
-viz., on each of the two first days, one loaf of wheat
-and barley mixed, weighing eighteen pounds of wax,
-every loaf to be of the price of a penny farthing; and
-at the third reap day each man was to have a loaf of
-the same weight, all of wheat, of the price of a penny
-halfpenny.</p>
-
-<p>Chakedon, Oxon.—Every mower on this manor
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span>was to have a loaf of the price of a halfpenny, besides
-other things.</p>
-
-<p>Glastonbury, Somerset.—In the thirty-third year
-of Edward I., William Pasturell held twelve ox-gangs
-of land there from the abbot, by service of finding a
-cook in the kitchen of the said abbot and a baker for
-the bakehouse.</p>
-
-<p>Hallaton, Leicester.—A piece of land was bequeathed
-to the use and advantage of the rector, who
-was there to provide ‘two hare pies, a quantity of ale,
-and two dozen of penny loaves, to be scrambled for
-on Easter Monday annually.’</p>
-
-<p>Lenneston or Loston, Devon.—Geoffrey de Alba-Marlia
-held this hamlet of the King, rendering
-therefore to the King, as often as he should hunt in
-the Forest of Dartmoor, one loaf of oat bread of the
-value of half a farthing, and three barbed arrows,
-feathered with peacock’s feathers, and fixed in the
-aforesaid loaf.</p>
-
-<p>Liston, Essex.—In the forty-first year of Edward
-III., Nan, the wife of William Leston, held the manor
-of Overhall, in this parish, by the service of paying
-for, bringing in, and placing of five wafers before the
-King, as he sits at dinner, upon the day of his
-coronation.</p>
-
-<p>Twickenham, Middlesex.—There was an ancient
-custom here of dividing two great cakes in the church
-among the young people on Easter Day; but, it being
-looked upon as a superstitious relic, it was ordered by
-Parliament, in 1645, that the parishioners should forbear
-that custom, and instead thereof buy loaves of
-bread for the poor of the parish with the money that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span>
-should have bought the cakes. It is probable that
-the cakes were bought at the vicar’s expense; for it
-appears that the sum of one pound per annum is still
-charged upon the vicarage for the purpose of buying
-penny loaves for poor children on the Thursday before
-Easter. Within the memory of man they were thrown
-from the church steeple to be scrambled for.</p>
-
-<p>Wells, Dorset.—Richard de Wells held this manor
-ever since the Conquest by the service of being baker
-to our Lord the King.</p>
-
-<p>Witham, Essex.—By an inquisition made in the
-reign of Henry III., it appears that one Geoffrey de
-Lyston held land at Witham by the service of carrying
-flour to make wafers on the King’s birthday,
-whenever his Majesty was in the Kingdom.</p>
-
-<p>Of bread, as given away in charity or by dole, the
-examples in England are almost numberless; still a
-few somewhat redeemed from common place, and
-extracted from the Report on Charities, may interest
-the reader.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">19</a></p>
-
-<p>Assington, Suffolk.—John Winterflood, by will
-dated April 2, 1593, gave to the poor of Assington four
-bushels of meslin (wheat and rye) payable out of the
-manor of Aveley Hall, to be distributed in bread at
-Christmas; and four bushels of meslin, out of the
-rectory or priory of Assington, to be distributed in
-bread at Easter; and under this donation four bushels
-of wheat are brought to Assington Church and distributed
-among the poor at Christmas, and the like
-quantity of wheat at Easter.</p>
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span></p>
-<p>St. Bartholomew by the Exchange, London.—Several
-benefactors have given bread to the poor
-of this parish. Richard Crowshaw, goldsmith, by
-will, April 26, 1531, directed that 100<i>l.</i> should
-be paid to provide 2<i>s.</i> weekly for ever, to be laid
-out in good cheese, to be delivered to the poor
-parishioners of this parish, according as they received
-the bread, which then was and had been long given
-them.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
-<img src="images/i_159.jpg" width="500" height="413" alt="The Biddenden Maids." />
-<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Biddenden Maids.</span></p></div>
-
-
-<p>Another bread and cheese charity still obtains in
-the village of Biddenden, Kent, about four miles from
-Tenterden; and it is noticeable on account of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span>
-tradition which assigns its foundation to a <i>lusus naturæ</i>
-similar to the Siamese twins of our day. The founders
-of the charity, according to tradition, were Eliza and
-Mary Chulkhurst, who were born in 1100, and lived
-together, joined at hips and shoulders, for 34 years.
-To perpetuate their memory, biscuits, measuring
-3-1/2 in. by 2 in. and about 1/4 in. thick, are made and distributed
-with the dole of bread on Easter Sunday.
-On these biscuits is stamped a rude representation of
-the ‘Biddenden Maids.’ There are two moulds, one
-made of beech-wood, judging from the twins’ costume
-of <i>commode</i>, or cap, and laced bodice, dates from
-the time of William and Mary or Anne; the other,
-which is of boxwood, although an attempted copy, is
-undoubtedly more modern. The writer has the
-biscuits, and with them came the following paper,
-headed by a rough woodcut:</p>
-
-<p>‘A short and concise history of Eliza and Mary
-Chulkhurst, who were both joined together by the
-hips and shoulders, in the year of our Lord 1100, at
-Biddenden, in the County of Kent, commonly called
-“The Biddenden Maids.”’</p>
-
-<p>The reader will observe by the plate that they
-lived together in the above state 34 years, at the
-expiration of which time one of them was taken ill,
-and in a short time died; the surviving one was
-advised to be separated from the body of her
-deceased sister by dissection, but she absolutely
-refused the separation by saying these words, ‘As
-we came together we will also go together’; and
-in the space of about six hours after her sister’s
-decease she was taken ill and died also.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span></p>
-
-<p>By their will they bequeathed to the churchwardens
-of the parish of Biddenden and their successor
-churchwardens, for ever, certain pieces or parcels of
-land in the parish of Biddenden, containing 20 acres,
-more or less, which are now let at 40 guineas per
-annum. There are usually made, in commemoration
-of these wonderful phenomena of Nature, about 1000
-rolls (<i>sic</i>) with their impressions printed on them, and
-given away to all strangers on Easter Sunday, after
-Divine Service in the afternoon; also about 500
-quartern loaves, and cheese in proportion, to all the
-poor inhabitants of the said parish.</p>
-
-<p>Hasted, in his <i>History of the County of Kent</i>
-(edit. 1790, Vol. III., p. 66), says, with regard to this
-benefaction: ‘There is a vulgar tradition in these
-parts that the figures on the cakes represent the
-donors of this gift, being two women—twins—who
-were joined together in their bodies, and lived
-together so till they were between 20 and 30 years of
-age. But this seems without foundation. The truth
-seems to be that it was the gift of two maidens of the
-name of <i>Preston</i>, and that the print of the women on
-the cakes has only taken place within these 50 years,
-and was made to represent two poor widows, as the
-general objects of a charitable benefaction. <i>William
-Horner</i>, rector of this parish, in 1656, brought a suit
-in the Exchequer for the recovery of these lands, as
-having been given for an augmentation of his glebe
-land; but he was nonsuited.’</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER XIV.<br />
-
-<small><small>BREAD RIOTS.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Bread</span> riots are of comparatively modern date. In
-the olden days people suffered from scarcity, but
-they suffered without making senseless riots. There
-was no Free Trade in corn, and the people had to
-depend upon home-grown cereals; so that in times
-of drought or failure of crops they felt the pinch
-terribly. True, they had a certain amount of protection
-against overcharge and combination in the form
-of the Assize of Bread, which, while it gave the
-baker a working profit, gave the consumer the benefit
-of a sliding-scale according to the market value of
-wheat.</p>
-
-<p>It is not worth while going very far back to write
-the history of hard times and how they were met; a
-hundred years is quite long enough for retrospect.
-Suffice it, then, that the years 1795-96 were years of
-great scarcity, and all classes, from the peasant to
-the King, felt it, and met it like men. To cope with
-this dearth, the best way seemed to them to diminish,
-as far as possible, the use of wheaten flour, and to
-provide substitutes therefor. The King set his
-subjects a good example.</p>
-
-<p>‘His Majesty has given orders for the bread used<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span>
-in his household to be made of meal and rye
-mixed. No other sort is permitted to be baked,
-and the royal family eat bread of the same quality
-as their servants do. It is extremely sweet and
-palatable.</p>
-
-<p>‘One half flour, and half potatoes, also make a
-very excellent bread.’ (<i>Times</i>, July 22, 1795.)</p>
-
-<p>‘The writer of this paragraph has seen the bread
-that is eaten at his Majesty’s table. It consists of
-two sorts only, the one composed of wheaten flour
-and rye mixed; the other is half wheaten flour, half
-potato flour. If ever example deserved imitation, it
-is this.’ (<i>Times</i>, July 30, 1795.)</p>
-
-<p>People were requested to discontinue the use of
-hair powder, which was made of starch obtained from
-wheat, and very many did so; in fact, this movement
-extended to the Army, for we read in the <i>Times</i>,
-Feb. 10, 1795: ‘In consequence of the scarcity of
-wheat, arising partly from such quantities of it being
-used for hair powder, several regiments have, very
-patriotically, discontinued the use of hair powder,
-which, in these instances, was generally nothing but
-flour.’</p>
-
-<p>Potatoes came very much to the fore as a substitute
-for wheat, and the Parliamentary Board of
-Agriculture proposed a premium of one thousand
-pounds to the person who would grow the largest
-breadth of potatoes on lands never before applied
-to the culture of that plant.</p>
-
-<p>The City authorities watched the bakers narrowly
-as to short weight and amerced them 5<i>s.</i> per ounce
-short, one man having to pay, with costs, £106 5<i>s.</i> on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span>
-420 ounces deficient in weight. Wheat in August,
-1795, was 13<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> per bushel, and the price of the
-quartern loaf should then have been 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>, as it was
-1<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i> in January, 1796, when wheat was 11<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>
-per bushel. It fell rapidly after harvest and in
-December, 1796, was 7<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> per bushel. It must
-be remembered that money then had twice its
-present value.</p>
-
-<p>In 1800 there was another scarcity, and in
-February of that year a Bill passed into law
-which enacted ‘That it shall not be lawful for any
-baker, or other person, or persons, residing within the
-cities of London and Westminster, and the Bills of
-Mortality, and within ten miles of the Royal Exchange,
-after the 26th day of February, 1800, or
-residing in any part of Great Britain after the 4th
-day of March, 1800, to sell, or offer to expose for
-sale, any bread, until the same shall have been baked
-24 hours at the least.’</p>
-
-<p>The average price of wheat this year was 14<i>s.</i> 1<i>d.</i>
-per bushel, and in July, just before harvest, it rose
-to 16<i>s.</i> 10<i>d.</i> or 134<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> per quarter, and other provisions
-were very dear. The people were less patient
-than in 1795-6, and in August and September several
-riots took place at Birmingham, Oxford, Nottingham,
-Coventry, Norwich, Stamford, Portsmouth, Sheffield,
-Worcester, and many other places. The markets
-were interrupted, and the populace compelled the
-farmers, etc., to sell their provisions at a low price.</p>
-
-<p>At last these riots extended to London, beginning
-in a very small way. Late at night on Saturday,
-September 13, or early on Sunday, the 14th, two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span>
-large, written placards were pasted on the Monument,
-the text of which was—</p>
-
-
-<p class="indent">‘Bread will be sixpence the quartern, if the people
-will assemble at the Corn Market on Monday.</p>
-
-<p class="center">‘FELLOW COUNTRYMEN,</p>
-
-<p>‘How long will ye quietly and cowardly suffer yourselves
-to be imposed upon and half-starved by a set
-of mercenary slaves and Government hirelings? Can
-you still suffer them to proceed in their extensive
-monopolies while your children are crying for bread?
-No! let them not exist a day longer. We are the
-sovereignty; rise then from your lethargy. Be at the
-Corn Market on Monday.’</p>
-
-<p>By means of these placards, and handbills to the
-same effect, a mob of over a thousand was collected
-in Mark Lane by nine a.m., and their number was
-doubled in another hour. They hissed and pelted
-the corn factors; but, about eleven a.m., when they
-began to break windows, the Lord Mayor appeared
-upon the spot. In vain he assured them that their
-behaviour could in no way affect the market. They
-only yelled at him, ‘Cheap bread!’ ‘Birmingham and
-Nottingham for ever!’ ‘Three loaves for eighteen-pence,’
-etc. They even hissed the Lord Mayor and
-smashed the windows close by him. This was more
-than he could bear, and he ordered the Riot Act
-to be read. The constables charged the mob, who,
-of course, fled, and the Lord Mayor returned to the
-Mansion House.</p>
-
-<p>They only went to other parts of the City, and,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span>
-when night fell, they began smashing windows, etc.
-At last, fear of their firing the City induced the
-authorities to invoke the assistance of some Volunteers
-and Militia, and by their efforts the mob was driven
-over London Bridge into Southwark, where they
-rendered the night lively by breaking windows, etc.</p>
-
-<p>For a day or two there was peace; but on the
-morning and during the day and night of the 18th of
-September the mob had it all their own way, breaking
-windows and pillaging. A royal proclamation
-was issued, calling on the civil authorities to suppress
-these riots, which was done at last by means of
-cavalry and Volunteers, but only after the mob having
-two more days’ uncontrolled possession of London.
-But the people in the country were not so quickly
-satisfied; their wages were smaller than those of
-their London brethren, and they proportionately felt
-the pinch more acutely. In some instances they
-were put down by force, in others the price of bread
-was lowered; but it is impossible at this time to
-take up a newspaper and not find some notice of
-or allusion to a food riot.</p>
-
-<p>The importation of foreign corn supplied the
-deficiency of the English crops, and bread was
-moderately cheap; but in 1815, probably with a
-view to assuage the agricultural distress then prevalent,
-a measure was proposed and passed by which
-foreign corn was to be prohibited, except when wheat
-had reached 80<i>s.</i> a quarter—a price considered by the
-great body of consumers as exorbitant. A resolution
-was passed ‘That it is the opinion of the Committee
-that any sort of foreign corn, meal, or flour, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span>
-may by law be imported into the United Kingdom
-shall at all times be allowed to be brought into the
-United Kingdom, and to be warehoused there, without
-payment of any duty whatever.’</p>
-
-<p>The popular feeling was well worked on; and
-on March 6 groups of people assembled near
-the Houses of Parliament, about the usual time of
-meeting, hooting or cheering the members, and occasionally
-stopping a carriage and making its occupant
-walk through the crowd, which at last got so unruly
-that it was obliged to be dispersed by the military.
-Yet the whole night they were parading the streets,
-breaking windows, and yelling: ‘No Corn Bill!’ This
-conduct continued for two nights longer, until the
-rioters had almost worn themselves out, when an
-increase of military force finally extinguished the
-rising. But there were riots all over the country.</p>
-
-<p>In 1828 an Act of Parliament was passed which
-fixed the duty on foreign wheat according to a
-‘sliding scale,’ whereby it was diminished from
-1<i>l.</i> 5<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> per quarter whenever the average price
-of all England was under 62<i>s.</i>, and was gradually
-reduced, as wheat rose in price, until the duty stood
-at 1<i>s.</i> when wheat was 73<i>s.</i> and upwards.</p>
-
-<p>Great agitation prevailed as to free corn; and on
-September 18, 1838, the Anti-Corn Law League, for
-procuring the repeal of the laws charging duty upon
-the importation of corn, was founded at Manchester.
-This organisation lectured, harangued, distributed
-pamphlets, and was perpetually in evidence—and at
-last succeeded in its object.</p>
-
-<p>The 5 Vict., c. 14 (April 29, 1842), was a revised<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span>
-sliding scale. When wheat was under 51<i>s.</i> the duty
-to be 1<i>l</i>.; when 73<i>s.</i> and over, 1<i>s.</i>; and this lasted
-until the Corn Importation Bill (9, 10, Vic., c. 22)
-was passed on June 26, 1846, which reduced the
-duty on wheat to 4<i>s.</i> when imported at or above 53<i>s.</i>,
-until Feb. 1, 1849, when 1<i>s.</i> duty per quarter only
-was to be levied on all kinds of imported grain.
-This shilling was taken off on June 24, 1869, and
-there is now no hindrance of any sort to the
-importation of foreign corn.</p>
-
-<p>Although there was fierce political contention over
-the Anti-Corn Law agitation physical force was not
-resorted to, and the next bread riots we hear of were
-in 1855. They seem to have begun at Liverpool,
-where, on Feb. 19, an unruly mob took possession
-of the city, clamouring for bread and looting the
-bakers’ shops. The police were unable to cope with
-the riot; therefore, special constables were sworn
-in and peace was restored towards evening. Next
-day about 60 prisoners were brought before the
-magistrates; some were committed for trial, others
-sentenced to one, two, or three months’ imprisonment.</p>
-
-<p>The riot spread to London, and during the night
-of Feb. 21 and the whole day of Feb. 22 the
-East End and South of London were terrorised
-by bands of men perambulating the streets and
-demanding bread and money from the inhabitants;
-some shops were looted, but, thanks to the police
-and the distribution of a large quantity of bread,
-serious consequences were averted. Several arrests
-were made and punishment duly meted out.</p>
-
-<p>On September 14, 1855, there were bread riots<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span>
-in Nottingham, where the mob broke the bakers’
-windows and proceeded to such extremities that
-special constables were sworn in and peace was
-restored.</p>
-
-<p>On three successive Sundays, October 14, 21, and
-28, 1855, there were disorderly meetings on account
-of the dearness of bread held in Hyde Park; the
-windows of many houses were smashed, but the
-disturbances hardly amounted to riot; and the same
-occurred on November 4, 11, and 18, but the police
-prevented the mob from doing much mischief. Since
-then we have never known a <i>bread riot</i>, although the
-unemployed, Anarchists, etc., have at times been
-troublesome.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-
-<h2>CHAPTER XV.<br />
-
-<small><small>LEGENDS ABOUT BREAD.</small></small></h2>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">As</span> might be expected in an article of such worldwide
-consumption as bread, there is a considerable
-amount of folk-lore and sayings attendant on it. We
-can even find it in Shakespeare, for, in <i>Hamlet</i>
-(Act iv. s. 5), Ophelia says: ‘They say the owl was
-a baker’s daughter.’ This, unless one knew the
-Gloucestershire legend, would be unintelligible, but
-the bit of folk-lore makes it all clear. The story goes
-that our Saviour went into a baker’s shop, where
-they were baking, and asked for some bread to eat.
-The mistress of the shop immediately put a piece of
-dough into the oven to bake for Him, but was reprimanded
-by her daughter, who, insisting that the
-piece of dough was too large, reduced it to a very
-small size. The dough, however, immediately afterwards
-began to swell, and presently became a most
-enormous loaf; whereupon the baker’s daughter cried
-out: ‘Heugh! heugh! heugh!’ which owl-like noise
-probably induced our Saviour to transform her into
-that bird. This tradition is also current in Wales;
-but, there, the baker’s daughter altogether refuses to
-give Jesus a bit of dough, for which He changed her
-into the <i>Cassek gwenwyn, lilith, lamia, strix</i>, the night-spectre,
-<i>mara</i>, the screech-owl.</p>
-
-<p>In the catalogue of the pictures at Kenilworth,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span>
-belonging to Queen Elizabeth’s Earl of Leicester at
-the time of his death (September 4, 1588), are ‘The
-Picture of King Philip, with a Curtaine,’ and ‘The
-Picture of the Baker’s Daughter, with a Curtaine.’
-And he had a copy of the same, or another picture of
-‘The Baker’s Daughter,’ at his house at Wanstead.
-Whether this was a picture of the foregoing legend or
-not, no one can tell; but it has been suggested, from
-the fact of King Philip and the baker’s daughter
-coming in sequence in the catalogue, that it was the
-portrait of a female respecting whom there was some
-scandal current during Mary’s lifetime; it being said
-in an old ballad that Philip loved</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="stanza">
-<div class="line i04">‘The baker’s daughter, in her russet gown,</div>
-<div class="line">Better than Queen Mary, with her crown.’</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>Here is another story of miraculous bread. The
-<i>Mirakel Steeg</i> (Miracle Street), at Leyden, derives its
-name from a miracle which happened there in 1315,
-and which is thus related in the <i>Kronyk van Holland
-van den Klerk</i>: ‘In the aforesaid year of famine, in
-the town of Leyden, there occurred a signal miracle
-to two women who lived next door to each other;
-for one having bought a barley loaf she cut it into
-two pieces and laid one half by, for that was all her
-living, because of the great dearness and famine that
-prevailed. And as she stood, and was cutting off the
-one half for her children, her neighbour, who was in
-great want and need through hunger, saw her, and
-begged her, for God’s sake, to give her the other half,
-and she would pay her well. But she denied again
-and again, and affirmed mightily and by oath that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span>
-she had no other bread, and as her neighbour would
-not believe her, she said in an angry mood: “If I
-have any bread in my house more than this, I pray
-God that it may turn to stone.” Then her neighbour
-left her and went away. But when the first half of
-the loaf was eaten up, and she went for the other half
-which she had laid by, that bread was become stone,
-which stone, just as the bread was, is now at Leyden,
-at St. Peter’s Church, and as a sign they are wont, on
-all high feast days, to lay it before the Holy Ghost.’</p>
-
-<p>A stone loaf, supposed to be this one, is now shown
-at the hospital in Middelburg, where, in the vestibule,
-hangs an old picture representing the miracle at
-Leyden. The original stone loaf, it is believed,
-disappeared from Leyden about the time of the
-Reformation.</p>
-
-<p>Of all extraordinary uses to which a loaf of bread
-could be put is that of ‘sin eating,’ by which, at a
-funeral, a man was found who would for a small fee
-eat a loaf of bread, in the eating of which he was
-supposed to take the dead man’s sins upon himself.
-In a letter from John Bagford, a famous bookseller,
-dated February 1, 1714-15, relating to the antiquities
-of London, which is printed in Leland’s <i>Collectanea</i>,
-he says: ‘Within the memory of our fathers in
-Shropshire, in those villages adjoyning to Wales,
-when a person dyed there was notice given to an old
-sire (for so they called him), who presently repaired
-to the place where the deceased lay, and stood before
-the door of the house, when some of the family came
-out and furnished him with a cricket, on which he
-sat down, facing the door. Then they gave him a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span>
-groat, which he put in his pocket; a crust of bread,
-which he eat; and a full bowle of ale, which he drank
-off at a draught. After this he got up from the
-cricket and pronounced, with a composed gesture, <i>the
-ease and rest of the soul departed, for which he would
-pawn his own soul</i>. This I had from the ingenious
-John Aubrey, Esq., who made a collection of curious
-observations, which I have seen, and is now remaining
-in the hands of Mr. Churchill, the bookseller.
-How can a man think otherwise of this than it
-proceeded from the ancient heathens?’</p>
-
-<p>This MS. of Aubrey’s, of which Bagford speaks,
-is, most probably, that now preserved in the British
-Museum (Lansdowne MSS. 231) entitled ‘Romains
-of Gentilisme and Judaisme,’ and dated February,
-1686-7. In it he thus writes:</p>
-
-<p>‘<span class="smcap">Sinne-eaters.</span>—In the County of Hereford was
-an old custom at funeralls to have poor people, who
-were to take upon them all the sinnes of the party
-deceased. One of them, I remember, lived in a
-cottage on Rosse Highway. (He was a long, lean,
-ugly, lamentable poor raskal.) The manner was, that
-when the Corps was brought out of the house, and
-layd on the Biere, a Loafe of bread was brought out,
-and delivered to the Sinne-eater over the corps, as
-also a Mazar-bowle of Maple (Gossips’ bowle) full
-of beer, which he was to drinke up, and sixpence in
-money, in consideration whereof he tooke upon him
-(<i>ipso facto</i>) all the Sinnes of the Defunct, and freed
-him (or her) from walking after they were dead.
-This custome alludes (methinkes) something to the
-Scapegoate in ye old Lawe. Leviticus, cap. xvi.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span>
-verse 21-22: “And Aaron shall lay both his hands
-on the head of the live goate, and confesse over him
-all ye iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their
-transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the
-head of the goat, and shall send him away, by the hand
-of a fitt man, into the wildernesse.” This custome
-(though rarely used in our dayes) yet by some people
-was continued even in the strictest time of ye Presbyterian
-government; as at Dynder, <i>nolens volens</i> the
-Parson of ye Parish, the relations of a woman deceased
-there had the ceremonie punctually performed according
-to her Will; also the like was done at ye City of
-Hereford, in these times, when a woman kept, manie
-yeares before her death, a Mazard bowle for the sinne-eater;
-and the like as in other places in this Countie,
-as also in Brecon, <i>e.g.</i>, at Llangors, where Mr. Givin,
-the minister, about 1640, could no hinder ye performing
-of this ancient custome. I believe this custome
-was, heretofore, used all over Wales’.</p>
-
-<p>‘See <i>Juvenal</i>, Satyr vi. (519-521) where he speaks
-of throwing purple thread into the river to carry away
-one’s sinnes.</p>
-
-<p>‘In North Wales the Sinne-eaters are frequently
-made use of; but there, instead of a Bowle of Beere,
-they have a bowle of Milke.</p>
-
-<p>‘Methinkes, Doles to Poore people with money
-at Funeralls have some resemblance to that of ye
-Sinne-eater. Doles at Funeralls were continued at
-gentlemen’s funerals in the West of England till
-the Civil-warre. And so in Germany at rich men’s
-funerals Doles are in use, and to everyone a quart of
-strong and good beer.’</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Anent these doles, Pennant says it was customary,
-when the corpse was brought out of the house and
-laid upon the bier, for the next-of-kin, be it widow,
-mother, sister, or daughter (for it must be a female),
-to give over the coffin a quantity of white loaves in
-a great dish, and sometimes a cheese, with a piece
-of money stuck in it, to certain poor persons. After
-that they presented in the same manner a cup of
-drink, and required the person to drink a little of it
-immediately.</p>
-
-<p>Sin-eating survived the times of Aubrey and
-Bagford, for in a book, <i>Christmas Evans, the Preacher
-of Wild Wales</i>, by the Rev. Paxton Hood, Lond.,
-1881, he says: ‘The superstition of the Sin-eater is
-said to linger, even now, in the secluded vale of Cwm-Aman,
-in Carmarthenshire. The meaning of this
-most singular institution of superstition was, that
-when a person died, the friends sent for the Sin-Eater
-of the district, who, on his arrival, placed a
-plate of salt and bread on the breast of the deceased
-person; he then uttered an incantation over the
-bread, after which he proceeded to eat it, thereby
-eating the sins of the dead person; this done, he
-received a fee of two and sixpence, which, we suppose,
-was much more than many a preacher received for a
-long and painful service. Having received this, he
-vanished as quickly as possible, all the friends and
-relatives of the departed aiding his exit with blows
-and kicks, and other indications of their faith in the
-service he had rendered. A hundred years since,
-and through the ages before that time, we suppose
-this curious superstition was everywhere prevalent.’</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Bread and salt are used in several ways. In
-Russia, Servia, and wherever the Greek Church holds
-sway, they are presented to honoured guests as a
-welcome. The custom even obtains in England. A
-correspondent of <i>Notes and Queries</i> (5 Series ix. 48),
-says: ‘Some years since I called for the first time
-on Canon Percy, of Carlisle, at his residence there.
-When refreshments had been offered and declined,
-he said: “You must have some bread and salt,” with
-some remarks to imply that it was the way to establish
-a friendship. These were then brought in and eaten,
-without anything to lead one to suppose that this was
-an unusual custom in the house.’</p>
-
-<p>There was another curious custom in the North
-of England, as another correspondent shows in the
-same volume (p. 138): ‘In the North Riding, 20 or
-30 years ago, a roll of new bread, a pinch of table
-salt, and a new silver groat, or fourpenny-piece, were
-offered to every babe on its first visit to a friend’s
-house. The gift was certainly made, more than once,
-to me, and I recollect seeing it made to other babies.
-The groat was reserved for its proper owner, but the
-nurse, who carried that owner, appropriated the
-bread and salt, and was gratified with a half-crown
-or so.’ Several other correspondents confirm this,
-and somewhat enlarge upon it, including in the gift an
-egg and a match. One (5 Ser. x. 216) thus explains
-the custom: ‘The custom of presenting an egg, etc.,
-is widely distributed. I can answer for it in Lincolnshire,
-Yorkshire, and Durham. In Lincolnshire, at
-the first visit of a new baby at a friendly house, it is
-presented with “an egg, both meat and drink; salt,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span>
-which savours everything; bread, the staff of life; a
-match, to light it through the world; and a coin, that
-it may never want money.” This is the case at
-Winterton, where it is still done. In Durham, a piece
-of christening-cake is hidden under the child’s robe,
-and given to the first person of the opposite sex met
-on coming out of church. This is wholly distinct from
-the egg presentation.’ It is common at Edinburgh,
-and in other parts of Scotland, to give bread and
-cheese, on the Sabbath, to the first person of the
-opposite sex met with when the baby is taken to
-church to be baptised.</p>
-
-<p>One of the most peculiar uses to which a loaf of
-bread could be put is the discovery of the bodies of
-drowned persons. The earliest instance I can find is
-in the <i>Gentleman’s Magazine</i> for 1767, p. 189. (It is
-also in the <i>Annual Register</i> for the same year.)
-‘Wednesday, April 8.—An inquisition was taken, at
-Newbery, Berks, on the body of a child, near two
-years old, who fell into the river Kennet and was
-drowned. The jury brought in their verdict, Accidental
-death. The body was discovered by a very singular
-experiment, which was as follows: After diligent
-search had been made in the river for the child, to
-no purpose, a twopenny leaf, with a quantity of
-quicksilver put into it, was set floating from the
-place where the child, it was supposed, had fallen in,
-which steered its course down the river, upwards of
-half a mile, before a great number of spectators,
-when the body, happening to lay on the contrary side
-of the river, the loaf suddenly tacked about, and
-swam across the river, and gradually sunk near the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span>
-child, when both the child and loaf were immediately
-brought up with grubbers ready for that purpose.’</p>
-
-<p>This superstition has survived till modern times,
-as the following three or four instances will show. On
-January 24, 1872, a boy named Harris fell into the
-stream at Sherborne, Dorsetshire, near Dark Hole
-Mill, and was drowned. The body not having been
-found for some days, the following expedient was
-adopted to discover its whereabouts: On January 30,
-a four-pound loaf, of the best flour, was procured, and
-a small piece cut out of its side, forming a cavity,
-into which a little quicksilver was poured. The piece
-was then replaced and tied firmly in its original
-position. The loaf, thus prepared, was then thrown
-into the river at the spot where the boy fell in, and
-was expected to float down the stream until it came
-to the place where the body was supposed to have
-lodged, when it began to eddy round and round, thus
-indicating the sought-for spot; but on this occasion
-there was no result.</p>
-
-<p>A writer in <i>Notes and Queries</i>, January 3, 1878,
-p. 8, says: ‘A young woman has singularly disappeared
-at Swinton, near Sheffield. The canal has
-been unsuccessfully dragged, and the Swinton folk
-are now going to test the merits of a local superstition
-which afirms that a loaf of bread containing quicksilver,
-if cast upon the water, will drift to, keep afloat,
-and remain stationary over any dead body which may
-be lying immersed out of sight.’</p>
-
-<p>The <i>Leeds Mercury</i>, October 26, 1883, has the
-following: ‘A Press Association despatch says:
-Adelaide Amy Terry, servant to Dr. Williams, of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span>
-Brentford, was sent to a neighbour with a message
-on Sunday evening, and as she did not return, and
-was known to be short-sighted, it was feared she had
-fallen into the canal, which was dragged, but without
-success. On Tuesday an old bargewoman suggested
-that a loaf of bread, in which some quicksilver had
-been placed, should be floated in the water. This
-was done, and the loaf became stationary at a certain
-spot The dragging was resumed there, and the
-body was discovered.’</p>
-
-<p>The following is from the <i>Stamford Mercury</i>,
-December 18, 1885: ‘At Ketton, on Tuesday, an
-inquest was held by Mr. Shield, coroner, touching
-the death of Harry Baker, aged twenty-three, who
-was missed on the night of November 27, after the
-termination of the polling for the county election, and
-was believed to have walked into the ford, near the
-stone bridge, during the darkness. The river at that
-time was running strongly, and deceased had no
-companions with him. The dragging-irons from
-Stamford were obtained, and a protracted search was
-made in the river, but without result. However, in
-obedience to the wish of Baker’s mother, a loaf
-charged with quicksilver (said to have been scraped
-from an old looking-glass) was cast upon the waters,
-and it came to a standstill in the river at the bottom
-of Mr. Lewin’s field. Here the grappling-hooks were
-put in, and at four o’clock on Monday afternoon last
-the corpse was brought to the surface, having been
-in the water seventeen days. The river had been
-dragged several times before at this spot.’</p>
-
-<p>Nor is this superstition confined to England, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span>
-in Brittany, when the body of a drowned man
-cannot be found, a lighted taper is fixed in a loaf
-consecrated to St. Nicholas, which is then abandoned
-to the retreating current, and where the loaf stops
-there they expect to find the body. In Germany the
-name of the drowned person is inscribed on the
-bread. And a somewhat similar idea seems to
-obtain among the Canadian Indians, for Sir Jas. E.
-Alexander, in his <i>L’Acadie</i> (p. 26), says: ‘The Indians
-imagine that in the case of a drowned body its place
-may be discovered by floating a chip of cedar-wood,
-which will stop and turn round over the exact spot.
-An instance occurred within my own knowledge in
-the case of Mr. Lavery, of Kingston Mill, whose boat
-overset, and the person was drowned near Cedar
-Island; nor could the body be discovered until the
-experiment was resorted to.’</p>
-
-<p>Aubrey (<i>Remains of Gentilisme and Judaisme</i>)
-says he had the following from old Mr. Frederick
-Vaughan: ‘The Friar’s Mendicant heretofore would
-take their opportunity to come to the houses when
-the good woemen did bake, and would <i>read a Ghospel
-over the batch</i>, and the good woman would give them
-a cake, etc. It should seem by Chaucer’s tale that
-they had a fashion to beg in rhyme—</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="stanza">
-<div class="line">“Of your white bread I would desire a shiver,</div>
-<div class="line">And of your hen, the liver.”’</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>And Aubrey’s friend, Dr. White Kennet, says in
-the same book: ‘In Kent and many other parts the
-women when they have kneaded their dough into a
-loaf cut ye form of a cross on the top of it.’</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span></p>
-
-<p>I have been favoured by the Rev. T. F. Thiselton-Dyer,
-whose works on folk-lore are so deservedly
-well known, with the following notes on superstitions
-about bread:</p>
-
-<p>‘Throughout the world a special respect has
-always been paid to bread as the “staff of life.”
-Hence, according to a trite and common saying: “The
-man who wastes bread will live to want.” It is not
-surprising, indeed, that this food of man, which in
-some form or other is indispensable, should have from
-time immemorial been invested with an almost sacred
-character, anyone who is recklessly careless of the
-household loaf incurring risk of poverty one day
-himself.</p>
-
-<p>‘At the outset, it may be noticed that, as a precautionary
-measure against mishaps of any kind, many
-housewives were formerly in the habit of making
-the sign of the cross on their loaves of bread before
-placing them in the ovens, a practice which is still
-kept up in some parts of the country. Various explanations
-have been assigned for this custom, the
-common one being “that it prevents the bread turning
-out heavy.” In Shropshire one day remarked an
-elderly maidservant: “We always make a cross on
-the flour before baking, and on the malt before
-mashing up for brewing. It’s to keep it from being
-bewitched.” Some, again, maintain that the sign of
-the cross “keeps the bread from getting mouldy,” but
-whatever the true reason, it is persistently adhered to
-in the West of England. As, however, evil spirits
-and malicious fairies were generally supposed to be
-powerless when confronted with the sign of the cross,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span>
-there is every reason to suppose that this is the origin
-of this superstition.</p>
-
-<p>‘In days gone by, too, bread was used as a charm
-against witches, no doubt from its being stamped with
-the sign of the holy cross. Herrick, for instance, in
-his <i>Hesperides</i>, alludes to this usage in the following
-rhyme:</p>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-<div class="stanza">
-<div class="line">“Bring the holy crust of bread,</div>
-<div class="line">Lay it underneath the head;</div>
-<div class="line i04">’Tis a certain charm to keep</div>
-<div class="line">Hags away while children sleep.”</div>
-<div class="line">Hags away while children sleep.”</div>
-</div></div></div>
-
-<p>‘Bread, too, has long been employed as a physical
-charm for the cure of various complaints. Thus, an
-old book, entitled <i>A Work for Householders</i>, written
-in the early part of the 16th century, gives this charm
-as in use for the toothache. “The Charmer taketh a
-piece of white bread, and saith over that bread the
-Pater Noster, and maketh a cross upon the bread;
-then doth he lay that piece of bread upon the tooth
-that acheth or unto any sore, turning the cross unto
-the sore or disease, and so is the person healed.”
-Then there was the famous Good Friday bread, which
-was in request for its medicinal virtues, being considered
-a sovereign remedy for diarrhœa when grated
-in a small quantity of water. An anecdote is told of
-a cottager who lamented that her poor neighbour
-must certainly die, because she had already given her
-two doses of this bread, but, unfortunately, without
-any success. Indeed, in days gone by, so much importance
-was attached to bread thus baked, that there
-were in most parts few country houses in which it
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span>was not to be found. At the present day also one
-may occasionally find the custom kept up, especially
-in the Northern counties, where so many of the old
-beliefs survive.</p>
-
-<p>‘But these are not the only ways in which bread
-has been the source of superstition, it having held a
-prominent place in numerous curious ceremonies.
-Thus sailors used it as offerings to propitiate the
-elements; and we are told how the seafaring
-community of Greece, in the 17th century, were accustomed
-to take to sea 30 loaves of bread, consecrated
-and named St. Nicholas’ loaves. In case of a storm
-these were thrown into the sea one by one, until they
-had succeeded in calming the waves.</p>
-
-<p>‘Oblations of this kind were of frequent occurrence
-in past years. The Russian sailor, in order to appease
-the angry spirit that troubled the waters of the White
-Sea, would cast into the water a small cake or loaf
-made of flour and butter. Again, a Norwegian story
-states that a sailor wished, according to custom, to
-give on Christmas Day a cake to the spirit that
-presided over the waters; but, when he came to the
-shore, lo! the waters were frozen over. Unwilling to
-leave his little offering on the ice, the sailor tried to
-make a hole; but in spite of all his efforts it was
-not large enough for him to put his cake through.
-Suddenly, to his surprise, a tiny hand, as white as
-snow, was stretched through the hole, and seizing the
-offering withdrew with it.</p>
-
-<p>‘To give a further illustration, we are told by a
-correspondent of <i>Mélusine</i> (Jan., 1885) that in the
-Isle de Sein “a little ship made of bread crusts is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span>suspended over the table, and on Holy Thursday it
-is lowered down and burnt, while all uncover and the
-<i>Veni Creator</i> is sung. Another bread ship is then
-suspended over the table. This ceremony is known
-as the Ship Feast, and is designed to insure the
-safety of the family fishing boat.” Among further
-beliefs current among sailors in our own country is
-the notion that it is unlucky to turn a loaf upside
-down after helping oneself from it, the idea being
-that for every loaf so turned a ship will be wrecked.
-It is also said that if a loaf parts in the hand while
-being cut it bodes dissensions in the family—the
-separation of husband and wife.</p>
-
-<p>‘Once more, bread is not without its many traditions
-and legendary lore. According to a popular
-tale told of the City of Stavoreen, Holland, there
-resided in it a certain rich virgin, who owned many
-ships. One day she entertained a wizard, but gave
-him no bread. In consequence of this serious
-omission he predicted her downfall, remarking that
-bread was the most useful and necessary thing. Soon
-after a shipmaster was bidden to procure the most
-valuable cargo in the world. He chose a load of
-wheat; but on arriving with his cargo, he was
-ordered to throw it overboard. It was in vain that
-he begged to be allowed to give it to the poor.
-Accordingly it was thrown into the sea; but the wheat
-sprouted, and a bank grew up, the harbour being
-ruined for ever. A Welsh legend tells how, many
-years ago, a man who dwelt in the parish of Myddvai
-saw three beautiful nymphs in the water, and
-courted them. They, however, called him “Eater
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span>of Hard-baked Bread,” and refused to have anything
-to do with him. One day, however, he saw floating
-on the lake a substance resembling unbaked bread,
-which he fished up and ate, and was thereby possessed
-of one of the lovely water-nymphs.</p>
-
-<p>‘Thus, in one form or another, bread can boast of
-an extensive and widespread folk-lore, besides having
-in our own and other countries been made the subject
-of numerous proverbs, many of which are well-known
-from daily use as incorporating familiar
-truths. The common saying, for instance, which says:</p>
-
-<p>‘Never turn a loaf in the presence of a Menteith,’
-originated with Sir Walter Scott, in his <i>Tales by a
-Grandfather</i>, thus: Sir John Stewart de Menteith was
-the person who betrayed Sir William Wallace to
-King Edward. His signal was, when he turned a
-loaf set upon the table, the guests were to rush on
-the patriot and seize him. Then there is the phrase,
-“to cut large slices out of another man’s loaf,” referring
-to those who look after themselves at their neighbour’s
-expense. A popular Scotch proverb tells us that
-‘Bread’s house skailed never”; in other words, a full
-or hospitable house never wants visitors; and,
-according to another old proverb, “Bread and milk is
-bairns’ meat, I wish them sorry that lo’e it.”’</p>
-
-
-<hr />
-
-<h2>FOOTNOTES:</h2>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">1</span></a> <i>Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries</i>,
-by David Livingstone. Lond. 1865, p. 543.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">2</span></a> Mulcture—fine.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">3</span></a> Lose.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">4</span></a> A measure containing 10 homers, or about 60 pints.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">5</span></a> Vol. II., 89.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">6</span></a> Vol. IV., 167, 168.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">7</span></a> <i>Ilios.</i> By Dr. H. Schliemann. London, 1880, pp. 32, 33.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">8</span></a> Prize.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">9</span></a> Knot.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">10</span></a> Hinges.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">11</span></a> Nostrils.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">12</span></a> Jongleur and joker.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">13</span></a> Took toll thrice.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">14</span></a> Some careful investigations have been made by M. Balland on the
-temperature which is reached in the interior of a loaf of bread during
-baking, and the results are published in the <i>Comptes Rendus</i>, Paris.
-Delicate thermometers were inserted in the dough before placing it in
-the oven, and on the removal of the loaf the temperature recorded was
-carefully noted. It seems that, contrary to the opinions expressed by
-some investigators—that the heat generated in the crumb of the bread
-never exceeds 212° Fahr.—that is to say, the temperature of boiling
-water—M. Balland finds that it invariably attains from 212° to 216° Fahr.,
-while that of the outer crust, which cannot form at this temperature, is
-very much higher.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">15</span></a> <i>The English Bread Book for Domestic Use, &amp;c.</i>, by Eliza Acton,
-London, 1857. 8vo.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">16</span></a> <i>A Glossary of Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Terms.</i> By the Rev.
-F. G. Lee. London: 1877; p. 17.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">17</span></a> He was a constant attendant in the crowds at Lord Mayor’s Day.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">18</span></a> <i>Tenures of Land and Customs of Manors</i>, originally collected by
-Thomas Blount. London, 1874, 8vo.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">19</span></a> <i>A Collection of Old English Customs, etc.</i> By H. Edwards.
-London, 1842.</p></div>
-
-<p class="center">THE END.</p>
-
-<hr />
-
-<p class="center f07">LONDON:<br />
-PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,<br />
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-
-<p class="center f12"><b>Popular Natural History of the Lower Animals.<br />
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-<small>Invertebrates.</small></b></p>
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-<p class="center"><b>Creatures of the Sea.</b><br />
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-Beasts, and Fishes.</b></small></p>
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-<p class="center f08">By FRANK T. BULLEN, F.R.G.S.,<br />
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-
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-<p class="center f08">By W. H. GROSER, B.Sc.<br />
-Illustrated. Cloth. 2s.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">‘Apart from its religious value, this little volume must approve itself to all
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-
-<p class="center f08">By H. CHICHESTER HART,<br />
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-
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-Mr. Caldecott believes, however, that he has solved the last difficulty. The
-Bible reader will find the volume of absorbing interest. Its text is
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-640 pages. 6s. net.</p>
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-its treatment, dealt with in a style at once popular and exact.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">‘It is a capable and lucid narrative, which seems to succeed in treating a
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-been made repellant by the manner in which it was treated.’—<i>The Scotsman.</i></p>
-
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-<p class="center"><b>The Slave In History.</b></p>
-
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-
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-Demy 8vo. Cloth gilt 7s. 6d.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p f07">This volume seeks to place on record in a permanent form a complete account
-of the terrible convulsion in China in the year 1900, known as the Boxer Movement.
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-met in many of its most hideous forms by missionaries and native Christians
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-part of missionaries and native Christians.</i> The story of the siege of Peking is
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-world in all ages, the blood of the martyrs will prove to be the seed of the Church.</p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>Thirty Years In Madagascar.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08">By the Rev. T. T. MATTHEWS,<br />
-Of the London Missionary Society.<br />
-
-With Sixty-Two Portraits and other Illustrations from Photographs
-and Sketches. Demy 8vo. Cloth gilt. 6s.</p>
-
-
-<p class="p f07">‘Mr. Matthews’ story forms a splendid record of good work accomplished, and
-the volume is by far the most interesting and entertaining of all the books which
-have been published lately concerning missionary life in the great African island.’
-<i>The Athenæum.</i></p>
-
-<p class="p f07">‘It is a remarkable record of Christian activity.’—<i>The Pall Mall Gazette.</i></p>
-
-<p class="p f07">‘The intrinsic worth of the book ought to ensure its success, for it takes a place
-of its own among Missionary volumes.’—<i>The Examiner.</i></p>
-
-
-<p class="p f14 u"><b>BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS.</b></p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>Champions of the Truth.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08"><b>Short Lives of Christian Leaders in Thought<br />
-and Action. By various Writers.</b><br /><br />
-
-Edited by A. R. BUCKLAND, M.A.<br />
-
-With Portraits. Crown 8vo. Cloth gilt. 3s. 6d.</p>
-
-
-
-<p class="p f07">‘Here are pen portraits of eighteen Evangelical teachers, beginning with
-Wyclif and ending with Spurgeon. It need hardly be said, perhaps, that
-their eighteen biographers treat them from about the same point of view.
-The admirable thing is that, though that point of view is one with which a
-given reader may not be so fortunate as to find himself in sympathy, it is one
-which has the advantage of showing the subject of the biography at his best.
-A very pleasant volume, and the more to be valued for the sake of its fifteen
-portraits.’—<i>The Academy.</i></p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>Hugh Latimer.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08">By ROBERT DEMAUS, M.A.<br />
-
-Author of ‘William Tindale,’ etc.<br />
-
-New Edition, Revised. With a Portrait. Large crown 8vo.<br />
-
-Cloth gilt. 3s. 6d.</p>
-
-
-
-<p class="p f07">The First Edition of this work was published by the Society in 1869, but so
-careful was the Author in his method and research that it still ranks as the
-<span class="smcap">standard life of the Great Reformer</span>.</p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>The Homes and Haunts of Luther.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08">By JOHN STOUGHTON, D.D.<br />
-
-Third Edition. Thoroughly Revised by <span class="smcap">C. H. Irwin</span>, M.A.<br />
-
-With Eleven Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth gilt. 2s. 6d.</p>
-
-
-
-<p class="p f07">Several new Illustrations appear in this Third Edition, including a fine
-reproduction of a very rare portrait of Luther by Cranach. The reviser’s
-notes contain a considerable amount of new material, especially in regard
-to Wittenberg and the restoration of its historic Castle Church.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">‘The teaching of this sturdy Protestant Reformer re-shaped the Religious
-history of the world; and the story of his life as told in these fascinating pages
-cannot be too often enforced.’—<i>The Record.</i></p>
-
-<hr />
-<p class="center">A SELECTION FROM THE</p>
-
-<p class="center f14">LIST OF WORKS OF TRAVEL</p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>An Artist’s Walks in Bible Lands.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08">By HENRY A. HARPER, Author of “Walks in Palestine,” etc.<br />
-
-With a Photogravure Frontispiece, and 55 other fine Illustrations from
-Drawings by the Author. Super royal 8vo. Cloth gilt, 6s. net.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">“Mr. Harper could give a capital pen-picture of what he saw, and by the aid of
-his pencil was enabled to represent still more vividly the aspects of Eastern travel
-which most strikingly impressed him.”—<i>The Scotsman.</i></p>
-
-<p class="p f07">“Mr. Harper had a ready and powerful pen, and to this gift he added that of
-artistic drawing. We are in the hands of a guide who knows his way, and tells what
-to see and how best to see it.”—<i>The Spectator.</i></p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>In Scripture Lands.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08"><b>New Views of Sacred Places.</b><br /><br />
-
-By EDWARD L. WILSON.<br />
-
-With 150 Original Illustrations engraved from Photographs taken by
-the Author. Crown 4to. Cloth elegant, gilt top, 15s.</p>
-
-
-
-<p class="p f07">Mr. Wilson’s journey in Scripture Lands was the first instance in which a fully
-equipped artist photographer has visited the scenes made memorable by the Bible
-narratives, and has reproduced both by camera and by word-painting the people,
-the ruins, and the famous spots which have become household words throughout
-Christendom.</p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>A Visit to Bashan and Argob.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08">By Major ALGERNON HEBER-PERCY.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">With an Introduction by the Rev. Canon <span class="smcap">Tristram</span>. With many
-Illustrations from hitherto unpublished Photographs, taken by the
-Author. Small 4to. Cloth, 6s. Cloth, extra gilt, gilt edges,
-7s. 6d.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">“It furnishes in a pleasing style many very interesting particulars of the people,
-their habits, customs, laws, and religious faith, with many photographs of architecture
-and other relics of the past grandeur of the land of King Og and the ‘Cities of
-the Giants.’”—<i>Daily News.</i></p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>Ten Years’ Digging In Egypt, 1881-1891.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08">By W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE,<br />
-
-Author of “Pyramids of Gizeh,” “Hawara,” “Medum,” etc.<br />
-
-Illustrated. Crown 8vo. Cloth, 6s.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">“A popular summary of the results attained by one of the most capable and
-successful explorers of Egypt. He tells his story so well and so instructively, and it
-is so well worth telling, that his little book will doubtless command the wide
-popularity it certainly deserves.”—<i>The Times.</i></p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>Rambles In Japan: The Land of the
-Rising Sun.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08">By the Rev. Canon TRISTRAM, D.D., LL.D., Author of
-“The Land of Moab,” “The Natural History of the Bible,” etc.<br />
-With many Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Edward Whymper</span>, from Photographs
-and Sketches. Demy 8vo. Cloth, gilt top, 10s. 6d.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">“Dr. Tristram is an experienced traveller, keen in observation and kindly in
-appreciation, an accomplished field-naturalist, and an enthusiastic collector of things
-rare or beautiful both in nature and art. These qualities have stood him in good
-stead during his visit to Japan.”—<i>The Times.</i></p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>Thirty Years in Madagascar.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08">By the Rev. T. T. MATTHEWS, of the London Missionary Society.<br />
-
-With 60 portraits and other Illustrations. Demy 8vo, 6s.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">“The great merit of the work lies in the many pleasing descriptions of the country
-and of the people—their customs, religion, language, and social life. The illustrations
-are in all respects admirable.”—<i>The Scotsman.</i></p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>The Chronicles of the Sid;</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08"><b>Or, The Life and Travels of Adelia Gates.</b><br /><br />
-
-By ADELA E. ORPEN,<br />
-Author of “Stories of Precious Stones,” “Margareta Colberg,” etc.<br />
-
-With many Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth boards, 7s. 6d.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">This book is a record of a very remarkable series of travels undertaken by a lady
-named Adelia Gates. Alone and unaided she has trodden, not only the beaten tracks,
-but has also traversed the Desert of Sahara, the Nile as far as Wady Halfa, Palestine,
-and all parts of Iceland—these later trips beginning at an age when most ladies
-consider their life-work done.</p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>Our Journey to Sinai.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08"><b>A Visit to the Convent of St. Catarina.</b><br /><br />
-
-By Mrs. R. L. BENSLY.</p>
-
-<p class="indent f08">With a Chapter on some Readings of the Sinai Palimpsest, by <span class="smcap">F. C.
-Burkitt</span>, M.A. Illustrated from Photographs taken by the
-Author. Crown 8vo. Cloth, 3s. 6d.</p>
-
-<p class="p f07">“The scholarly enthusiasm which attracted Professor Bensly to Mount Sinai, and
-the perennial fascinations of oriental travel are well reflected in Mrs. Bensly’s pages,
-and a concluding chapter by Mr. Burkitt, containing a part of the account of the
-Sinai Palimpsest which he gave at the Church Congress, adds not a little to the value
-and interest of the volume.”—<i>The Times.</i></p>
-
-
-<p class="center"><b>Among the Tibetans.</b></p>
-
-<p class="center f08">By ISABELLA BIRD BISHOP, F.R.G.S.<br />
-
-With Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Edward Whymper</span>. Crown 8vo.<br />
-Cloth, 1<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; paper cover, 1<i>s.</i></p>
-
-<p class="p f07">With her power of vivid description Mrs. Bishop enables the reader to realise much
-of the daily life and many of the strange scenes to be witnessed in that far-off land.</p>
-
-<hr />
-<p class="center">LONDON: THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY.</p>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
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