November 11th is Martinmas so the Pigs need to be finished fattening and prepared for slaughter. Martinmas was the beginning of winter, and was, traditionally, when livestock were slaughtered for winter provision.
Gervase Markham (1682) says
‘...feed them for the first week with Barley sodden till it breaks; then feed them with raw malt from the floor; then for a week after give them dry Peas or Beans to harden their flesh. Let their drink be the washings of Ale-barrels and Sweet Whey. This manner of feeding breeds the whitest, fastest, and best flesh that maybe….’
Markham’s English Huswife was published in 1615.
The English Huswife: Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman: as her Phisicke, Cookery, Banqueting-stuffe, Distillation, Perfumes, Wooll, Hemp, Flaxe, Dairies, Brewing, Baking, and all other things belonging to an Houshold.
Click here to see a copy of The English Hus-wife
Click here to see my post on Martinmas.
First Published 10th November 2021, republished 2024, 2025
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