Wealden Times | WT200 | October 2018 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

Jane Howard’s
Fables from
the Farm
Ever wondered what Michaelmas is? And Lady
Day... Jane explains
There are four Quarter days in a year, all of which
mark a significant change in the relationship between
day time hours and night time hours. We know that
a day near Christmas is the shortest and Midsummer the
longest, but the other two quarter days, Lady Day in April
and Michaelmas in September are less famous. They mark the
spring and autumn equinoxes, when night time and day time
hours are equal, and are important dates in the farming year.
We have just passed Michaelmas Day, September 29, the
feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, a celestial Poldark who
rather magnificently hurled the devil Lucifer down from
heaven. It traditionally marked the end of the harvest and was
also the day when the curfew would begin, the first hint that
winter was on its way. During curfew which occurred across
the country from Michaelmas to Shrove Tuesday, church bells
would ring at 9pm every night, apart from Sundays, as a sign
to stay indoors, douse the household fire (couvre feu, hence
curfew) and go to bed! How simple.
Being recognised as the start of the farming
year, Michaelmas was also the date upon
which labour and tenanted farms changed
hands and to this day many agricultural
payments fall due on this day. It also sees the
start of the shepherd’s year. Female sheep are
only fertile when the night time hours exceed
daytime hours, another Michaelmas milestone, which is
nature’s clever way of ensuring lambs are only born in spring.
Traditionally the rams are put in with the ewes on Bonfire
Night and five months later on April Fool’s Day the lambs
start arriving. With that in mind October is the month to
sort out the flock and keep only those in tip top condition
“Traditionally, the
rams are put in
with the ewes on
Bonfire Night”
to use for the breeding season ahead. The ewes will have had
a couple of months off since their lambs were weaned so the
first thing is to make sure they are in good condition and not
looking plain – shepherds’ parlance for
a thin sheep. Then they have to pass the
three T’s test: teeth, toes and teats.
Sheep only have lower teeth at the front
which meet a hard pad and are used to pick
off the grass which is then chewed by the
back teeth before being swallowed. As they
get older these front teeth become worn
and if they fall out the ewe can no longer eat enough grass to
maintain a healthy pregnancy and produce enough milk for a
growing lamb – so sadly she’s out. Various foot problems, like
cracked or splayed hoof, or abnormal growth can lead to less
than perfect toes, so sorry missus but you’re out, too. Finally
we check the udders to make sure they’re soft, mastitis free
and not too low slung for a newborn lamb to find.
The boys also get an MOT. Now I don’t mean to sound
judgmental, but while the ewes have spent the year carrying
and then raising one maybe two or three lambs, the boys
have been having it super easy. For them the job spec reads
something like this: Wanted male sheep to work hard for
six weeks a year with 46 weeks holiday. So as you can see
it matters big time that when November comes the boys
are ready for the challenge and they too get the three T’s
treatment. Teeth, toes and testicles. And then they’re off.
In fact we’re all off as we look forward to another farming
year at Coopers and all the joys and challenges it will
inevitably bring.
Follow Jane Howard – and the farm – on Instagram @coopersfarm
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