Barley-month was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month we now call September. It was so called barley-month as it was the month when barley-beer was made. Research Barley-Month
Boll was an old Scottish measure used for corn. A boll of wheat or beans was equal to 4 bushels, a boll of oats, barley or potatoes equal to 6 bushels. It was abolished by an act which came into force on January 1st 1879 replacing the boll and other local weights with imperial weights and measures. Research Boll
Bone manure was formerly one of the most important fertilizers in agriculture. The value of bones as manure arises chiefly from the phosphates and nitrogenous organic matters they contain; and where the soil is already rich in phosphatesbone is of little use as manure. It is of most service therefore where the soil is deficient in this respect, or in the case of crops whose rapid growth or small roots do not enable them to extract a sufficient supply of phosphate from the earth, turnips, for instance, or late-sown oats and barley. There are several methods for increasing the value of bones as manure, by boiling out the fat and gelatine, for instance, the removal of which makes the bones more readily acted on by the weather and hastens the decay and distribution of their parts, or by grinding them to dust or dissolving them in sulphuric acid, by which latter course the phosphates are rendered soluble in water.
Bones have long been used as manure in some parts of England, but only in a rude, unscientific way. It was in 1814 or 1815 that machinery was first used for crushing them in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, and bone-dust and dissolved bones were then largely employed as manures, great quantities of bones being imported into Great Britain for this purpose. Before being utilized in agriculture they were often boiled for the oil or fat they contain, which was used in the manufacture of soap and lubricants. Research Bone Manure
The bushel is a unit of capacity measurement equivalent to 4 pecks, 8 gallons or 3.637 dekalitres. It is also used as a measure of weight for apples, equivalent to about 40 lbs. Henry VIII ordered that a bushel should hold eight gallons of wheat in 1520. A bushel of barley was 47 lbs, of oats 38 lbs and of wheat 60 lbs.
The British imperial bushel introduced in 1826 has a capacity of 2218.192 cubic inches, and holds 80 lbsavoirdupois of distilled water at the temperature of 62° Fahrenheit with the barometer at 30 inches. Previous to this the Winchester bushel had been the standard measure. Its capacity was 2150.42 cubic inches. Research Bushel
Corn Laws are various enactments designed to ensure an adequate supply of cereal foods to a country, usually by protection allotted to its own farmers.
In Britain the name was commonly given to certain statutes passed to protect the agricultural interest in Britain. The first form of interference by legislative enactment with the corn-trade in England, beginning soon after the Conquest, was the prohibition of exportation, an expedient in those times to prevent scarcity in a sudden emergency. The exportation of grain was prohibited in the reign of Edward III in 1360-61, Calais and other appointed ports being excepted. This provision was relaxed by a statute of Richard II in 1394, by which exportation was permitted from all ports not excepted by royal proclamation.
In 1436, under Henry VI, the exportation of grain was permitted without license whenever the price of wheat did not exceed 6s. 8d per quarter, and barley 3s. 4d. In 1463 a statute of Edward IV prohibited importation until the price exceeded the limit at which exportation was permitted. This was the beginning of protection, properly so called.
At the restoration of Charles II duties were imposed both on exportation and importation, while the old principle of a standard price, beyond which exportation was prohibited, was retained. At the Revolution a new policy still more favourable to the agricultural interest was adopted. By act 1 William and Mary, cap xii., a bounty was granted on the exportation of corn, and the duties on exportation were abolished. The amount of the bounty was 5s. for every quarter of wheat exported while the price was at or under 48s, with corresponding prices for other grains.
The exportation of grain reached its highest point about 1750. From this period the country, which had always been normally a grain-exporting country, began, on account of the increase of population and expansion of mechanical industries, to fall off in this respect, and in 1778 became permanently a grain-importing country. From this time the main efforts of the agricultural interest, largely represented in the parliament and the ruling classes of the kingdom, were concentrated on obtaining the imposition of prohibitory duties on foreign grain. In 1804, for instance, if the price of corn was below 63s. a prohibitory duty of 24s. 3d. was laid on what was imported; if between 63s and 66s, a duty of 2s. 6d; and only when the price at home had risen as high as 66s per quarter was the foreign grain allowed to pass at a nominal duty of 6d. With variations of more or less importance this sliding-scale of prohibitory duties continued in force until 1846, when Sir Robert Peel, influenced by the corn-law repeal agitation, and more especially by the Anti-Corn-law League, headed by Cobden and Bright, carried a measure repealing the duty on imported corn, except a nominal sum of 1s per quarter, which also in 1869 was done away with, but was temporarily re-imposed in 1902-1903. Research Corn Laws
The firlot was an old Scottish measure of capacity containing a quarter of a boll, being 2214 cubic inches of wheat and 3232 cubic inches of barley. Research Firlot
Pressing to death or peine forte et dure, was a form of execution (though actually torture) employed in Britain during the 17th and 18th centuries for those accused of a crime who refused to plead in court. The victim was stripped naked except for his underpants, and tied to the floor spread-eagle before having as much stone or lead as he could bear being laid on his body. Each day the victim was given three morsels of barleybread, and every third day also kennel water to drink. This continued until the victim was dead. Sometimes a piece of sharp timber was placed under the victim' s back to hasten death. In 1726, a murderer, Burnworth, endured a pressure of nearly four hundredweights for one and three quarter hours before begging for mercy. he was subsequently tried, found guilty and hanged. Research Pressing to Death
Barley is the name of several cereal plants of the genus Hordeum, family Gramineae, which yield a grain used in food and for making malt. Barley has been known by man since ancient times and was used by the Egyptians to brew beer. Excellent barley is produced in Britain. The species traditionally cultivated are Hordeum distichum, two-rowed barley; Hordeum'vulgare, four-rowed barley; and Hordeum hexastichum, six-rowed, of which the small variety is the sacred barley of the ancients. The varieties of the four and six rowed species are generally coarser than those of the two-rowed, and adapted for a poorer soil and more exposed situation. Some of these are called bere or bigg. Barley is better adapted for cold climates than any other grain, and some of the coarser varieties are cultivated where no other cereal can be grown. Some species of the genus, three of which are natives of Britain, are mere grasses. Research Barley
Abbreviations
Research Barley-Month
