poor widow was:[Sca-cooks] Rotten meat and spices...

[el2iot2 at mail.com]

where there is anything there is always room for growth.  A poor but honest man for one of the daughters<sometimes love and economics are not linked<g>>, he would have to work hard, but 3 pigs can be 20 in a short time<unless all are male>, if all female trade half a litter for a proven breeding and you're still ahead.  might take a few years, might be meager picking for a while.  trade 2 male piglets for another female of breeding age, another poor farmer would be willing to improve his stock as well<1 to eat 1 to breed>.  

Pigs do have more than goats, which usually only have twins<experience talking>, if they do not they are not worth keeping or breeding.  But goats can have 2 litters in a yaer if you don't mind stressing the female. If she has even a small farmstead there is always hope.

can always take in a begger boy for room and board, would not be easy, but a 10-12 year old orphan is worth more thhan his keep, and anyone over 6 is able to help a great deal.  If you dream the world has more than one way to win<g>.

Joy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at jeffnet.org>
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Rotten meat and spices...
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 19:20:25 -0700

> 
> At 06:55 PM 4/12/2005, you wrote:
> 
> >> So she has three sows, three cows, and a sheep. And a few 
> >> chickens. It is clear that these animals are where she gets her 
> >> meager income-
> 
> <snip>
> 
> 
> > I didn't mean to imply that she ate her beasts.  Her diet is 
> > bread, milk, eggs, and sometimes bacon.  I left in the 
> > description of her farmstead to give an idea of her economic 
> > position.  She is a poor widow, but not utterly impoverished 
> > (ie., not a beggar).
> 
> No harm done- I wasn't certain that was what you'd meant, but I 
> could see how it could be read that way.
> 
> Of course it might be easy to look at her modest livestock, and not 
> see it as 'poor', but she really is. She has herself and two 
> daughters to care for. Being a poor widow, she very likely has 
> little to set aside for marriage portion for her daughters, so 
> their chances at marriage are slim. Those animals are all she has 
> between her and starvation. My guess is that she would occasionally 
> barter a piglet for grain or flour- but the dark stuff, no fine 
> white bread on her table. As it is, it's still a pretty mean table.
> 
> 'Lainie
> ___________________________________________________________________________
> O it is excellent to have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous 
> To use it like a giant--Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act II  
> _______________________________________________
> Sca-cooks mailing list
> Sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
> http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/sca-cooks



joy

-- 
___________________________________________________________
Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com
http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm