In message <004501c47c6c$4a6d3640$10cdfc3e@oemcomputer>, "norman.lee1" <norman.lee1@virgin.net> writes >Thank you Eve. > >However, I would like to know if there is evidence of the meadows being >enclosed in some way to stop cattle from getting on to the part of land that >was growing winter fodder, i.e. hay. If there was no enclosure at all, what >was to stop them walking onto the grass and grazing it, just as they would >on the common grazing land. It's an interesting question - I don't recall seeing any refernce tpo permanent enclosure , though moveable wattle fencing might be used. And heavy animals could be tethered or hobbled - there are some references to an animal let loose 'without a log' causing havoc. Locally, the hay meadows were a fair old walk from the rough pasture, and it would take a determined stray with a road map to get there. The herd boys were armed with goads and switches which could discourage most wanderers. In the case of sheep, having a word in the ear of the bell-wether may work or yelling cumbyer! They can't reverse, of course, which means the route out will have to be in a wide circle. -- Eve McLaughlin Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society

What would yelling "cumbyer" do? And what does it mean please? Ruth In the case of sheep, having a word in the ear of the bell-wether may work or yelling cumbyer! They can't reverse, of course, which means the route out will have to be in a wide circle. -- Ruth Barton mrgjb@sover.net Dummerston, VT

> What would yelling "cumbyer" do? And what does it mean please? Ruth > I would assume that 'combyer' is a dialectal pronunciation of 'come by here' - and the instruction would be given to the sheepdog rather than the sheep, whose ability to recognize instructions is, shall we say, limited ... On British TV there used to be a programme called One Man and his Dog in which shepherds and there canine companions would demonstrate their dexterity in herding sheep. A common instruction to the dog was 'Come by' IB

Come here in West Country dialect Kind Regards Roy & June Cox www.btinternet.com/~roy.cox/index.htm -----Original Message----- From: Ruth Barton [mailto:mrgjb@sover.net] Sent: 11 August 2004 01:24 To: OLD-ENGLISH-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [OEL] yelling cumbyer What would yelling "cumbyer" do? And what does it mean please? Ruth In the case of sheep, having a word in the ear of the bell-wether may work or yelling cumbyer! They can't reverse, of course, which means the route out will have to be in a wide circle. -- Ruth Barton mrgjb@sover.net Dummerston, VT ==== OLD-ENGLISH Mailing List ==== Going away for a while? Don't forget to UNSUBSCRIBE! OLD-ENGLISH-L-request@rootsweb.com