Starving in Spring
Adam Balic again.
Not just a problem for people, but also for the animals. Prior to the agricultural reforms at the end of the 18th century (in the UK), much of the livestock would have been slaughtered before Winter, as there was little food to feed them on. Even for the surviving stock, it was pretty rough. There are accounts of cattle having to be carried to Spring pasture as they were un-able to rise after the long winter.
From 1808:
“Though cattle have always been, and must be, the staple produce of the Highland countries; yet the great losses that are sustained by their death in the spring season, from poverty and the consequent diseases, are but too well known. They are indeed sufficiently fed in summer, but they are starved in winter.”
An this was from a country that exported whole herds of cattle to England.
I was lucky with the rose hips, after a touch of frost the hip becomes soft and pulpy, the orange red pulp inside is the consistency of jam, so they only need to be briefly simmered to break down, then filtered through a muslin cloth.
Forget pastured cattle in real agriculture. Think forage crops and all summer stockpiling stuff to feed the beasts through the winter. Still true.
