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The Horse in the Furrow by George Ewart Evans

Review by: Christina HoleFolklore, Vol. 71, No. 3 (Sep., 1960), pp. 210-211Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of Folklore Enterprises, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1258014 .

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REVIEWS AND NOTICES

bratedMarieBlancfrom the Pyreneanvalleyof Ossau. The familyalsocalls to the deadpersonasin the mountains o the south(p. 179).

Sorceryhas a shortchapterwithanup-to-dateapplicationbya motherwho wore her chemise inside out duringherdaughter'sGeneralCertifi-cateexamination,but otherwisenot of greatvalueexcept for the langued'oc word Masc for a sorcerer.I feel that our countryfolkbelievemore

seriously in their carefully hidden witchcraft than do these peoplebeneath a southern sun. The last chaptertells us - againbut a little -

of the alliedworldof wisewomen,healingandfolk medicine.The lackof anindex addedto the absenceof seasonalandcyclicfeasts

unfortunatelyprevents this careful study from entering into the first

class of folklore records.Possiblya second volume fromthe regionwill

provide he index.VIOLETALFORD

THE HORSEN THEFURROW.By GEORGEWARTEVANS. llustrated byC. F. Tunnicliffe. Faber and Faber, 1960. Pp. 292. 25s.

THISdelightfulbookby the authorof Ask TheFellows WhoCuttheHay(1956) dealswith the horses and horsemenwho workedon the farms ofEastAngliain the not veryfar-offdayswhenthe horse wasthe centre ofthe corn-husbandryof that district. It gives a full account,not only ofthe horseitself and its history,but also of the humanbeings connectedwith it, their work and their wages, their dress, sayings and weather-

rhymes, and some of their beliefs. The rhythm of the horseman's year,methods of cultivation, types of ploughs and horse-gear, are all described

together with the work of blacksmiths and harness-makers, herbal

remedies used for horses,horse-brasses,and otherornaments.There isan extremely interesting section dealing with the Biddell family, whofarmed largely in Suffolk, including extracts from Arthur Biddell's

accounts,and his day and workbooks in the firsthalf of the nineteenth

century.All this is fascinating o any readerwho has even a slight interest in

old farminglife, but it is the last section of the book which makesit

specially valuable for folklorists. In this, the author deals with thosecuriousmethods of horse-controlused by the Whisperers, he members

of the Societyof the Horseman'sWord,andthe Toadmen.The Horse-man's Word is often supposedto be mainly a Scottish charm,but MrEvans shows here that it was well known in East Anglia even in the

presentcentury.Only a few possessedthe secret,but that some did so,and used the powers conveyed by it, seems to have been widely con-ceded. In his search for informationon the subject,Mr Evansacquired

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REVIEWS AND NOTICES

many curious items of knowledge,andwas told of severalwell-attestedinstances of the use of the charm. Readerswill discover that he has his

own very interestingtheoriesconcerning t. He alsogives a full accountof the old frog-boneritual,with some additionaldetails which are not

widelyknown,and someotheritemsof horsemen's olklore.The book is beautifullyillustratedby C. F. Tunnicliffe, and has a

useful Index,and ashortBibliography.CHRISTINA HOLE

NILS VON HOFSTEN. PORS OCH ANDRA HUMLEERSATTNINGAR OCH OL-

KRYDDOR I ALDRE TIDER. Pp. 208-22I, Englishsummary:Bog myrtle(Myrica gale) and other substitutes for hops in former times.

Uppsala, 1960.

THIS s largely Scandinavianmaterial:Linnaeusmentionsmany sub-stitutes for hops which were used by the rural population. But theauthortells us thatthe use of bog myrtleforbrewingin the BritishIsleswas knownas long ago as 1471,since it was forbidden n a documentofthat year. Ale-spices occur in Piers Plowman(pepper,etc.) and in the

CanterburyTales.The use of heather in Scotlandfor brewingale or beer is discussed,

alsothe addition- possiblywith a magicalmeaning- of spruceconesandpinesproutsto beerwhenit fails to ferment, n the Kalevala.

W.B.

BIBLIOGRAFIA DEL FOLKLORE PERUANO. Instituto Panamericano delComisionde Historiade la Publicaciones el Comitede Folklore-I.Moxico, I960.

Pp. 186.A BIBLIOGRAPHYOf 1809 entriesrelatingto Peru. Section 2 (Literaturaoral)dealswith folksongsandmyths, section6 with religionandmagic,section7 with festivals,and section 9 with folk medicine.The whole iscoveredby anauthoranda subject ndex.

W.B.

PERIODICAL LITERATURE

AGRICULTURALHISTORYREVIEW,vol. 7, part I, 1959: PloughRituals inEnglandandScotland,by ThomasDavidson,pp. 27-37-

AMATEURHISTORIAN,THE, vol. 4, no. 7: Agricultural Words and

Phrases, by T. V. Teversham,pp. 293-5: When They CelebratedMay-Day, by E. O. Hoppe, pp. 297-9.

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