School: Templenoe, Caiseal

On this page

1. Cows

   

   Share Share Post

   

   You are not logged in, but you are welcome to contribute a transcription anonymously. In this case, your IP address will be stored in the interest of quality control.

   On the first of May when the weather is very warm people leave out the milk, and in the early hours of May morning people come and skim the milk and then the luck of the cows is taken. A hornless cow is called a polly. People often put irons into their neighbour's spring-well to take the butter off the milk. People used also go at the early hours of may morning to the field where the cows would be, and milk them and the butter off the milk would also be taken. In olden times maol cows were very common in Ireland. They were noted for their rich milk, and the large quantity they yielded daily. They were mostly of a dun colour not as well shaped or as big as the cows of the present day. Cows were secured in byres in those days by means of bales which consisted of a large beam of timber at a height of about four feet from the ground. A similar beam was fixed on the ground and at intervals of about 3 1/2 feet.

   (continues on next page)

   Save Cancel

   Transcription guide »

   By clicking the save button you agree that your contribution will be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License and that a link to dúchas.ie is sufficient as attribution.

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. agriculture (~2,659)
            1. animal husbandry (~2,587)

   Language

   English