store of clothes upon you, put yourself in a sweat in your bed, and thus doe while your fit continues, and for your drink, let it be only cool posset ale."
The housewife should also have a knowledge of cookery, "else she can perform but half her vow in marriage." She should have a knowledge of all kinds of herbs, their uses, when to sow them, and when to gather them. "At any time sow Asparagus & colworts ... in the February new moon Spike and Garlick ... full moon Parsley ... March new moon Marigolds and violets ... etc." She must also know when and what herbs are to be transplanted. Concerning her ability to cook Markham says, "she must have a quick eye, a curious nose, a perfect taste, and a ready eare; (she must not be butter-fingered, sweet-toothed, nor faint-hearted;) for the first will let everything fall, the second will consume what it should increase, and the last will lose time with too much niceness. She must know how to prepare salids, simple and compound; salids for show only; how to adorn the table," etc., etc. Moreover, the housewife should understand the art of cutting up meat, the making of cheese and butter, and the care of poultry.
Another duty of the housewife was distilling. She ought to furnish herself with stills, and learn
