Chapter XVI: Preface (16)

Over the whole sore, or where the part is bruised, or where there is
a tendency to suppuration, a poultice should be applied and kept on
by suitable bandages. The poultice may be made of any kind of meal,
fine bran, bruised linseed, or of mashed turnips, carrots, &c. The
following has been found useful as a common poultice: Fine bran, 1
quart; pour on it a sufficient quantity of boiling water to make a
thin paste; to this add of linseed powder enough to give it a proper
consistence. The poultice may be kept on for a week or ten days,
or even longer, if necessary, changing it once or twice a day; and
cleaning the wound, when the poultice is removed, by washing it by
means of a soft rag or linen cloth, with water not more than blood
warm, (some sponge is too rough for this purpose); or, where the
wound is deep, the water may be injected into it by a syringe, in
order to clean it from the bottom.

_Ointment._

In the course of a few days, when the wound, by care and proper
management with the poultices, begins to put on a healthy appearance,
and seems to be clean and of a reddish colour, not black or bloody;
then there may be applied an ointment made of tallow, linseed oil,
bees’ wax, and hog’s lard, in such proportion as to make it of a
consistence somewhat firmer than butter. The ointment should be
spread on some soft clean tow, and when applied to the sore, it ought
never to be tied hard upon it, (which is done too frequently and
very improperly,) but only fixed by a bandage of proper length and
breadth, (for a mere cord is often improper,) so close and securely
as to keep it from slipping off. This application may be changed once
a day; or when nearly well, and discharging but little, once in two
days.

_Treatment according to the appearance of the part._

When the wounded part begins to discharge a whitish, thick matter,
and is observed to fill up, the general treatment and dressings to
the sore, now mentioned, should be continued; and in the course of
the cure, the animal, when free of fever, may be allowed better
provision, and may take gentle exercise. If the animal be feeble,
from the loss of blood originally, or from the long continuance of
a feverish state produced by the inflammation attending the wound,
or from weakness arising from confinement, or connected with its
constitution naturally; and if the wound appear to be in a stationary
state, very pale and flabby on its edges, with a thin discharge,
then better food may be given to it; and if still no change should
be observed, with the better food, the wound may be treated somewhat
differently from what has been already advised. The ointment may be
made more stimulant, by adding to it some resin and less bees’ wax,
or what would be still more stimulant, some common turpentine; for it
is only in very rare cases that oil of turpentine can be requisite.
The effects of an alteration in the mode of treatment should be
particularly remarked, and stimulants should be laid aside, continued
or increased, according as may be judged proper. Before changing
the dressings applied to the wound, or before rendering them more
stimulant and active by using heating applications, the effect of
closer bandaging may be tried; for sometimes by keeping the parts a
little more firmly together, the cure is promoted.

_Food and Regimen._

In the case of severe wounds, attention should be paid to the
condition of the animal in other respects. There being always when
such happen, a tendency to violent inflammation and fever, that may
end fatally, means should be employed to moderate both. The apartment
should be cool and airy, and so quiet that the animal should not
be disturbed; the drink should not be warm, but rather cold, and
given freely, though not in too large quantities at a time; the food
should be sparingly given and of a poorer quality than usual, and
should be rather succulent and laxative, than dry or apt to produce
costiveness; bleeding may be employed either generally from a vein,
or, in some cases, when it can be done, by cupping from the injured
part, as in the case of a bruise (though this last will be seldom
requisite or found convenient,) and it may be done more than once or
twice, as may seem proper; laxative medicines also ought to be given
and repeated, as there may be occasion.

BLEEDING IN GENERAL.

Bleeding is often the most useful and efficacious means of curing
diseases in horses, &c. In inflammatory affections, it is generally
the first remedy resorted to, and its immediate salutary effects are
often surprising.

When it is necessary to lessen the whole quantity of blood in the
system, open the jugular or neck vein. If the inflammation is
local, bleed where it can be conveniently done, either from the
part affected, or in its vicinity, as by opening the plate vein,
superficial vein of the thigh, or temporal arteries.

In fevers of all kinds, and when inflammation attacks any important
organ, as the brain, eyes, lungs, stomach, intestines, liver,
kidneys, bladder, &c. bleeding is of the greatest use. It diminishes
the quantity of blood in the body; and by this means prevents the ill
effects of inflammation. The quantity of blood to be taken varies
according to the age, size, condition, and constitution of the horse,
and urgency of the symptoms.

From a large or strong horse, four or six quarts will be requisite,
and may be repeated in smaller quantities if symptoms demand it. The
blood, in these diseases, must flow from a large orifice made in the
vein. A horse should _never be suffered to bleed upon the ground,
but into a measure_, in order that the proper quantity may be taken.
Young horses, also, while shedding their teeth, have sometimes much
constitutional irritation, which bleeding relieves. But in these
affections it is very rarely necessary to bleed to the same extent
as in fevers, &c.; two or three quarts generally suffice to be
taken away.

_Fulness of Blood._

Moderate bleeding, from two to three or four quarts, is also used
to remove fulness of habit, or plethora, attended with slight
inflammatory symptoms. In this case the eyes appear heavy, dull, red
or inflamed, frequently closed as if asleep; the pulse small and
oppressed; the heat of the body somewhat increased; the legs swell;
and the hairs rub off. Horses that are removed from grass to a warm
stable, and full fed on hay and corn, and not sufficiently exercised,
are very subject to one or more of these symptoms. Regulating the
quantity of food given to him, proper exercise and occasional
laxatives, as the following powder, will be commonly found sufficient
after the first bleeding, and operation of an aloetic purge. In
slight affections of this kind, a brisk purge will often alone be
sufficient.

_Laxative and Diaphoretic Powder._

Take of crocus of antimony, finely levigated,
nitre, cream of tartar, and flour of sulphur, of
each, 4 ounces:
Powder and mix them well together for use.

One table-spoonful of this mixture may be given every night
and morning, in a mash of scalded bran, or a feed of corn
moistened with water, that the powders may adhere thereto.

This powder will be found excellent for such horses as are
kept on dry meat, whether they be in the stable, or travel on
the road; also for stallions in the spring of the year, as
they not only keep the body cool and open, but cause them to
cast their coat, and make the skin appear as bright as silk.

PURGING.

In obstinate grease and swellings of the legs, accompanied with
lameness of the joints, dry coughs, worms, diseases of the skin,
farcy, apoplexy or staggers, affections of the liver, &c. &c.,
mercurial purges are of the greatest service. They purge; destroy
worms; generally increase the flow of urine; operate upon the skin,
liver, and other viscera in a peculiar manner; cause a healthful
action in these parts; and remove many chronic complaints incident
to the horse. Great caution is necessary during their operation,
lest the horse take cold. The water given him must be warm, and when
exercised he should be properly clothed.

Horses that are kept on dry meat, and are full fed, with little or no
exercise, require regular purging every six months, with two or three
doses each time, allowing proper intervals between each.

THE GROOM AND VALET, OR FOOTMAN.

In small families, a servant is sometimes hired in the capacities of _groom and valet, or groom and footman_. The duties of this servant are given under the respective heads of GROOM, VALET, and FOOTMAN. The wages out of the house, about 50l. a year, with the cast off clothes.

THE POSTILLION.

When the family travels post, the helper in the stables, and the stable-boy, generally ride as postillions: on other occasions, the boy or helper, rides and drives the chariot and other carriages; or if he be a regular servant, he has the care of a pair of horses. Wages from 16 to 20 guineas.—His clothing is nearly the same as the grooms, only that he has a cap, and generally a jacket instead of a frock coat.

THE COURIERS, OR OUTRIDERS.

Are generally selected from some of the persons employed in the stables—Often, the under coachman and groom. Their business is to ride with the family when travelling, to guard them on the road—to ride forward with orders, and to pay the turnpikes, &c. &c.

The outriders always take care of their own horses.

THE STABLE BOY.

Assists the coachman and groom, under whose direction he is occupied in cleaning out the stables, cleaning the horses, washing and cleaning the harness and carriages, and making himself generally useful. The wages, when in the house, is from 8 to 12l. per annum, and clothing, as may be agreed.

HELPERS IN THE STABLES.

The helpers are subordinate to the regular stable servants, and their business is to assist in cleaning the horses, harness, saddles, and carriages, cleaning out the stables, and assisting the coachman and groom in all the business of the stable that may be required of them. They are generally hired by the week, at from 16 to 21 shillings, out of doors, and have no liveries. If hired as regular stable servants, they are boarded in the house, and their wages and clothing are nearly the same as the groom’s.

When the family travels, the helper is sometimes taken either as postillion or outrider.

THE HEAD GARDENER.

The gardener, to understand his business well, and to be capable of undertaking the management of a gentleman’s garden and grounds, should not only be perfect in the ordinary business, and the regular routine of digging, cropping, and managing a kitchen garden, but should be also well versed in the nature of soils, manures, and composts, the best methods of propagating plants, shrubs, and trees, the management of the hot-house, green-house, conservatory, hot-beds; and the culture, not only of indigenous, but also of foreign and exotic productions.

The gardener, on first coming to his situation, will endeavour to ascertain the nature and present state of the soil. There are scarcely any of the ordinary esculent or culinary vegetables that will not require, at least, a depth of two spits of well cultivated earth; shrubs and trees much more; and this depth he should accordingly give it by proper digging, trenching, and other means. The sub-strata, or under soil, must also be considered, and articles fond of moisture should be planted where the sub-stratum is of a clayey nature, and will not suffer the moisture imbibed from above to pass off; while those which require warm and dry situations, should be planted where the under soil consists of sand or gravel, and will the more readily absorb the moisture from above.

In small families, or in gardens not exceeding an acre, with a paddock of three or four acres for a horse or cow, it is usual to keep but one gardener, who, at an out-door salary of a guinea a week, performs all the necessary work in the garden, milks the cow, feeds the poultry, and, sometimes, takes care of the horse, his assistant being a jobbing labourer during a few weeks of particular duty. These gardeners generally consist of under gardeners from large establishments, or from market gardeners near large towns; and the only questions which arise between them and their employer, are the difficulties which they feel at first in accommodating the practice on a large scale to that on a small and economical one; but, when reconciled to this, no situation is more independent and comfortable than that of the solitary and accommodating gardener.

Gardeners generally prefer a sandy loam, of a nature not too binding in summer, nor too retentive in winter.

Perhaps the best practical rules that can be given are the following, from the best Treatise on Gardening.

1. _Perform every operation in the proper season._

2. _Perform every operation in the best manner._

This is to be acquired in part by practice, and partly also by
reflection. For example, in digging over a piece of ground, it is a
common practice with slovens, to throw the weeds and stones on the
dug ground, or on the adjoining alley or walk, with the intention of
gathering them off afterwards. A better way is to have a wheelbarrow,
or a large basket, into which to put the weeds and extraneous
matters, as they are picked out of the ground. Some persons in
planting or weeding, whether in the open air, or in hothouses, throw
down all seeds, stones, and extraneous matters on the paths or
alleys, with a view to pick them up, or sweep or rake them together
afterwards; it is better to carry a basket or other utensil, either
common or subdivided, in which to hold in one part the plants to be
planted, in another the extraneous matters, &c.

3. _Complete every part of an operation as you proceed._

4. _Finish one job before beginning another._

5. _In leaving off working at any job, leave the work and tools in an
orderly manner._

6. _In leaving off work for the day, make a temporary finish, and
carry the tools to the tool-house._

7. _In passing to and from the work, or on any occasion, through any
part of what is considered under the charge of the gardener, keep a
vigilant look out for weeds, decayed leaves, or any other deformity,
and remove them._

8. _In gathering a crop, remove at the same time, the roots, leaves,
stems, or whatever else is of no farther use, or may appear slovenly,
decaying, or offensive._

9. _Let no crop of fruit, or herbaceous vegetables, go to waste on
the spot._

10. _Cut down the flower-stalks of all plants._

11. _Keep every part of what is under your care, perfect in its kind._

Attend in spring and autumn to _walls and buildings_, and get them
repaired, jointed, glazed, and painted, where wanted. Attend at all
times to _machines, implements, and tools_, keeping them clean,
sharp, and in perfect repair. See particularly that they are placed
in their proper situations in the tool-house. House every implement,
utensil, or machine not in use, both in winter and summer. Allow _no
blanks_ in edgings, rows, single specimens, drills, beds, and even
where practicable, in broad-cast sown pieces. Keep edgings and edges
cut to the utmost nicety. Keep the shapes of the _wall-trees_ filled
with wood according to their kinds, and let their training be in the
first style of perfection. Keep all walks in perfect form, (whether
raised or flat,) free from weeds, dry, and well rolled. Keep all _the
lawns_ by every means, of a close texture, and dark-green velvet
appearance. _Keep water clear and free from weeds_, and let not
ponds, lakes, or artificial rivers, rise to the brim in winter, nor
sink very far under it in summer.

TO SOW SEEDS WITH ADVANTAGE.

This is the first operation of rearing. Where seeds are deposited
singly, as in rows of beans, or large ruts, they are said to be
planted; where dropt in numbers together, to be sown. The operation
of sowing is either performed in drills, patches, or broadcast.
Drills are small excavations formed with the draw-hoe, generally in
straight lines parallel to each other, and in depth and distance
apart, varying according to the size of the seeds. In these drills,
the seeds are strewed from the hand of the operator, who, taking a
small quantity in the palm of his hand and fingers, regulates its
emission by the thumb. Some seeds are very thinly sown, as the pea,
and spinage; others thick, as the cress, and small salad.

Patches are small circular excavations made with the trowel; in these
seeds are either sown or planted, thicker or thinner, and covered
more or less, according to their nature. This is the mode adopted in
sowing in pots, and generally in flower-borders.

In broad-cast sowing, the operator scatters the seed over a
considerable breadth of surface, previously prepared by digging, or
otherwise being minutely pulverized. The seed is taken up in portions
in the hand, and dispersed by a horizontal movement of the arm, to
the extent of a semi-circle, opening the hand at the same time, and
scattering the seeds in the air, so as they may fall as equally as
possible over the breadth taken in by the sower at once, and which is
generally six feet; that being the diameter of the circle in which
his hand moves through half the circumference. In sowing broad-cast
on beds, and narrow’ strips or borders, the seeds are dispersed
between the thumb and fingers, by horizontal movements of the hand in
segments of smaller circles.

Dry weather is essentially requisite for sowing, and more especially
for the operation of covering in the seed, which in broad-cast
sowing, is done by treading or gently rolling the surface, and then
raking it; and in drill-sowing, by treading in the larger seeds, as
peas, and covering with the rake; smaller seeds, sown in drills, are
covered with the same implement, without treading.

TO PLANT SHRUBS AND TREES.

Planting, as applied to seeds, or seed-like roots, as potatoes,
bulbs, &c. is most frequently performed in drills, or in separate
holes made with the dibber; in these, the seed or bulb is dropped
from the hand, and covered with or without treading, according to
its nature. Sometimes planting is performed in patches, as in pots or
borders, in which case, the trowel is the chief instrument used.

Quincunx is a mode of planting in rows, by which the plants in one
row are always opposed to the blanks in the other, so that when a
plot of ground is planted in this way, the plants appear in rows in
four directions.

Planting, as applied to plants already originated, consists generally
in inserting them in the soil of the same depth, and in the same
position as they were before removal, but with various exceptions.
The principal object is to preserve the fibrous roots entire; to
distribute them equally around the stem among the mould or finer
soil, and to preserve the plant upright. The plant should not be
planted deeper than it stood in the soil before removal, and commonly
the same side should be kept towards the sun. Planting should, as
much as possible, be accompanied by abundant watering, in order to
consolidate the soil about the roots; and where the soil is dry,
or not a stiff clay, it may be performed in the beginning of wet
weather, in gardens; and in forest planting, on dry soils, in all
open weather during autumn, winter, and spring.

TO WATER GARDENS.

Watering becomes requisite in gardens for various purposes, as
aliment to plants in a growing state, to support newly transplanted
plants, for keeping under insects, and keeping clean the leaves of
vegetables. One general rule must be ever kept in mind during the
employment of watering a garden; that is, never to water the top or
leaves of a plant when the sun shines. All watering should be carried
on in the evening or early in the morning, unless it be confined to
watering the roots, in which case, transplanted plants, and others in
a growing state, may be watered at any time; and if they are shaded
from the sun, they may also be watered over their tops. Watering over
the tops is performed with the _rose_, or dispenser attached to the
spout of the watering-pot, or by the syringe or engine. Watering the
roots is best done with the rose; but in the case of watering-pots
in haste, and where the earth is hardened, it is done with the naked
spout.

Many kitchen-crops are lost, or produced of very inferior quality,
for want of watering. Lettuces and cabbages are often hard
and stringy; turnips and radishes do not swell, onions decay,
cauliflowers die off, and, in general, in dry soils. Copious
waterings in the evenings, during the dry season, would produce that
fulness of succulency, which are found in the vegetables produced in
the low countries, and in the Marsh Gardens at Paris; and in this
country at the beginning and latter end of the season.

Watering the foliage of small trees to prevent the insects, and
of strawberries, and fruit shrubs, to swell the fruit, is also of
importance.

The principal tools used by gardeners are, a light handy spade, a shovel, rake, with iron teeth, hoe, three-pronged fork, dibber, or setting-stick, line and reel, usually called a skillet, wheelbarrow, baskets, trowel, a pair of shears, scythe, hay-rake, hook, ladder, besom, or broom, beater, garden-roller, turfing-iron, hatchet, and hammer. The gardener usually wears a blue woollen apron, which, when he is pruning, he ties up before him, and then serves to hold his nails, shreds, scissors, hammer, and pruning-knife. He should also be provided with a light measuring rod, flat and narrow, painted and divided on one side into feet and half feet, and on the other into yards and half yards; with this he will be able to measure distances, to lay out his beds for sowing and planting, and to measure and lay down his gravel-walks, grass-plats, &c. A table, that will be very useful to him in laying out beds, or any quantity of ground, large or small, will be found in the APPENDIX.

THE GARDENER’S CALENDAR.

_Containing useful Information for every Month in the Year._

_January._ If the weather be open and dry, sow, upon warm
compartments, small portions of peas, beans, cabbage, spinage,
carrots, parsley, radish, lettuce, and onions, and preserve them
from the cold by mats. Also, in hot-beds, cucumbers, melons, small
salading, best early and red cabbage, kidney beans, and cauliflowers.
Plant cabbages, horse-radish, beans, and mint roots. The cucumbers
and melons this month require particular attention. They ought to
receive air by small degrees, as often as possible.

_February._ Sow small salading, radishes, onions, parsley, spinage,
lettuce, peas, beans, cabbage, cauliflowers, carrots, parsnips,
fennel, &c. Plant cabbages, &c. as last month. The cucumber and melon
plants raised last month, should be transplanted about the middle of
this into new hot-beds. The ground should be prepared for planting
asparagus next month.

_March._ Sow, in this month, principal crops of carrots, early
turnips, radishes, onions, cabbage, celery, cauliflowers, spinage,
lettuce, asparagus, peas, and beans. Sow asparagus for the new
plantations of the next year. Make new asparagus beds, and fork the
old ones.

_April._ Sow and plant, as in the former month, for a later crop.
Towards the middle of the month dung should be prepared for ridges of
melons and cucumbers. Snails and slugs ought to be killed, and weeds
kept down; otherwise they will increase so fast as to render their
destruction difficult.

_May._ The principal crops sowed and planted in the spring will now
require weeding, hoeing, and thinning, and some transplanting. The
melon beds require an equal degree of heat; and the glasses must be
covered every night through the month with mats; but in the middle of
the day they must be raised to the breadth of two or three fingers.
Cucumbers in frames must receive a moderate supply of water, and be
planted out under hand-glasses.

_June._ Particular attention is now required in weeding, hoeing,
thinning, and watering the principal crops, and pricking out and
transplanting for autumn and winter. Sow savoys, brocoli, borecole,
cabbages, turnips, carrots, spinage, coleworts, kidney beans,
lettuce, endive, celery, cucumbers, radishes, peas, beans, and small
salading. Plant cabbages, colewort, savoys, brocoli, borecole, leeks,
beans, lettuce, endive, celery, cucumbers, radishes, peas, and beans.
Melon plants must be shaded in the heat of the day, and receive a
large portion of fresh air. Transplant endive for blanching, and
prick out young brocoli plants, which were sown in April or May.

_July._ Prepare ground for the reception of succession crops, and
some main crops for autumn and winter, and sow turnips, &c. as at
the beginning of the year. The common radishes sown now will be fit
to draw the beginning of September; and the cauliflowers sown in
May must be planted out in spots where they are to remain. The beds
of carrots sown now will be fit to draw early in April. Spinage for
winter may now be sown, and onions taken up if the leaves wither.

_August._ Asparagus beds planted in March must now be cleared; celery
transplanted and earthed, and the heads or suckers taken from the
March artichokes. The early cabbage seed must not be sown later than
the 12th of this month; but lettuce seed may be put in as late as
the 24th. The cauliflower seed will not do without covering, and the
spinage sown last month will require hoeing.

_September._ Sow spinage, lettuce, onions, radishes, cabbages,
colewort, chervil, corn-salad, borage, coriander, turnips, and
successions of small salading. Plant savoys, cabbages, coleworts,
brocoli, borecole, lettuces, leeks, celery, endive, and perennial,
aromatic, and pot-herbs. Make mushroom beds, and cut down the haulm
of asparagus, clean the beds and dung them if necessary. Hoe your
turnips, and weed onions. The cauliflowers of last month must be
weeded out, and cabbage-plants pricked. Of the lettuces sown last
month some may be put into warm borders for spring use, and others
planted under frames for pulling in December and January. The
different seeds must be gathered as they ripen.

_October._ Sow a small crop of radishes and lettuces, successions of
small salading, and a few early peas to come in next summer. Plant
crops of cabbage, cauliflowers, late brocoli, celery, lettuce, early
beans. Keep uncovered night and day, for the greater part of this
month, such cauliflowers as are planted in frames. All spare ground
should be dunged and trenched.

_November._ Most of the processes used last month will also be
appropriate for this. Such as giving air to lettuce and cauliflower
plants that are under frames. Cut down the leaves of artichokes and
earth up the plants.

_December._ Forward the digging, manuring, or trenching vacant
ground, preparing hot dung, making hot-beds, and earthing and tying
up plants. Sow a few early peas and radishes on warm borders, and
small salading and cucumbers in hot-beds. Plant early beans, strong
cabbage-plants, and coleworts; and plant in hot-beds, cucumbers,
mint, tarragon, and asparagus. The small salads may be sown every
ten days, under frames; and such radish seed as may be put into the
ground this month, should be covered on cold nights with fern, or
long litter.

Salary from 50l. to 100l. a year,—a cottage, generally, and vegetables and fuel allowed.

THE UNDER GARDENERS.

These men are entirely under the controul and direction of the _head gardener_, and are employed by him, for the most part, in digging and trenching, wheeling, dunging, gravelling, hoeing, mowing, and other laborious work.

They are engaged as weekly servants, and are paid according to their abilities, from 16 to 20 or 21 shillings per week, and vegetables. Some _under gardeners_ have a cottage assigned for themselves and families, and others have also fuel allowed them for their fires.

THE SERVANTS’ HALL.

In large establishments, the housekeeper, the lady’s maid, and the men servants out of livery, usually take their meals by themselves, in the housekeeper’s or steward’s room; but when they take their dinner together, they preserve an order at table like the following:—The housekeeper usually takes her seat at the head, and the butler at the lower end of the table; the cook at the right of the housekeeper, and the lady’s maid on her left; the under butler on the right, and the coachman on the left of the butler; the house-maid next to the cook, and the kitchen-maid next to the lady’s-maid; and the men servants always occupying the lower end of the table. The dinner is set on the table by the cook, and the beer is drawn by the under butler.

The servants’ table is usually provided with solid dishes, and with ale and table beer; and it is the business of the superior servants to see that their accommodation is comfortable and in plenty, but without extravagance, or waste and riot. In well-regulated families, the servants’ hall is distinguished by its decorum, good order, and even good manners, which the servants who wait in the parlour imbibe, and convey to the kitchen. Servants of coarse manners, vulgar habits, or profane discourse, and malicious dispositions, are shunned by others, and never make good their footing or rise in first-rate families, where all the good and bad qualities which belong to the superior ranks of society operate as much to their advantage or disadvantage as in any station of life. In truth, the servants’ hall is a little world by itself, in which the passions, tempers, vices, and virtues, are brought into play, and contribute their full share in promoting that welfare and happiness, which it is the object of this work to fix and improve.

APPRENTICES.

When a youth in the City of London is bound apprentice he is presented to the Chamberlain, who puts into his hands for his guide, the following instructions, and as they proceed from such high authority, they are thought worthy of being preserved in this volume as a body of instruction to apprentices generally.

A COPY OF INDENTURE OF APPRENTICESHIP.

_This Indenture witnesseth, That
Son of late of , doth
put himself Apprentice to Citizen and of_
London, _to learn his art, and with him (after the manner
of an Apprentice) to serve from the day of the date hereof,
unto the full end and term of seven years, from thence next
following to be fully complete and ended; during which term
the said Apprentice his said Master faithfully shall serve,
his secrets keep, his lawful commands every where gladly
do. He shall do no damage to his said Master, nor see it
to be done of others; but that he to his power shall let
or forthwith give warning to his said Master of the same.
He shall not waste the goods of his said Master, nor lend
them unlawfully to any. He shall not commit fornication, nor
contract matrimony within the said term. He shall not play
at cards, dice, tables, or any other unlawful games, whereby
his said Master may have any loss. With his own goods or
others, during the said term, without licence of his said
Master, he shall neither buy nor sell. He shall not haunt
taverns nor play-houses, nor absent himself from his said
Master’s service day or night unlawfully; but in all things,
as a faithful Apprentice, he shall behave himself towards
his said Master, and all his, during the said term. And the
said Master in consideration, of
his said Apprentice in the same art which he useth, by the
best means that he can, shall teach and instruct, or cause to
be taught and instructed, finding unto his said Apprentice,
meat, drink, apparel, lodging, and all other necessaries,
according to the custom, of the City of_ London, _during the
said term. And for the true performance of all and every the
said covenants and agreements, either of the said parties
bindeth himself unto the other by these presents. In witness
whereof, the above named to these Indentures, interchangeably
have put their hands and seals, the day of ,
in the year of the Reign of our Sovereign,
of the United Kingdom of_ Great Britain
_and_ Ireland, _Defender of the Faith, and in the
year of our Lord, &c._

A FAMILIAR EXPLANATION OF AN INDENTURE OF APPRENTICESHIP.

This _Indenture witnesseth, That_ R. B.
_Son of_ J. B. , _Citizen of_ London,
_doth put himself_ (that is, by his own free and voluntary
choice) _apprentice to_ A. A. _Citizen and
of_ London, _to learn his Art, and with him
after the manner of an Apprentice to serve_ (that is, to live
with him in the capacity of a learner and servant, doing all
such work as belongs to his trade, and as Apprentices by
custom are obliged to do) _from the date hereof, unto the
full end and term of years from thence next
following to be fully complete and ended;_ that is, not at
the beginning only, or for part of the time, but so long as
his Indenture shall continue in force, which must be for
seven years at least.

_During which term the said Apprentice his said Master
faithfully shall serve;_ that is, he shall be true and just
to his Master in all his dealings, both in word and deed;
he must not only keep his hands from picking and stealing,
and his tongue from lying and slandering; he must not only
abstain from doing him any manner of injury, by idleness,
negligence, or carelessness; by deceiving, defaming, or any
kind of evil speaking: but, he must learn and labour to do
him true and real service.

Ye must be faithful in all things. 1 Tim. i.

In all your labours let no iniquity be found. Hosea xii. 8.

Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one
to another. Lev. xix. 11.

Speak every man truth to his neighbour. Eph. iv. 25.

All that do unrighteously are an abomination to the Lord
thy God. Deut. xxv. 16.

He that uttereth a slander is a fool. Prov. x. 18.

The lip of truth shall be established for ever, but a lying
tongue is but for a moment; for the mouth of them who speak
lies shall be stopped. Chap. xii. 19.

To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord
than sacrifice; (for) they who deal truly are his delight.
Chap. xxi. 3, chap. xii. 22.

_His secrets keep;_ that is, conceal the particular secrets
of his art, trade, or science, without divulging or making
any one privy to them to the detriment of his Master, whose
interest may very much depend on a peculiar management and
knowledge of his business. To behave thus, is to serve
faithfully; and fidelity is the glory and perfection of a
Servant, as his want of it is his greatest discredit and
reproach.

Discover not a secret to another, lest he that heareth it
putteth thee to shame, and the infamy turn not away. Prov.
xxv. 9, 10.

_His lawful commands every where gladly do;_ that is, he
shall readily and cheerfully obey him in all things lawful,
without murmuring, hesitation, or reluctance; for obedience
from a Servant to his Master, is a duty established by all
laws, human and divine; and is founded likewise in the
very nature of things; it being impossible to preserve any
superiority in the one over the other, unless the inferior
submits himself to the direction of his superior in all such
things as he has a right to command him to do; that is, all
things lawful: he is indeed, properly speaking, no longer a
Servant than while he obeys his Master’s commands; so that
the covenanted obedience of an Apprentice is on all accounts
indispensably necessary; and the more cheerfully he performs
it, the more perfectly he fulfils his duty, and the greater
will be the reward as well as pleasure of his obedience;
for his Master will doubtless take all opportunities of
encouraging him on account of his willingness; he will
contrive to make his work as easy to him as he can; he
will treat him with all the kindness, and shew him all the
favour that is consistent with the relation between them;
whereby his servitude will be rendered a kind of freedom;
the necessary labours of it a delight; and the time of
its duration short and pleasant: he will beside gain the
advantage of being trusted and confided in by his Master,
which must necessarily give him a quick and thorough insight
into his trade, whereby he will become duly qualified for the
power and dignity of a Master himself, and establish such
a reputation and character as will gain him the esteem and
friendship of all who know him; and can therefore have no
other than a comfortable prospect of advancing his station
and fortune in the world. The quite contrary of all which
must be the lot of the disobedient, churlish, and murmuring
Servant; who will, in all probability, end his days as a
Master (if ever he arrives at that honour) in the same
discontented, uneasy, and disregarded manner, in which he
lived as a Servant; feared by very few, beloved by none.

Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own Masters, and
to please them well in all things, _not answering again_.
Titus ii. 9.

His servants ye are whom ye obey. Rom. vi. 16.

Servants, obey in all things your Masters, according to
the flesh; not only to the good and gentle, but also the
froward. Col. iii. 22.

And when ye be buffeted for well-doing, take it patiently;
for this is thank-worthy and acceptable with God. 1 Pet.
ii. 20.

With good-will doing service. Ephes. vi. 7.

Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of
heart, fearing God. Col. iii. 22.

If any would not work, neither should he eat. 2 Thes. iii.
10.

In all labour there is profit; and the thoughts of the
diligent tend only to plenteousness. Prov. xiv. 23.

The hand of the diligent maketh rich.—An idle soul shall
suffer hunger. Chap. x. 4.—Chap. xix. 15.

Seest thou a man diligent, he shall stand before kings, he
shall not stand before mean men. A slothful man is compared
to a filthy stone, and every one will hiss him out to his
disgrace. Chap. xxii. 29. Eccl. xxii. 1.

They that plough iniquity, and sow wickedness, shall reap
the same. Job iv. 8.

The Lord will make them contemptible and base, before all
the people, according as they have not kept his ways.
Malachi ii. 9.

_He shall do no damage to his said Master, nor see it to be
done of others, but that he to his power shall let_ (that is,
prevent or hinder) _or forthwith give warning to his said
Master of the same. He shall not waste the goods of his said
Master, or lend them unlawfully to any._ It is not sufficient
that the Apprentice does not wrong his Master himself, by
cheating, pilfering, purloining, wasting, spoiling, lending,
or giving away any of his goods; by sloth and idleness, by
neglecting his business, and loitering away his time; it
is not enough that he does his Master no kind of damage
himself; but he must be watchful that he is not injured in
any kind by his fellow-servants and others; and be sure to
do what in him lies to prevent or discover it to his Master;
for he cannot be indifferent or careless in such a case, or
connive and conceal any thing of this kind, without breach of
covenant, and incurring the guilt and shame that is due to
unfaithfulness.

Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them. Ephes. v. 11.

Beware of evil workers, and be not thou partaker with them.

Thou shalt not suffer sin in thy brother, but by any means
reprove him. Phil. iii. 2.

When thou sawest a thief thou consentedst with him. Psalm
l. 18.

_He shall not commit fornication._ This vice has been the
bane of so many young men in all ages and places, that every
one’s memory must furnish him with divers instances of its
fatal effects; the Sessions papers are filled with numberless
accounts of unhappy persons who are brought by it to public
shame and infamous ends; and indeed nothing is so destructive
to the morals and happiness of youth, as the having any
kind of commerce with lewd and shameless women; for such
conversation infallibly destroys the health, consumes the
fortune, blasts the credit, and extinguishes that modesty
which is the principal ornament and surest preservative of
youth from the vices and dangers they are most exposed to.

Flee fornication: He that committeth fornication, sinneth
against his own body. 1 Cor. vi. 18.

Keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the
tongue of the strange woman: lust not after her beauty in
thy heart, neither let her take thee with her eye-lids;
lest thou give thine honour to others: lest strangers
be filled with thy wealth; and thou mourn at the last,
when thy flesh and thy body are consumed. Prov. vi. 24,
25.—Prov. v. 10, 11.

Let not thy heart decline to her ways, for her house is the
way to hell. Thou goest after her as an ox goeth to the
slaughter, till a dart strike through thy liver; as a bird
hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his
life. Prov. vii. 25, 27, 22, 23.

Neither fornicators nor adulterers shall inherit the
kingdom of God. 1 Cor. vi. 9.

Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Heb. xiii. 4.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matt. v. 8.

_Nor contract matrimony within the said term._ Marriage is a
very improper state for Apprentices, but is too often entered
into rashly without consideration, or the consent of friends
and relations; and therefore is very seldom advantageous,
and generally unhappy. The necessary expense and charge
which attends a growing family, must quite consume a small
fortune, very much lessen a good one, and entail heavy debts
and lasting misery on the generality of married Apprentices,
who cannot hope to avoid a jail; and it is well if that is
their worst misfortune. At best such a marriage is an act of
great disobedience and contempt towards parents and friends,
of injustice towards the Master, and must be attended with
the loss of their esteem and friendship, if not with their
heavy displeasure. It is a direct violation of this covenant,
_a forfeiture of their right to the freedom of_ London, and
tends to unsettle and alienate the mind from business, and to
disable the Apprentice from ever becoming a complete master
of his trade.

_He shall not play at cards, dice, tables, or any other
unlawful game, whereby his said Master may have any loss._
All sorts of gaming for money is prohibited by this covenant;
it being a habit of the most pernicious consequence. Those
who have an itch for gaming, very rarely have any relish for
business; the dispositions and qualifications for the one,
being quite inconsistent with the other. Modesty, caution,
industry, frugality, and strict integrity, are indispensably
necessary to the forming a good and successful tradesman;
but no man ever made his fortune by play, without corrupting
his morals and forfeiting his character; for the gamester
must be bold and adventurous, extravagant and profuse,
fraudulent, tricking, and deceitful, of scandalous life, and
infamous reputation; and such will the unwary and thoughtless
Apprentice soon become, who is addicted to this vice; who
begins with it under pretence of amusement, but suffers the
love of it to grow on him till it becomes habitual; and what
assurance has he, that the loss of his own money, and the
flattering hopes of better fortune, will not tempt him to
steal and hazard what is his Master’s? What hopes can he have
that he shall escape the rock on which so many have perished?
The Apprentice therefore who would not expose himself to
guilt, to shame, punishment, and ruin, must religiously
observe this prohibition.

Wo onto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and
his chambers by wrong. Jer. xxii. 13.

Wo unto them that have made dishonest gain of their
neighbours, by extortion, or by the iniquity of their
traffic. Ezek. xxii. 12.

My soul come not thou into their secrets, unto their
assemblies my honour be not thou united. Gen. xlix.

We have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,
therefore let us not walk in craftiness. (For) better is
a little with righteousness, than great revenues without
right. 2 Cor. iv.

Wealth got by vanity shall be diminished: but he that
gathereth by labour shall increase. Prov. xiii. 11.

If sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Walk not then in
the way with them; lest thou learn their ways, and get a
snare to thy soul. Prov. i. 10, 15.—Chap. xxii.

_With his own goods, or others, during the said term, without
license of his said Master, he shall neither buy nor sell._
The apprenticeship is a time of labour and improvement, not
of gain; it is the season wherein youth are to acquire a
thorough knowledge of trade, and to establish in themselves
such habits as will enable them to carry it on hereafter with
pleasure and profit. A liberty for the Apprentice to trade
on his own account, would, in most instances, be rather a
snare than an advantage to him; it would oftener increase his
acquaintance and expenses than his fortune; it would furnish
him with excuses for absenting himself from his Master’s
house and business, under pretence of promoting his own; and
lead him into company-keeping, and a large acquaintance,
before he hath judgment to make a proper choice; and it
is to be feared, would sometimes be the occasion of his
being unfaithful, and create continual jealousies and
misunderstandings between him and his Master. Upon all which
accounts this prohibition is for their mutual advantage;
and the breach of it on no account to be connived at by the
Master, nor practised by the Apprentice.

If ye have not been faithful in that which is another
man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?

_He shall not haunt taverns or play-houses, nor absent
himself from his said Master’s service day or night
unlawfully._ I have joined these three prohibitions together,
because of the connexion they have; the Apprentice cannot
commit the two first without being guilty of the last,
which is a great act of injustice; for the Master has not
a better title to his own money or goods than to the time
of his Apprentice. He therefore must not upon any pretence
whatsoever absent himself day or night from his Master’s
house, without his consent. He must not, when the common
business of the day is over, think himself at his own
disposal, and take the liberty of going on his pleasure,
without permission. Many things may occur which require
his presence: business sometimes offers very unexpectedly;
and the Apprentice should be always ready for his Master’s
service. Add to this, that the house, the shop, and effects
of his Master, are continually under his care, and the
looking well after them a duty always incumbent on him;
which such a one can never faithfully discharge who lists
himself in clubs, or haunts taverns, or any other kind of
tippling houses, or who frequents play-houses, and such like
diversions. These habits are not only attended with a great
waste of the Master’s time, but with an expense which few
Apprentices can afford, and will probably lead him from wrong
to robbery, when the Master’s money becomes as necessary
to his pleasures as his time; for, he who scruples not to
waste the one, will not be long before he makes free with the
other. It is therefore the interest and happiness of youth,
to be restrained from frequenting these places, where they
can only associate themselves with the young and giddy, the
raw and inexperienced, the loose and disorderly; for discreet
and prudent persons will not encourage Apprentices in such
unlawful haunts, by keeping them company. And what must be
the fruits of such society? what, but noisy empty mirth;
loose and licentious discourse, riot, intemperance, and
disorder; of the same pernicious kind are the pleasures they
receive from plays, interludes, and such like diversions.
These, to youthful and unsettled judgments, are but vain
and airy entertainments, which fill the head with romantic
and unnatural ideas of life and the world, and tend only
to alienate the mind from business, which is its proper,
and ought to be its chief entertainment; and to expose
youth to the danger of being corrupted by lewd and vicious
persons of both sexes, who always crowd such places. Upon
the whole, then, it is evident, the Apprentice cannot haunt
taverns, that is, any kind of public tippling-houses, or
frequent play-houses, nor absent himself day or night from
his Master’s service, without breach of covenant, nor indeed
without exposing himself to the loss of reputation (for such
as his companions and pleasures are, such will his character
be) and contracting vicious and expensive habits, which
will probably bring him to want and misery, to shame and
punishment.

He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful
also in much; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust
also in much. Luke vi. 10.

That which is altogether just shalt thou follow. Deut. xvi.
20.

Blessed are those servants, whom their Lord, when he
cometh, shall find watching. Luke xii. 37.

Be ye therefore ready also. Luke xii. 40.

I wrote unto you not to accompany with fornicators. 1 Cor.
v. 9, 11.

If a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater,
or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such a
one eat not.

Be not among wine bibbers, amongst riotous eaters of flesh.
Prov. xxiii. 20.

He that is a companion of riotous men, shameth his father.
Prov. xxviii. 7.

Look not thou on the wine when it is red, when it giveth
its colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright; at the
last it biteth as a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Prov. xxiii. 31.

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging. Prov. xx. 1.

Withdraw yourself from every brother that walketh
disorderly. Thes. iii. 6.

He that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil. Exod. xxiii.
2.

Cease to hear instructions that causeth to err from the
words of knowledge. Prov. xix. 27.

He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth
wine and oil shall not be rich. Prov. xxi. 17.

Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contention? who
hath babbling? who hath wounds without a cause? who hath
redness of eyes? they who tarry long at the wine! they who
go to seek mixed wine: and men of strength to mingle strong
drink: that rise up early in the morning, that they may
follow strong drink.

It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man
to hear the song of fools. Prov. xxiii. 29.—Isaiah v. 22.

_But in all things, as a faithful Apprentice, he shall behave
himself towards his said Master, and all his, during the said
term._

That is, he shall faithfully and diligently perform the
covenants in this Indenture, and demean himself humbly,
dutifully, and obligingly to his Master and Mistress, with
civility and respect to their children, friends, relations,
and customers, and all who belong to them.

_And the said Master in consideration of
being the money
given with the said Apprentice, his said Apprentice, in the
same art and mystery which he useth, by the best means that
he can, shall teach, or instruct, or cause to be taught and
instructed, finding unto his said Apprentice, meat, drink,
apparel, lodging, and all other necessaries, according to
the custom of the City of_ London, _during the said term._