Farming

YOKE OXEN.
In order to begin ploughing, you would need to have two willing oxen and a
large plough. Your first task is to yoke the oxen to the plough. The oxen
must be unoccupied and friendly towards you to be yoked. Remember the command
is YOKE OXEN and not YOKE OX. Very important distinction.
PLOUGH FIELD.
Once you have yoked your oxen, you may begin ploughing. It is only possible to
plough during the months of Cloudburst and Springflower (springtime). The
ideal time is immediately after the thaw which will take place at some time
during Cloudburst (it varies from field to field). Ploughing is a laborious
effort and typically a field will need thirty ploughing passes to ready it
for seeding. More ploughers will speed the ploughing, two ploughers will
complete a field twice as quickly, so there is advantage to working the field
in groups.
CLEAR FIELD.
Sometimes a field will have been partially sown with one type of seed when, on
second thoughts, you may wish to plant another. In order to do this you will
need to clear the field of its original seeding. Once cleared you will be
free to sow anew. The number of clearing passes required will depend on the
seed sown and the number of sowing passes made that need to be eradicated.

FELL <tree> USING <tool>.
Felling is a skill, which requires an axe, and a saw for cutting the tree into
logs (using Logging skill). A single tree takes a fair while to cut down for
a single man, but will be felled quicker by more axes. The time taken depends
on the number of people felling, the age of the tree, and the type of tree.

SOW HEMP.
In the spring-time months of Cloudburst and Springflower you may sow hemp
seeds. You can only begin sowing in a clear, ploughed and fertile field. A
fully-sown field requires thirty hemp seeds for completion. The hemp plant
grows between Springflower and Hindyear and must be harvested before winter.
HARVEST HEMP.
Harvesting the hemp plant is a laborious task, and is done during the later
autumn month of Leaflost. Hemp is harvested into hemp piles which must then
be stripped. REMEMBER: fields ripen throughout the month, generally early in
it, but sometimes later (weather affects this). Do not expect everything to
ripen for harvest instantly on the 1st of Leaflost.
STRIP HEMP.
The final stage in basic hemp preparation is to strip the harvested hemp piles
into stripped hemp fibre.

PUT <seed> IN <seed belt>.
To place a seed in one of your seed belt's oversized pockets, use this
command. It is far safer and more convenient to store seeds in a seed belt.
One seedbelt may hold nine different types of seed at any one time.
GET <seed> FROM <seed pouch>.
To take a seed out of one of the pockets in your seed belt, use this command.

SOW SUGARCANE.
Sugarcane seeds are sown during the spring months of Cloudburst and
Springflower. It takes thirty seeds to sow a full field, and they can only be
sown in clear, ploughed, fertile fields.
HARVEST SUGARCANE.
Harvesting the ripe, tall sugarcane is performed towards the end of the year
during the months of Hindyear and Leaflost. The harvested sugarcane can then
be cracked to draw out the sweet produce within. REMEMBER: fields ripen
throughout the month, generally early in it, but sometimes later (weather
affects this). Do not expect everything to ripen for harvest instantly on the
1st of Hindyear.
CRACK SUGARCANE.
Cracking is the final procedure in the farming of sugarcane and is done to
release the nourishing edible component of the cane from its outer shell. You
need to be holding the harvested sugarcane to begin cracking.

SOW POTATOES
In spring (during the months of Cloudburst and Springflower) you can sow
potato eyes (the eye of the potato is cut from the fully-grown potato and is
used to seed a new plant) in ploughed, fertile fields. It takes thirty seeds
to sow through a single field.
HARVEST POTATOES
Harvesting takes place during the months of Hindyear and Leaflost, towards the
end of the year. Potatoes are one of the easiest crops to harvest, since they
require no further effort save the harvesting to produce a nourishing usable
crop. REMEMBER: fields ripen throughout the month, generally early in it, but
sometimes later (weather affects this). Do not expect everything to ripen for
harvest instantly on the 1st of Hindyear.
SEPARATE POTATOES
After the potato plants have been harvest it will be necessary to cut loose
the vegetable itself from the less nourishing roots, and leafy plant. It is
usual to get a couple of good potatoes from every plant grown.
EYE POTATOES
Potato plants are grown not from seeds but from eyes of fully-grown potatoes.
In order to extract the eye from a potato you will need to use this process
to cut away most of the adult potato. You ensure that what remains is the
kernel of the healthy adult potato which will, if tended well and sown in
fertile soil, yield a new potato plant boasting many more of the vegetable.

MAKE FRUITS.
To go through your inventory and make a selection (from all the fruits you
hold), aiming to create a mixed-fruit selection with the longest lasting, yet
still most fresh, nutritious combination. It is, after all, an art to select
fruit that both retains its freshness and yet is not merely on the cusp of
over-ripening. Such arts as cookery are wholly reliant, when they use fresh
fruit, on skills such as these; else the meals produced will climax in a
rotten dessert. The medley requires at least seven ripe fruits to create of
at least three different varieties. There must be a basis of at least two of
each included fruits - a single piece will not suffice. The fruit must be in
your hands, in your inventory, else you lack the proximity to properly mix
and match.

Flyfishing is carried out on the rivers of Avalon. It is an age old pastime,
performed both out of necessity and for the sheer art of it. All that is
commonly known about fly fishing is that it requires a fly made from bird
feathers (MAKE FLY), a fishing rod, upon which a line has been loaded (LOAD
FISHINGROD), and that line must have a fly attached to it (ATTACH FLY TO
FISHINGROD). From there, go to your chosen river and arc your rod into the
water. When you are finished, or have a bite, reel it in. The true skill
though comes in between.

PLANT APPLE SEED.
Apple trees can only be grown in any of the forested areas of the continent.
You plant individual seedlings and leave them to grow. A apple tree takes
nine years to grow to a level where it can bear fruit.
PICK APPLE FROM TREE.
If the tree has borne fruit, usually towards the end of the summer months, you
may ascend the trunk of the tree and nestle yourself in the branches ready to
shake ripe apples out of the tree.
SHAKE TREE.
To shake the branches burdened with ripe fruit and cause the fruit to break
free and tumble to the ground at the base of the trunk.

PLANT PEAR SEED.
Pear trees can only be grown in any of the forested areas of the continent.
You plant individual seedlings and leave them to grow. A pear tree takes nine
years to grow to a level where it can bear fruit.
PICK PEAR FROM TREE.
If the tree has borne fruit, usually towards the end of the summer months, you
may ascend the trunk of the tree and nestle yourself in the branches ready to
shake ripe pears out of the tree.
SHAKE TREE.
To shake the branches burdened with ripe fruit and cause the fruit to break
free and tumble to the ground at the base of the trunk.

PLANT PLUM SEED.
Plum trees can only be grown in any of the forested areas of the continent.
You plant individual seedlings and leave them to grow. A plum tree takes nine
years to grow to a level where it can bear fruit.
PICK PLUM FROM TREE.
If the tree has borne fruit, usually towards the end of the summer months, you
may ascend the trunk of the tree and nestle yourself in the branches ready to
shake ripe plums out of the tree.
SHAKE TREE.
To shake the branches burdened with ripe fruit and cause the fruit to break
free and tumble to the ground at the base of the trunk.

Meadows are the mainstay of pastoral farming, the wholly natural breadbasket
of grassy-greens preferred by the horses, cows, sheep and goats commonplace
among the land's livestock rearing experts. Meadows can only be brought into
being in locations of 'Grasslands' atmospheric-type and must be tended with
grass-seed first to begin their growth.

TEND GRASSLAND.
In a suitably fertile location you can tend the grassland - planting grass
seeds and turning the earth; performing various tasks to help the locale grow
more bountiful natural vegetation and thus better feed animals you intend to
rear on the plot of land. The newly planted seeds will take just over six
months of spring or summertime sunshine to bed-in and raise a thick
grassy-buffet for livestock.

When grass is grown and the meadow is rich and thick with delicious greenery
it will be the ideal nurturing venue for the herbivore livestock animals: the
four mentioned above and a variety of wild animals less amenable to
domestication. Throughout the year the animals will consume the meadow's
offerings and it is the duty of the farmer to keep the grasslands well-seeded
else the animals may starve or flee in search of food elsewhee.

You may find at times fires have decimated a grassland meadow and left, in
their wake, an ash-strewn wasteland. Tending can bring a meadow back to life
by first removing the ash blanket and then commencing a seeding. It uses the
same TEND GRASSLAND comand described above.

NURTURE GRASSLAND.
Assuming the grassland is fully seeded (using the TEND command above) it will
be depleted by animal eating, weather and sometimes even misfortunate
attentions from those opposed to fertile meadows and their inhabitants. Use
the NURTURE GRASSLAND command to bolster the fertile soil with a fresh
injection of seeds. It is necessary to keep up the quality of the meadow to
ensure content, agreeable livestock possessing of the energy to breed.

PLANT BANANA SEED.
Banana trees can only be grown in locations whose SURVEY shows tropical
surroundings or in the vale of Azrili in suitably earthrich locales.
You plant individual seedlings and leave them to grow. A banana tree takes
nine years to grow to a level where it can bear fruit. Banana palms do not
blossom.
PICK BANANA FROM TREE.
If the tree has borne fruit, usually towards the end of the summer months, you
may ascend the trunk of the tree and nestle yourself in the branches ready to
shake ripe bananas out of the tree.
SHAKE TREE.
To shake the branches burdened with ripe fruit and cause the fruit to break
free and tumble to the ground at the base of the trunk.

TURN EARTH.
With a large spade, this will break the surface of the earth in the garden,
turning it over so that fresh, healthy soil is ready to await planting of
whichever plant you choose.
PLANT <flower> SEED.
If you have enough seeds, you can plant a garden which will bloom later on in
the year with either the fragrant spice plants, or beautiful rose bushes.
Planting has to occur within the months of spring.
WATER GARDEN.
If your garden looks a little malnourished, the plants are beginning to go
brown (usually as a result of hot summers), then you will need to find some
water and water your garden, to ensure the poor plants do not shrivel up
totally and perish.
WEED GARDEN.
Also growing in the soil along with the plants are the evil weeds, they grow
up and strangle the life out of the plants that grow there. You must weed the
garden as soon as you see any sign of them to ensure that your plants will
reach maturity and not be stunted in their growth.
PUT <whatever> IN WHEELBARROW
All gardens need manure, compost or the like to enable the garden to bloom
again after several years of use and the earth has been worn out of its
natural nutrients. Stables usually produce large amounts of suitable manure
for this stage, and this will be gladly sold onto you for a small fee.
RAKE DUNG.
With a barrow full of dung, and a rake in your hand, this will cover the
garden completely in it, ensuring that when it next rains or is watered, the
nutrients will soak into the soil and reach the little plants below. Ensure
that it does rain or is watered though, for in the hot summer sun, it can dry
over and stop the shoots poking up through the soil.
GARDEN <plant/flower>.
Gardens tend to bloom in Hindyear, some remaining in bloom into the very early
days of Leaflost. After a garden has bloomed, you will want to either pick
the roses or harvest the spice plants, for use later on in either
manufacturing spices with an arboretum, or manufacturing dyes with the petals
of the tender rose. Alternatively, you could try and woo the heart of your
love by sending her (or him) a complete garden full of the sweet smelling red
roses. Do bear in mind that you cannot garden too late in the year, even if
it has flowered, for fear of ruining next year's blooms; thus focus your
efforts on the first autumn month: Hindyear.

Your mastery of the Farming skill has reached the point where you are able to
apply an across-the-board scrumping ability to climbing up and shaking down
fruit trees and the like.
PICK <fruit/nut> FROM <tree> or SCRUMP <fruit/nut>.
This command declares your intention to go up a tree to scrump its fruit or
nuts. It is never advisable to refer to fruit by anything other than single
word, most-known names (like AVOCADO rather than AVOCADO PEAR or PEAR). In
locations with many trees you may wish to specify the unique tree number too.
Type INFO HERE to see the unique numbers of those trees in your locale;
otherwise you risk clambering up the wrong tree and not obtaining your
delicious goal.
SHAKE TREE.
Once you have clambered up into a fruit or nut tree you will be able to
maneuver your body so expertly that you can shake its branches in all the
most useful places and directions - shaking them such that the fruit or nuts
attached are worked loose to tumble onto the ground below. After you have
shaken your fruit or nuts to the ground you must quickly LEAVE your scrumping
position to return to the ground-level and claim your booty. Be sure to move
quickly as there are unscrupulous types known to linger close to scrumpers,
waiting for them to cause fruit to drop from high branches whereupon the
stalker can nip in, gather up the fallen cargo, and flee the scene before the
scrumper has descended.

Popular scrumping items are: figs, nectarines, peaches, quince, apricots,
cherries, mulberries, avocados, acorns, hazelnuts, chestnuts and almonds.

Those of you interested in a little information about scrumping may like to
read through HELP SCRUMPING.

Given your fairly exception prowess in the skill of Farming, your
understanding of the nature of seeds, pods, the soil and the cycle of the
seasons, you are able to take virtually any seed (or similar) and plant it in
a suitably fertile plot of earth. To do this type PLANT followed by the type
of seed (in a single word) followed by SEED, e.g. PLANT MULBERRY SEED or
PLANT PEACH SEED. It should not matter that in a peach's case, you plant a
stone, or in that some 'seeds' are also the resultant crop; this is a
multi-purpose command for convenient planting. There may be other specialist
abilities and commands that must be employed for certain of the trees/crops
but in most cases your 'Seeding' skill will be sufficient and the PLANT
command all you need to use.

CASTOUT POT.
Go to the sea-shore with a crab-pot in your hands and cast it into the sea
that it may sink down beneath the surface and lure a roving sea creature. The
pot should be left a while, though.
DREDGE POT.
If you believe your pot to be filled, or simply wish to examine it, you can
dredge it out from the sea. If you are lucky and your patience has been
sufficient you will find it full of ocean bounty.

ERECT COOP, COOP <chicken>, TEND COOP WITH <food>, GATHER EGGS.
Keeping chickens is one of the finest of the Farming arts. You are able to
procure a chicken coop for yourself. This coop can be carried to a safe place
out of doors and erected. Once erected it cannot be moved and you will then
be able to COOP chickens. These chickens will produce eggs for your
consumption. You will need to tend your chicken coop with wheat or bread
(using the TEND COOP) command which will turn your grainy product into
chicken fodder. If you do not keep your hens fed they will cease to produce
eggs and then die of starvation. Periodically - around every four Avalon
months - depending on the number of chickens and the extent of their feed,
you will be able to GATHER EGGS from your coop. Boc boc boc.

ERECT HUTCH
Use this command to take the city craftsmen fashioned hutch and set it into
place, somewhere safe, where it may permanently reside and become a future
home for rabbits and their offspring. You cannot erect hutches indoors.

HUTCH <rabbit>
When you have a rabbit you may use this command to place it properly within
the hutch, ensuring it is securely tucked inside and introduced to its new
home.

TEND HUTCH WITH <food>
Rabbits will need to food to survive, and to be well-fed in order to breed.
The hutch must therefore be regularly tended with appropriate food. Straw is
the most common foodstuff for the rabbit families but you may, at a pinch,
use bread or wheat.

SOW COTTON (Practising).
Sowing cotton seeds is carried out, typically, in the first week of the spring
month of Springflower. It takes thirty cotton seeds to complete the sowing of
a field, and sowing can only commence on cleared, fully-ploughed, fertile
fields.
HARVEST COTTON (Practising).
The lucky cotton plants gain reward for their months of growing during the
end-year months of Hindyear and Leaflost when harvest is possible. Cotton
picking is a laborious and often painful task. REMEMBER: fields ripen
throughout the month, generally early in it, but sometimes later (weather
affects this). Do not expect everything to ripen for harvest instantly on the
1st of Hindyear.
SEED COTTON (Non-Practising).
Once harvested the cotton balls must be seeded before they can be of any
further use. Seeding is slow and tiresome but necessary before the seeded
cotton can be passed onto spinners to be wound and spun onto bobbins.
Remember that you need to be holding the cotton you wish to seed.

Croplore allows you to see the state of the soil in a field. You will see this
information when you glance or examine a field, giving you a general
indication of the state of health of the soil. A good farmer will practice
crop rotation, whereby a field is used for two years, and then left fallow
(unused) for a further year. This will ensure that the nutrients in the soil
remain in balance. If a field is used too many years in a row, it will
produce a lower yield of crop. If this happens, a farmer with the highest
possible Farming skill may manure the field to help restore the nutrients.
Such a gifted farmer may also use the dung of animals to temporarily boost
the richness of the soil, allowing bountiful yields. Yields of two hundred
percent are not unheard of.

SOW WHEAT.
Wheat fields are sown in the spring months of Cloudburst and Springflower. You
can only sow in a ploughed field of fertile soil. It takes fifty seeds to
complete a single field.
HARVEST WHEAT.
Once the wheat has grown high and browned and the summer has drawn to an end,
during the months of Hindyear and Leaflost, you must harvest the wheat ready
to be processed. You will get seeds from your harvest but not at any regular
rate. REMEMBER: fields ripen throughout the month, generally early in it, but
sometimes later (weather affects this). Do not expect everything to ripen for
harvest instantly on the 1st of Hindyear.
TOP <wheat>.
Topping and tailing is done after harvest on harvested wheat. It involves
cutting the head of the wheat (the nourishing part) from the stems (which can
be used as straw). This command processes one ear at a time.
SEPARATE WHEAT.
Separation is the final process in the farming of wheat. It is the meticulous
process of separating the valuable wheat from the valueless chaff.

Your general ability with the natural world has allowed you to master the art
of planting nuts (or their seeds), nurture the resultant shrub or tree, and
finally harvest the ripe nuts every summer or autumn (depending on their
ripening time).
PLANT <type of nut> SEED.
Commence the planting of a nut or a nut-associated seed. You must select the
correct environment and time of year for the planting else you may not
succeed in the operation. For instance, in the spring-time, PLANT HAZELNUT
SEED will perform the actions required to bed in a hazelnut seed ready for
nature to work its magic and bring forth, after sufficient seasons have
passed, a mature nut-hearing shrub or tree.
PICK <nut> FROM TREE.
Climbs up a tree or delves into a shrub to get your hands on the ripe nuts,
generally during the summer or autumn. Nuts, unlike regular fruits, are often
more resilient to temperature extremes and thus provide ripe food during
winter-time. Beware of over picking of nuts, however, as they provide
invaluable sustenance for wild animals across the continent and if the land
is stripped of nuts for storage in the cities, many a creature of the forest
will perish.
SHAKE TREE or SHAKE BUSH.
Once ensconsed in a tree or a bush, in amongst the ripe fruits or nuts, you
can shake the appropriate appendages to cause the ripe nuts to fall to the
ground.

MILK <animal> INTO <container>.
You can milk cows and goats via this method. Fetch yourself a nice stool, a
few containers to fill and a cow or a female goat. Then begin milking using
this command. The process is quite lengthy and relies on the correct balance
of pulling and squeezing the teats, and careful monitoring of the responses
of your animal. If you make mistakes during milking you will retard the
process or even cause your animal to temporarily 'dry up'. It has been said
that women are inherently superior milkers than men; they have a feel for the
animal.
PULL TEAT <number>.
Pulls down the teat of your animal. You must only pull down the appropriate
teat else you will retard the milking process.
SQUEEZE TEAT <number>.
Squeezes a pulled teat on your animal. You must only squeeze the appropriate
teat (your animal's responses will inform you which one to squeeze). If your
milking technique is good enough you will soon squeeze milk from the teats to
slowly fill your containers.

ARRANGE NET.
Once you have in your possession a well-woven fishing net, and are sitting in
your boat upon a lake or ocean blue you can arrange your net at the rear of
the boat ready to be unfurled into the waters for effective fish catching.
UNFURL NET.
In your boat once you have arranged your fishing net, you may unfurl it at
will, slowly draping it out behind your boat in the waters to make a broad
sweep of the available fish therein.
HAUL NET.
When you feel you have left your fishing net in the waters for a sufficient
length of time, haul it back into your boat and examine the contents; if Lady
Luck shines upon you, your net will be filled with a bounty of fish.

SOW SOY
In spring (during the months of Cloudburst and Springflower) you can sow soy
seeds in poughed, fertile fields. It takes thirty seeds to sow through a
single field.
HARVEST SOY
Harvesting takes place during the months of Hindyear and Leaflost, towards the
end of the year. Soybeans are considered a middling harvest crop since they
require some processing after harvest before they can be considered fit for
storage or foodstuff use. The harvested soybean is contained in a pod which
must be boiled in freshwater for a while before shelling to produce the final
bean. REMEMBER: fields ripen throughout the month, generally early in it, but
sometimes later (weather affects this). Do not expect everything to ripen for
harvest instantly on the 1st of Hindyear.
BOIL PODS [<optional number>]
Ensure you hold a suitable heat-resistant water filled container in your hands
and some lately harvested soybean pods. This command will place the pods into
the container and then place the container onto a stove so that the water may
boil, softening up the pods reading for squeezing. Bear in mind you must use
a stove to ensure enough evenly-spread heat against the container to properly
boil the pods.
SQUEEZE PODS
After having boiled your soybean pods you may retrieve your container with
soft pods, remove the softened pods and - before they dry out - squeeze out
the fresh soybeans (two or three generally). If you have completed the
process correctly then out will pop the soybeans and you may discard the pods
for natural fertilizer. The decomposing pods, the leftovers, can be used
specifically in manuring fields and making plantfood for gardens. If they are
left in a non-wet environment for long enough (three months following the
addition of the most recent decomposing soypod to the batch) the water within
will evaporate and leave soy seeds useful for subsequent planting. To prevent
soypods decomposing into seeds the easiest method is to leave them in a
container full of water.

NOTE to all prospective bee-keepers: bees are no respecters of the niceties
commonplace between human being, nor are the forced to be subject to all
aspects of divine law. Thus they can be antagonistic towards those under
divine protection, towards pacifists and duellists - even if unprovoked. Be
warned and treat them with care.
PLUCK HIVE.
This will remove a naturally formed beehive from a tree; there are lots of
suitable trees for them to grow in around the countryside, but many either do
not contain hives, or hold old ones in which the bees used to live, but have
since moved on to a new one.
SMOKE HIVE or SMOKE BEE.
This is really rather essential unless you have great tolerance for pain.
Using a smoker, you puff some inside the hive which stuns the bees and
ensures that they are not angry and attempt to sting you. Many a person has
been either seriously wounded and some have even been killed whilst
attempting this dangerous task. You can smoke individual bees which might be
attacking you by specifying 'bee' when you use the smoker instead of hive.
REMOVE QUEEN FROM HIVE.
This removes the (hopefully) stunned queen bee from with a hive, in order to
place her into your newly built hive with combs in. If she is not stunned,
you will probably not live long enough to regret it.
BUILD HIVE.
Using between eight and ten bundles of wood and the same number of nails and a
hammer, you are able to knock up a respectable looking hive in which you can
place the queen bee and wait for her to attract the bees into it. Hives are
also possible to be locked, it is sometimes useful to do this as otherwise
someone might steal your honeycomb, or, far worse they could steal the bees
themselves!
PUT QUEEN IN HIVE.
Once the hive is built, this will place the queen back into the hive and she
will recover from the stun administered earlier. Her scent will cause lots
and lots of bees to be attracted to the hive, ready to go out and pollinate
the flowers, and return with the sticky nectar which forms the honey in the
comb, and also is covered in wax (to keep it within the comb).

SCRAPE WAX
Using a little spatula, this allows you to scrape the wax that lines each of
the honeycombs in the hives off into little balls, ready for moulding into
either figures, sealing letters or any of its other uses. Unfortunately, if
you scrape the wax off of a comb, you cannot then extract the honey out of
it.
POKE HONEY
Using a short rod, you are able to poke the honey that lies with the hexagonal
matrix of the comb so that it trickles out and flows down the comb into a
drip tray, and finally into a jar of honey, enabling you to have a tasty meal
when spread over bread and rolls, or to sweeten things such as mead up into
either an edible or drinkable form.

Breeding is a disparate art, since it is a partly passive, partly fortuitous
talent. Rather than a simple process to be followed, breeding requires
judicious effort, well-timed and consistent over a period instead. There is
no presumption about anyone's purposes with breeding - though naturally some
will use their skills to encourage procreation among animals with leather
hides for eventual commodity processing, or those with tasty meat for future
slaughter; similarly popular is the breeding of steeds for legion and
fieldworker cavalry mounts. Some even breed animals for their own pleasure,
to fill the land with more of the creatures of Aldaron, the god of life...
The choice rests entirely with you.

NURTURE <animal>.
When you have led an animal into an appropriate grassland location - with a
rich grassy meadow covering the locale - you may nurture them for a while to
set the beast at ease with its new surroundings, ensuring it remains attached
to the environment and does not wander or remain wildly skittish and
disinterested in its fellow fauna.

SHEPHERD <male animal> WITH <female animal>.
Although breeding is, ultimately, a haphazard business and even the finest of
shepherds can but attempt to create a sympathetic environment and grow a
suitably diverse, contented group of animals you have also some skill in the
ways of nudging animals into intimate interplay. Use this command to take two
animals, potential mates needless to say, and shepherd them together in a
most encouraging, suggestive way. Do not try to mate potentially compatible
animals if there is a great difference in age, experience or strength - they
could very well reject one another. It may be necessary to TRAIN up the
weaker animal to bring its strength up closer to its prospective partner.

INDUCE <pregnant animal>.
When you have determined a mother-animal to be gone through a full pregnancy
term and reached a state of readiness for birthing you may wish to induce
rather than wait for the unpredictable natural moment of labour. So to do
this, simply type INDUCE followed by the animal you wish to encourage into
labour - ensuring you are in an appropriately sympathetic environemnt and, if
you wish to maximise the chances of a succesful outcome, bringing together as
many fellows to help BIRTH (see below) as possible.

BIRTH <animal>.
When an animal has reached full-term it can be dangerous to allow it to give
birth without supervision - a myriad dangers await the newborn and the
vulnerable mother - so you can use this command to establish yourself as
midwife to the soon-to-emerge offspring. Birthing is a process requiring
total focus, sometimes time-consuming, always rewarding... Since whatever
your purposes in breeding your animals, the arrival of a new life is always
cause for celebration. Begin helping, issuing the BIRTH command, as soon as
you see the animal go into labour and continue concentrated labour is over.
Multiple people can aid birthing and the more birth-helpers, the more likely
the newborn will emerge alive and healthy (to a point). Crowds of strangers
clamouring to 'help' - however - will achieve the opposite result and do more
harm than good.

Skinning is the first of the multi-process sequence of actions required to
create either leather or furs commodity, or precede butchery in the creation
of meat comodity. Your skill extends to the skinning of only those animals
suitable for one of these purposes: cows, bulls, horses, rabbits, boar,
sheep, goats and deer. Be wary of animals bearing the trident brand, however,
for these are creatures of the divine herd and cannot be despoiled by
suffering a skinning.

SKIN <dead animal>.
In possession of a suitably sharp knife you use this command to set about the
task of expertly skinning the dead animal, separating its carcass - which can
be used by a butcher - from its skin - which can be used by the tanner or the
furrier. Skinning is a relatively speedy process but requires absolute
concentration to successfully complete.

So long as your sheep or other wooly animal (e.g. an adult alpaca) are of
sufficient age and remain well-fed, both ewes and rams will require an annual
shearing, both for the profit of producing wool commodity but also to ensure
the beasts are cool and comfortable during the spring and summer months. If
you neglect to shear, the fleece will continue to grow and eventually reach a
point where it will be detrimental to the beast's health. Ideal shearing
begins the first spring month. The extent of wool gained from a fleece
depends how long the fleece has been allowed to grow unsheared.

DIP <sheep/wooly animal>.
When you have decided your wooly animal is ready to be sheared you will need
to precede the shearing by giving the animal a comprehensive bathing in a
river, lake or waterfall. The dipping process cleans off the prospected
fleece from the day-to-day soiling naturally accumulated by a wooly animal as
it goes about its business.

SHEAR <sheep/wooly animal>.
Once you sheep/alpaca or other woolen animal is dipped its fleece is ready for
shearing. Use this command to clasp the animal between your knees and subject
it to a skilled shearing, snipping and cutting in all the right places to
liberate the wooly animal from its precious woolen coat. You will need
shearing scissors for this task.

SKIRT <fleece>.
After completing your shearing you will be left with a fleece and you will
need to skirt it on a wool table to turn it into wool commodity. The skirting
process is crucial since it removes sweat fribs, impurities, irregularities
and such from the fleece. The end-product is wool, ready to be used for
whatever further processes you desire. The skirting requires a wool table.

BUTCHER <dead animal>.
Faced with the dead body of one of the animals suitable for butchery (cows,
bulls, horses, sheep, boar, rabbits, goats, and deer) you will be able to use
this command to set about chopping up the beast into meat commodity. The
amount of meat you derive depends on the animal though once butchered all
meat is treated in the same fashion. Bigger animals, as one might imagine,
provide more meat. The dead animal must have been skinned before butchery can
commence - and this is part of the 'tanning' abilities documented in AB
LABOURS TANNING.

The mystique of the oak, eldest of the ancient trees, is known only to a few -
secrets passed down from generation to generation. Such secrets cannot be
revealed here. However, you are so broadly skilled in the ways of seedlore
and nature nurture that you are able to plant acorns in a manner suitable for
their unique growth cycle. Type PLANT ACORN SEED to begin planting acorns and
then keep an eye on the slowly growing oak. The oak is the only tree with a
birthmemory of its planter and this, it is said, is the 'root' of its
singular nature when mature.