A Conversation for The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
reddleman footnote
Ancaeus Started conversation Dec 27, 2006
I think that the footnote about what a reddleman does is not quite right. [Caveat: I am not an expert in this area.]
I think that reddle is red ochre that is applied to the chest of rams. The shepherd can then tell which of the ewes has been covered by the ram.
reddleman footnote
Ancaeus Posted Dec 27, 2006
To correct my earlier post, I found a trial record from 1760 online that discusses marking sheep with ochre or reddle for identification. Here is the URL: http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/html_sessions/T17601022.html
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