24 – The Forest in Nivernais – Grass collectors

The twenty-fourth postcard of the series “The Forest in Nivernais” depicts two women in the forest of Bertranges carrying on their shoulder heavy bags filled with grass.

The collection of grass was part of a series of customs inherited from the past regime. Those liberalities (collection and gathering) allowed villagers to meet part of their needs, as firewood and cattle food. Collection and gathering in forests were mainly done by women while men worked in the fields or in the woods. 

In his verses of poetry, Achille Millien evokes collection of grass that helps to improve the lives of the lesser rich people: “Il faut nourrir la vache ou la chèvre à l’étable. / Les femmes vont cueillir l’herbe dans les taillis / Sous le faix sont penchés leurs fronts appesantis, / Mais leur peine et leurs soins seront payés au prix / D’un lait plus abondant, d’un beurre délectable.”