We can thank Medieval monks for communal gardening, for they not just grew food and herbal medicine for themselves and the wider community, they split some of their lands into smaller plots, or strips, for villagers to use.
Admittedly the villagers usually had to give a tenth of what they grew, the origin of tithes, but it made them at least partially self sufficient, and healthier as well.
Another benefit was to be able to team the villagers together when the various crops came in, so that all could be brought in and none was wasted.
This set advertises Moka Coffee, by Casiez-Bourgois, of Cambrai. They also made chicory coffee, but I have been unable to find anything else about them, not even the proper name of this agriculturally-themed set. I have established it is definitely agriculture, and not the seasons, which is often cited for the cards showing "sowing" and "harvest" - for each card has an agricultural machine in the inset shape.
I am not quite sure if two of these are from this set, or another, they show, and are titled for, "baker and bread" and "miller and wheat" - but they are very similar so I have added them until I know better.
I do know that this set was issued by other companies, namely ;
- Chocolat Louit of Bordeaux
- Moka Beriot of Lille
So far the known cards are :
- La Charade Humaine - the human plough
- La Moisson - the harvester
- Le Battage du Ble - the thresher
- Le Boulanger, Le Pain - baker and bread
- Le Hersage - the harrow
- Le Labourage - the horse drawn plough
- Le Liage La Mis en Tas - the baling machine
- Le Mouline, la Farine - miller and wheat
- Le Vannage, le Criblage, Le Triage - the winnowing machine
- Les Premiers Defrichements - the spade and pick
- Les Semailles - seed sowing machine