*White. 'Cow white'=cow in milk. 'Calf white'=sucking calf.
'All the small tithes such as wool and lamb, cow white and calf &c. throughout all parts of the parish unexpressed in the several foregoing particulars. The usual rates at present being fourpence a cow white—sixpence a calf ... the sheep, lambs and calves are due at St. Mark's tide—the cow white, and fatting cattle at Lammas.'—Hilmarton Parish Terrier, 1704. See Wilts Arch. Mag. vol. xxiv. p. 126.
Usually defined as above, but perhaps more correctly written as cow-wite and calf-wite, i.e. the mulct or payment for a cow or calf.
'Tythes of Wool and Lambs and Calves, and three half pence which is due and payable at Lammas being Composition Money for the Tythe White of every Cow.'—Wilcot Parish Terrier, 1704.
As regards the ordinary derivation, compare white-house, a dairy, white-meat, milk, whites, milk.
'Wheatly (On the Common Prayer, ed. 1848, pp. 233-4) quotes from a letter of one G. Langbain, 1650, as follows:—"certe quod de Lacte vaccarum refert, illud percognitum habeo in agro Hamtoniensi (an et alibi nescio) decimas Lacticiniorum venire vulgo sub hoc nomine, The Whites of Kine; apud Leicestrenses etiam Lacticinia vulgariter dicuntur Whitemeat."'—Smythe-Palmer.
White Couch. See Couch.
White-flower. Stellaria Holostea, L., Greater Stitchwort.—N.W. (Huish.)
*White-house. A dairy (H.Wr.).