Batching definition

[gillybilly]

I wonder if someone can give me a definition of 'batching' in the context of homesteads. I have read many references to it through different families personal recollections of their homesteading days, and I guess from the contexts where I have read it, that it refers to simple farming and self sufficiency on the land. I wonder whether it means any more than this. It is not a term used here in the UK, so your knowledge on this would be much appreciated, thank you.

[jorose]

I think it refers to single men living alone (from "batchelor").

Here's an Australian reference:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/34240483?searchTerm=batching&searchLimits=

Any number of young Englishmen "batch it" in the Dominions or the United States - that is, live alone, doing their own housekeeping, cooking, and even their own washing

And Canadian:
http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/loc_hist/page.aspx?id=859966
"As he was batching, his sisters came at times to cook for him."

[gillybilly]

Many thanks for this. Logical when you know!