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1481 W. Caxton tr. Siege & Conqueste Jerusalem (1893) xxxviii. 76 I myself, yf it please god, assone as the sprynge of the yere [Fr. li soues tens] cometh, shal come and hast to meue.

1506 tr. Kalender of Shepherdes sig. A. iii^v These be the foure seasons in the yere. as Prymetyme is the sprynge of the yere.

1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. G.viij In the sprynge of the yere, it hath yealowe floures.

1637 T. Morton New Eng. Canaan ii. 89 There is a Fish (by some called shadds, by some allizes) that in the spring of the yeare..spaune in the ponds.

1665 R. Boyle Disc. iv. iii, in Occas. Refl. sig. E7 If then, in the Spring of the Year, our Reflector see the Gardener pruning a Fruit-tree.

1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Brassica In the Spring of the Year these Cabbages will shoot out strongly.

1794 B. Rush Med. Inq. & Observ.: Acct. of Bilious Remitting Yellow Fever III. 277 In pneumonies which affect whole neighbourhoods in the spring of the year, bleeding is the universal remedy.

1815 Lit. Panorama Mar. 827/1 A nobleman in the spring of the year has not thought it worth his while to re-stack his corn.

1866 Rural Amer. (Utica, N.Y.) 1 Jan. 2/2 One has, for instance, 10 to 20 hives in the spring of the year, all in good condition, strong in numbers and not short of honey.

1931 G. A. Garratt Mech. Properties Wood ii. 115 That [wood] originally nearest the pith, which was formed in the spring of the year..is consequently known as springwood or early wood.

1975 F. Mowat Snow Walker 132 My father followed him in the spring of the year.

2013 Daily Gleaner (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 22 Mar. a 5 In the spring of the year..the water is quite high.