twist them over again Some intermingle Silk in the twisting but I cannot approve of it but a Line of all Silk is not amiss also a Line made of the smallest Lute-string is very good but that it will soon rot by the Water The best colour for Lines is the sorrel white and grey the two last for clear waters and the grey for muddy Rivers neither is the pale wacry green to be contemned which colour you may make after this manner Take a pint of strong Ale half a pound of Soot a small quantity of the juice of Walnut-leaves with the like quantity of Alum put these into a Pipkin and boil them together about half an hour Having so done take it off the fire and when it is cold put in your Hair Or thus Take a pottle of Alum-water somewhat more than a handful of Marigold-flowers boil them till a yellow scum arise then take half a pound of green Copperas with as much Verdegreece and beat them together to a fine powder put these with the Hair into the alum-Alum-Water and let it lie ten hours or more then take the Hair out and let it dry In the making your Line leave a Bought at both ends the one to put it to and take it srom the Rod the other to hang your lowest link upon to which your Hook is fastned and so you may change your Hook as often as you please Of the Hook Flote and other things worth the Observation YOur Hook ought to be long in the shank somewhat round in its circumference the point standing even and straight and let the bending be in the shank Use strong but small Silk in the setting on of your Hook laying the Hair on the inside of your Hook for if it be on the outside the Silk will fret and cut it a sunder As for the Flotes there are divers way of making them Some use your Muscovy-Duck-quills which are the best for still Waters but for strong streams take good sound Cork without flaws or holes and bore it through with a hot Iron then put into it a Quill of a fit proportion then pare your Cork into a Pyramidal form of what bigness you think fit after this grind it smooth To plum your Ground you must carry with you a Musquet-bullet with a hole made through it or any other sort of Plummet tying this to a strong twist hang it on your Hook and so you will find the depth of the Water And that you may not incommode your Tackle it will be very requisite to make several partitions in pieces of Parchment sowed together by which each Utensil may have a place by it self In any wise forget not to carry a little Whetstone with you to sharpen your Hooks if you find them blunt and dull I need not advise you how to carry your BOB and PALMER or put you in mind of having several Boxes of divers sizes for your Hooks Corks Silk Thread Lead Flies c. or admonish you not to forget your Linnen and Wollen Bags for all sorts os Baits but let me forwarn you not to have a PAUNDER that is heavy for it can never be light enough those which are made of Osiers I think are the best Lastly forget not carry with you a small Pole with a Loop at the end thereof to which you may fasten a small Net to land great Fish withal There is another way much better and that is by the Landing-hook which hath a Screw at the end of it to screw it into the Socket of a Pole to which Socket may be fitted also two other Hooks the one to pull out Wood and the other sharp to our away Weeds Of Flies Natural and Artificial and how to use them NAtural Flies are innumerable there being as many kinds as there are different sorts of Fruits to avoid prolixity I shall onely name some of them viz. the Dun-fly the Stone or May-fly the Red Fly the Moor-fly the Tawny-fly the Shel-fly the Cloudy or Blackish-fly the Flag-fly the Vine-fly also Caterpillers Canker-flies and Bear-flies with Thousands more which frequent Meadows and Rivers for the contemplation of all but particularly the recreation of Anglers These come in sooner or later according to the season of the year that is sooner or later according to the forwardness or backwardness of the Spring for Flies being bred of Putrefaction commence their being according as the Heat doth further their seminal vertue unto animation I cannot prescribe you Rules to know when each Fly cometh in and is most grateful to every sort of Fish and therefore I shall leave the knowledge hereof to your own observation Moreover there are several sorts of Flies according to the several natures of divers Soils and Rivers or diversity of Plants yet some there are common to all although but few All Flies are very good in their seasons for such Fish as rise at the Fly but some more peculiarly good as being better beloved by some sort of fish Fish generally rise at these Flies most eagerly when most sorts of Flies resort to the Water-side hanging in a manner in clusters on Trees and Bushes delighting themselves to skip thence and play upon the water and then do the fish shew their craft in catching them To the intent you may the better know what kind of Fly the Fish then most covet observe thus to do coming in the Morning to the River-side beat the Bushes with your Rod and take up what variety you may of all sorts of Flies and try them all by which means you will quickly know which are in greatest estimation among them Not but that they will change their Fly sometimes but then it is when they have glutted themselves there with for five or six days together which is commonly upon the going out of that Fly for Fish never covet that Fly more than when there is greatest plenty contemning them at their first coming in There are two ways to fish with these natural Flies either on the surface of the water or a little underneath it Now when you angle for Chevin Roach or Dace with the natural Fly move it not swiftly when you see the Fish make at it but rather let it glide spontaneously towards it with the Stream If it be in a still and slow water draw the Fly slowly sideways by him that will make him eager in pursuit of it whereas if you should move it swiftly they will not follow it being a lazy fish and slow of motion These fish delight to shew themselves in a Sun-shiny-day almost on the very surface of the Water by which means you may pick and choose The Artificial Fly is seldome used but in blustering weather when by the Winds the Waters are so troubled that the Natural Fly cannot be seen nor rest upon them There are according to the opinion of Mr. Walton a very ingenious man and an excellent Angler twelve sorts of Artificial Flies to angle with on the top of the Water
their own Feather to stoop but but also Hawks and Birds of Prey to swoop into your Nets Remember to keep the first half dozen you take alive for Stales and to that end have a Cage or Linnen-bag to put them in The rest squeez in the hinder-part of the head and so kill them And thus do every day Of taking small Birds which use Hedges and Bushes with Lime-twigs THe great Lime-bush is best for this use which you must make after this manner Cut down the main Arm or chief Bough of any bushy Tree whose branches or Twigs are long thick smooth and straight without either pricks or knots of which the Willow or Birch-tree are the best when you have pickt it and trimm'd it from all superfluity making the Twigs neat and clean take then of the best Bird-lime well mixed and wrought together with Goose-greace or Capon's-greace which being warmed lime every Twig therewith within four fingers of the bottom The body from whence the branches have their rise must be untouch'd with Lime Be sure you do not dawb you Twigs with too much Lime for that will give distaste to the Birds yet let none want its proportion or have any part left bare which ought to be toucht for as too much will deter them from coming so too little will not hold them when they are there Having so done place your Bush on some Quick-set or dead Hedge neer unto Towns-ends back-yards old houses or the like for these are the resort of small Birds in the Spring-time in the Summer and Harvest in Groves Bushes White-thorn-trees Quick-set-hedges neer Corn-fields Fruit-trees Flax and Hemp-lands and in the winter about Houses Hovels Barns Stacks or those places where stand ricks of Corn or scattered Chaff c. As near as you can to any of these haunts plant your Lime-bush and plant your self also at a convenient distance undiscovered imitating with your mouth the several Notes of Birds which you must learn by frequent practice walking the Fields for that very purpose often observing the variety of several birds sounds especially such as they call one another by I have known some so expert herein that they could imitate the Notes of twenty several sorts of Birds at least by which they have caught ten Birds to anothers one that was ignorant therein But if you cannot attain to it by your industry you must then buy a Bird-call of which there are several sorts and easie to be framed some of Wood some of Horn some of Cane and the like Having first learned how to use this Call you shall sit and call the Birds unto you and as any of them light on your Bush step not to them till you see them sufficiently entangled Neither is it requisite to run for every single Bird but let them alone till more come for their fluttering is as good as a Stale to entice more This Exercise you may use from Sun-Rising till ten a clock in the Morning and from one till almost Sun-set You may take these small Birds with Lime-twigs onely without the Bush. When I was a boy I have taken two or three hundred small Twigs about the bigness of Rushes and about three Inches long and have gone with them into a field where were Hemp-cocks upon the tops of half a score lying all round together I have stuck my Twigs and then have gone and beat that field or the next to it where I saw any Birds and commonly in such fields there are infinite numbers of Linnets and Green-birds which are great lovers of Hemp-seed I say they fly in such vast flocks I have caught at one fall of them upon the Cocks eight dozen at a time But to return there is a pretty way of taking Birds with Lime-twigs by placing near them a Stale or two made of living Night-baits placing them aloft that they may be visible to the Birds thereabouts which will no sooner be perceived but every Bird will come and gaze wondering at the strangeness of the sight then they having no other convenient lighting-place but where the Lime-twigs are you may take what number you list of them But the Owl is a far better Stale than the Bat being bigger and more easily to be perceived besides he is never seen abroad but he is followed and persecuted by all the birds near adjacent If you have not a living Bat or Owl their skins will serve as well being stuffed and will last you twenty years There are some have used an Owl cut in Wood and naturally painted with wonderful success It is strange to me that this Bird above all others should be so persecuted by all Birds whatsoever especially by the Goose and therefore some arch Cracks in Lincoln-shire and other places where are great quantities of Geese observing their tempers have made great advantage of them for by only throwing a live Owl among a flock of Geese they got as many Quills as they knew what to do with for the Geese endeavouring to beat the Owl with their wings never left till they did beat the Quills out of their wings and commonly the best which are Seconds How to make the best sort of Bird-lime and how to use it TAke at Midsummer the bark of Holly and pill it from the Tree so much as will fill a reasonable big Vessel then put to it running Water and set it over the fire and boil it till the grey and white bark rise from the green which will take up sixteen hours in the boiling then take it from the fire and separate the barks after the water is very well drain'd away then take all the green bark and lay it on the ground in a close place and moist floor and cover it over with all manner of green Weeds as Hemlock Docks Thistles and the like thus let it lie ten or twelve days in which time it will rot and turn to a filthy slimy matter Then take it and put it into a Mortar and there beat it till it become universally thick and tough without the discerning of any part of the bark or other substance then take it out of the Mortar and carry it to a running Stream and there wash it exceedingly not leaving any more or foulness within it then put it up in a very close Earthen pot and let it stand and purge for divers days together scumming it as often as any foulness arises for four or five days when you perceive no more Scum you shall then take it out of that Pot and put it into another clean Earthen Vessel cover it close and keep it for your use When you are about to use your Lime take what quantity you think fit and put it into a Pipkin adding thereto a third part of Goose-greace or Capons-greace finely clarified and set them over a gentle fire and there let them melt together and stir them continually till they are well incorporated then take it from the fire and stir it till it be
c. But waving this I cannot let slip the expression of an ingenious Forreiner who said That Rivers and the Inhabitants of the watry Element were made for wise men to contemplate and fools to pass by without consideration Modesty will not permit me to rank my self in the number of the first and I shall endeavour to clear my self from the scandal of the last by giving you a short account of Rivers and their watry Inhabitants I shall first discourse of Rivers one whereof I have read of scituate in Epirus which hath a strange double and contrar property the one is that it will extinguish any Torch that is lighted and the other is to light a Torch never lighted before The River Silarus in a few hours will as report saith convert a Rod into Stone And I my self know a Lough in Ireland that in some years will convert Wood into Stone of which are made the best Hones Cambden makes mention of a Well near Kerby in Cumberland that ebbs and flows several times every day The same Author makes mention of the River Mole in Surrey which running several miles under ground being opposed by Hills at last breaks out again so far off that the Inhabitants thereabout boast as the Spaniards of the River Ama that they feed several Flocks of Sheep on a green Bridge There is such another green Bridge in Wales the River running a great way under ground and there diâ—emboguing it self into the Sea Some thereabout report that they have put a living Goose into the Hole where the Water falls and she hath swum out at the other end but with no Feathers on her back Mr. Thomas May in his History of The Reign of King Henry the Second relates two strange things from Gricaldus Cambrensis of certain Wells in Ireland His Words are these A Well there is in Munster to be seen Within whose Waters whosoe're hath been Once drench'd his Hair streight takes an hoary dye Another Fountain of quite contrary Effect to that in Ulster Springs for there Those that have washed once how old soe're Shall never after have an hoary Hair Another thing though against Nature yet for the strangeness of it I cannot choose but relate and that is of a certain River near Harwood in Bedfordshire which in the year of our Lord 1399 a little before the Civil Wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster burst forth of a sudden stood still and divided it felf asunder so that men might pass three miles together on foot down the midst of the Channel leaving the Waters like a Wall behind them Speed in his Descript. Bedford I shall conclude with two of the strangest Rivers that ever were heard of The first is a River called Eleusina which is so merrily disposed if you will believe a man of no less Authority than Aristotle that it will dance to a Fiddle bubling at the noise of Musick and will grow very muddy but as soon as the Musick ceaseth it ceaseth its motion returning to its former calmness and clearness The other is as wonderful and if you will believe Josephus that learned Jew it is a River in Judaea which runs very swisth all the six days of the Week but resteth on the Seventh which is the Jewish Sabbath And now a word or two concerning Fish Plinsaith That Nature's great and wonderful powers more demonstrated in the Sea than on the Land and this may appear by those numerous and various Creatures which inhabit in and about that Element which will appear more at large if you will read their History written either by Rondeletius Gesner Johnstonus or Aldrovandus The number and the various shapes oâ— these Fishes are not more strange than their different Natures Inclinations and Actions Give me leave to speak a little hereof There is a Fish called the Cuttle-fish which wâ—â— cast a long Gut out of her Throat with which she aâ—gles For lying obscurely in the Mud she permâ—â— small Fish to nibble at it and by that means draws them near her by little and little till coming within her reach she leaps upon them and devours them hence she is called the Sea-Angler The Hermit is a Fish that when she grows old will seek out a dead Fish's shell fit for her purpose and there dwell secluded from all company studying nothing more than how to defend her self against the injuries of Wind and Weather The Sargus is a Fish so lascivious as Du-Bartas expresseth it rarely well that when he cannot find change of Mates enough in the Sea he will get ashore and Cuckold a Goat Goes courting She-Goats on the grassy Shore Horning their Husbands that had Horns before Whereas it is reported that the Mullet is so chast that when she is deprived of her Mate she will follow him to the shore and dye The Torpedo or Cramp-fish is a Fish of so baneful and poysonous a nature that all other Fish that come within her reach are immediately stupified and without motion so that they easily become her prey nay she will so suddenly convey her Poyson up the Rod and Line of the Angler when she feels her self entangled that his Hands and Arms immediately losing their strength become nummed and senseless The Scolopendra hath as rare and strange a way of defending her self from the Anglers subtilty as any Fish whatever if we may credit the relation of Du-Bartas whose words are these But if the Scolopendra have suckt in The sowre-sweet morsel with the barbed pin She hath as rare a Trick to rid her from it For instantly she all her Guts will vomit And having clear'd them from the danger then She fair and softly sups them in again So that not one of them within her Womb Changeth his Office or his wonted room The Remora is a Fish of so strange and secret a property and for that reason is often used for a Metaphor that as the same Du-Bartas saith Let all the Winds in one Wind gather them And seconded with Neptune's strongest stream Let all at once blow all their stiffest gales Aftern a Galley under all her sails Let her be holpen with an hundred Oars Each lively handled by five lusty Rowers The Remora fixing her feeble Horn Into the Tempest-beaten Vessels Stern Stays her Stone-still In the year of our Lord 1180 near Orford in Suffolk there was a Fish taken in the perfect shape of a Man he was kept by Bartholomew de Glanvile in the Castle of Orford above half a year but at length not being carefully looked to he stole to the Sea and was never seen after He never spake but would eat any Meat that was given him especially raw Fish when he had squeezed out the juice He was often had to Church but never shewed any sign of Adoration Let what is already spoken of Fish suffice since it will not onely be impertinent to enlarge farther but impossible here to give an account of the natures of all Fish I shall therefore
early or too late Gentles also are a very good Bait for him if green and so is Cheese made tough by keeping it in a wet Linnen Bag a day or two This Cheese steeped in clarified Honey and the Ground where you intend to fish baited therewith will give you an opportunity to catch store enough of Barbels if there be any thereabout You may do well to bait your Hook with Cheese that is sost and Sheeps-tallow wrought into a Paste but there is no bait like the well-scowred Lob-worm or Cheese steeped in Honey an hour or two When you fish for this Barbel let your Rod and Line be both loug and strong on your Line let there be a running Plummet that is a Bullet with a hole throw the middle let a knot or little bit of Lead be placed a Foot or more above your Hook to keep your Bullet from falling down on it so your Worm lay at the bottom where they always bite and when he takes your bait the Plummet will lye and not check the fish and you may know by the bending of the top of your Rod when he bites and likewise feel him with your hand make a strong snatch then strike and you rarely fail if you play him well and tire him for as he is very subtile so is he extraordinary strong and dogged to be dealt withal and will so struggle that if you manage him not dextrously he will break your Line His best time of biting is about nine of the Clock and the chiefest time of fishing for him is at the latter end of May June July and the beginning of August Of the BREAM THere are two sorts of Breams the one a fresh and the other a salt water-Fish yet neither differ much in shape nature or taste I shall onely speak of the fresh-water Bream which at full growth is a large and stately Fish and breeds either in Ponds or Rivers but chiefly delights in the former which if he likes he will not onely grow exceeding fat but will fill the Pond with his issue even to the starving of the other Fish As for his shape it is very broad and thick scaled very excellently with a forked Tail his Eyes are large but he hath a very little sucking Mouth disproportionate to his Body The flesh of this Fish is accounted more pleasant than wholesome by some but as for my part I am of the judgement of the French who have a great estimation for it and if you will but taste his Belly or Head you will say it is most excellent food The Bream spawneth in June or the beginning of July and is easily taken for after one or two gentle turns he will fall upon his side and so you may draw him to Land with ease The best time of Angling for him is from St. James-tide till Bartholomew-tide for having had all the Summers food they are exceeding fat The Bream is a great lover of red Worms especially such as are to be found at the root of a great Dock and lie wrapt up in a round clue also he loves Paste Flag-worms Wasps green Flies Butter-flies and a Grass-hopper with his Legs cut off The way of taking Breams is thus First bait the ground where you know they resort with a convenient quantity of sweet-ground Barley-malt boyled but a little while and strained when it is cold go with it to the place about nine a Clock at night then take your Malt and squeezing it between your Hands throw it into the River and it will sink If the stream run hard cast in your squeezed Balls a little above the place you intend to angle in Having thus baited your ground in the Morning bait your Hook with the greatest red Worm you can get you may find them in Gardens or Chalky Commons after a showre of Rain of which you must store your self beforehand keeping them a Month at least in dry Moss changing the Moss every three daies Having baited your hook so that the worm may crawl to and fro for the better inticing of the Fish to bite without suspition observe where your fish play most and stay longest which commonly is in the broadest deepest and stillest part of the River generally in deep and still back Waters then plumb your ground and fish within half an Inch of it for although you shall see some Breams play on the top of the Water yet these are but the Sentinels for them beneath You may have three or four Rods out at a time stuck in the Bank-side and let them be long the Floats Swan or goose-Goose-quills which must be sunk with Lead the tops bearing above water about half an Inch. Let your Rods be cast in one above the other about a yard and a half distant and then withdraw your self from the Bank so far that you can perceive nothing but the top of the Float and when you perceive it sink then creep to the Water-side and give it as much Line as you can if it be a Carp or bream they will run to the other side then strike gently and hold your Rod at a bent a little while but do not pull for then you spoil all but you must first tire them before you can land them being very shie Of the two the Carp is the worst being more brisk and strong Here take notice by the way if Pike or Pearch be thereabout it will be but a folly to think of killing Carp or Bream and therefore you must remove those obstacles by fishing them out first And to the intent you may know whether there be those Fish of Prey thereabout take a small Bleak or Gudgeon and bait it setting it alive among your Rods two foot deep from your Float with a little red Worm at the point of your Hook if a Pike be there he will certainly snap at it Of the BLEAK THE Bleak is an eager fish and is caught with all sorts of Worms bred on Trees or Plants also with Flies Paste Sheeps-bloud c You may angle for them with half a score Hooks at once if you can fasten them all on Also in an Evening the Bleak will take the natural or artificial Fly If it be a warm clear day there is no Bait so good for the Bleak as a small Fly at the top of the water which they will take at any time of the day but especially in the evening there is no fish that yields better sport for a young Angler than this for they are so eager that they will leap out of the water at the Bait. If the day be cold and cloudy Gentles or Cadice are best about two foot under water This same Bleak by some is called a Fresh-watersprat or River-swallow by reason of his continual motion Some would have him called Bleak from the whitish colour and that is onely under his Belly for his Back is of a pleasant sea-Sea-green There is another way of taking Bleaks by whipping them in a Boat or
will never suffer any strange Hare to sit by them and therefore it is proverbially said The more you hunt the more Hares you shall have because when you have killed one Hare another will come and possess his Form An Hare hath greater Scent and is more eagerly hunted by the Hounds when she feeds and relieveth upon green Corn than at any other time in the year and yet there are some Hares which naturally give a greater Scent than others as the great Wood Hares and such as are foul and measled and keep near to the Waters But the little red Hare which is not much bigger than a Coney is neither of so strong a Scent nor so eagerly hunted Such as feed upon the small branches of wild Time or such-like Herbs are commonly very swist and will stand long up before the Hounds In like manner you have some Hares more subtile and cunning than others Young Hares which have not been hunted are foolish and are neither of force nor capacity to use such subtleties and crafts but hold on end-ways before the Hounds most commonly and do squat and start again oftentimes which doth much encourage the Hounds and enters them better than if the Hare flies and-ways as sometimes they will five or six mile an end The Females are more crafty and politick than the Bucks for they double and turn shorter than they which is displeasant to the Hounds for it is troublesome for them to turn often delighting more in an end-way-chase running with all their force for such Hares as double and cross so often it is requisite at default to cast the greater compass about when you beat to make it out for so you will find all her subtilties and yet need to stick upon none of them but onely where she went on forwards By this means you will abate her force and compel her to leave doubling and crossing How to Enter Hounds to the Hare Let the Huntsinan be sure in the first place to make his Hounds very well acquainted with him and his Voice and let them understand the Horn and to this end let him never blow his Horn or hallow but when there is good cause for so doing and let him be sure that his Hounds want no encouragement Here by the way observe two remarkable things The first is if you intend to enter a young Kennel of Hounds you must take notice of the Country where you will make your first Quarry and whereof you make it For according to the places wherein they are first entred and the nature of the Quarry given them they will prove accordingly for the future Thus if they are first entred in the Plains and Champain-countries they will ever after more delight to hunt there than in any other place and so it is the same with the Coverts But say some of our Huntsmen all strange Countries that differ from that to which Hounds are accustomed causes them at first to be at seek But good Hounds will soon be master of any Country and therefore he that would have the best Hounds must use them to all kinds of Hunting And it is easie to bring Hounds to enjoy a Scent from a bleak Down to a fresh Pasture And therefore many of us love to enter in the worst Countries Do not accustom your Hounds to hunt in the Morning because of the Dew and moisture of the Earth and besides you will find by experience that if afterwards you hunt them in the heat of the day they will soon give over the chase neither will they call on willingly or chearfully but seek out the shades to sleep in Yet many of us agree that to hunt both early and late in the morning by Trayling advantageth the Hounds to use their Noses and by keeping them sometimes in the heat of the day or till night moves them to stoutness The best season to enter your young Hounds is in September and October for then the weather is temperate neither too hot nor too cold and then is the time to find young Hares which have never been hunted which are foolish and ignorant of the politick crossings doublings c. of their Sires running commonly end-ways frequently squatting and as often starting by which encouragement the Hounds are the better entered A Hare hath greater Scent and is more eagerly hunted by the Hounds when she feedeth and relieveth on green Corn than at any other time of the year Moreover some Hares have naturally a greater scent than others as the great Wood Hares and such as are foul and measled having their greatest resort near the Water and Plashes The little small red Hare not much bigger than a Coney is very feeble and not much covered by the Hounds having a bad scent but such as feed on the small branches of wilde Time are commonly very swift and will stand up a long time before the Hounds The Does are much craftier than the Bucks doubling and turning oftner and shorter which is very vexatious and troublesome to the Hounds Now for such Hares as double and cross so often it is requisite at a default to cast the greater compass about when you draw to make it out so shall you find all their subtilties though it is needless to stick upon any but where they went onwards by so doing you will abate the force of a Hare and force her from crossing and doubling Some Hares hold the high beaten ways onely where the Hounds can have no scent wherefore when the Huntsman finds his Hounds at a default in the High-way let him hunt on until he find where the Hare hath broken from the High-way or hath found some Dale or fresh place where the Hounds may recover scent looking narrowly on the ground as he goeth if he can find the Footing or Pricking of the Hare There are other places wherein a Hound can finde no scent and that is in fat and rotten ground and it sticketh to the Foot of the Hare which is called Carrying and so consequently she leaves no scent behinde her So likewise there are certain Months wherein a Hound can find no scent and that is in the Spring-time by reason of the fragrant smell of Flowers and the like Shun as much as you can hunting in hard frosty weather for so you will surbate or founder your Hounds and make them lose their Claws besides at that time a Hare runneth better than at any other time the Soals of her feet being hairy To conclude the best way of entring your young Hounds is by the help of old Staunch-Hounds so will they the better learn to cast for it at a doubling or default What time of the year is best for Hare-Hunting How to find her start her and chase her The best time to begin Hare-Hunting is about the middle of September ending towards the latter end of February lest you destroy the early brood of Leverets Moreover upon the approach of Winter the moistness and coolness of the Earth
Spade which is useful to dig amongst Roots having very sharp edges the flat broad Spade to dig withal when the Trench is better opened and the ground softer Mattocks and Pick-axes to dig in hard ground where a Spade will do but little service the Coal-rake to cleanse the Hole and to keep it from stopping up the Clamps whereby you may take a Fox or Badger out alive to make sport therewith afterwards And it would not be amiss to have a Pail of Water to refresh your Terriers after they are come out of the Earth to take breath In this order you may besiege a Fox or Badger in their strongest Holes or Castles and may break their Casmats Platforms Parapets and work to them with Mines and Counter-mines until you have obtained your satisfaction But there is a shorter method than this which by reason of its commonness I shall forbear to mention Of the Otter IT is supposed by some that the Otter is of the kind of Beavers being it is an amphibious creature living both in the Water and on the Land besides the outward form of the parts beareth a similitude of that beast Some say were his tail off he were in all parts like a Beaver differing in nothing but habitation For the Beaver frequenteth both the Salt-water and the Fresh but the Otter never goeth to the Salt Though the Otter live in the Water yet it doth not breath like Fishes through the benefit of the Water it doth breath like other four-footed beasts yet it will remain a long time underneath the Water without respiration If he want prey in the Waters then will he quit them for the Land and if by painful hunting ashore he cannot fill his belly he will feed on Herbs Snails or Frogs neither will he take less pains in the water to satisfie hunger for he will swim two miles together against the stream that so when his belly is full the current of the stream may carry him down again to his designed Lodging which is near the water very artificially built with boughs sprigs and sticks couching together in excellent order wherein he sitteth to keep him from the wet In the hunting of Fish he often pops his Nose above water to take breath It is a creature of wonderful swistness and nimbleness in taking his prey and for greediness takes more than he knows what to do with It is a very subtile and crafty beast and indowed with a wonderful sagacity and sense of smelling insomuch that he can directly wind the Fishes in the waters a mile or two off The flesh of this beast is both cold and filthy because it feedeth on stinking Fish and therefore not fit to be eaten yet it is eaten in Germany and the Carthusian Fryers who are forbidden to eat all manner of flesh of other four-footed beasts yet they are not prohibited the eating of Otters There are those in England who lately have highly valued an Otter-pie much good may it do them with it These Otters must be hunted by special Dogs such as are called Otter hounds and also with special Instruments called Otter-spears When they find themselves wounded with a spear they then come to Land where they fight with the Dogs furiously and except they be first wounded they forsake not the Water for they are not ignorant how safe a refuge the Waters are un to them and how unequal a combat they shall sustain with Men and Dogs upon the Land yet because the cold Water annoyeth their green wounds therefore they spin out their lives to the length of the thread chusing rather to die in torments among Dogs than to die in the Waters The Food of an Otter as I said is Fish and her abode is commonly under the Root of some Tree near Rivers Brooks Pools Meers or Fish-ponds and sometimes she will lie in a hollow Tree four or five foot above ground and no Vermin can be more destructive to a Warren than the Otter is to a Fish-pond for she diveth and hunteth under water after that most wonderful manner that few fish escape her unless they are very swift and great An Otter and Ferret grow salt much about the same time and bring forth their young much after the same manner neither having their constant number There is much craft and cunning in the hunting them yet with pains-taking you may ensnare them under the water and by River-sides as you may a Hare with Hare-pipes and such-like Gins. They bite sore and venomously and when occasion serves they will desend themselves stoutly If after their ensnaring they chance to abide there long they will soon enlarge themselves with their teeth These creatures are footed like your water-Fowl having a web between their claws and have no heel but a round ball under the soal of their Feet and their Track is called their Mark as the Slot of a Hart and their Excrements are called Spraints An Otter will not abide long in a place for he is apt to be afraid and take distasle having an excellent Ear and Nose for hearing and smelling and then he will forsake his Couch and shift a mile or two up or down the River and this he will do according as he findes scarcity of fishing In hunting of the Otter observe this to send some to one side of the River whilst you are on the other and so beat on the banks with your Dogs and so you will soon find if there be an Otter in that quarter for an Otter cannot endure long in the water but must come forth to make his Spraints and in the night sometimes to feed on Grass and such Herbs as the fields afford If any of the Hounds find out an Otter then look in the soft grounds and moist places to see which way he bent his head if the marks make no discovery you may partly perceive it by the spraints and so follow the Hounds and lodge him as a Hart or Deer If you find not the Otter quickly you may then imagine he is gone to couch somewhere farther off from the River for sometimes he will seek his food a mile from the place of his rest chusing rather to go up the River than down because upwards he meets with better scent of Fish and bearing his nose into the wind he shall the sooner finde any fault that is above him Remember in the Hunting of the Otter that you and your friends carry your Otter-spears to watch his Vents for that is the chief advantage and if you perceive where the Otter swims under water then strive to get to a stand before him where he would vent and there endeavour to strike him with your spear but if you miss pursue him with the Hounds which if they be good Otter-hounds and perfectly entred will come chaunting and trailing along by the River-side and will beat every Tree-root every Osier-bed and tuft of Bull-rushes nay sometimes they will take the Water and beat it like a Spaniel And
dog with this portion Take an ounce and a half of Cassia fistularis well cleansed two drams and a half of Stavesacre pulverized and the like quantity of Scammony prepared in White-wine-vinegar and four ounces of Oyl-olive temper these and warm them over the Fire and give it your dog In the morning put him into this bath fasting as followeth Put into six pails full of water ten handfuls of Mugwort of Rosemary of red-Sage of the roots or leaves of Marsh-mallows of the roots or leaves of Wall-wort of the roots or stalks of Fennel of the leaves or stalks of Elecampane Baulm and Rue Sorrel Bugloss and Mellilot let these boil together in two thirds of water and the other Wine until one third be consumed the bath being no hotter than your dog can endure it bathe him therein for the space of an hour then taking him out put him in some warm place for sear of catching cold Do this four or five times in the same bath and it will cure Of the Sleeping Madness The fourth Madness is called the Sleeping Madness and is caused by some little Worms breeding in the mouth of the Stomack from corrupt Humours the vapours and sumes whereof ascending into the head make the dog sleep continually and frequently he dieth sleeping For the cure you must take five ounces of the juice of Wormwood with two ounces of the powder of Harts-horn burned and two drams of Agarick mingle these together and if they be too thick thin them with White-wine and give it your dog to drink Of the Rhcumatick or Slavering Madness This Madness is called so because when a dog hath got it his head swelleth his eyes are as yellow as a Kite's-foot and he commonly slavereth at the mouth The Cure is thus Take six ounces of the juice of Fennel-roots and the like quantity of the juice of Misseltoe four ounces of the juice of lvy four ounces of the powder of the roots of Polypodie boil these in White-wine and give it your dog to drink as hot as he can suffer it Here note that when a dog hath any of these kinds of Madnesses he will have no desire to eat fasting frequently eight or nine days and so starving to death Nay if they are troubled with any distemper they will refuse their meat nay the daintiest bit you can give them until they have eaten grass and have cleared their stomack of what did offend it and then they will eat Concerning the Madness of Dogs and their Venomous Bitings I think no reasonable man ought to question why the teeth of a mad dog should do more harm than those of a sound one because in rage and anger the teeth of every beast and creature receive venome and poison from the head whereby when they bite at that time they do much more harm Against the simple biting of a dog take the urine of a dog which is sufficient since there is but little venome in those wounds To lay the hair of the same dog thereon though so much talkt on I look upon as a meer foppery Or being bit by a dog take vinegar and with your hand rub the wound very well then pour into it vinegar mixed with water or Nitre then wet a spunge in the same liquids and so let it remain bound up three days then take Pellitory of the wall mingled and beaten with Salt or any other plaister for green wounds Divers are the cures and remedies for biting of mad dogs which I omit in this place as belonging not to my subject but to Physick A Remedy against the common Mange This distemper befalls a dog frequently for want of fresh water to drink when he desires it and sometimes by foul kennelling and sometimes by foundering and melting his greace You may cure it in this manner Take two handfuls of wild Cresses two handfuls of Elecampane and as much of the leaves and roots of Roerb and Sorrel and two pound of the roots of Frodels make them all boil well in lye and vinegar having strained the decoction put therein two pound of gray soap and when it is melted therein then rub your degs with it four or five days together and it will cure them A brief Discourse of the Cure of Maladies belonging to Spaniels with other accidents happening HOw necessary a thing a Spaniel is to Faulconry and for those that delight in that noble recreation keeping Hawks for their pastime and pleasure I think no body need question as well to spring and retrive a fowl being flown to the mark as also divers other ways to help and assist Faulcons and Goshawks Now since they are subject to many diseases and casualties I shall endeavour to propound a suitable cure for them and first I shall begin with the Mange as the capital enemy to the quiet and beauty of a brave Spaniel wherewith poor creatures they are often grievously tormented and as frequently infect others For the cure of this distemper take a pound of Barrow-flick common Oil three ounces Brimstone well pulverized foar ounces Salt well beaten to powder Ashes well sifted and searced of each two ounces boil all these in a kettle or earthen-pot and when they are all well incorporated together anoint your Spaniel with this thrice every other day either against the Sun or Fire having so done wash him all over with good strong Lye and this will kill the Mange Remember you shift his kennel and litter often If the Spaniel lose its Hair as it often happens then bathe your Spaniel in the water of Lupines or Hops and anoint him with stale Barrows-flick This ointment besides the cure maketh his skin look slick and beautiful and kills the fleas the dogs disquieters and enemies to his ease If this be not strong enough to destroy this malady then take two quarts of strong vinegar common oil six ounces brimstone three ounces soot six ounces brayd salt and searced two handfuls boil all these together in the vineger and anoint your dog as aforesaid This receipt must not be administred in cold weather for it may hazard his life in so doing If a Spaniel be not much troubled with the Mange then it is easie to cure him thus Make bread with wheaten-bran with the roots leaves and fruit of Agrimony beating them well in a mortar and making it into a paste or dough bake it in an oven and so made give thereof to your Spaniel giving him no other bread for some time letting him eat as long as he will Cure of the Formica In the summer-time there is a scurvy malady which very much afflicts a Spaniel's ears and is accasioned by flies and their own scratching with their feet We term it a Mange the Italians Formica and the French Fourmier For the cure take Gum-dragaganth four ounces infused in the strongest Vinegar may be gotten for the space of eight days and afterwards bruised on a marble-stone as painters do their colours adding unto it Roch-allum and Galls
Diseases and dangerous Accidents incident to HAWKS and their several Cures IT is necessary for a skilful Faulconer not onely to know how to Man Reclaim Keep Fly Imp and Mew his Hawks with other things pertinent to that purpose but also to know their Diseases with the proper Cures of them and other Accidents frequently befalling Hawks both in their Fights and otherways Before we shall characterize their Maladies and prescribe Rules for their Cures it will not be irrequisite to tell you that Hawks as well as men which seems somewhat strange have four Complexions the true indicators of their natures and as in man his natural Complection and Constitution is known by his Skin so is the Temperament and natural Disposition of a Hawk by her Coat and Plume This opinion hath not been onely averr'd by the Ancients but confirmed by the modern experience of the Skilful in the noble Art of Hawking Take it in this manner Faulcons that are black are Melancholick and are to be physicked with hot and moist Medicines because their Complexion is cold and dry for which purpose Aloes Pepper Cocks-flesh Pigeons Sparrows Goats-flesh and the like are very good Faulcons blank are Phlegmatick and must have Physick hot and dry because Phlegm is cold and moist to which purpose Cinamon Cloves Cardamomum Goats-flesh Choughs c. are very good Faulcons Russet are Sanguine and Chelerick indifferently mix'd and their Physick must be cold moderately moist and dry as Myrtles Cassia-fistula Tamarinds Vinegar I ambs-flesh and Pullets Thus much for the Complexions Now for the Diseases and their Cures Of Castings and Mewtings either good or bad according to their several Complexions and Smells Castings are of two sorts Plumage or Cotton the latter is most commonly given in Pellets which must be about the bigness of an Hazie-nut made of fine soft white Cotton after she hath supp'd you must convey this into her Gorge In the morning diligently observe how she hath rolled and cast it whereby you shall know whether she be in a bad or good condition for example if she cast it round white not stinking nor very moist or waterish you may conclude her sound but if she roll it not well but cast it long with properties contrary to the former then she is unfound and full of Diseases Besides if her Casting be either black green yellowish slimy or stinking it denotes your Hawk to be diseased The former Casting is remedied by hot meats the latter by feeding her well and washing her meats in cool water as of Endive c. and give her one or two Castings of Cotton incorporating therewith Incense and Mummy But if she continue notwithstanding in this condition give her an upward Scowring made thus Take Aloes pulverized one scruple powder of Clove four grains powder of Cubebs three grains incorporate these and wrap them in Cotton and give it your Hawk empty having no meat in her Pannel Casting of Plumage is to be observed as the former Casting that is if in the morning you find them round and not stinking it is a good signe but if long slimy with indigested flesh sticking to the same and having an ill scent it is very bad Here note that by how much the more sweet or stinking the Casting is by so much is the Hawk in a better or worse condition Mewts must be observed as well as Castings in this manner If the Mewt be white not very thick nor clear having no black spot in it or but very little it is a signe of the healthy constitution of the Hawk but if it be white and very thick in the middle though it doth not import sickness yet it sheweth her to be too gross and over-full of Grease which you must remedy by giving her moist meats as the Heart of a Calf or Lamb c. and for two mornings after give her some Sugar-candy or else the Gut of a Chicken well washt and fill'd with Oyl-Olive either of these will scour her and make her to slise freely It is a very bad and mortal signe to see your Hawk's Mewt full of variety of colours therefore you must speedily prevent ensuing mischiefs by giving her Mummy purified and beaten to powder wrapping it in Cotton If the Mewt be more yellow then white then doth she abound with Choler proceeding from great Flights in hot weather also from much Bating This is remedied by washing her meat in Bugloss Endive Borage and such-like cold Waters wringing the said meat after you have so washed it The black Mewt is a most deadly signe and if it continue four days she will peck over the Pearch and die If she mewt so but once there is no great danger for it proceeds either from the Blood or Guts of the Fowl in tiring or else-from being gorged with filthy meats in this case give her good warm meat and Cotton-casting with the powder of Gloves Nutmeg and Ginger or Mummy alone If the Mewt be green it is a bad signe and denotes her troubled with an infected and corrupt Liver or with some Apostume unless she be a Rammage Hawk and then that signe holds not good Her cure is by feeding her with meat powdered with Mummy if she will not take it with her Food then give it her in a Scowring or Casting but if this ill-colour'd Mewting continue still then give her a Scowring of Agarick and after that another of Incense pulverized to comfort her The dark sanguine Mewt with a black in it is the most deadly signe of all and differs but little if any thing from the former black Mewt A Hawk mewting after this manner is irrecoverable and therefore it is needless to prescribe a Cure Lastly the gray Mewt like sour Milk is a mortal token yet curable as shall be shewn hereafter Thus you see how requisite it is for a Faulconer to observe diligently every morning his Hawk's Castings and Mewtings that knowing thereby their Maladies he may timely finde out their Remedies Let us now proceed to their particular Diseases Of the Cataract The Cataract in the Eyes of a Hawk is a malady not easily removed and sometimes incurable when it is too thick and of a long continuance It proceedeth from gross Humours in the Head which frequently do not onely dim but extinguish the sight and sometimes the Hood is the cause of this mischief The cure must be effected by Scowring her two or three days with Aloes or Agarick then take the powder of washt Aloes finely beaten one scruple and two scruples of Sugar-candy mingle these together and with a Quill blow it into your Hawk's Eye afflicted as aforesaid three or four times a day This is the gentlest and most Soveraign Medicine of any yet I have tried But if this will not do you must use stronger Medicines as the juice of Celandine-roots bathing their eyes often with warm Rose-water wherein hath been boil'd the seeds of Fenugreek Of the Pantas or Asthma The Pantas is a dangerous
single Fowl or a couple fly together you may imagine they have been somewhere affrighted from the rest by some sudden amazement or apprehension of danger but so naturally are they inclined to society that they seldom leave wing till they meet together again And this is occasioned not only by the near approach of men but also by the beating of Haggards on the Rivers as also by the appearance of the very bold Buzzard and Ring-tail Of Water-fowl there are two sorts such as live of the water and such as live on the water the one taking their sustenance from the water without swimming thereon but wading and diving for it with their long Legs The other are Web-footed and swim as the Swan Goose Mallard c. Of the Haunts of Fowl THe thing of greatest moment for the Fowler to understand is the Haunts of Fowl In order thereunto you are to understand that all sorts of greater Fowl viz. those who divide the foot have their residence by the edge of Rivers that are shallow Brooks and Plashes of water and these appear not in Flocks but you shall see here one single there a couple and the like which makes them difficult to be taken by Engine or Device but they are the best flights for Hawks that can be imagined Likewise these Fowl delight in low and boggy places and the more sedgie marish and rotten such grounds are the fitter they are for the haunting of these Fowl They love also the dry parts of drowned Fens which are overgrown with tall and long Rushes Reeds and Sedges Lastly they delight in half-drowned Moors or the hollow vales of Downs Heaths or Plains where there is shelter either of Hedges Hills Tufts of Bushes or Trees where they may lurk obscurely Now the lesser Fowl which are Web-footed haunt continually drowned Fens where they may have continually plenty of Water and may swim undisturbed by man or beast Their haunt is likewise in the main Streams of Rivers where the Current is swiftest and least subject to freez and the broader and deeper such Rivers are the greater delight these Fowl take therein the Wild-goose and Barnacle excepted who abide no Waters above their sounding for when they cannot reach the Ouze they instantly remove thence seeking out more shallow places These two last named are infinitely delighted with green Winter-corn and therefore you shall see them evermore where such Grain is sown especially if the ends of the Lands have much water about them Likewise these smaller Fowl do very much frequent small Brooks Rivers Ponds drowned Meadows Pastures Moors Plashes Meres Loughs and Lakes especially if well stored with Islands unfrequented and well furnished with Shrubs Bushes Reeds c. and then they will breed there and frequent such places both Summer and Winter The readiest way of taking great Fowl with NETS THe first thing you are to consider is the making of your Nets which must be of the best Packthread with great and large Meshes at least two Inches from point to point for the larger the Meshes are so that the Fowl cannot creep through them the better it is for they more certainly intangle them Let not your Nets be above two fathom deep and six in length which is the greatest proportion that a man is able to overthrow Verge your Net on each side with very strong Cord and extend it at each end upon long Poles made for that purpose Having thus your Nets in readiness let the Fowler observe the haunts of Fowl that is to say their Morning and Evening feedings coming at least two hours before those seasons then spreading his Net smooth and flat upon the ground staking the two lower ends firm thereon let the upper ends stand extended upon the long Cord the farther end thereof being staked fast down to the Earth two or three fathom from the Net and let the stake which staketh down the Cord stand in a direct and even line with the lower Verge of the Net the distance still observed then the other end of the Cord which must be at least ten or twelve fathom long the Fowler shall hold in his hand at the uttermost distance aforesaid where he shall make some artificial shelter either of Grass Sods Earth or such like matter whereby he may lie out of the sight of the Fowl Observe to let the Net lie so ready for the Game that upon the least pull it may rise from the Earth and fly over Strew over all your Net as it lies upon the ground some Grass that you may hide it from the Fowl It will not be amiss but altogether requisite to stake down near your Net a live Hern or some other Fowl formerly taken for a Stale When you observe a competent number of Fowl come within the verge of your Net then draw your Cord suddenly and so cast the Net over them Continue thus doing till the Sun be near an hour high and no longer for then their feeding is over for that time and so do at Evening from about Sun-set till Twilight By this means you may not only take great quantities of larger Wild-fowl but also Plover which takes his food as much from Land as Water How to take small Water-fowl with Nets LEt your Nets be made of the smallest and strongest packthread and the Meshes nothing near so big as those for the greater Fowl about two foot and a half or three foot deep line these Nets on both sides with false Nets every Mesh being about a foot and a half square each way that as the Fowl striketh either through them or against them so the smaller Net may pass through the great Meshes and so streighten and entangle the Fowl These Nets you must pitch for the Evening-flight of Fowl before Sun-set staking them down on each side of the River about half a foot within the water the lower side of the Net being so plumb'd that it may sink so far and no farther Let the upper side of the Net be placed slantwise shoaling against the water yet not touching the water by near two foot and let the strings which support this upper side of the Net be fastned to small yielding Sticks prickt in the Bank which as the Fowl strikes may give liberty to the Net to run and entangle them Thus place several of these Nets over divers parts of the River about twelvescore one from another or as the River or Brook shall give leave and be confident if any Fowl come on the River that night you shall have your share And that you may the sooner obtain your desire take your Gun and go to all the Fens and Plashes that are a good distance from your Nets and fire it three or four times which will so affright the Fowl that they will instantly post to the Rivers then plant your Nets upon these Fens and Plashes In the Morning go first to the River and see what Fowl are there surprized and having taken them up with your
on a Bank-side in swift Water in a Summers evening with a Hazel-top about five or six foot long and a Line twice the length of the Rod but the best way is with a Drabble that is tie eight or ten small Hooks along a Line two Inches above one another the biggest Hook the lowermost by which you may sometimes take a better Fish and bait them with Gentles Flies or small red Worms by which means you may take half a dozen or more at one time Of the BULL-HEAD or MILLER'S-THUMB THE Bull-head is a Fish which hath a broad Head and wide Mouth with two broad Fins near his Eyes and two Fins under his Belly instead of his Teeth his rough Lips assist him in nibbing at the bait He hath Fins also on his Back and one below the Vent and his Tail is round his Body being all over covered with whitish blackish and brownish spots They begin to spawn about April and are full of Spawn all the Summer-season The Bull-head's common habitation is in Holes or among Stones in clear Water in Summer but in the Winter he takes up his quarters with the Eel in the Mud So doth the Loach and Minnow or we cannot guess otherwise where their Winter-abode should be He is easily taken in the Summer for he is lazie and simple You may see him in hot weather lie Sunning himself on a flat Stone or gravelly Ground at which time you may put your Hook which must be baited with a small Worm very near the Mouth at which he seldom refuseth to bite so that the veriest bungling Angler may take him He is an excellent fish for tast but of so ill a shape that many women care not for dressing him he so much resembles a Toad Of the CHEVIN THE Chevin spawneth in March and is a very strong yet unactive fish yielding in a very little time after he is struck The larger he is the quieter he is taken As for his food he loveth all sorts of Worms and Flies also Cheese Grain black Worms slitting their Bellies that the white may appear he loveth to have his Bait large and variety of Baits at one Hook He delights very much in the Pith that grows in the bone of an Ox-back os which you must be careful in taking off the tough outward Skin without breaking the tender inward Skin Early in the Morning angle for your Chevin with Snails but choose some other Bait for him in the heat of the day for then he will not bite at them In the Afternoon fish for him at Ground or Flie. There is no Fly he loveth better than a great Moth with a great head whose Body is yellow with whitish Wings which is to be found commonly in Gardens about the Evening He will not stick sometimes to snap at a Lamprey Of the CHAR. I Could never read nor hear that the Char was taken any where but in a Mere in Lancashire called Winander-mere the largest according to report that is in the Kingdom of England being ten miles in length and as smooth as a Bowling-green at the bottom This Char is spotted like a Trout and its dimension seldome exceeds seventeen Inches or a foot and half This Fish is delicate food having scarce a Bone but what is on the Back Now since the place is so remote from London where these Chars are taken I shall for bear to trouble our City-Angler with Rules and Directions how to angle for him and pass to such Fish as are frequently found in every River here near adjacent Of the CHUB THis Fish hath several appellations for he is called a Chub a Chavender by the French by some a Villian by others a Cheven As for my part call him what you please I like him not for these reasons first he is full of small forked Bones dispersed every where throughout his Body next he eats very waterish and lastly this Fish is unfirm and in my opinion in a manner tasteless Of all fish he is the best to enter a young Angler for he is very easily taken however give me leave to prescribe you some more Rules than what I have already shewn in the Angling for the Cheven which is the same with the Chub or Chavender You must find out some hole where you shall have twenty or more of them together in a hot day floating almost on the very surface of the water let your Rod be long and strong and your Line not above a yard or two long very strong and an indifferent large Hook then bait your Hook with a Grashopper bob your Grashopper up and down one the top of the water and if there be any Chub near he will rise but so abscond your self that you may not be seen for he is a very fearful fish and therefore the least shadow will make him sink to the bottom of the water yet he will rise again suddainly this is called Bobing Having baited your Hook drop it gently some two foot before that Chub you have elected by your eye to be the best and fairest and he will instantly bite greedily thereat and be held so fast by reason of his Leather-mouth that he can seldom break his hold and therefore you may do well to give him play enough and so tire him otherwise you may endanger your Line If you cannot find a Grashopper then bait your Hook with any kind of Fly or Worm as I said before as Dors Beetles Bobs Cod or Case-worms When you fish for the Chub with a Fly Grashopper or Beetle it must be at the top of the water if with other baits underneath In March and April angle for your Chub with Worms in May June and July with Flies Snails or Cherries Where note he will rarely refuse a Grashopper on the top of a swift Stream nor at the bottom the young Humble-bee In August September c. make use of a Paste made of Parmisan or Holland cheese pounded with Saffron in a Mortar adding thereunto a little Butter Others make a Paste of Cheese and Turpentine for the Winter-season at which time the Chub is in his prime for then his forked Bones are either lost or converted into a Gristle and he is excellent meat baked In hot weather angle for him in the middle of the water or near the top thereof but in cold weather fish for him near the bottom To finish all other discourse of this Chub Cheven or Chavender I shall only say that his Spawn is excellent and if he be large the Head when the Throat is well washt is the best part of the Fish Of the CARP IT is confess'd by all that the Carp is the Queen of all Fresh-water-fish being not only a good but subtile fish and living longest of all fish excepting the Ecl out of his proper Element Those that die soonest are Herrings for salt-water and for fresh-water Trouts Carps are observed to breed several Months in one year and for this reason you shall hardly