MARKHAM'S METHOD OR EPJTOME: WHEREIN IS showed his aprooved Remedies for all diseases whatsoever incident to Horses, Oxen, Kine, Bulls, Calves, Sheep, Lambs, Goats, Swine, Dogs of all kind, Coneys, all sorts of Poultry, all Water-soule, as Geese, Ducks, Swans, and the like,) Pigeons, all singing Birds, Hawks of all kind; and other Creatures serviceable for the use of man: Divided into twelve general Points or Heads. By GERVASE MARKHAM. Gentleman. Printed at London by G. E. for Thomas Langley, and are to be sold at his shop over against the 〈…〉 TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL AND his most dear respected friend Master JOHN MASSY of Codington in Cheshire. GOod Sir, He that much doth, may much miscarry, because danger ever is the Companion with labour: and in these days men's brains are so sickly and subject to take surfaits, especially where either the feast is (in their own conceits) too full, or the dishes not dressed answerable to their stomachs, that, to be a Cook to please all men's varieties, were to ascribe a cunning hardly bestowed upon Angels; from which consideration I have been many times induced to have obscured this small and inrespeccted Epitome, as willing to hold from mistaking minds (which poison with false construction) a benefit so good and certain, as I know they will be fruitful in divulging my dispraise, and finding knots in smooth rushes, adding to my title, vain prate and ostentation; But by many of my better friends, and some whose approved wisdoms are worthy, and some whose known loves do and ever shall govern me, I am enforced to disesteem the vain battery of the envious, and boldly publish this Treatise, which I doubt not but will be a general good to all the whole Kingdom, for whose service I was only created. As for your worthy self who was the first that ever beheld it, and to whose hands it flew before it had taken any perfect or true form, as knowing how able you were both to judge of the defects, and to crown the perfections, not a Gentleman in this Kingdom of your rank going one step before you, either in love or knowledge of Horsemanship: To whom I say but you should I send this my last Infant; to be nourished and defended, since it pleased you to accept it with much love, when it was unlikely of life any where but in your bosom. Then worthy Sir, let me beseech you to take it to Protection, and whilst nothing but envy assaults it, be you its constant guardian; But when either a stronger or better skill proves ie vain, then leave it again to myself, and we will both die inrespected; till when, (which will not be whilst any thing is) at least not whilst Men ride on Horseback, I will ever rest a faithful and true Cabinet, full of your Goodness. GERVASE MARKHAM. To the old and new Readers. THis is an Age, (gentle Reader) of much inquisition & examination of men's printed works: neither is it in my conceit either unreasonable or unnecessary that men should give account for their labours, especially where they make the world believe they do the world a particular profit, for otherwise the world might come to be cozened: Therefore for myself, thus me thinks I hear the world say: Sir why load you thus both men's minds and the Booksellers stalls with such change and variety of books, all upon one subject, as if men were tied to your readings? me thinks the little Pamphlet you first published, might have given satisfaction; To this I answer: that Pamphlet was the milk of my first experience, drawn, not to nourish the world, but to give a little satisfaction to a noble Kinsman I had, from whom a very corrupt copy was stolen, and in printing without my knowledge; so that to shield both mine own shame and the books, I was compelled to put it forth in that manner as it went, & then, many judicious Gentlemen in the same art found faint in the breefnes thereof, saying, that the scanting of my rules took away much satisfaction from the young scholar, an that there was a lameness therein, because I had not handled the whole members of the art, but here a finger and there a toe, as I was led by mine own fancy. Hence it came I writ the great Boohe Cavelorice, and in it omitted nothing in my knowledge appertinent to Horsemanship: but by reason of a too greedy and hasty Bookseller, and the distributing of the work into the hands of many Printers, it was not only exceeding falsely printed, but also most part of the book of cures left out, which was such a maim to the book, that I was many years stirred up by my friends to repair that error; which I did by writing that book entitled the Masterpiece, wherein I have set down every disease & every medicine, so full & so exactly that there is not a farrier in this kingdom, which knows a medicine for any disease, which is true & good indeed, but I will find the substance thereof in that book yet this book did not satisfy my friends, for they said though it was a work right good and necessary, yet the greatness of the book and the great price thereof, deprived poor men of the benefit; and that the multiplicity of the medicines, and the cost of the ingredients, were such as poor men stood amazed at, and found that their beasts perished before they could compass that should cure them: from hence only I have with much labour and experience found out the Contents of this book, where with twelve medicines, not oftwele pence cost, and to be got commonly every where, I will cure all the diseases that are in Horses, whatsoever, and they almost 300. This book I hope the price will not hinder, for it is determined only for the good of the needful, to whose use if it prove as fortunate as it is faithfully and justly set down, they will have cause to praise God and love me. GERVASE MARKHAM. A brief Preface of the nature of the Horse. A Horse, of all the unreasonable creatures upon the earth, is of the greatest understanding, having in them (as the School men affirm) a certain natural instinct, not only of the knowledge of their riders, and keepers, but also of their own generation and descent, knowing their Sires, and Dams, in such wise that they will refuse (as Pliny saith) to couple, or engender with them: they are also of all creatures, the aptest to learn any motion, and the readiest to obey their teachers, having a greater love to exercise then any other beast. They are of infinite great courage and valour, taking an exceeding delight in the wars, and (as some Schoolmen affirm) have a certain foreknowledge of battle, and will prepare themselves manlike for the same. They will mourn for the loss, or deaths of their masters, and are so apt to endure labour, that it is written of the horses of the Sama●rans, that they would gallop a hundred and fifty miles' end-ways, without rest or stay: they ate naturally of long life, and by choice keeping, have been brought to sum up fifty years; but for thirty years it is much ordinary. The Mares are less lived, as till twenty, or five and twenty at the most. They are of all beasts the most beautiful of shape, they are fit for the saddle at four years of age, for the wars at six, for the race at eight, and for hunting, or for extreme matches, at ten or eleven: the females bear their foals full eleven months, and foal in the twelfth: the best time for their engendering is in March at the increase of the Moon, or in the middle part thereof, and the Mare foaleth her foal standing: they are supposed to be so loving and kind to their generation, that if a foal lose the dam, yet the other mares which are milk, will of their own accord lend their teats, and feed or nurse up the orphan foal. Horses are subject to more diseases than any other beast, for they have full as many as belongeth unto a man; and yet notwithstanding, all those diseases may be cured by twelve medicines only, as you shall find by reading of the sequel which followeth. How to cure all the infirmities in Horses, either inward, or outward, with twelve medicines only, and all not worth twelvepences. The first point. All these infirmities are cured by the first medicine following. All Fevers in general. The pestilence. A Horse taken. The falling evil. The palsy, or shaking evil. The night mare. Hydebound, All consumptions. The breast grief. The anticor. All tiredness: The loathing of meat. Casting out of drink. All surfeits. The hungry evil, Sick liver. Sick gall. Sick spleen. Sick kidneys. The yellows. The dropsy. Costivenes in the body. The Bots. All worms. Pissing blood. The mattering yard. Shedding of the seed. Falling of the yard. Eating of hen's dung. The falling of the crest. The first Medicine. If the horse have been brought weak by sickness, and that you find it proceedeth from some inward infection, or corruption of blood, you shall give him in the morning fasting two spoonful of the powder of Diapente, well brewed and tossed to and fro in a pint of sweet wine, as muscadine, or Malmsey, and then ride or walk him up and down in the Sun an hour after: then set him up very warm in the stable, and let him fast an hour, and then give him such provender as he will eat, and his hay sprinkled with a little water: But if his sickness proceed from any cold cause, as from over-riding, and too sudden cooling, or from washing when he was hot▪ or such like, than you shall give the same quantity of Diapente in Sack, or other hot wine, in the same manner, as aforesaid: But if his sickness be less contagious, or that wine is not ready to be had, than you shall give the same quantity of the aforesaid powder, either in a quart of strong Ale, or a quart of strong Beer, observing all the instructions formerly declared. Now for this powder which is called Diapente, or (of some) Horse Mithridate, because it is a general Antidote or preservative against all poisonous infection, you shall make it in this manner. Take of Aristolochia rotunda, of Gentiana, of Myrrh, of Bachilauri, and of Ebori, of each a like quantity, beat them all together in a mortar to a very fine powder, and then searce it till not any grossness be left, and then keep it either in a close pot, or in a bladder, and use it as before said when you shall have occasion, and observe to do it divers mornings together, if the sickness be violent. Now for as much as this powder may many times be wanting, or at least hard to come by on the sudden, therefore in case of such extremity you shall take a good handful of Cellodine, roots and leaves and all, and having picked and cleansed them, you shall take of Wormwood, and of Rue, of each half an handful, boil these in a pottle of strong Ale or Beer, till a full half be consumed, then strain it, and press the herbs exceedingly, and then dissolve into the drink almost half a pound of sweet butter, and an ounce and a half of the best treacle: and being no more but luke warm, give it the horse to drink in the morning fasting, and ride or walk him an hour after it, than set him up warm, and let him fast an other hour, then give him meat as aforesaid: and do thus divers mornings according to the greatness of his sickness. Now in this cure, you must by no means forget to let the horse blood in the neck-veine, an hour or two before you give him the first drink, and let him bleed till you see the corrupt blood change & begin to look pure, to know which, you shall save the first blood, and the last blood, in two saucers, and as they cool, they will easily show you the difference. Now if your horse happen to fall suddenly sick under you, as you travel, when there is no town nor help near you, than you shall presently light from his back, and with a sharp pointed knife, or bodkin, or for want of both, with a strong point tag, you shall prick him in the roof of the mouth amongst the bars, somewhat near to his uppermost teeth, and make him bleed well, walking him forward, and suffering him to champ and eat his own blood which is very wholesome, and almost a present cure: Now if the blood staunch of itself (as commonly it will) than you shall presently piss in his mouth, and so ride him with all gentleness and ease homeward, and being set up warm, wash his mouth and nostrils with vinegar, and the next morning let him blood in the necke-veine, and give him either of the drenches before prescribed, and no doubt but you may hold on your journey without danger. Now if in the pricking of the horse in the mouth, you either strike your knife too deep, or else cut the vein in sunder, whereby you cannot staunch the blood (as it many times happeneth) in this case you shall put some big round piece of wood into the horse's mouth (to keep him from biting) and then take a little of the fine down of a Hare's skin, or a Coney's skin, or (for want of them) the fine lint of any woollen cloth, and hold it hard to the wound and it will staunch it, neither will it be licked away with the horses tongue. All these infirmities are cured by the second Medicine following. All headache. All frenzy. The lethargy. The staggers. The posse. All colds. All coughs, or wet or dry. All shortness of breath. Broken wind. Rotten lungs. The Glangers. Mourning of the chine. Laxe, or looseness. The bloody flux. The second Medicine. For any of these diseases of the head, or lungs, or other parts by them offended, you shall in any wise first let the horse blood in the necke-veine, and let him bleed exceeding well, that is to say, till you see the blood change, and that corruption come to pureness, then staunch the vein, and take of Assaefetida as much as a hassel nut, and dissolve it in a saucer full of strong wine vinegar, and then take fine flax hurds and dip them therein, and then stop the same hard into the horses ears, and with a needle and a thread stitch the tips of the horses ears together, to keep the medicine in from shaking forth▪ then take of the white cankerous moss, which grows upon an old oak pale, or other oak wood, a good handful or more, and boil it in a pottle of new milk till one half be consumed then strain it, and press the moss exceedingly, and being lukewarm give it the horse to drink fasting in the morning, and ride or walk him an hour after it gently, then set him up warm, and having stood an hour, then offer him such meat as he will most willingly eat, and in any wise sprinkle his hay with water, and thus do divers mornings together, according to the greatness of his sickness: but if you shall perceive that he casteth foul and filthy matter at his nostrils, than you shall every morning as soon as you have given the drench, take of Auripigmentum two drams of Tussilaginis made into powder as much, then with Turpentine work them to a stiff past, and make little round cakes thereof, the compass of a groat, but much thicker, and dry them a little; then take a chafing dish and coals, and laying one or two of these cakes thereon, cover them with a tunnel, such as you tun wine or beer into bottles with, that the smoke may ascend through the same: then having made the horse's head fast, put the smoke to his nostrils, and perfume him well with the same, and though at the first he be somewhat coy to take the smoke, yet having once felt the smell thereof, he will take such delight therein, that he will of his own accord thrust his nose to the same: assoon as you have perfumed your horse, you shall ride him forth till he begin to sweat, and then bring him home and set him up warm, and having so stood an hour or more, then give him meat as before said, but by no means let him drink any cold water, either in his sickness or out of his sickness, but when you may ride him after it, which if either weakness, leisure, time or place do hinder you to do, than you shall heat a pottle of water on the fire scalding hot, & put it into a gallon or two of cold water, so that it may only take the coldness away▪ and then cast a handful or two of ground malt or wheat bran into the same and so give it the horse to drink. All these infirmities are cured by the third medicine following. Impostumes in the Ears. The Vines. Ulcers in the nose. All wens whatsoever. The Colt evil. Swelled stones. Incording or bursting. The third Medicine. For any of these outward infirmities or swellings, you shall take a pennyworth of pepper beaten to fine powder, a spoonful of Swine's grease, the juice of a handful of Rue, two spoonful of strong wine vinegar, and mix them well altogether: then if the swelling be about the horse's head, face, or throat, you shall take flax hurds and steep them therein, and stop it hard into the horses ears and stitch the tips together with a needle and a thread, as in the second medicine, renewing it once in two days till the swelling go away. But if it be in any other part of the body, then with this ointment you shall anoint the grieved place twice a day, till the infirmity consume away. Now for the swelling about the Cod or privy members, it shall be good before you anoint them with this ointment, to bathe them well with cold water, as either by trotting the horse into some deep pond, or else by taking a pail of cold water, and dipping a cloth into the same, to bathe, clap, and wash the Cod therewith, then drying them with another clean cloth, lay on the ointment, which is a present cure. All these infirmities are cured by the fourth medicine following. The pole evil. Swelling after blood-letting. The withers hurt. All galld backs. All stittfasts. The navell-gall. The Strangle. The botch in the groin. All Fistulas. Biting with venomous beasts or worms. The fourth medicine. For any of these filthy imposthumations, galls or swellings, you shall take the earth lome of a mud wall which hath no lime in it, but only earth, straw, or litter, and you shall boil it in strong wine vinegar till it become very thick like a pultus, then being very hot apply it to the sore, renewing it once in twelve or four and twenty hours, and it will not only ripen it and break it, but also draw it, search it, and heal it most perfectly: as experience will manifest it. All these infirmities are cured by the fifth medicine following. Mangines in the main. Mangines in the tail. The Mallander. The selander. The pains. The Scratches. All kyb'd heels. The leprosy. The farcye. The general scab. All louse or nits or other vermin. The fifth Medicine. First in any wise you shall let the horse blood in the necke-veine, and you shall suffer him to bleed very well (because corruption of blood is the only breeder of these infirmities) then having with knife, lancet, curry comb, haircloth, or such like, opened the knots or pustules, and rubbed away all scurf or filthiness, laying the sores open and raw and as it were ready to bleed, than you shall take of yellow A snick beaten to fine powder, and clarified hogs grease, of each a little quantity, and beat them well together till they come to a perfect ointment, then having tied the horse's head up fast to the rack, in such wise that he can neither lick nor bite himself, with this ointment anoint all the sores & other offended places very well over, holding some hot bar of iron or fire-shovel heated against the same, that the ointment may the better and speedilier enter into the same: and being thus anointed, let him stand the space of two or three hours at the least tied as beforesaid: which done, take of the strongest urine you can get, and with the same wash away all the ointment wheresoever it was laid, and then untie the horse and put him to his meat: and thus do once a day, till the sores dry up and begin to shill away. All these infirmities are cured by the sixth medicine following. All wounds in general. All Sinews cut. All wounds with shot. Burning with lime. Mad dog biting. Foundering. Frettizing. Surbaiting. All loose hooves, Casting of the hoof. Hoofe-bound. The sixth Medicine. Take of Turpentine, wax, and hogs grease, of each a like quantity, first melt the yellow wax and hogs grease upon a soft fire, then take it off and dissolve the turpentine into it, and stir it very well together, then put it into a Galley pot and let it cool: & with this salve, tent, or plaster any wound or sore, & it will heal it: also with the same anoint the cronets of your horses hooves, and putting wheat bran unto it, being boiling hot, stop up your horses feet therewith, in case either of founder, frettize, surbat, or such like infirmity. All these infirmities are cured by the seventh medicine following. All old ulcers. The Shackle gall. The Canker, The Anbury. All bruises broken. All over-reaches. The crown scab, The crownet hurt. Gravelling. Prick in the sole. A retreat. Cloying. The rotten frush. All these infirmities are cured by the way only contained in the seventh medicine following. The bloody rifts. The bladders. The lampas. All mouth Cankers. All heat in the mouth. The tongue hurt. The paps. The toothache, Shedding of hair. The felter worm. The seventh Medicine. Take of new milk three quarts, a good handful of Plantain, let it boil till a full pint be consumed, then take three ounces of Allome, and one ounce & an half of white sugar Candy, both being made into a very fine powder, and three spoonful of strong wine vinegar, and put them into the milk, then let it boil a little till it have a hard cured, then strain it and save the whey, wherewith you shall first bathe the sore, the whey being made warm: then with a clean cloth dry the sore, and then apply to it this salve: take of turpentine, yellow-waxe and hogs-grease of each an ounce, and of verdigris ground to fine powder an ounce and a half, mix all these very well together on a soft fire, & then put it into a galley pot and let it cool: but in case where the bruise is not broken, yet likely to break, there you shall only apply the fourth medicine only, mentioned before. All these infirmities are cured by the eighth medicine following. All convulsions of sinews. All Cramps whatsoever. The necke-cricke. Shoulder splat. All swelled legs. overreach in the back sinew. All windgalls. Wrench in the neither joint. All bruises unbroke. All strains whatsoever. The eight Medicine. Take strong wine vinegar & patch grease of each a like quantity and boy it on the fire then with wheat bran make it into a hot pultus and being so warm as the horse may well endure it, apply it twice a day to the grieved place, but in case the sorance be where you cannot bind any pultus unto it, than you shall only take patch grease and being mol●en very hot with the same, bath the horse twice or thrice a day and give him very moderate excercise before and after his dressing, and it will not only take away all pain and anguish but also remove all swellings, gourdings, or any other eyesore whatsoever. All these infirmities are cured by the ninth medicine following. All light galls. To skin sores. To dry up humours. The ninth Medicine. First bath the sore place with hot molten Butter, then strew upon it the powder of Rossen, lastly take a spoonful or two of very thick Cream, and with the soot of a Chimney bring it to a very thick past, then spread it also upon the sore and it will heal dry and skin it in a short space. All these infirmities are cured by the tenth medicine following. All watery eyes. All blood-shotten eyes All dimness of sight. The pin and web in the eye. All Pearls or spots. All lunatic eyes. All ulcers in the eyes. All cankers in the eyes. All Fistulas in the eyes. The haw in the eye. The tenth Medicine. Take true ground-ivy, which of some is called alehoofe, and beat it well in a mortar, and if it be very dry drop a little white rose-water into it, or a little of the water of the herb Eyebright, then strain it well into a clean glass, and with that juice wash, anoint, or tent the sores in the eyes at least three or four times a day: as for the haws or hogs in a horses eyes, every common Smith knows in what sort to cut them away, and that easily. All these infirmities are cured by the eleventh medicine following. All splints. All Spavens. All Curbs. All ringbones. All quitterbones. All bony excrestions. The eleventh Medicine. Take white Arsenic ground to powder and make a little slit upon the head of the excrestion the length of a barley corn, and down to the bone, then raise up the skin with a fine cornet, and put in as much of the Arsenic as will lie upon a three halfpence, and then bind upon the sore a little dry flax hurds, which done tie up the horse's head to the rack, so as he may not bite the sore place, and let him so stand the space of two or three hours, for in that time the anguish will be gone and the medicine will have done working, then put the horse to his meat either in the house or abroad, and the excrestion will rot & fall away of itself, which seen you may heal up the sore, either with the sixth or the ninth medicine specified before. All these infirmities are cured by the twelfth Medicine following. All broken bones, All bones out of joint. Swaying of the back▪ Weakness in the back. Horse-hipped. Horse-stifled. The twelfth Medicine. The bones being placed in their true and proper places, according to the form of the member, you shall first bathe the grieved place with warm patch greasse, then clap about it a binding plaster of pitch, rosin, mastic, and salad oil, well mixed together and molten on the fire, then fold the limb about with sine flax hurds, and then splint it with broad, flat, strong and soft splints, and remove not the dressing for the space of fifteen days, except you find the roulers to slacken which is a very good sign and then you may straighten them again, or if you find the member increase in swelling, and that the roulers grow as it were straighter and straighter than you may give the members ease, for it is a sign it was rolled too strait before, and thus you shall dress it but twice in thirty days, or there about, in which time the bones will be knit, but if through the breach or dislocation, you find any gross substance to appear about the grieved place, than you shall twice or thrice a day bathe it with hot patch greasse, & that will take away the eye sore in a short space. The emperor of all medicines concerning Horses, The second point. TAke of wheat meal six pounds, or as much as will bring all the other simples following to a stiff paste: of Annisseeds two ounces, of Commig-seedes six drams, of Carthamus one dram and a half, of Fenugreeke seed one ounce and two drams, of Brimston one ounce and a half, of Salad oil, one pint and two ounces, of Honey one pound & a half, of white wine four pints, and all this must be made into a very stiff past, the hard simples being pounded and fearest to a fine powder and so mixed with the wet simples, after this past is thus made, it must be kept in a very clean cloth, and when you have occasion to use it, you shall take there of as much as will make a round ball as big a man's fist, and this ball you shall by continual washing or lavingng dissolve in a gallon or two of fair running water, and so give it the horse to drink, either after his heats, or after any violent labour or exercise, or when he is sick poor, lean, or inwardly diseased, and full of foul surfaits, and then you shall suffer him to drink thereof as much and as oft as he pleaseth. Now it may be at the first, that partly through the colour thereof, & partly through the smell, the horse will be coy to taste it, but care not you therefore, but be sure to keep him from all water else but it only, and that he may the readier take it, you shall do well at first to offer him this water in the dark, that the colour may not offend him, of which when he hath but once tasted, he will then forsake all water whatsoever to drink of this water only, as I have often known by experience. Now touching the virtues which appertain to this medicine, they are these: first if your horse be never so poor, lean, surfaited and diseased, if you give your horse of this water with the ball dissolved in it as aforesaid, it will in fourteen days not only cleanse and scour him from all infirmity, but also feed him and make him sat with good and sound flesh, so as he shall be fit either for the Market, or for present travel: Secondly, if your horse be inwardly foul and fat, and have either by orderly or disorderly riding had his grease molten within him, than this medicine used as aforesaid, is a most excellent and sovereign purge or scouring, and maketh the horse not only avoid all such filthy and ill matter as lies molten in his body, and would breed most dangerous and mortal sicknesses, but also it comforteth and strengtheneth the inward parts, and breeds great courage and spirit in the horse, whence it comes to pass that it is of especial and great use for hunting horses, & running horses, to be given after their heats, because it doth cleanse the body, prevents all inward sicknesses, keeps a horse cool and soluble in his body, and adds more courage & mettle then any other food whatsoever: Lastly the use of this medicine one fortnight is as good as a quarter of a years grass at any time of the year, and worketh as many and more good effects, especially in this, that this medicine is to be had at all times, and grass is to be had but only in the Summer season: and whereas at grass (if it be rank and sweet) a horse is in danger of many sicknesses, as the yellows, staggers, and many other which proceed from the corruption of the blood, or the heat of the season, by the use of this medicine all those infirmities are taken away, and the horse recovereth flesh, strength, and livelihood of spirit, without any danger, as proof shall testify, much better than my writing. The third point. How to cure all the diseases in cattle, as Ox, Cow, Bull, or Calf, with seven medicines only. The Character, or nature of the Ox, Bull, Cow, or Calf. THe Ox, Bull, Cow, or Calf, for indeed they are but one & the self same in generation, are beasts naturally of a slow and heavy disposition, yet fit for the draft, being temperately handled, and especially the Oxen or Bulls, the Cows may be and are sometimes employed in the same work, but yet they are more fit for the pail, or for yielding of milk, which they yield in greater abundance than any other beasts whatsoever, their flesh is the best and most wholesomest for the sustenance of man, and therefore when they are past labour, or other commodity, they may be fed and sold to the shambles: The fat of these beasts is soft, and apt upon any violent exercise to melt whence it proceeds that in their labour they may not be driven above an ordinary footpace: their skins are of very great price, being a leather of that firm, fast and hard composition, that with ordinary liquering or working in oil, it withstandeth all wet and weather, and out weareth all other leather whatsoever. Of these kind of cattle with us in this Island of great Britain are four sorts: the first, and best, are those which are bred in the west parts, as in Somersetshire, Glostershire, Dorsetshire, and the Countries adjoining, these are for the most part of a blood red colour, with great, large, and long bodies, tall of stature, and slenderly cast downwards, their horns are little and crooked, and the milk which the Cows give is the most best and wholesomest of all other. The second sort are bred in the countries of Derbyshire, Chesse-shire, Lancha-shire, Yorkshire, and the countries adjoining: these are for the most part of a cool black colour, with large bodies and short legs, stately large and white horns, and the Cow most fruitful of all other for breed. The third sort are bred in Lincolnshire and the countries adjoining and are of a pied colour, very tall, and large of body, only slender and long legged. The fourth sort are bred in the extremest part of the North as in Northumberland and beyond the Tweed, they are the least of all the other with short low bodies and very little horns, yet is their flesh most excellent and the sweetest beef of alother, whence our ancient herdsmen conclude, that the west country beast is best for the pail, the yorkshire best for the hide & tallow, the Lincolnshire for travel, and the Northumberland for the shambles: they have all as many diseases as the horse, yet all may be cured by seven medicines only. All these infirmities are cured in cattle by the first medicine following. All Fevers. The pestilence. The gargill. The mourraine. All misliking. All leanness. All fluxes. The pissing of blood. Hidebound. The dry skin. The Lunge-growne. Swallowing of all poison whatsoever. All worms. Vomiting of blood. Milting. To provoke urine. The overflow of the gall. A Cow weathered. All faintness. How to breed milk. The Pantas. The loss of the cud. The rot. The first Medicine. First assoon as you perceive your beast to droop, you shall in any wise let him blood in the neck vein, and let him bleed well (that is to say) till you see alteration in the blood; then take of plantain, of rue, of wormwood, of housleike, of woodrosse, of shepherd's purse, of Smallage, and of galworte▪ of each of these (or of so many as you can conveniently get) half a handful, beat them well in a mortar and then mix therewith a pint of urine & a handful of hen's dung strained all together exceeding much, than put this juice so strained to a full ale-quarte of strong beer or strong ale, & so set it on the fire and boil it till a full half be consumed, then take it from the fire, & dissolve into it half an ounce of the best treacle and a spoonful of the juice of Garlic, then take of Myrrh, of ivory, of bayberries, of Cinnamon, and of Annis seeds beaten to fine powder two good spoonful, and brew it very well with the ale, then being sufficiently well cooled give it the beast to drink with a horn, early in the morning fasting, and chase the Beast up and down, half an hour after, then put him where he may come to no meat for an hour and an half after, and thus do two or three mornings together according to the greatness of his sickness: But if you find his dewe-lap begin to swell, than you shall with a sharp knife slit it, and opening of the skin you shall thrust into it half a handful of Speare-grasse and salt chopped together, and then stitch it up again and anoint it with butter and tar mixed together, and so put the beast to a fresh pasture, but by no means let the grass be too rank, for that is most dangerous. All these infirmities are cured by the second medicine following. The belly ache. All colds in general. Dropping nostrils. All costiveness. All coughs or hausts. All shortness of breath. A general purge for cattle. The second Medicine. First, you shall in any wise let the beast blood, as in the former Medicine, then take a quart of strong Ale and boil it on the fire and scum it well, then take it of and dissolve into it a spounfull of tar and a spounfull of the juice of Garlic, which done take of sugar-candy of Fenugreeke, and of brimstone, all being beaten to a fine powder, the quantity of three spoonful, brew them well together with the Ale till it be sufficiently well cold, then put to it a quarter of a pint of salad-oil and so give it the beast to drink fasting, and chase him and use him as was before prescribed in the former Medicine. All these infirmities are cured by the third Medicine following. The Sturdy, The neck galled, The neck bruysd, The neck swelled, The closh, All swellings in general in any part. All impostumes, All biles, All Botches, The dew-boulne, Cattles gored All wounds whatsoever. The third Medicine. First in case of the sturdy you shall open the skull upon the forehead and take out the bladder, then heal the sore with the salve following, but in case of deweboulne where the bleane riseth on the tongue or in the mouth, there you shall first break the bleane, and thrust out the filth then rub the sore with salt and earth, and after apply the salve following, which is this. Take the green leaves of Aristolochia of fresh grease, of tallow, of the ashes of an old burnt shoe, of terpentine, of tar, and of lily roots of each a like quantity, beat them all in a mortar till they come to a perfect salve which if it prove too lenwicke or moist than you shall take as much yellow wax as will stiffen it, and with this salve anoint the sore places, and it is a present remedy. All these infirmities are cured by the fourth Medicine following. The Barbs, The Bleane, The Canker in the mouth, Loose teeth, The tongue venomed The falling of the palate. The fourth Medicine. First thtust your hand into the beasts mouth, and if there be any Blisters risen or the palate fallen, rub the one away and put up the other, then take of woodbine leaves, of Sage, of Plantain and of Salt, of each half an handful, boil them well in a quart of running water, a pint of vinegar, & half a pint of honey, then with the water wash the sore places very well and it is a present remedy, All these infirmities are cured by the fifth Medicine following. All sore eyes, The haw in the eye, The pin in the eye, The web in the eye, The fifth Medicine. First you shall let the horse blood in the temple veins, and cut out the haws if they offend him, which every ordinary Smith can do, then take an egg and open it in the crown, and put out half the white, then fill it up again with salt, and then roast it in the hot embers so long and so hard that you may beat it to a fine powder, which done, dissolve some of that powder in a spoonful of the water of eyebright, and a spoonful of the juice of houseleek, & with the same wash the beasts eye twice or thrice a day, & it is a present remedy. All these infirmities are cured by the sixth medicine following. The worm in the tail. The general scab. The party colour scab. The Itch or scurse. The biting of a mad dog. The biting with venomous beasts All lice or tickes. All pricks with thorns, or stubbes. To be shrewe-runne. The sixth medicine. You shall first make a strong lie with old urine, and the ashes of ash-wood, then take a pint of this lie and add to it of tar, o● black soap, of coperas, of boars grease, of brimstone, of pepper, of stavesaker, and of plantain of each a like quantity, as much as will bring the lie to a thick and stiiffe salve, then with the same anoint all the sore places: but in case the beast be shrew run only and have no other infirmity, than you shall take a bramble which groweth at both ends, and with the same beat all over the body of the beast, and if you can conveniently, you shall also draw his whole body under a bramble which groweth at both ends as aforesaid. All these infirmities are cured by the seventh medicine following. All stains whatsoever All soreness in the sinews. All stiffness in the neck. The gout. All broken bones. All grieves in the hoves The foul. The seventh medicine. Take mallows, chikweede, and galling-gall, and boil them in urine, butter, burgundy, pitch, tallow, and linseed oil till they be so soft that you may beat them to a salve, which done, apply that salve to the grieved place very hot, either as an ointment, or as a pultus, and it is a present remedy, as hath been often proved. The fourth point. How to cure all the diseases in Sheep with six medicines only. The Character or nature of the Sheep. Sheep are naturally of a hot disposition, weak & tender, yet so free from greediness that they will live of less food than any other beast of their bigness: they are of a most singular profit and esteem, as having in them not about them any thing which is not of some good use, the worst of which are their hooves, and yet the very treading of them upon the ground are a good manuring and enriching of the same: as for their fleeces, their flesh and other entrails, who knows not the excellent goodness thereof? The Rams and Ewes are fit for generation from two years of age till they be ten, and after that they are only for the shambles: the Ewes carry their lambs in their bodies a hundred and fifty days and no longer, according to common computation. Sheep in our Island of great Britain (which is not inferior to any kingdom in the world for the excellency of good Sheep) are of sundry natures, according to the alteration of the climates, for where the ground is most fertile, there the sheep are large of body, and deep would, yet is the staple but of an indifferent fineness, rather inclining to some coarseness, then yielding the best third others are bred of a more barren and wild earth, yet if the lere be cold then is the staple most course, and the wool both short and hairy, and the least that are bred on the most barren earth, though the sheep be the least of body, and the least of burden, yet if the lere be warm and well coloured, the wool is of all the finest, and the staple of a fine and silkelike handling. To conclude, it is better and more natural for a sheep to be bred abroad in the fields amongst the flock then domestic at home in the house, for so shall both his flesh and fleece be better both for the taste, and for all other service. All these infirmities in sheep are cured by the first medicine following. All Fevers. The red water. The lunge-sick. All coughs, All colds. All diseases of the gall. The jaundisse. All sickness coming of choler. All tough phlegm. The Pox. The wood evil. The cramp. All licking of poison To cause easy deliverance. To increase milk. All worms inward. The loss of the cud. The Staggers. The general rot. Water in the belly. The first Medicine. Take of wormwood flowers, of rue, of Coltsfoote, of lungewort, of plantain, of lettuce, of rosemary, of cinquefoil, of horsemint, of dill, of Sage, of tanscy, and of holy thistle, or of so many of those as you can conveniently get, of each a like quantity and beat them very well in a mortar, then strain forth the juice thereof, and to a pint of a very sweet honnied water made with the best honey and running water, add five or six spoonful of this juice, than set it on the fire and boil it with two spoonful of the powder of any seeds, liquorice, long pepper, and bayberries made of equal quantities, then being taken from the fire put in as much sweet butter as a walnut, and two spoonful of that Salt which is called Adcoces, which is salt gathered (and made by the violence of the suns heat) upon the salt marshes after the tide is gone away, or for want of it (because it is scarce) you may take as much of the best Spanish salt, and all being well stirred together, so soon as it is lukewarm give it the sheep to drink with a horn, and morning and evening rub his mouth very well with the salt aforesaid, and it is a certain cure, and hath been often proved. All these infirmities are cured by the second medicine following. The Scab or Itch. All maggots whatsoever. The worm in the claw. All wild fire. The Sturdy. The turning evil. The more found. Sheep taggd. Sheep belted. The second Medicine. First you shall let the Sheep blood in the eye-veines, then take tar and fresh grease of each a like quantity, and mixing them well together with a little Brimstone and the juice of chervil, bring it to a salve, and with the same (after you have bared, cleansed, and made all the sore places raw) anoint all the grieved place, or in case of the sturdy after you have opened the skull and taken out the bladder, plaster the sore therewith, and it is a certain cure. All these infirmities are cured by the third medicine following. All pain in the joints. All bones out of joint. All Broken bones. The fourth Medicine. First after you have placed the member right (which you may do by the example of the sound member) than you shall bathe the grieved place well with butter and beer, then make a scarcloth of patchgrease and yellow wax, and warming it very hot lap it about the member, and if need require then splint it, and in case the member be broken renew it not till fifteen days be past, otherwise renew it once in three days. All these infirmities are cured by the fourth medicine following. All grieves in the eyes. All dimness of sight. The fourth Medicine. You shall first let the sheep blood in the eye-veines, then take of the juice of Cellodine, that is to say, of the leaves in summer and of the roots in winter, and with the same wash the sheep's eyes, and it will help them. All these infirmities are cured by the fifth medicine following. All grieves in the mouth. All looseness of teeth. The fifth Medicine. First you shall let the sheep blood in the gums, than you shall take of earth, of Sage and of Salt, of each a like quantity, and beat them well together, and with the same rub the mouth of the sheep very well, but especially where it is grieved▪ and it helpeth. All these infirmities are cured by the sixth medicine following. All sickness in Lambs. Lambs that are yeaned sick. The sixth Medicine. First you shall take up the lamb and breath into the mouth thereof, then suckell or feed it with mare's milk and a little water mixed together and made lukewarm, and in any case during the sickness keep it very warm for that is the greatest nourishment that can be given unto them, and best agreeth with them. The fifth point. How to cure all the Diseases in Goats with two Medicines only. The Character or nature of Goats. Goats are naturally of a wanton, light, & airy disposition, given to much wildness whence it comes that they are in many countries preserved, as we preserve our Dear wild, and for the chase, and surely they will make excellent sport in their hunting: They do bring forth their young kids in more abundance than sheep do lambs, for they do seldom bring forth under two, very often three, and sometimes four, they carry their kids in their bodies five months as sheep do, and seldom grow barren but through extreme fatness, they begin very early to go to the buck as in the first year, whence it comes that they continue not long in bearing as not above three or four years at the most: Their greatest and best food is the brouzing upon young trees and therefore they should so go to the buck, that they might bring forth their young ones in the month of March or April, when every tree begins to bud: They are naturally ever good Physicians for themselves▪ and when they find any imperfection will seek out cures for the same, as by letting themselves blood upon briars, thorns, bulrushes and such like, they are much subject to aborsement or casting of their young ones, especially in extreme cold seasons, whence it comes that they should have ever a shed provided for them in the winter season: The hair of the goats in some countries is yearly shorn off, and a course stuff made thereof▪ wherewith they clothe the meaner sort of people: They do naturally see as well by day as by night, and their ages are best known by the knots and round risings about the neither part of their horns. To conclude, their teeth are very dangerous for the spoiling of young trees, especially the olive tree, which if they but chance to lick on the tree, never beareth any fruit after it. All these infirmities in Goats are cured by the first Medicine. The pestilence, The dropsy, Hardness to kid, The Staggers. The first Medicine. First you shall let the Goat blood under the eyes, and in the tail, than you shall take of celladine leaves, of rushes, of reeds green and of wormwood of each a like quantity, beat them in a mortar and strain out the juice: then take four or five spoonful of that juice and mix it with a pince of vervain and water, then put in a spoonful of salt, & half a spoonful of cloves beaten to fine powder, & being lukewarm give it the Goat to drink fasting, and let it fast two hours after it. All these infirmities are cured by the seond medicine. All stops in the teats, The tuel stopped, The tetter, The dry scab, The itch, All maggots. All flye-blowings. The Second medicine. First you shall take and cleanse away all the filth and scurf which any way stoppeth or offendeth the grieved place, then take of honey, of Capons-grease, of black soap, of tar, of brimstone, and of the soot of a chimney, of each a spoonful, and of goats milk five spoonful, mix them all very well together till it come to a perfect ointment, than it with anoint the sore place very well, morning and evening; and if the stoping have been very long, or that the Goat be much inwardly dried, than you shall take two inches of a small candle's end and thrust it up into the Coats tuel, in the manner of a suppository, and it will not only cleanse the bag and give the Goat great ease in his body, but also keep the place from stopping ever after. The sixth point. How to cure all the diseases in Swine with three medicines only. The Character or nature of the Swine. SWine are naturally of a sluttish, slothful, and devouring disposition, given only to greediness and spoil, whence cometh the saying of the husbandman, that the swine is never good till he be in the dish: they are of most creatures the most apoundant in their breed, for they bring forth their litters three times in the year, and will bring forth ten twelve, fifteen, and twenty sometimes in a litter, yet they will never bring up more pigs than she hath teats to give suck with: such pigs as are piggd the beginning or the last of December have teeth immediately, the other have not. Swine, of all other beasts, do soonest show their sickness, for if you pull but a bristle from their backs and find it bloody at the neither end, or if he carry his neck on the one side, you may be well assured of present sickness: Swine are to be used three several ways in the house, that is, for brawn, for bacon, and for pork: for brawn, the boar is only in use, and he is to be frank fed, and not sty fed for the frank hardeneth the flesh best: the Hog is best for pork, most tender and sweetest, and fittest for present service: and the spayd Guilt, or spayd or guelt Sow is best for bacon: feedeth soundest, taketh fat soonest, and hangeth by the walls uncorrupt longest▪ As there be household and tame swine, so there be also wild and savage swine, and they are somewhat less than the tame swine, yet by much more fierce and cruel, they differ little or nothing in nature, only they are by their wildness and much ranging, a great deal less apt to take infirmity or be sick: To conclude, they are a good and wholesome meat, having nothing in them or about them useless, as is found by daily experience. All these infirmities in Swine are cured by the first medicine following. All fevers. All hid sicknesses. The mourraine. The pestilence. The catarrh. The gall. The meazle. The pox. The lax. All vomiting. The sleeping evil. All pain in the mite. The first medicine. First you shall let the Swine blood in the tail, and under the ears, then bind up the sores with the green barks of osiers, which done, you shall take of barley meal two or three handful, of red oaker and hen's dung of each a handful, of the juice of liver wort, gall wort, and wormwood half a pint, of treacle an ounce, mix all these well with a pottle of honey and urine blended together, then put it into a gallon or two of sweet warm wash or swillings▪ and so give it the swine to drink, and anoint all the sore places of his body with brimstone & bores grease mixed together, and during the time of his sickness let his food be only dry beans spelted on a mill. All these infirmities are cured by the second medicine following. All impostumes. All leanenes or mislike All scurf or mangines. Swine that are luggd All maggots in the ears. The second medicine. First you shall let the swine blood in the tail as aforesaid, then if the impostume be ripe, lance it, and thrust out the filth, then heal the sore with tar and butter mixed together, but if the impostume be hard then only rub it with wheat meal and salt till it dissolve, but if the infection be universal then anoint the swine all over with boars grease, brimstone, vinegar, black soap and honey mixed together, each of like quantity, and having formerly rubbed all the scurf and filth away with a wool card. All these infirmities are cured by the third medicine following. All unnaturalness in Sows devouring their births. The third Medicine. If your Sow be given to much unnaturalness, and that she will devour her pigs so soon as she hath pigged them, you shall watch her piging and take them away as they fall, then take the wreckling or worst pig, and anoint & bathe it all over with the juice of the herb Stonecroppe, and then give it the Sow to devour, which so soon as she hath done, it will immediately make her so exceeding sick and cause her to vomit so exceedingly, that she will never after do the same again. The seventh point. How to cure all the diseases in Dogs, with three medicines only. The Character, or nature of the Dog. THere be of Dogs divers kinds, though all concur & come to one nature in the matter of diseases and infirmity, The Greyhound. for there is first the Greyhound which exceedeth in swiftness, and is preserved for the chase, as either to coarse the wild Deer, the Hare, the Boar, the Wolf, or other vermin, he is a beast of infinite valour and spirit, yet tender and apt by his fierceness to much casualty, and his only virtue consisteth in the swiftness of his foot. Then there is the Hound which is of a more duller temper, whose only glory is in his smell, The Hound hunting and finding out by his scent the tracts and footestepes of all sorts of wild beasts: in which he showeth so much cunning, that not any winding, turning, or art full double can prevent his search, he is both valiant and industrious, and so unappaled with labour, that only by the continuance of his toil he maketh himself master of what prey soever he hunteth. Next unto them is the Spaniel, which also is singular for his smell upon Birds, and the hound upon Beasts: The Spaniel. whence it comes that neither Partridge, Pheasant, Rail, Quail, Peacock nor any other Bird can escape their search, they are of all other Dogs the most lovingest, humblest, and most familiar with the man: then there is the water Spaniel, whose scent is also his only glory, yet that scent is taken aloft from the air upon the water, whereby it comes to pass that no water foul is safe from his search, he is also of a most exceeding strong constitution, being so very able to endure the cold, that no sharpness of winter nor frost troubleth him, but the water is as familiar with him as the air: Then there is the Mastiff, whose virtue is only in his courage, strength, sharpness of tooth, and aptness to encounter with any fierce wild beast, as Lions, Bears, Bulls, Wolves, Tigers, and such like, against which they are so apt, willing, and so cunning in their fight, that they seldom or never part but victors. Tumblers & Mongrils To conclude, for your Tumbler or Lurcher, whose delight is only in killing the Coney, for the Lice●cea which only envieth the Fox, and for your general Mongrils whose uses are either for chase away vermin or defence of the husbandman's yard, they were, and are in their special natures and qualities with the other forenamed dogs, and touching their diseases, they are cured by one and the self same medicines. All these infirmities in dogs are cured by the first medicine following. All worms inwardly. All colds or stops. The stone. Costivenes or belly-bound. The first Medicine. Make a strong decoction of wormwood and of Southern-wood, then take a pint of the decoction and dissolve into it as much Aloes as half a hazel nut, and a good spoonful of the powder of ivory and Brimstone mixed together, then being lukewarm give it the Dog to drink, and administer at his tuel two inches of a candle's end in manner of a suppository. All these infirmities are cured by the second Medicine following. All louse or fleas. All worms outwardly. All Serpent-bitings. All mad Dog bitings. All Galls or tetters. All itch or scab or mangy. All hurts by wild beasts. All gallings of feet. All frettizing in the feet. The Canker. The second Medicine. Make a strong decoction of rue, Sage, Mints, and a handful or two of salt, then with the decoction wash over all the dogs body, then take treacle, hogs-grease, yellow wax turpentine and coperas of each a like quantity melt and mingle them together and with that ointment anoint all the sore places, especially those which he cannot come to lick, or else scratcheth most, and it will speedily cure him. All these infirmities are cured by the third Medicine following. All tirednes. All wounds whatsoever. All bruises. All pain in the ears. The third medicine. Frst if the wound be great and gaping or in any fleshy part, you shall stitch it up with a needle and a little red silk, then take the yolk of an egg, and as much soot of a chimney, and twice so much of the juice of green tobacco, and the juice of melilot, with as much fresh butter as will bring all these to a salve, being molten and mingled well together on a soft fire, then with this salve either tent or plaster the grieved place, and it is a present remedy for all the former grievances, as hath been often by me and others experienced. The eighth point. How to cure all the Diseases in Coneys or Hares, with one Medicine only. The Character of Hares or Coneys. Hare's or Coneys are small Beasts of a much more melancholy disposition than other beasts, whence cometh the hardness of their living, for as it is written they will feed fat with the white rind of the frost, or the snow either: certain it is that in the frost and sharpest time of winter they feed best, because then the frost biting the foggy grass maketh it most sweet, upon which they delight most to feed: they are abundant in their increase bringing forth their broods once every month, and of those broods not under three or four at the least: neither doth she so soon disburden one brood but she presently runneth to the buck and engendereth for another: the male of these kinds are very unnatural, for if they can find where the young ones are kindled, they presently devour them: whence it comes to pass that the female at her time complete withdraweth herself and hideth her young, daubing and damning up the hole till they be able to run and shife for themselves, and then she openeth the hole by little and little, giving them liberty to take the air and use their own exercise: as for the profit of them, besides their flesh, which is an excellent food, their skins are of great price, be a most excellent fur, and little inferior for warmth, sweetness, and goodness, to any other: again, the wool or hair of them is very good to make felts of, and indeed is so soft and fine that it is but a little inferior to the beaver: with which wool if it be mixed it maketh a most perfect and good felt. To conclude, they are beasts of much hardness, and therefore no long life, and they take delight in hard and sandy grounds which are dry, for they have no greater enemy than the wet, whence it proceedeth that their greatest infirmity is rottenness: yet such Hares or Coneys as do live and delight in the clay earths are ever the greatest, fattest, stoutest, and best either for the dish, or any sport whatsoever. All Coneys or Hares are subject but to two infirmities only, which are cured by this one medicine following. The Rot, Madness. The Medicine. For these infirmities above named, you shall only take the finest, sweetest, and dryest hay you can get, and mix it very well with the herb hare-thistle, and therewith feed your Coneys and Hares especially in the winter season, and it will not only prevent the infirmities, but also recover and cure the sicknesses, when at any time they are infected. The ninth point. How to cure all the diseases in Poultry, as Cocks, Hens, Capons, Chickens, Turkeys, Peacocks, Pheasants, Partridge, Quales, Rails, Doves of all kind, and such like with four medicines only. The Character or natures of all sorts of Poultry. THe Cock, from whence the Hen, Capon & Chicken proceedeth, The Cock and his kind & so all one, being the sentinel & watch of the house, is a lusty, proud, valiant, and courageous bird, taking both delight in himself and in other men's praises of him. It is writ of them that they are Astronomers, and know the course of the stars; certain it is that they keep a true distance in their times, and crow more after proportion than order, they are great commanders and rulers of their own kind, and so jealous of their wives, that they will die ere any strange Cock enjoy the least show of their presence. Of all beasts whatsoever, none but he rejoiceth after the act of generation: the Hens are no less valiant than the Cocks if they be true bred, and will with their opposites fight to the last drop: they are exceeding loving and natural to their young, and will not only fight in their defence, but also starve themselves to give the Chickens sustenance. Your Turkey is not unlike unto these birds, for the Cock is proud▪ valiant, The Turkey and apt to fight, only the Hens are much less natural, though somewhat more doting, for from her too much love she will draw her Chickens abroad, and by her wandering will lose them, never respecting her number, but so long as she hath one to follow her, so long she respecteth not what happeneth to the rest. Of this nature also is the Peacock, The Peacock who for beauty, pride, and understanding exceedeth all other birds, yet only are careless of their young. The Peacock is a bird of long life, ordinarily living to the years of five & twenty or upwards, he is a dish much used at banquets, for show, more than for razed, for his flesh is not held exceeding wholesome: for it is certain that if he be never so well and dry roasted over night, yet he will be bloud-rawe the next day following. Now contrary to the Peacock; the Pheasant, Partridge, The Pheasant the Partridge, Quail and Rail. Quail and Rail, are excellent birds for the table, and more dainty and wholesome than any other: they are also excellent flights, and make rare sport before the hawk, they fly not high but near to the ground, and though not very nimble of wing, yet swift after they are on wing: they love not to fly long by reason of their much earnestness, but must have many rests, but being so slain with the hawk, they are the best, tenderest, and most pleasing food: they bring forth their broods in great abundance, and having once disclosed them, the young ones are able to defend themselves by flight, even when the shell is on their crowns: so strong & wily they are by nature as house Doves are, of an innocent nature, and very chaste, and neither male nor female change their make, but keep together one true to the other, living as coupled by the bond of marriage, keeping their own hen continually never visiting the holes of others, unless they be single by the death of their make: The females are humble to their males: the male and female are both careful of their young ones, nay, you shall have the Cock oft times chastise the hen if she keep not the nest well, and yet kind they be to them when they are about to build, lay, and set, as may be seen by their readiness to them in that case: when the hen cometh off the nest, the Cock goeth on presently. The Cock will go abroad and first feed himself well, and gorge himself, & when he cometh home will disgorge himself again, feeding his hen or his young ones. Stock-doves live ordinarily (as Pliny affirmeth) thirty years. The Turtle doves of all the rest are the lovingest to their make: for you shall see them always fly together, unless the one of them be killed, than the other will not live long after but pine away. All these infirmities in Poultry are cured by the first medicine following. The flux of the belly. Drowsiness of the brain. The first Medicine. You shall take pease-branne and scald it, either with water or sweet whey, and give it the poultry to eat, and it will stop any scouring in these house-foule whatsoever, as hath been often experienced. All these infirmities are cured by the second Medicine following. The stopping of the belly. All molten grease. To avoid bruised blood. The second Medicine. Take either bread made of wheat, or wheat corn, but bread is the better, and put it into a small trough, then put to the same a good quantity of man's urine newly made & warm, and let the poultry eat the bread or corn out of the urine, and it will scour them. All these infirmities are cured by the third medicine following. The pip. The rope. All lice. The stinging by worms or venomous things. The third medicine. First you shall pull away the scale from the pip, and the black scurf from the rope, and lay the sore raw and bare, then take of salt, Rue, Pepper, and sweet butter, of each a like quantity, and beat them together in a mortar till it come to a salve, then with the same anoint the sores and it helpeth. All these infirmities are cured by the fourth medicine following. All sore eyes All dimness of sight. The fourth medicine. Take a leaf or two of ground ivy, or as some call it alehoofe, and chaw it well in your mouth, then sucking the juice thereof hard, spit it into the eyes of your poultry, and thus do twice or thrice a day, and it is a most certain cure, and often proved. The tenth point. How to cure all the diseases in waterfoule, as Geese, Ducks, Swans, Taylls, Widgeons, Sheldraks, Plovers, Herns, Puets, Bytters, Gulls, and such like, with one medicine only. The Character and natures of wild Fowl. Wild Fowl though they differ much in name and proportions, yet in their general natures there is small variety: they all love to live together in flocks and herds, and in like manner they fly together, yet not in rout but like soldiers either in single or double files, and for the most part they fly triangle wise, one as it were leading the way, and the rest in two wide branches following, by which means they gather more wind under them, and are more able to mount their flights higher, which is that in which they most joy: some write they fly so close one after another that the hindmost resteth his head on him that flieth before him: how ever it is most certain that they fly in a most decent and comely order: They do for the most part keep ever one nest, and in nourishing their young are most careful and diligent, hiding them in holes, and in sedge bushes, and never discovering them till they be able by strength of wing to save themselves in flying. They are of all creatures most vigilant and watchful, seldom sleeping but when they are guarded by some of their own company. They bring forth their broods commonly once a year, yet sometimes twice: yet those foul are rather domestical then wild, for such fruitfulness ever springeth from some extraordinary keeping. All water foul for the most part are subject but to one infirmity only, which is cured by this one medicine following. The Gargill. The Medicine. Take a clove of Garlic clean piled, and bruise it a little, and then roll it up in sweet butter in the fashion of a Capons cram, and so give it to your foul, and thus give about three cloves of Garlic at one time, and no more, and it is a present cure for this disease, or for any other inward sickness which shall offend your waterfoule at any time whatsoever. The eleventh point. How to cure all the diseases in singing birds▪ as the Nightingale, linnet, solitary Sparrow, Goldfinch, Bull-finch, Myskin, Spynke, Canary-bird, Cordial, Lark, Callander, Black-birde, Robin, Throstell, and such like with three Medicines only. The Character, and nature of all manner of singing Birds. ALl singing Birds generally do once a year change their colours in feathers, and altet their voice in singing, and that in such sort that of a sudden a man would say they were other birds, which is a thing which happeneth not unto the greater fowls except it be only the Crane, for they will at some times of the year grow blacker than at other some, especially in their old age: so likewise the blackbird will grow reddish, The Blackbird. and in summer he singeth clear and tunable, and in winter he stutreth and stammereth, but in December commonly he is clean mute and dumb altogether: also after the blackbird is a year old, and especially the males, their bills turn white like ivory, The Throstle or Mavis. so likewise the Throstles or Mavisses all summer are painted about the necks with sundry colours, but in the winter they are all of one colour. The Nightingale also singeth almost fifteen days together in the height of the spring, The Nightingale. and will learn easily to whistle: and so generally all other singing birds sing more at one time of the year then at another, except it be such birds as are altogether domestical and tame, used only to hear music, the voices of men, and continual clamours, candle light and torch light, such I say will not only sing all the year long, but also all day and night without ceasing, as may be daily discerned in many Noblemen and gentlemen's houses. These singing Birds seldom sing the first year, only in the winter time they will a little record, and then when the Spring approacheth they will break forth with their voices, and sound their notes full and perfect, And of all these singing birds, the Linnet, Robin, Bulfinch, Stare, The Linnet The Robin redbreast. The Bull-finch. is most docible and aptest both to tune, and to learn all several tunes: they take delight in their cages and servitude, only they are apt to feed suddenly, and with their too much fatness often corrupt and die suddenly, therefore it is not good at any time to let them be without chalk, sugar or chickweed, which is a great preservative and present help against the disease of fatness, and you must shift them in a fresh Cage every month, and take their dung from them every morning, and then blow their meat, and when you shift their cages, put the two doors together and blow on them, and they will shift themselves, for to handle them is dangerous, and when they moult or cast their feathers, sprout a little wine on them, and it will the sooner make them moult their old coat: and for those birds that you would teach and bring up to whistle, you must hang their Cages in such a place where they shall not hear the chirping of Sparrows for naturally they will rather take the wild note, as I have known by experience, & have heard birds, some crow like a Cock, and counterfeit notes of birds of other kinds contrary to their own kind: The Stare. The Stare of all other Brides is very apt, ready, and tractable to be taught to whistle, and speak any thing without cutting or clipping the tongue, as I have heard many speak as plain as any parrot, but you must keep them covered all over saving a place where they may see their meat and water, and as you would teach a parrot, so teach them: And for the dieting of Birds, the Stare feedeth chiefly on raw beef and bread soaked in water, Dieting of birds. both mixed together and small minced: the Blackbird and thrush feedeth on raw beef being whole, and sticked on a stick in their Cage: the bulfinch and Linnet feed on Rapeseedes, but you must take heed of mustardseed, for they are like to the rape seeds, and will make them pine away: The Canary Bird doth feed on canary seeds and rapeseedes mixed together: The Robin and Nightingale feed on oatmeal, or raw meat: but if you get them now and then some of the worms, that do breed among the flower at the bakers, it will much avail them. All these infirmities in singing Birds are cured by the first Medicine following. All melancholy. leanness or mislike, Strangling of the breast. Moutting. All light. The Roupe. The Pthisicke. The Apoplexy. To bring the voice again. The pip. All costiveness. The privy sickness. The first medicine. Take Sugar, Saffron and figs, of each a like quantity, and either chaw them or beat them in a mortar, till they come to a past, and then give it the bird to eat during the time of her sickness, and into her water put melon seeds bruised and chopped very small, provided ever that you forget not in case of the pip, or rope, first to pluck off the scale or scab, and then to give the medicines after. All these infirmities are cured by the second medicine following. All sores or wounds. All impostumes, All Gouts. The second medicine. Take of Butter and of h●●s grease, of each a like quantity, and melt them and mix them well together upon a soft and gentle fire, then with a feather dipped into it when it is reasonably warm anoint all the sore places, and if the wound be very great or deep, then with a fine needle or a little red silk stitch it up, and then anoint it, and thus do twice a day at the least and it will help them. All these infirmities are cured by the third medicine following. All blindness. All sore eyes. All dimness of sight. The third Medicine. Take half a spoonful of clear running water, and a full spoonful of the juice of beets and mix them very well together, then with a feather either anoint the birds eyes, or taking a little of it into your mouth, spirit it into the birds eyes, and thus do twice or thrice a day at least, and it will help them presently. The twelfth and last point. How to cure all the Diseases in Hawks of what nature or quality soever they be, with six Medicines only. The Character or nature of all sorts of Hawks. THere be in Falconry, sixteen kinds of Hawks or birds that live upon prey, and though every one have in them a special note or Character of much valour, yet some are much more valiant than other some, as the Eagle, the Vulture, the gerfalcon, Falcon, and such like, are more valiant than the Goshawk, Lanner, Kilt, ringtail, and such like. The valiant hawk ever trusseth her prey in the air, the less valiant taketh her prey near unto the ground, and most commonly upon the ground. The valiant hawks always build upon the high rocks, and on the steep cliffs, against which the rage of the Sea and water continually beateth. And the less valiant hawks build in tall timber trees where they have some shelter and refuge: as for those which build in some walls, or upon the ruins of old houses, as the Kestrills and such like, they are most base and cowardly, and neither fit for use nor employment. The long winged hawks are fittest for the river, and kill both the Herne and other smaller foul, as is the Mallard and Tail▪ and the short winged hawks will kill the Hare also. The Merlin and Hobby take most delight in killing the Lark: the Sparrowhauke in killing the Blackbird, and the Musket in killing the sparrow only, many other flights there be, as at the Pie, jay and such like, but they are to be measured according to the mettle of the Hawk, for they are flights of danger and force, and therefore it behoves the hawk to have much cunning and much exercise before she be brought to such flights, lest that her mettle and rashness become her own ruin, as many Faulkoners find in daily experience. All these infirmities in Hawks are cured by the first medicine following. All inward and privy sicknesses of body. The pantas. Casting of the gorge. All sorts of worms. Purging of glut. Costivenes in the body. To cause digestion. The first Medicine. Take as much Agaricke as a pease and wrap it either in a warm Pigeons heart, or Chickens heart, or any other warm & bloody flesh, and give it the hawk to eat fasting in the morning, and it is a most ready and certain cure. All these infirmities are cured by the second medicine following. All privy grieves in the head. All rheums. The Rye. All apoplexies. The second Medicine. Take as much mustardseed bruised as will lie upon a three halfpences, and lap it as aforesaid, either in a warm Pigeons heart, Chickens heart, or other warm flesh, and then dip it in the juice of Rosemary and Sage well mixed together, and so give it the hawk to eat fasting in the morning, and it will not only purge and cleanse her, but also comfort and strengthen the brain exceedingly, as by proof you shall find. All these infirmities are cured by the third Medicine following. All diseases in the eyes. All dimness of sight. All bloodshotten eyes The pin and web. The third Medicine. Take of the juice of ground ivy or ale-hoofe half a spoonful, and put it to as much fine searst ginger as will lie on a three halfpences, and being well mixed togerher with a small soft feather anoint the hawks eye therewith, morning, noon, and night, and it is a most certain cure, and often approved. All these infirmities are cured by the fourth medicine following. All diseases in the mouth The Frounce. All Cankers. The fourth medicine. Take roch alum and beat it to as fine a powder as you can possible get it, then take a spoonful or two of the strongest and best wine vinegar, and mix your alum with the same till it be as thick as puddle, then take a fine rag of cambric or lawn, and dip it therein, and with the same rub the sores well till they be ready to bleed, both morning, noon, and night, and it will cure it in a short space. All these infirmities are cured by the fifth medicine following. All imposthumes. All wounds whatsoever. All bruises whatsoever All excrestions. The formicas. To staunch blood. The fifth medicine. First where there is any excrestion of horny or bony substance, you shall cut it away, and lay the sore open and bare, and then apply the salve which followeth, but in case of wounds, if the wound be great or deep, you shall first stitch it up with a fine needle and a little red silk, then take twenty raisins of the sun, and having picked out the stones, boil them in half a pint of wine till it be thick like pap, then beat it well together, and being very warm apply it to the sore places, renewing it once in four and twenty hours till all the sores be healed: but if the flux of blood be great, than you shall take merchants wax and drop it upon the vein which bleedeth, & it will presently staunch it. All these infirmities are cured by the sixth medicine following. The pin in the foot The broken pounce. Bones broken. Bones out of joint. The sixth medicine. First you shall place the member right if there be either breath or dislocation, then take of Galbanum, of white Pitch, and of Turpentine of each a like quantity, and melt them together on a soft fire, then plasterwise spread it upon a linen cloth and so fold it about the sore, then splint it if need require, otherwise only roll it up with a fine linen rag, and the remedy will soon be effected, as hath been often by me and others seen, and proved by experience. The nature of red and fallow Deer. THough the Dear by a secret instinct of nature and the Providence of God are their own Physician & not needing the help of man, yet because they are so serviceable for the use of man. I thought it not much impertinent from my discourse to show their Character or nature. The Hart of all other beasts loveth to hear music, and marveleth at all things that he seeth, and taketh great pleasure to behold them, as hath been often seen by their gazing at the bow and arrows of the hunter, or at a Carter and the like, they are at mighty enmity with Serpents and renew their strength by eating of them, they have also a strange property, that if they go to feed in young springs or cops they go full against the wind, and so can tell whether there be any person there or not: and if any man chance to spit or piss upon any spring or branch in the cops, they will find it out presently and utterly abandon the place: being hunted and ready to be taken by the hounds, they will for their last refuge fly to houses and places of resort, rather yielding to man then to the dogs: and as Pliny saith they can endure to swim thirty miles endways: and when they are to pass any great river to go to rut in some I'll or forest, they assemble themselves together in great herds, and knowing the strongest and best swimmer they make him go foremost, and then he which cometh second stayeth up his head upon the back of the first, and all the rest in like manner even unto the last: the foremost being weary the second taketh his place, and he cometh backward: they go to rut about the midst of September, and bear their young ones 8. months: sometimes they bring two calves at once: their little ones they practise and exercise to use their legs from the very beginning, leading them up to high rocks, teaching them to leap, run, & fly away acquainting them with their dens and secret places of harbour: the males are horned, and they above all other living Creatures cast them every year once at a certain time of the spring, and to that purpose a little before their mewing they seek out the most secret corners and most out of the way to hide themselves: when they are pollard's they keep close hidden as if they were disarmed: and all this they do as if they envied that men should have good of any thing they had. Their age may be known by their heads, (for every year they have one more branch than they had the last year before) until they come to six, after which time: they come new ever alike, so that their age cannot be discerned any more by their head, but their mark is taken by their mouth and teeth: for as they grow in age they have few or no teeth at all: yet the branches grow out of the root, whereas all the while they were younger they used to have them break forth and standing out at the very forehead. At the first when they break out again, they be like to the glanduells or kernels of dry skin, that new put forth, then grow they with tender stalks to certain round and long knots covered all over with a certain plume down like velvet, so long as they be destitute of their horns & perceive their heads naked, they go forth to relief by night, and as they grow bigger and bigger they harden them in the hot Sun, eftsoons making proof of them against trees: and when they perceive they be tough and strong enough, than they go abroad boldly. The Hearts and Hinds may live an hundred years and upward. Thus gentle Reader I have briefly ended my short Epitome, craving nothing but this at thy hands, that when thou hast made trial of these my approved remedies and findest the profit to redound to thyself (as many heretofore have done) praise God, and think well of me thy friend. FINIS. A brief Table showing the Contents of the twelve Points handled in this BOOK. THe first Point showeth the Character or nature of the Horse; and how the Horse, being subject almost to 300 diseases, yet all may be cured by twelve medicines, and commonly to be gotten. Fol. 3 etc. The second Point containeth the rarest Medicine that ever was found out for Horses. from Fol. 21 to 24 The third Point showeth the nature of the Ox, Bull, and Calf, and how to cure all the diseases incident to them with seven medicines as, from Fol. 24 to 33 The fourth point showeth the nature of Sheep, and how to cure all the diseases in them with six medicines, from Fol. 33 to 39 The fifth point showeth the nature of Goats, and how to cure all the diseases in them with two medicines▪ as from Fol. 39 to 42 The sixth point showeth the nature of Swine and how to cure all diseases in them with three medicines, from Fol. 42 to 46 The seventh Point showeth the nature of all kind of Dogs, and how to cure all the diseases in them with three medicines only, from Fol. 46 to 51 The eighth Point showeth the nature of Hares and Coneys, and how to cure all the diseases in them with one only medicine, from Fol. 51 to 54 The ninth point showeth the nature of all sorts of Poultry as, Cocks, Hens, Capons, Chickens, Turkeys, Peacocks, Pheasants, Partridges, Quails, Cranes, House-doves, Stocke-doves, Turtle-doves, and the like, and how to cure all the diseases in them with four medicines, from Fol. 54 to 59 The tenth Point showeth the nature of all Waterfoule, as Swans, Geese, Ducks Tails, Widgions, Sheldrakes, Plovers, Herns, Puets, Bitters, Gulls, and such like, and how to cure the diseases in them with one medicine only, from Fol. 59 to 61 The eleventh Point showeth the nature of all singing and whistling birds, as Nightingale, Robin, bulfinch, Linnet, solitary, Sparrow, Goldfinch, Miskin, Spinke, Canary bird, Calandre, Blackbird, Throstle, Cordial Lark and such like and how to cure all the diseases in them with three medicines as from Fol. 61 to 67. The twelfth and last Point showeth the Character and nature of all sorts of Hawks, and how to cure all the diseases in them with six Medicines, as from Fol. 67. to 73. And concludeth with the nature of red and Fallow Dear. FJNIS.