Maison rustique, or The countrey farme· Compyled in the French tongue by Charles Steuens, and Iohn Liebault, Doctors of Physicke. And translated into English by Richard Surflet, practitioner in physicke. Now newly reuiewed, corrected, and augmented, with diuers large additions, out of the works of Serres his Agriculture, Vinet his Maison champestre, French. Albyterio in Spanish, Grilli in Italian; and other authors. And the husbandrie of France, Italie, and Spaine, reconciled and made to agree with ours here in England: by Geruase Markham. The whole contents are in the page following

CHAP. XXIII.

How young hounds are to be trained vp and made fit for the game.

IT is not y••o••gh to haue a number of good and faire dogges, vvell mar∣ked vvith markes, declaring both the said qualities, for they must ouer and aboue be taught and trained vp for the game. Wherefore the hunts∣man must first bring them to vnderstand the sound of the horne, to swim and haunt the vvater, that so they may be the more readie and forward to pursue the beast, if so be that he should seeke to saue himselfe by any running riuer or stan∣ding lake. Hee must lead them also once a weeke into the fields, but not before the age of sixteene or eighteene moneths, for before such age they are not throughly growne and well knit in all their members. But especially hee must well aduise to what kind of game he is purposed to vse them, as vvhether to course the Hart, or the Hinde, the wild Bore, or the Hare: for looke vvhat beasts you first runne them at, those will they best remember alwaies, especially if there be care had to looke any thing well vnto them.

You must not course with them in the morning, if possibly you can auoid it: for hauing beene accustomed to the coolenesse of the morning, and comming afterward to the height of the day, and feeling therein the heat of the Sunne, they will not runne any more.

You must not put on young dogges the first time within a toile, because the beast running altogether round, and therefore alwaies in the sight of the dogges, so when afterwards they should be brought to runne out of the toile, and by that meanes be∣come

cast any great distance behind the beast, it would be the cause of their giuing ouer and forsaking of the game.

It shall be for the better (to the end they may be the better trained and fitted) to put all the young ones together with foure or fiue old ones, at such time as you pur∣pose to hunt with them. Neither shall you compell your young hounds to make more hast than their owne natures leads them vnto, but encouraging them to trust to their owne noses, let them take what leysure they please, and picke out the sent of themselues, that comming truely to vnderstand what they hunt, they may be mo••e perfect and readie in the same: vvhereas on the contrarie part, being compelled to hunt vp close with the older and swifter hounds, they hunt (as it were) by rote, catching the sent here and there, and goe away with it both vncertainely and igno∣rantly, and so seldome or neuer prooue sta••••che or good hounds. It is also verie meete to enter all young hounds at the Hare first, because it is the sweetest and coo∣lest of all sents vvhatsoeuer, and the hound which will hunt it, must necessarily hunt any other hoter sent vvith much more violence: for it is a rule, That vvhosoeuer can doe the hardest things, must forcibly doe things easier with lesse difficultie. Therefore first enter your hound (as before is said) at the Hare, least finding a sweetnesse and easinesse of hunting in the hoter sents, hee neuer after lay his nose to the cooler.