The gentlemans recreation in two parts : the first being an encyclopedy of the arts and sciences ... the second part treats of horsmanship, hawking, hunting, fowling, fishing, and agriculture : with a short treatise of cock-fighting ... : all which are collected from the most authentick authors, and the many gross errors therein corrected, with great enlargements ... : and for the better explanation thereof, great variety of useful sculptures, as nets, traps, engines, &c. are added for the taking of beasts, fowl and fish : not hitherto published by any : the whole illustrated with about an hundred ornamental and useful sculptures engraven in copper, relating to the several subjects.

About this Item

Title
The gentlemans recreation in two parts : the first being an encyclopedy of the arts and sciences ... the second part treats of horsmanship, hawking, hunting, fowling, fishing, and agriculture : with a short treatise of cock-fighting ... : all which are collected from the most authentick authors, and the many gross errors therein corrected, with great enlargements ... : and for the better explanation thereof, great variety of useful sculptures, as nets, traps, engines, &c. are added for the taking of beasts, fowl and fish : not hitherto published by any : the whole illustrated with about an hundred ornamental and useful sculptures engraven in copper, relating to the several subjects.
Author
Blome, Richard, d. 1705.
Publication
London :: Printed by S. Roycroft for Richard Blome ...,
1686.
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Subject terms
Encyclopedias and dictionaries -- Early works to 1800.
Sports -- Great Britain.
Agriculture -- Early works to 1800.
Science -- Early works to 1800.
Hunting -- Early works to 1800.
Veterinary medicine -- Early works to 1800.
Link to this Item
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A28396.0001.001
Cite this Item
"The gentlemans recreation in two parts : the first being an encyclopedy of the arts and sciences ... the second part treats of horsmanship, hawking, hunting, fowling, fishing, and agriculture : with a short treatise of cock-fighting ... : all which are collected from the most authentick authors, and the many gross errors therein corrected, with great enlargements ... : and for the better explanation thereof, great variety of useful sculptures, as nets, traps, engines, &c. are added for the taking of beasts, fowl and fish : not hitherto published by any : the whole illustrated with about an hundred ornamental and useful sculptures engraven in copper, relating to the several subjects." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A28396.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 10, 2024.

Pages

Of Scowring and Purging Medicines.

A Strong and full Hawk shall be exercised with Courage, clean fed, Stones and Casting, at least eight days, to stir the Humours in her Body, and make them fit to be wrought upon. You must then feed her in the Morning, only up∣on that day that you intend to scowr her, that she may be empty at Night; then give her Scow∣ring, and set her up warm; early the next Morn∣ing give her Stones in this following comfortable Water.

Take a Pint of clean Water, put therein six brused Cloves, as many thin slices of Liquorice, with some brown Sugar Candy dissolved; when she hath cast her Stones, give her a little good Meat to her Breakfast. The said Water is very pleasing and grateful to the Hawk, and withal strengthening, and exceeding good for any Hawk that is poor and low.

For your strong and full Hawks this is a most ex∣cellent Scowring; Take a quarter of a Pound of fresh Butter, and four Spoonfuls of Whitewine Vineger, boyl them gently together, scum and clarifie it well, and then add to it three or four bruised Cloves, a branch of Rue, and one of Wormwood, a blade or two of Saffron, and a piece of Sugar Candy; let all these boyl a little together, then take the Saffron, Cloves, Rue, and Wormwood, when the remainder is cold, drain off the Vineger, and make up the Substance into small Pellets, and being rolled up in Sugar Candy, give to ach Hawk two of them; and as to the bigness, you may proportion them to the size of your Hawk.

If it be not strong enough at the first giving, at the second time convey into one of the Pellets the quantity of a Tare of clean unwash't Aloes, which will work very kindly. This Scowring is good for a Surfeit, and for one that has long continued in a foul and disorderly Feeding; It purgeth the Stomach, killeth Worms, tesiteth Rottenness, strengtheneth the Heart, and comfor∣teth the Head.

If your Hawk be but in a reasonable state of Body, and you mistrust some inward Infirmity, then take a quarter of a ound of sweet fresh Butter, let it boyl by it self, scumming it well, then put into it three or four small branches of Rosemary, two or three bruised loves, a little M••••e, a little Sffron in Powder, and a pretty piece of brown Sugar Candy, and boyl all these together very well: In the cooling put in a little Powder of Rue, and mi them altogether very well; then take out the Cloves, M••••e, and Rose∣mary.

Page 50

You must give the same in quantity and manner, both for Time, Preparation, Dyet, &c. as before directed: And if you find it not strong enough, put into one of the Pellets a small quan∣tity of wash't Aloes. This Scowring gently purg∣eth, strengthens the Heart, preserves the Lights, and removes Stoppings and Obstructions.

A Hawk in a low estate and weak, must be ordered in another manner: For whereas you gave your strong Hawks scowring at Night, you [ 10] must give it a weak one in the Morning, and feed her the Night before with good Meat, that she may put it kindly away, and be empty betimes in the Morning; then give her the Scowring you intend, and set her on a warm Brick wrapt up in a double Woollen cloath, and there let her stand about three hours, until she is fit to Feed, and then give her a little that is good, feeding her by degrees, not all at once; and be sure to give her of the Water already prescribed. [ 20]

If you Order and Dyet her in this manner, that is, with good food, moderate warmth, and due care, no doubt but that she will regain her former health.

I shall add this compound Scowring, which is very good for any Hawk in what state and condi∣tion soever.

Take a good quantity of fresh Butter well boyled, clarified and wash't in Rose-water, then make it up with the Powders of six Cloves, two [ 30] or three blades of Saffron, the quantity of a small Nutmeg of Rue in Powder, with good store of Sugar Candy. Being kept close stopt or covered in a Box, it will keep a long time, and you may give it your Hawk as occasion requires.

You may Feed within about an hour after it, and it will make her very fond of you, full, haughty, and proud: It prevents the Wind, open∣eth Obstructions, purgeth the Head, warmeth the Body, comforteth the inward Parts; is good a∣gainst [ 40] shortness of Breath, and is a present Reme∣dy for the Cray and Pantas.

I shall now give you an excellent Scowring for a full bodied Hawk after she has been Lured, and her Grease and Heat stirred in her before she be throughly Enseamed. Take some sweet Butter, clarifie it well, and put thereto the Powder of Box-leaves and Rosemary, of each a like quanti∣ty, a little Powder of Horehound; mix all these very well together, and make them up into small [ 50] Pellets with brown Sugar Candy: Give your Hawk two of these Pellets at Night, as before directed, and it will purge and scowr the Pannel, and o∣ther inward Parts of Grease, and the like Hu∣mours, and will cause her to Enseame very well.

I shall now add something concerning simple Scowrings, amongst which that which we call Casting is one. For a short winged Hawk, the soft Feathers of small Birds, with some part of the Skin, is very good and natural. And for a long [ 60] winged One, fine Flannel cut into pieces about an Inch square, rolled up, and given in a bit of Meat.

By these you shall know in what state your Hawk is in; for when she hath returned them, if you find them hard, white, and round, not stink∣ing or very moist, and if upon pressing or squeez∣ing it betwixt your Fingers, you find clear wa∣ter come forth, 'tis a sure sign she is well and lusty: But if it be long, with contrary properties, as black, green, yellowship, slimy, greasie, or stink∣ing, it denotes her diseased. The former Casting is remedied by hot Meats; the latter by feeding her well, and washing her Meat in cool Water, as of Endive, or the like; and give her one or two Castings of Cotton, or Flannel mixt with Incense and Mummy.

There is another gentle simple Scowring, and that is the Root of Sellandine, of which four or five small Pellets, give out of the Water early in the Morning (your Hawk being fasting) will finely cleanse her; but it must be given to a strong Hawk, as being a strong Medicine.

Before you give any Scowring to a Hawk, know the state of her Body, and accordingly make and order it, observing the Time and Season.

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 shews health and soundness: But if long, slimy, with undigest∣ed Flesh sticking to it and stinking, it denotes Di∣seases and Vnsoundness.

Mewts as well as Castings must be observed, being of such importance for the knowing the state and condition of your Hawk, that they ought to be regarded every Morning.

If the Mewt be white without black spots, and not very thick, it is a sign of health; but if white and very thick in the middle, it signifies that she is gross and full of Grease: And this may be re∣medied by giving her moist Meats, as Lambs, Sheeps, or Calves Hearts, and the like: And for two Mornings after (being empty) give her Sugar Candy, and this will scowr her.

If the Mewt be more yellow than white, it is a sign she abounds in Choler, occasioned from great Flights in hot weather, as also from much Ba∣ting. This is cured by washing and wringing her Meat in Bugloss, Endive, Borage, or the like cool Waters, and to wring it in a Linnen cloath after it is washt.

The green Mewt denotes an infected Liver: For cure, feed her with Meat powdred with Mum∣my; if she will not take it so, give it her in a Scowring or Casting: And if this will not soon effect the cure, then give her a Scowring of Agarick, and then another of Iucense to comfort her.

The Mewt full of several Colours is very bad, and a speedy course must be taken by giving her purified Mummy beaten to Powder, wrapt up in Cotton.

The black Mewt proceeds from an infected Li∣ver, and is very dangerous, so that it will kill her in a few days if it continue: For cure, give her good warm Meat, and Cotton Casting, with the Powder of Cloves, Nutmegs, and Ginger, or Mum∣my alone.

The dark sanguine Mewt with black in it, is the most dangerous and hardly curable.

Concerning the choice of Stones, the number, and the bigness of them, use your own discreti∣on with due regard to your Hawk; for seeing you shall seldom see two of one kind exactly to agree

Page 51

in proportion and nature, therefore regulate your self according to discretion.

The Stones most proper are a sort of fine white Pibbles, commonly found in the Sands and Gravelly Rivers, the rougher they are the better, provided they are not gritty.

To a Falcon Gentle give about seven Stones, and seldom above nine. To a Merlin and Hobby not above five or six; and so to other sorts pro∣portionable to these, and be sure to give them [ 10] the Stones always clean washt and free from filth.

If your Hawk cast her Stones disorderly, keeping all or some of them longer than she should, be then well advised how to proceed with her. This ill property is occasioned through sudden Colds after Heats, before they are per∣fectly Enseamed. For Cure do not use striving with her, lest you bring her down from her flesh; but give her Stones out of Fair-water at due [ 20] times and often, and not in the Morning, for by that means you will often be constrained to keep her often Fasting the whole day in expectation of them, as being pleasing to her; but at Night, which is the best time for quietness, and then she will have time to receive the true operation of them.

You must not give Stones to a sick Hawk, which is not of strength to return them; but to a strong one at Night, and you will not fail to [ 30] have them again in the Morning: And if she should not have rendred them, yet feed her, and use this constantly but a little while, and you will Reclaim her to cast them duly.

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