this meanes you shall make more carefull and diligente and your HeÌ„nes better intreated accordyng to the Apophthegme whiche saieth That the eye of the maister maketh the seruaunt prompter and the horse fatter as also Aristotle maketh mention in his firste booke of Oeconomikes But how so euer it bee directe your Housebandrie in suche order that bones bee not giuen to Asses and Thistles to Dogges The Maide seruaunte or Chamberlaine of Prometheus named Experience who serued hym after that he hadde brought from Heauen the liberall Sciences and to whom when he drewe neare to death he gaue them by Testament maie in short tyme assure you either to continew this marchandize and trafique or to leaue it For she Experience I meane is one of the chief Seruauntes whiche you muste haue with other diligence compaignie You ought not to take it gréeuously to leaue your dwellyng place and accustomed pleasaunte ayre or your neighbours cousins or frendes For you knowe well the incommodities whiche ciuill warre bringeth the whiche as writeth Cicero to Marcus Marcellus in the fowerth booke of his familer Epistles is no lesse lamentable then the victorie gotten by sheadyng of domesticall bloud And therefore not without reason saieth the Prouerbe That warre is pleasaunte to suche as hath no experience thereof The whiche saiyng Erasmus a rare man in all kinde of learnyng hath in his Chiliades dilated by many examples As you maie also easely iude at this present You knowe also that the Marchaunt to flie pouertie hazardeth hym self by lande and sea and leaueth his natiue Ayre and Countrie And for the doubte that you maie haue not to bee assured in peaceable possession of your inclosed ground against the violence of Théeues or Souldiers I would wishe you for the garde thereof either the wakyng Serpente whiche kept the Gardens of Hesperides famous for the golden aples slaine by Hercules of Thebes or the furious Bulles whche kepte the Golden Fléese in the I le of Colchos vnder kyng AEâ—â—tas the Father of Medea whiche were ouercome and tamed by Iason of Thessalia at the voiage of the Argonau tae Haue recourse to the Metamorphoses of Ouid in the fowerth and seueÌ„th booke But better then all this shall serue for your securitie a Tablet of three flower de Liees the Kynges Seale autorised by the kyng whiche shall bee of greater efficacie then any other saucgarde that you can desire For finall counsail I praie you continue in the loue and feare of GOD obeisaunce to your Prince and his Magistrates reuerence to all superious with pacience of your losses to occupie your trade without fraude and you shall finde multiplication of all your goodes And then as saith Iuuenal in his thirde Satyre you maie say that your are the sonne of a white Henne But when you shall bee knowen to doe seruice to so excellent a common wealthe as is the Citée of Paris whiche surmounteth all those that haue been Famous emong the Greekes and that you haue giuen the firste entrie and as saieth the Prouerbe broken the Ise to others I suppose your enemies shall bee repulsed as were thei of Furius Cressinus Citezin of Roome enuied of his neighbours because that of a little he raised more Gaine then thei d. d of muche Tillage For the whiche thei imputed vnto him that he vsed Witcherafre and Inchauntmente Who bringyng forthe his Instrumentes of Housebandrie his diligent seruauntes and also his owne Daughter moste skilfull in menage was discharged of all suche suspicious and of all men greately commended as writeth Titus Liuius And furthermore your felicitie and prosperitie shal be a passion to your enemies as chaunceth to all enuious persones I knowe other experiences verie prompte But of no greater gaine then sixe Frankes the daie all charges deducted Therefore if my firste instructions seme not agreable vnto your nature aduertise me thereof that I maie directe vnto you an other waie more easie and no lesse delectable though of lesse profite Peraduenture some will thinke this Counsaill verie straunge and ridiculous and perhaps of difficult executioÌ„ To thinke it straunge there is no greate reason coÌ„sidering that nourishyng of Hennes for honest gaines is no newe or straunge thing if we beleue that whiche Celius Rhodoginus a worthie Autor hath written in his 14. booke of Antiquities That in the I le of Delos otherwise called Ortygia for the abundance of Qualies beyng one of the moste famous of the Cyclades in the sea Aegaeum were founde many that made estate and trafique of the nourishement of Hennes for gaine and profite Who were so well exercised herein and in the knowledge of their HeÌ„nes that onely vpon the sight of an Egge thei could easily iudge what Hen it came from Therefore that sellyng of Egges hath euer been a thyng commonly vsed haue recoursed to the Impost which was in the tyme of the Emperour Honorius as is saied heretofore As touchyng mockers no man can establishe any thing so good or well ordered that the Mocker shall not bite when Enuie hath made impression in his foolishe Braine and hath there taken vp his sodâ—yng to torment his Hoste And to resolue you of suche difficulties let vs take holde of the saiyng of Agathon a yong gentleman in the Oration whiche he made of Loue in the feaste of Plato saiyng That we ought more to feare the iudgement of a fewe wise men then of many ignorauÌ„t fooles and mockers For Wisemen slowlie giue the loose bridle to their congues but vse their wordes with iudgemente as also writeth Cicero in his Oration for Plancius saiyng That the iudgemente of tenne wise and graue men in one Citée importeth more then the iudgemente of all the common people who for the moste parte iudge without counsaill or reason If any maune shall saie that the inuention of this counsaile is old I confesse vnto you that I am not the firste reacher hereof as was Carbilius of the firste letters at Rome or the firste Schoolemaister yet hath it not been practised in our tyme And as writeth the Poet Horatius Many thinges are renewed whiche tyme hath deuoured and buried as deade the whiche againe in tyme shall bee drouned in the riuer of Obliuion and shall againe retourne to their estate by course as doe in maner all worldly thinges as wise Salomon also witnesseth Assure your self my deare fréede that Magnifico Megret or any other Alchimiste haue not with their Fornaces and Alembikes drawne more profite by the Philosophers Stone then you shall drawe out of the bealie of your Hennes if you will ioyne pleasure with paine And so shall you bée out of the daunger into whiche suche Alchimistes fall who oftentymes consume their Patrimonie and blowe it awaie with Bellowes But euer beware the Foxe In the meane tyme you shall receiue of your fréende this little gift suche as it is in hope hereafter to recouer of hym some better thyng when occasion doeth serue whiche occasion you must take by the haire before that it scape not from you Now therefore for the ende of this accompte you must arme your self with pacience when affliction is sent and auoide pouertie the enemie of all good maners by exercise of honeste and profitable frugalitie in vsyng the thynges whiche you haue gotten by your labour and therewith also a reputation not bulgare whiche shall bée bruted through all Fraunce for the noueltie of your enterprise Whereof some will take suche pleasure as maie moue the seuere Catoes to laughyng and raise the Melancholike Milte of wéepyng Democrites And finally you shall herewith receiue the contentation of your louyng fréende with this pleasaunte present to mitigate the sorrowes of these Cloudie tymes and to put you in good comforte of better hope in tyme to come Hatchyng of Egges without Hennes as writeth Ioannes Porta in his seconde Booke of Magike Naturall TAke the dounge of Pigeons or Hennes beaten into pouder and finely Sifted Then laye the Egges in suche sort that one touche not an other for breaking And sée thei bée well couered with the saied dounge bothe vnder and aboue in close Panniers or Coopes commodious for the purpose so that the rouÌ„der or bigger ende of the Egges bée dounwarde But firste you muste laie a bedde of Hennes feathers and thereon the dounge and likewise an other ranke or bedde of feathers vppon the dounge that couereth the Egges This doen you shall euery xxiiij houres tourne the Egges that thei maie equally receiue the heate Thei must thus bée kept in a place of temperate heate And when twentie daies are paste if you shall perceiue that the chickins strike the shell with their billes harken if thei péepe For often it chaunceth that for the thicknesse of the skinne or filme thei can not breake foorth Then helpe theÌ„ with takyng of the shell And immediatly bryng the Henne vnto theÌ„ The like maie be doen in a warme Ouen tempered to the measure and proportion of Natural heate Likewise also in hotte horse dounge with like diligence of measuryng and conseruyng the heate with adding of newe and pure dounge euery seuenth daie Cardanns in his xij booke De Subtilitate writeth muche in like maner But saieth that you muste firste make twoo Cusshions or Pillowes filled with Hennes dounge beaten into fine pouder and sifted Then by sowyng or other meanes fastenyng on the Pillowes HeÌ„nes fethers bothe great and small of good thickenesse and laye the Egges betwene theim in a warme place c. as before He writeth that in the greate Citie of Alkair or Babilonia Noua in Egipte thei vse thus to hatche Egges in greate multitude Finis xviij d. and ij thirdes xxv FraÌ„kes iv sÌ„ vj. d. ij thirdes of j. d. v. pi vi sÌ„ viij d. Alectoromantia Theod. ob and one thirde L. Souses is v. s. vi d. and ii third partes of a peny xliiii s. v.d. ii thirdes ii s. ii d. and ii thirdes xl lib. xi s. i. d. i. third vi d. and ij thirdes x. lib. v. s. Septier is the Quarter of Partis v. s. vi d. and ij thirdes xxviii Iib. xvij s. ix d. one third vi d. and. ij thirdes xv s. vi d. ij thirdes xl li. xi s. i. d. and i. thirde x. li. iiii s. v. d one thirde viii hundred xi li. ii s. ij d. two thirdes xxxiii s. iii. d xiii s. iiii d.
granieres of Dtes but common Hennes of our Countrie and Housebande or employe them in suche sort as I will shewe hereafter And bee not impacient to attende the conclusion Firste of all it is necessarie to haue them neare vnto the Citée of Paris famous and of greate renoume throughout all the worlde to bee the marte and seate of all good Artes and Sciences and populous of all sortes of menne if there bee any other vnder the Sunne There consider the situation of some commodious place well builded hauyng good roomes and Stables with a Courte or yarde inclosed of twoo Acres of grounde more or lesse and walled of sufficiente height With also twoo other Acres inclosed for an other purpose whereof wee will speake hereafter Of these are enowe to bee founde in the olde rurall buildynges about the Citie of Paris So then can you not saie that you are staightly lodged For Quintus Cincinnatus Citezine of Roome so named for wearyng his haire combed and breaded possessed no more when he was called to the dignitie of Dictator as writeth Valerius Maximus in his fowerth booke The aforesaied Mannour place or Ferme with Yarde or Courte inclosed you shall take by Lease for certaine yeres paiyng yerely rent for the dwellyng of you and your famelie You shall dispose your stables commodiouslie for your Hennes and Chickins with the viewe or prospecte towarde the Winter Drient that the Sunne maie giue the good morrowe to your Hennes whiche greately delite at the Mornyng Sunne as noteth Columella in his ix booke of Housebandrie also â—arre in his third booke The Henne houses shall bée commodious and profitable if thei bee alone or solitarie and the Plankes well couered with claye because the Hennes delite to pruine and toumble them selues in duste and to bee kept warme And therefore boordes or plaister are not conuenient to this purpose The Lathers or Perches muste bee from the grounde twoo foote high Also flatte and not rounde because the Hennes doe not bende or crooke their clawes or Talantes as doe other graspelyng foules The saied Henne houses also in the daie tyme muste bee open that thei maie be euented with Winde and Aire And that the Night aire maie more easely transpire and breath out that it maie cause no disease by close ayre whiche in shorte tyme causeth putrefaction and diseases thereof proceadyng Vnder the Henne houses and all aboute the Stables shall bee hanged many Panyers of conueniente bignesse stufte with Haye to receiue the Hennes when thei laye For Haye in this case is muche better then Strawe because it is softer and warmer and is not so apte to engeÌ„der Lice or Woormes I dooe not meane that it should bee so deare as was that whiche was solde for fower Attiques the handfull for menne to eate at the tyme of the greate Famin in Ierusalem as writeth Iosephus in his seuenth booke of the warre of the Iewes the fower Attiques amountyng to fowertene Frenche Soules after three Souses and sixe Frenche Pence for a Souse as muche as the Romaine peuie as writeth learned Budaeus in his booke De Asse When you haue thus disposed your Henne houses and made theim sure and saufe against all hurtfull beastes and Vermine that maie enter by Daie or Night and haue well placed the Paniers to receiue and harbour theim you shall bestowe the summe of three hundreth Frankes in buiyng of good Hennes whiche maie cost you after the rate of fiue Souses whiche is vj. d. and twoo-thirdes the peece by reason of the dearthe whiche is now by occasion of Warres Whiche shall bee twelue hundreth Hennes after xxv Frankes the hundred The Countries of Angeou Touraine and Lodunois haue been the Countries with Britaigne lesse troubled with the saied Ciuile warres And therefore Hennes are there better cheape Also verie good strong well membered and of the beste race to make your emploite You shall choose the youngeste whiche are apter to laye then the olde and the common more then thei of kynde or the Blacke Redde and Taunie whiche are more fruitefull then the Graie or White as Aristotle affirmeth in his Historie of Beastes in the firste booke the firste Chapiter And also thei whiche haue their creste or combe double and vpright as witnesseth Plinie in his naturall Historie Also Palladius and Petrus Crescensis in his Booke of Housebandrie Likewise Carolus Stephanus a man of our tyme a diligent gatherer of thinges Economike parteinyng to Housholde and Housebandrie Thei of meane bignesse are the beste hauyng their brest large their bodie well fleshed not with long Spurres like vnto Cockes for thei commoÌ„ly breake their Egges Take héede also that thei bee not to fatte Witnesse the good wife whiche beyng in loue with her Henne fedde her so well and made her so fatte that she lefte laiyng as rehearseth Esope in his Fables You ought to thinke that the good Woman loued her Henne no lesse then the Emperour Honorius sonne of Theo dosius loued his named Rome Who vnderstanding that Alaricus Kyng of the Gothes had taken Rome whiche was the aunciente Citee of Rome was verie sadde supposyng that Alaricus had takeÌ„ his Henne whiche he so muche loued as Zonar the Greke Historiographer hath written in the life of Honorius I saie the aunciente Rome because the Emperours of the East partes called Constantinople newe Rome In like maner you shall buye Cockes to sorte or matche them Sixe score Cockes shall suffice for the twelue hundreth Hennes For one Cocke maie suffice for tenne Hennes Thei maie coste you tenne Souses the peece ouer and aboue the price of the Hennes which amounteth to fourtie and eight Frankes Thei of the age from a yere and a halfe vnto twoo yeres are the beste To knowe them well you shall consider the Plumage or Feathers The Blacke Redde and Taunie are the beste Also thei that haue their Combe or Crest vpright and double or diuided Their eyes Redde and glisteryng Their becke shorte and hooked well suprred their goyng hautie and proude Their voice strong and soundyng And suche as crowe muche representyng suche a maiestie as did the Cocke of the Persians whiche emong them was reuerenred and honoured for a Kyng as reciteth Aristophanes At the least that thei shewe a certain hardinesse as thei whiche the Carians people of the lesse Asia bore vpon their Morion or Helmet goyng to battaile As Alexander de Alexandro hath written in the xx Chapiter of his firste booke And if you will take pleasure in Diuination of thynges to come by Cockes whiche Dinination is named Alectoromantia as did Iamblicus maister of Proclus as Libanius his compaignion greate and learned Philosophers in the tyme of the Emperour Valens you maie make experiment of suche predictions and therewith dooe pleasure to your freendes And to the ende that you shall not bee ignoraunte in the Theorike or speculation of the saied Diuination I will shewe you a certaine practise and Prognostication thereof Certaine greate lordes were curious
to knowe who should bee successour to the Empire after Valens fauourer of the damnable secte of the Arrians Praiyng the saied Philosophers to giue aunswere accordyng to their Arte and experience whiche thei had of suche thynges Who were verie diligente to satisfie their requeste as commonlie menne of letters are not ingrate to communicate to others the fruites of their garden Therefore Iamblicus and Libanius chose a place verie plaine and equall of conuenient largenesse and caused fine pouder or ashes to bee sifted therein In the whiche pouder thei wrote the xxiiij letters of the Alphabet equallie distaunt the one froÌ„ th' other one little cubite asunder whiche is a foote and a halfe These xxiiij letters so written and ordred made a figure pentagon or of fiue angles hauyng fiue equall distaunces Vpon euery of the whiche letters thei laied tenne graines one of Wheate and an other of Barleye The figure beyng set in order thei toke a Corke â—aied to hym these wordes Cocke enuious Cockeielous Cocke proude Eate the grain and leaue the letter Then makyng a greate whisperyng in maner of a Charme thei lette the cocke so charmed eate certaine of the graines liyng vpon the letters The which letters then ioyned togither and set in order according to the graines whiche laâ—e on theÌ„ these letters were founde T H E O D. And were thereby contented to searche no further And by this Diuination by the Cocke the saied Philosophers gaue aunswere that the successour of the Empire should bee one Theodosius or Theodorus or Theodoius wherof Valens beyng aduertised was greatly displeased fearing least his children should bee depriued of the Empire And therefore putte to death all the greate Lordes whiche were so named Iambliucs had euill fortune and shortly after was poisoned Vopiscus Lampridius and Zonare which haue written the liues of the Emperours of the Easte and Weste will make you wise in this Prognostication Not without reason I haue rehearsed vnto you this little Cubite For if you figure Pentagon were directed by the greate Cubite whiche is of nyne foote accordyng to the whiche the Arke of Noe was measured as some Speculatours haue affirmed you might faile in you Diuination and shall not come to the knowledge of that you desire Neuerthelesse for asmuche as suche Diuinations be deceptes and inchauntmentes of the eyes and senses hauyng in them no substaunce of truthe but rather of lyes you shall giue no faithe thereto For falshoode is euer ouercome by by truthe as by example allegorike Iosephus in his Historie of the Antiquitie of the Iewes in the seconde Booke and fifth Chapiter declareth As also is written in Exodus Capit. vij Where the Rodde of Moises was by the finger of God tourned into a verie Serpent and deuoured the fantastike Serpentes of the Magicians of Pharao And the Authours of the saied Magique finallie receiued their rewarde as did Iamblicus and as did Arphaxat the Magician of Persia who was striken with a Thumderbolte As was also the Bailise of Mascon whom the Deuill caried awaie as our Chronicles witnesseth And also as were Mathotin and Hollere Magicians of the Gothes whiche were ouerwhelmed as writeth Olaus Magnus in his Historie of the Northe Regions in the third booke Likewise Oddo a Magician of Denmarke who was drouned And infinite others came to the like euill ende But now to retourne to our Hennes To entreate theim and gouerne them well you must haue fower seruauntes or maides with large eares well to conceiue and vnderstande your commaundementes And the feete of Hartes with diligente expedition to execute the same And trustie right hande to bée faithfull loyall obedience and of fewe wordes For as saieth the Terentian Parmeno it is greate faute in seruauntes to bee babbelers and not to keepe their maisters counsaill Their office shal be to bryng the Hennes into their bouses euery daie at fiue of the Clocke in the Eueuyng in SoÌ„mer And at three of the Clocke in Winter Also that thei bee diligente to close the entries and Windowes of the Henne houses that in the night the Foxe naturall enemie to Hennes Weasells or Polecattes maie haue no accesse And in the Mornyng to open the entrees and windowes that thei maie come foorthe And then to make cleane the Pearches and Lathers Also to refreashe their Pottes and Troughes with cleane water For filthie and corrupte water engendereth the pippe and other sicknesses In the daie also the saied seruauntes muste be myndfull to visite the Paniers if thei be furnished with Haye and to refreshe them if neede bee The whiche muste be doen euery weeke for engenderyng of Life Wormes and Vermine whiche make the Hennes leane and cause them to scrache In like maner thei muste bée diligente in gatheryng the Egges And by accompt to deliuer theÌ„ to a woman whiche shall laye them in older vpon faire wheate strawe in a place of large and free ayre to bée kept freshe and cold The same seruauntes after that in the Mornyng thei haue giuen theÌ„ their feadyng of Barly and Otes and sometyntes also Fetches or Tares shall caste â—mong theim some drie Horse-dounge to the ende that the Hennes maie labour the more to searche their meate with serapyng For sucke exercise is wholsome for theim Then aboute Noone thei shall feede them againe callyng them with loude voice that thei maie be acquainted wiâ—h the call of their kepers whom thei will sone knowe as did the Sparrowe of Lesbia Caâ—â—lliâ—â—a The Parratte of Corinna Ouidinna The Thrustle of Agrippina the wife of the Emperor Claudius The Rauen of the Shomaker of Roome whiche gaue the good Morowe to the Emperours Tiberius Germanicus and Drusur And was bought for xx Sesterns amountyng to the summe of v. hundreth crounes of our money by the supputatioÌ„ of Budaus after the rate of xxv crounes one Sesterne And in like maner shall thei doe a little before thei bryng them to rouste If your yarde containe twoo Acres inclosed you maye thereof Plowe halfe an Acre in some corner where the HeÌ„nes maie sometymes in the daie scrape the grounde and tomble them selves in the duste or sande wherein thei take greate pleasure You shall Plowe or hardle the saied lande once in the moneth that it become not to hard that the HeÌ„nes maie easely raise it without hurtyng their clawes You maie also caste certaine seedes vppon the Plowed ground and couer it with the hardle that the Hennes maie take both more pleasure and labour in discoueryng it For the HeÌ„nes through idlenesse become grosse and heauie and will cease from laiyng When your Housebandrie shall bee thus well ordered you muste practise in the Citée of Paris with ten or twelue Phisitions dwellyng in sundrie places of the saied Citée Not of the beardlesse and delicate Apollinaries whiche care for nothyng but glorie and ciuill flatterie to get riche Wiues But of the bearded AEsculapians suche as was the Famous Florentine a man of singuler knowledge and experience in his doughter
pursued by the vnchaste loue of Ladislaus kyng of Naples and Hungarie Suche auncient Phisicions will easely permitte the necessities of Nature and confirme the wholesome Edicte of the Emperour Claildius who as witnesseth Suetonius permitted in banquettes and compargnies freely and without shame to lette scape the winde of the bealie knowyng that certaine shamefatte persones subiecte to the Collicke haue died for holdyng the saied ventositie As also Cicero in the xxij booke of his Epistles saith that fartyng ought to be as free as belchyng after the opinion of the Stoikes You shall giue theim to vnderstande that you can daiely furnishe their Paciētes with new laied Egges euery mornyng without faile You shall also aduertise theim of theim that haue the sellyng and distribution of them You shall also take heede that you haue not to deale with suche Phisitiōs which haue nought els to doe thē to walke their Mules as thei were whiche were obserued by Maister Francis Rables Pentagruell to departe out of their lodgyng at sixe of the clocke in the mornyng and to returne at Noone without strikyng of stroke For suche are the verie paciences of impaciēce by the vnderstandyng of Epoptiques and Acromatiques of Aristotle and Alexander his Disciple whiche thei thought onely worthie to bee read as writeth Quintus Curtius In like maner you muste bee acquainted with xv or xx Gainsellers or Regraters suche as can chatte and babble beste and walke aboute all the streates the fower corners of the citée and the moste famous places of the same as the Burse the Pallaice the greate Haules the Portes and other places of greate resorte Assuryng theim to furnishe them daiely of a number of newe laied Egges whiche thei shall sell and distribute to your profite agreyng with theim for reasonable price and wages as shal be saied hereafter Hauyng kepte this order you shall bee carefull and diligent to cause your Egges daiely to bee caried to the Gainfellers or women that shall sell them again in the mornyng of the daie followyng You maie carie thē beste vpon Asses For whiche purpose that Beaste is verie proper because of his slowe goyng that he breake not the Egges But take héede that thei eate no Figges leaste you bruste for laughyng as did the Philosopher Chrysippus as writeth Diogenes Laertius in his booke of the liues of Philosophers The like also thaunced to Philomenes as writeth Valerius Maximus in his Chapiter of rare kyndes of Death Now it resteth to make you vnderstande the profite that shall come vnto you daiely of your summe all charges and expenses deducted the rente of your house paied the wages of your seruauntes the Gainsellers contented the charges of the Asse his kéeper compted and also the graine or corne wherwith your Hennes are sedde For of the sale of Egges is taken no custome or imposition as was in the tyme of Ihon Ducas Emperour of Comstantinople and successour of Theodosius Lascaris who was so excessiue that in a fewe daies the Croune of Irene the Empresse was thereby marueilousty enriched in precious stones and iewelles as Nephorius hath left in writyng in the third booke of the Historie Bizantine in the chapiter of the famine of the Turkes You shall fell or cause to be solde euery newe laied egge easely for sixe Frenche pence the péece For I assure you that within the Citée of Paris are a thonsande yea rather twoo thousande that will gladly giue a Carolus whiche is nyne Frenche penuce for euery newe laied Egge béeyng thereof assured wherein fee you faile not How many Gentlemenne and Gentlewomen are there whiche greatly desire in the Mornyng to eate a newe laied Egge How many are there of Citezins and their wiues touched with the like desire How many old folkes wearie of Fleshe could for their Dinner bée contente with a newe laied Egge or twoo For you must knowe that an Egge is naturally of good nourishemente wholsome delicate of easie digestion and maketh good bloud as writeth Alexander Aphrodiseus in his seconde booke and xxviij question of his Problemes Likewise Albertus Magnus writeth that an Egge engendereth in manne as muche good blood as is the bignesse of the yolke whiche tourneth almoste all into bloud I haue yet made no memorie of sicke folkes whiche of necessitie haue nede of new laied Egges by the ordinaunce of the Phisitions whose freendship you shall entertaine for the same purpose The number of the whiche sicke folkes I am sure in the saied Citée will daiely surmounte a thousande persones without speakyng of them that kéepe a certain diet as well to encrease the lustes of their pleasures in Venerie as also to restore that which somtyme by excessiue wantonnesse thei haue diminished of their strengthe and health For these also shall haue neede of your marchandize You maie therefore by this deduction bée assured of the vent and sale and deliueraunce of your Egges daie by daie as muche as your Hennes shall doe their endeuour orderly to furnishe your Customers Now lette vs retourne to our accompt You can gather no lesse euery daie of your xij hundreth Hennes then eight hundreth Egges whiche are twoo terces or thirde partes of the number Leauyng the other terce or thirde parte of your Hennes in the meane tyme to reste and repose theim selues For the season is not euery daie agreable for all Hēnes to laye Specially in the middest of Winter and other tymes neare vnto that But you shall then helpe them in giuyng them Fenegreke commōly called the dredge of Horses And also Barly halfe sodde For these thinges kéepe thē in naturall heate and cause them to laye Eight hundreth Egges by supputation Arithmeticall at sixe Frenche pence the péece will yeld L. Souses for the hundreth Whiche in number producte maketh xx Frankes or Frenche poundes a daie Whiche is for the saied eight hundreth seuen score Frankes the wéeke and seuen chousande thrée hundreth Frākes the yere of honest profite Let vs diuise the charges And that whiche then remaineth wée will call the gaines and profite For the Lawiers saie that wée call nothyng profite sauyng what remaineth after the charges deducted as the famous Lawier Papiniā hath well defined in the xxiij boke of the Pandectes vnder the title of repetitiō of dowrie after the mariage dissolued First for the pension of the woorke man and his House for euery daie xx Souses whiche by the yere commeth to thrée hundreth thrée score and fiue Frankes I here vnderstand yeres of the Sunne consisting of thrée hundreth thrée score and fiue daies For fower Seruauntes or maides xx Souses the daie which is for eche of them for wages meate and drinke fiue Souses to finde theim selues amountyng in the yere to the like summe of thrée hundreth thrée score and fiue Frankes You knowe how greately sobrietie is to bee commended in seruauntes bothe menne and women whiche kicke when thei bée fatte as doe Monkes in the mewe and murmure when thei bée full
xij hundreth and fiftie Crounes commyng to L. Sesternes Romaine Or that of Pomponius Atticus Againe on the other parte I meane not that your liuyng shal be so streight in frugalitie or sparyng as was that of Curius Dentatus who liued with Radishe rootes Or of Pertinax who would be serued tenne times with one salet Neither so vile or sparyng as was Epaminondas a greate Lorde of Thebes who kepte his chamber while his apparell was amendyng because he would haue no chaunge But temperate and modeste as that of the kynges of Egipte who before thei fell to their meate disputed of modestie and sobrietie takyng pleasure in bankettes more ioyefull then sumptuous or exquisite And so shall you not faule into the penaltie of the Lawe Numerall of Iulius who prefined a Taxe to be paied of the charges made in greate feastes and bankettes And for as muche as it maie seme a thyng vndecent that a man should make profession of an Art or trafique of marchaundize whereof he hath no knowledge beyng ignorant of the natures and temperatures of the thynges whiche he hath in hande I will not faile to aduertise you of the diseases whiche come to Hēnes and Cockes and of their remedies and when it shalbée néedefull to chaunge them and put others in their places to th' ende that your number doe not diminishe as you knowe that by surrogation the kyndes of all thynges are preserued in their beyng and so remaine perpetually as Diuine Diotimus taught Socrates in the seconde booke of the feast of Plato Their common disease is the Pippe whiche is a disease of the tongue the ende whereof is thereby hardened in maner of a gristle And thereby also the Henne loseth her taste bothe in eatyng and drinkyng and infecteth the other Hennes specially within the house and place of their feding This disease proceedeth either of beeyng long without drinkyng of cleane and freashe water or by drinkyng of foule and stinkyng water And to heale it you muste take the Henne and take awaie the superfluitie which groweth on the tongue hardened at the ende And then washe the tongue and beake with Oile in the whiche shall bée tempered a hedde of Garlike And putte emong their meate Staphisacre and to rubbe the tongue wel with spettle or Vineger first tempered in the mouthe of the seruaunt An other disease is the Catarre or Rheume whiche is a fluxion of colde Humours in the hedde of the Hennes makyng them to hang their winges and their crestes or combes The remedie is to trauerse or ouerthwart ther nosethrilles with a Feather put through them to open the Fluxiō or Rheume that is stopped and maketh them blinde It shall also bée good to warme their drinke in Winter Because suche diseases procéede of cold or drinkyng of Frosen water or liyng vnder that Moone the mother of al moistnesse Against the Lice and vermine whiche make them leane féeble and vnfruitfull I haue shewed you the remedie But when the disease is now come the remedie is to bathe them with a little Wine or drinke in the whiche shall bée sodden some Comin or Staphisacre commonly called the death of Lice appliyng it to the heddes of little children with oyntmentes If you doubt how I knowe this not alledgyng any Authour for the proofe you shall vnderstande that I haue learned it by practize of the common people in like maner as the wise men emong the Hebrues named Cabalistae and the like emong the Gaules named Druydes learned their Seiences by tradition from mouthe to mouthe and from hand to hande without Letters Whereby is come to passe that in our Feaunce the gouernmente is more by customes not written then by written lawes As Iulius Caesar hath written in his Commeutaries of the conquest of the Gaules or Frenchemen in his sixte Booke The auncientes haue written certain remedies to kepe the Hennes from the Foxe as Palladius in his Booke of Housebandrie teacheth how to rubbe the walles of the Hen house with the gaule of a Foxe and to cutte in little peeces the fleshe of a Foxe and to mingle it with the Hennes meat to cause the Foxe to abhorre to come neare it by feelyng the death of his proper kynde whiche nature can not abide as writeth Plinie in the xxix booke of his Naturall Historie But the moste soueraigne remedie is to kéepe faste and close the doores and windowes in the Night And that in the Daie you seruauntes often tymes come and goe in all places and corners of your close And that neare vnto it or the Henne house bée no heapes of woodde bushes or stones where suche beastes maie bée hidde or harboured For the beastes whiche liue by rapte haue euer a certaine feare ioyned with their craftinesse and desire of rauenyng Aboute the tyme of Autumne you shall euery yere draw a hundred or twoo hundred of the eldest of your Hēnes and suche as haue their clawes longest and grossest In place of the whiche you shall put yonger of suche sorte or qualitie as I haue before described If peraduenture you be of opinion to kepe your Egges of one season for an other you must laye them in order vpon sheaues or strawe verie freshe with the sharpe ende vpward or to laye them in Paniers in like maner And that thei bée well couered with strawe that thei bee not tourned by too muche heate or cold And if you wil chose the beste for your fréendes take Candida Longa Noua that is White Long and New folowyng the opinion of the Schoole of Salerne The other twoo Acres whiche remaine aboute youre yarde courte or place inclosed shall be commodious to sow Barly whiche is a graine verie proper for the noriture of Hēnes And if you can recouer Barly of the sede of AEthiope whereas dwell the Iewes of the ligue of Dan Nephthalin Gad Asser neare to the riuer of Sabbatique whiche Moises affirmeth to bee the Riuer in the holie scripture called Gozan it shall bee singuler good because one graine thereof bryngeth forthe an hundred as Eldad Damus the Hebrewe hath written in his brief Historie of the Empire of the Iewes inclosed in AEthiope I will write vnto you more amplie of the other profites whiche concerne the noriture of Hennes and of what properties thei are and what one maie drawe of their substances But my ende hath been none other then to giue aduise how for a little summe of money little trauaile you maie gette greate profite to the ende that you maie the more easely forgette your losses and accustome your self to the noise and cluckyng of your Hennes and not to seeme more delicate then was the good Philosopher Socrates who bore it easely because thei laied hym Egges as he bore paciently the murmuryng and scoldyng of his wife Xantippe because she bore hym children You maie euery daie see your menage or Housebandrie And as did the Peripatetici walke aboute the closes and other places and consider the endeuour of your seruauntes Whom also by